Since everyone was an old friend, the atmosphere quickly became lively. Even Zeref was chatting and laughing, showing no neglect even to the masters of small guilds.
Larcade said in a low voice, "Father, Mother, I'm going to see Uncle Natsu."
Ever since Mavis returned to the Western Continent, he had immediately recognized her as his mother. She was the one his father had been longing for, and he truly considered her family from the bottom of his heart.
He had originally thought his mother might not accept him as an adopted son, but he didn't expect her to be even gentler than imagined. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
"Father, Mother, I'm going to take a look too!"
August was annoyed. This bastard was always one step ahead of him. It felt like Larcade called them 'Father' and 'Mother' even more fluently than he did.
Besides, Natsu is *my* uncle. What does that have to do with you?
By now, he had restored his youthful appearance, looking like a very handsome blond man in his early twenties.
This was restored with his father's help. When it came to research into life and death, there were few in the entire world who could rival his father.
Zeref smiled and waved his hand. "Go ahead."
Mavis took August's hand and gently advised him, "Natsu has a bit of a reckless personality and loves to fight. Try your best not to start a fight with him."
She knew how powerful these two sons were. If they actually started fighting, she feared the entire guild might not survive.
August said without hesitation, "Don't worry, Mother!"
Larcade gave him a surprised look. He felt like August had suddenly become very strange, less composed than before, and he was talking more too.
He immediately echoed, "Me too!"
...Natsu, Happy, Monica, Gajeel, and Lilly were hiding in a corner eating and drinking heartily along with Sabertooth's Sting, Rogue, Frosch, and Lector.
Gajeel asked curiously, "You took down your master, Jieman? Why?"
Sting said bitterly, "Actually, under the Master's high-pressure rule, we were all suffering. Back then, Yukino was expelled from the guild just because of one failure, and we were punished for failing as well."
"Of course, that wouldn't have been enough for me to kill him. It was only because he wanted to lay a hand on Lector. That is my bottom line."
Natsu asked angrily, "You did the right thing! That guy wasn't a comrade or family at all!"
If someone wanted to kill Happy, he would absolutely never forgive them either.
Gajeel agreed, "No need to feel guilty about it. Just recognize who your true comrades are."
"Thank you, Mr. Natsu, Mr. Gajeel."
"No need for thanks. Actually, we were friends when we were kids. We learned Dragon Slaying Magic together."
This statement immediately surprised Sting and Rogue. "Learned Dragon Slaying Magic together?"
Gajeel thought for a moment and said, "Yeah. Actually, we're all people from four hundred years ago who came to this world through the Eclipse Gate."
He gave a brief explanation. Since the identities of Acnologia and Irene had already been exposed, there was nothing left to hide.
Sting and Rogue fell into a daze. They hadn't expected such hidden details. Didn't that mean the White Dragon Weisslogia and the Shadow Dragon Skiadath weren't dead? Their memory of killing the two dragons was wrong.
While the few of them were eating in silence, two shadows loomed over them. They all looked up in confusion and then became alert.
People they had never seen before. They didn't look like they came with good intentions!
However, what happened next made everyone's jaws drop.
The two men bowed toward Natsu at the same time and said respectfully, "Uncle Natsu!"
The fish in Happy's mouth fell out. "Uncle Natsu?"
"Mr. Natsu?"
Everyone was bewildered. These two 'nephews' looked quite a bit older than Natsu.
Could it be?
Natsu suddenly remembered that Zeref had mentioned something before leaving, that he and Mavis had a child... He looked at the two of them and asked in confusion, "Which one of you is August?"
The handsome blond man smiled. "Uncle Natsu, that's me."
"Hahaha! So you're my brother's son!"
Natsu pulled August down to sit, his face full of excitement. He hadn't expected to have a nephew. He felt like his status had suddenly risen quite a bit.
He looked at the white-haired man dressed like a monk and asked in confusion, "Then what about you? Why do you call me uncle too?"
His brother hadn't told him he had two sons before.
Larcade felt a bit awkward. "Actually..."
Seeing him hesitate, August explained for him, "His name is Larcade Dragneel. He's an adopted son. Before I had reunited with Father and Mother, he had always been calling them that."
"That's how it is..."
Larcade was a bit worried. He knew that Uncle Natsu's opinion was also extremely important. If his uncle didn't approve, he feared his father would kick him out of the family.
Fortunately, August came to his rescue, saying, "Uncle Natsu, Father and Mother have already accepted him. Are you willing to have him join our family?"
Natsu said without hesitation, "I have no objection. As long as my brother accepts him, it's fine."
It was his brother and the First Master's family matter anyway; he didn't want to interfere. Besides, having an extra nephew wasn't a bad thing.
He beckoned them, "Don't just stand there, sit down and eat with us."
A look of gratitude appeared on Larcade's face as he hurriedly sat down. "Thank you, Uncle Natsu!"
He hadn't expected August to speak up for him too. From now on, August would be his real brother.
It wasn't that August liked Larcade that much. The reason he said that was just because he didn't want his father and mother to be in a difficult position. If Uncle Natsu didn't like Larcade, it was hard to predict what might happen later. It was better to keep things as they were.
Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel weren't as thick-headed as Natsu. They could clearly sense that the other's strength was terrifyingly powerful, likely experts no weaker than Laxus.
Natsu was eating roasted meat when he suddenly asked, "August, I heard Acnologia say you're the Wizard King, that you've learned all magic throughout history and are one of the top human powerhouses?"
Everyone stopped eating and pricked up their ears. This was quite impressive—knowing every kind of magic.
August waved his hand. "The rumors are a bit exaggerated. I'm just proficient in the magic from the Alvarez Empire's library. My own magic is Instant Copy; anyone who fights me will have their magic copied by me."
Everyone's eyes widened. This must be an incredibly powerful magic. If he could copy all magic, then who could possibly beat him?
Moreover, that imperial library... its collection of books was likely beyond imagination. He truly lived up to the title of Wizard King!
Natsu praised, "As expected of the Wizard King. I've never heard of such a powerful magic."
August said modestly, "Actually, it's not that powerful. Acnologia and Irene are the truly strong ones. If those two got serious, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to block a single move."
Strength wasn't just determined by how much magic one mastered. If one practiced a certain type of magic to its limit and added absolute magical power, they could still stand at the top of the world.
"That's true. Just thinking about those two makes them feel invincible."
Natsu looked at Larcade and asked, "Then what magic do you use?"
Larcade said, "Desire Magic and White Magic."
"I haven't heard of those either."
Sting held up a ball of light in his hand and asked, "Is it the same as my magic?"
Larcade shook his head. "White Magic is also a form of Desire Magic; it's not pure white."
"For example, pleasure, hunger, sleepiness... as long as it's a living being, it will have desires."
Seeing everyone's confused expressions, August explained, "Desire Magic is a type of magic that is independent of magical power strength. Even Acnologia and Irene would be affected."
Everyone suddenly showed expressions of realization. If you put it that way, we understand. Why bother with all that useless talk? They just wanted to know if this magic was strong.
After Natsu had eaten and drunk his fill, he said with full fighting intent, "Let's go out and have a fight. I want to see just how strong your magic is."
August and Larcade hurriedly shook their heads. "No, no, Mother said we absolutely cannot fight with you!"
Natsu looked confused. "Why?"
Larcade looked toward August. Better let the big brother speak.
August snorted inwardly. Wasn't this guy quite the talker in front of their father and mother? Now he's mute, focusing all his mind on competing with him for their parents' affection.
He said, "Uncle Natsu, the Harvest Festival is about to begin. Today isn't suitable for fighting. You also need to maintain your condition to face the S-Class Promotion Trial, right?"
Natsu mused, "You're right. The trial is more important. Then I'll continue eating. I'll eat enough food for the next few days so I won't go hungry during the trial."
Under everyone's shocked gazes, Natsu, whose belly was already round, frantically stuffed food into his mouth. There were also those streaks of flames, all sucked into his stomach.
The others were inspired with fighting spirit. If Natsu could keep eating, they could too!
So, the whole large table of people started stuffing their mouths like starving ghosts, leaving the people nearby dumbfounded.
At the suggestion of the various guild masters, a big eater competition was started, with a prize of 100,000 J for the winner.
As soon as this was said, the whole place erupted. Everyone was instantly filled with fighting spirit, burying their heads in the food.
Getting money for eating—such a good opportunity to pick up cash wasn't common. It was time to show their true strength!
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