Chapter 111: Wendy Gets an Egg Too
"What is this?" Natsu asked, looking curiously at the device in Noah's hands.
Noah didn't keep him in suspense. He placed the device on the ground. "This is an incubator. It can keep the temperature inside within a specific range. This way, Lisanna won't have to stay transformed and hold the egg all the time."
Lisanna thought it was amazing that such a small device could maintain a constant temperature.
Noah continued, "The liquid inside is a nutrient solution. I specially formulated it for incubating eggs. It can provide a large amount of nutrition and strengthen the physical constitution of the creature inside, allowing it to be born even healthier."
"That sounds amazing! So what do I do?"
Noah fiddled with the device for a moment and opened the top lid. "Gently place the egg inside," he told Natsu.
Natsu did as he was told, carefully placing the egg in the device. Noah then topped it up with the nutrient solution, closed the lid, and adjusted a few settings. "I've set it up. The device will maintain a suitable temperature. If you see the nutrient solution drop below this level, or if this light on the bottom turns from green to orange, come and find me."
Noah pointed out the scale line and the indicator light to Natsu, who asked excitedly, "Is that all?"
"That's all. Now all we have to do is wait. Did you remember what I just said?"
"I remember! If it's below this line or if this turns orange, I come find you."
"Then I'll leave it in your care."
"I'll definitely hatch it!" Natsu said, and then he excitedly picked up the device and ran out, with Lisanna running after him.
"Wait for me!"
Ultear, watching Natsu run off, couldn't help but say to Noah, "I'm actually more worried Natsu will accidentally break the egg. He's so clumsy and destructive. Wouldn't he be heartbroken if he broke it?"
"Don't worry. That device isn't as fragile as you think. It's equipped with shock absorption, impact resistance, temperature control, automatic monitoring, and other functions. Its protective capabilities are quite good. Unless Natsu continuously attacks it for a period of time, it will be very difficult to break."
"It's the first time I've ever seen Natsu with such a serious expression. I hope it turns out well."
"Of course. It will definitely turn out well."
With that, Noah said his goodbyes to Ultear. He had to go back and get another device and more nutrient solution. His Thought Projection had sent a message: it had found another egg in the forest near Roubaul's place and had already brought it back to his house.
Noah went home, prepared another device and solution, and then found Wendy, who was still at the training ground. "Grandpa Roubaul has a gift for you. Come with me."
"Really?" A happy expression spread across Wendy's small face. She would occasionally go with Noah to visit Grandpa Roubaul, and she was very fond of the kind old man.
"Of course. I'll take you home to wash up first, and then we'll go see him."
"Okay! Thank you, Big Brother Noah."
Noah smiled, shut down her training plot, and teleported them straight home. After Wendy had washed up, he took her to Roubaul's.
"Hello, Grandpa Roubaul!"
"What a good girl, Wendy!" Roubaul was delighted to see her. To Noah, he looked just like a grandfather seeing his granddaughter come home.
"This is your gift, Wendy." Roubaul stepped aside, revealing a very large, patterned egg.
"This egg is so big! And it's about the same size as the one Natsu was holding."
"That shouldn't be. You've seen Natsu with his egg already?" Noah was a little surprised. Natsu had said he found it in the forest, but the training ground was far from the forest.
"Mhm. Natsu came to the training ground holding the egg and said he'd found it."
"So that's how it is." That made sense to Noah. Natsu must have gone to the training ground to show off before coming back to the guild.
"To be precise, it was your Big Brother Noah who found this egg," Roubaul said softly to Wendy. "He suggested that you should be the one to hatch it, and I think that's a good idea." He felt that by having Wendy personally hatch a new life, she would be able to better feel the power of life, which would be very beneficial for her future.
"M-me? I'm afraid I won't do a good job. Maybe it's better if Big Brother Noah hatches it." Wendy, who had been very happy, immediately became scared at the thought of being responsible for it.
"You don't have to worry about that," Noah said patiently. "I've already checked; this egg is very healthy and will be able to hatch normally. I've also prepared a device and nutrient solution that will make the life inside even healthier and stronger. All you need to do is look after the device, and it will hatch just fine."
Wendy was still a little worried and confused. "Why don't you just take it back to the guild to hatch it, Big Brother Noah? There must be more suitable people than me there. You could just take it back in an instant, like when you bring me here."
"You mean by teleporting? No, that won't work. Although I'm confident in my magic, an egg can be both hard and fragile. It's hard because its shell has a certain toughness, but it's fragile because teleportation is a spatial magic. Even though my magic is very stable, if the process affects the egg, the result could be disastrous. So I won't use teleportation to take the egg back to the guild. By the same token, the journey from here to the guild is not short, and the constant jostling would not be good for the egg's health. So, hatching it here is the best option."
Wendy was persuaded by Noah's explanation. After a great deal of hesitation, she finally agreed to take care of the egg's incubation.
Seeing her agree, Noah also breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, he could solve all the problems he had just listed. The simplest way would be to put the egg in the device, fill it with nutrient solution, and just run back to Magnolia. The vibrations would have no effect on the egg inside the incubator; its shock absorption was more than enough to handle it. The reason he had said so much was to persuade Wendy to hatch the egg herself. How could he possibly break up the classic "Dragon Slayer and their cat" combination?
Noah set up the device and added the nutrient solution. Wendy carefully placed the egg inside. Noah closed the lid, configured the settings, and then told her what she needed to watch out for. Wendy looked at the device with an expectant expression, her eyes sparkling, clearly looking forward to the egg's hatching.
In the end, Wendy decided to stay at Roubaul's for a few days, until the egg hatched. Thankfully, she had plenty of clothes here from her previous visits, so she didn't need to prepare anything new.
Noah stayed with her for a while, promised to visit her every day, and then returned to the guild.
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