Coming to this Giltina continent was truly the right choice.
The Fire Dragon God is the son of the Fire Dragon King. When they heard this news, everyone's expressions varied; Natsu was even more shocked, as if he had been struck by Laxus's lightning.
Only Hope laughed out loud lightheartedly.
The Zero Emperor of Galuna Island, the Dark Guilds 'Grimoire Heart' and 'Tartaros,' the demons of the book of zeref, the Black Wizard himself... all the enemies and forces encountered last year can be said to have countless ties with Fairy Tail.
Now, arriving in Giltina, who would have thought that the Fire Dragon God, one of the villains of this continent, would actually turn out to be related to a member of Fairy Tail.
Only those unlucky fellows of the Oración Seis accidentally stumbled into the wrong territory and ended up turning themselves into a dish.
Oh right, if the Oración Seis hadn't coveted 'Nirvana,' Wendy wouldn't have joined later. Looking at it this way, there is a bit of karma between them and Fairy Tail.
But then again, Ignia was at least raised by the Fire Dragon King until he had some ability to protect himself before leaving. Moreover, the war between humans and dragons hadn't broken out yet, so having the Fire Dragon King's name as protection meant at least his life wasn't in danger.
On the other hand, Kurnugi's so-called 'training' was actually 'wandering,' and in the end, he was almost eaten. He also had a biological mother who ignored him for decades... it was simply the definition of tragic.
In comparison, the Fire Dragon King was actually quite good.
Perhaps the shock was too much to take all at once, but Natsu actually calmed down quickly. Hope looked at him with curiosity and teased, "Knowing Igneel was like that too, how do you feel now?"
Natsu's face immediately flushed red, and he argued, "Raising a child by letting them roam free isn't being a deadbeat... all dragons do that. Can you really call it irresponsible?"
Then came a string of hard-to-understand words, like "Igneel isn't that kind of dragon" and "He was very good to me," which made everyone burst into laughter.
The surroundings were filled with a joyful atmosphere.
"Natsu, I suddenly remembered that your idols, Igneel and Gildarts, are both fathers who didn't fulfill their full responsibilities."
"You won't become like that in the future, will you? Running away after sleeping with a woman or something."
In Natsu's impression, the Fire Dragon King Igneel had always been a powerful and gentle, perfect figure. Now that he suddenly discovered his dragon dad wasn't perfect either, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
However, he wouldn't be Natsu if he wasn't thick-skinned. Hearing his companions' teasing, he immediately returned to his usual active self. "I won't be a deadbeat!"
Natsu subconsciously looked at the blonde girl beside him. "I'll definitely be a good father! Right, Lucy?"
"Eh? Why are you bringing me into this..."
Lucy was stunned, but she suddenly remembered that in the parallel world, it seemed her and Natsu's counterparts were dating.
Could it be... Lucy was a bit flustered. Her mind, which had read many romance novels, uncontrollably constructed a plot of an adolescent girl falling in love with a hot-blooded idiot boy.
Seeing Lucy's expression, Happy, who seemed to see through everything, curled his tongue after a long time and made a mischievous trilling sound: "They're in looooove~"
With the intention of joining the fun, Hope wanted to go up and stir the pot further, but he was blocked by a serious-looking Erza. "Hope, you will be a responsible father, right?"
"Of course." Hope nodded and asked naturally in a joking tone, "Why? Does Erza want to be a mother?"
"N-No way!" Erza felt her face heating up.
Cana forcefully cut into the conversation. "Hmph, we're still young and beautiful girls. Who would want to have your children!"
"Then never mind."
Hope's casual tone made Mirajane reveal a sly smile, finding an opportunity. "Erza, Cana, you both heard that, right? Hope isn't willing to have children with us."
The sly, white-haired girl's few words made Hope break into a cold sweat. He quickly explained, "I just think everyone is still young."
Mirajane continued to stir the pot, "Oh, I see. You're complaining that our figures aren't 'big' enough."
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?" Erza's gaze was unfriendly.
Hope wiped away non-existent sweat. "Having children or whatever, shouldn't that be considered after marriage?"
Cana smiled slightly. "Then when do you plan to hold a wedding with us? A separate ceremony for each person, or all three together? And who will be in charge of the household then?"
Oh no! So this is what they were waiting for.
Seeing the successful smiles of the three, Hope wailed in his heart. How could he not understand that this was a life-threatening question they had teamed up to pose?
As the saying goes, Mira's clever scheme led Hope straight to the guillotine.
——
——
After some excitement, the group continued their journey.
After most of the day, they finally arrived at their destination, a beautiful and peaceful port city, Ermina.
Also being a coastal town that lived off the sea, Ermina's layout was similar to Hargeon's, making Lucy feel a bit nostalgic as she thought of her first meeting with Natsu and Happy.
Erza looked at the Sky dyed red by the setting sun. "Let's find an inn to stay in first. We'll talk about finding clues for the Water God Dragon tomorrow. Everyone, get some good rest tonight."
Naturally, no one had any objections.
While everyone was looking for accommodation, in an undersea palace hidden deep beneath the sea, a man and a woman were watching them through a water magic mirror.
The female Mage named Karamiru pushed up her glasses and respectfully said to the man in front of her, who had a pair of horns on his head and tattoos on his face, "Four Dragon Slayer Mages. They must be helpers found by that old man Elefseria again."
"Looking at the guild emblems on them, they seem to be Mages from the East Continent, Ishgar, Water God Dragon-sama."
"Do we need to step in and teach them a lesson?"
That's right, this indifferent-looking man was none other than the Water God Dragon, Melkobia. Since even a youngster like Kurnugi could take on a human form, he, as one of the Five Dragon Gods, naturally could as well.
Ermina was the Water God Dragon's territory, and special surveillance magic had been set up; every move here was under the gaze of the Water God Dragon's forces.
Facing his female attendant's inquiry, Melkobia didn't listen at all.
His gaze passed through the magic mirror, skipping over the unfamiliar outsiders one by one, pausing slightly on Hope, and finally landing on Lucy—or rather, on one of her celestial spirit keys.
His indifferent face finally showed an expression.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Melkobia's mouth.
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