A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

The noise grew louder and louder, and as more people spread the news, the atmosphere in the guild became even more lively, eventually turning into a pre-battle declaration.

"One hundred square meters?! And three stories?! And on the main street of Magnolia?! How many cases would it take to buy that?!"

"With this, I won't have to live in the guild dormitory anymore?"

"I'm determined to get this villa!!"

"Everyone, give it your all!!"

Seeing the enthusiasm of these kids in the guild, Makarov felt very gratified, and a satisfied smile unconsciously appeared on his face: This is exactly the kind of reaction I wanted! Let's see if they still say I'm stingy!

In less than two hours, the news had spread throughout the entire guild.

Whether they heard the news firsthand at the tavern, were shopping or eating nearby, or were at home or in their dormitories, everyone gathered at the guild tavern that night to discuss this exciting good news.

"That's how it is. In order to improve the city's appearance, the mayor converted that small section of land into detached villas. Later, because of our 'Fairy Tail' connection, the chairman was able to buy one at a special price."

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Kira recounted the origins of the villa that was used as a prize to a few blabbermouths around him.

"However, there are specific requirements for those who wish to stay. They must be mages of our guild, and not the guild leader himself. Otherwise, how could we possibly get a chance?"

Erza asked curiously, "Why does it have to be a member of our guild?"

“It seems the mayor intends to promote magic aggressively,” Kira replied. “You know, those places are usually where rich people live. If an ordinary mage can now live there, it means that the status and identity of a ‘mage’ are different from before!”

Gray scratched his head: "I still can't understand why anyone would do something like this?"

Kana downed a whole barrel of liquor and slammed it onto the table with a flourish: "Why do you care so much? Anyway, it's not a bad thing for us!"

Erza nodded in agreement: "That's right! If we could live in a house like this, we could save 50 J in rent every month!"

This is like a white-collar worker earning hundreds of thousands a month complaining to a worker earning thousands a month, saying that they pay dozens of times more taxes than others every month.

Who could possibly swallow this insult?!

Lucy, who was the poorest person present, was the first to lose her temper: "Is your rent the only one that's 50 J? Speaking of which, I suddenly realized that the prize money from the competition is only enough for Erza to pay one month's rent. Seriously... how can there be such a big difference between people?"

Kana wholeheartedly agreed: "Not only is there a huge gap between people, but I also think there's a huge gap between S-class individuals..."

Hearing this, Natsu looked puzzled: "S-rank? Who are you talking about? Mira? Or Kira and Laxus? Could it be Gildarts?"

"I'm talking about me!! Me!!" Cana slammed her fist on the table in a fit of rage. "I became an S-class mage last year!!"

"Oh right! I always forget..."

"Seriously... are you all idiots?"

Kira pointed out Cana's problem directly: "It's definitely because the impression you've made is too deep, and you just can't change it! I ask you, what impression do you still have of Cana now?"

"A female alcoholic."

"Go shirtless."

"Card fortune teller".

"Warcraft Summoner".

"Gildas's daughter."

The group froze after speaking, exchanging bewildered glances. Kana, on the other hand, looked both helpless and embarrassed, and could only continue to drink from the barrel.

Kira shrugged at her and continued, "You see, everyone's impression of you is still from a year ago, which means you haven't made any progress all this time! —By the way, my label for you has always been 'unpaid debtor'."

Kana immediately panicked: "Wait a minute! I remember I should have returned the money to you!"

"You've only paid back a third of it! And you borrowed more from me recently to buy alcohol!"

"is that so??"

"Don't worry, I won't forget anything related to money!" Kira proudly patted the pillow in his arms, then said seriously, "Getting back to the point, I've noticed that your lifestyle hasn't changed at all in the past year, and you're still working alone, right?"

"So what...so what?"

"That's the reason! Even though you became an S-class mage, you've lived exactly the same life as you did for the past ten years! No one has seen your mind become richer, your quality of life improve, or your strength change. So naturally, they've forgotten that you became an S-class mage!"

Kana reeked of alcohol and slurred her words: "I've tried to change! But I just like working alone, and I just like drinking in the guild!"

Seeing her best friend looking downcast, Lucy could only pat her on the back to comfort her: "It's alright, it's alright... no one's stopping you from doing this..."

Kira clenched his fist, cheering for Cana: "This competition is a great opportunity. If you can make a big splash in the tournament, you can completely change everyone's impression of you and become a true S-class mage!!"

"What... I am a genuine S-class mage..." Cana said defiantly, but her voice grew softer and softer, clearly indicating that even she herself felt she lacked confidence.

"Kira is right, Cana! Ever since you became an S-class mage, you've been far too lax in everything you do!"

"Erza, how can you say that too..."

"Is it because he recognized Gildarts? He's lost all his motivation to improve."

At this moment, Kira seemed to transform into a high school teacher urging his students to study, saying, "This won't do! Learning magic is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind. If you don't improve, it's the same as regressing, and you'll be overtaken by your classmates... your companions!"

"catch up……"

"That's right! You should know that too, right? After the Harvest Festival competition, the guild will start preparing for this year's S-rank assessment. It will definitely be more intense than last year's assessment, and the final S-rank winners won't be just some half-baked individuals..."

"Huh? Who are you calling a half-baked amateur?!"

Hearing such sarcastic remarks, Cana couldn't contain herself and almost jumped up in anger. Fortunately, Lucy and Wendy pulled her back in time, preventing her from being physically beaten by Kira after suffering a mental blow.

After finally persuading Kana to come back, the conversation shifted to the S-rank assessment that had just taken place.

"What will this year's S-rank assessment be like?" Lucy's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

At this moment, Natsu's "enthusiastic" nature came out, and he excitedly said, "Lucy should be able to make it into the candidates this time, right? Then we'll be rivals! I won't hold back!! Hehehe..."

Lucy shuddered, her previously expectant expression immediately crumbling: "I...I have a feeling something really bad is going to happen..."

"Wendy might have a chance too!"

"Eh?! Me...me?" Kira's comment made Wendy immediately flustered, a mixture of anticipation and timidity on her face. "Am I too young? There are so many others in the guild..."

Kana grabbed the girl's shoulder and pressed her alcohol-smelling face against hers: "Don't worry! I was about your age when I first took the S-rank assessment!"

Kira seized the opportunity to sabotage her: "Yeah, yeah... Be confident, Wendy! I think you're even better than Cana... Hey! What are you doing? Calm down! Put down the bottle! I'm talking about you back in the day!!"

After finally calming down Cana, who was on the verge of a drunken rampage, Kira secretly pulled Wendy aside and whispered, "You absolutely must never be like your sister Cana... What are you looking at? I'm not talking about drinking, and of course, you shouldn't learn that either... I'm saying don't be like her, taking five or six attempts to pass!"

"Mmm... Oh... Okay, okay..."

Kira whispered in Wendy's ear for several minutes before returning to his seat: "According to the rumors I've received, the members who rank higher in this competition will be given priority..."

This explosive news once again made Natsu and the others stop what they were doing: "Are you telling the truth, Kira?! Where did you get this information from?!"

"What's so strange about that? These kinds of things in the guild are usually discussed between me and the guild leader..."

"Damn it! I was thinking I could just play around with the competition, but I didn't expect this to happen. Looks like I have to work hard now!!"

"Uh...it doesn't really matter whether you try or not..."

Natsu clasped his fists together and stepped onto the table: "Alright! It's decided! We must win first place in this tournament!! Not only for the villa, but also for a spot in this year's S-class assessment!!"

Gray, Lucy, and Wendy chimed in beside him, "Oh oh oh!!! Let's work together!!!"

"But...whether it's a major competition or an assessment, you're all rivals, right?!"

The air suddenly became still...

Chapter 442 An Unexpected Guest: Warrod Sinken

On the day of the competition, the venue was packed with people.

This arena is the same place where the first Fairy Tail Magic Tournament was held last year. Perhaps anticipating that it would be used again this year, the mayor only made minor repairs to the place over the past year, without making any major changes.

At this point, the number of spectators had far exceeded the number of tickets sold for the event, but neither the mayor, Makarov, nor the contestants and spectators paid any attention to such a trivial matter.

A month ago, news that Fairy Tail was preparing to hold the Magic Tournament at this year's Harvest Festival had already spread throughout Magnolia and the surrounding cities, and since then, tourists have been flocking to Magnolia.

This situation naturally led to a serious problem of ticket scalping, but no one dared to intervene or resist it, because the person in charge was an unknown red-haired boy.

No one knew why this boy dared to be so arrogant; all they knew was that "he had connections."

"Look at these people, how happy and content they are!" Kira said to his teammates, pointing to the densely packed crowd in the stands. "They can enjoy watching the game here thanks to me!"

Yes, Kira isn't fighting alone; he has two teammates by his side!

In this tournament, Makarov adopted a team-based competition format, so the final trophy was not awarded to the 'Guild's Number One Player,' but rather to the 'Guild's Number One Team'!

A few days ago...

"What did you say? This competition requires teams of three to participate?!"

Like a stone thrown into water creating ripples, when Makarov announced the news to the guild, everyone gasped in disbelief.

"President, why is this happening? I've never heard of anything like this before!"

Makarov shrugged helplessly: "There's no other way! The rules of this competition are such that it would be a little boring to participate individually, so after discussion, the organizers have unanimously decided that you will participate in teams!"

Everyone was speechless: "The organizers... aren't they just you and Kira...?"

"And the mayor! Mayor!! Don't forget, the mayor deserves a lot of credit for our guild being able to make money through this event!"

"Make money? Make money in what way?"

Kira's face stiffened instantly, and he subconsciously said, "You don't need to worry about that. That's all mine... cough cough... I mean, it's my responsibility to seek benefits for the guild. You don't need to worry about it. I'll handle the communication with the mayor."

"Oh, okay."

There are two rules for registering for the competition: the team must consist of three guild members; and each team can have a maximum of one S-rank mage.

This rule was undoubtedly a major blow to the previously invincible Erza Squad in the guild, as it meant they had to split into two teams.

Amidst the commotion, only Lucy nervously counted her teammates on her fingers: "Honestly, I thought with our teamwork and skill, we were sure to win first place in this tournament, but it turns out there are only three of us... As for me, I still hope to be with Natsu, and as for the other teammate..."

Before Lucy could decide who to team up with, Natsu excitedly ran over and invited her first: "Lucy, want to team up with me?"

It has to be said that this is a two-way street.

Lucy readily accepted Natsu's invitation, her face beaming with joy: "Great! Great!! There's one more person, I suggest inviting Erza, because..."

Lucy's thinking was simple: Erza was an S-rank, her strength was guaranteed, and she was a familiar teammate—practically the perfect choice for the team battle. However, she clearly forgot one thing…

"No!" Before Lucy could explain why she chose Erza, Natsu rejected the proposal outright.

"Huh?! Why..."