A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

But if we're talking about who gained the most fame, it's Kira who ultimately won the championship.

From that day on, all the citizens of Magnolia knew Kira. However, some people looked at him with a strange gaze. He suspected that Dispel must have done something behind the scenes, but he had no evidence.

Three days after the harvest festival ended, Kira's Hope Hut received a letter.

"A letter? People actually write to me these days?" Kira, who had just returned from the guild, took out the letter from his mailbox, his face full of curiosity and anticipation. "This seems to be the first letter I've received in a long time. Who could it be from?"

Back inside, Kira eagerly took out the letter, and a pleasant smell of paper and ink immediately filled the air. Inside was a letter and a card, or rather, an invitation.

"Such exquisite paper, who wrote this invitation to me? Could it be that the King of Fiore is looking for a husband for his daughter? No, no... I remember that princess is still very young..."

This is an extremely exquisite letter. Kira could tell its material just by touching it. It was made of cedar paper, the finest paper in the world, usually used for invitations sent by the upper class.

The "upper class" here refers to people of high status and power, such as royalty or members of the council. Ordinary wealthy people and nobles are not allowed to use this term, and it is precisely because of this special nature that Kira had some doubts.

Kira laid the letter out on the table, and it read:

Dear Mr. Kira Hopwright:

I've heard that you are the foremost young mage in the Kingdom of Fiore, possessing exceptional magical abilities, remarkable talent, and noble character... You have made many indelible contributions to the magical world.

Magical education is an indispensable part of the magical world. Providing elite magical education and instilling a correct view of magic in children with exceptional magical talent is the responsibility of every magic academy.

For the reasons stated above, Demisor Magic Academy plans to begin its new year's magic admissions this September, and now cordially invites Mr. Hoplett...

Upon seeing this, Kira, who had been sprawled in the rocking chair, was taken aback and immediately sat bolt upright like a salted fish: "What?! Demisor Magic Academy?!"

Demisor Magic Academy, the most famous magic academy in the Kingdom of Fiore, is jointly funded and established by the Fiore royal family and the council, and its teaching staff is extremely strong.

This academy has a long history, and there are rumors that its predecessor can be traced back hundreds of years. This makes Kira quite concerned because he remembers that Zeref studied at a magic academy when he was a child in the comics.

Regardless of whether it's the same academy or not, if this rumor is true, how profound must the foundation of Demisor Magic Academy be, a magic academy that survived the Dragon King Festival?

However... since I'm already so strong, is it really appropriate for me to go and learn from you?

"Why didn't you come back then? I'm way past the age of showing off in academia. Why would you invite me over? Are you playing pretend to be weak while actually being strong?"

Kira continued looking down...

We are now cordially inviting Mr. Hopwright to our school's admissions ceremony to set an excellent example for the future geniuses of the magical world.

"Okay, misunderstanding! It wasn't about enrolling me, I knew it..."

Kira slumped back down. He had been invited to attend their admissions ceremony as a guest, not to participate in the enrollment process as a student. He felt a sense of relief, realizing that the other party knew he wasn't a suitable candidate.

But soon, a deep sense of loss followed.

"Damn it! With my magical talent, I should have had a wonderful time at the academy! Why didn't they send me an invitation back then?!"

I can't think about it anymore, the more I think about it, the more depressed I get!

Furthermore, we hope that you will generously dedicate your educational spirit to giving lectures and conducting a one-month magic instruction course for the children.

"Oh! So they want me to do hard labor!"

Demisor Magic Academy recruits students every year. The target students are children aged 6 to 12 who have a talent for magical training. Because the entrance exams are extremely rigorous, those who are selected are all geniuses.

These geniuses will study at Demisor Academy for several years, but the duration varies from person to person. Those with less talent are expelled after one or two years, while those with more talent may study for four or five years. If they are young when they enter and have exceptionally high talent, they may stay for eight or nine years, but at most they will not stay for more than 10 years.

Kira had heard from Jura and Ivan that Demisor Academy would occasionally invite renowned mages to teach magic classes to the students. The letter mentioned that he was to teach the children magic classes for a month, so this was probably it.

"Hmph! They didn't come looking for me when I needed them, but now they're only contacting me when they need me. I won't accept this kind of invitation..."

Before Kira could finish his spiteful words, his eyes caught sight of the last few lines of the letter.

[If you accept this invitation to speak and teach, we will pay you 100 million J as compensation. If you know any gifted children, you can bring them along as well.]

Upon seeing this, Kira clicked his tongue again: "Wow, as expected of a magic academy with the backing of a kingdom and the council, they're really generous! 100 million J... that's about the prize money for the champion of a Fairy Tail tournament."

In the magical world, being able to attend the Demithor Academy of Magic admissions as a guest is an extremely honorable thing, because it signifies the status of the invitee. So even if they don't have money, they will still rush to go. However, Kira is different; he is a very principled person!

The principle is simple: If you get paid, go! If you don't have money, don't go!

"Since they are so sincere, I'll go!"

It's not really about finding an owner for the 100 million; I mainly want to support magic education.

After thinking for a long time, Kira took the letter and invitation and went out to find Makarov.

"Better safe than sorry. Let's check with the president to confirm the authenticity of the invitation first, just in case it's a prank."

Half an hour later, Kira came out of Makarov's house, and the old man confirmed the authenticity of the letter and invitation.

"Just as I suspected, the president had been invited before. Now that the invitation is real, it's time to prepare to bring people..."

Since they allowed him to bring children of the appropriate age, Kira certainly wouldn't refuse! However, the academy had enrollment restrictions: children aged 6 to 12 with magical talent...

"Looks like I'll have to bring one from the orphanage..."

Back at Hope Lodge, Kira wrote down the names of all the children in the orphanage that she knew on a piece of paper, and then carefully considered their magical talents before crossing them off one by one.

"This one won't do, the attitude isn't right, people will inevitably laugh at us if we take her out... This one's a few years too old... This one's a bit too young..."

In the end, among the dense scratches, only three names remained.

Chapter 186 The Rich and the Poor

"Alright, it's decided that it's the three of you!"

Kira ultimately chose three people who had the highest magical talent in the orphanage.

The first child is the girl who takes Cana as her life goal and is described by Kira as "hopeless". Her name is Arcas, she is 10 years old, and she is Cana's apprentice. She is currently using a set of magic cards that Kira gave her.

Kira's second chosen child is named Ika, a boy, 11 years old, who uses fire magic. He's the same chuunibyou (delusional) teenager who's obsessed with the manga "Demon Breaker".

Perhaps influenced by this book, he has an exceptional talent for fire and can now use several different types of fire. The way he uses magic almost made Kira think he was another bunny.

The last boy is named Sangmaru. He is the kid who said when Kira went to teach them before that he "insisted on getting up at 6 o'clock every day, going to bed at 11 o'clock, doing sit-ups, push-ups, long-distance running..." He is 12 years old this year and uses fist magic.

The next day, Kira went to the orphanage and informed the director of the matter. The director naturally gave his full support. If possible, who wouldn't want these children to have a better life?

The selected children were overjoyed, while those who were not selected were not discouraged; instead, they naturally congratulated their friends.

The people in this world, especially the citizens of Magnolia and the orphans raised under Kira's care, generally have relatively sound values. There are no scenes of infighting over a position like in the novel; instead, they use their remaining time to say goodbye.

Later, Kira found Dispel chatting and drinking with others at the guild tavern.

"Hey, Dispel, I'm going to take the entrance exam for Demisor Academy. I'm leaving the shop business to you for now!"

He's been a hands-off manager for a long time now, and he's quite adept at it.

“Demisor Academy?” Dispel turned around, a hint of surprise in his eyes. “You mean…Demisor Academy?”

Seeing his expression, Kira nodded smugly and said, "That's right, that's right, so you knew? I was thinking of introducing you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dispel turned his head away, showing Kira the back of his head: "Never heard of it! Where is that? Do you know?"

He was asking Gray and Cana, who were drinking with him, as well as Juvia, who was affectionately refilling Gray's drink. Kira noticed them smirking and was immediately furious. These guys have been getting more and more arrogant lately!

"No...don't know..."

"Never heard of it!"

"Jubia sounds somewhat familiar."

Kira pointed at Gray and Cana and said, "These two have lived in the guild since they were little, how would they know this? Demisol Academy is the most famous magic academy in the Kingdom of Fiore!"

"Oh." Dispel said uninterestedly, "Why should I tell you?"

"Didn't I just say? I've been invited to participate in their admissions assessment, followed by lectures and teaching sessions. It'll take at least a month. You'll be looking after the shop while I'm gone!"

Dispel narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, before finally asking, "Well, minding the shop... is there anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Kira was secretly pleased. Did this guy want to do more work?

"You could choose to do a thorough cleaning, wash the shop, polish the windows, dust the cabinets and shelves, and organize the books and props, and also..."

"I refuse them all!"

"What did you say?" Kira's expression changed drastically.

"I, Dispel, love nothing more than saying no to people like you!"

Gray and Cana exchanged a knowing glance.

"That phrase sounds so familiar... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before..."

"I feel the same way..."

Kira looked a little anxious: "So you're quitting your job at the shop? Don't forget who took you in when you were down on your luck?"

Dispel said firmly, "Sorry, I have money now!"

"So what if you're rich? Does having money mean you can do whatever you want?"

"Sorry, but money really can buy anything..."

Kira, seemingly enraged, slammed his fist on the table, grabbed a wine glass from the table, downed it in one gulp, and turned to leave.

Gray, Cana, and Juvia watched the two finish their act without expression before finally speaking up to criticize them.

"These two guys, they don't even need to use secret signals anymore when they're acting..."

"He even drank a glass of my wine, that's really going too far!"

"Dispel was perfectly normal when he first arrived, but how long has it been and he's become just like Kira?"

"After all, they are identical entities, so it's normal for them to turn out like this..."

……

Meanwhile, Kira strolled along the Magnolia River, pondering his next move.

Dispel refused to watch the house, and there was nothing he could do about it. After all, he wasn't a real worker. Besides, he had made a fortune in the previous guild competition, so his tone was now much harsher.

"I'm so envious...wait, isn't that Lucy?"

As the sun set, the river that runs through Magnolia shimmered in the sunlight. On the bank, Lucy was arguing loudly with a figure wearing a tattered blouse and carrying a burlap sack.

Driven by curiosity, Kira listened for a couple of minutes and grasped the gist of the matter.

Simply put, the Heartfilia Consortium went bankrupt, and all of its assets were sold. Lucy's elderly father, Jude, is now penniless and needs to go to work at the Merchant Guild in Akalifa City, but he lacks the travel expenses. Desperate, he comes to his daughter to borrow money!

Kira inexplicably thought of a joke: "I'm the owner of the Heartfilia Consortium. I went bankrupt after a failed railroad business and am now penniless. I'm hoping someone with foresight will give me 10 J, and when I make a comeback, we'll share wealth!"