A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Wow!! That aura, truly worthy of Erza!!"

"This approach seems very much in line with her personality."

"So handsome!"

"That girl named Erza is actually a mage? I've never seen someone so amazing before!"

Kira, Gray, and the other spectators were all stunned by Erza's move, showering her with praise as if it were free.

Before long, the large net left scratches on the rock candy. These scratches became shorter and thinner, and the rock candy gradually became more delicate and refined.

Suddenly, a voice tinged with surprise rang out from the crowd: "Hey, don't you guys think what she's carving looks familiar?"

"Hmm?! Now that you mention it, it's true..."

"It seems... wait! Could it be..."

"It looks like she's sculpting a dragon!!!"

Chapter 409 Erza: Natsu has grown a lot

Logically speaking, in battle, the correct strategy is to avoid the enemy's strengths and use one's own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.

The same principle applies to the knife skills competition for desserts. The bearded man sculpted a dragon so lifelike that it was almost indistinguishable from a real dragon, a feat that would be difficult for an ordinary person to surpass. As the challenger, one should have chosen to sculpt something else, something artistic or aesthetically pleasing, to defeat it in some other way.

But Erza is not that kind of person!

She's the 'Fairy Queen' who can directly challenge 100 magical beasts in the Demon-Subduing Hall!

"I knew it. Erza's competitive nature meant she would definitely carve the same thing as her opponent." Amidst the gasps of the onlookers, Kira stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "In that case, she's bound to lose."

However, Gray seemed to disagree: "Really? I think Erza is quite confident. Look, she uses a kitchen knife like a sword, and she wields it quite skillfully, doesn't she?"

"Hey...aren't you too confident in Erza because you've spent too much time with her? Fighting techniques and cooking techniques are completely different things."

"Although they look roughly the same, if you look closely, you'll find that Erza's dragon is far inferior to the other in every aspect."

“Hmm…” Gray squinted, leaned forward half a body, and peered for a while before saying, “It does seem to be true…”

In fact, it wasn't just Kira who noticed the problem; even the other audience members, the judges on stage, the other challengers, and even the two who were currently attacking and defending the title, all noticed that the dragon Erza had sculpted wasn't very attractive.

No, perhaps it shouldn't be described as "ugly," but rather as "poorly made"!

"Honestly... judging from the confident look on her face just now, I thought she had some training in this area..."

Kira didn't know why Gray had this illusion about Erza. Wouldn't it have been better to use that time to practice swordsmanship or eat more cake and pudding?

Erza quickly finished her work, and Kira and Gray recognized who she was sculpting.

"This dragon's scales and appearance look familiar... Oh! I remember now! It's Acnologia... Come to think of it, that makes sense, after all, she's only ever seen this one dragon before."

"A white Acnologia, I almost didn't recognize it. Erza actually remembers what it looks like?"

"What are you saying, Gray? Always remembering what the enemy looks like is a quality that a good mage should have!"

"...I don't believe you! You're always the most forgetful one..."

Kira could only explain, "That's because those people really have very generic faces! They're weak, have no distinguishing features, and their presence is even less noticeable than a random passerby."

On stage, Erza confidently handed her artwork to the judges for scoring, and then...

"I'm sorry, Miss Erza, your work did not receive a higher score than that gentleman's. The challenge has failed!"

"Huh?! What did you just say?!" A chilling black aura suddenly emanated from Erza's body.

"I said your... uh..."

A chill ran through her, and the polite smile on the young woman hosting the competition froze on her face. Cold sweat poured down her forehead, and her heart clenched: What a terrifying aura... What's wrong with this person? Is he going to tear down the stage?

Erza shoved her face close to hers: "You... repeat what you just said!"

"This...that..." The young woman was on the verge of tears, stammering and unable to speak.

Seeing this, Kira and Gray were speechless. Although they had expected this to happen, they still felt helpless when it actually occurred.

Oh no... Erza's temper is flaring up again...

This is bad! We have to stop her right now! We can't let her ruin someone else's match...

Seemingly sensing the two's eager gazes, Wendy immediately stepped forward and took Erza's hand, forcing a smile as she comforted her, "Erza-san, I think we should go. The match has reached its limit..."

But Erza seemed to get angry: "Do you mean you think my work is inferior to his?"

Kira screamed inwardly: Isn't this obvious?! How oblivious are you?!

But given the host's emotional intelligence, she certainly wouldn't say something like that. She glanced at Erza's dragon sculpture, then at the older man's, swallowed hard, and cautiously replied, "This is the judges' decision..."

Gray was stunned, speechless, and experienced for the first time what "thinking on your feet" meant: Good heavens! He directly shifted the blame to the judges?!

Erza was not someone who didn't know her limits. Although she was very unwilling, she knew that her opponent's swordsmanship was far superior to her own, so in the end she left the arena, and Wendy also forfeited and left together.

"What knife skills? Carving would be a more accurate description! Humph! I'll practice this move diligently when I get back, and I'll definitely..."

Erza grumbled on and on through the streets, and Kira, Gray, Wendy, and Charlene listened the whole way until they stopped at a restaurant, finally getting some peace and quiet.

"Alright, alright... Even though I didn't win the grand prize, it's not like I gained nothing at all."

Kira comforted Erza and placed several desserts on the table as a consolation prize for the contestants who had made it to the final stage but failed the challenge.

"Wow!! It looks delicious!"

With delicious food in front of them, their eyes lit up instantly, and they quickly began to eat.

"So delicious!"

"This truly lives up to its reputation as a food court!"

"Damn it, if even the gifts are this delicious, how good must that 'feast' be?!"

The enticing aroma and color, along with the constant exclamations of surprise from others, gradually extinguished Erza's anger, leaving her with only the sweets in her hands in her eyes and heart.

"Considering these aren't too bad... umm... I'll forgive them this time..."

After the group had devoured all the gifts under the shocked and disgusted gazes of the restaurant staff, Erza belatedly realized, "Strange, where are Natsu, Lucy, and Happy?"

"You just realized they're gone?! That's way too slow!"

Erza blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed, and asked, "I was so focused on the match just now, so... cough cough... so, where did they go?"

“I don’t know, I didn’t see them at the tournament either!” Kira shook his head. “But they’re definitely in this town.”

"Is something going to happen?"

"With Natsu here, there shouldn't be any problems."

"No way? I think it's more likely that problems will arise when Natsu is around..."

"Don't say that. Natsu has matured a lot during this time. Let's just wait here for them to come to us."

"Mature... Erza, are you sure the person you're talking about is Natsu?"

Seeing that the others had no intention of going out to look for someone, Wendy could only sit quietly as well, but a hint of unease still showed between her brows. "I'm just a little worried..."

“If you’re really worried, let’s go out and look for them together. We can also use it as a post-dinner digestive aid,” Kira reassured Wendy, then asked, “Speaking of which, Wendy, can you find them by following their scent?”

Xia Lulu rolled her eyes at this: "It's very impolite to say that to a girl!"

However, Wendy wasn't embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Well... there are too many different smells in this town right now, so it might be hard to find it."

"Oh, that's alright, Natsu will definitely be able to find us by following the scent!"

Just then, the ground suddenly trembled, and the entire restaurant shook as if it had been subjected to some residual force. Immediately afterwards, the bowls and plates inside the restaurant made a crisp clattering sound.

"what happened?!"

Was there an earthquake?

"That's strange, I've never heard of an earthquake in Sweet City before..."

The sudden tremor caused diners and staff in the restaurant to stop what they were doing and start discussing it amongst themselves. Some guessed it was a 'dessert competition,' others said it was just children playing around nearby, and still others suspected it might be a giant dragon attacking.

Amidst the commotion, only Kira's table of four people and one cat sat quietly without saying a word, but their expressions appeared uneasy.

Finally, Kira spoke first: "If I'm not mistaken, everyone here, like me, is suddenly having a bad feeling..."

"Have……"

"really……"

"Me too……"

"This is very bad..."

Chapter 410 Is this what you call growing a lot?

In the restaurant, a sudden tremor silenced the four people and one cat at Kira's table.

"Um... do you guys think it's possible that the source of this commotion is..."

Kira raised his hand to stop Wendy from speaking, tapping the table rapidly with his right fingers, and looked at the others who also looked serious, saying, "Everyone, don't be nervous, let the magic flow for a while!"

The group waited quietly as instructed... until half a minute later, a familiar, scorching magical energy appeared in their senses.

"Alright, now everyone can get on the edge of it."

As soon as Kira said that, Erza broke out in a cold sweat: "I don't know what happened, but shouldn't we leave now?"

"Makes sense!"

"That's right!"

Seeing everyone else quickly get up, Gray suddenly said, "Wait! Are you sure? If it's really what we think, and it's something Natsu did, shouldn't we hide here?"

Do you think Natsu will let us go?

"...Hurry up, hurry up!"

As soon as the group stepped out of the restaurant, they saw raging fires several streets away. The fires attracted the attention of passersby, some fleeing, others trying to put out the flames; the scene was chaotic.

"How...how could this happen...?!" ×N