Fairy Egg-Hatching Chronicle

"That egg... it really is the same species as Aibo's, isn't it?"

"Definitely. Aside from the patterns and colors, there's almost no difference."

After the three arrived at the guild, they kept examining Natsu's egg. Mira even stepped forward and tapped the shell, making Natsu jump in fright.

"Hey! Mira, what are you doing?! What if you crack it?! This is a dragon egg! I'm going to hatch it!"

"Dragon egg?"

Aibo immediately tensed up. Could a dragon have sent its egg to my house? Is that why it gave me a 'dragon seed'!?

"Natsu! How do you know it's a dragon egg? Can you sense it?"

"Huh? Look at the pattern on the shell. Doesn't it look like dragon claws? So it has to be a dragon egg!"

"..." xN

Aibo covered his eyes and smiled in resignation.

He'd really lost his mind to have trusted Natsu's judgment.

"Anyway! I'm going to hatch it! Do you have any ideas? That stingy old geezer, the Master, refused to help!"

Makarov picked up his staff, stretched out his arm, and whacked Natsu on the head.

"Idiot! I told you, magic cannot be used to profane life! Life is born from love, and love is the greatest magic of all."

"I don't get it!"

Erza put her hands on her hips and smiled.

"Natsu, you usually only know how to cause destruction. This is a perfect chance for you to experience the birth of life properly. What the Master means is that you can't rely on violent magic to hatch it. You need to put your heart into it."

Mira chimed in sarcastically from the side.

"Ohoho~ Erza sure loves making things up for herself. Even though you're clearly the most violent person in the entire guild."

"Mira, did you not get beaten up enough earlier?"

"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who?!"

The two of them immediately fought up a Showa-style cloud of white dust.

Having been beaten up too often, Gray had no choice but to act buddy-buddy with Natsu in front of Erza. He complained inwardly in exasperation.

"Crafty Erza. She's exactly like that herself, yet she tells us not to fight."

For once, Natsu shared Gray's outrage.

"Exactly! Damn it! Whether it's Erza or Mira, one day I'll beat all of them!"

At that moment, Lisanna approached Aibo, who was floating in the air as he studied Natsu's egg, and asked curiously,

"Aibo, my sister said you have an egg like this too?"

"What?! Is that true? Aibo, you have one too?"

Aibo nodded.

"Yeah. It suddenly appeared in my room today. Where did you find your egg, Natsu?"

"I picked it up in the eastern forest! Could your egg and mine be brothers!?"

Lisanna looked at Natsu, whose spiky pink hair pointed upward like a hedgehog's quills, then at Aibo, whose short pink hair grew downward. Covering her mouth, she giggled.

"Natsu and Aibo really do look like brothers~ Look, my brother, sister, and I all have white hair, while both of you have pink hair."

"Huh?! Now that you mention it, I just realized your hair is the same color as mine, Aibo!"

"..."

Aibo really didn't want to call a brainless, perpetually unhappy guy like Natsu his brother. He was the intelligent Happy Superman, after all.

"Um, let's figure out how to hatch the eggs first..."

Lisanna eagerly raised her hand.

"I'll help too! I read in a book that you need to keep an egg warm to hatch it, so—ah!! Natsu, what are you doing?!"

Before Lisanna could finish, she saw Natsu breathe a burst of fire at the egg in his hands.

"Huh? Doesn't it need warmth? This is what I'm best at!"

"Idiot! Are you trying to cook the egg?!"

"..."

Natsu's recklessness nearly gave Aibo high blood pressure. What if the egg got roasted stupid? No, I absolutely can't let Natsu near my egg.

"Ahem, the warmth Lisanna meant is a temperature close to that of the human body. It can't be too high or too low. Also, hatching an egg requires maintaining a certain level of humidity, supplying moisture, and keeping the shell's surface ventilated. You also need to turn the egg occasionally to prevent it from sticking..."

The more Lisanna listened, the brighter her eyes became, shining with admiration.

"Aibo, you're amazing! You know so much."

"Well, I just read it in books..."

Natsu scratched his head in frustration.

"Huh, does it really have to be so troublesome? Aibo, you definitely have a solution, right? Help me!"

"..."

Aibo truly had no way to deal with a straightforward natural idiot like Natsu. He sighed.

"Fine. All of you, follow me..."

Thus, a huge group of children poured out of the guild, all following along to join the fun.

"The children of this generation get along so well~"

"Yes, yes. Young people are so enviable~"

"Laxus, aren't you going to go take a look?"

"Get lost."

Meanwhile, Aibo led the group to an area near his home, chose a good spot, and began construction.

First, he used Earth Make to build a small mound and raise the ground. Then, he used Wood Make to weave a nest-like structure.

Aibo pointed at the pile of grass before them.

"Put the egg here. Then I'll carve magic circles outside to control the temperature and humidity. After that, you just need to come over and turn the egg now and then. That should do it."

"Aibo is amazing!" "Just as expected of Aibo!" "With Aibo around, nothing can stump him."

The children's praise was completely sincere, and Aibo accepted it calmly.

Natsu, however, was seeing Aibo's skills for the first time, and his eyes lit up.

"Aibo! Your magic seems really strong. Want to have a match?"

"N-no, I'm not good at fighting. You should go find Gray instead."

Sweating, Aibo shook his head frantically.

This was exactly what he didn't want to see. If a battle-crazed one-track mind like Natsu latched onto him, his good days would be over.

"So it was that simple? I was even thinking of using the magic I just learned to help hatch the egg~"

"Lisanna's magic?"

"Mm-hmm! Full-Body Takeover—Animal Soul!"

Then Aibo watched Lisanna transform into a large bird. It seemed to be called a Flame-Crowned Pheasant? A large bird that supposedly tasted a lot like chicken. Lisanna had actually taken over a small animal? That was way too evil.

"This is my friend, Basha. She was hit by a magic train before and was badly injured beyond recovery. She hoped I could live on carrying her share as well..."

Ah, I'm truly awful. I actually suspected such a pretty and kind little girl.

Suppressing the reproach of his conscience, Aibo offered a reasonable suggestion.

"Actually, Lisanna, you could hold the egg and hatch it too. The temperature controlled by magic ultimately isn't as good as a living creature's body heat. It might even speed up the hatching process."

"Really? Then I'll come help whenever I have time!"

Natsu was deeply moved.

"Thank you, everyone, for helping! I'll definitely hatch it! Oh, right, Gray, you ice-block bastard, you're forbidden from coming over! You'll freeze the egg!"

"Huh? You idiot! I wouldn't just use magic randomly!"

"You wanna fight?!"

"Bring it on!"

Erza: "Hmm?!"

Natsu & Gray: "Ahahaha~ We get along really well~"

In her large bird form, Lisanna pecked Aibo's arm.

"Where's your egg, Aibo? Aren't you bringing it over to hatch together?"

"Ah, no, that's not necessary. I can take care of my egg myself. I've already set up a magic circle at home too."

Aibo would never let someone as dangerous as Natsu get near his egg.

Elsewhere, Elfman watched his younger sister, who could already use Full-Body Takeover. He lowered his head dejectedly, then looked at Aibo, who was being admired by everyone. Quietly clenching his fist, he made a decision...