END of an Era

Volume 1: Awakening C4

Year X376, Middle of the Second Month of Spring.

14 months after Natsu's revival.

...

When they arrived at Port Apallon, Zeref headed straight for the harbor. There was a delicate balance between price and comfort, something which Zeref planned to teach Natsu.

But first...

"Is it really okay for me to come with you...?" Acnologia hesitantly asked while carrying his bag of books.

"You don't have money for room nor food. I hope you're not planning to camp outside the walls or sleep in the streets before you earn some money." Zeref raised a brow while looking down at the young teen.

Acnologia's silence was all he needed to confirm his assumptions. The boy was surviving on nothing but pure drive.

"Asking for help is not something to be ashamed of."

"...okay."

Zeref nodded. "Natsu, let's go." He gestured by patting his little brother's back.

Together the newly formed group headed for the harbor, Natsu and Acnologia following the eldest through the main roads. Unlike the previous town, Port Apallon was on another level. It was a port city, a major trading hub located on the coast of the Dragnof Kingdom. By normal standards, the city was already big for its time, but with the dragons, its size was more than doubled. They were walking down one of the major avenues and Natsu spotted a group of dragons flying together above them. Back in the previous town, Natsu had only been able to see individual dragons. So, seeing a jump in their numbers only made him more excited.

Once the ships were within sight, Zeref diverted from the major avenue and led the two down a slightly smaller street. It was a street parallel to the harbor but without a view of the bay, a row of buildings standing between it and the dockyards.

"Natsu, why do you think I led you both here?" Zeref asked out of nowhere.

His little brother was still peeking at the bay between some of the buildings when he turned to Zeref.

"We're renting a room right?"

Natsu had been taking in the sights and noticed a few of the inns along the street.

"There's more to it than that. Why are we looking for room here exactly?" Zeref paused in the middle of the street, around him were numerous taverns with signs that labeled their rates for each night.

"How about you, Acnologia? What do you think?"

"...price."

Natsu looked at their new companion, gears grinding in his mind. "Why price?"

Acnologia pointed out the signs all around the street. "The location is close to the pier for accessibility and its distance from the city center means it's cheaper."

Zeref nodded. Acnologia's experience on the road tempered his ability to manage his money, a skill he wanted to teach Natsu.

"Correct. We need to be near the harbor to catch the first ship heading to the Royal Port of Dragnof. It also helps save money since the taverns are not expensive."

He took one look at the signs around them along with their respective taverns.

"The trick is to balance the price and comfort. Most of the taverns here have similar prices, but you can pick up little clues like how sturdy the floor is when you enter. Some taverns will look nice, but you won't see that until you see the rooms. If the tavern structure is decent, then you can trust that the rooms are too. The building is more expensive than each room after all."