The day after Drake and Laxus’s duel, Laxus, his body swathed in bandages, sought out Drake again!
This time, however, Laxus spoke with utmost seriousness, devoid of his previous taunting tone.
"I acknowledge you, but I’ll surpass you eventually!"
Without waiting for Drake’s reply, he turned and left. Drake shook his head; Laxus seemed unchanged!
At least, his attitude towards Drake wasn’t as arrogant as before.
Just then, Mirajane suddenly ran down from the second floor. "Master, a request is missing from the second floor."
Makarov, who was sipping tea, hadn’t even swallowed his mouthful before he sprayed it out.
Laxus, leaning against the bar, said, "I saw a cat acting suspiciously, tearing it away yesterday! That cat... had wings."
No one could possibly mistake who Laxus was referring to; Happy was the only winged cat in Fairy Tail.
"So Natsu and Lucy are involved?"
Drake looked questioningly at Droy, who had spoken. Natsu, he could understand, but why Lucy?
After a moment’s thought, however, he recalled that Natsu had first thought of Lucy when they’d stormed the Council; naturally, she would be included in an S-class mission.
"They just went off to do an S-class mission!"
"What in the world are those two idiots thinking?"
Laxus, surprisingly, chuckled. "That’s a serious violation of guild rules; they’ll be expelled by Grandpa when they get back! Get full chapters from novel(ꜰ)ire.net
But with their pathetic skills, attempting an S-class mission... they probably won’t be coming back."
Mirajane questioned him, "You saw them; why didn’t you stop them?"
Laxus gave a perfunctory reply, "I thought it was a stray cat that took the request; I never imagined it was Happy, and even less that Natsu would go off to do an S-class mission on his own."
This response was nothing short of provocation; Mirajane’s expression turned utterly grim.
Laxus smiled, "Haven’t seen that expression on you in a while!"
Mirajane had previously explained to Lucy that only five people, authorized by the Master, could accept S-class missions from the second floor.
Lucy hadn’t noticed that the Master, Makarov himself, wasn’t included among those five.
The five were the "old man" Laxus referred to, Laxus himself, Mystogan, Erza, and the final member, Fairy Tail’s current poster girl, Mirajane.
Makarov spoke, "Which request did they take?"
Mirajane answered, "The cursed island, Galuna Island!"
Makarov immediately recalled the mission and exclaimed in surprise, "The Demon Island?!"
Everyone was stunned; although they hadn’t seen the request itself, they’d all heard numerous tales of the demonic curse on Galuna Island.
They all lamented Natsu’s incredible foolishness in taking on that mission by himself.
Drake sighed, standing up. "Natsu’s recklessness has caused trouble for everyone!
However, I do have some information regarding Galuna Island; although it involves demons, the level of danger doesn’t reach S-class."
Makarov looked at Drake.
"It’s not about the level of danger; S-class missions can only be undertaken by S-class mages; that’s guild policy!
Drake, go bring Natsu back!"
Drake nodded. "Alright! I’ll take care of it! But I don’t know the way; I’ll need someone to guide me."
Drake looked around, then fixed his gaze on someone. "Gray will come with me!"
Gray stood up. "Since Drake’s said so, I’ll help!
Actually, I could go alone; I don’t really need Drake."
"But could you please put some clothes on first?" Drake said, his face darkening.
Magnolia was a port city; there was a harbor on the other side of town. This was why the Galuna Island request had been sent to Fairy Tail.
Gray and Drake walked down Magnolia’s main street, and Gray spoke, "Drake, you didn’t bring me along just to guide you, did you?"
Gray hadn’t forgotten that Drake could fly; even without knowing the way, a quick aerial survey would reveal everything.
There had to be another reason why Drake had chosen to bring him along.
Drake smiled, "Gray, you’re remarkably perceptive! That’s right, I didn’t bring you along just to guide me.
I wasn’t lying about the Galuna Island mission; I do possess some information. This mission is very much connected to you."
Gray said, "Connected to me? But I’ve never even been there before!"
Drake said, "You’ll understand once you see it! Before we go find Natsu, you can think carefully about whether you want to come along!
If you don’t want to go, we’ll just bring Natsu back; nothing bad will happen if we don’t go."
After all, it was a significant Chapter in the original story; Drake remembered the Galuna Island arc quite clearly.
Even if Drake brought Natsu back, nothing would ultimately change.
However, when the two arrived at the harbor, Natsu and Lucy were nowhere to be seen.
Drake was taken aback; he then found a fisherman about to set sail and asked if he’d seen Natsu and Lucy.
Perhaps because they were heading to Galuna Island, the fisherman had a clear recollection of the two.
According to the fisherman, Natsu and Lucy had arrived at the harbor at dawn, asking around for anyone willing to take them to Galuna Island by boat.
However, everyone was afraid of the demonic curse on Galuna Island, so no one was willing to go. Finally, an unfamiliar fisherman agreed to take them.
Drake couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on; he remembered that in the original story, Gray had intercepted Natsu and Lucy at the harbor! Why had Natsu already set off this time?
Unknown to Drake, the reason Natsu had left earlier was because of him.
Erza had already accepted the mission and set off yesterday; Mystogan wasn’t at the guild either. And Laxus wouldn’t bother interfering.
But once his theft of the request slip was discovered, Drake would inevitably come to bring him back.
So he simply seized the opportunity and set off before he could be discovered. As long as he met with the client, even if Drake caught him, he would have to complete the mission to maintain the guild’s image.
This could also be considered a kind of butterfly effect!
If Drake knew the reason, he would probably exclaim that Natsu’s intelligence had actually been sufficient for once.
However, now wasn’t the time to be thinking about such things; Drake turned to Gray. "There’s no other way; we have to go now!"
It was as if fate itself had intervened; Gray was still destined to go to Galuna Island, to pull his family from the wrong path, and to witness how his master helped him dispel the shadows of his past.
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