A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Hehehe... How could that be? Laxus isn't a child anymore!"

Biggleslow laughed, saying that he was about the same age as Laxus, but about 4 or 5 years older than Natsu and the others, and was a bit more mature.

Laxus and the Thors are ostensibly followers and followed, but in reality, they are just another name for a small group that goes on missions together. Only a chuunibyou like Freed and an aloof like Abba Grin would use the term "follower" so often. In comparison, Biggleslow joined more out of fun.

"But I think I saw him go out yesterday, he must have gone on a mission, right?"

Kira frowned and said, "Going on a mission at a time like this? Even though the competition is no longer his concern, surely he can't be completely indifferent?"

"Who knows?"

Originally, during the Harvest Festival, Laxus would organize the Thunder Clan to instigate an internal strife, and in order to seize power, they would not hesitate to take guild members and innocent citizens of Magnolia hostage, which was simply outrageous.

But now, because of Kira's rise to power in the Magic Tournament, Laxus's plan to seize power has failed. What's worse, he didn't even pass the preliminary rounds and didn't even make it into the top 16.

Although everyone knows this ranking is inflated, outsiders don't know! Out of the five S-class mages, he's the only one who didn't make it to the semi-finals. People who don't know might think Laxus is undeserving of his reputation.

For Laxus, failing to pass the preliminary rounds was a very embarrassing thing. He was already quite ambitious, and after suffering a series of setbacks, it was completely unknown what he would do.

“I just hope he won’t do anything too outrageous…” Kira sighed, turned to Makolov, and decided to share his concerns with him. “Probably not, after all, Laxus isn’t a bad person by nature.”

After hearing Kira's concerns, Makarov said with a solemn expression, "Kira, you must not tell anyone about this!"

Kira nodded silently, thinking, 'So, even the Chairman is troubled by Laxus's betrayal? Now that things have unfolded as they did in the original storyline, will Laxus realize his mistakes and mend his ways?'

"In fact, I sent Laxus on a mission!"

Kira: "??!!"

Seeing the shock in Kira's eyes, Makarov nodded with satisfaction: "Surprised? You actually have that kind of expression now! Now you know what I'm capable of, don't you?"

"You heard me right! I sent him. Because this matter is quite serious and needs to be handled discreetly, I didn't tell anyone else!"

"Wait...wait...what are you saying?" Kira was taken aback by the turn of events and stammered, "You're saying Laxus was sent by you?"

“That’s right!” Maklov nodded.

Kira still couldn't believe it: "It's okay if you lied to me, I can be fooled and just laugh it off, but when you get home and face the empty house, don't sit on the sofa alone and cry..."

Maklov: "..."

How come I didn't know you were so eloquent?

“It’s like this,” Maklov coughed twice and leaned closer to whisper, “According to the Council, the Dark Guilds have been making a lot of moves lately, so I specifically sent Laxus out to investigate this matter.”

Kira's eyes widened in disbelief: "What?! He went to spy on the Dark Guilds all by himself? Laxus actually did something so... so dangerous?"

Is this still the same Laxus?

"In order to avoid being discovered by the Dark Guild, I deliberately divided the Magic Tournament into six days and invited reporters to come and publicize it extensively, all to divert the magic world's attention here, making it easier for Laxus to act in secret!"

Kira suddenly realized, shocked and somewhat excited: "So, Laxus failing the preliminary rounds is also because..."

“That’s right, he put on a show. Otherwise, given Laxus’s familiarity with Felid, how could he have fallen for his spell trap so easily?” Maklov chuckled and stroked his beard, exuding the air of an old strategist in charge of planning. “But even Felid doesn’t know about this.”

Kira glanced at the gloomy-faced Freed and nodded silently. That's right, if Freed was acting in cooperation with Laxus, then his acting skills were too good!

This seriously threatens his throne as the "best drama queen in Fairy Tail"!

"But how exactly did you convince him?"

Kira still had one last question: assuming Maklov was telling the truth, why did Laxus agree? He had promised him that the final battle would take place at the Harvest Festival!

Maklov: "Hahaha, back then..."

Three days ago, at Maklov's home.

"What? You want me to give up this competition and go investigate that dark guild that's nowhere to be found?" Laxus shouted at Maklov. "I refuse! Why should I agree to do something like that!"

"Laxus, calm down!" Maklov said. "Listen to me, those dark guilds are troublesome. Once they fully materialize, it will be a serious disaster for the magical world! You are the best person to carry this out, and only you can do it!"

Laxus scoffed, "What does that have to do with me?! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?! This 'First Fairy Tail Magic Tournament' is the time for Kira and me to settle our differences!"

Maklov was silent for a moment, then said, "Laxus, this conference was hosted by Kira. Are you really convinced?"

"Old man, what... do you mean?"

“If you want to completely defeat him, you should set your own rules! Why follow his rules?” Makarov’s voice was as seductive as a bewitching demon. “You should think carefully. Do you really want to participate in that kind of game-like competition?”

Laxus stared at his grandfather in disbelief, as if he were meeting him for the first time: "What are you talking about? Of course I..."

"Under his rules, you'll be like a child playing a game, overcoming obstacles and happily accepting the opponents and victories he assigns you, only to get the chance to fight him on the last day."

At this point, Makarov's tone suddenly turned serious, and he asked in a harsh voice, "You're Laxus, when have you ever needed this kind of handshake opportunity given to you by others?!"

Laxus was silent for a moment. He didn't know why his grandfather would say something so out of character, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made: "But... if I just leave like this, wouldn't that be admitting defeat?"

"How could that be?" Makarov asked with a strange expression, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "How could you think that?"

"Everyone knows that, apart from myself, the strongest mage in Fairy Tail is Gildarts! While they are still competing for a mere false title of 'strongest in Fairy Tail,' you are working hard for the stability of the magical world. Isn't that far more noble than them?"

Sensing that Laxus was wavering, Makarov pressed his advantage, continuing, "You need to broaden your perspective. Think about it: when they're holding that 'trophy' and ready to flaunt it in front of you, you just say..."

'Is that even worth fighting over? I've long since given up on it! You ask where I went? While you were playing house, I single-handedly took down the Dark Guild that had given the old man and the Council a run for their money!'

In that case, aren't you much more mature than them?

Laxus's eyes lit up, and he chuckled coldly, "Sounds pretty good! I agree!"

Maklov nodded in satisfaction.

Laxus's smile vanished, and he gave Maklov a complicated look.

"Old man, don't try to imitate Kira anymore, his acting is too fake!"

"..."

Chapter 172 The old man cheats, the young man slacks off

In the guild, Kira was so shocked by Maklov's words that his jaw almost dropped. He never expected the old man to have such a trick up his sleeve: "And then... Laxus just agreed like that?"

“Of course!” Maklov took a sip of his drink. “He’ll go even if he knows it’s a trap, just so he can show off in front of you. I can’t stop him.”

What does it mean to manipulate someone? What does it mean to persuade someone? Is this the kind of eloquence this old... this old orator has?

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Kira gave a thumbs-up, praising repeatedly. "I always thought you, Chairman, only knew how to say lofty things, but I never imagined you could be so adept at using underhanded tricks..."

Maklov was somewhat displeased: "What are you talking about? I'm just an old man who has lived a long time and read more books and met more people!"

"Yes Yes Yes……"

Kira quickly smiled and poured wine for the old man. He dared not object, as this was someone who could truly threaten him, the "strongest drama queen in Fairy Tail." He had to be respectful, or he wouldn't even know if he was being tricked later.

"So that Dark Guild is..."

"It's one of the Balam Alliance's iron triangle, Oración Seis!"

really!

Kira wasn't surprised at all. He remembered that the Oración Seis arc happened after the Civil War arc, and thinking about it, it was about the same time.

"The Six Demon Generals are quite powerful. I remember at the council meeting that several guilds would form an alliance to defeat them, right?"

Maklov remained expressionless and said, "Yes, before the formal attack, we need to do the necessary intelligence gathering. In addition, the Oración Seis also has many subordinate guilds. Although they don't have any powerful characters, they are numerous. If we ignore them, it will be very troublesome."

"So Laxus's mission is to deal with these guilds?"

This was the only possibility Kira could think of, since he couldn't expect Laxus to do the intelligence gathering work; among the guilds that formed the alliance, there was a more suitable person to do this kind of thing, namely Hibiki of Blue Pegasus, who was a professional at it.

“That’s right! Laxus is more than capable of handling those subordinate guilds, and even if he encounters the Oración Seis, he can leave without any problem.”

That's true. The Six Seals' abilities aren't overpowered. As long as Laxus performs normally, he can easily defeat them.

Hearing the commotion coming from the guild in the distance, Kira said to Makarov, "Speaking of which, the Alliance we were talking about back then included the Spectre Ruler. Now that the Spectre is gone, how about we let Gajeel and Juvia take their place?"

Upon hearing this, Maklov was somewhat tempted. After thinking for a moment, he said, "We don't yet know the whereabouts of the Oración Seis, so it's a bit early to decide who to send to the Alliance team. However, we can start making preparations first."

"My idea is that the best approach to the expedition is to send a small, highly coordinated team with strong average abilities. Laxus and the Thunder God Corps are options; Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy are options; and then there's you..."

As he spoke, Makarov picked up his glass and began to drink. Kira sat opposite him, waiting quietly for a long time, but he didn't say anything more.

"Me? What's next? Who am I with? Do you even know the answer?!"

Why does this old man only say half of what he means? He wasn't like this before!

It wasn't until Kira made him uncomfortable that Makarov slowly said, "To be honest, from what I've observed, you seem to be able to work well with anyone, yet you also seem to be unable to work well with anyone. So if it were you, you could choose any of your teammates, whoever you want to take with you. Of course, you could also go alone if you wish."

Kira thought to himself, "Good grief, they're treating me like a brick? Moving me wherever they need me?"

"I think it would be best to send Erza's team..."

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to,” Maklov looked up at Kira. “Anyway, Laxus has already set off to crush the Oración Seis’s subordinate forces, and Erza and the others are available whenever needed. Don’t blame me for not giving you a chance to shine when they defeat the Oración Seis.”

Kira chuckled: "Alright, Chairman, I'm not Laxus. That kind of provocation won't work on me."

Seeing that Kira wasn't affected, Makarov secretly thought it was a pity.

"Speaking of which, if you tell me all this now, will it be okay if Laxus finds out later?"

“It’s alright, I have complete confidence in your acting skills!” Makarov said confidently.

Kira was unsure whether the old man truly trusted him and believed he would cooperate with Laxus, or if he was just stirring up trouble and watching the show, trying to trick Laxus.

"He's truly cunning and shrewd..."

Knowing that Laxus wasn't secretly plotting anything behind his back, Kira felt relieved and went back downstairs to rejoin the crowd. As soon as he walked over, he saw Erza fighting Natsu.

"Even if you make it to the quarterfinals, don't think you're all that great, remember that!"

Erza exuded a chilling aura. She wasn't holding a sword, but her sword intent was palpable. She grabbed Natsu's collar with both hands and coldly questioned him.

Natsu, his face bruised and swollen, could barely speak, only managing a weak, indistinct "I...I remember! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph!" Erza stormed back to the bar and downed her juice in one gulp.

Natsu was thrown to the ground, with Happy and Gajeel already unconscious beside him.

The people around who witnessed this scene were all trembling and dared not speak, only exchanging glances: "It seems that losing the game today has made her very angry..."

Just then, Erza suddenly turned around, her eyes filled with murderous intent and a fierce glint. The people who had just been communicating with each other immediately lowered their heads and pretended to drink.

"Was it just my imagination?" Erza turned back, muttering to herself, "I had a feeling someone was looking at me with ill intent just now..."

Sensing the murderous aura dissipate, the men finally took their faces out of their glasses, took a sip of wine to calm themselves, and said, "That was close, we almost got discovered..."