A few days had passed since Natsu started hatching the egg, and the guild had grown noticeably quieter without his constant noise.
That day, Macao and Wakaba were sitting together, drinking and chatting.
"I heard Natsu and Lisanna are hatching a dragon egg."
"Dragon egg? There's no such thing, is there?"
"But Natsu said he was raised by a dragon."
"Come on, how is that possible?"
"Still, it's pretty amazing, right? Natsu and the others even built a secret base where they're playing at hatching this egg."
"It's good to be young."
"Yeah, he's a passionate kid."
The two chuckled as they spoke, their tone full of fondness. But the person standing behind them was far from pleased. Her teeth ground together, veins bulged on her forehead, and her expression grew darker by the second.
With a scowl, Mirajane suddenly slammed her fist onto the table in front of Macao and Wakaba, splitting it clean in half. Cups, plates, and food flew everywhere, startling everyone nearby.
"Ahh!"
"What's gotten into you, Mirajane?!"
"She's still the same as ever so dangerous."
Mirajane stood trembling, fists clenched, eyes closed and head lowered. Then her voice shook as she muttered,
"I just want to know why Lisanna hasn't come home lately. She's always with Natsu?"
Suddenly, she snapped her head up and shouted at the top of her lungs,
"You've gotten so close to Erza's group! Are you still my sister, Lisanna?!"
The guild members around her could only look on helplessly as Mirajane yelled.
"What is she even saying? This has nothing to do with us."
"Yeah, what's that about 'Erza's group'?"
Meanwhile, outside the guild, far away on a meadow at the foot of the mountain, a small hut made of straw stood quietly. This was the secret base Macao and Wakaba had been talking about, built by Natsu and Lisanna.
Inside the hut, Natsu and Lisanna sat side by side, watching the device placed in the middle. Inside it, the egg floated gently in the nutrient solution.
"Gyuu "
"Natsu, did you hear that? Was that a sound just now?"
Lisanna pressed her ear against the device, listening carefully as she asked.
"Sorry."
She suddenly realized the noise wasn't from the egg at all it was Natsu's stomach growling. Lisanna sighed, exasperated.
"By the way, Natsu… do you live alone here?"
"Yeah."
"Then… how do we eat?"
"At the guild."
"Don't we have to pay?"
"So I have to go to work."
"I feel so pathetic…"
"Yeah?"
"Next time, I'll cook for you, okay? I'll make something delicious."
"You can cook?!"
Lisanna said with a bright smile, while Natsu stared at her in shock.
"Though I'm not as good as Sister Mira."
"Wait!! Mira can cook?! No way!!"
Natsu thought of Mirajane's usual wild, gangster-like image. In his mind, she picked up a kitchen knife, but instead of preparing food, she looked like she was ready to chop someone down. He just couldn't imagine her cooking.
"Brother Elfman can cook too."
"That… actually makes sense!!"
Natsu pictured Elfman in chef's clothes, calm and serious, standing over a stove. Somehow, it suited him perfectly.
Suddenly, Natsu's eyes widened. He clutched the incubator to his chest, shielding it like treasure, and shouted with panic,
"I won't give you this egg! It's going to hatch into a dragon! Maybe even Igneel's baby!"
"Do you seriously think I'd try to cook with it?"
Lisanna sighed helplessly, her shoulders slumping.
"I'm looking forward to it hatching too! That's why I came to help you in the first place."
Natsu's expression softened. He hugged the incubator tightly, rubbing his cheek against it with joy.
"Come on, hatch soon."
Lisanna couldn't help but smile as she watched him. But then her eyes widened. She noticed the indicator light on the device had changed from green to orange.
She quickly pointed at it and shouted,
"Natsu, look! The light turned orange! Doesn't that mean we need to find Noah?"
Natsu glanced down and saw it too. In an instant, he grabbed the incubator and bolted outside. Lisanna ran after him.
"Wait for me!"
The two raced all the way to Noah's house. Natsu barged through the door and shouted at the top of his lungs,
"Noah! The light turned orange!"
"I heard you."
Noah stepped out of his laboratory, having set aside the experiment he was working on. After confirming everything was secure, he walked into the living room and found Natsu sitting there, fidgeting with impatience.
The moment Noah appeared, Natsu rushed forward, holding out the incubator.
"The light turned orange! Is something wrong?"
Noah took the device from him, examined it carefully, and replied with calm certainty,
"Of course there's a problem."
Natsu was shocked, and then Noah continued,
"This light changes color to show that the egg is about to hatch."
Natsu froze for a moment, as if he hadn't heard it clearly.
"It's about to hatch?"
"Of course. I designed the light specifically to warn you when hatching is near. Otherwise, if the egg hatched inside the device without you noticing, it could cause problems."
Natsu didn't hear a word of Noah's explanation beyond one thing he had said the egg was about to hatch.
Overjoyed, Natsu leapt around Noah's living room, shouting,
"It's going to hatch! The egg's going to hatch!"
Lisanna clapped her hands and said happily,
"Congratulations, Natsu!"
Just then, the egg Noah had taken out of the device gave a faint crackling sound. The three of them turned their eyes toward it at the same time.
"There's a sound!" Natsu exclaimed with sparkling eyes.
"Mm."
Noah nodded calmly.
"My guess is it will hatch within a day."
"Then I'll stay with it tonight."
Natsu's face hardened with determination. Noah smiled slightly and said,
"The egg has absorbed enough nutrients. Now all we need to do is wait for it to hatch naturally."
Noah carefully handed the egg back to him. Natsu held it with both hands as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
"Then I'll head back now," Natsu said.
"Be careful," Noah replied.
"Yeah, I understand."
"Goodbye, Noah!"
"Goodbye."
Noah watched the two of them leave together. After checking the time, he teleported to Roubaul's place.
When he arrived, he found Wendy sitting quietly on a chair, her eyes fixed on the incubation device on the table.
As soon as she noticed Noah, Wendy jumped up and ran to him.
"Brother Noah, when will the egg hatch?"
Noah walked over to the table, with Wendy following right behind. He lifted the incubator, examined the egg carefully, then said,
"It will probably take another two or three days. Not just yet."
"You'll see it hatch in two or three days."
Wendy's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the egg in the incubator, her face glowing with anticipation.
...
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