"And that blond brat over there who refuses to join the fun. If I am not mistaken, you are a Dragon Slayer too, are you not?"
"Eh? Our guild has a second Dragon Slayer? Since when did that happen? How come I never knew?"
The stunned crowd followed Irene's gaze and turned toward Laxus, who had been lurking silently in the corner, listening to their conversation the whole time.
Having suddenly become the center of attention, even Laxus was caught completely off guard.
Under the suspicious and questioning stares of everyone around him, Laxus, who had been secretly hiding this from them all along, gave a deeply reluctant nod.
"Yeah. I use Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic."
"Ehhh!!! So it's actually true!"
"You bastard, Laxus! You really kept that hidden from us all this time?!"
"Yeah, seriously, that's way too stingy of you!"
Faced with the guild's accusations, Laxus darkened his face and snapped back,
"Shut it, idiots. It's perfectly reasonable for me to keep a hidden trump card to myself.
Keep yapping and I'll fry every last one of you, got it?!"
After roaring that, he turned and pointed straight at the eager-looking Natsu, stuffing every word Natsu had been about to blurt out right back down his throat.
"And you shut up too. My Dragon Slayer Magic came from a Dragon Lacrima that my bastard father implanted into me when I was a kid. I don't know any dragon."
"Damn it... how is that even fair? I worked so hard learning everything from Igneel..."
Natsu lowered his head and muttered bitterly, full of grievance and disappointment.
And just as his mood sank, Irene's voice sounded softly again.
"Igneel? I have heard that name before as well."
In an instant, Natsu's face brightened as though the clouds had parted. Looking at her with desperate hope, he blurted out,
"Really? You know Igneel? Then do you know where he is?!
Please, you have to tell me. This is really important to me!"
"Know him? Not exactly. I have only heard of him before.
As for his whereabouts..."
Irene paused there, and her gaze drifted directly toward Natsu's lower abdomen.
At the same time, deep inside Natsu's body, within a separate space made of molten lava and active volcanoes, a pair of fierce dragon eyes slowly opened.
'Irene Belserion... that woman is still alive?
Wait. This feeling... I see. So she underwent Dragonization...'
As a dragon who had once lived in the same era as Irene, Igneel naturally knew the name of the Mother of Dragon Slayers.
And as a dragon, his senses were sharp enough to instantly perceive the abnormal state of Irene's body.
Through the outer illusion, he saw straight through to the truth, that Irene's essence had long since been corroded by Dragon Slayer Magic.
Just as importantly, he also knew that Irene had already noticed him hiding inside Natsu.
'No good. This is not the right time for Natsu to learn any of this yet.'
With that thought, Igneel took the initiative and sent Irene a telepathic message.
'Queen Irene. I think we need to talk.'
In the real world, the corners of Irene's lips lifted ever so slightly for a moment, though she quickly suppressed it.
"My apologies, but I do not know where he is either. Ever since the Dragon King Festival more than four hundred years ago, most dragonkind was wiped out.
I merely heard the name of the Fire Dragon King, Igneel, in the past. Nothing more."
"I-I see..."
Natsu immediately sank back into disappointment.
Gray, who normally could not stand him, still stepped up and awkwardly patted his shoulder when he saw how dejected he looked.
"Hey. This doesn't suit you, Natsu. As long as you keep looking, you and Igneel will definitely meet again someday."
Happy also flew over to Natsu and began waving his little arms while giving his own analysis.
"That's right, Natsu. I'll help you search too. Igneel is definitely still out there somewhere, waiting for you."
And because she still needed that fire dragon's help in the future, even Irene took the initiative to comfort the boy a little.
"Do not worry, child. The Fire Dragon King Igneel was one of the very strongest dragons in existence. He would not die so easily."
"Aye! Natsu, see? Even Lady Irene says so, so just relax already!"
Under the combined comfort of his companions and Irene, Natsu quickly regained his spirit.
"That's right. Maybe this is just another one of Igneel's tests for me.
That bastard old man is probably hiding somewhere right now and secretly watching me.
I can't give up. No matter what he's planning, I'll see it through!!"
With that, he immediately recovered all his energy and dragged Gray and Happy off to continue drinking and stuffing themselves with food.
Little did he know that, by accident, he had just guessed the truth.
For a brief moment, Kabe, Irene, and even Igneel inside Natsu all broke out in cold sweat.
'That was close. We almost got exposed.' *3