A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

The owner of Starlight Dessert Shop is a bald, square-eyed, short-bearded, and seemingly gentle middle-aged man. He wears an open-chested floral shirt on his upper body and swim trunks that are commonplace on the lower body, revealing thick leg hair on his calves, and flip-flops on his feet.

Although the shop is small and can only seat three or four customers, it is extremely popular and there is a long queue. At a glance, there are twenty or thirty people ahead of the three customers.

"Starlight... I wonder how delicious it is?"

"It must be amazing! Everyone who's tried it says it's great!"

"But there are still so many people ahead of us, I don't know if there will still be people left when it's our turn..."

"I can't wait..."

Erza looked extremely excited, with two adorable blushes on her cheeks.

Chapter 490 This woman is not simple!

When people are quiet, they tend to overthink. When the three of them finally calmed down from their continuous shopping and started queuing, a sense of guilt arose spontaneously.

"Sigh... Is this really okay?" Lucy suddenly sighed.

"what happened?"

"Natsu and the others are replenishing their supplies, while we should be gathering intelligence. Instead, we're enjoying a meal here. I feel so guilty..."

Hearing Lucy say this, Wendy also said weakly, "I also feel very uneasy, after all, the president and the others are doing such a dangerous thing..."

"If you keep thinking like that, you won't even be able to taste the delicious starlight later!!"

The two were taken aback: "Huh?! Erza isn't worried at all?"

It's not that I'm not worried, but worrying is useless!

Erza shook her head, her long red hair swaying captivatingly. "You should know that with the intelligence and strength of the Chairman and Kira, we don't need to worry about them at all!"

“We came here just in case. As long as the Alvarez Empire doesn’t make any moves, it means everything is safe. In that case, we don’t need to take any more actions, otherwise it would be counterproductive.”

"At their speed, they should have just arrived in the capital. Whatever happens, we should receive the news by the time we reach the Alvarez Empire. We won't be able to gather any useful information here now."

Lucy and Wendy suddenly realized, "Oh, I see!!"

"Okay, let's continue queuing now!"

Having convinced the two, Erza refocused on queuing, but as soon as she turned around, she saw two figures blocking her way.

"You guys...were you just saying that someone is planning to do something to the Alvarez Empire?"

A cold voice, a cold face.

Standing in front of Erza and her two companions were two equally beautiful girls.

The woman on the left looks about the same age as Lucy, with short hair and bangs in bright green. She wears two blue-purple cross-shaped hair clips and a collar with a yellow chain around her neck.

She wore a brownish-yellow coat that reached her ankles, embroidered with hexagonal patterns, and had blue-purple feathers at the collar and hem. She wore a pair of dark brown sandals.

The revealing clothing showcased the woman's sexy figure, attracting the attention of passersby.

If the woman on the left is a plump, sweet, and juicy lychee, then the woman on the right is an apple with a delicate fragrance.

With short golden hair, brown eyes, a golden arm guard on her right arm, and a brown-red coat tied around her waist, she had a slender and refined upper body with an equally stunning figure. She wore flat sandals and looked like a lithe female leopard.

Two people who don't look like they're anything but simple!

This was Erza's first thought.

The Empire arc in the original work takes place seven years after the present. Without those seven years, the strength of these 'Shields' is not much stronger than Erza's current strength. They are roughly at the level of the 'Ten Wizard Saints' approaching the 'Ultraman Kings'. Although they can make Erza take them seriously and feel nervous, they are not enough to shock or frighten her.

But soon, Erza's gaze was drawn to a certain part of their bodies, and she unconsciously looked down.

Don't get me wrong, she wasn't some lustful man, so what attracted her wasn't their smooth, soft bodies, but the tattoos etched on them.

On the outside of the green-haired woman's fair and voluptuous right thigh, and on the blonde woman's left calf, were tattooed blue and red patterns, respectively. Fortunately, Erza had done her research beforehand and knew that these were the emblems of the Alvarez Empire.

Are they from the Alvarez Empire?!

Erza's eyes widened suddenly, her pupils contracted, and cold sweat involuntarily beaded on her forehead, but she still forced a smile: "Things are getting complicated now..."

Lucy and Wendy were equally nervous, and because they were weaker, they were actually more flustered than Erza.

"What's with this magic?!"

Despite having even fought dragons, they were still terrified by the two women before them who exuded terrifying magic, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

Erza carefully examined the two people in front of her, and suddenly remembered the information Kira had mentioned before. A guess immediately arose in her mind: "Could they be the 'Spriggan 12' that Kira mentioned?"

She only knows the name and magic of the 'Twelve Shields', but not their specific appearance. However, if these two people with such magical power are not members of the 'Twelve Shields', then the strength of the Alvarez Empire is simply beyond imagination!

Who are you?

Erza didn't answer, but instead asked a question in return, secretly thinking: The conversation with Lucy and Wendy just now wasn't enough to make them see the three of us as enemies. If we're careful, we should be able to get away with it.

Brandish glanced at Erza expressionlessly, neither asking nor answering, but silently turned around and continued queuing, seemingly unconcerned about what the person in front of him had just said.

She has always hated trouble and even more so, she hates discussing things she doesn't like with others.

Although she knew the three people in front of her were suspicious, Brandish didn't believe them, or that the guild leader they spoke of could cause any trouble in the Alvarez Empire, especially in the capital, because Imber, August, and Agil were all there, and no one could cause trouble under the noses of the three 'Twelve Shields'.

Brandish had plenty of confidence in August's abilities!

Brandish didn't intend to pay attention to Erza and her two companions, but Timalia, who was beside her, became interested.

"We are mages from the Alvarez Empire. What was that commotion you were talking about?"

Timalia wore a simple and innocent smile, looking like a naive young girl, which would make anyone unconsciously lower their guard.

She deliberately revealed only half of her identity, concealing the other half, in order to build rapport and uncover Erza and her companions' purpose during their subsequent conversation.

Her intuition told her that these three people were not simple!

This thought subtly stirred a restless, uncontrollable lust within her: she longed to tear their clothes to shreds in public...

If Lucy could hear her thoughts, she would definitely slap her in shame and anger, because the three of them didn't have much clothing to begin with, and tearing it any further would be a scene that children shouldn't see.

"It's trade! We're from the Hope Merchant Guild, and our president is going to the Alvarez Empire to do business soon."

Erza didn't even blink, and the lie came out of her mouth without batting an eye. "Speaking of which, you call yourselves mages of the Alvarez Empire. Are you perhaps the legendary 'Shield of the Holy Trinity'?"

Timalia blinked her bright eyes and said, "How could that be?! Those are all very powerful figures. We are just soldiers under one of them."

The Alvarez Empire is composed of countless magic guilds. All soldiers are mages, and all mages are soldiers, which is why Timaria used this terminology.

"I see!"

Erza and Timalia exchanged a smile. To an outsider, they might have looked like these two strikingly beautiful women who would become lifelong friends after their chance encounter at the dessert shop.

However, in reality...

Erza thought to herself: A soldier? An ordinary soldier can have magical power comparable to the Ten Wizard Saints? Do I look that easy to fool?

Timalia thought to herself: A merchant guild? Which merchant guild could afford to hire a mage of this caliber? Do they think I'm some naive idiot?

Erza: This woman...

Timalia: This guy...

Erza/Demalia: Definitely not simple!!

At this moment, the two women, known as 'knights', seemed to have met their destined rivals. They unconsciously felt a sense of mutual respect and an impulse to think, 'This person is my opponent.'

Chapter 491 That's my dream!!

Watching Erza and the other person chatting and laughing, almost shaking hands, putting their arms around each other's waists and shoulders, Lucy and Wendy felt the temperature around them suddenly drop, becoming bone-chilling and unbearable.

In their eyes, these two were not young girls who had just made friends, but a tigress waiting to pounce and a ferocious female leopard.

"Gurgle... This is the first time I've ever seen Erza like this..."

"How scary... A chill ran down my back..."

Just as Erza and Timalia were politely trying to have a deeper conversation, Brandish suddenly spoke up: "Ah! It's finally our turn! Let's go, Timalia!"

"it is good!"

Timaria turned and responded, then said to Erza, "I'll head over now!"

"Please do as you please!"

As she watched the other person's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Erza's expression changed instantly. Her smile vanished, replaced by seriousness and solemnity, all traces of her previous gentleness and friendliness.

"Erza, that person just now..."

Before Lucy could even ask, Erza explained to the two of them, "Timalia... if I remember correctly, Kira did provide this name among the 'Twelve Shields'."

"This woman uses time magic that can stop time for everything around her, and then end the battle in an instant. She's a very troublesome enemy!"

Upon hearing Erza's words, Lucy and Wendy were instantly shocked: "Time stop?! There's such an outrageous magic?"

My second reaction was...

"Thank goodness she's a woman!"

That's right. If some ill-intentioned man were to use this magic, then perhaps some things that children shouldn't see would happen.

They didn't know that even though Timalia was a woman, many things happened that children shouldn't see...

“The two of them have similar magical power. I guess the other one is also one of the ‘Twelve Shields’, most likely Brandish who uses shape magic.”

Erza had memorized the names of the 'Twelve Shields' and the magic they used.

"According to Kira, there are three women in the 'Supreme Twelve'. The one named Irene's magic power far surpasses that of the other ten. She is known as the strongest female mage, so it is obviously impossible for her to be only at this level."

"Is...is that so..."

A few minutes later, Erza and her two companions finally got to eat the starlight they had been longing for.

The so-called "starry mango" dessert is actually made by shaping a mango into a star and adding ice cream or other ingredients.

Compared to regular-shaped ice cream, the star-shaped ice cream is a significant improvement in appearance. This unique shape is more attractive to girls, especially those who love desserts, because they usually have a girlish heart.

Its unique flavor and superb taste make it seem as if its creators have added a dazzling galaxy to it, giving diners the feeling of "a sky full of stars entering my mouth" after eating it. This feeling is fulfilling and unique, stimulating the neurons in diners' bodies called 'happiness', leaving them with an unforgettable aftertaste.

Savoring Starbucks desserts is undoubtedly a pleasure. The fragrance of fruit, the sweetness of white sugar, the aroma of flowers, and more than ten other flavors are mixed together. The moment they are put into the mouth, they interact with various enzymes in saliva, making the intensity of each flavor just right and emerging one by one in a very orderly manner. The feeling is like surfing on the sea. With the waves rolling in and out, the pleasure is also hitting the heart of the diners again and again.