Chapter 4

After a few hours, Natsu and Happy finally arrived at Crocus, with Natsu kissing the ground with a silly smile as if he was worshipping it.

Bystanders were staring at him with weird looks, well how could they not? Even Happy, who is supposed to be on his side, is also staring at him with a weird look.

After a few minutes, Natsu finally came to his senses as they continue their journey towards the royal palace.

"Whoa~! This place sure is amazing! It couldn't even be compared to Magnolia!" Natsu exclaimed as he observed his surroundings.

"Aye! There are so many fish here! There are even fish I couldn't recognize! Ohhh~! Natsu! Look! Look! That's a really big fish! I bet it tastes super delicious as well!"

The cat and dragon duo roamed around the market for a good hour before they finally remembered what they came here for.

Of course, Natsu bought a bunch of fish for Happy before leaving.

It took them a few minutes before they arrived at the entrance of the palace, with a hunched old man with a pair of big ears, hammer shaped eyebrows, and a scar on the left side of his face.

He wears a dark cap that covers most of his forehead, a light colored robe under a dark vest and a simple pair of shoes for footwear.

Several guards with matching uniforms were standing beside him.

"Are you Mr. Dragneel? The dragon slayer of Fairytail?" The short old man asked as he approached the duo.

"Yep, that's me, and this one here is my best buddy, Happy."

"Aye!"

The old man frowned for a moment but quickly sighed and introduced himself, "It is nice to meet you, Mr. Dragneel, I am Darton, the minister of defense of the Fiore kingdom."

"Please follow me, the king has been waiting for you."

The duo followed the old man, Darton, towards the palace. The dragon and cat were pretty amazed by the beauty of the palace, something Darton noticed as he held his high with pride.

After a few minutes, the group finally arrived in front of a large double doors with two maids waiting for them.

The maids bowed and opened the doors, and Darton, Natsu, and Happy went inside, while the soldiers that has been following them, stayed and guard the door.

The first thing Natsu noticed was the short man probably in his forties or fifties wearing a luxurious clothes with cape and a crown.

Then, his eyes wandered at the person standing beside him, it was a young girl around thirteen or fourteen years old with emerald green hair and dark green eyes.

Darton immediately kneeled, and Natsu looking at him in confusion. Well, no one can blame him for this, despite sometimes, he showed signs of intelligence, Natsu, is pretty dumb.

He doesn't even know that you have to kneel when facing the king.

Darton glance at him with stern eyes and was about reprimand him but the king beat him to it.

"It is nice to meet you, Natsu Dragneel, I am the king of Fiore, Toma E. Fiore, and this girl here is my only daughter, the princess, Hisui E. Fiore."

The king introduced himself before pointing at his daughter, who give a courtesy bow with a smile.

"Oh~ nice to meet you too! I'm Natsu Dragneel, and this one here is my partner, Happy!" Natsu grinned before pointing at himself and Happy.

"Aye! It's nice to meet you your majesty!"

Toma nodded with a smile, but was quickly replaced by serious and stern face.

"Now that pleasantries are done, let us go to a much serious matter."

Natsu gulped, totally caught off guard by the sudden change of the King's atmosphere.

'Looks like this job, is much more serious than I thought.' Natsu thought as he also turned serious.