A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"But you haven't turned into a monster, have you?"

"Ah! That's right!" Happy suddenly realized, a weight lifted from his heart, and he sighed, "Great!!"

Just as the two had settled down, the surrounding environment changed again. The moonlight, which had been flowing like water, suddenly turned into a flurry of snowflakes falling from the sky, and a cold wind swept in, bringing a chill.

In an instant, Magnolia was dressed in silver, and everything in sight was white.

"It's snowing? How can it snow at this time of year?"

"It's so cold..."

Natsu glanced at the book in his hand again and said, "I remember there was a line in it that said blizzards gradually devour imprisoned beasts. Is this what it's describing?"

"Natsu, what do we do now?"

"I don't know... Should we go to Lucy's first... Wait! This smell..."

Just as Natsu was about to take Happy to Lucy's house to escape the cold, a familiar scent suddenly wafted through the air.

"It's Lucy! She's in the direction of the guild!"

"Really? Let's go check it out!"

Dragon Slayers have noses that are sharper than a dog's. Happy was already familiar with Natsu's extraordinary senses, and without hesitation, he urged him to go to the guild to find out what was going on.

Without a word, Natsu took off running, and Happy took flight, the two heading towards the guild that was right in front of them. However, ten minutes passed, and they still hadn't closed the distance between themselves and the guild at all.

"What's going on? It's right in front of us, how come it's taken so long? It never feels this far before!"

The continuously dropping temperature caused Natsu to exhale hot breath. Happy couldn't stand the cold either, so he quickly dispelled his wing magic and landed on Natsu's head. He shivered, his fur trembling in the wind, and two strands of snot hanging from his face.

"Natsu... could it be... because of... the curse?"

"Very likely! Didn't we have a saying before that 'a blizzard will gradually devour a caged beast'?"

Despite Natsu's strength and status as a fire mage, the icy, formless, and bone-chilling landscape before him was something that magic alone could not withstand.

"It's so cold... No! Lucy is still waiting for us at the guild..."

Supported by this belief, despite the uncertain road ahead and even being trapped by a curse, Natsu overcame physical fatigue and exhaustion with his indomitable will.

After an unknown amount of time, Happy's voice began to weaken: "Natsu... I'm so tired... so sleepy..."

Natsu quickly pulled him into his arms, ignoring the heavy frost and snow falling on him from the cold wind. Gritting his teeth, he used the little magic he had left to create flames, adding a touch of warmth to the area within three feet of him: "It's alright, Happy, I'll protect you!"

Happy was fast asleep, breathing evenly. Natsu could only hold it tightly in his arms and move his feet with difficulty. Wearing his cool flip-flops, he slowly walked towards Fairy Tail, one step at a time, but the distance between him and the guild still hadn't closed.

After an unknown amount of time, a blizzard swept in, engulfing the entire Magnolia. Natsu lost his last bit of strength and was swallowed up in the snow-covered landscape.

……

In a daze, Natsu felt someone slapping his face.

"Natsu... Natsu... Wake up!"

"Really...it's already evening!"

The familiar touch, the familiar voice... this feeling... it's Happy and Lucy!

Natsu suddenly flipped over and leaped up.

"Ah! You're finally up! Let's hurry home!" Kira's voice reached Natsu's ears.

Natsu steadied himself and realized he was still in Kira's Hope Hut, with Lucy and Happy watching him, while Kira was not far away, reclining in his chair, holding the cursed spellbook in his hands.

Through the one-way glass beside him, one could see that it was already dark outside, with people coming and going on the street. Magnolia, as usual, had entered the brightly lit nightlife.

“Strange… what’s wrong with me…” Natsu’s voice was somewhat dazed, clearly not fully conscious yet.

Kira answered his question in a lazy voice: "You've fallen under my illusion magic! From the moment you and Happy stepped back in here, everything that happened afterward was an illusion!"

"Huh?! So those 'curses' also..."

Natsu looked at Kira in surprise, wanting an explanation, but Kira didn't even look up, simply replying, "It's an illusion magic cast through both psychological and mental suggestion! The book is just an ordinary magical tool."

"So that's how it is..." Natsu felt relieved after realizing that his previous experience was just an illusion, but then he became angry again, "Ah! Killer! Why did you do such a thing?!"

"Don't look at me, it was Lucy's request!" Kira closed the book. "Of course, I also wanted to see if you two would be scared. Hehehe... I said a long time ago that I would give you special training, but I kept forgetting. This is a good opportunity to test your mental strength!"

Happy exclaimed incredulously, "They actually admitted it so readily?!"

"Actually, Lucy was reading in my shop this morning, and she overheard you guys talking about scaring her with horror novels, so..."

Natsu and Happy were embarrassed and sweating profusely: "Oh...I see...I'm so sorry..."

Noticing Natsu and Happy's apologetic gazes, Lucy blushed slightly, then feigned anger and shoved her face away: "Honestly! It's bad enough that you're always clumsy and ruin my things, but how long has it been? And you're already trying to play this kind of prank on me! You never learn! You won't repent until you're taught a lesson!..."

Listening to Lucy's endless complaints, Natsu and Happy were filled with shame and obediently sat on the ground, not daring to say a word back.

goo goo...

"Ah! I'm hungry!"

"I'm hungry too..."

The two had been traveling all day without a drop of water, and their only act of eating was a sham.

She already had a big appetite, and having exhausted too much of her mental energy in Kira's illusion, she was now so hungry she was dizzy. She was only holding back her hunger because she felt very sorry for Lucy.

Seeing this, Lucy could only sigh helplessly, "Sigh... Fine! I'll forgive you this time. Come on, I'll treat you to something to eat!"

"Oh! Really? Thank you so much, Lucy!!"

"Goddess Lucy!!"

The two people and the cat walked out chatting and laughing.

Just before leaving, the three suddenly stopped in their tracks: "Isn't Kira coming with us?"

Kira: "..."

You finally thought of me?

"Hehe... I'm already full from watching you two flaunt your love..."

"Goodbye then!"

After everyone else had left Hope Hut, Kira sighed deeply, got up, and walked towards the pile of books that had been there all day and hadn't been tidied up yet.

"These guys are so annoying! They don't even bother to clean up before leaving. They'll swindle all their money sooner or later!"

Inside the cabin, Kira grew angrier the more he tidied up.

"Hmph, they were all lied about!"

Chapter 286 Clues

Kira strode into the guild tavern as usual.

The tavern was nearly empty, only about a third of its usual size.

Apart from a few regular drinking buddies still sitting in their old spot drinking and bragging, most people have gone out to work. The remaining new members, unaware of what's about to happen, and the "players" who have already cleared the game, are still enjoying themselves in the tavern.

Mira greeted him with a smile at the bar: "You're here? Kira!"

"Yeah!" Kira waved in response, then walked to the bar and asked, "There are so few people today, is everyone off on a mission?"

Mira nodded as she wiped the wine glasses: "Yes, yes! After all, that day is coming soon!"

"It's that annual work frenzy again! These lazy guys only get this enthusiastic at the end of the year," Kira muttered, but then stopped himself and turned to look at the guild's quest board. "Hmm... in the whole guild, only Nob has remained unchanged!"

Norb stood there quietly, like a stout, dark-skinned man from an ancient tribe, hesitant and indecisive, muttering to himself, "This won't do...this isn't good..."

Following Kira's gaze, Mira smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling: "Hehehe...Is that so!"

Kira ordered a juice and glanced at another part of the pub, where two familiar middle-aged figures were still drinking and chatting happily.

"Have Macao and Wakaba completely given up?"

"They probably feel they can't compete with the younger generation anymore."

Kira then turned his attention to other parts of the guild: Wendy, Lisanna, and Wendy's pet Charlotte were sitting together talking, their faces beaming with smiles; Erza was sparring with the newly joined Beyonder Rili, the two were fighting quite well, while Gajeel was cheering them on from the sidelines and showing off.

Just then, footsteps sounded, and a familiar blonde girl slowly approached.

It's Lucy!

Kira glanced back twice and asked, "Lucy? You didn't go to work?"

"Um...because..."

She was about to explain when Kira interrupted her: "That won't do! If you don't work, you'll face a serious food and lodging crisis! And of course, a debt crisis!"

"I know, I know!" Lucy pouted, pouting. "Honestly, you say these annoying things as soon as we meet! I've been working really hard too! It's just that things have been a bit unusual lately..."

goo...

Kira downed his juice in one gulp, then turned and asked, "Speaking of which, Lucy! How are you doing with those Protoss keys? And how's your relationship with the Protoss going?"

"Um...that's great! Why are you asking this?" Lucy sat down next to Kira, interrupted by Kira's sudden words, and for a moment she forgot her original purpose.

Kira replied, "You must be the first Celestial Spirit Mage in nearly a century to collect all thirteen Zodiac Keys! I've contributed far more to this than you have! Can't you at least show some concern?"

"Okay...okay..."

"So, you can now open two doors at the same time using your own magic?"

Lucy scratched her cheek awkwardly: "Um... well... it's barely acceptable..."

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, her tone changed, and she said, "Ah! I came here today because I wanted to ask Mirasan something. Since you're here, you might know the answer!"

It turns out that just last night, Kana, drunk and reeking of alcohol, barged into Lucy's house, saying she was considering leaving the guild.

Lucy looked at the two of them anxiously: "That's what she said!! And she won't say why!!"

However, Mira, as if she already knew, calmly put away the glass Kira had just put down and said, "It's okay, Cana always says that lately!"

Lucy was instantly dumbfounded: "Huh?! Something's not right, is it? This doesn't seem like a 'minor problem' at all! Aren't you all concerned? What's wrong with Kana?!"

"It's just a child throwing a tantrum, she'll be fine in a couple of days!" Kira comforted her. "You know, just like how girls have a few days of discomfort every month, Cana also gets inexplicably down at certain times! Don't worry, she'll be lively and energetic again in a while..."

"You can't say things like that in front of girls, Kira!"

Kira pointed at the black aura gradually rising from Mira's body, then turned to Lucy and said, "See! Mira can do this too..."