Chapter 109: I Know This Girl

Mira suggested, "Since you're also looking for Natsu, why don't you come into the guild for a bit?"

"Can we?" Wendy asked eagerly.

Rhodes wanted to ask too—could the guild even accommodate guests right now?

"Of course, no problem," Mira said confidently, trusting in everyone's ability to repair the place.

Wendy and Carla followed Mira through the guild doors. Though Carla tried to keep a serious expression, it was clear that she, like Wendy, was full of curiosity. It was their first time visiting another mage's guild.

"Wow, so this is Fairy Tail...?" Wendy's excitement quickly faded, replaced by fear. "What happened here?"

Carla looked just as shocked. "Did you face an attack? An earthquake? A tornado?"

The guild's tavern was in a mess. Everyone inside was either injured or had strange patterns painted on their faces, looking quite frightening.

"Well, well... it's not that serious," Mira called into the room. "Is everyone recovering their spirits?"

Laki and a few girls were busy cleaning, while others were repairing the walls, counters, and stairs—everyone was bustling around.

Laki waved at Mira. "Welcome back, Mira! We broke a lot of plates this time."

"We already bought new tableware."

"Mira! Who's the adorable kid? A client? I want to take her mission!"

"She's a guest from far away, Niki. You should finish what you're working on first."

Rhodes shouted, "Hey, can't any of you wash your faces before working? You're scaring our guests."

Wakaba yelled, "Damn it, Rhodes! Why do we have to fix the guild while you get to go shopping with Mira?"

"Because I wasn't part of the brawl," Rhodes said, patting the canyon crab that stopped at the door. "Come on, someone help move these things!"

Manly Elfman was the first to drop what he was doing to help carry what his sister had bought.

Gray tossed his hammer toward Natsu's feet—he had had enough of repairing the same spot as this idiot.

The three of them moved the supplies to the kitchen while Mira entertained Wendy and Carla with tea.

At the counter, Happy was there too, staring at Carla with hearts in his eyes.

Gray couldn't help but ask, "Who is that kid?"

"And that female Happy!" Elfman added. "Manly!"

"They said they're mages from Cait Shelter, here to see me and Natsu," Rhodes replied. "Have you heard of Cait Shelter?"

Both of them shook their heads, indicating that it must be a guild with little recognition.

After putting everything away, Rhodes dragged Natsu over to the counter. "Sorry to keep you waiting, this is the 'Fire Dragon.'"

"Huh?" Natsu, who still wasn't fully recovered, was visibly confused, though he seemed much better than before. "Where's the Fire Dragon? Where's Igneel?"

Rhodes sighed, "Your nickname is 'Fire Dragon.' Haven't you ever heard it before?"

"Oh..." Natsu deflated, absentmindedly fiddling with the cup of water Mira had placed in front of him.

However, when he heard Wendy's name, he stared at her for a long while.

Rhodes was surprised—Natsu might actually be thinking for once.

"Hey, staring at someone like that is really rude," Carla scolded Natsu, then turned to Happy, pointing with her tiny paw. "And you, tomcat, what have you been doing all this time?"

Happy opened the small green bundle he carried. "Carla, do you want some fish?"

Inside his bundle was always a fish, and he would replace it with a fresh one every day.

"Hmph!" Carla made a face of disgust.

Happy sulked into a corner.

Rhodes nodded in understanding. He had always wondered whether Happy would eventually like a person or a she-cat. Today, he finally had an answer.

"Wendy, Wendy... I've heard that name somewhere before, but also not..." Natsu tapped his head in frustration. "Mira, Rhodes, could you help me think?"

Mira smiled. "Well, I'm afraid I can't help you with that."

"I have a solution. If you've lost your memory, all you need is a stick and a good whack on the head," Rhodes suggested. "I'll go get Erza to help you 'think.'"

"I see!" Natsu hit his palm in realization but quickly reacted. "Wait... are you trying to kill me?!"

This feeling of familiarity upon meeting someone wasn't uncommon—people often called it "a feeling of déjà vu."

So at first, Rhodes hadn't thought much of it. He, too, felt Wendy looked familiar now.

"Wait, hold on. I feel like I've seen Wendy somewhere too—was it a photo or a picture?"

No, it wasn't either of those. It was on the poster in the dormitory!

Wendy... This kid should be one of the main group!

Rhodes suddenly realized, and as he looked at Wendy, the suspicion in his eyes was replaced with warmth.

"Wendy, are these really the people you're looking for?" Carla eyed both Natsu and Rhodes—one seemed dumb, and the other seemed like a friend of the dumb one.

"Don't joke around." Mira cut the two of them off, then asked Wendy, "Why are you looking for them?"

Wendy cautiously asked, "Um, Natsu... are you a Dragon Slayer Mage?"

Natsu nodded. "Yep, Fire Dragon Slayer."

"Actually, I'm a Dragon Slayer Mage too. The Sky Dragon Slayer."

"What?" All three of them were stunned.

Dragon Slayer magic was a type of ancient magic, categorized as Lost Magic.

Lost Magic was termed "lost" because the methods to learn it were almost completely forgotten. It was extremely rare for someone to be able to practice these magics.

Meeting even one Dragon Slayer, like Natsu, was already remarkable.

And now, suddenly, there was Wendy, a girl only 11 years old. It was truly shocking.

For Natsu, however, this wasn't just about surprise. "Wendy, who taught you Dragon Slayer magic?!"

"I was taught by the Sky Dragon, Grandine. Grandine is a real dragon, and she adopted me," Wendy explained. "What about you, Natsu?"

"Me too! The one who taught me was Igneel, the Fire Dragon! Igneel also raised me!" Natsu was thrilled—it was a feeling of finally finding someone like him.

In the past, whenever he mentioned Igneel, others would always tell him that dragons were extinct and impossible to find.

But now, he had finally met someone who had also learned magic from a dragon!

Wendy was equally happy. From the moment she had seen Natsu, she had felt a sense of closeness.

"Wendy, can you take me to see Grandine? Does she know where Igneel went?"

Wendy's joyful expression faded. "Grandine has been gone for six years. On July 7th, six years ago, she suddenly disappeared."

Carla continued for Wendy, "That's also why Wendy came to find you. She wanted to ask if you knew anything about the dragons."

"Igneel too. He vanished six years ago, on July 7th, X777, leaving me without a word."

Natsu's excitement cooled as well. That despicable old man had just disappeared without saying anything.

"How could this be?" Wendy had a bad feeling earlier, but the confirmation left her feeling lost.

"Why was it X777, July 7th, for both of them? It seems like they coordinated it," Mira remarked. "Maybe there's some connection between Igneel and Grandine."

"Was there something special about that day?"

Rhodes recalled his knowledge of general history, but there didn't seem to be any major events or holidays on that date.

Now that he knew Wendy would be part of their group in the future, Rhodes was more willing to think a little harder to help her.

Carla turned to Rhodes. "If there are no other clues, that leaves you—you're the third person here who might be related to dragons."

"...?"