The day after Charles's duel with Laxus, the bandage-wrapped Laxus actually came looking for Charles again! But this time, Laxus didn't speak with his usual provocative tone—instead, he said seriously, "I acknowledge you. But someday, I'll surpass you!"
He turned and walked away without waiting for a response. Charles couldn't help but shake his head. Laxus really didn't seem like he'd changed much!
Still, at least his attitude wasn't as arrogant as before—especially when dealing with Charles.
Just then, Mirajane suddenly came running down from the second floor and shouted, "Master, something's wrong! One of the request forms from the second floor is missing!"
Makarov, who had just taken a sip of tea, immediately spat it out before he could swallow.
Leaning against the bar, Laxus said, "When I left yesterday, I did see a suspicious-looking cat sneaking off with one of the requests. That cat… even had wings."
"Happy?!!"
Who couldn't guess who he was talking about? In all of Fairy Tail, the only winged cat was Happy.
"So that means Natsu and Lucy are involved too?"
Charles turned to Droy with a puzzled look. Natsu, sure—that made sense. But why drag Lucy into this? Then again, even when storming the Magic Council, Natsu's first thought was to bring Lucy along. Of course he wouldn't leave her out of something like an S-Class mission.
"They just decided to take an S-Class mission like it was nothing!"
"Those two idiots, what were they even thinking?"
Laxus, on the other hand, laughed and said, "That's a serious violation of guild rules. Once they're back, the old man'll have no choice but to expel them, right? But with their third-rate skills, they probably won't even make it back from an S-Class mission!"
Mirajane glared at him and asked, "Since you saw them, why didn't you stop them?"
Laxus replied lazily, "I thought it was just a stray cat grabbing a random request. I never imagined it was Happy, or that Natsu would actually go off and do an S-Class job without permission."
His response was pure provocation, and Mirajane's expression darkened.
Laxus chuckled. "It's been a while since I've seen that look on your face."
Mirajane had once explained to Lucy that only five people were authorized by the Master to take jobs from the second floor.
Lucy hadn't noticed that the Master himself wasn't included in those five.
The five included the "old man" Laxus had referred to, as well as Laxus himself, Mystogan, Erza—and finally, Fairy Tail's poster girl, Mirajane.
Makarov then asked, "Which request did they take?"
Mirajane replied, "The cursed island—Galuna Island!"
Makarov immediately recognized it and exclaimed, "The Demon Island?!"
Everyone was stunned. Though none of them had read the request, they had all heard the legends about the demon curse of Galuna Island.
Naturally, everyone started lamenting how hopeless Natsu was—to actually pick that job of all things.
Charles sighed and stood up. "That brat's recklessness is causing trouble for everyone again. But I do know a bit about Galuna Island. Even though it involves demons, the danger level doesn't really warrant an S-Class."
Makarov looked at Charles and said, "This isn't about how dangerous it is. S-Class missions are strictly for S-Class wizards. That's the rule! Charles, go bring Natsu back!"
Charles nodded. "Alright, leave it to me. But I don't know the way—I'll need someone to guide me."
Looking around, Charles locked eyes on someone. "Let's bring Gray with me."
Gray stood up and said, "Since Charles asked, I'll help. Honestly, I could handle this alone—you probably don't even need to come."
"…But could you please put some clothes on first?" Charles said, scowling.
Magnolia was a port city, and on the opposite end of town was its seaside harbor. That was why a request from Galuna Island had ended up at Fairy Tail in the first place.
As they walked through Magnolia's streets, Gray hesitated, then said, "Charles, you didn't bring me along just for directions, did you?"
He hadn't forgotten that Charles could fly. Even if he didn't know the way, he could just look from the sky.
There had to be another reason.
Charles smiled. "You're sharper than you look, Gray. You're right—it's not just about directions. I wasn't lying about knowing some information on Galuna Island. But this mission… has a lot to do with you."
Gray frowned. "With me? But I've never been there."
Charles replied, "You'll understand when you see it. Before we go to find Natsu, you should really think about whether you want to go or not. If you'd rather not, we'll just grab Natsu and bring him back. Nothing else will happen if we skip it."
After all, this was a significant arc in the original story. Charles remembered the Galuna Island plot quite clearly.
Even if he brought Natsu back, the story's trajectory probably wouldn't change.
But when they reached the port, they couldn't find any sign of Natsu or Lucy.
Charles was stunned. He asked a fisherman who was about to set out whether he'd seen the pair.
Maybe because the two had asked to go to Galuna Island, the fisherman remembered them well.
According to him, Natsu and Lucy had arrived at dawn and asked around for someone willing to sail them to Galuna Island.
But everyone was afraid of the island's demon curse—no one was willing to go.
In the end, it was a stranger—an unfamiliar fisherman—who agreed to take them.
Charles sighed in frustration. He clearly remembered that in the original story, Gray had intercepted them at the port. How had Natsu already left this time?
What Charles didn't know was that it was because of him that Natsu had left early.
Erza had already taken another mission and left yesterday. Mystogan wasn't in the guild. Laxus definitely wouldn't get involved.
If someone was going to come drag Natsu back, it would be Charles.
So Natsu had decided to act fast—if he left before anyone realized, he could meet the client. And once that happened, even if Charles found him, the guild would be obligated to complete the job for the sake of their reputation.
In a way, this was a butterfly effect.
If Charles had known the reason, he'd probably sigh and say, "So Natsu can use his brain when it counts."
But now wasn't the time to reflect on that.
Charles turned to Gray. "There's no helping it now. We have to go."
As if it were fate, Gray was once again heading to Galuna Island—to pull a loved one back from the wrong path, and to witness how his teacher helped lift the shadows from his past.
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