The three of them, plus one cat, went to a restaurant. Noel, as usual, only ordered a few staple dishes he commonly ate. Natsu, on the other hand, ordered piles upon piles of meat, plate after plate, while Happy ordered his favorite, a particularly expensive type of fish.
When the food was served, Noel was stunned. Plates of meat were stacked like mountains on the table. Lucy looked at the piles, clutching her wallet with a pained expression.
"You really are a good person…" Natsu said, tears streaming down his face as he devoured the meat.
Happy was the same, proving the two were cut from the same cloth.
Meanwhile, Noel calmly chewed his food slowly. This is how food should be eaten, he thought. He didn't have Natsu's iron stomach, and there was no way he could handle swallowing food whole like Natsu did without even chewing.
"No one in their right mind could eat like that…"
"That guy really pisses me off, using charm magic just to get attention from girls," Lucy said angrily, recalling what had happened earlier.
"There will always be people like that in the world. It's normal. Using forbidden tools to fulfill their selfish desires," Noel replied, accustomed to such things.
"But I'm really glad you two showed up when you did. Thanks to you, I snapped out of that charm spell," Lucy said, bowing deeply in gratitude once again.
"Don't judge me by how I look. I'm also a mage. I haven't joined a guild yet, but I have a dream about where I want to belong," Lucy said, her eyes bright with hope. If she could join that place, it would be a dream come true.
"If you have a goal and a dream, then go for it. Don't wait until it's too late and you no longer have the ability," Noel encouraged her.
"You're right. I will!" Lucy said, her resolve strengthening.
"But what exactly are you guys doing in this city?" Lucy asked, curiosity getting the better of her. It was rare for mages to take jobs in Hargeon since it was a peaceful city, and most commissions were handled by mercenary guilds.
"I'm here to prevent a certain disaster magnet from destroying my shop in Hargeon. I couldn't trust him to behave, so I came to keep an eye on him," Noel explained helplessly, glancing at Natsu, who was still devouring meat.
"Who are you calling a disaster magnet? I'm just doing my job!" Natsu said, not even pausing in his eating, tearing into the meat piece after piece.
"Last time you took a job, you destroyed half of my alchemy workshop. I haven't even recouped the losses yet," Noel sighed, remembering the ruin his workshop had been left in, including the vast amount of potions lost.
Thankfully there weren't any explosives inside, or there would've been a massive explosion, with damage spreading even further…
"By the way, you mentioned you were looking for someone?" Lucy asked, trying to distract herself from the sight of her money being eaten alive by the two bottomless pits across from her.
"Aye! We're looking for Igneel!" Happy answered enthusiastically.
"We heard there was a fire dragon in the city, so we came to find him. But it turned out to be a fake. I thought it was Igneel for sure…" Natsu said, disappointment clear on his face.
"Fire dragon? Igneel? What the heck? Isn't 'Lord Fire Dragon' supposed to be a mage?" Lucy's face fell, completely lost.
"Huh? Igneel isn't a human. He's a real dragon," Happy explained, dropping a bombshell that left Lucy stunned.
"Wha—? Like an actual dragon? Why would something like that be in a city?!" Lucy shouted.
"Ah!" Natsu and Happy suddenly realized what she meant, the realization finally sinking in.
"You're only realizing that now?" Lucy shouted at them, exasperated.
Hearing that Igneel was a real dragon, Lucy roared at them, and the two finally grasped that a giant dragon appearing in a city would definitely cause chaos, leaving Lucy speechless at their cluelessness.
"I heard that guy called himself a Fairy Tail mage, calling himself Fire Dragon Natsu!" Lucy added.
"You said he called himself a Fairy Tail mage? And claimed to be Fire Dragon Natsu?" Noel's mouth twitched.
Someone's even going around impersonating Natsu now? What a lunatic. But to claim to be a Fairy Tail mage… that's crossing the line.
Natsu's face darkened. Someone was pretending to be him—and an ugly someone, at that.
"Unforgivable!" Natsu roared, his temper flaring even higher now that he was full.
Noel was just as furious. Very few dared to impersonate a Fairy Tail mage.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Noel quickly called after Natsu, knowing this wouldn't end well if Natsu went off on a rampage. The entire city of Hargeon might not survive.
"I'm going to teach him a lesson! I won't let anyone impersonate a Fairy Tail mage!" Natsu was truly enraged, and Noel had never seen him this furious before.
"Do you even know where he is?" Noel asked.
"No, but I'll find him," Natsu replied seriously.
And Natsu wasn't lying—he would find him.
"I heard there's a party on a ship tonight…" Noel mentioned.
The moment the word "party" left Noel's lips, Natsu's demeanor shifted. A party meant a place where he could go wild, practically an open invitation for chaos.
"Is that so? Then let him enjoy himself while he still can!" Natsu said, his anger cooling slightly, but not disappearing.
As Natsu was about to storm out, Noel quickly grabbed him. "I know you're angry, but you need to stay calm. I'll handle this."
"Can you really handle it?" Natsu asked flatly.
"No problem. I promise," Noel assured him confidently.
"You guys… you're Fairy Tail mages, aren't you?" Lucy said, munching on a pastry as realization hit her.
"Wait, so Natsu is the real Fire Dragon, and Happy is his partner…" Lucy pieced it together, recalling their conversation.
"Yeah, haven't you heard of us? Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Natsu, and his partner, the flying cat Happy," Noel said, a bit embarrassed to say the names out loud.
"Hah! No wonder that other guy seemed fake! There's no way Fairy Tail mages would pull something that disgusting! I knew it!" Lucy said, relieved, realizing she had nearly misunderstood Fairy Tail, and feeling a bit guilty about it.
"Wanna come with us tonight? Let's crash that party!" Natsu said excitedly.
So this is what Fairy Tail mages are like… so passionate, Lucy thought. But when he says 'crash the party,' that sounds like trouble…
"Please, try to keep it under control…" Noel sighed internally. This is going to be a headache…
PS: Access the complete chapters/series at