A New Life in Fairy Tail

Ever since Natsu joined the guild, the atmosphere had become even more lively. Every day, you could see him and Gray fighting, with Lyon occasionally jumping into the fray. Now, with the addition of Erza, Mirajane, and Sorano’s battles—and with Ultear occasionally being dragged in to turn it into a four-way brawl—the guild’s repair costs had skyrocketed. Combined with the various compensation bills that were sent back from their missions, Noah often saw Makarov looking at a stack of invoices with a twisted expression on his face.

On one hand, as the Guild Master, he was happy from the bottom of his heart to see the younger generation so full of life; he could see the bright future of the guild. But on the other hand, the increased expenses were causing him immense suffering. The guild members had always been prone to fighting, and repairs had long been a major expense. Now, with the younger generation being even more energetic, the guild was practically being renovated from the inside out every single day, causing the repair costs to soar. On top of that, members out on requests would occasionally cause some environmental damage, and the local authorities would send the bill to Fairy Tail. All of these expenses added up to a number that made Makarov’s heart tremble.

Thankfully, with Ur and Laxus frequently taking on S-Class requests these past few years, the guild had been able to take a portion of their high rewards. They still had some savings and were barely managing to stay afloat. Noah used to do a lot of S-Class requests, which had provided a lot of funds for the guild, but in recent years, with the income from Jude, he had reduced his workload, and so the guild’s income from him had decreased.

However, Noah would often be reading in the guild, and when Natsu and Gray, or Erza and Mirajane, started brawling, he would toss them into the training ground to fight, which indirectly reduced the guild’s repair costs. As for Gildarts, there was no hope. With his tendency to zone out and then inadvertently destroy a large area of his surroundings, the guild was lucky it didn’t have to pay compensation for him. How could they expect him to provide funds? Thankfully, ever since Cana had started looking after him, the reports of his destruction had decreased, which was at least some good news.

Seeing Makarov constantly agonizing over the guild’s expenses, Noah considered it for a moment and then offered to donate a portion of his monthly profits from Jude’s company to the guild. When he told Makarov his idea, the Master was first overjoyed at the sudden large income, but then his brow furrowed.

”If you give so much money to the guild, won’t it affect your own affairs? I remember your research is very expensive.” Makarov knew how much Noah invested in his research; he had even helped him buy some of the items. The cost was so great that if he hadn’t known Noah’s source of income, he would have thought he’d been robbing people.

”You don’t have to worry about that, Gramps. The pharmaceutical company I’m partnering on with the Heartfilia conglomerate is doing very well. We’ve already started opening branch stores in the surrounding countries. The share I get every month is not small. Giving a portion to the guild won’t be a problem. However, we have to keep this a secret from the others. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll become even more reckless.”

Makarov nodded in solemn agreement. It was true. If the others found out, they would fight even more freely and cause even more destruction. He didn’t want the compensation fees to get any higher. After confirming that these funds wouldn’t negatively impact Noah, Makarov accepted them with a sense of relief, a smile appearing on his face that he couldn’t suppress.

The other guild members found it strange. For the past few months, although Makarov had his happy moments, he had mostly been wearing a blank expression. They hadn’t seen him with such an irrepressible smile in a long time. They curiously asked him about it, but he just shook his head and refused to answer. They had wanted to press him further, but they soon forgot about it, because Natsu and Gray had started fighting again. Everyone either joined in or gathered around to watch. Seeing this, Makarov’s face returned to its usual blank expression, and everyone forgot to keep asking.

A few days passed like this. On this day, Natsu ran excitedly into the guild, holding an egg.

”It’s an egg! I found an egg!”

He ran all the way to Makarov, holding it up. Makarov frowned. ”An egg? Where did you find it?”

”In the eastern forest.”

Noah, who had been reading on the side, saw Natsu with the egg and immediately remembered. This must be the beginning of Happy’s story. He then remembered something else: Carla’s egg should have also arrived in this world around the same time, near Roubaul’s location. He quickly contacted his Thought Projection there, sent it an image of what he was seeing, and had it search for a similar-sized egg.

Just then, Gray said to Natsu, ”What’s this? You’re pretty clever, Natsu. You knew to bring it back for everyone to eat.” He even licked his lips.

Ultear, unable to stand it, punched him. ”Where are your clothes?!”

Gray immediately clutched his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

”What are you talking about?! This is a dragon egg!! I’m gonna hatch it!!” Natsu quickly turned and shielded the egg with his body.

Hearing his reply, Gray forgot all about the pain in his head. ”A dragon egg?” he exclaimed.

”Look here! This pattern looks just like a dragon’s claw!” Natsu placed a cushion on the floor, gently set the egg on it, and excitedly pointed to the markings on the shell for Gray and the others to see.

”Is... is it?” Gray looked confused. Ultear also looked at the egg with a puzzled expression.

”So, Gramps, hurry up and make the dragon be born!” Natsu said excitedly to Makarov.

Hearing this, Makarov’s face darkened. ”What kind of nonsense are you talking about, you foolish boy?!” he scolded.

Natsu, Gray, and Ultear were all startled by his sudden outburst. Makarov said in a grave tone, ”There is no magic in this world that can desecrate life. Life is born from love. That is something no magic can ever accomplish.”

Hearing these words, Ultear thought of the meaning of her own name—Ur’s Tear. When she was born, her mother had cried tears of joy and had given her that name, representing that she was the proof of Ur’s life, her tear. She felt a much deeper understanding of Makarov’s words and couldn’t help but nod. Gray also had a serious expression. Only Natsu was completely and innocently bewildered.

~~~

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