A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Ohhh!!!" Several guild leaders nearby revealed lewd expressions, their eyes even turning into hearts.

Mira spoke from the letter: "Something wonderful happened in the guild while the guild leader was away! Erza, Kira, Natsu, and Gray formed a group, and of course Lucy and Happy were there too."

"!!!"

"Isn't that great?"

This was a letter, not a long-distance communication crystal. Mira's virtual form couldn't perceive Makarov's feelings, so she maintained her bright smile. But by this time, Makarov was sobering up a bit, and his body began to tremble...

"I think this might be the strongest combination in Fairy Tail, right?"

Maklov was sweating profusely...

"I heard there's a dark guild called Iron Forest causing trouble, and they even got their hands on the magical item Ralabai made by Zeref! Kira suspects they might be targeting the Regular Meeting, so guild leaders should be careful~"

Thump thump!! My blood pressure is rising!

"I thought it would be better to let you know, so I sent you this letter! Bye-bye!"

Mira's letter ends here, and the images disappear.

Bang!

"Maklov!!! What's wrong with you?" People around heard the noise and turned around to see Maklov lying on the ground, convulsing.

This...this is a huge mess!! These guys don't really want to destroy a city, do they?

I have to go back tonight after the meeting today... Please, nothing bad should happen before then...

Please!!!

Oh right, Mira just mentioned Lalabai, so the Dark Guild is also eyeing the regular meeting? Won't these guys chase us here and smash up the venue?

Thinking about this, Makarov felt like his heart was about to explode...

……

Kunuki train station has seen a surge in magicians these past few days, but today seems to see even more than the previous two days.

Nearly 80% of the members of the Iron Forest who have been stationed here have arrived. Apart from a few followers who have always been by Erigor's side, only Erigor himself and Kageyama, who is still breaking the seal, have not yet arrived.

The others had already occupied almost the entire train station and were just waiting for an order to seal off the entire station, completely isolating Clover from the outside world.

Ugly-looking, barely-there magicians stood in twos and threes, discussing the hypocrisy of legitimate guilds, the harshness of the council, the weakness of ordinary people, and... the prominent figures in the Magic Weekly.

At this moment, they were unaware that a fire dragon was rapidly approaching...

“Those guys in the council…”

"I saw the XX guild..."

"That one from last time..."

"The models at the Magic Newspaper this month have amazing figures..."

Suddenly, a powerful fist, accompanied by a huge ball of flame, slammed into the middle of the group of mages.

The flames and the force of the punches combined, instantly turning the air scorching hot. The powerful impact sent the group of mages flying dozens of meters away.

"what!!"

"Who goes there?!"

A figure strolled out from the flames, his cherry blossom-colored hair swaying in the wind, his scarf dancing in the air. Flames enveloped him, yet they did not harm him in the slightest. On his right arm, the red Fairy Tail crest was so conspicuous.

Natsu glared at the henchman before him and demanded menacingly, "Where is Erigor?"

……

On the train, Kira, Gray, Erza, and Lucy sat facing each other.

"Is Natsu... really okay?" Lucy wondered to herself, a hint of worry creeping into her heart for Natsu.

Although she believed that Natsu's strength meant he wouldn't encounter any major problems, he was ultimately reckless and impulsive, easily tricked, and his opponent was a treacherous, cunning, cruel, and bloodthirsty mage...

"Don't worry, Natsu won't be defeated by that kind of guy." Gray rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the distant scenery outside the window. His words reassured Lucy a little.

Two seconds later, Lucy smiled with amusement: "As expected, Kira was right, you two have a really good relationship~"

“Right, right! I told you from the beginning! Their relationship is even better than that of blood brothers!” Kira said to Gray. “Ice and fire are practically the two iconic symbols of our guild!”

Erza laughed and said, "Isn't it good to get along well? We're family!"

The three of them kept talking, making Gray a little embarrassed, his cheeks flushing slightly: "You guys are so annoying!"

"What's there to be shy about!" Kira said, putting his arm around Gray's neck. "You're not a child anymore. A real man should express his feelings openly!"

"When did you start talking like Elfman?"

"Well, sometimes I just use other people's catchphrases because I think they're useful. We're all family, so there's no need to take it too seriously. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours."

"Then lend me your magical equipment."

"Sure, but you'll have to negotiate the rent down. I can give you a discount if you pay in full."

"I knew you would say that."

“Speaking of which, I’ve heard you mention opening a magic shop,” Lucy said, looking at Kira. “What kind of things do you sell in your shop?”

Chapter 33 Gray's Nickname

If you say that, I'm no longer sleepy!

Erza, sitting next to Lucy, introduced Kira's Hope Cottage to Lucy: "Kira's Hope Cottage is the biggest magic shop in Magnolia. Everyone in the guild buys their magic items there—my armor too."

“Yes, yes, magic potions, magic weapons, magic toys, magic books... if you can think of it, you can buy it, and we can even customize it.” Kira suddenly perked up. “As long as it’s produced by Hope Cottage, the quality is guaranteed, and there’s a three-year warranty.”

Kira then launched into sales mode: "These items are all meticulously crafted by me, they're very powerful, and everyone who uses them says they're great. Not only in the guild, but my magical equipment is sold throughout the entire Kingdom of Fiore, and I also frequently trade with neighboring countries. I make a significant contribution to Magnolia's GDP every year; the same goes for books, the books that Magnolia Orphanage uses to teach the children are even written by me."

"what?!"

"really?"

"Hey... I've never heard of anything like this before!"

Lucy was speechless: "I'm surprised, but you guys didn't even know?"

Kira chuckled: "Those two aren't the kind of people who would care about economic development and education. I have a lot of influence in Magnolia. Who knows, I might become mayor someday! When that happens, I'll move our guild to the main street in Magnolia."

As the daughter of the Heartfilia Consortium, even without formal education, Lucy has developed a keen eye from a young age, and thus understands the significant impact that economic development can have on a city.

He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "You made all these props and weapons by yourself? And you still manage to go out and do missions from time to time. That's really amazing!"

Taking advantage of Lucy's still good impression of him, Kira seized the opportunity to expand his customer base: "My shop is very popular in Magnolia, Lucy can come and visit sometime!"

At this moment, Gray spoke up, "Lucy would probably be interested in the Celestial Key, right? Didn't you get a Golden Key in the previous mission?"

Great assist, Gray! I was just thinking about how to casually bring this up!

Hearing Gray's words, Lucy was genuinely tempted. She could ignore all the potions, armor, and weapons he had mentioned before, but the Celestial Key was something she had been collecting: "Really? You have Celestial Keys too?"

It's here!! The big fat sheep is here!!! We've been preparing for so long, just waiting for you to say that!!!

Kira knew that Lucy had an inseparable bond with the Celestials, so no matter how expensive it was, she would spend the money to buy the golden key she possessed.

After all... Lucy, you don't want to see the Celestials suffer in my hands, do you?

Kira wore a mysterious smile: "Yes, I do, but only the keys to the Twelve Gold Palaces. I got the Sagittarius key from the previous mission. If Lucy wants it, I can sell it to you for a discount."

"Really??!!!"

Sure enough, no Celestial Spirit mage could resist the gleaming golden key.

Lucy's eyes shone, and she couldn't stop smiling; her heart was filled with excitement and joy.

This is fantastic! I never expected to get this much! Fairy Tail was definitely the right choice!!

Kira was happy, Lucy was happy, and Erza was happy too, because she felt it was a win-win situation, allowing Kira to earn money and Lucy to get the key.

Yes, that's how partners should love and care for each other...

Erza never cared about whether it was expensive or not; she was never short of money.

Of the four, only Gray regretted what he had just said. He suddenly felt sorry for Lucy because he knew that Lucy would be badly tricked by Kira, just like Cana bought ten cards for 50 J. She might even be worse off than Cana.

It's important to know that cards are not unique like golden keys.

At this moment, he even suspected that Kira knew Lucy would come all along, which was why he accepted the mission on Galna Island.

"No...it shouldn't be possible...that kind of thing..."

Seeing Gray shaking his head and talking to himself like he was having an epileptic seizure, Kira asked in confusion, "Gray, what's wrong with you?"

"No...it's nothing...I was just thinking about something..."

"You must have caught a cold! I told you not to keep taking off your clothes..."

"I'm an ice-attribute mage, I don't catch colds easily..."

After a moment of silence, Kira suddenly spoke up: "Gray, why don't you add more distinctive features to yourself? I don't think your current persona is good; it's detrimental to our guild's reputation."

"You changed the subject so abruptly!!!"

Kira continued, "Look, in the magical world, powerful mages all have nicknames. People call me the Sage, Erza the Fairy Queen, and I've even heard Natsu is now called the Fire Dragon King. But what about you? You don't even have a single memorable nickname! Are you some kind of less impressive than Natsu?"

Gray: "..."

“Even Leon, who was similar to you, had a nickname like Zero Emperor, but you don’t. We can’t exactly call you Ice Creator, can we? It would be too pathetic to use a mage’s magic as a nickname.”

Giving your partner nicknames? That sounds interesting.

The two women present suddenly became interested, especially Erza, who really enjoyed these things, much like Kira.

"Speaking of nicknames, they should be based on characteristics, right? Does Gray have any unique characteristics?"

Kira blurted out, "He takes off his clothes very quickly!"

"Hmm...this is a bit tricky!"

"Shut up!! Kira, can't you be quiet for once?!" Gray yelled. He didn't dare say anything to Erza or Lucy, so he targeted Kira instead.

"Ok."

A minute later, Kira suddenly spoke up: "What do you guys think of the Ice Knight or the Ice Warrior?"