"Master, Natsu is acting a bit strange!"
"That kid wants to go save Macao."
"He's still immature. Doing that will only hurt Macao's pride."
Makarov lit his pipe, and said indifferently, "Everyone decides their own path. Let him go."
"Wh… what happened? He… suddenly…"
Lucy was bewildered when Natsu's expression suddenly changed.
Mirajane walked over, placed three beers down, and said, "Because Natsu is just like Romeo, he's remembering his own past experience."
"Huh?" Lucy was a bit confused.
"Natsu's father also left and never returned. He was actually his adoptive father, and also a Dragon."
"A Dragon?!! You're saying Natsu was raised by a Dragon?! How is that possible…"
Lucy was stunned and a little scared by this news.
"When Natsu was little, that Dragon found him in the forest. Language, culture, and even magic were all taught by that Dragon, but one day, he disappeared right before Natsu's eyes."
Lucy suddenly understood. "I see… So that's Igneel."
She remembered the Fire Dragon Natsu was looking for earlier in Hargeon. He was looking for his adoptive father.
Mirajane smiled and said, "Natsu, you know, always hopes to see Igneel again. Isn't that quite cute?"
Gray pouted, "Cute? I think he's annoying no matter how I look at him."
Elfman said, "I don't know what's going on with you two, you've been at odds since you were kids."
Takeshi recalled Macao's storyline at this moment. Macao didn't have much screen time in the Fairy Tail anime.
However, when Fairy Tail was in trouble, he proactively took on the responsibility of Guild master and preserved Fairy Tail. His love for Fairy Tail is unquestionable.
He hadn't been in the guild for long, so he was only barely familiar with Macao.
Since Natsu went, there shouldn't be any need to worry.
After Takeshi had eaten and drunk his fill, he approached Cana, who was drinking from a barrel of alcohol.
"Cana."
Takeshi sat down in front of Cana.
"Hmm? Takeshi, what do you need from me? Do you want to drink with onee-san?"
Cana was a little tipsy at this point. Her eyes lit up when she saw Takeshi looking for her.
Takeshi said helplessly, "You're an eighteen-year-old girl, why do you have such a strong 'big sister' vibe?"
"What? Don't like big sister? Then little sister is fine too." Cana said, tying up her hair, which instantly made her look much younger.
"Alright. Stop joking around, let's get serious. I came to you for a fortune-telling."
"Fortune-telling?"
Cana's eyes lit up, and she sobered up quite a bit. "Are you looking for a love fortune? If it's that, you don't need a fortune-telling. I've already divined it, your destined person is… me… Ow!"
Before Cana could finish speaking, Takeshi flicked her forehead with his finger.
"Ow! You flicked me!!" Cana clutched her forehead.
"I told you, stop joking around, this is serious. Help me divine which day and which hour in the coming days my luck will be best, preferably down to the second."
In the past six months, Takeshi had performed four 10× draws. It was as if he had used up all his accumulated good luck during the previous period. Twice he got nothing, and twice he got a purple character card. His luck was neither good nor bad.
He hadn't gotten a single gold, which made him a little anxious, so he had to find other ways.
As the old saying goes, the end of science is metaphysics.
This was a world of magic, and fortune-telling was not ethereal but genuine. Naturally, he had to make good use of the conditions available.
Cana looked incredulous. "Huh? Down to the second? Do you think I'm the Goddess of Fortune? At most, I can only tell you which hour your luck will be pretty good."
"Hmm… that works too."
At this, Cana's eyes darted, and she rubbed her index finger and thumb together. "But my fees are very expensive."
"How much?"
"Twenty barrels… no, fifty barrels of alcohol."
Takeshi was a rich guy. It would be a disservice to herself not to fleece him properly.
"I think I'll go find someone else then." Takeshi stood up and turned to leave.
"No! Don't go! Twenty barrels! Nineteen barrels! Eighteen…"
Seeing Takeshi stand up, Cana quickly hugged his leg.
Seeing that Takeshi was still about to leave, she quickly said, "Ten barrels! I can't go any lower."
Takeshi stopped at this. "Okay. Ten barrels it is. If the final result satisfies me, I'll give you an extra ten barrels."
The price of ten barrels of alcohol was roughly 500,000 Jewels. It wasn't expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. For Cana, it would mean working hard for one or two months.
Cana's eyes lit up at this, and she immediately jumped up. "Okay! It's a deal."
Then, fearing Takeshi would go back on his word, she immediately raised her hand and called out, "Mira! Ten barrels of alcohol over here! Takeshi's paying!"
"Drink later, let's do the important stuff first. This matter is very important to me." Takeshi's expression was serious.
Cana knew this matter might truly be very important to Takeshi.
She patted her ample chest and said, "Don't worry. The more I drink, the more accurate my divination."
However, despite saying that, she still laid out the tarot cards on the table.
"Draw three cards."
Takeshi casually drew three cards.
Cana flipped them over one by one. "The Fool, The Devil, and The World, right?"
"Hmm… your peak luck will be at exactly 12 AM tonight."
"Tonight at 12 AM? I understand."
Takeshi finished speaking and turned to leave.
"Thank you for your patronage. Next time, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."
At this, Mirajane came over to Cana. "Cana, since when can the Major Arcana cards divine time? Aren't only the Minor Arcana cards able to divine time? Don't you dare fool Takeshi. What Takeshi wants to do is very important to him."
Cana waved her hand and laughed. "Don't worry. The time was just something I made up. I only divined whether what he wants to do will succeed. The time doesn't matter. You don't need to worry about your little lover."
"Li… little lover… What nonsense are you talking about?!" Mirajane's face immediately flushed.
Cana said, "Isn't it? Then I might just make a move, after all, Takeshi really is a good man."
Mirajane retorted, "In your eyes, anyone who can provide you with unlimited alcohol is a good man, right?"
"Who said that? I value feelings very much."
"Is it more important than drinking?"
"No! Alcohol is my boyfriend number one, others are at most boyfriend number two." Cana hugged the alcohol barrel blissfully.
Mirajane, seeing this, smiled helplessly and shook her head.
...
In the evening, the guild closed.
Takeshi walked Mirajane home as usual, and at the same time, had her cast her blessing on him again.
After returning home, he took a hot bath. After that, he sat cross-legged to practice Sun Breathing, while quietly waiting for 12 o'clock to arrive.
Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!
As the 12 o'clock chimes rang, Takeshi immediately opened his eyes and clicked on the system interface.
[Proceed with a 10× draw?]
'Confirm.'