A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Do kids these days really like reading this kind of "shonen manga"? They're either chasing after love using the female lead template or chasing after bonds using the male lead template!

The boy seemed to regard Santa Claus as a kind and understanding uncle, and even wrote down stories about him and his friends.

The two met several years ago on a sweltering summer day filled with the chirping of cicadas.

A boy went swimming to play and accidentally entered a deep pool. Suddenly, he got a leg cramp and was drowning. He cried for help but no one heard him. Just when he was exhausted, that person appeared!

【How are you?】

Thank you for saving me!

From now on, we're friends. Don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need anything!

After a clichéd "hero saves the general" incident, the two boys, who were about the same age, became close friends who could talk about anything.

The friend who saved him was sunny, handsome, and helpful. He dreamed of becoming a great mage and always said that he wanted to become a mage like 'Mr. Kira'. The boy felt that he was the other's best friend, so he always gave him his strong spiritual support.

But recently, the boy noticed that his friend seemed to be surrounded by a lot of "seductive and slutty girls" who constantly pestered him to play, leaving his friend with no time to practice magic.

That's fine; these can all be seen as trials to strengthen willpower, and the boy believed his friend could overcome them! But there was a girl who frequently spied on and followed his friend, which gave the boy a strange sense of crisis—he felt that this girl was far more terrifying than those demons! She might very well shake his friend's resolve and even affect their friendship!

So the boy made a wish to Santa Claus, hoping to preserve this friendship and prevent it from changing.

"It's already spoiled!!!"

Kira angrily threw down the wish card, only calming down after a moment. "Hmm...it does happen occasionally. This kid didn't get the male lead template, but the female lead template. That's normal, no big deal!"

Santa Claus is here to solve all sorts of troubles for children, so he's never surprised by anything strange!

"Friendship...that's my forte!"

Kira then left behind "100 prank toys".

"With these things, I believe that friend will realize your importance again!"

……

Apart from the three children at the beginning who were a bit odd, the other children's requests for gifts were quite normal, such as "the latest novel by author Hope of Light", "Fairy Tail Magician plush toys", "pretty clothes", and "magical weapons".

Some ask for little, while others ask for much, as if Santa Claus's gifts really don't cost money.

Kira didn't really care whether it was a lot or a little, since the money for the gifts would be reimbursed by the client, so it was just a delivery service with cash on delivery.

Kira spent two hours processing seven or eight orders, and by the time he returned to Hope Lodge, it was already past midnight.

"It takes this long to deliver just a few gifts! No one can stand that! No wonder Santa Claus is going to be fired!"

Back home, Kira was about to go to sleep after tidying up when he suddenly noticed a gift box under the Christmas tree. Then he heard several strange noises coming from the wind outside.

Kira opened the window and saw a familiar, short figure dressed as Santa Claus, carrying a large sack and leaping between houses in a slightly comical manner.

"Haha... Thank you so much, Chairman!"

Chapter 371 Daily Life - Winter Tournament

Do you remember? Fairy Tail holds a sports competition every year at the end of the year.

The competition included activities typical of winter, such as snowball fights, building snowmen, ice sculptures, ice hockey, skiing, and skating. It was considered a relatively large-scale competitive event within the guild.

Kira secretly trained for quite some time, but with little effect, because in terms of athletic talent, he was still slightly inferior to Erza and the others.

Cheating with magic is naturally not allowed in the competition. For example, Gray's appearance is not considered an ice sculpture, so even if Kira can use magic to control snowballs and ice balls, it is not allowed.

The event was held on Christmas Day, at the location behind the guild.

What used to be the sea has now become a vast expanse of ice, tens of meters thick, tightly connected to the land of Magnolia. Last night's good snowfall has draped the ice surface in silver, making it exceptionally enchanting under the clear sky.

More than a hundred members of the guild gathered here, playing games and competing. When they got tired, they went back to the tavern to rest, having a great time.

At this moment, several young men and women were gathered together building a snowman in preparation for the upcoming competition.

A voice rang out from the crowd: "It's true! There really is a Santa Claus! We all saw him! Right, Happy?"

The one shouting was Natsu. In winter, his scarf finally served its purpose of keeping him warm. He told the others what he had seen and heard the night before, but no one believed him.

“That’s right! Natsu and I both saw him when we came out of Lucy’s house!” Happy echoed Natsu’s words. “It was around 2 o’clock. He was wearing a red hat, red clothes, had a white beard, and was carrying a big red package!”

"So that's all just a myth! Kira and the others also received a request to 'impersonate Santa Claus and deliver presents,' right? The one you saw must have been someone else in disguise!" Despite wearing winter clothes, Gray was still the most lightly dressed person on the field.

Natsu and Happy, still unconvinced, said indignantly, "But Santa Claus did give us presents!"

"So, what did you receive?" Erza asked as she walked over, pushing a snowball that was half her height.

"meat!"

"fish!"

When the topic of Christmas gifts came up, their expressions changed instantly, and joyful smiles appeared on their faces.

"So, am I the only one concerned that they're still at Lucy's house so late?"

Kira couldn't help but speak up, expecting to see their gossipy expressions, but instead, they all turned around and looked at Kira curiously, asking in return, "Isn't this normal?"

"..."

Completely speechless, which seems quite normal.

Just as everyone was excitedly exchanging Christmas gifts from the previous night, Makarov, wearing a padded coat, slowly walked over: "Everyone had a great time... Are you ready? The 'Winter Competition' is about to begin!!"

Makarov's nose was red, he had dark circles under his eyes, and his voice was hoarse. He sneezed a few times while speaking, making everyone worry about the old man: "Has the chairman caught a cold?"

Kira knew this must be because he braved the wind and snow last night to deliver Christmas gifts to the guild members, and couldn't help but say, "Honestly, now that you're getting old, don't always do things that force yourself!"

"What did the president do?"

Natsu and Happy were confused, prompting Lucy to remark, "Those two are really slow to react..."

"Let me take a look!" Wendy stepped forward to heal him without hesitation. After a spell of healing magic, Makarov's complexion finally regained some color.

Without magic, relying solely on skill, the 'Fairy Tail Winter Competition' has officially begun.

The first competition is building a snowman. The judging criteria for this competition are size and appearance.

"Ta-da... This is my creation!"

Erza displayed her creation: a three-meter-tall snowman, round and white all over, complete with a longsword, shield, armor, and helmet, which looked very cool.

"Oh my god!!! It's the 'Snowman Knight'! As expected of Erza!"

"So big! So white! So round! So handsome!"

Boom—!!

Before everyone could finish exclaiming in amazement, the snowman collapsed!

"Eh?! How could this happen?!" Erza was overcome with grief as she saw her hard work gone.

"It's probably because I added too much equipment after all..."

The snowmen built by the others were all similar and lacked any highlights, but the ice sculptures in the second round were different. This competition tested the participants' imagination and creativity.

"It's just an ice sculpture, right? Easy!"

The ice sculpture competition was reinstated as part of the 'Winter Contest,' much to Gray's delight. Even without his shaping magic, the competition was no challenge for him; he carved out an ice figure that looked exactly like himself in just a few minutes.

"Wow!! It looks so much like him even without magic? As expected of Gray!"

"But...why aren't they wearing any clothes again?!"

The Iceman Gray was incredibly lifelike and the best piece on the field. Unfortunately, it was completely naked, so Makarov disqualified it from the competition, and it eventually became a collectible for Juvia.

So Juvia got two ice sculptures of Gray.

"I also know a little bit about ice sculpting~"

Lucy sculpted a famous piece; she was probably the most artistically talented person on the field, though not as good as Gray, but still quite excellent.

Natsu's voice came from behind: "Lucy, look at my ice sculpture, that's Igneel!"

Lucy turned around and saw a lump of ice about the same height as Natsu: "This...this is Igneel? It's too abstract!"

Happy couldn't help but retort, "Natsu, everyone has seen Acnologia. Dragons may be terrifying, but they definitely don't look like this."

“I know, the real Igniru is much bigger than this!”

"No...I don't think it's a matter of size..."

"Really? I knew it! I also felt something was missing!"

"What you're lacking is your artistic talent!!"

After a few seconds of contemplation, Natsu realized the key point and said with a grin, "I know, he lacks momentum! Let me add some fuel to the fire!!"

"Huh?!" Lucy froze, because her work was right in front of Natsu's ice sculpture. Her expression changed drastically. "No!! Wait a minute..."

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!!!"

"My ice sculpture!!!"

Natsu's magic was very powerful, melting many people's unfinished ice sculptures into water, and the familiar guild battle resumed.

Kira had no intention of participating in the group battle; he simply watched the other people's creations in silence.

"Harpy, what's your ice sculpture?"

"It's a fish!" Harpy excitedly showed off his creation.

Kira was silent for a moment, then said, "Happy, freezing the fish directly into ice doesn't count!"

"Wendy, who are you sculpting?"

Wendy blushed and stammered as she recovered from Kira's question, "It's...it's me when I'm all grown up..."

Although she said that, Kira immediately noticed that the two ice lumps on the chest of the female ice sculpture didn't quite fit the figure: "Isn't this a bit too..."

pat!

Before Kira could even speak, two lumps of ice suddenly fell from the ice sculpture with a loud thud, because her shape was simply... unbalanced.

Kira sighed, patted Wendy's head tenderly, and comforted her, "Don't be discouraged! Some things in this world can't be forced!"

"Waaaaah~"

Mira and her siblings sculpted a witch, a beast, and a kitten, all fairly standard; the Thor's crew collaborated to sculpt Laxus, which was also quite similar; Cana simply dug an ice bucket to hold her wine, and was currently enjoying it; Gildarts sculpted Cana, but because it was too ugly, Cana, emboldened by her drunkenness, smashed it; Erza continued in her style with an "ice knight," and since ice is more solid than snow, this time it didn't collapse...