The air outside the Forest was incredibly refreshing.
Gone was the musty stench of damp earth untouched by sunlight, or the oppressive weight of ancient magical energy constantly suffocating his lungs.
In their place, the summer breeze carried the sweet scent of wheat fields and blooming wildflowers along the dirt path.
Natsu Dragneel walked at a very leisurely pace.
He strolled with his hands folded behind his head, humming softly with a blade of tall grass tucked in the corner of his mouth.
Unlike ambitious adventurers or merchants who hurriedly spurred their horse-drawn carriages to reach the center of the world as quickly as possible, Natsu chose to savor every second of his journey.
Over the past few weeks, Natsu had intentionally slowed his pace.
He stopped from one village to the next, mingled with the locals, and sampled various regional dishes at roadside taverns.
He observed the daily routines of farmers harvesting their fields, watched young children running around chasing dragonflies, and listened to folktales told by the village elders.
Natsu had a highly rational reason behind his laid-back attitude.
His memories regarding the structure of this world warned him of one absolute law: the moment he set foot in Orario and received a Falna, he would officially be bound to a Familia.
Once a deity’s emblem was carved onto his back, his freedom to wander would be severely restricted by Guild bureaucracy and Familia regulations.
Leaving Orario’s massive walls could no longer be done on a whim without permission.
For someone with a soul as free as a dragon’s, being confined within city walls—no matter how vast the city might be—was a massive commitment.
Therefore, Natsu wanted to drink in the freedom of Gekai’s wilderness and experience the customs of this world as much as possible before he truly locked himself inside the gilded cage known as the Labyrinth City.
As afternoon approached, Natsu decided to take a rest.
He sat leaning against a shady, ancient oak tree atop a small hill.
From his vantage point, piercing through the layers of white clouds in the distance, the silhouette of the Tower of Babel faintly emerged, towering arrogantly as if challenging the sky itself.
While chewing on a piece of smoked meat from his travel bag, Natsu’s mind began to turn toward his next move.
“Once I get there…
which Familia should I choose?” Natsu muttered to himself, gazing at the colossal tower.
Choosing a Familia was not a decision to be made overnight.
With his current strength—which was on par with the Spriggan 12—Natsu had a strict set of criteria.
Drawing from the memories of his life on Earth, he knew exactly how warm the concept of Fairy Tail was—a place where its members treated one another as true family.
Natsu wanted a sanctuary with a similar sense of kinship and emotional bonds.
The first candidate that crossed his mind was, naturally, the Loki Familia.
As one of the strongest factions in Orario, they boasted a vast sphere of influence and top-tier adventurers.
However, Natsu immediately clicked his tongue and crossed the name off his list.
“The Loki Familia is too rigid,” Natsu thought, shaking his head slowly.
“Everything is overly organized, bureaucratic, and under strict command.
I bet their captain, Finn, is the type of guy who likes to micromanage every detail of his subordinates’ movements.
I absolutely hate being constantly leashed or forbidden from acting on my instincts.”
He knew he was a natural troublemaker who despised being bossed around.
Being in an environment that demanded such strict discipline would only make him feel suffocated.
Not to mention their cunning, trouble-seeking goddess; Natsu felt he wouldn’t have total freedom there.
Natsu then shifted his thoughts to the other ruling faction: the Freya Familia.
From a combat perspective, the place might be a good fit.
They were filled with formidable fighters who lived to break their limits, and Natsu certainly didn’t mind endless, bloody battles.
But there was one fatal flaw that made Natsu shudder in disgust.
“The Freya Familia is just a bunch of weirdos who blindly worship their goddess,” Natsu muttered.
Every member there competed, fought, and was even willing to kill each other just to earn a speck of attention from Freya.
Natsu deeply valued equal bonds of friendship.
A toxic environment filled with fanatics was incredibly unhealthy.
Furthermore, Natsu tried to recall specific details about the Goddess of Beauty.
As he remembered, Freya was only drawn to souls that shone with absolute purity.
Natsu smiled wryly upon realizing the state of his own soul.
His soul was neither holy nor crystal clear.
It was an absurd amalgamation of an Earthling, the demon E.N.D.
steeped in the curse of death, and a dragon slayer.
His soul was likely a swirling mess of sharp colors and primordial chaos.
Freya probably wouldn’t be interested in him, or if she were, she would only view him as a beautiful anomaly.
Natsu refused to be anyone’s lapdog.
It seemed none of the major gods or goddesses suited him.
However, amidst this deadlock, a small epiphany flashed in his mind.
There was one absolutely perfect candidate.
A goddess who currently lacked influence, wealth, and followers.
Hestia.
The Goddess of the Hearth.
Natsu’s dark eyes lit up slightly.
From his perspective, taking shelter under the banner of the Goddess of the Hearth made the most sense for a Fire Dragon Slayer.
But more than that, Natsu vividly remembered Hestia’s personality from his Earthly memories.
Hestia was genuine; she loved her Familia members unconditionally and viewed them purely as family.
There was no ridiculous fanaticism, no convoluted bureaucracy, and no rigid discipline.
It was very similar to the spirit of freedom and kinship found in Fairy Tail.
“But there is one problem,” Natsu murmured, slowly rubbing his chin.
He needed to see Hestia’s condition for himself once he arrived in Orario.
Natsu knew the embarrassing history of the black-haired loli goddess during her early days in Gekai.
Before getting kicked out, Hestia was a perpetual slacker.
She acted like a freeloader, mooching off the Goddess Hephaestus for a place to stay and free food, without ever wanting to work hard or adapt to the mortal world.
If the Hestia he met later was still acting like a spoiled, constantly complaining parasite, Natsu would turn right back around and leave.
He refused to submit to an entity that did not appreciate the value of effort and sweat.
“Has Hephaestus kicked her out yet or not?” Natsu tried to piece together the timeline puzzle in his head.
His thoughts returned to the events in the City of Preblica a few days ago.
Based on the timeline of his encounter with Artemis and the hunting goddess’s departure toward the Elsos Ruins, Natsu began to calculate.
In canon, the Artemis Familia was supposed to be declared missing for about a month, and that happened just before or exactly around the time Bell Cranel first arrived in Orario and joined Hestia.
If Artemis had just canceled her trip to Elsos following his warning, it meant the current timeline was about a month or two before the main story truly began.
Thinking about this timeframe, a subtle smile slowly etched itself onto Natsu’s face.
Hestia must have already been kicked out of Hephaestus’s residence by now.
The lazy goddess was most likely currently living in the abandoned old church, working part-time jobs, handing out flyers on the streets with no one willing to join her Familia, feeling her feet blister, and enduring agonizing hunger.
She had finally been forced to understand just how hard and harsh life in Gekai was, especially for a deity whose Arcanum was sealed, making their bodies as fragile as an ordinary human’s.
To Natsu, if Hestia had made it through those difficult times, realized the hardships of the mortal world, and still maintained the purity of her heart, then she was the goddess who suited him best.
Natsu didn’t mind in the slightest joining and building a Familia from scratch alongside a goddess who had learned the true meaning of struggle.
Gazing at the sky turning crimson above the Tower of Babel, Natsu Dragneel stood up, dusted off his pants, and resumed his steps toward the Labyrinth City with absolute certainty in his heart.