To Statiw's surprise, Mirajane, though with a gloomy expression, silently approached Natsu from behind but didn't lay a hand on him. Instead, she handed the dug-up bait to him.
"Is this enough? If not, I can dig some more," she asked in a low voice.
"That's enough, no need to dig anymore," he immediately materialized the cooking utensils and handed them to her, saying, "You prepare first. If Natsu and I fish together, we'll catch fish very quickly."
"And us, we'll try our best too!" As his words fell, Happy immediately raised his small paws and shouted.
"Yes, and Happy," Natsu nodded, reminding him.
"As for Happy, I think it's better if he helps Mirajane start the bonfire. After all, there's still a lot to do," Statiw, however, rejected their words, directly sending Happy to help her.
"Oh, I see," Natsu crossed his arms over his chest, tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said to Happy, "Happy, why don't you go help Mirajane first? I'm sure I'll catch a big fish."
Happy didn't deny it. Instead, he stretched out a small paw and gestured a distance on the ground to Natsu, saying, "It's a deal, you have to catch a fish this big!"
"No problem, Happy," he replied with a grin, not even considering whether there were fish that big in this lake.
However, perhaps with the help of the heavens, or the favor of the goddess of luck, after Statiw and Natsu started fishing, in less than fifteen minutes, Natsu successfully caught a large fish over a meter long, far exceeding the length Happy had gestured.
"Haha, how about that, Happy? I told you I'd catch a big fish, didn't I?" Holding the large fish high above his head, Natsu ran a few steps to Happy, who was helping Mirajane boil water, and said happily.
Seeing him catch such a huge fish, she slowly walked over to Statiw's side. "Natsu caught a big fish. How about you?"
"Take a look," he lifted the fish basket that was soaking in the water. Inside were only two fish about a foot long.
"Not bad, at least enough for the two of us to eat," she glanced at the two fish, neither saying good nor bad, merely nodding in affirmation. Then she added, "Since it's enough for us to eat, stop fishing and come help me cook."
"Cook? I don't mind, as long as you don't mind," he put away his fishing rod, unmaterialized it, and walked towards the bonfire with the fish basket while speaking.
Hearing his words, and recalling how he had not only failed to help but had constantly made things worse in the past, she looked puzzled and asked, "You haven't learned how to cook at all, have you? Then how did you manage to eat when you were on solo missions before?"
"It's simple, just cook the prey I catch, isn't it?" he placed the fish basket on the ground, grabbed a fish from it, and began to process it while answering her question.
"Huh? Just cook it?" she looked at him with disdain.
"Yeah, no matter what it is, as long as it's cooked, you can eat it, right?" Natsu, who was playing with Happy nearby, heard her words from afar and immediately responded.
She glanced at him and said to Statiw, "Alright, you just watch from the side. Also..."
She turned and gave Natsu an extremely gentle smile, saying, "Natsu, after we eat, I'll train you to defeat Erza."
"Really?" he jumped over excitedly without thinking, asking in disbelief.
"Of course, it's real," she replied with a smile.
"That's great!" Receiving her affirmative reply, he immediately began to fantasize about a joyful life of punching Erza and kicking Gray. In his heart, she possessed strength comparable to Erza's. After her training, his strength would definitely increase significantly, and he would surely be able to defeat Erza and thoroughly beat Gray.
In the guild, Gray was his sworn enemy, someone he absolutely had to defeat. Erza was the one who often disciplined him, an opponent he absolutely had to overcome. Of course, sometimes she also joined in, but she mostly focused her energy on Erza, disciplining him rarely, usually only when he provoked her.
Nearby, watching him happily fantasizing about his future life, Statiw shook his head, let out a soft sigh, and muttered, "A simple mind is indeed fatal."
"What do you mean?" Natsu and she hadn't heard his words, but Happy, who had appeared beside him at some point, had heard them very clearly.
"Nothing. Do you want roasted fish or boiled fish?" he looked up at Happy and asked.
"Hmm..." he thought carefully for a moment, then looked up and raised his paw, saying, "I want the fish Mirajane cooks."
"Alright, it seems you and Natsu are indeed a perfect match," he rolled his eyes and complained.
This time, while she was cooking, he wasn't entirely unhelpful; at least he knew how to process fish. Natsu and Happy were responsible for running into the woods to pick some wild fruits, while she collected some mushrooms nearby. The meal, from start to finish, took over an hour. She originally wanted to simmer the fish soup longer for better flavor. However, they, smelling the delicious fish soup, couldn't wait any longer, so she had to abandon her original idea.
However, the consequence was that after they finished the fish soup, she immediately used her Take Over magic and said to Natsu, "Are you ready? Let's start the special training now."
"Almost ready," he hadn't fully reacted yet. Hearing she was about to begin his special training, he gulped down the fish soup in his bowl in a few quick mouthfuls, then leaped in front of her, his face filled with inexplicable excitement.
At this moment, she, with a gentle smile, explained to him, "Natsu, if you want to defeat Erza, you need to experience more and harsher battles. To put it simply, it's combat. If you're ready, then I'm going to attack."
"No problem, I'm ready," he understood, immediately assumed a fighting stance, and fierce flames began to ignite on both his fists.
Seeing fierce flames ignite on his fists, she didn't underestimate him. Both her fists were instantly enveloped in dark energy. Then, at Happy's signal to start, her figure instantly vanished from his sight.
He was already prepared. Seeing her figure disappear, he immediately turned around, one hand guarding his chest and abdomen, and the other raised in front of him, bracing for her attack.
Indeed, she appeared behind him, directly striking his abdomen with her knee, while one fist went straight for his head. The force wasn't great, but the speed was extremely fast. If he hadn't been prepared beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to block her attack at all.
However, despite this, the difference in their combat power was not insignificant. He only managed to block her first two attacks. From the third attack onwards, wails began to escape his mouth. The sound was so loud it startled all the birds in the entire forest...