No matter what anyone said, Natsu remained utterly convinced that this egg belonged to a fire dragon.
Maybe it wasn't Igneel's, but it could still be from another fire dragon!
"But how do I hatch this egg?" Natsu looked at the group eagerly, hoping someone would have an idea.
"I think you should do it like a mother hen sitting on her eggs," Lisanna raised her hand and suggested very seriously.
"A mother hen?" Natsu blinked in confusion, then glanced at the 'dragon egg', which was half his height.
He fell into deep thought—how exactly was he supposed to sit on that?
He attempted to straddle the egg, only for Marco to grab him by the collar and yank him aside with an exasperated look.
"You really don't care if you break it, do you?" Marco muttered.
Even if this was a real dragon egg, Natsu's rough handling might just kill whatever was inside before it had a chance to hatch.
"The magic power inside this egg is incredibly dense. There's no doubt it's a magical creature inside it." Marco patted the egg.
From what he could sense, the life inside was already well-developed and the magic power had condensed into something solid.
"If I had to guess, whatever's in here will probably hatch on its own very soon."
That was Marco's assessment.
In his opinion, there was no need for any special methods—just waiting would be enough.
The egg would hatch naturally.
"Use fire? Really, would that work?"
"Of course! Eggs need high temperatures to hatch! That's why mother hens sit on them—to keep them warm!"
"Then let's try it! I'm great at this!"
No sooner had Marco made his judgment, the others had already come up with another idea.
Mirajane grinned mischievously as she proposed this terrible plan and Natsu, of all people, was actually ready to give it a shot.
"Wait—using Fire Magic to burn the egg? How is that any different from my original suggestion of cooking it? So you do just want to eat it after all?"
Marco shielded the egg with his body, watching as Natsu, flames already flickering in his mouth, looked eager to proceed.
What a reversal—now Natsu was the one trying to set the egg on fire, while Marco was the one protecting it.
"It... it won't work?" Natsu looked genuinely disappointed.
He really wanted to speed up the hatching process.
In the past year, aside from another Dragon Slayer joining them, this was the closest he'd gotten to any news about dragons!
"Of course it won't work!" Marco shot a glare at Mirajane, who stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
She hadn't expected Natsu to take her joke so seriously.
"So is there any magic that can make this thing hatch faster?"
Under Marco's intervention, Natsu abandoned the idea of using flames to heat the egg.
Grinning eagerly, he looked at Marco with renewed anticipation—what if they could use magic to instantly hatch the egg?
That would be perfect!
"Natsu, that's impossible. It would be a desecration of life," Marco said sternly, his expression grave.
"Life is born from love. Interfering with it through magic is wrong. We must maintain reverence for life."
These were words Makarov had once taught him and now Marco passed them on like a torch.
Gray, Cana, Levy, Elfman, Lisanna, Mirajane, and Erza all listened solemnly, nodding in agreement.
Only Natsu stood there dumbfounded.
"Marco, what are you talking about? I don't get it at all," Natsu blurted out, scratching his head cluelessly.
THUD!
Before Marco could react, Erza's fist came crashing down on Natsu's head.
"OW!"
Natsu collapsed to the ground, stars spinning in his eyes.
"What Marco means is that you have to hatch it naturally, through your own effort—not by forcing it with magic," Erza explained.
Natsu had only been part of civilized society for about a year and his understanding of many things was still developing.
His perspective often differed from others—not because he was foolish, but simply because his way of thinking was unique.
"All you ever do is destroy things. This time, you should hatch this egg yourself and learn the meaning of life!" Erza declared, her tone was authoritative.
Even at her young age, she already carried the air of a strict teacher, giving Marco a glimpse of the formidable woman she would become.
"Fine, I'll hatch it myself," Natsu muttered, pouting in defeat.
Between Marco and Erza, he didn't dare to make a mess.
"You don't have to do it alone. We all can help," Marco interjected, stopping Erza from further roughing up Natsu.
"Witnessing the birth of a new life together would be a meaningful experience—much better than just roasting and eating it. This is something we'll remember for a long time."
"Yay! Let's hatch it together!" The kids cheered, their curiosity about the strange egg fully ignited.
"Would've been better roasted..." Mirajane muttered under her breath.
She had little interest in egg-hatching—lately, she'd been thinking about moving out of the girls' dorm to build a home for herself, Lisanna, and Elfman.
"Have fun. I'm off to take a job," she announced, already turning to leave.
Despite being new to the guild, Mirajane had already earned the right to take on solo missions—a testament to her strength.
Lisanna and Elfman, however, still weren't permitted to do so.
"Mira, why don't you spend the day playing with everyone?" Marco looked at Mirajane and extended the invitation.
Dressed in a cropped short-sleeved top and blue shorts, with black knee-high boots, Mirajane looked youthful and vibrant—aside from being a bit flat-chested, there were no other issues with her.
"No, I shouldn't."
Hearing Marco's invitation, Mirajane hesitated but ultimately steeled herself to refuse.
She didn't have time for leisure.
Mirajane felt the weight of responsibility heavily on her shoulders.
Their family of three couldn't rely on the guild's charity forever—it would make her uneasy.
She had to quickly shoulder the family's burdens, taking on the roles meant for both her younger brother and sister.
Seeing Mirajane insist on leaving, Marco smiled helplessly.
This girl carried too much on her mind.
She was the type deeply affected by emotions, more so than most people.
------------------------------
I release a new whitebeard scientist fic : One Piece : Scientist of Whitebeard Pirates
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator