A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

This is one of the most important days of the year for Fairy Tail, and almost all the members are here.

Even Kira received a message from Maklov last night and came to the guild early to meet with the others and attend this highly anticipated ceremony.

Inside the familiar tavern, the wooden platform used for performances was covered by two huge white cloths. Outside, there was a great deal of noise, while inside, a few people were whispering and exchanging glances.

"You...when did you get back? I thought I was going to miss it!"

It was Laxus who spoke.

Since the "Fairy Civil War" unfolded in a different way, he was not expelled from the guild, and he will naturally participate in this assessment.

He was speaking to Kira, but Kira ignored him and turned her gaze to Gildarts on the other side: "Gildarts, how is that little girl who left with you last time?"

Kira was asking about Winter, the girl he referred to as having a "protagonist template" when they were in Zonia.

“You mean her…” Gildas thought for a moment and replied, “I’m sorry, we traveled together for about half a month before we parted ways, and I don’t know where they went.”

"Yeah……"

"Hey! Kira! Can't you hear me?!"

Kira ignored Laxus and continued chatting with Gildarts: "When Demisor Academy was recruiting students, I was wondering if she would go, but I didn't see her. To be honest, I thought highly of that girl; she has good magical talent."

Gildas recalled for a moment and nodded in agreement: "That's true. As for ice, Gray was no match for her back then, and she might even be stronger than those guys outside in the future!"

Seeing that Kira was completely ignoring him, Laxus rolled up his sleeves, ready to punch him: "Kira, you bastard! I'm talking to you..."

"Keep quiet!"

Just then, Makarov spoke up and stopped the three of them, "Stand still! Don't you know this entrance is important?!"

Laxus, still with a rebellious look, turned his head away disdainfully: "Tch... at your age, still trying to show off..."

Maklov blushed and jumped up in anger: "What are you saying! I'm not trying to show off! You know today's events are important, right?!"

Just then, Kira suddenly said, "Guild Master, if the five of us stand like this, it'll make Erza the center, won't it? This kind of entrance doesn't really highlight your central role! I feel like Laxus standing here is a bit redundant..."

The group's current formation is as follows: Maklov stands in front, with the other five S-class mages lined up behind him. To the old man's left and right are Mira and Erza, followed by Gildarts and Kira, with Laxus to Kira's right.

It looked odd because Maklov wasn't standing on the center vertical line of the back row.

Upon hearing Kira's words, Laxus was furious: "What did you say?! Say it again!"

But Kira ignored the person who was hard of hearing and continued to negotiate with Makarov, "How about I stand behind you? That way, you'll be right on the vertical line in our row..."

'Wouldn't that make you the center of attention?'

Maklov rolled his eyes at Kira. "Then... Gildarts, you stand behind me, and Laxus will stand in your place!"

The group had no choice but to accommodate the old man and get him to stand up properly again.

Looking at the formation he had arranged, Maklov nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right, that's how we'll proceed..."

However, before Maklov could finish his sentence, he felt the two white sheets behind him being torn apart!

? !

"President!!!"

"We've been waiting for so long!!"

"Announce it already!!"

The commotion came from behind, but Makarov was completely bewildered: I hadn't even turned around, hadn't even gotten into position! How did the cloth get pulled open?! Who did it?!

"Huh? Why is the president facing away from us?"

"They must be planning to surprise us!"

"Aren't you ready yet?"

Amidst the continuous shouts from the crowd, Maklov could only quickly turn around, using his decades of experience to compose his facial expression, and look at the guild members below with a serious expression.

Seeing the two trembling sleeves on the old man's coat, Gildarts chuckled at Kira: "You did this, didn't you?"

Kira didn't answer, but instead said, "Hey... don't blame me every time something embarrassing happens!"

Gildas laughed: "Sorry, sorry... So, did you do this this time?"

Kira glanced at Makarov discreetly, and when he realized Makarov wasn't looking at him, he nodded slightly.

"I knew it……"

"At your age, what are you thinking about showing off for? These kinds of opportunities should be left to us young people!"

"Hmph! All you can do is mimic other people's speech..." Laxus made his presence known by making a sarcastic remark.

The six people on stage appeared in a "one in front, two in the middle, three in the back" formation. Kira and his two companions were slightly behind Erza and Mira in the front row by half a body length, and they spoke very softly, but they were still heard.

"Let's stop here! Let's begin!"

"Yes Yes……"

Maklov coughed lightly twice, feigning seriousness, and announced to the eagerly awaiting crowd below, "This is a long-standing tradition of 'Fairy Tail,' and now... we announce the list of participants in the 'S-Class Warrior Advancement Trial'!!!"

These words instantly ignited the atmosphere, and all the members cheered.

"Ooooooo!!!"

"I'm fired up!!"

The strange behavior of her companions over the past few days finally cleared up Lucy's doubts. At this moment, she was as surprised as the last person in the entire guild to know.

Even Wendy, who just joined, and Lisanna, who recently returned, were more composed than her!

After calming everyone down, Makarov announced again: "This year's trial location is... Sirius Island!! Our guild's sacred territory!"

Everyone was startled again, their faces showing either longing or astonishment.

Tenrou Island is a small island in the southern sea, located south of the coastal city of Magnolia. It belongs to Fairy Tail and is not easily open to the public.

For the guild members, this place has extremely important symbolic significance. The fact that the S-rank assessment was specially set up here suggests that this year's assessment will be more difficult than usual!

However, becoming an S-class mage in this assessment would mean that one's strength has been recognized to a higher degree, an honor that cannot be compared to previous assessments.

It's like this: in previous years, the exam score was only 100 points, and you only needed 90 points to pass; but this year, the exam score is 150 points, and if you pass, it means your score is above 135!

Moreover, this is not something that can be guessed from a ratio conversion; it is a genuine score that exceeds the perfect score of previous years!

"Strength, heart, soul—I have witnessed your growth over the years. In the end, I selected eight members to participate in this assessment, but only one person can stand out!"

Kira listened quietly to the list given by Makarov. The eight people selected were not much different from those in the original story. Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, Cana, Freed, and Levy were all on the list.

Finally, Kira turned his gaze to the last person, Mester.

This person was originally a member of the guild, but two years ago, in order to find out information about the "Western Continent" for Maklov, he erased his memory among the guild members and infiltrated the council under the alias Dolanbalt.

To avoid revealing the operation, he even erased his own memories, leaving only Chairman Maklov's memories untouched, and only he could remove them.

Originally, Maklov would go to the council every now and then to get information from him, but this made Mester, who had lost her memory, suspicious. In order to find out information about "Fairy Tail" for the council, he once again modified the memories of the guild members and infiltrated the guild, just in time for this assessment.

Kira was already familiar with the plot, so he naturally wouldn't be unprepared for this kind of magic. In addition, with his superhuman magical perception, it wouldn't be difficult for him to detect the anomaly in advance and become immune to it.

Chapter 289 Rules

Once the list of 8 participants for the S-level assessment was released, the guild members began to panic.

"Except for Mester, they were all among the top sixteen in the previous tournament..."

"Keep it up, everyone!"

Countless familiar figures in the crowd looked utterly disappointed.

"Damn it! I lost again this year..."

"Don't be discouraged, there's always next year, Alzak."

Alzak had Bisca to comfort him, and although he wasn't chosen, those around him were still envious and jealous of him.

Since their first date with Kira's "help," the two have been officially dating for quite some time now, and the guild members are eagerly awaiting their wedding day.

Meanwhile, Dorel and Jet, as always, were caught up in Levy's joys and sorrows. Upon hearing that Levy was among the examinees, the two excitedly ran around the guild shouting.

"Levy was chosen! Yay!"

Some were happy, some were sad, and of all the people, Gajeel was the most angry and confused.

"Why...why...without me...even Juvia..."

Indeed, Gajeel was Phantom's ace, and with his abilities, he was more than qualified to participate in this assessment. However, because he was sent by Makarov to "Raven's Tail" to pretend to be an undercover agent, he was not selected in order to avoid arousing Ivan's suspicion.

Besides Makarov, only Kira, Erza, and Laxus knew about this; Gildarts had only recently returned to the guild and was unaware of Gajeel's past; as for Mira, she was perceptive and, although she vaguely guessed that Makarov and Gajeel had a secret mission, she didn't ask any further questions out of trust in the guild master and her companions.

Maklov, still with a serious expression, said to everyone, "There are some new members here, so I'll explain the rules."

Following the guild leader's words, Mira, the guild's star girl, addressed the group: "For the first few days of this week, each of you eight will need to choose a partner!"

"partner?!"

"So, does that mean this is a contest between two people?"

"And it also tests the cooperation between partners..."

Fairy Tail is a guild that values ​​its members highly, so Makarov also places great importance on cooperation among his comrades.

In previous years, the assessments have included this type of assessment to varying degrees, such as having candidates randomly paired up to fight against examiners, in order to test the participants' tacit understanding with their partners, their magical compatibility, and the mages' combat strategies and methods when facing various unexpected environments.

After all, an S-class mage needs more than just strength; they also need brains!

From this perspective, many members of the guild have a long way to go, because although they are very good at using magic, their intelligence is quite lacking.

After Mira finished speaking, Erza added, "There are two rules for choosing a partner: First, they must be members of Fairy Tail; second, they cannot be S-class mages!"

Seeing the new guild members' expressions of surprise, Makarov added insult to injury, saying, "The details of this exam will be revealed when we arrive at Tenrou Island, but... all the S-rank mages in the guild, namely these five behind me, will try to stop you!"

"Eeeeeeeee!!!!"

On the high platform, Gildarts said solemnly, "Don't be surprised! This is the path that all S-class mages must take!"

"No way?!"

"Could it be... even Gildas?!"