Everyone's expressions varied at August's sudden appearance.
A hint of nostalgia appeared on Ultear and Erza's faces.
August had not changed much since they first met him. His face was still just as kind and gentle.
Kurnugi and Laxus, however, immediately stood ready.
What August had used just now was not some defensive barrier technique.
He had purely formed a protective shield using his own Chaos Magic Power, which was more than enough to show how deep his Magic Power was.
Mira, Kagura, Lucy, and the others curiously studied the Magic King Raizel had spoken of, the master of vast Magic Power.
Just from seeing August easily block the attacks of both Natsu and Ajeel, and from the way Ajeel did not dare talk back to him, they could already tell he was extraordinary.
"You're strong! Fight me! I'm all fired up!"
—By Natsu, who had raised his right arm, was patting his biceps with his left hand, and had fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed, Natsu?!"
Gray and Gajeel hurriedly grabbed one of Natsu's arms each, while Lucy covered Natsu's mouth with her hand in case he started running his mouth again and said something disrespectful.
However, they were overthinking it.
August would not get angry at Natsu.
"So he is Natsu Dragneel?"
August's eyes carried a smile as he looked at Raizel and asked softly.
Raizel nodded slightly.
"That's right."
August did not say anything like, "So this is my uncle." He only gave a gentle nod.
"Long time no see, August."
August lightly stroked his beard with his right hand and answered with a smile,
"Indeed. Since I returned to the Alvarez Empire, this is our first time meeting."
That was what he said, but the two of them had still often contacted each other through Super Archive Magic.
August would ask about Mavis's recent condition, while Raizel would often ask him for information.
Only ordinary information, of course. August did not provide anything classified, and naturally, Raizel had never asked for that either.
After all, August had contributed to building such a vast Alvarez Empire.
Even if Zeref had not recognized him, he had still given August authority second only to his own.
August would not go so far as to rebel against the empire he had helped create.
Everyone watched Raizel and August casually begin chatting and exchanged glances.
Even though Raizel had previously told them that if they met August and saw his guild mark, they only needed to treat him politely, watching the two of them laugh and talk like this still felt strange.
The two continents were clearly on the verge of war, yet high-ranking figures from both sides were standing here catching up like old friends.
"As for His Majesty's decision, I will try speaking with him again. If you still intend to negotiate with him, you can stay for now at a manor in the eastern outskirts of the capital. It can be considered one of my residences."
"You already spoke with him, didn't you?"
A faint helplessness appeared on August's face, and his tone inevitably grew a little heavier.
"To be accurate, we argued. It simply had no effect."
The current August did not merely wish to avoid seeing Mavis and Zeref stand on opposite sides.
More importantly, he did not want to see the two continents take up arms against each other and create rivers of blood.
After following Zeref's footsteps alone across both continents, and after traveling with Mavis, August had gained some new perspectives.
The eastern and western continents of the present still had small conflicts and friction in certain places, but overall, they were peaceful.
People lived and worked in contentment, their faces filled with happy smiles.
And war...would destroy all of that.
That was the fundamental reason he did not agree with Zeref starting a war.
Thinking of his conversation with Zeref a few days ago, August sighed.
"Humanity must be destroyed once, August."
"Your Majesty, the humans of today are living perfectly well. You are also only human, not a god. Human life does not require your interference, and you have no right to interfere."
Both sides had stood firm in their own views. In the end, it could not exactly be called parting on bad terms, but the atmosphere had not been pleasant either.
In the end, it was August who comforted Raizel.
"However, there is no need to worry too much. At least Irene left with you and will not participate on either side. That is good news."
Raizel was somewhat surprised.
"So you were paying attention to the situation in the hall after all?"
Earlier, when Raizel saw that August had not appeared and had not sensed any distant Magic Power observing them, he had thought August was not in the capital for the time being.
August nodded.
"Of course. In fact, I already knew before you took Irene away. I simply did not interfere. Or rather, I believed that having you take her away would lead to a better result."
"So you already knew back then?"
"I knew long ago. At the time, imperial soldiers reported it to me."
Although August's life had also had its share of hardships, overall, it could be considered fairly good.
His own talent was excellent, and his current status could be called one man beneath the emperor and above all others.
Later, he had also reunited with his mother, Mavis.
August himself was the type who, after being caught in the rain, would want to hold an umbrella for others.
So while saying it this way might not sound particularly pleasant, he did sympathize with Irene.
He had even specifically looked up information on Irene's side effects and copied all sorts of Magic in an attempt to help treat her.
Unfortunately, he had not found a solution in the end. After all, although he was powerful, he was not omniscient or omnipotent.
"So the torment Irene suffered from the power of dragons has already been resolved?"
"That's right. We solved the issue through the Law Dragon Slayer Magic of Elefseria, the Dragon Slayer Mage master from the northern continent."
At the same time, Raizel also gave August an introduction to Elefseria's Law Dragon Slayer Magic.
"Wonderful. Truly wonderful."
August first spoke with some emotion, then nodded slightly.
"So that is how it is. I never expected the northern continent to have such Dragon Slayer Magic, or a Dragon Slayer Mage of such strength. That does pique my interest. I wonder whether I will have the chance to meet him in the future."
In his early years, August had been busy with the expansion of the Alvarez Empire.
In his later years, he had been busy following His Majesty's footsteps. In recent years, he had been busy caring for his mother, Mavis.
He simply had not had time to explore the northern continent.
Besides, records of the northern continent were extremely scarce in both Ishgar and the western continent.
Most of them still remained at the level of several hundred years ago, and to exaggerate a little, they described it as a land of savagery and blood.
Of course, that was an exaggeration.
Considering that dragons had once run rampant across the northern continent, its military skills had been forced to develop to a high level.
In reality, the northern continent's military development might even be slightly stronger than Ishgar's.
"There will be."
As Raizel said this, he paused, then spoke in an even firmer tone.
"No, I should say there definitely will be."
August looked especially old now, but due to his special Chaos Magic Power and his enormous Magic reserves, he might even live longer than Warrod.
As long as Zeref and Mavis's matter was resolved, August could take Mavis and travel the northern continent whenever he wanted.
Hearing this, August laughed heartily.
"I will take that as a blessing. In that case, I now have one more reason to work hard."
"I will send you to the eastern manor first. As for me, I need to go meet His Majesty... I imagine the matter of us meeting, or at least speaking, has already reached His Majesty's ears."