Chapter 41

Kei and the others left, and Juvia, after some thought, decided to follow them, while Gajeel chose to stay behind.

He entered the deep mountains and began training even harder, striving to defeat Kei one day and wash away his shame!

[You took Wendy, Charle, and Juvia along the river towards the capital city. In the evening, while looking for a place to eat, you encountered a fisherman.]

"Hey, kids, if you don't mind, why not have this? I just caught a fifty-pound fresh fish."

"Uh... we already have food?"

Kei looked at the fisherman who randomly walked over with his giant fish, starting to describe in detail how he caught the fifty-pound fish.

"You ask me if I've caught the biggest fish before? The biggest one was over a hundred pounds. Unfortunately, I already ate it long ago."

"Otherwise, I could have shown it to you."

Fishermen tend to be a little hard of hearing, often mistaking others' words as questions about the fish they've caught.

"Who even asked you that?"

While Kei listened to the fisherman ramble on about his past fishing experiences, he had already skillfully grilled the fish and finished eating it.

"Wait for me! I'll go catch another hundred-pound fish! It will definitely be enough for you all to eat!"

"No need. I've been watching you fish without a catch for a long time. Just give up and go home."

"What do you mean, no catch? Didn't I just catch a fifty-pound fish? It's impossible for me to come back empty-handed!"

"That was a sea fish! You caught a sea fish in a small stream!"

"Stop making excuses. Just go home and sleep."

Kei really couldn't understand these fishermen's sense of pride. They'd even buy a fish from the market and pretend they caught it themselves.

Why didn't he try catching river fish instead?

"Going back is impossible. There's no way I'll ever go back. Even if I drown in this river, I will never go back!"

The fisherman declared firmly.

The Great Fisherman never returned from his fishing expedition!

"What's wrong with that guy?"

Kei shook his head and continued on his journey with Wendy and the others through the night.

...

The next morning, they were still on their way.

"Wendy, have you noticed that Charle seems to really dislike me?"

Kei suddenly brought up the issue. Charle often stuck close to Wendy, but whenever he approached her, she would shy away from him.

Could she still be holding a grudge from the time he almost made her into a fried egg?

"Really?"

Wendy looked puzzled and turned to Charle. "Charle, do you dislike Kei-nii?"

Charle shook her head and spoke in her still unrefined human language, "Close... uncomfortable... afraid!"

"It seems like Charle feels uncomfortable and scared when she's near you, Kei-nii!" Wendy translated.

"Hmm? I haven't used Dragon's Might at all."

Kei was puzzled. He hadn't intentionally released his aura to intimidate Charle, so why would she feel scared?

"Maybe animals are more sensitive than humans."

"Actually, I also feel like I can't breathe properly when I get close to you." Juvia chimed in.

"Really? Wendy, do you feel the same way?"

Kei was surprised. He had never heard Juvia mention this before.

"Hmm... I don't think so."

Wendy looked confused. Why did Charle and Juvia both feel something, but she felt nothing at all?

"This kid has grown stronger! Now, without even actively using Dragon's Might, he can instinctively make other creatures feel fear."

Grandeeney nodded with approval.

Dragons are naturally powerful beings. Other creatures would instinctively feel fear when sensing a dragon's presence.

In the beginning, Kei's Dragon's Might wasn't that powerful, and others wouldn't feel anything unless he actively released it.

But as he absorbed more and more Dragon Power, that invisible pressure grew stronger and stronger, to the point where he could now cause others to feel oppressed without actively trying.

"Maybe Wendy has been with me for so long that she's already used to it. You guys just need to get used to it too."

Kei had no solution for this. That aura of intimidation wasn't something he actively released. He couldn't even feel it himself, let alone figure out how to restrain it.

The only thing to do was to let others slowly adapt to his presence.

After that little incident, the group continued their journey.

[Diligent Slacker: "I used to think my cat hated me, but after asking, I found out it's not hatred but instinctive fear. Hahaha."]

[Azure-Wisdom Goddess: "It's great you're not being hated! Hahaha."]

[Purple Mushroombomb: "But isn't being feared even worse?"]

[Diligent Slacker: "..."]

[Azure-Wisdom Goddess: "Now that you mention it, yeah!"]

[Misty Cloud True Monarch: "Why would your cat be afraid of you?"]

[Diligent Slacker: "Apparently, I'm releasing some sort of invisible pressure. Any creature that gets close to me feels uncomfortable."]

[Azure-Wisdom Goddess: "Huh? Do humans release pressure like that?!"]

[Purple Mushroombomb: "No, not as far as I know!"]

[Hungry Wolf Legend: "Pressure, huh? It's said that true experts naturally exude an aura of power. The weak feel threatened just by being near them!"]

[Hungry Wolf Legend: "I refuse to believe it! How come you've reached such a level when I haven't? Keep grinding!"]

After Kei finished chatting, they climbed up to the high peak. Looking ahead, they saw a grand city.

That was the Royal City!

Upon entering the city, the group first went to take a bath, changed into clean clothes, and even bought Charle a small dress.

Then, they started heading towards the location marked on the map, where the Sabertooth Guild was, to ask about Dragon Slayer Wizards.

"Her Highness, the Emerald Princess, has arrived!"

Just as Kei and his group were about to reach the Sabertooth Guild, a group of armored knights suddenly appeared.

They pushed the citizens on the streets to the sides and shouted loudly.

With their announcement, a girl with green hair sitting in a carriage appeared before everyone's eyes.

"A princess!"

Wendy, holding Charle, showed a very curious expression. But she was too short, so she couldn't see anything from within the crowd.

Juvia was also curious and, seeing Wendy trying to see, picked her up so they could both watch.

"The princess doesn't seem that different from us."

Wendy tilted her head, not understanding why everyone was treating her with such respect when she looked just like them.

"Emerald Princess, Eclipse Gate! This plan is actually pretty good!"

Kei wasn't paying attention to the Emerald Princess. Instead, he suddenly remembered the Eclipse Gate that could connect to the era four hundred years ago.

Back in that era, dragons were everywhere.

If he could open the Eclipse Gate, there'd be no need to search for Dragon Slayer Wizards. He could just hunt those dragons directly!

(End of Chapter)

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