Chapter 30

After some time...

The sounds began to slowly return, the rustle of grass quickly turned into the crackle of a fire, and then Natsu slowly opened his eyes and met the starry sky. The moon quietly rose in the sky and the world, as always, lived its own life. Only a moment of pain all over his body brought the guy to his senses, he tried to get up, but nothing came of it. Natsu coughed and whispered:

- W-water ...

- Here you go, - immediately a mug was extended to the face of the ate. Aidan helped Natsu sit down and got him drunk. Then he turned his head and nodded thoughtfully:

- Not bad, the bones will still ache, but I have restored all external damage. I am good at restoring tissues and organs, but bones are a little more complicated. You should lie down for a couple of days, Dragon Slayers I hear are recovering quickly. While you're singing the light, I need to deal with our catch ...

When the guy waved to the side, Natsu involuntarily examined a whole bunch of boar carcasses. There was also a huge boar with a bloody hole in its side. Natsu immediately recognized him:

- This is indeed...

- Yeah, - Aidan nodded and took a sip from his mug: - I arrived in time, he wanted to beat you, punched his hands and injured his ribs. Still a little ... - Aidan sighed and got up from the ground. Fairy Tail's red mark brightened in the glow of the fire and Natsu smiled for a moment.

- Eh? Why are you smiling?

- Ha, well, alive!

Aidan laughed and patted the boy on the head.

- It's right! - Bending over the wounded and bandaged Natsu, the guy added menacingly: - Next time call me! Fight as much as you want, but don't you dare die! Well, and so ... - after a yawn, Aidan scratched the back of his head and extended his hand with slowly manifesting magic:

"I'll try to cover everyone in the guild. At least I won't let you die completely. After all ... Life and death are in my hands!

In a glimpse of the magic of life, Aidan's determined grin was instantly imprinted in the memory of young Dragneel. Natsu smiled and nodded.

- Okay! I'll always cover you too!

- Hmm, then ... - Aidan moved away and rummaged in his backpack, took out a bottle of Sake, then poured himself and Natsu, and then raised a glass above his head: - For strong friendship!

- Aha! - Natsu did the same and as soon as the mugs of friends touched each other, both guys drained them in one gulp.

Then, by the fire, the two chatted a little about the past, mainly the young salamanders spoke, telling stories about Igneel. How he taught him, how he looked and how caring he was. Even the story of his white scarf he told quite colorfully. Natsu's determination to find the dragon's father stirred Aidan's feelings, and he himself remembered his family.

An hour later, Natsu fell asleep. Amid the calm crackle of the fire, Aidan made himself comfortable and began to carve the carcasses of the animals. The day went as well as possible, it is a pity only Natsu patted.

"I'm already close ... Now you just have to deal with the task and you can find normal housing! Then I can finally start learning. If I don't know anything important about magic, then I won't be able to rescue Ur. I must find a way to rescue her from the Ice Coffin. Without a bit of Ur, I'm not sure about talking to Ultear. I have a folder with data, but isn't that enough ... "- with a heavy sigh, Aidan looked at Natsu and smiled.

"I also have to protect Wendy and cover the guild as a last resort. I'm not at all sure that everything is the same as I remember. I'm not sure if Natsu will always win with her friendship power. He's a nice guy, but maybe it's different this time. And I'm not going to rely on others. Besides, how can I talk about meeting my sister when even weaker than her, how can I think about freeing her. I have so much work ahead of me ... "

He looked at the pile of animal corpses, Aidan sighed again:

"It looks like this is just the beginning ... My magic is powerful, but I myself am still unable to know it. Until I become a worthy wizard, it doesn't even make sense for me to think about connections with people. So far, I can protect Wendy, but this is only now. I chose Fairy Tail not only because of their reputation as a good guild, not only because of my memories of a future that I can influence. This is all for a safe haven for Wendy and me. Now I am obliged to gain strength, I am obliged to repay them in kind ... To protect everyone who is dear to me now and will be in the future. I may be in a bit of a hurry, but I'm sure this is necessary. Everything, as usual, comes down to strength ... "

Thoughtful about his journey, Aidan continued to butcher the carcasses of the beasts. He clearly understood that in this world it was not always worth relying on friendship and guild. You always need to have your own strength at the heart of everything. Strength for a magician is not always his magic and reserves of magic. Sometimes it can be a strong party of wizards under his leadership, but also power and wealth. There is a long way ahead, you need to go to the goal and not stop there!

***

Early in the morning, Aidan finally finished. Covered in blood from head to toe, he collected the skins from all the animals and even divided the meat. So that it does not go to waste, he sent Natsu to the guild for help. There, they themselves must figure out what to do with all the good. On this Aidan did everything he could. The skins turned out: three wolf, twenty brown, six gray - this, not counting the catch of Natsu. His skins were slightly tainted, especially the last, the most valuable. The gray boar was not badly hurt, Aidan simply pierced him with a thick spear made of ice and finished him off on the spot. At that moment, he did not think at all about the value of the hide, he just saved a friend. Still a little bit and Natsu could completely lose his life. Still, it was not for nothing that Erza forbade him to go on dangerous missions. From then on, Aidan decided once again not to take others with him on an unverified mission if they were not strong enough. He did not know Dragneel's abilities at all and this is what came of it ...

Gathering the skins, already tired, Aidan headed for the city. It was hard, but he managed it after a couple of rounds. His bloody appearance attracted attention, but the Fairy Tail mark on his back quickly eased the restlessness of others.

Having finished with the last skins, Aidan met several familiar faces from the guild along the way. The guys were already dragging mountains of meat to the guild with all their might. It looks like Makarov is quite interested in this. Aidan no longer attached any importance to this and calmly trudged off with the last batch of skins to the artisan. He laid out and examined the goods brought by the young wizard all morning.