Compared to the two fairies, Natsu is truly slaying a dragon!

It's just that... my heart isn't here.

In the days that followed, Natsu was taken to the forest every morning by Igneel to Anna's cabin to study with the other Dragon Slayer mages.

[And all sorts of common sense.]

The course lasted until noon, after which the Dragon Slayers would begin their training.

Of course, for Natsu and Gajeel, their training consisted almost entirely of fighting each other.

[And whenever anyone gets injured, that's when Wendy comes on.]

[Healing the two of them every day has also caused Wendy's healing magic to improve by leaps and bounds.]

[After being healed, Natsu and Gajeel would always continue fighting, then heal again, forming a perfect closed loop.]

Gajeel: "Now I finally understand why I feel so annoyed whenever I see you."

Natsu: "Me too, I guess I just naturally hate you."

Gajeel: "? Shouldn't I be the one who hates you? Look at the sky, isn't that where you used to act like a jerk when you were little?"

Natsu: "You're not much better yourself. Don't you often provoke me too?"

Gajeel: "Anyway, the one who wins the most in the Sky Curtain is me!"

Natsu: "What nonsense are you talking about? I clearly won more! Want to have a match?!"

Gajeel: "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"

Inside the Fairy Tail guild, the two started fighting again without saying a word.

And it was precisely at this moment that the scene in the sky appeared.

Natsu Jr. and Gajeel Jr. were also fighting at the same time.

The corners of everyone's mouths twitched involuntarily as they watched this scene.

"So, why are these two people always able to stay together from childhood to adulthood?"

[In the scene, day after day, almost every single day, Natsu is doing the same thing.]

[Eating, sleeping, and fighting with Gajeel.]

[Every single day is like this; it demonstrates extreme self-discipline.]

This situation lasted for almost a year.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Departing Dragons in 777

[On this day, Natsu and the others had no classes, and the dragons and Anna prepared a lavish dinner.]

Five Dragon Slayer Mages, five giant dragons, and Professor Anna all gathered together.

They ate meat together, raised their glasses together, laughed together, sighed together, and reminisced together.

This was probably the happiest day of the year for the little ones.

They even thought it was a farewell party for their teacher, Anna, so they laughed even harder.

Perhaps for a mischievous child, the day a strict teacher leaves will not bring any sense of loss.

You might even feel grateful for the freedom you'll enjoy without the teacher's supervision.

But perhaps only when those mischievous children mature, when they truly grow up, will they appreciate the strictness of their teachers in their youth and understand the teachers' good intentions.

[Of course, Wendy was quite the opposite; this little girl kept tugging at Ms. Anna's clothes.]

They refused to let go.

[Until Anna gently stroked Wendy's sky-blue hair and whispered something.]

"Don't worry, Wendy, I won't leave."

"No matter where you go in the future, I will always be with you, watching you grow up, and protecting you until you become an adult."

The banquet gradually drew to a close amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.

The children said their goodbyes around the campfire, then returned to their shelter with their parents.

Perhaps it's because today's revelry was just too exhilarating.

Natsu fell into a deep sleep upon returning to the forest where he lived with Igneel.

Igneel carefully lowered Natsu off his back.

Her loving gaze was fixed on Natsu, a hint of reluctance in her eyes, but mostly worry.

"Time's up..."

It raised its head and gazed at the full moon in the sky.

Her eyes were hazy, her thoughts drifting aimlessly.

[Finally, the scene freezes on that day: a black-haired boy, holding a baby with cherry blossom-colored hair, found himself.]

From that day on, the Fire Dragon King, renowned throughout the entire dragon race, vanished without a trace.

He hid in a forest and became a boy's adoptive father, or more accurately, a stay-at-home dad.

Over the years, I've watched that baby grow up, experiencing joy, anger, and frustration along the way.

However, without a doubt, the time I spent with Natsu was the happiest period of my life.

Even the day I was crowned Dragon King of the Fire Dragon Clan wasn't this joyful.

If she could, Igneel desperately wanted to stay by Natsu's side forever.

[Living like this in this primeval forest forever wouldn't be so bad.]

But fate had other plans. For the sake of that plan, for the sake of reaching Acnologia, Igneel had to do it.

It lowered its head again, its lantern-like eyes fixed on Natsu.

[After staring at it for a while, it couldn't resist gently poking Natsu's cheek with its paw.]

Seeing Natsu, who was fast asleep, somewhat irritably push away his paws and roll over to sleep soundly, Igneel laughed.

"If only we had more time, more time, and if you were a little stronger... maybe I wouldn't be so worried."

"What a lazy brat..."

But despite her immense reluctance and deep worry, Igneel was powerless to do anything about it.

Its body could no longer hold on.

Staring at the sleeping Natsu, Igneel slowly lay down, placing his head beside Natsu, and then gently closed his eyes.

In these final moments, simply being together quietly is enough.

The wind is howling.

Natsu seemed to sense a chill and tightened his small body.

She then sat up from the ground, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her little hands.

He shifted his gaze and found Igneru, who was lying beside him, fast asleep with his eyes closed.

Smacking his lips, Natsu scrambled onto Igneel's body, using both hands and feet.

[Then it climbed onto the dragon's claw and leaned against Igneel's shoulder.]

The heavy, massive body shielded Natsu from the cold wind, and the warm, comfortable environment allowed him to quickly fall into a deep sleep.

In his dream, Natsu seemed to see himself grow up, into a young man, becoming Igneel's pride.

Of course, I didn't forget to trample that annoying Gajeel under my feet in my dream.

But just as Natsu was about to boast to Igneel, he turned around and found that Igneel had completely vanished.

"Igniru?"

Natsu murmured softly in his sleep.

His brows were furrowed deeply, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Finally, Natsu, seemingly having witnessed something horrific, jolted awake, letting out a scream.

"Igneel!!!"

【call……】

Only a gentle breeze rustled through the dry leaves; nothing else could respond to Natsu.

He involuntarily twitched his nose; a Dragon Slayer's sense of smell was unparalleled, capable of detecting even the faintest scent.

But... this time, nothing like that. The surrounding jungle was filled with all sorts of unfamiliar scents, but the scent of the dragon from my memory was nowhere to be found.

Natsu froze, tears welling up in his eyes.

July 7th, X777.

In the year Natsu turned eleven, Igneel disappeared without a word or warning, vanishing from Natsu's world.

At this moment, he was like a child abandoned by the world, kneeling helplessly alone in an unfamiliar forest, sobbing alone...

The image with the white border also froze and gradually dimmed.