A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Harujion.

As everyone disembarked, they immediately felt the pointing and whispering of those around them.

"What's going on? Everyone's looking at me strangely?"

Just as Makarov was puzzled, several children who looked to be only six or seven years old suddenly approached, their faces flushed and their breathing rapid.

The child leading the group took two steps closer and asked nervously, "Excuse me... are you mages from Fairy Tail?"

That look in his eyes...

"Ahem..." Noticing the child's expression, Makarov immediately went to greet him. "I am the guild master of Fairy Tail. May I ask what brings you here?"

This answer caused all the children to gasp, and then they started chattering incessantly.

"As expected, I knew they were mages from Fairy Tail. I recognize several of them!"

"This grandpa is the chairman?! That's amazing!!!"

"Look, that person is the most famous, handsome, and talented mage in the magic world today, 'Sage' Kira! I want to become a mage like him someday!"

"The red-haired older sister is the 'Fairy Queen' Erza, and my sister loves her very much!"

"That person is 'Fire Dragon' Natsu, and there's also 'Demon' Mira and 'Spirit Cat' Happy..."

Every time the children called out a name, the person whose name was mentioned would unconsciously straighten their back and puff out their chest, a sense of pride welling up inside them. After all, they were all teenagers of eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years old, and it was inevitable that they would have a little bit of vanity, especially Erza, who clearly enjoyed it very much.

Needless to say, Harpy, at only six years old, already had the title of "Cat Spirit," and was overjoyed: "Natsunazu, did you hear that? They said we're 'Cat Spirit'! Before, only you had a nickname, now we have one too!"

"I heard you, Happy!"

Natsu smiled broadly. His partner had a nickname, which meant it had gained recognition from the magical world. Although he didn't understand why, he was still very happy for it. "You're really amazing!"

"Xia Lulu, did you hear that? I'm a spirit cat!"

"Yes...yes...I heard it..."

Happy smiled even more brightly: "Don't worry, even though I have a nickname now, I still like you!"

He spoke very sincerely, with a hint of boasting. What he meant was, "I'm a famous cat now, in high demand. If I don't seize the opportunity, it'll be gone." But to others, it sounded like, "Even though I'm famous, I'm still your little licker."

"Lucy, Lucy, can you hear me?"

"I heard you, I heard you..." Lucy waved her hand dismissively, listening intently to the children's voices, hoping to hear her own name from them.

“...'Ice Knight' Gray, 'Summoner' Kana, 'Beastmaster' Elfman, the Thunder Gods, and others!”

*Clap clap!*

Lucy felt her heart shatter instantly, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Just as she was about to complain, someone else reacted even earlier than her.

"Huh? Kid! What do you mean by 'others'? Why isn't 'Iron Dragon' mentioned?! Are you looking down on me?!"

Gajeel approached the child who was calling out names one by one and glared at him fiercely.

The child was immediately terrified and stammered, "I...I just...I thought they were very strong, so I remembered their names..."

Hearing this, Gajeel became even more indignant, his voice unconsciously rising several decibels: "What did you say?! You mean I'm weak?"

"That's...that's how it is! We ranked them based on the sixteenth place finisher from that 'Fairy Tail Tournament,' and you weren't even in the top sixteen back then..."

*Clap clap!*

Gajeel felt his heart break, but he didn't shed a tear because he heard laughter behind him.

"Hahahaha!!! You're such a loser, Gajeel!"

"Damn fire dragon, wanna have a contest now to see who's stronger?"

"Who's afraid of who?"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Erza stepped in to break them up: "You two, that's enough! If you want to argue or fight, wait until we get back to the guild!"

Then she bent down and affectionately patted the child's head: "Don't fight in front of such a cute child! He's one of our fans!"

"It's rare to see Erza like this..."

"It's because of what that child just said, isn't it..."

"Wait! If it's the round of 16, then Laxus is..."

Laxus noticed the others' gazes and turned her head arrogantly: "Hmph! I don't care about such empty fame! My legends far surpass yours!"

Everyone was taken aback: Your words are more eloquent than your performance, but the subtle expressions on your face still betray your true feelings!

As Laxus's number one fanboy, Freed couldn't let this opportunity pass, and immediately said, "Laxus, the name of the Thunder Gods exists because of you, our name is your name!!"

"Didn't I tell you I didn't care?"

Meanwhile, Juvia continued to pester Gray: "Juvia doesn't have that so-called 'nickname' either~ But since Lord Gray is the 'Ice Knight,' then Juvia can be the 'Water Princess'!"

This was unsurprising, but it still left everyone else speechless with a wry smile.

Lisanna noticed that Wendy's name wasn't on the list, so she went over and asked softly, "Wendy isn't on it either?"

Wendy, holding Charlotte who was getting impatient with Happy's pestering, replied, "I think only the top sixteen in that tournament got the title, right? I hadn't joined a guild yet!"

Xia Lulu comforted her, "Don't be disappointed, you'll definitely have one next year!"

"Yes! I will try my best!"

Levy nestled against Lucy's chest, her expression sorrowful: "I feel so sad! We were both in the top sixteen, but nobody mentioned me..."

Lucy patted her back in comfort: "Well... I think Kira should be held fully responsible for this!"

(Levy was in the first battle of the top 16, but she was defeated by Kira in one move, and she didn't have any outstanding performance in the Canyon Tournament, so not many people remembered her.)

After a flurry of genuine praise and feigned humility, the group finally returned to Magnolia. Upon arriving in the town, they were greeted with cheers and applause from the locals.

Through the newspapers handed to them by the citizens, Kira and his companions learned that the Tenrou Island incident had already spread throughout the magical world. Fairy Tail had become incredibly famous, not only receiving awards from the Magic Council and the Kingdom, but also rising in the hearts of the people, becoming a pillar of stability for the Kingdom.

Inside the guild tavern.

Everyone cheered at the change and started a banquet in broad daylight, eating, drinking, singing and dancing. Even Makarov, surrounded by the crowd, drank heartily.

The rest of the group sat in their usual spots, discussing the new look of the guild.

"No wonder, I was wondering why I only gained so many fans now, even though the guild competition has been over for so long. So that's why..."

"But it's not necessarily a bad thing. I suppose there will be more guild quests coming up later?"

Kira took a sip of the new coffee, clicked his tongue, and suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, raised his voice several decibels and said to the people around him, "Brothers and sisters! This is a great opportunity to make money by doing missions!"

"Let's all work harder and get the task done! My ledger is getting impatient!"

Chapter 367 Letter from the Council

Upon hearing his words, the debtor, who had finally managed to be happy for a few minutes, immediately fell silent. Of course, the main culprits were Kana and Lucy.

However, they were quite adept at delaying payments, so they weren't worried at all, especially Kana. While Lucy's repayment date was still a long way off, Kana already had hope.

"Kana Kana~ Your bill..."

"I'm already S-rank, aren't I? I'll do a few missions in a few days, and I'll be there soon!" Kana sat on the table, casually hugging a wine barrel half her height, her face flushed from drinking. "I'm not the kind of person who would renege on a debt!"

Marcao and Wakaba, two heavy smokers and drinking buddies, sat to the side, their faces still showing disbelief: "It's unbelievable, I never thought that Kana would become an S-class this year!"

"Yeah, Natsu, Gray, and Freed were all there too, I really don't know what they were thinking."

Boom!

Two large glasses of wine were smashed in front of the two men, and Kana, drunk, shouted, "Huh? You two old guys, do you have some complaints about my strength?"

"No...no..."

"Drink up! Today I'll show you what an S-class drinking capacity is!"

"What do you mean by S-level alcohol tolerance? It's like you've changed some kind of thing..."

But before Kana and the two heavy smokers could even start their drinking contest, Gildas, who was also reeking of alcohol, came over and put his arm around Kana's neck: "I'm Kana's dad!"

"I know, I know... You've said this three times already!"

"Really? Hahaha!!!" Gildas laughed, pulling Cana aside to continue showing off to the others, "You know what? I am..."

Wakaba exhaled a puff of smoke: "Seriously, how many times does he have to say it..."

Macao laughed and said, "It's normal to have this kind of reaction after all, knowing that you've become a father!"

"Back when Kana first joined the guild, she was so small!"

"Yes, back then..."

As they talked, the two began to reminisce again, and a relieved smile appeared on their faces.

Seeing Cana being pulled away by Gildarts, Kira shifted his focus to another nearby victim. He walked over to her, a friendly smile on his face: "Lucy~ It's almost time to pay back the money this month! Have you saved up my money properly?"

Lucy: "!!!"

Since the beginning of the month, Natsu and the others who have been partnering with Lucy have been frantically doing personal missions, so much so that she has been completely left behind. Later, she studied the 'Star Chart History' given to her by Kira, and then worked hard for Cana's test, so she has zero income this month.

"Well... uh hahaha..."

"Laughing it off won't work!" Kira seemed to enjoy the thrill of this manipulation. "Starting tomorrow, let's work hard to pay back the money!"

In the end, Lucy didn't drag Natsu to work. They had taken on so many missions that they could cover their expenses for a short period of time. Plus, they had faced so many enemies during this assessment, so they decided to take a good rest.

Of course, there is another reason, which is that Natsu and other Dragon Slayers have experienced the aftereffects of overusing magic power.

Kira originally thought that after purifying the energy of the magical spirit, there would be no aftereffects—in fact, during the current battle and in the days following its end, the bodies of the Dragon Slayer Mages did not show any abnormalities—but for some reason, they suddenly experienced weakness and fatigue again.

Wendy was alright; she hadn't consumed much, just a bit tired. But the other three were in a worse state, especially Natsu and Gajeel, who were completely drained and had to be cared for by Happy and Riki. Even so, slumped over the table, they continued to bicker and argue incessantly.

"Didn't you say it had already been purified? Why is this still happening?"

After examining it carefully, Kira explained, "If I'm not mistaken, it's probably because after the magic that didn't belong to them dissipated, their bodies mistakenly developed a phenomenon similar to 'magic deficiency'."

"As expected... no power comes for free!"

……

The guild's banquet lasted all day, and by the time it ended, it was already night.

Kira walked back to 'Hope House' and as soon as he entered, he noticed that the shop and house had accumulated a thin layer of dust over the past few days.