372Chapter 1: Welcome to Orario!
Edolas.
A universe that is parallel to Earthland, the home of many powerful mages. However, there is one glaring difference between these two universes, and that is Magic in Edolas is not stored within a person's body, but rather in Magic objects, often in the form of Lacrima, which can be imbued into items to grant them specific magical function.
In this world, there is a Kingdom which rules and controls over the entire land, and in charge of them was their leader known as Faust, a power-hungry man who wished to have an eternal supply of magic in his land.
In order to achieve this, he used the Anima, an inter-dimensional gate to suck up all the magic from Earthland.
Unfortunately for him, his plan was foiled by the members of Fairy Tail, both from Earthland and Edolas.
An all-out war broke out in the Royal City between the Fairy Tail members and the members of the Royal Guards. While it may have lasted for hours, the end result was something nobody had expected.
Mystogan, prince of Edolas and the son of Faust, activated the Anima once more. However, instead of casting its target on Earthland, he set it in reverse, which would return all the magic from Edolas to Earthland. Letting there be no magic whatsoever in the world.
Of course, such an act would create a riot within the city, and he knew what the consequences were. Yet, he was willing to do it in order to certain a future for the world. However, before the prince could even set the blame on himself…
Location: Main Street (Royal City)
"Natsu…what do you think you're doing?!" Mystogan shouted in surprise upon seeing the pinkette laugh gleefully with Faust, tied on a pole, beside him.
"Well, well, if it isn't the prince!" Natsu shouted, causing everyone's attention to turn to the blue haired male.
"The prince is back?!"
"Didn't he disappear for years now?"
"Who cares? THE prince is back, he'll save us from the demons!"
With that the crowd of people began shouting out their cheers and support to the prince, who immediately realised the Dragon Slayer's ploy. After all, it was a plan he wanted to execute himself whereby he would paint himself to be the villain and have someone defeat him in order for them to be the new leader of the people.
Before he could do anything about it, Natsu engaged the S-Class mage in a classic fisticuff match and as they fought, the pinkette chanted the Fairy Tail's Farewell Ceremony to the man, albeit he did forget one of the three rules.
Mystogan eventually pulled out victorious eliciting cheers from the entire crowd, but at that exact moment, when all of the magic had been completely sucked out from the world, the members of Fairy Tail who had magical power inside of them all glowed brightly as they began floating up towards the portal.
The group could only wave goodbye to their friend who would remain behind in the world before completely disappearing into the distortion.
The moment the portal closed, Mystogan couldn't help but shed a single tear from his eye. This would be the last time he could see his friends- no, his family from Fairy Tail ever again.
'Goodbye…my precious nakama.' The blue haired prince thought before looking back down to face his people. His life as a mage may have ended, but for now…he had a country to rule.
"I managed to defeat the Demon Lord Dragneel with only my bare fists! That just shows that we don't need any magic to be victorious!" Mystogan raised his magic staff proudly as the people all began to cheer.
Meanwhile, deep within the portal, the group were all falling down through the endless darkness, without a single exit in sight. They could only wonder how long it will be until they arrive.
However all of a sudden, a blast of energy suddenly struck Natsu which pushed him away the group as he floated off to another direction.
"Ahh!" The pinkette yelled in pain, though because of the large distance, no one heard him. All he could do was watch as he drifted away from his friends.
'Where am I going now?' Natsu thought before he started losing consciousness.
The last thing he remembered was a bright light appearing before him.
Location: Earthland (Outskirts of Magnolia City)
A dark grey painted across the skies of the city of Magnolia as rain poured down heavily. Suddenly, the clouds in the sky began to swirl, darkening the skies further than it already was. A few seconds later, a bright flash occurred as a group of people began to free fall down from the distortion.
"Ahhhh!"
They all landed on the ground with a loud thud, each of them experiencing the brunt of the fall before a blue Exceed that was at the bottom of the pile noticed his surroundings.
"We're back!" Happy cheered loudly as he flew up to the sky causing everyone to form a massive grin on their faces.
"Everything's back to normal as well!" Gray pointed out, as everyone turned to where he was facing and true to his words, right in front of them was the city of Magnolia, the city where their beloved guild, Fairy Tail stands proudly.
However, before they took a step forward to return back to their guild,
"Wait." Everyone turned back to face the owner of the voice.
"Before we celebrate, we need to make sure that everyone is safe and present." Erza said, and the group immediately began looking at each other to see who was missing…when,
"Hold on…where's Natsu?" Happy pointed out, causing everyone to stop what they were doing.
"The flame brain? He should be right here though." Gray said, looking back only to notice that his long-time friend was indeed missing.
Panic seemed to have filled the air as everyone began looking for him.
"Natsu, if this is one of your pranks again, it's not funny." Lucy shouted, anxiety filling her body when she couldn't find the pinkette.
"Gajeel, Wendy, can't either one of you sniff him out?" Erza quickly turned to the two Dragon Slayers.
"Don't you think we would've done that already? Salamander isn't here with us." Gajeel grunted while Wendy could only nod her head sadly.
The group decided to search around the forest, in hopes of finding their pink haired companion. However, their efforts proved to be fruitless as they came out emptyhanded.
Happy, Natsu's best friend slowly walked up to the edge of the cliff, tears freely falling from his face as he clenched his hands tightly.
"Natsu!" the Exceed cried out, only to be engulfed by the sound of a thunder clap.
Location: Unknown
Within the walls of a dark stone chamber and located in the middle was an altar. Surrounding it were dimly lit torches, which proved to be the only light source in the room.
Sitting atop the altar was a hooded man with white hair and similarly coloured beard spilled through the cloth as he remained unmoving in his seat.
"Ouranos, it would appear we have a problem." A voice echoed through the room.
Slowly emerging through the entranceway was someone wearing a black robe that completely covered their figure. In addition, the figure was also wearing a pair of black gloves with intricate designs. There were absolutely no telling whether or not the hooded figure was a male or female.
"A mysterious source of energy seemed to have appeared on the outskirts of Babel just a short while ago." The hooded figure said.
"Is it a monster?" the man atop the altar asked.
"I am not sure. I have never felt this before."
A deafening silence filled the room with only the only sounds present were of the flames dancing about.
"As long as we know that it is not a threat to Babel then it is fine. For now, make sure to keep a closer look around for any strange circumstances."
"As you will, Ouranos."
With Natsu
Location: Unknown
Much like what happened in Earthland, Natsu was shot out of the distortion before crashing into the ground. The rosette groaned as he looked up at the dark-grey skies above.
"Damn, that really hurts." Natsu cursed slightly when he got up, the injuries he sustained from Edolas were still fresh, but he managed to ignore the pain as he took a look at his surroundings.
'Where on Earthland am I?'
The place he was currently at was an endless forest, it was a sight to behold, almost like it came out of a painting. However, he didn't recognise it. If he were somewhere around Magnolia Forest he would've immediately recognised where he was, but since that wasn't the case, he was stuck in an unknown area.
The last thing he remembered was getting sucked back into the Anima with Erza and the others when a blast of magical energy suddenly sent him away from the group.
'Speaking of which, where are the others at?' The pinkette closed his eyes and tried to sniff them out, but it was to no avail, he couldn't find them anywhere.
'Does that mean I'm alone here?!' He sighed at his predicament. It was already bad enough that he didn't recognise where he was, but now he was also as well!
Heck, was he even in Earthland?
Fear instantly clouded Natsu's mind at the thought of being unable to use his magic. Though his fear was instantly quelled the moment he was able to engulf his hands with flames. [1]
Wherever he was, at the very least he still had access to his magic. They were two of the most precious things he had, with the first obviously being the scarf he received from his foster father, Igneel.
'Well, staying here isn't going to help me in the slightest.' With that, the Dragon Slayer began walking away, in hopes of finding a town that would help lead him back to Fairy Tail.
After all, he didn't want to make his friends worry about him, there would be serious consequences that would follow if that were to occur. Especially from Erza.
Shuddering in far at the thought of what his scarlet haired friend might do to him, the pinkette hastened his pace.
With his enhanced sense, Natsu was able to find a town without any problems whatsoever.
After managing to walk out of the dense forest, which led him to a straight path. The pinkette decided to carry on forward, not letting his injuries get the better of him.
After catching sight of a town, the Dragon Slayer hastened his pace towards it, and as he arrived at the entrance, he turned his attention to the sign beside the gates which read: Welcome to Melen!
'Melen? I've never heard of that town before.' He thought before shrugging it off. Perhaps that meant he was transported to a really far off location.
If only he knew…
After walking around the town for a bit, he finally found someone, an old man, walking along the streets. The pinkette walked over towards him and got his attention.
"Hey there old man could you tell me how I could get back to the Fairy Tail guild?" The old man looked confused at his question, but decided to answer regardless.
"I don't know about this 'Fairy Tail' you're talking about, but if you're looking for a guild, well there's one here, but I doubt that's the one you're looking for. Rather, I'd suggest going over to Orario."
The Dragon Slayer was about to ask how he didn't know about Fairy Tail, but decided against it.
"How do I get there?" the pinkette asked.
"All you need to do is head north-east from here and you should arrive in about an hour or so." Natsu nodded his head in understanding.
"Thanks a lot old man!" the Dragon Slayer walked off, waving at the old man who smiled back in response. Once the pinkette was out of sight, he sighed to himself.
'Youngsters these days really need to think more about their future instead of wasting every day of their lives in a dungeon filled with monsters.' He thought, recalling the tattered appearance of the pinkette before deciding to carry on with his day.
With Natsu
With the old man's directions at hand, the Dragon Slayer walked through the path, with beautiful flowerbeds covering both sides.
'I wonder how everyone is doing. Did they arrive in Magnolia safely?' As he trekked through the path, he couldn't help but think of his friends that were not with him.
Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he missed them all already. Happy, Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and even his two rivals, Gray and Gajeel. They were important people to him and he hoped he could see them again soon.
Shaking his head from such thoughts, Natsu decided that it would be best to concentrate on his journey, along the way he encountered some monsters though they were weak and not worth mentioning. And as the old man predicted, the Dragon Slayer was able to reach his destination within an hour. However, by then the sky was darkening, as if rain was ready to pour down heavily. Though the pinkette couldn't care less about it as he stared at the massive gates in front of him in awe.
After a while, the pinkette decided to walk up towards the giant gates in front of him.
The Labyrinth City of Orario,
The town of adventurers and gods with a tall white tower that stretched to the sky. It was known as the centre of the world, a place where people of all nations, all races and backgrounds, came to make a name for themselves.
The massive tower was known as Babel, a building built over the Dungeon as a barrier to prevent the monsters from escaping. Somewhere from the high above the tower of Babel, two lone figures stood from the wide transparent window as one sat in a crimson chair while the other stood beside her closely, as if acting as a bodyguard.
The one sitting was a woman with clear and had long, cascading silver hair and if anyone were to lay eyes on her, they would claim that she resembled an ethereal angel. Her piercing purple eyes stared right down to the city as if watching at a certain place…or a certain person.
Every day she would be seated in her luxurious suite, wishing for something…someone interesting to appear. Yet they never would.
However, today proved to be different. Her eyes managed to capture a rather interesting sight.
A bright orange soul, one that didn't seem to diminish in colour, one without any impurities surrounding it. She continued to stare at it, completely captivated by its beauty. It felt as if she were a moth being drawn to the flames of his soul.
A wicked smile formed on her lips, "How interesting…"
With Natsu
There were a large number of people walking around the streets and Natsu noted that most of them were all equipped with armours and weapons of all colours and variety. The pinkette couldn't help but wonder why that was the case, but remembered that there was a guild in the city.
'They must be headed out for their missions.' Natsu thought.
As he walked, the pinkette saw plenty of stalls were lined along, the merchants yelling at passer-by's to try out and buy their various wares.
Natsu ignored the hustle and bustle that was happening and carried on walking, the first and most important thing on his list was to find the guild, and hope they would be able to provide a method for him to return back home.
"Hey there kiddo!" one the merchants yelled out to Natsu, who looked around him and upon seeing there was nobody else who reacted to the man's call, turned back to him and pointed at himself in confusion to which the merchant laughed and nodded his head.
"Woah, did you get attacked by monsters while you were getting here?" the merchant asked after taking a good look at the rosette.
"Huh, I didn't get attacked, why?" Natsu tilted his head in confusion.
"Well, anyone would assume that would be the case after one look at you."
"Oh well, I was actually fighting an armoured, mechanical Dragon controlled by a crazy old man in a completely different universe!" Natsu said with a grin as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The merchant stared at him for a while before crumbling to full-blown laughter.
"What an imagination you've got there." He guffawed causing Natsu to glare at him.
"Oi! I'm not lying!"
"Sure, you aren't, boy. Though a word of advice, if you want people to treat you seriously you shouldn't mention any of that to them and just say you were attacked my monsters along the way." The Dragon Slayer looked unsure of it but just nodded his head in understanding.
"So, what is it?" he asked, causing the merchant to recall why he called him out.
"Well seeing as you're brand new around here I figured you need some help finding your way around this place."
The old man then proceeded to take out a roll of paper from a box on the ground under his stall before handing it over to a confused Natsu, "What is this?" the pinkette asked, getting a smile from the man.
"That's the most updated map here in Orario. Seeing as you're new around here, I figured that it'd be best to provide you with this so that you won't get lost around here and believe me when I say that it's a very common thing, especially in Daedalus Street." The Dragon Slayer didn't know what Daedalus Street was, but just assumed that it was located somewhere around Orario.
"Sure, I'll get a map." Natsu found no reason to refuse as he reached for his pocket, but upon finding nothing inside, he remembered that he left all his money back at home.
"…is what I would say if I had money with me." Though the old man laughed and waved it off, "Don't worry about it, with your figure alone I can already assume that you're aspiring to be an Adventurer. Just make sure to come back in the future and purchase some stuff then I consider your debt to be paid."
"An Adventurer? What's that?" He asked curiously causing the merchant to stop his laughter as he looked at the pinkette in confusion.
"You seriously don't know what Adventurers are?" He asked incredulously, wondering if the pinkette was playing a joke on him. Though one look at his face suggested he wasn't lying.
"Well, you see, I'm a mage from the Fairy Tail guild." Much like the old man from earlier, the merchant gave Natsu a confused look.
"I see…well Adventurers are people whom have been blessed with Falna by the Gods and Goddesses, and explore the Dungeon."
"The Dungeon? What's that?" Shaking his head in disbelief that the boy in front of him before deciding to explain it to him.
"The Dungeon is a place filled with fearsome monsters, can only be found here in Orario, it's practically the reason why plenty of people, regardless of races, come over here. I thought you were the same, but I guess not…" The man muttered the last sentence to himself, though with his enhanced senses, the Dragon Slayer was able to pick it up.
'Gods and Goddess's?' Natsu narrowed his eyes at the thought. He has heard about people who worships Gods back in Magnolia and that the cathedral in the city was built to allow those people to pray. However, he never realised there were more than one, and that people were blessed by them.
"Well whatever the case, I wish you luck kid. Also, don't forget to come back!" the merchant waved goodbye.
As he walked, the pinkette thought back to the confused look of the man after mentioning Fairy Tail, 'This is the second time someone doesn't know about Fairy Tail…just how far am I away from Magnolia anyways? Let's just hope the guild would be able to help me find a way back.' Natsu thought, and using the map he was provided, he was able to find the guild with relative ease.
"So this is the place?" Natsu stared at the massive building in complete nonchalance. Though who could blame him? The Fairy Tail guild was already much taller than it was. In addition, after being to Edolas and seeing the extraordinary size of the Royal City's castle. The guild in front of him was nothing in comparison to the other two.
Walking through the oak-wood doors, Natsu could see several people inside, talking to the people behind the counter who were all dressed in a uniform.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" Natsu turned back to face the owner of the voice.
The first thing which caught his eyes were her pointed ears. This was the first time he had ever seen someone like that before. She had shoulder length brown hair and emerald-coloured eyes. A pair of glasses is seen in her eyes which added a bit of a charm on her part. Though now wasn't the time for him to appreciate her beauty. Much like the people in the counter, she was wearing a uniform as well.
"Oh, you look hurt! Are you alright?" The brunette asked in a worried tone and Natsu waved it off.
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine." The Dragon Slayer reassured with a smile on his face.
"If you say so…" she says, unconvinced before she recomposed herself.
"So what can I help you with?" she asked again.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you knew a way for me to return back to Fairy Tail." Natsu asked in a hopeful tone. After the two encounters he had not knowing about the guild, he was hopeful that third times would be the charm.
Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case when a frown formed on her face.
"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard of that place before."
"We're known as the strongest guild in all of Fiore. You've got to know a way back!" Natsu asked rather loudly, desperation laced in his tone. The people around him turned to their direction, but he didn't care.
All he wanted was a way to return back to his friends.
However,
"I'm sorry, but I've neither heard of Fairy Tail nor Fiore before." She shook her head sadly and Natsu gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists tightly, his bangs covering his eyes.
Was he truly trapped in another world? Could he never return back to his home ever again? Would he never be able to see his friends ever again?
It was unfair. He hadn't even reached his goals and yet they were stripped away from him just like that.
The brunette, seeing the sadness in the boy's eyes, felt guilty at being unable to help him, "I'm sorry for being unable to help. Since you're already here, why not register to become an Adventurer? That way you'll be able to earn a steady income for yourself."
…
…
…
"I'll think about it…" Natsu responded after a while as he turned around and began walking out of the guild.
The girl frowned even more as she watched him trudged out the guild, though there wasn't anything she could've done. Lying would've made the situation worse, and it's not like she ever heard of such places before.
"Eina, what's wrong?" a pink haired girl asked after noticing her friend was merely standing in place, looking at the door.
"N-nothing." With that, the brunette returned back to work, but before that, she sent one last look at the door, hoping to find the pinkette, but he had long since disappeared into the crowd.
With Natsu
He began wandering around the town not knowing where he was going, but he didn't care. All he could think about was the fact that he couldn't see any of his friends again.
As predicted from the dark clouds above, rain began pouring down on the city. While everyone seemed to have cleared the streets to take cover, he simply kept on walking.
His hair and clothes were drenched because of the rain, yet he trudged on for a bit before coming across a large fountain in the central of the city. He proceeded to sit down, as he was left to his thoughts.
He wondered how the others were doing without him. Did they realise he was missing? Were they trying to find him? If so, how would they feel if they found out they would never be able to meet one another again?
Just the thought crushed his heart.
He clenched his fists tightly again, as he resisted the urge to cry, but because of his overwhelming emotion, he couldn't help but release a few tears. He looked up at the sky as the rain pelted his face, but he didn't mind it. In fact it was welcomed.
The last time he felt this depressed was when he first joined Fairy Tail. Back then, no one trusted his words about him being raised by a dragon. Heck, the only time he would interact with his guild mates was through arguments and fights, which would always be broken down by Erza.
It was only after Lisanna talked to him that he was able to talk with everyone in the guild after that. He had been eternally grateful to her for everything she had done for him.
That was when he realised something…
"Huh…?"
He looked forward to see that rain was still falling, but it wasn't falling on him anymore. The pitter patter of the tiny raindrops was being stopped by something above him.
"Um, you'll catch a cold if you stay under the rain for too long." An unfamiliar tone greeted him, as he looked up to see an umbrella held above him. He turned back and his eyes widened in shock.
'Lisanna?'
"Are you alright?" 'Lisanna' asked and after shaking his head, the image of a white haired girl was replaced by a girl with bluish-grey hair that was tied under a small knot in a ponytail style. In addition to her umbrella, she was wearing a black cloak over her body.
'I must be getting delusional if I confused her with someone else.' The pinkette shook his head in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just…thinking that's all." Natsu responded to the girl.
"In the rain? Don't you think it's a little unhealthy to do so?"
"I've never gotten sick before doing this. I'll be fine." Natsu tried to get her to leave him alone, but the girl remained.
"But, aren't you hurt." She asked, pointing at the bruises and dried blood that was covering his body.
"Yeah, I was in a battle…a few hours ago. But I'm fine now."
"Were you in the Dungeon?" she questioned but the pinkette shook his head.
"No, I was fighting a-" the Dragon Slayer recalled the words of the merchant he had met before and shut his mouth.
"…I was fighting some monsters on my over here."
"Oh, and where did you come from? Did you travel here from a far-away place?" she asked.
"…something like that."
"Well you must be feeling hungry then, how about coming with me to get some food? It'll be delicious, I promise you."
"Sorry but I don't have any money on me." He said, though the smile on her face hadn't dissipated at all.
"It's fine, just come with me, alright?" she said tugging at his sleeve, and he allowed her to pull him along with her. He didn't know where she was taking him, but he was too upset to even care.
"So what's your name?" The girl asked as she continued dragging him through the rainy street.
"…My name is Natsu."
"Natsu? As in summer?" she questioned getting a nod from the pinkette.
"That's nice. My name is Syr. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a beaming smile though, it was lost in the Dragon Slayer's eyes who was too busy being preoccupied by his thoughts.
The girl eventually led him to a pub, and upon entering inside, he realised that the shop was either doing poorly, or was closed, and he was inclined to lean towards the latter based on how the seats were all placed on the table.
"Do you want me to get you a towel to dry up?"
"No, I'll be fine." Natsu refused.
"You don't need to pay for it, if that's what you're worried about." The pinkette shook his head and took a step back away from the girl.
With that, Natsu immediately engulfed his entire body with flames, catching the girl off guard, and after a short while, the flames dispersed, and the Dragon Slayer was completely dry, "Told you." He said with a small smirk.
"Woah, that was incredible. How'd you do that?" The girl asked as she looked at him in awe.
"It's my… magic." Natsu responded, unsure if there was such a thing in this unknown world he was in.
"It must be nice to be able to use magic like that, it'd be really convenient." She said with a smile.
"Nya, who is this?" Natsu turned to face the owner of the voice and his eyes widened in shock at what he was seeing.
In front of him was a girl with green eyes and black hair, and she was wearing a green maid uniform, with a white frilled head band. Though that wasn't the thing he was surprised about. Rather, it was the cat ears which were on her head and the tail swinging about from behind her.
'Am I dreaming?' the pinkette thought to himself.
"Ah, Chloe, he's a newcomer to Orario, so I brought him over to the pub for a meal."
"Why am I not surprised, nya?" the girl immediately walked off, not before taking one good look at the boy and she couldn't help but lick her lips at what she was seeing.
He had a rather nice physique, with his muscles not being too big, nor too small. While his pink hair may not the manliest of colours for a boy but she could hardly care less.
She was about to sneak up behind and take a good look at his behind when she felt someone land a solid punch on her head, causing her to scream in pain.
She sent a glare at the person responsible for it, which was a girl with brown hair which just reached her shoulders, and just like her, was wearing the same green maid uniform and white frilled head band.
"Mama Mia needs you for something, let's go." The brunette said, pulling on the scruff of Chloe's neck, causing the girl to flail about, but was still unable to break free from the girl's hold.
Natsu couldn't help but sweat drop at the scene happening in front of him before turning to Syr, "Does this always happen?"
"Yup!" she said brightly before turning back.
"Well just hold on tight here, I'll be right back." She disappeared into the back before the Dragon Slayer could even utter a word.
He sighed before looking around at the place. He was impressed with the massive size of the restaurant and wondered just how popular the place was.
"Mama Mia, please cook him one of your signature meals!" a pleading voice, which he recognised to be Syr's, begged.
"You seriously need to stop loitering around the streets searching for people like this, Syr." A rough, feminine tone sighed in response to the girl's request.
"It's not like Syr to ask for a free meal like that, nya." A feminine tone added in surprise, with a strange tick at the end.
"If anything, she's usually the one who brings in more people." Another female, whom he recognised to be the brunette from before, said in surprise.
The Dragon Slayer decided to not pay attention to their conversation and just take a seat at the counter.
He couldn't help but wonder why he allowed the girl to drag him like she did. Was it because she resembled Lisanna a bit? He was unsure, but he was grateful that she took it out of her day to help him, and to give him a free meal to boot.
The Dragon Slayer felt someone staring at him which caused him to look up, and that was where he saw a female with sky blue eyes and green hair. Her skin was white as snow, her face which held no facial expression as she looked at him, and most importantly of all, she had pointed ears much like the brunette he met at the guild earlier. She was wearing the same green maid outfit like the girl he met before.
"Uh, hey there." Natsu greeted, only for the girl to walk off without responding to him.
'Well that was weird.'
A sudden thump right in front of him broke the boy out of his train of thoughts as he looked up to see a large woman wearing a blue waitress uniform, much different from the other waitresses. She had brown eyes and a long brown hair tied around the back of her head. She also had a rather muscular body for someone working in such an establishment.
"You better come back and eat plenty in the future." She said with a smile on her face before disappearing back into the kitchen. The pinkette blinked, wondering what had just happened before staring at the bowl of stew in front of him and the aroma wafting through the air caused his stomach to growl loudly.
"Why don't you dig in?" He turned to the side and saw Syr flashing a smile at him.
"I'm sorry that you had to beg this food for me." Natsu apologised as the girl stared at him.
"You were listening in on us?" she asked with a frown on her face.
"Uhh, I have enhanced senses, so I didn't do it intentionally." Natsu defended himself before the girl giggled.
"I was just teasing you, Natsu." Natsu stared at her in shock before there was a slight lift in the Dragon Slayer's mouth.
"That wasn't very nice." He said.
"Well, I'm sorry about that." She said in a tone that said she wasn't at all before turning her attention to the stew in front of him.
"Well, why don't you give it a taste?" his stomach growled once again, as if agreeing with the girl. This caused Natsu to blush in embarrassment while Syr giggled.
The rosette brought the spoon close to his mouth, before taking a bite out of the stew. Thousands of flavours erupted in his mouth as he gulped it down.
"So, how is it?" Syr asked curiously.
"It's delicious." Natsu responded with a smile. It had been quite a while since he last had anything to eat as well, so it was refreshing to be able to taste some delicious food while he had the chance.
"I'm glad to hear that."
The girl immediately engaged a conversation with the boy, and while he didn't want to at first, he grew into it.
While they were talking, he noticed a few people's presence nearby, and turned his head slightly where he saw four girls watching them from the small hole of the door, some of them were even talking about how the two knew each other, but he decided to ignore them.
"With how delicious the food is, I'm sure this place is usually packed every day, right?" Natsu asked and Syr nodded her head, before turning her head to the side as she stared at the pub with a gentle look etched on her face.
"You know, we set up this pub intended for Adventurers, to give them a place where they can mingle with friends and to enjoy good food." Syr started as the pinkette listened to her.
"Through this place, we get to meet all sorts of people with different background and whenever I get that chance, it always warms my heart. I guess you could call it a hobby of mine."
"That's a pretty nice hobby." The rosette said. It was definitely safer compared to his hobby, which was of course fighting.
"That's why I'm curious about you, Natsu." Syr said as she turned back to face him.
"I want to know more about you, Natsu. So could you tell me more about yourself?" The rosette processed her words and unconsciously clenched his fists tightly.
"You probably wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Natsu said, breaking eye contact from her when he suddenly felt someone place their hand atop of his. He turned back to face the girl who flashed a smile at him.
"I promise you that I'll believe you no matter what you tell me." Looking straight into her eyes which held no hints of lying within them, the Dragon Slayer sighed and gave in to the girl's request.
With that, Natsu began telling the girl all the events which had transpired which led him to where he was now. As he told his story, the girl listened intently without interrupting him at all.
The same could be said about the four behind the door, though they couldn't hear everything as they were quickly scolded by Mia who told them to return back to their respective duties.
"…that was when a sudden burst of energy sent me away from my friends and the next thing I realised, I was in the middle of a forest." Natsu ended with a sigh as he faced the girl, wondering what her reaction to his story would be like.
Surprisingly all she did was smile, "It's definitely a surprise to hear about all this, but…" Syr looked straight into his black orbs with her own grey ones.
"If you really meant what you said then…I believe you."
Natsu's eyes widened in surprise when he heard those words from her. A smile managed to find its way to his face as he chuckled.
Who would have expected that this girl would be the one who helped snap him out of his bad mood?
"Thanks, Syr."
"It was no big deal." The Dragon Slayer shook his head.
"I mean for helping me out just now. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be still stuck there caught under the rain."
"Well, I guess you need to thank me for watching out for your health, huh?" she teased and Natsu chuckled in response.
"So, what do you plan on doing now?" she suddenly asked as Natsu's eyebrows furrowed.
"I probably need to find a way back home, but before that I need to find some way to earn money in the meantime."
"Well I don't know how to help you return back to your home, but as for your other problem…why not try being an Adventurer in the meantime?" she suggested as Natsu turned to her in confusion.
Seeing this, she smiled, "Well, Adventurers are always busy battling monsters in the Dungeon each day, and they can earn plenty of money too. So, why not use some of that money on the pub, especially since we gave you a free meal." Natsu's eyes widened at her words before a smirk formed on his face.
"Well, aren't you sneaky?"
"I have no clue what you mean." She said with a smile on her face.
The two shared a small laugh with each other when the girl continued with what she said earlier.
"But in all honesty, I think you'll be able to become a great Adventurer, Natsu."
"Why do you think so?" the girl placed a finger on her lips and winked.
"Girls' intuition." Natsu groaned as he shook his head. He hated it whenever girls used that line on him.
"Oh, looks like the rain's stopped." She pointed out and Natsu looked out and true to her words, the rain had indeed stopped.
"Guess that's my cue to leave." The rosette said, getting up from his seat.
"So, will you be coming again soon?" she asked, and the pinkette noticed the hopeful look on her face.
"Yeah, I promise, and I never go back on my word." Natsu said, placing a fist on his chest and his answer seemed to have satisfied the girl who beamed brightly.
"Then I guess I'll see you again soon, Natsu."
"Guess we will, see you next time Syr!" With a wave, the pinkette walked out of the pub all the while Syr stared at his retreating figure. She was glad that was able to make him happy again. After seeing the downcast look on his face when she first saw him that afternoon, she felt the urgency to do something about it.
'I can't wait till then, Natsu!' She thought to herself with a smile, and later that night people noticed that Syr served the customers with a more radiant glow.
Meanwhile, the pinkette was currently wandering through the city with no destination in mind. The scenario was exactly the same as it was in the afternoon, but this time there was a clear difference.
This time he had a plan in mind.
Syr's words of encouragement rang in his head as he stopped and stared at the moon shining brightly across the night sky. The rosette raised his hand, his palm pointed towards the sky before grasping it tightly.
'I'll become an Adventurer and find a way back home!' Natsu thought to himself, his eyes glimmering with determination as a smirk formed on his face.
He was always looking for ways to get stronger, and hearing that there was a place filled with strong monsters to battle each day caused the Dragon Slayer to tremble in excitement, so much so he unconsciously engulfed his hands with flames.
'I'm all fired up!'
End Chapter
[1] = Mages in Earthland replenish their magic with the help of Ethernano. However, becausethere is no such thing in Orario. Natsu's magic and energy is being replenished by the X-Balls that Lucy gave him. This allows Natsu to use his magic without fear of running out, especially because it was not mentioned that the effects would run out or not, but seeing as everyone used their magic to the max and were still able to keep on using it, I'm assuming the effects won't run out.
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