A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Suddenly, it dawned on him—that's right, these things were given to him by his older brother, so it was perfectly normal for something to go wrong! Thinking this, his face immediately turned ugly, and he gritted his teeth, cursing, "I knew that guy wasn't that kind!"

This turn of events was indeed unexpected, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer felt it wasn't a major problem: even if the robots' defenses faltered, their offensive capabilities were still sufficient, not to mention the presence of his own orc army in the front lines. The orc army and the machine army, one attacking and the other defending, made for a perfect battle combination!

But the battle situation once again exceeded his expectations. Not only was Kira's attack swift and accurate, but Jura, having learned his lesson before, found it much easier to deal with this time.

Seeing no hope of defeating Kira and Jura, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had no choice but to change his target again and begin aiming at the Emerald Princess.

His battle strategy was clear: the best-case scenario was to capture all the enemies. If he couldn't capture Kira, he had to keep Jura. If he couldn't keep either of them, he had to capture Emerald, who was Princess Fiore, as a hostage to save his life, and even use her to threaten the two 'Ten Wizard Saints' to deal with his brother.

The plan seems fine, but it's quite difficult to implement.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer secretly calculated the fighting strength: Kira and Jura were either preoccupied with guarding against the swarms of machine soldiers or lured away by the Orc army. Although their attacks were unstoppable, cutting through enemy ranks like vegetables, their vision was also obscured by these tireless and painless enemies, causing them to forget their primary task of protecting their teammates.

This was the perfect opportunity for him to strike!

Summoning orcs, burrowing underground, and moving—all in one fluid motion—while Kira and Jura were locked in battle, this treasurer, who had virtually no chance of winning, secretly infiltrated the stone hut Jura had built for the prisoners. Hidden within the hut were the hundreds of people who remained completely unaware that the enemy's leader, the treacherous schemer, had already joined them.

"Got it!!" A sudden shout rang out as the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched a surprise attack.

At the same time, dozens of orcs, acting on orders, leaped up from the ground and attacked the prisoners!

"It's those demons!! How could they be here?!"

"Damn it! I'll fight them—ouch!"

"Help me—!!"

"How can these guys be so strong?!"

In fact, the people hiding in this stone house included kingdom soldiers, mages, and treasure hunters, and they possessed considerable fighting power. However, not everyone was one of the 'Ten Wizard Saints,' and under the overwhelming power of the orcs, they were as powerless as children, easily subdued by the ambushing orcs.

Under the Chancellor of the Exchequer's control, several strong orcs pinned the Emerald Princess to the ground, preventing her from rising no matter how much she struggled. This scene was just as outrageous as the abduction of a noble and elegant elven princess by monstrous green goblins.

The middle-aged man strode arrogantly up to Princess Emerald and let out a sinister, lewd laugh: "Heh heh heh!!! Didn't expect I had this kind of trick up my sleeve, did you? Tell me, if I force you out of here now, what do those two guys think they'll do?"

Upon hearing this, Princess Emerald struggled violently again: "You despicable wretch!"

"It's over, Your Highness!" The Minister of Finance seemed to already see victory, his face beaming with a fanatical smile. "This battle is mine... Pfft—!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a crystal ball flew out of nowhere and blasted him away!

Chapter 390 An Invitation from the Royal Family

Princess Emerald stared wide-eyed at what was happening before her, in disbelief.

Just a second ago, she was thinking, "It's over, I'm going to be taken hostage, and it might even implicate Kira and Jura, the two mages, and all the innocent people behind them." But the next second, things took such a turn.

After the Chancellor of the Exchequer was sent flying by a crystal ball of unknown origin, several more identical crystal balls flew by, accurately hitting the orcs holding down the Emerald Princess, eliciting screams from the crowd.

This time, Princess Emerald saw clearly that what saved her was a green crystal ball of the same material, about half the size of her head. Judging from the muffled thud that came after hitting the orc, it must have been quite heavy.

Before she could react, several more dark figures darted into the crowd. The figures moved extremely fast, weaving back and forth, and the shouts of the orcs rose and fell. In just a dozen breaths, they were all lying on the ground, unable to get up.

Who saved me?

Just as she was wondering what was going on, she suddenly heard several voices behind her.

"Why did you suddenly attack, Ultear? Do you know him? Or do you have a grudge against him?"

"I don't know him, but he doesn't look like a good person. Let's hit him first and see what happens!"

"Hey... when did you become so impulsive? Could it be that after spending a few days together, you've picked up some 'Fairy Tail' habits?"

"I think Urudia did the right thing! I also think that person doesn't seem like a good person!"

"Well, although I really want to say that you guys are judging by appearances, I think so too... Eric, what do you think?"

"Don't worry, you guessed right, he really isn't a good person. This is called 'the face reflects the heart'!"

"See, I told you so..."

Princess Emerald looked over at the sound and saw that the people who had come to her aid were five men and three women wearing identical blouses, one of whom looked like a child. She suddenly felt that these eight people looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen them before. However, there was no doubt that they were the ones who had just helped her.

"Thank you for your help! Oh?! You're the one from last time..."

Emerald rose and took two steps forward, bowed and thanked him. As she stood up, she suddenly froze, staring at Gerald, who was leading the group. She was stunned. Clearly, she recognized Gerald, who had saved her at the winter hot spring inn. The others opposite her also recognized the princess, and her stunned expression led to them teasing Gerald.

"Wow, what a coincidence! How can there be such a coincidence in the world? Don't you agree?"

"That's right... This is the second time, Gerald~"

"Was it because you were wearing clothes this time that I didn't recognize you at first glance?"

Ah! Fate! What a wondrous and romantic thing!

Gerald grew increasingly annoyed and angrily stopped everyone: "I said... that's enough! If you keep talking, you'll have to pay for your own living expenses from now on!"

Since its inception, Kira has never distributed any money to the organization, and almost all the proceeds from their raids on the Dark Guilds have been managed by Gerald, the acting leader, meaning he has always held the reins of the finances.

There's no way around it; none of the others have experience in this area. If they were in charge, they would definitely indulge in lavish spending without hesitation—Ultear is no good either; she's been busy researching skincare products lately and spends even more money!

After Gerald's words, the group toned it down a bit and stopped making fun of them to their faces—they chose to turn their heads away.

"...I'll deal with you later!"

Gerald instinctively covered his head in speechless exasperation, then stepped forward and asked, "I remember you're the princess of the Kingdom of Fiore, right? Why are you here?"

After a brief exchange, the two sides learned why they had come to this place.

Gerald and the others remained indifferent to the tense situation between the two countries and the political turmoil in the country they were in. They were only concerned about the dark magic in the other party's possession, and after learning that Kira had determined that it did not belong to Zeref, they were almost ready to turn back.

Emerald was surprised by the identities of the group. She hadn't expected that the people who had saved her twice were the rumored criminals wanted by the Magic Council, as well as the remnants of some of the most famous dark guilds in the magical world. She was also surprised by their current changes, but what surprised her even more was their close relationship with Kira.

No wonder I'd always heard that the Fairy Tail guild was a mess; it really is this bad! Is it really okay to do this? Does the council know about this?

Finally, Gerald pleaded, "If possible, I hope you can keep this from us!"

“You have done me a favor twice, which is to say you have done a favor for the Kingdom of Fiore. Moreover, you are currently fighting against the forces of darkness. Of course, I will not let you be troubled because of me!”

Princess Emerald readily agreed, but after hesitating for a few seconds, she suggested, "Perhaps I can offer you another option!"

"Huh??" The group asked, puzzled.

"In fact, the Fiore royal family has been building up a magic force all along. One of them is responsible for monitoring the movements of all magic guilds within the kingdom. It functions as a combination of the council's inspection team and detention team. If you are interested, you can become part of the kingdom's forces and live openly and honestly."

"Huh??!!!" Upon hearing this, Jellal and the others were stunned. They looked at each other and said cautiously, "But...but...we are a dark guild...we are criminals wanted by the council!"

"Don't worry about that, I can pardon you on behalf of the royal family!"

The group was stunned again: "Pardon our sins? Is that really possible?"

Princess Emerald smiled brightly: "Weren't you forced into this situation back then? Since you yearn for the light and have decided to take responsibility for your past sins, wouldn't it be more convenient to act under this identity?"

The pardon here is, of course, tied to joining the army! Although Emerald is grateful for their life-saving grace, she still feels it necessary to carefully verify their account of their experiences. Of course, if everything is confirmed in the end, a direct pardon is not a problem.

The olive branch was extended so unexpectedly that even Gerald was caught off guard.

He looked at Eric, who understood his meaning and nodded to him, indicating that the princess was sincere and had no ulterior motives.

But this made them even more conflicted: if they accepted, they would become officially recognized mages of the kingdom, receiving government salaries. Originally, this would be a good thing for all of them, but... they worried that they would lose the freedom they had worked so hard to gain.

To accept or not to accept? To choose legal status or personal freedom? That is the question!

After much deliberation, the group unanimously turned their attention to Gerald, the acting leader and diplomat, intending to have him make the initial decision that would influence the organization's future form.

As for Kira, that guy doesn't care about anything and just makes empty promises. What kind of leader is that? -- Well, actually, they don't want Kira to be affected by them. Wouldn't it be better for him to be a 'sage' of Fairy Tail and one of the 'Ten Wizard Saints' of the magical world?

Gerald's answer was predictable: "We are all people who have committed serious crimes. Kira vouched for us and gave us a chance to make amends, allowing us to escape punishment from the Council. We are grateful to you for granting us pardon and the opportunity to serve in the Royal Guard, but we cannot betray Kira's trust!"

This is a clever answer: it expresses gratitude for the princess's kind invitation without causing resentment; it downplays the two times she saved his life, creating an opportunity for future pardon; it shows that he cannot betray Kira's trust, perfectly shaping a positive image; it explicitly states that he refused the invitation because of Kira's trust, implying their eagerness for pardon; and most importantly, by not switching sides, he won't be beaten up by Kira.

It takes a lot of intelligence and emotional intelligence to come up with something like that in three seconds. Of these eight people, only Gerald has that ability.

His meaning was clear: I want both pardon and freedom!

"Is that so? That's a real shame!" Princess Emerald didn't seem too surprised by Gerald's reply.

In fact, she had expected this. Although she had sincerely invited him, she was prepared to be rejected.

As far as she knew, the more powerful a person was, the more they valued freedom, which was why the powerful mages in the kingdom preferred to work in the magic guild.

It is precisely for this reason that Fiore's royal forces have never been able to recruit any powerful mages. For example, the strongest member of the Hungry Wolf Knights, which are used for executions, is no match for the S-rank mages of those powerful magic guilds.

"This invitation remains valid. If you change your minds in the future, you are welcome to come to the capital to find me at any time!"

Chapter 391 Kira's Decision

Just as the topic was about to end, a voice suddenly rang out behind them.

"No need to wait until later, I can agree to it for them right now!"

Everyone was surprised to hear the sound. When they turned around, they saw Kira brushing the dust off his clothes and walking slowly towards them with an expression that said, "This seems quite interesting."

“Kira?!” Gerald stared blankly at Kira, wondering why he was doing this.

To Kira, that expression meant, "We are ready to fight to the death, why has Your Majesty surrendered first?"

"Is your battle over?"

“Yeah, the orcs ran away halfway through the fight. I was wondering why, turns out you guys took care of that guy,” Kira glanced at the fallen Treasurer, “Although it feels like we got robbed of a head, the other guy wasn’t anything special, so we won’t hold it against you this time…”

"Shall we talk about the royal family's troops?"

Half an hour later, the group boarded Kira's magic airship and embarked on their journey back to the Kingdom of Fiore, leaving behind ruins, broken mechanical soldiers, bewildered orcs, and an unconscious finance minister.

Kira took the dark magic book without any hesitation. As for the orcs who had been transformed, he was powerless to do anything about it, so he simply ignored them, since it wasn't his fault.

On the airship, Princess Emerald still looked in the direction they had left with doubt: "Is it alright for us to leave like this?"

Kira knew she was worried about the finance minister, and replied, "Don't worry! With the black magic book gone, the finance minister can no longer use its powers, and his control over the orcs will be greatly reduced. Even if he doesn't suffer a backlash from the orc army, he'll be punished by his king brother!"

"Liquidation?"

“You don’t think the king was unaware that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was plotting a rebellion, do you?” Kira glanced at the princess. “Those robotic soldiers that appeared there belong to the king. In other words, from the very beginning, the king was aware of their plan to seize power. Perhaps he’s currently in that orc town collecting his brother’s corpse!”

……

In the orc town, the finance minister struggled to open his eyes, and what came into view was a very familiar face.

Why... are you here?