Chapter 49: You Sure Can Talk!
Ren looked in the direction of the sound. His eyes widened, and an amused grin spread across his face.
'Well, I'll be,' he thought, his stomach's rumbling momentarily forgotten. 'Talk about timing.'
He saw a familiar, blonde-haired girl in the center of the fawning crowd. A familiar figure with cherry-blossom colored hair was indeed pushing his way through the dense crowd, surfacing directly in front of the girl. It was Natsu, accompanied by his small blue cat, Happy.
It was Natsu, accompanied by his small blue cat, Happy.
Natsu, upon seeing that the purple-haired, garishly-dressed man was not Igneel as he had desperately hoped, immediately became so awkward that he started sweating.
"Who... Who are you?" Natsu asked, his voice flat with disappointment.
"I say, I am the great 'Salamander'!" the man declared, striking a pose he clearly thought was cool. "The true Fire Dragon! You should know, right?"
But before he could even finish his sentence, Natsu and Happy, their interest completely gone, had already turned their backs, squeezed out of the crowd, and walked away dejectedly.
"They left so fast," Ren muttered to himself, thoroughly entertained.
Seeing their idol being so blatantly ignored, many of the girls in the crowd immediately rushed over, furious. They grabbed Natsu's dragon-scaled scarf and dragged him back.
"Why are you two so rude?!"
"Exactly!! Lord Salamander is a very powerful Mage from the Fairy Tail guild!"
[Akarin's Note: This is Bora, a Mage from the Titan Nose guild (though he was exiled). He is impersonating Fairy Tail's "Salamander" (the real one being Natsu) and using an illegal magic ring to cast Charm magic on the women in town.]
"Apologize to him right now!"
Natsu was somewhat bewildered at this point, being yelled at by a crowd of angry women. "What are you doing? Let go!"
The fake Salamander, Bora, waved his hand and said magnanimously, "It's alright, it's alright. Looking at him, he doesn't seem to have any ill intent. He's just a country bumpkin."
"Ah~~~! So gentle!!"
"He's so forgiving!"
All the girls' eyes turned into hearts.
Bora then took out an autograph board, wrote the two big characters 'Fire Dragon', and handed it to Natsu. "This is my autograph, kid. Take it and show off to your friends."
"Ah~~~! How enviable!"
"I don't want it," Natsu said flatly, not even looking at it.
As soon as Natsu finished speaking, he was picked up and bodily thrown out by the crowd of girls protecting their idol.
"What do you mean!!"
"Get lost, you rude brat!!"
'This is nostalgic,' Ren thought, leaning against a nearby wall and watching the entire scene unfold like a play. 'To think I'd get to see the very first episode in person.'
Bora snapped his fingers, and a ball of red flame rose from his feet, forming a magical platform. He was using a simple Prominence magic, not true Dragon Slaying magic.
"Thank you all for your warm welcome," Bora announced, "but I have something to do at the port ahead, so I'll take my leave now. Tonight, I'll be holding a party on my ship, so everyone please come and join!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and quickly flew away on the flames, heading toward the port.
"Yeah!!!"
"We'll definitely be there!!"
"Lord Salamander, wait for us!"
This magical scene made many girls cheer with excitement, and they all began to run off after him.
"What's that guy up to?" Natsu muttered from the ground where he'd landed, brushing himself off. He was just confused at this point.
Just then, Ren's voice rang out from behind him. "Natsu, Happy. You two look like you're having fun."
"That voice!"
Natsu and Happy froze, then quickly looked in the direction of the voice. They saw Ren standing not far away, smiling at them, his hands in his pockets.
"REN!!"
Seeing Ren, Natsu and Happy were both delighted. In the half a year Ren had been in the guild, he, Natsu, Happy, and everyone else had become very familiar. Since Ren had moved into his new home, Natsu and Happy would occasionally go to "play" with Ren (which mostly meant "mooch food"). They considered him a close friend, even if he was weirdly calm... and rich.
"Ren, you're back!" Happy shouted, happily flying over and landing on Ren's shoulder.
"Yes, I'm back. Just got off the boat," Ren said, scratching Happy behind the ears.
Natsu immediately scurried over, his earlier dejection forgotten, and dramatically hugged Ren's leg. "Ren! Save me! Please buy me food quickly! I'm starving to death!"
"You guy," Ren sighed, already knowing the answer. "You've been causing trouble everywhere again, haven't you?"
Seeing Natsu like this, Ren guessed that he had probably caused trouble and lost money during a quest... again. Otherwise, with Natsu's ability, a 200,000 J quest would have been very easy for him.
"Aye~! This time we lost money again," Happy gave a definite, sad answer from Ren's shoulder. "Natsu blew up the client's house..."
"It wasn't my fault! The guy I was fighting ran into it!" Natsu protested, still clinging to Ren's leg.
Ren shook his head helplessly. "Let's go, I'm hungry too. I know a restaurant ahead that's affordable and tastes good."
"Yay!!"
"Food! Food! Food!"
Natsu and Happy both jumped up happily.
Suddenly!
A new, feminine voice sounded from behind them. "If it's alright... I'll treat you to this meal."
Hearing this, the three of them paused. They turned around and saw a very cute girl standing behind them.
The girl had brilliant golden hair, with a single strand tied up with a blue bow, looking playful and adorable. She wore a white top with blue trim and short sleeves, and a blue pleated skirt. Her skin was very fair, and she was very cute, especially her impressive figure, which was simply a beautiful sight.
Ren couldn't help but be stunned when he saw her. He had seen her in the crowd, of course, but now, up close...
'Lucy Heartfilia,' Ren's mind supplied. 'So this is her.'
Although there were some subtle differences between the real person and the anime, Ren recognized her at a glance. She was, without a doubt, the female protagonist of the Fairy Tail anime.
"Thank you all just now!" Lucy raised her hand and smiled in greeting.
"Huh?" Natsu and Happy were a bit confused. Lucy's words were directed at them, but they couldn't remember doing anything that deserved thanks.
Lucy explained: "That man named Salamander... he was using an illegal magic called 'Charm' from a ring. This magic seduces people and was banned from sale by the Magic Council many years ago! Using such magic just to lure girls... it's truly vulgar."
She bowed her head gratefully. "Thanks to you two breaking through the crowd and shouting, the magic I was under was dispelled. So, please, allow me to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude."
Natsu and Happy looked at each other. "I see."
Then Natsu chuckled and patted Ren's shoulder. "But it's not necessary, Ren will be treating us."
"Aye! Ren will treat us!" Happy chirped, flying over to Natsu's head.
Natsu and Happy both knew that Ren was practically the biggest spendthrift in the Fairy Tail Guild. One of his quests earned him more than they made in a year. This time, Ren had gone out for an S-Class Quest, and judging by his calm, relaxed appearance, he must have completed it successfully. This was a golden opportunity to make him pay for a big meal.
Ren rolled his eyes helplessly. "Haven't you two mooched enough?"
He didn't mind treating them to a meal. Occasionally, he would also invite guild members he was close with to his home for meals and gatherings.
"Still, let me do it!" Lucy insisted, puffing out her cheeks. "If I don't express my gratitude properly, I'll feel bad. Please?"
Hearing Lucy's words, and seeing Natsu's "free food!" expression, the three of them no longer refused, and they all went to the nearby restaurant together.
"My name is Lucy, what are your names?" Lucy asked as they all sat down, a large pile of food already on the table (mostly in front of Natsu).
"Ren."
"Natsu."
"Happy."
"Ren, Natsu, Happy, huh? Oh, by the way," Lucy said, leaning in conspiratorially, "don't let my appearance fool you. I'm also a Mage! But I haven't joined any guild yet."
"Ah, a guild," she continued, not waiting for a response as Natsu and Happy began devouring the food, "is an organization that gathers many Mages, acting as an intermediary to provide Mages with quests and information. It's so cool!"
Ren just sipped his water, an amused smile on his face as he watched the scene play out.
"If a Mage doesn't work within a guild, they can't be considered fully capable, you know? Not really."
"But! But! There are many guilds in the world, but for the famous guilds, the conditions for joining are quite strict, I bet."
"And the guild I most want to join... oh, it's just the best! It's so famous and wild! I heard there are so many powerful Mages there!"
"Ah... what should I do!!" Lucy fretted, her hands on her cheeks. "I really want to join there, but the conditions must be super strict. I mean, they have Salamander! And Titania, the Queen of the Fairies! And I even heard they have this new, super-strong S-Class mage who beat a dragon! Can you imagine?! A real dragon! He's probably so cool and mysterious and scary..."
Ren nearly choked on his water. Natsu, his mouth full of chicken, just grunted, "Huh? Dragon? Sounds strong."
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Lucy said, blushing. "I just talked a bit about the Mage world... you probably don't quite understand. It's just so exciting to talk about!"
"But I must join that guild. It's my number one goal! It seems I can get many substantial quests there, and it's the most famous guild in all of Fiore!"
Ren, Natsu, and Happy, who had all paused their eating to listen to this non-stop, breathless monologue, looked at Lucy with bewildered expressions.
They all said, in unison: "You talk a lot!!"
[Akarin Note:
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