Fairy Tail: You said you were just acting, are you serious

She was a short-haired little girl, her nose red and shivering slightly from the cold, her body covered in snow.

Gray and Uru were also stunned for a moment before they came to the little girl's side.

"Child, are you alright?"

Ron quickly helped the bewildered little girl up and asked her what was wrong.

The girl, who had stood up, quickly shook her head and thanked Ron and the others.

"Thank goodness, I thought I was going to die from the fall. Thank you for saving my life."

Uru gently squatted down and stroked the girl's head.

Do you live in a nearby town?

Do you need us to take you there?

The little girl only came to her senses after hearing Uru's words and looked anxious.

"Right, we need to escape quickly, or it will be too late."

"Escape, run away?"

Gray looked puzzled, unsure why the little girl had suddenly changed like this.

Ron raised an eyebrow, then turned around and saw three male mages walking towards him from a distance.

As they drew closer, the three mages, though dressed in different outfits, all kept their eyes fixed on the little girl.

"That was really dangerous, really dangerous. You almost got away."

The male mage at the head of the group smiled at the little girl, who instinctively hid behind Uru, staring at them with fear.

The boy then kept smiling and waved to Uru and the others.

"I'm sorry, this girl's name is Nano. Could you please take her in?"

Uru looked down at Nano, who was hiding in fear of her, and frowned as she stared at the three of them.

"Judging from her expression, it seems she doesn't want to go back with you."

"So, you want to be enemies with our guild?"

The three of them were fearless and looked at Uru and his group with smug expressions, not taking them seriously at all.

It would be more troublesome if they encountered other adult mages, but the other party was just a woman and three children, so there was nothing to fear.

Seeing how brazenly the other party treated Uru, Gray and Leo clenched their fists in anger.

Just as Uru was about to unleash his magic to teach them a lesson, Ron, who had been silent all along, stepped forward first.

Ron took a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of white mist.

"I was already exhausted from traveling, how could something like this happen?"

Ron stopped and stood in front of Uru and Nano, looking at them with a bored expression.

"If you feed her, then don't even think about taking her back."

I'm warning you once again, you still have time to run away.

"Huh?" "Eh?" "Hmm?"

The three of them were stunned for a moment, then burst into mocking laughter.

They were laughing hysterically as they watched a child walk out and utter such harsh words.

"What's wrong with this kid? Is he trying to be funny?"

Ron looked at them and, seeing that they still showed no remorse, shook his head helplessly.

With a thought, Ron equipped himself with the [Seven Seas Builder] character card.

"Now answer me, how many of your accomplices are there and where are they located?"

Why should I tell you?

He revealed a sharp look in his eyes and displayed a brand-new magic circle on his fist.

【Added Magic - Ten Strokes】

After Ron finished enchanting his fist, his gaze focused on the three of them.

Sure enough, in Ron's vision, ten dividing lines appeared on the three of them.

Ron braced his calves, and his thick-soled boots sank deep into the snow.

"Still pretending...?!"

call out!

While the leading mage was still laughing, Ron's figure vanished from the spot, leaving only two deep shoe prints and bits of snow that bounced into the air.

Using his explosive power, Ron instantly appeared beside him, freezing the other's smile.

Ron aimed his fist at the weak point on his opponent's chest and swung it out.

boom!

Ron's blow made the man's already open mouth gape open even wider.

Finally, overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, he collapsed onto the snow before he could even scream.

"What?!"

The man on the right was shocked and was about to rush towards Ron when Ron beat him to it and stood in front of him.

boom!

Ron's fist landed on the weak point at his waist, and the second man rolled onto the snow and instantly lost consciousness.

The remaining man stood frozen in place, his cold sweat freezing in the cold wind, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

Nano stared wide-eyed, her expression one of disbelief.

Uru and the others were also stunned, their eyes fixed on Ron without moving.

In the blink of an eye, two of the three who had been so arrogant just moments before were now lying on the ground.

Ron calmly clenched his fist and turned to look at the last mage whose fighting spirit had been shattered.

"I'll ask one last time, how many of your accomplices are there and where are they located?"

……

"A noisy second hand?"

The mage, kneeling on the snow, finally revealed the name of his mage guild to Ron, along with their territory and number of members.

Looking at the other two sleeping peacefully on the snow, he couldn't help but admire his own cleverness in standing further back; otherwise, he would have suffered the same fate as them.

How unlucky they were to encounter such a powerful mage.

Ron, still looking puzzled, turned to look at Uru and Gray behind him.

"I haven't heard of this guild. You guys should be quite familiar with it, right?"

"No, we haven't heard of it either."

Uru shook his head, and Gray and Leo also looked completely unaware.

"I have absolutely no recollection of it."

Upon hearing this answer, the male mage was stunned, then let out a long sigh, revealing a deeply disappointed expression.

Ron approached Nano and crouched down.

"Nano, are they trying to take you back?"

Nano looked up at Ron, who had helped her, and finally mustered up the courage to explain things to them.

"They kidnapped me to force me to work, to hatch the demon's egg..."

"A demon's egg?!"

Gray's pupils contracted, revealing a look of astonishment.

Nano nodded and recounted the whole story in detail.

It turns out that she had awakened a special magic that could accelerate the hatching time of eggs. After being discovered by the noisy Second Hand Guild leader, he forcibly kidnapped her, intending to use her magic to hatch the demon.

"Don't they realize how many people will die if they hatch a demon?!"

Upon hearing about Nano's situation, Gray frowned deeply, lowered his head, and gritted his teeth.

Uru frowned, stroked Nano's head, and showed a pitying expression.

She then glared at the kneeling male mage, making him tremble and unable to look his mother in the eye.

"Hey, stop kneeling, take us to your Mage Guild."

Ron then kicked the male mage and pulled him up with a look of disgust.

It seems I'll have to stop by this bustling second hand before reaching the next town.