The year was 784, and at Hargeon Port, the salty tang of seawater hung in the air. Roger stepped out of a cozy restaurant, the aroma of food still lingering, a satisfied look on his face.
"Not bad. The flavor's twice as good as last time. I just gave the owner a few pointers, and they improved this much. Gotta come back more often."
"Look, look! That's the Fire Dragon's ship!" Excited squeals from a group of nearby girls broke his thoughts.
Roger shook his head with a wry smile. Another "Fire Dragon" scam.
In this world, information spread slowly, relying on newspapers, magazines, and rumors. This made it easy for impostors to pop up left and right. Most people had only heard the title "Fire Dragon" but never seen the real deal, giving con artists plenty of room to exploit.
"The ship! The ship's on fire!!" A panicked scream suddenly cut through the port's bustle.
Roger looked up. Out on the water, a luxurious cruise ship was engulfed in towering flames! Crimson fire licked at the hull, painting the dim sky like a scene from the underworld.
"Natsu's flames?" Roger's brow furrowed. "That kid—did he hear 'Fire Dragon' and come running again? Don't tell me he thinks he's found Igneel."
He sighed. While Natsu wasn't as obsessed with searching the world for Igneel as he was in the "original story," he still couldn't resist chasing down any lead about a "Fire Dragon."
And the results? Ten out of ten times, it was a scam. The worst was when some con artist dyed a stray dog red, called it "Fire Dragon," and paraded it around a village.
Roger thought for a moment, then unfurled two pairs of radiant white magical wings behind him with a whoosh.
"Better check it out, just to be safe."
He muttered, "Last time, the guild master complained to me for half an hour about rebuilding costs, apology letters, and compensation fees. With Natsu's destructive power now, if he wrecks the whole port, the master's few remaining hairs will probably fall out from stress."
With a flap of his wings, he soared toward the burning ship.
Above the ship, Happy was struggling to hold onto a blonde girl's clothes, keeping her suspended in midair.
The girl, jaw practically on the floor, stared at the terrifying flames that covered half the ship. "Natsu—Natsu's a Fairy Tail wizard?! And he's that strong?!"
"Why didn't you guys tell me?!" she groaned, slapping her forehead. She felt like an absolute fool for lecturing those two about wizard basics back at the diner.
"You didn't ask, Lucy!" Happy grinned, mimicking her tone from before in a teasing, high-pitched voice:
"'If you don't work in a guild, you can't be considered a proper wizard~!'"
"'Sorry for rambling on, you guys probably don't know much about the wizard world, right? :3'"
"Argh! Stop it! Don't remind me!" Lucy's face burned red as she covered her ears and shook her head, wishing she could crawl into a hole. Those two must've thought I was such an idiot! I'm never judging people by their looks or eating habits again!
At that moment—BOOM!
A crimson figure shot up from the sea like a cannonball, trailing a cloud of steaming mist!
Behind him stretched two massive wings of fire, and he hovered silently in the air.
"What's that?!" Lucy's eyes nearly popped out. "Natsu's got—wings?!"
"Nya!" Happy instinctively raised a paw but nearly dropped Lucy, quickly grabbing her clothes again. "Since Natsu gets motion sickness on any vehicle, he learned a trick to control his magic. He can focus his flames on his back to form wing-like things and fly."
"But it uses a ton of magic power and takes a lot of focus, so he only does it in critical moments," Happy added.
Lucy nodded in realization. "That's why he jumped into the water right after attacking and then flew up from there."
"But—wow, that's amazing!" She stared at the fiery figure in the sky, like a god of flames. "Is this what a real Fairy Tail wizard is like?"
She wiped the sweat from her brow, baked by the heatwave. "It's so hot! Feels like I'm next to an oven—wait!" Her eyes widened as she noticed the ship below, now a battered, burning wreck sinking fast. "Did Natsu go too far?! The ship's sinking! There are still unconscious girls inside!!"
Frantically, she reached for her waist—only to find nothing.
"Oh no! My keys! That fake Fire Dragon threw them into the sea!!" She clutched her head in despair.
"We're done for! What do we do?!"
Happy, unfazed, just shrugged. "Nya~ Don't worry, Natsu's got this."
Above the ship, Natsu stared at the sinking, hole-riddled hull, panicking like an ant on a hot pan.
What do I do? What do I do?!
If he kept using magic, the ship would sink even faster!
Scratching his head furiously, he racked his brain for solutions. Suddenly, a lightbulb dinged in his mind!
"I've got it! I'll form a giant hand of flames, grab the ship, and toss it onto the port!!"
"Then I'll zoom over at top speed, catch it, and let it land gently! Perfect!!"
The more he thought about it, the more brilliant it seemed. His hands ignited, and a massive flaming palm began to take shape—when a voice cut through the air.
"Natsu."
He froze! The flames on his hands puffed out, his body went rigid, and cold sweat drenched his back. "Y-Yes! I'm here!!" he stammered.
Roger slowly descended beside him, his gaze sweeping over the crumbling ship below. "From what you just said, you're planning to toss the ship onto the port. What about the aftermath of those flames?"
"Uh—well—" Natsu's eyes darted nervously, his voice shrinking. "Would… would there be an aftermath?"
Roger sighed. "When you took out that bandit group a while back, you destroyed twelve houses. If you wreck the entire port this time, the master's last few hairs will probably fall out from the stress."
He raised a hand, and a deep purple magic circle instantly formed beneath the sinking ship.
Humm!
The massive vessel seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, rising steadily from the water and floating smoothly toward the port's dock.
Behind them, Lucy stared, dumbfounded. "That's… your 'he's got this'?"
Happy blinked innocently. "Nya! I just said he had a plan, not that it wouldn't cause… other problems."
Lucy facepalmed with a long sigh, but her gaze was drawn to the black-haired figure manipulating the magic in the air.
He looked oddly familiar. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a crumpled copy of Sorcerer Weekly, flipping frantically to the cover feature—
"AHHH!!!" A thrilled, voice-cracking scream tore through the sky. "It's Roger, number one on the 'Most Wanted Boyfriend' list!!"
"Famous for his powerful illusion magic, known as the Dream Demon King! He—He's standing right in front of me!!"
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