Dragon Egg

At noon, the atmosphere in the guild had eased a little.

Lu Chongwei was chatting idly with Cana, complaining about the two troublesome women.

Just then, the doors swung open.

A tall figure walked in.

He had short blond hair, wore a coat with a fur collar, and had a lightning-shaped scar on his face. His eyes were wild and defiant.

It was Laxus.

He went straight to the job board, tore off an S-Class Mission, then turned to leave without greeting anyone.

Ever since losing to Lu Chongwei a year ago, Laxus had grown even more taciturn, but he had also begun pushing himself even harder.

He took on jobs relentlessly and trained relentlessly, his strength growing at a visible rate.

Half a year ago, he had also successfully become an S-Class Mage.

He was still arrogant, but now there was more composure in his arrogance and less impatience.

"Hey, in such a hurry to leave?"

Lu Chongwei's lazy voice rang out.

He waved his glass of milk and called out to Laxus.

"You just got back and you're already leaving? You're pushing yourself too hard. Your body won't be able to take it."

Laxus stopped and glanced back at Lu Chongwei, his expression cold.

"None of your business."

"Don't be so cold."

Lu Chongwei stood up, walked over, and slung an arm around Laxus's shoulder.

Laxus looked disgusted and tried to pull away, but Lu Chongwei's hand was as immovable as an iron clamp.

"Have you heard? Natsu found a Dragon Egg."

Lu Chongwei pointed at the egg that everyone had gathered around.

"That's a rare sight. Why not stick around and take a look?"

"A Dragon Egg?"

Laxus frowned slightly and glanced at the egg. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, but he stopped walking.

"Only an idiot would believe in something like that."

"Why not take a look and see if it's real?"

Lu Chongwei led him over to the bar and sat him down, then gestured to Makarov.

"Old man, get this guy a drink. It's on me."

"I don't drink."

Laxus gave a cold snort.

"Then how about milk?" Lu Chongwei pushed his own glass toward him.

Laxus looked at the glass of white milk, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"...I'll have the drink."

The two sat side by side. They didn't say much, but the aura of two S-Class Mages kept those around them from approaching.

Just as they clinked their glasses and were about to take a sip—

"AAAAAAAH!!!"

A piercing scream shattered the calm.

Natsu clutched his head and fell to his knees, letting out a despairing wail.

"My egg! My egg! It's gone!!!"

"What?!"

The guild erupted in an instant.

The Dragon Egg, which had been sitting right there moments ago, had vanished into thin air!

"Who?! Who stole my egg?!"

Like a rabid beast, Natsu's eyes turned bloodshot as he lunged at anyone nearby.

He charged at Gray and grabbed him by the collar.

"Was it you?! You droopy-eyed jerk! You must've frozen it and hidden it somewhere!"

"Huh? Are you crazy, flame-brain?! I've been sitting right here the whole time!"

Gray shoved Natsu away.

Natsu charged toward Lu Chongwei and Laxus.

"Was it you two?! You wanted to cook it and eat it, didn't you?!"

Lu Chongwei calmly took a sip of milk and held up a finger to Natsu's forehead.

"Calm down. If we were going to eat it, we'd fry it. An egg that big would take too long to boil."

"So you did want to eat it!!!"

Natsu was even more distraught, nearly breathing fire at Lu Chongwei.

"You're too loud."

Laxus set down his glass, lightning crackling around him.

"If you keep yelling, I'll roast you."

Just as the guild descended into chaos and Natsu was about to beat everyone up—

The doors swung open again.

"Um... what's going on, everyone?"

Elfman walked in.

He was carrying something wrapped in a thick blanket, looking bewilderedly at the chaos around him.

"Elfman!"

Mirajane stared at her younger brother in surprise.

"What are you carrying?"

Elfman scratched his head, then awkwardly lifted one corner of the blanket.

The egg with blue patterns was nestled inside.

"The egg!!!"

Natsu rushed over in an instant and snatched it from Elfman, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Thank goodness! You're still here! You scared me to death!"

"I thought it looked a little cold sitting on the table..."

Elfman explained earnestly.

"The guild gets drafty at night, so I took it home and kept it warm under a blanket all night. A real man knows how to take care of the weak."

Everyone collapsed in disbelief.

So it had all been a false alarm.

"I'm sorry, Elfman! You're a good guy!"

Clutching the egg, Natsu bowed to Elfman over and over.

Just then—

"Crack."

A faint, crisp sound rang out.

It was quiet, but in the now-silent guild, it was unmistakable.

Everyone froze.

Natsu stiffly lowered his head.

A tiny crack had appeared in the shell of the enormous egg.

"Crack... crack..."

The crack quickly spread, covering the entire shell like a spiderweb.

A faint but vibrant magical power radiated from inside the egg.

"It's hatching!" Lisanna cried.

"Look!"

Lu Chongwei was interested too. He set down his glass of milk and pulled Laxus over.

"Hey, don't pull me..."

Laxus said he didn't want to go, but his body followed along of its own accord, stretching his neck to get a better look.

He was curious too—what in the world would hatch from this so-called "Dragon Egg"?

Everyone held their breath, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on the egg.

The guild was so quiet that only the sound of the shell cracking could be heard. Sunlight slanted in through the window, making the patterns on the shell gleam faintly. Natsu's hands trembled slightly as he held the egg, his eyes locked on the crack as it slowly widened.