Natsu stepped out of Ceres' shower and rolled his shoulders. He had just finished a long workout which included a swim in the lakes and a run through the multicoloured forest, it had become his usual morning and night routine while he stayed in Ceres' domain. He grabbed a white fluffy towel and began drying himself, his dog-tags and rings jingling around his neck. As he passed by the mirror, he glanced at it and inspected his appearance. Over the last month, he hadn't shaved or looked after his hair, and both had gotten long and scruffy, thankfully he had access to good hair products in Ceres' realm.

"It's getting a bit long, might trim the beard to stubble… not much I can do about the hair though…" He murmured while tugging on his damp fringe. His usual spikes were almost gone, only remaining in a loose mess of strands on his head. He ran his hand through them and slicked them back, he could almost hear a familiar giggle when he stared at his reflection. He smiled softly at the phantom sound and messed his hair up then carefully restyled it into long, swept-back spikes. "I'll get it cut sometime later when I'm in this new world.

After trimming back his darker salmon-pink facial hair to a short stubble, he got half-dressed and stepped out of the bathroom with his shirt in his hands. A soft grunt drew his attention to the bedroom door as Ceres came in and hefted a leather travel bag onto the bed. "You're back? You've been gone for a few days…"

"Yeah." The woman groaned and threw herself down onto the bed, making herself at home in her own room. "Your new clothes are in that bag. They'll be suitable for your new job. It's more formal than what you might be used to but it needed to fit with the era while also having a Jaeger's eccentric flare of utility and fashion."

"How did you pay for it?" Natsu asked curiously as he tossed his shirt onto the bed and opened the bag.

"Well, while I as down in that world and setting things in motion for you, I set up an account with the Bank of Fiore in your name and had a paper trail created along with some money transferred from one of Magnolia's Cathedrals where I have another one of my Chosen; you'll meet her later. Essentially, you had been paid for services rendered as a Jaeger. I used some of this money to pay a tailor to make these clothes for you, she works on Jaeger equipment and was able to get it done quickly for an additional price."

"Thanks." Natsu said as he took the clothes out of the bag and laid them out on the bed. "These clothes feel really high quality."

"All of your garments are made from Arachne silk. That's what the tailor is, an Arachne, but she's a nice woman; soft and kind-hearted. Wouldn't even hurt a fly, pardon the pun." Ceres grinned at her own joke and turned on the bed, resting on her stomach with her head propped up on her hands as she watched the man unpack his clothes. "I had her make a few spares, identical though, so you have more than one change of clothes."

The clothing consisted of black trousers, a black waistcoat with a shadowy ornate swirling pattern in the fabric itself and tastefully trimmed with a golden thread, a shadowy-blue dress shirt. Inside the bag, there was also a pair of freshly polished black leather boots, fastened with gold buckles, a matching belt, and a trench coat made from the same swirly material as the waistcoat, complete with gold thread and gold buckles to tie it into the rest of the outfit. But as Natsu picked up the coat, he noticed that it was heavier than it looked; something was woven in between the inner and outer layers.

"What's inside the coat?"

"Hide from a monster that is prized for its durability and resilience to damage. It has been specially treated to be soft and mailable so it can be added into clothing as a form of hidden armour. Since it's fairly tough, it should keep you protected from most things you'd encounter but not everything, so I'd still be cautious and prioritise not getting hit."

"I like it, all of it. It all feels really durable, like it would stand up to combat. And it is pretty fancy so if I do end up finding myself in some noble's party, I should at least look the part."

"Yeah, that's why I went to the Arachne woman. Like I said, she makes clothes for Jaegers who have an eccentric style and don't conform to any norms across any of the races." Ceres took the last of the clothing out of the leather bag and began neatly folding it on the bed. "Oh, I also applied a little charm of my own to everything here, including socks and underwear. They'll self-repair and self-clean when you activate the charm by pouring some of your magic power, just a touch."

"Convenient." Natsu glanced at the woman then began to strip in front of her.

"You seem to be in a much better condition than you were when I found you." Ceres observed, her eyes starting to glow as she took in the sight of the naked man's body, scars and all. "You're looking healthier and definitely cleaner, I guess your body wasn't liking the radiation but it wasn't harming you beyond minor radiation sickness. You're still normal, well, normal for you. There is no sign sterility from what I can see with my eyes, and no mutations, growths or tumours born of radiation. Have you been checking yourself?"

"Yeah, did it in the shower. The pair still feel like they always have." Natsu replied as he started to dress in his new fancy clothes. "It seems that I was feeling a little off, I just didn't realise it until you made me take a dip in the lakes here. While you've been gone, I've been returning there for a swim each morning and before bed just to be sure that there aren't any residual pollutants in me."

"That's a good idea. While it would've cleansed you in the first visit, additional visits would've had a restorative and rejuvenating effect on your body." Ceres stepped off the bed and walked up to the man, inspecting his clothes with a critical expression before giving him a warm, motherly smile. "It looks good on you."

"The fit is perfect too; how did you manage that?"

"Made a life-sized poseable doll of you that had all the right proportions of your body." The goddess shrugged like it was nothing before guiding him toward her standing mirror. "She's really talented, I'll have to give you her name later."

"Thanks." Natsu twisted and turned, looking at his body from different angles. "Could you grab the coat for me." As the woman grabbed the coat, Natsu's ear twitched as he heard something in the distance; two women talking. "Are you expecting visitors?"

"Damn! Yeah… I am." Ceres quickly helped the man into the heavy coat and patted him down. "Good, this fits perfectly too. It has internal pockets for you to store things in, whether it's your gun magazines or a notepad or something else." Once she was satisfied with how the clothes looked and felt on him, she hurried to the bedroom door. "I forgot that I planned to have tea with some friends of mine; other goddesses. You can keep that bag, use it for storing whatever you don't want inside your requip spell. Oh! Before I forget." The rushed woman hurried back to the man and reached down into her cleavage, pulling a thin and tall bright-blue crystal the size of a pen from her bust and which hovered above her hand when she showed it to him, spinning slowly. "It's called a Knowledge Crystal, one that I've imbued with your world's collective knowledge. I saw no reason to let it go to waste. I want you to use it however you see fit, be it to create more ammunition and parts for your guns, or to learn medical practices or mercantile practices, maybe recreate the alloys from your world." She pressed the crystal shard against his chest and it sank through his clothes, merging with his soul. "To access the information, you'll need to be in a meditative state and guide your sub-conscious to the desired information with your will."

Natsu watched the pure-white woman hurry from the room and heard her dash to the front door just in time for someone to knock on it. He tuned out their conversation as he turned to the bed and began laying out his various weapons upon it. "Maybe I should put some effort into disguising these weapons once I'm settled in. At least so it would be harder for people to realise that they aren't of that world."

He sent the rifles and shotgun away, leaving only the suppressed M12 Pistol and three magazines. He had felt naked not carrying around a weapon and since he would be going into a world that he had next to no knowledge of, he wanted to be armed with a trusty weapon that he could grab in and instant. So, he brought out a holster and set of magazine pouches and he attached them to the back of his belt, hiding the weapon and magazines beneath his coat.

Once Natsu had placed his toiletries into the bag, he sent it away. He had never really cared what he stored in his requip dimension but if he had to take a monster's head as proof then it would probably be a good idea to carry it in the bag, or at least in a sack, and not inside his magical dimension, not that it would contaminate anything in there… hopefully. With a final look around the room that he had been staying in and checking if he had forgotten anything, he turned to the door and headed for the dining room where he could hear chatter.

"My, my, Ceres, who is this?" A black-haired goddess mused as her violet eyes flicked over to Natsu. Recognition flashed in her eyes as they widened momentarily. "Ah, you found one of them, huh?"

"Meaning?" The white-haired goddess asked curiously.

"A source of entertainment, of course!"

"I should've known." Ceres sighed as she turned to Natsu. "Natsu, this is Eris…" She gestured to the loud goddess then to a third goddess with auburn hair and golden eyes, "and Io."

"Hmm. It's nice to meet you, Goddesses." Natsu bowed his politely, figuring it was the right thing to do. His gaze flicked between the three impossibly beautiful women but he turned and made his way to the other side of the kitchen bench, making a coffee with the hot kettle. "It's nice to see that there are goddesses with a concept of the word 'colour'."

"Hey!" Ceres pouted at the man's back and sighed, turning back to her guests, only to find them both grinning. "What?"

"He has a point, you know!" Eris laughed, eyes brimming with barely restrained mirth. "You could stand to wear something other than a white dress."

"Maybe we could go shopping in Avalon and get you some new outfits?" Io suggested, her voice was small and soft, arguably a little cute. "It would be nice to get out for a little bit."

"Fine. I'll see if there is something I like…" Ceres conceded with a huff and sipping her cup of tea. "Anyway, this is Natsu Dragneel from… it doesn't matter anymore, I guess, the world has been archived. He was a Commander of the elite Shock Troopers of his nation and was in the middle of a World War. Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid a world-ending event and only he remained alive in the end thanks to his biology and pride."

"Oh? Another displaced soldier boy?" Eris purred softly, running a finger around the rim of her cup as her gaze drifted over to the pinkette. "Hm... You're one of the hybrid variants, aren't you?"

"Yes. I am a hybrid; part demon, dragon, and human. I've been this way for as long as I can remember, I've always had these markings on my arms." The man replied as he took a seat at the table. He pulled his arm from his coat's sleeve and unclasped his cuff which he pushed back to reveal his black ember tattoo-like markings. "They grew as I grew, when I was a kid, those markings were just tiny embers but now they're around an inch long. I haven't measured each one, but there are slight variations in size and shape."

Io eyed the markings and reached over the corner of the table to lightly run her fingers over his skin, tracing the black marks. "You're… very warm. And you have a lot of power hidden under the surface, daring someone to make it come out…" The innocence in her eyes slowly receded, replaced by a faint longing and possessiveness. "You are a dangerous man, Mister Dragneel."

"Keep your legs together, Io." Eris teased as the man fixed his clothing. "Anyway, I've got my eye on a man like you. He had an accident and was sent to another world, a world at war with a terrifying race of monsters. Incidentally, their antics makes for some great entertainment. I follow them even when they leave my jurisdiction."

Ceres sighed and covered her face with her hand. She was embarrassed by her friends' antics; one was a closet perv hidden by a thick air of innocence and the other was so outgoing that it was tiring. "Oh, Eris, you remember that watermelon?"

"The one that talks? Yeah, how can I forget!" Eris laughed boisterously. "The damn thing's a menace and I love it!"

"Can you tell Natsu a little bit about it?"

"Heh, Sure!" The goddess grinned and leaned in. "So, get this, it's called Normalface, and for a watermelon, it's fucking violent!"

"I think that's a given, considering watermelons aren't inherently violent..." Natsu deadpanned.

"Yeah, but it's exceptionally violent."

"For a watermelon." Natsu tacked on. He took a sip of his coffee, his abyssal onyx eyes fixed on the violet eyes of the spunky goddess sat across from him.

"For any kind of produce, really." Io quietly added, it was a miracle she could be heard by everyone at the table, though, she was a goddess after all. "Though, I've heard that eggplants can be particularly vengeful..."

"Huh, why is that?" Ceres' attention snapped to the auburn-haired goddess, and she eyed the woman curiously but with a hint of suspicion. Io was known for loving obscure jokes.

"Because nobody likes eggplants." Io replied instantly, a cute little smirk tugging at her lips.

"Moving on..." Natsu murmured, shaking his head lightly at the woman's unusual remark. "Who made it?"

"Oh, some short blue-haired nutter of a woman." Eris sat back and rubbed her cheek softly. "Lena McInna, no… Lisa… Linda… no that's not right…"

"Wait… you said they were part of 'my' group…" Natsu leaned forward with a confused look. "You don't mean it was Levy McGarden? Cute little bookworm, short blue hair, not much of a chest?"

"Yes, her." Eris pointed to the man with an excited grin. "Except I wouldn't describe her like that anymore. Like I said, she's a nutter. Does a bunch of weird experiments. She was the one who created that devil of a watermelon."

"Bullshit."

"Nope." The black-haired woman held up her hands and smiled honestly. "I'm being one-hundred percent truthful. She's absolutely batshit crazy. But she isn't the only one, the whole load of them have more than a few screws loose. You could fill a hardware store with the shit they're missing."

"Holy shit…" Natsu murmured and shook his head, blinking his eyes in shock. "So, what about Mira?"

"She's nuts."

"Erza?"

"Basically, a second Natsu from what I see."

"Lucy?" He asked quietly, raising an eyebrow at the woman. "What about her?"

"All of them are nuts, kiddo." Eris laughed and grinned wildly. "It makes for one hell of a piece of entertainment."

"I suppose everyone would have a completely different version of them in the various worlds." Natsu muttered, surprised that even Lucy, who was very loving and kind in his world even if she was a toughened soldier on the battlefield, was just as crazy as the rest.

"I think there is one variant of you in one of the worlds in my domain where you and your demonic side aren't the same person." Io informed the man. "Anyway, Ceres, will you be sending him on his way today? He looks like he's ready to head out."

"What, are you a little sad that you won't get to sneak away and fuck him?" Eris grinned wildly at the shorter goddess.

Ceres sighed and turned to look at the man. "Are you ready to go, Natsu? If so, I'll send you off."

"Yes. I've checked over everything and made sure I haven't left anything behind." Natsu replied. He downed the last of his coffee and placed the cup on the saucer. "How will I get there."

"Like this." Ceres raised a hand with her middle finger pressed against her thumb and a bright smile gracing her beautiful face. "I'll stop by soon to check up on you."

Before Natsu could respond, the goddess clicked her fingers and his vision filled with white and all of the sounds around him instantly vanished. The light slowly dimmed and the sound of a beautiful melody being played on an organ eased into his ears.

He had been transported to a large gothic cathedral and was sitting on a pew. It seemed to be night-time as moonlight was filtering in through the stained-glass windows, most notably through the large dome centred in the middle of the cross-shaped building. At the end of the room and behind the pulpit was a large pipe organ that sat upon an elevated platform with a figure who was clad in a white dress and matching capelet with golden ornaments sat at the keys, fingers dancing across the ivory as they played the slow but beautiful tune.

This person was a woman, going by the scent of her. Besides himself, this woman was the only other person in the building but there were others nearby in what he guessed was a dorm in the cathedral close. Natsu slowly and silently rose to his feet, being careful to not draw attention to himself or disturb the priestess however as he stepped away from the pew and began walking toward the exit, he heard a gentle gasp and the organ fell silent.

"Umm, excuse me." The woman softly called out, clothes rustling as she rose to her feet. She looked over the pulpit at the man's back then hurried down to him. Once she reached him, she whispered, "Are you Natsu Dragneel? You look like how the Goddess described you."

"Ceres told you about me?" Natsu slowly turned to the short woman, looking down at her partly-veiled face. He started to relax as he realised that this must be the woman that Ceres was talking about. "I see."

"I had been helping her with getting things ready for you and she informed me that you would be arriving soon. So, I was waiting for your arrival. But things were taking longer than I expected so I started playing the organ." The soft-spoken Priestess stopped in front of the pinkette and clasped her hands together in front of her chest, bowing respectfully to the man. "She had just told me you had arrived, so I turned and saw you leaving. So, I called out to you."

"I hope Ceres didn't keep you waiting too long… I think she's been so busy that she forgot she invited her friends until they had arrived." Natsu sighed and placed both of his hands into his coat pockets. "Yes, I am Natsu Dragneel, just as she had told you."

"She… told me of your circumstances. You have my sympathies, and my prayers go to those you have lost." The woman raised her head, gazing up through the veil into the man's abyssal onyx eyes. She was fairly short at just under 150cm, so as she tilted her head higher to look at him, her face was easier to see. She had no make-up on, not even lipstick. Her skin was fairly light and milky. She had a small cute nose and a cute mouth with thin but full lips. Her hair was a bluish-silver, cut into a wavy bob, and peeked out from the edge of her hood. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Archbishop Lelyanna Wolfe."

"How much did she tell you?"

"She asked that I do not share this with anyone, but since it's you…" Lelyanna stepped closer and brought her lips closer to the man's ear, lowering her voice down to a hush. "She informed me that you are from another world, like ours but in the distant future. I'm surprised we're able to talk so flawlessly… She also said that everyone in your world perished except for you in a nu-nu… how do you say it?"

"A nuclear apocalypse? Think of it like new-clear."

"Ah, newclear? Nuclear? Oh, I see." The woman nodded quickly, a bright smile spreading her lips. She seemed excited to learn new things, especially about a world so foreign yet familiar. "She said many, many of those weapons were used and that nothing remained except for you."

"That's not quite right, but everyone else would've died out sooner than later, except me." Due to the proximity of the woman's face, Natsu could see her eyes through her veil, they were a very light blue and seemed to shimmer with mystical energy. "I fought in the war that ended my world. The people I was fighting launched the nukes which caused our nations to launch them in retaliation, basically ending the world in an instant."

"So, you were a soldier?"

"Kinda, I was a special type of soldier called a Shock Trooper. We were enhanced soldiers who were generally deployed behind enemy lines, dropping in from high in the sky."

"Wait… You dropped from the sky?" The archbishop gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "How did you survive?"

"We had Single-Occupant Aerial Insertion Pods; we lovingly called them Iron Maidens. They slowed our descent and allowed us to rapidly deploy in enemy territory with minimal casualties." He shook his head lightly and gazed down at the woman with a forlorn smile. "Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. My world died, now I live here thanks to the Goddess' kindness. She could have left me to die in that wasteland but she chose to help me."

Lelyanna gave the man a sad smile and stepped back slowly. "Then, allow me to show you to your new home. Lady Ceres told me where it is, though I would prefer waiting to day before we head over there. It's dangerous to travel at night. The City Watch can only patrol so many streets, and I've had some rather unpleasant run-ins recently."

"If it happens, then they'll regret it." Natsu reassured the woman with a gentle growl and bared fangs. He turned to the side and held open his coat to reveal the weapon he was carrying. "Admittedly, I probably shouldn't use them until I can disguise them better or something, but I've got the weapons from my old world with me. So should someone try and attack you and I can't put them down by hand, they'll bite the bullet."

"A duelling pistol? No... It's something else, isn't it?" The archbishop asked as she curiously leaned in closer to the weapon. "I'm sorry, I'm not very knowledgeable about firearms besides the wounds they leave… Anyway, a handgun is commonplace here as I'm sure Lady Ceres has told you. Though that one does look quite a bit more advanced then the few I've seen nobles or Jaegers carry… you made a good choice to hide it under your coat."

"Here." He murmured as he pulled the M12 free of its holster. He dropped the mag into his left hand and pulled the slide to eject the chambered round, catching it in mid-air. "Ceres mentioned there are rudimentary semi-automatic pistols here, but I'm sure none of them would look like this."

"Huh?" The woman pulled back in shock; it was far stranger than even the most exotic pistols she had laid her eyes on in the collections of nobles. "Can I hold it?"

"Sure." Natsu handed the unloaded firearm to the priestess, making sure the muzzle was pointed away from both of them. "Like I said; it's called a semi-automatic pistol. For every pull of the trigger, the hammer will come forward and fire the round, which cycles the slide, ejecting the round then loading a new cartridge into the chamber while also resetting the hammer." He pointed to each individual part as he explained it, he then tapped a finger on the can attached to the gun's muzzle. "This is a sound suppressor; it muffles the rapport of the gun firing. This particular type of ammo is supersonic, they'll crack through the air, but I have another type that doesn't breach the sound barrier. Likely making the gun quieter than anything you've been exposed to."

"The cartridge is so different than what we have… We only have single-piece ones, from what I've seen." Lelyanna murmured as her eyes darted between the pistol lying in her hands and the ammo sitting in the man's. "It's almost frightening… Here." She quickly handed the weapon back and watched as the man reloaded it. "And it can fire all those really quickly?"

"Yes. What are the handguns like here?"

"Umm… please remember that I don't really have much experience in this area… but I've seen revolvers both single and double action, and very rarely a pistol but it looks nothing like yours. I think the closest might be one called… I think a broomhandle… I really don't know. I'm a healer, not a gunsmith or, well, a Jaeger like you."

"I might have to stop by a gunsmith to check them out. I should probably visit a normal smith too, to get a sword or something…" Natsu mused as he slipped the handgun back into the holster.

"As I mentioned, Lady Ceres has asked me to show you to your home. But since you are unfamiliar with the city, I'll stay with you until you get settled into your new life."

"Thank you, Archbishop." Natsu bowed his head and turned to allow her to lead the way out. "Just to be sure she sent me to the right place, where are we?"

"The City of Magnolia." Lelyanna informed the man as she covered the lengthy building at a brisk pace. "But brace yourself, Mister Dragneel, I'm certain that it'll be different to the one you are used to."

As they left the building, the first thing that Natsu noticed was the clean air. There were the usual scents of a city, but it was vastly unpolluted. The sky was reasonably clear of light pollution and he could see the stars twinkling against the black sky. An underlining ticking resonated throughout the city like a metronome, all in time to the same beat. He followed two steps behind the priestess and to the side, facing ahead as his eyes scanned their surroundings, even cutting into the shadows.

"Are you ok, Mister Dragneel? You seem quiet."

"I'm just looking and listening, memorising the path." Natsu fell in a step closer as a pair of men armed with swords and revolvers stepped around the corner ahead, his gaze swept over them but he made sure it didn't linger. They had light-looking armour, a mixture of metal and leather. They seemed to be members of the City Watch that the archbishop was talking about, but he made sure to keep half and eye on them.

The two guards bowed their heads to the priestess who returned the gesture. "Good evening, Your Grace. Who is this with you? I haven't seen him around."

"Good evening to you too." The woman replied with a small smile. "He is a Jaeger who was giving a report to me. I wanted to go for a walk before turning in, so I decided to see him home before returning to the dormitory."

"I see. Alright, be safe, Ma'am." The leader of the pair replied with a nod of his head.

"Are patrols frequent?" Natsu asked quietly after the guards had put a dozen strides between them.

"It depends on where you are. Some of the less fortunate areas are plagued with lowlifes."

"As it is with cities everywhere, it seems."

"It's the same with your homeland?"

"Yes. The city I used to live in had the same issue. The warrens were infested with rats, and the exterminators only cleared the opulent districts. To be fair, my wife and I had lived in the classier part of town, though that didn't stop shit from happening…"

Lelyanna giggled at the man's choice of words and smiled sadly. "The various churches try to help but the money we provide gets spent on narcotics and loose men and women. But I fear that they are beyond salvation."

"Some may just as well be beyond saving, but there would be some who are redeemable among them."

"I hope you are correct, but so far, we haven't seen very promising results…" The woman sighed softly and slowed her stride so that the man could walk beside her. She led him up a few streets and to what felt like a painfully familiar hill to Natsu. "It's not far from here." After a few bends, they walked up a street where a reasonably large three-story gothic manor house stood alone within a somewhat large block of land full of tall hedges that obscured the majority of the first floor and bordered by a tall brick and wrought-iron fence. "A home fit for a Nobleman."

"It's a bit flashy… I was surprised by the size of the yard but the other places around this area have similar sizes." Natsu murmured as he approached the gate. "Do you have a key?"

"Err… no. Didn't the Goddess give it to you? I was only meant to show you to the house."

Natsu sighed and gazed up to the starry sky. "Ceres. I know you are looking down here, watching us. Get your arse down here and fix this fucking mess…"

"Are you sure it's fine to speak to the Goddess that way…?" Lelyanna hesitated and followed his gaze to the stars. But a flash of light next to her instantly drew her attention back down. "H-huh?"

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Ceres smiled apologetically as she took a key from her cleavage. " Eris and Io's visit threw me for a loop. I had intended on giving this to you before you came down here… Once you're keyed into the system, you won't need a key."

Natsu took the key from Ceres and chuckled at the priestess' shocked expression. "See, it was all fine." He unlocked the gate and turned back to the pure-white woman. "Well, since you're down here, you might as well come inside too, Ceres. Providing your tea party is over?"

"I suppose I should show you what I've sorted out for you." Ceres hummed thoughtfully. She turned to the still shocked priestess and smiled. "Good evening, Lelyanna. It's a pleasure meeting you in person."

"Lady Ceres?"

"I think you broke your follower, Ceres."

"That's unusual, I've appeared before her in her dreams and projected myself into her mind." Ceres lifted the veil lightly and gazed into the strangely mystical shimmering pale-turquoise eyes of the priestess. "You can stop being so shocked about seeing me, it's not actually uncommon for a deity to walk among mortals. We do visit your worlds fairly often."

"I'm just shocked that you appeared so suddenly… and in response to such a call." Lelyanna mumbled and shook her head lightly, shaking the fuzz from her mind. "Shall we go inside?"

"Yes." Ceres smiled and held her hand out to the gate, silently requesting for Natsu to unlock it. Once the lock clicked, gears began to turn and the gate slide aside to allow passage into the estate grounds. The pure-white woman led the way along the smooth flagstone path, it wasn't a direct path to the house as it wound its way around a perfectly manicured ornate garden complete with tall hedges, fountains, and flowerbeds.

"That ticking has gotten stronger…" Natsu noted, quietly, as he gazed around and used his powerful senses to locate the source. "It's nearby. Multiple."

"Could they be automatons?" The priestess asked her goddess. "I'm afraid I can't hear the ticking he is talking about."

Ceres came to a stop and closed her eyes, and in that instant, Natsu felt a presence enter his mind but it receded after a few short seconds. "Yes. What you can hear, Natsu, are the clockwork automatons that manage your estate for you. I'm sorry, I didn't realise you would be able to hear them that clearly."

"I'll get used to it. It's probably best that they aren't human, I don't know who I can trust here yet. And it means that any secrets I may have, can't be bought from servants."

"I bought two types for you; Servants and Guards. Feel free to tinker with them as you see fit." Ceres glanced back that the man before leading the way once more through the garden. "Just try not to break them."

As they came into view of the large twin front doors, the two seven-foot-tall suits of shiny brass armour that flanked the doors – with ornate halberd and shield in hand – soundlessly pivoted their helmets to them. When they drew near, the right-hand one stepped forward and a cold, mechanical voice emanated from the polished full-helm. "State your name and business."

"Ceres, here to transfer ownership of the property and all within its boundaries to the rightful Master of the House, Natsu Dragneel. We're accompanied by my follower, Archbishop Lelyanna Wolfe." The Goddess replied. She glanced over her shoulder with a small apologetic smile as the two large automatons took position again and allowed passage into the house. "It's a good thing I came down here… I forgot I had to do this part. You would've had to fight your way in…"

Natsu clicked his tongue and scowled as he passed by the pure-white woman. The ticking picked up slightly as he drew nearer to the doors and they parted way for him, smoothly opening inward on well-oiled hinges. "So, how do we transfer the ownership?"

"I'll have to make you a profile in the central hub. We should do that right now so we don't get any nasty surprises." Ceres hurried to the back of the entrance hall, her pearly-white heels clicking on the marble floor. She went to the right side of the large staircase and opened a door, revealing a staircase to the basement level.

Natsu's eyes wandered up the stairs and along the balcony for the second floor that bordered the main hall. It was grand, and something told him it didn't end here. It was a far cry from what he was used to, a simple two-story home with four bedrooms in a respectful neighbourhood that was owned by him and Lucy. He wondered what his old home would look like now, was it a pile of rubble or did it still stand? Maybe there was something that could be recovered, Lucy did love to take photos so they had a tonne hung around the house. He was brought back from his thoughts by a small hand wrapping around his arm.

"Are you ok?" Lelyanna asked quietly, looking up at the man through her veil.

"Yea… no, not really. Just thoughts and memories of someone who meant the world to me." Natsu sighed quietly and followed the Goddess down the stairs. "My wife that I mentioned before."

"Who was she?"

"Lucy Dragneel, formally Heartfilia. She was the loveliest, most beautiful woman I've ever known. Arguably more beautiful than Ceres in my opinion." Natsu smiled sadly, whispering the last part to the priestess. "She was a Shock Trooper too, died in my arms when the nukes hit us."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lelyanna replied softly, gently rubbing his arm. Her mind wandered slightly at the name of the woman. "I know her, in passing. I've visited her mother sometimes as part of my job as a healer. Her dad died when she was a child, sadly. But Lady Heartfilia was able to keep the business going, it's pretty successful now."

"I wonder what she's up to right now…" Natsu gazed up at the ceiling but wasn't really looking at anything.

"Do you miss her?"

"Every night and every day."

"Well, in my admittedly rather restricted travels, I've noticed that men who are going through loss tend to find solace in constructive activities. Maybe you could make something?"

"I'll think of something that might satisfy me. But I want to settle in first."

"That's a good idea." Lelyanna smiled and she comfortingly pat the man's back. "First thing's first, we need to get you set up in your new home."

"Natsu~, the hub is down here." Ceres called out from the stairwell down to the basement. When Natsu and Lelyanna reached her, she pointed to a door beside her. The goddess quickly entered the room, followed closely by Natsu and Lelyanna. Along the walls stood three brass knights on each side, guarding the room from intruders. At the end of the room, guarded by a lone guard, sat a reinforced case that was built into the wall. Ceres stopped in front of the case and looked up at the guard. "Please open the casket. I, Ceres, am transferring all ownership privileges to the true owner of this estate."

The automaton bowed its head smoothly and turned to the ornate casket. It pulled a hidden lever and gears ticked and clicked to life in the wall, lifting the lid slowly and splitting it open in the middle. It parted to reveal a blank crystal panel connected to the now-visible hub which came to life when Ceres placed her hand on it. She tapped away at the magical display, altering the owner information. After a few minutes, she stepped aside and waved Natsu forward. "Come place your hand on the panel. It'll scan you and create a profile based on your magical and biological results. Once processing is done, you will be the master of this house."

As Natsu placed his hand down, a small shock raced up it followed by a faint magical pulse that sent a wave through his body. He guessed that it was the scan that Ceres was talking about. Text filled various boxes on the magical display, outlining the scan results. Surprisingly, it picked up his hybrid nature, that he was human, dragon, and demon all rolled into one being. As the screen flashed and another shock ran through his hand, the guards thumped the ground with their halberds then took a knee, silently pledging their allegiance to their new master.

The only box that remained unfilled was the name of the estate. Natsu took his hand from the scanner and placed it on the rim of the container as he stared at the blank space, raking his brain for ideas. He didn't want to use anything that would give away just exactly who he was, as an alternate version of the Natsumi Dragneel who belonged here. He turned to the two women for advice. "What do you think I should call it? I don't want to have Natsu, Dragneel, or anything dragon related on it…"

"Well, since you've got those burning red demonic eyes that surface from time to time, we could do something based on those." Ceres mused as she sat against the rim of the case, tapping her chin lightly while looking into the man's abyssal eyes. "How about this, an old friend of mine has the moniker 'One with Flaming Eyes' which fits you too in both eyes and magic. So how about we call it Báleygr Manor?"

"By 'old friend' you mean a god, right?"

"Yes. Odin to be exact. He's a very wise and powerful man."

Lelyanna glanced between the goddess and man a few times before bringing up an issue with the name. "But this is a place, not a person. We could call Mister Dragneel that but wouldn't it be more preferable to name it after a mythical place?"

Ceres hummed and stroked her cheek as she ran through various mythical names in her head to find something suitable. "Elysium; the final resting place of heroic and virtuous souls. Valhalla; ruled by Odin who takes half the souls who fall in battle. Fólkvangr; Freyja rules over it and takes the other half of those who fall in battle. I'd say Lethe but then you might get Eris coming down here…"

"You know what… the Báleygr Manor works just fine." Natsu cut off the goddess quickly, sensing that she'd probably go on forever with names based on various other deities. He turned back to the crystal display and filled in the box. He made one more pass over the information to make sure it is all filled out properly then saved it and closed the casket. "Let's get back upstairs…" He's words got cut off by a heavy yawn which made him reconsider what he was saying, "Actually, I think I'll head to bed and check out the place in the morning. Could you show me where I'm sleeping?"

Day 41,

I've made it to the world that Ceres and I chose.
There is a lot of white noise in this city, the ticking
of machinery running like literal clockwork. My home
has these mechanical lifeforms, though I'm not certain
if lifeforms is the right word for it…

Anyway, these Automatons have two types: Guards; which
are large suits of full plate armour, like knights. And Servants;
which are much shorter in comparison, about a head shorter
than me, and take the appearance of a pretty young woman.
I've been told that they are lifelike dolls crafted by artisans
and given life by a clockwork heart. How they managed to
get through the uncanny valley with their level of tech is
beyond me. Whoever made them is very talented.

The Servants are the caretakers of the house, they cook
and clean, and tend to the gardens.
Usually, Lucy and I would be doing that, so it's going to
be strange having nothing to do around the house.
Maybe I should invest in something that would keep me
occupied when I'm not busy.

Since I said something about going to a gunsmith or
blacksmith, Archbishop Lelyanna has offered to take me
to a renowned blacksmith who services Jaegers so I can
get some weapons. It was a good idea, I only have so much
ammunition and it wouldn't be good to rely on my guns here.
I hope the weapons will be strong enough to handle my
strength… I can always use the Enhancement Curse on them,
or maybe provide information on an alloy from my world, if
I deem the smith worthy of it.

Natsu closed the book and sat back in his chair, he was sitting in his spacious bedroom on the third floor. He gazed out one of the large windows and was met with a heart-wrenchingly painful sight. Whether by coincidence or by Ceres' divine innocence, she had managed to place his new house in roughly the same area as his home was, and the view from the bedroom was similar to the view from his bedroom window in his old home where he lived with Lucy. The only difference was the lack of skyscrapers and the overabundance of gothic architecture.

Brass-skinned airships cruised through the sky, they looked extremely ornate compared to the warships he was used to, and much smaller than those as well. The sky was a rich blue, not a cloud in sight, and it was so clear of smog that it reminded him of the Heartfilia Estate, the air was so clean and clear that it was almost intoxicating.

"Master, Lady Lelyanna says she will be waiting for you in the drawing room." The servant automaton who was standing nearby informed her master.

He noticed last night that they all had the same songbird-like voice, it was pleasing to the ear which he guessed was the point. He turned to the servant, like all of the other ones in his house it looked like a pale-skinned young woman with black hair tied into a bun, lifeless grey eyes, and dressed as a maid.

"Thank you. Please tell her I'll be right down." Natsu replied as he rose from his chair and grabbed his holster and magazine pouches, placing them on the back of his belt. He grabbed another pouch which contained coins and a chequebook, placing it on the right of his belt then threw on his coat as he made his way down the stairs. As he reached the entrance hall, he ducked into one of the side rooms where he found the priestess enjoying a cup of tea. "Sorry for making you wait, Archbishop."

Lelyanna glanced up from her tea and smiled at the man. "Don't be, it's more than fine given the situation. Since you've arrived, however, I do have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Natsu sat down across from the young, delicate-looking woman and gave her a curious look.

"I know of your counterpart in passing, just like I know of the counterpart of your late wife. I understand that you wish to avoid drawing attention to yourself due to having a near identical name to Natsumi Dragneel of Fairy Tail." Lelyanna replied as she finished off her tea and placed it and the saucer down on the coffee table between them. "So, in that regard, I believe you should operate under a professional name instead of your personal name. This isn't an uncommon thing, mind you, so there won't be an issue with it."

"Well, I might as well use Báleygr then, considering this is Báleygr Manor, and we already decided the name fit…"

"Wonderful." Lelyanna clapped her hands together with a gentle smile." Well, Mister Báleygr, we'll travel to the nearest branch of the Bank of Fiore and have that name put on your profile so payments can be sent and received with that name."

"I'd like to go to this weaponsmith afterwards to look at their wares."

"Alright, let's get going then." The Priestess rose from the couch and brushed her hands down her dress. "Hopefully we won't run into any issues at the bank…"

"Don't say that, you're going to jinx it." Natsu gave the woman a small, teasing smile and earning a gentle giggle from the priestess. "How far is it?"

"A few blocks at most. It's back towards my Cathedral."

Natsu rose to his feet and made his way to the front door. He could hear the priestess' light footsteps chasing after him so he slowed his stride to allow her to match him. Once they were out on the footpath, he let her lead him through the streets. "For what it is, I like how peaceful it is here."

"It's not always clear skies and sunshine though, but it would definitely be much more peaceful than the tumultuous life you've had. Even here in Magnolia, a city with multiple Jaeger and regular Mage Guilds, we get monster incursions. Sometimes it's some mages with a chip on their shoulder summoning stuff like skeletons, other times it's a horde of monsters like goblins, orcs, trolls, slimes – that one was easy as Salamander just evaporated them all in an instant."

"Were you there to participate?"

"Of course, I'm a healer so I go and tend to anyone wounded in battle. But like I said, she just evaporated them instantly when she arrived so there were minimal injuries."

"How often do these things occur?"

"There isn't really any rhyme or reason to when it happens, it just does. It's the same everywhere."

They came to a stop outside a building with 'Bank of Fiore' emblazoned on a sign above the door. A guard opened the door for them upon seeing Lelyanna and instantly recognising the archbishop and allowing them in.

"Thank you." Lelyanna bowed her hooded head as she passed by the guard. The bank wasn't very busy and one of the tellers were open but due to being a notable figure, a bank officer came over.

"Your Grace, how may we help you today?" Asked the slightly rotund elven man whose skin had a greenish hue. He plodded up to the slender priestess, patting the sweat from his forehead with a fancy handkerchief.

"You could help me help this man here." Lelyanna gestured to the pinkette beside her, smiling kindly at the portly blonde man. "He's been helping me with a few monster problems and during our discussions, he mentioned that he wanted to add his Professional Name onto his account. Since I had nothing to do today, I decided to come with him."

"And your name is, Mister?"

"Natsu Dragneel," Natsu replied quickly. "I wanted to add my professional name and make it the primary name to avoid confusion with Salamander, Miss Natsumi Dragneel. I'm not affiliated with Fairy Tail or Salamander due to being independent."

"I can see the issue." The wood elf nodded. "Follow me to my office and we can sort it out."

Natsu glanced at Lelyanna and he jerked his head toward the man as he waddled away from them. Once they were inside the man's office, he introduced himself.

"I'm Eschallus Ezelfrid, allow me to help you today. But before we get started, I will need to confirm your identity" Eschallus pulled a small brass panel that was twice as large as the man's hands. "Please put your hand on this."

With subtle apprehension, Natsu placed his hand on the brass panel. It shimmered then displayed his profile. Thankfully, Ceres had set it up properly as it worked flawlessly.

"Thank you very much, Mister Dragneel. Please have a seat." Eschallus gestured to the seat in front of his desk as the elf sat down behind it, his chair groaning under his weight. After the pinkette took a seat, Eschallus glanced at the priestess who stood by the door, patiently waiting with a benign smile. "Now, I'm sure you and Her Grace are busy people, so let's make this quick."

Lelyanna bowed her head at the man's thoughtfulness as the bank officer took out a form and slid it across the desk to the pinkette. The form was fairly straight forward so Natsu filled it out quickly and returned it to the man.

"Okay, please give me a moment to update your profile, Mister Báleygr." The wood elf updated the information on Natsu's profile based on the information he had put on the paper from the brass panel installed in his desk. "Alright, all set. Your primary identification is set to your professional name while your personal name is set as secondary. Both can be used for paying with or receiving cheques."

"Thank you very much, Mister Ezelfrid." Natsu bowed his head and rose to his feet.

"It's no trouble, we get requests like this all the time from Jaegers who use their professional name instead of giving out their personal one. And I could see where you'd like to avoid confusion due to having a similar name to Miss Dragneel. Your parents must've had a similar idea when naming you that her own parents did. You wouldn't happen to be distant relatives? While you both have onyx eyes and pink hair you differ in that your eyes are darker than hers and her hair is more vibrant, plus your skin tones are different… that doesn't matter, the shared last name is what got me curious."

"I don't believe so, no. If there is, it would be incredibly distant." Natsu replied with one more bow. "If you would please excuse me, I've got plans to visit a blacksmith about replacing broken weapons."

"Yes, yes. You're free to go, I'll file the paperwork away but the Bank of Fiore's system has been updated so any branches you head to across the country will also accept the use of Báleygr for transactions."

"Good. Have a nice day, Mister Ezelfrid." Natsu offered the man a small smile as he left the office with the priestess. "That was quicker than I expected."

"Yes. It was likely because I'm here. I don't usually come if we're doing normal transactions but if I'm here then it generally means we need something sorted out." Lelyanna replied with a kind smile and waved for him to follow her as she headed deeper into the city.

Natsu was starting to get used to the incessant ticking coming from all around him and was finally able to start filtering it out, allowing him to focus his senses onto the people around him. Most of it was conversations about the weather, or fashion, or some new-fangled invention, some talked about the issues with the mines, others talked about the Royal Family. The drone of an airship faded in then out as it passed overhead. After a month of nothing but dust and echoes on the wind, being back in civilisation was both reassuring and frightening. Even when he stayed in the Goddess' realm, he was alone since she was working hard to ensure he had a place to go, but at least he wasn't surrounded by radioactive ruins. A tram rolled past on the tracks set in the middle of the road, ferrying people around its route.

"We're not far now, just around the corner here."

"Who is this smith you're taking me to?"

"Saiko, she's a master blacksmith who owns a store called 'Pierce the Veil'. She's pricy but her quality is top notch."

"Sounds like a band name…" Natsu muttered to himself but he quickly raised his voice enough for the woman to hear him. "Do you know what she uses to make her weapons?"

"Spring steel, sometimes adamantium. I'm sorry but I don't know the exact compositions that she uses but I'm sure you'd have something far better at your disposal." Lelyanna replied, sounding a little apologetic as he turned her head to the man. "We'll ask about Masterworks; they're made to order and are generally her highest quality items. I say 'generally' as she's always improving her craft."

"Right. I guess I'll take a look around when we get there and see what takes my fancy." Natsu's eyes drifted around the thin crowd, but his mind was elsewhere; thinking about what he should do about the material and what weapons he should use. If this Saiko was able to recreate one of the alloys from his world, then she'd be a valuable asset in the future.

He'd have to see it to be sure but it sounded like this world's materials research and technology was a bit further than what he had been expecting. Maybe it had something to do with fighting against seemingly endless monsters that could possibly break any weapon that wasn't of a certain quality. He hadn't seen the guns of this world but they were likely to be far inferior to the high-powered firearms he had hidden away inside Requip's pocket dimension in kinetic energy, ballistics, and accuracy. It probably wasn't even worth looking at a gunsmith when his own guns would out preform them even when gummed up with residue.

"Here it is." Lelyanna announced, drawing Natsu out of his thoughts and directing his attention to the sign hanging from the awning with her finger. It was shaped like a sword and made from dark wood, brass lettering stating Pierce the Veil were set into the sword's blade. "This is Saiko's workshop. In the front is her store and in the back is her forge. There isn't a sign on the door, beside the buzzer, so she's likely at the counter, not her forge."

"I'll keep that in mind."

As they entered the shop, a bell hanging just above the door chimed loudly, alerting the shopkeeper to the new customers. "My, my. Here's a new face." The mature woman called out as she closed the magazine on the counter. Her yellow eyes scanned the pinkette's face and narrowed slightly. "Hmm, you look like you've seen your fair share of hell. I'm Saiko." She said, walking out from behind the counter and approaching the man. "Welcome to my store."

Natsu looked the woman up and down as she came up to him; she was only a few inches shorter than him. Her black hair was tied into a loose bun behind her head with chin-length bangs framing her face which had soot from her forge dotted around it. She was a powerful looking woman with defined muscles from working metal day-in-day-out, probably for most of her life. Thanks to just wearing a pair of overalls and heavy-duty boots, her strong arms were bare, both as a warning and to show them off. More soot dotted her exposed skin but from her elbows down were completely clean, no doubt thanks to the gloves she'd have been wearing. "Archbishop Lelyanna told me that the best place for weapons?"

"It is." Saiko replied, her tone leaving no room to say otherwise. "I've been working the forge since I was a little girl; making swords, spears, shields, you name it." The woman glanced at the figure who stepped out from behind the man, and she immediately bowed her head. "Oh, speaking of, good morning, Your Grace."

"Good morning, Saiko." Lelyanna bowed her head before gesturing to the man beside her. "This is Mister Báleygr, a Jaeger who has been doing some work for me. His weapons were damaged beyond repair in his last job. He asked about somewhere that he could get new equipment from and I mentioned you. Given your reputation, I decided it would be best to take him here."

"Looking after your contractor, huh?" Saiko chuckled before turning her attention to the man. "How bad are we talking?"

"Shattered." Natsu sighed. "Pretty much only had the hilt left. I've had a bit of an issue finding weapons that can hand the amount of force I can output. And well, when an unstoppable force meets an immoveable object, something's got to give. The only thing that's stood the test of battle over and over has been my knife, which has become a prized possession."

"Mister Báleygr is considerably strong and considerably fast." Lelyanna added, adlibbing the story on the spot alongside the pinkette. "I mentioned that you do custom weapons that you call Masterworks, each one custom-made to the highest quality that you can make at that time."

"Yeah, I do have a bit of a habit of one-upping myself but I love the challenge of surpassing my best."

"Would you be will to do a custom order for him?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Saiko nodded before turning her attention back to the pinkette. "Take a look around and let me know what tickles your fancy. I'll be at the counter so just come let me know what you've come up with."

"Thank you." Natsu gave the woman a nod before wandering around the store. A soft patter trailed after his silent footsteps as Lelyanna followed closely behind. "Hm… what should I pick?"

"What do you think you'd be best with?"

"Blades, easily. I'm used to fighting with my combat knife in close quarters." Natsu replied quietly, bringing out his KM-XX combat knife with a quick flash of light.

"Hm, maybe short swords?" Lelyanna looked around then hurried over to the other side of the store, leaving Natsu to stand there, looking down at his knife. When she realised the man hadn't followed her, she called out gently, "Mister Báleygr?"

"Coming." Natsu sent his knife away and made his way to the small priestess. "What did you find?"

"A Messer." The priestess held up a short sword, showing it to the man. With a total length of sixty-centimetres, it was very wieldy and a good for close quarters. "I figured that since you're used to fighting with something similar, that this would be a good pick. There are also two longer variants; the Grosses Messer and the Kriegs Messer."

Natsu looked over Lelyanna's shoulder at the weapons behind her. There was a single-edged sword at about one-hundred-centimetres long and another at one-fifty. The Grosses Messer looked to be used with either one or two hands while the Kriegs Messer was a two-handed sword. "They look sturdy enough." He gently took the Messer from Lelyanna's hands and tested how it felt in his hands and checked the flex of the sword. "Definitely feels sturdy but the blade flex might be a little too great."

"We can have that sorted out in the order. Would you like to tell Saiko?"

"Yeah, I think I will." Natsu hung the weapon back up and made his way back to the blacksmith. He was met with a bold grin.

"Did those Messer catch your eye?"

"Yes, but I would like to check something if it would be okay?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I'd like to see one of your Masterwork swords, get a feel for the weapon and its build quality so I know that I'm putting my life in good hands."

"Sure. I've actually got one under the counter, ready to be picked up by a client. She could be here soon so be quick." Saiko knelt down behind the counter and pulled out a bundle of cloth. She set it down on the countertop and gently unwrapped it to reveal an immaculate sheathed longsword. "She's a hard woman to please but thankfully, I've managed to do that as she keeps coming back with more requests."

Natsu wrapped his right hand around the handle and it immediately felt wrong in his hand. But that wasn't a bad thing, it probably meant that the grip was tailored for a specific person. He carefully withdrew it from the sheath and inspected the blade, it shined like silver and had only a small amount of flex in the blade. The edges were as sharp as a surgical scalpel, honed to perfection. Everything seemed to be in perfect proportion and from what the knowledge crystal within his soul was telling him, it was worthy of being called a masterwork. He took a bit of the cloth it had been wrapped in and gently flexed the blade; it was firmer than the Messer he had tested and it gave him a bit more confidence. He stepped back and gave it a few one-handed swings before returning it to the sheath and placing it upon the cloth wrapping. "I believe you might have yourself another customer."

"Heh, I could tell just by looking at how you looked at that sword that you were sold." Saiko rewrapped the longsword and placed it back under the counter before lightly slamming her hands down onto the countertop with an excited grin. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like a matched pair of fighting knives and a Grosses Messer." Natsu replied. He was about to resummon his combat knife but Saiko spoke up and interrupted him.

"How about I throw in a Kriegs Messer as well? You know, for those big bastards."

"Sounds good to me, however, there is one more thing." He summoned his knife and placed it down between them. "I want them to match this knife. It's made with a special alloy."

"Gods…" Saiko murmured softly as she gazed at the unfamiliar weapon. She carefully picked it up and flipped it over in her hands, running her fingers along the side of the blade. "She's seen many battles. I've never felt anything like this, and the composition is something out of this world…"

Natsu cocked an eyebrow at the woman's coincidental turn of phrase. "That knife is very dear to me. If you're able to create the weapons using the alloy in that knife then I'm sure it would be able to fight by my side for a long while."

"Y-yeah, I'll do it. Just let me scan this quickly." Saiko grabbed a piece of paper and a fountain pen, holding the combat knife in her left hand – which had started to glow with a white aura – and writing down notes with her right. "My gods… this thing is insane… I never thought of using these materials."

"Like I said, it has a special alloy. Do you have the materials in stock?"

"Most of them, but I'll need to specially order the rest." She looked up from her paper and stared at the man in shock. "It'll take time to fine-tune the method to create it. I also want to test some blends with my best alloy to see what works best. I won't charge you any extra for that, I'd actually be willing to give you a discount if you allow me to use it in future weapons."

"I'll pay the full amount, no doubt it'll cost you. I'll be looking forward to what you come up with once you perfect it."

Saiko nodded quickly and finished writing down the composition of the knife, then began creating an altered recipe on another sheet of paper. She paused and glanced at the weapon, grabbing yet another sheet so she could draw the design for the knife to adapt into larger weapons later on, separately from the man's order. Once the blueprint was done, she handed the knife back to the man. "This is going to be tough, but it'll be a blast figuring it out. Here, I'll do up a quote for your weapons based on the standard prices."

"If you write up the mix for your current best alloy, I can see if I can help balance them?"

"Sure, one second." Saiko quickly wrote down the blend on a third sheet of paper and handed it to Natsu, watching him closely as he slowly read through it and started making adjustments and adding notes about treatments. "Is there anything in particular I need to know about making this?"

"You will need to get it pretty hot to make it blend together properly. Your blend and my alloy are compatible, but you will definitely need to test the ratios." Natsu turned the paper back to the woman and quickly signed the order form, using his professional name. "Let me think on that blend some more and if I come up with some other ratios then I'll-" The bell above the door chimed, cutting the man off mid-sentence and causing him to look over his shoulder. He saw the face of a woman that he watched die not that long ago. 'Oh, fuck my luck.'

"Good morning, Saiko." An armoured redhead greeted the smith from across the shop, offering the woman a kind smile. "I got your letter; I'm here to pick up my order."

Well, that rewrite increased the count from 9.8k to 11.3k, not much but still a respectable change.

Natsu's swords are Messer which is German for Knife and in context is a single-edged sword that is constructed with a knife-like hilt as apposed to that a sword would normally have. If constructed with a sword's hilt, these weapons become known as Falchions (a certain salmon-haired woman might or might not be fond of these).

Starting out, these Messer will be 60cm (approx. 24-in) for the twins, 100cm (approx. 39-in) for the Grosses, and 150cm (approx. 59-in) for the Kriegs. However, Saiko later lengths the Grosses and Kriegs to a final overall length of 110cm (approx. 43-in) and 160cm (approx. 63-in) respectively.

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I feel it has definitely come out better than the original, I did add the scene in the bank which was lazily skipped over in the original, plus I fixed up the information Lelyanna gives Natsu. Anyway, I'll see you next time.