A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

And didn't they say they were going to do a photoshoot? What happened? Did Natsu mess it up?

As Kira suspected, the mission was canceled because Natsu, Gray, and Erza's boar-catching operation happened to be witnessed by a weekly magazine reporter in a lewd scene.

This is why Lucy goes with Natsu on S-rank missions—to earn money to buy keys.

"This is an extremely serious violation of the rules, old man!! Kick them out when they get back..." Laxus had a smug look on his face, seemingly forgetting how he'd embarrassed himself in front of everyone a few days ago, "But with their level of skill, they think they can even challenge an S-rank mission? I wonder if they'll even make it back! Hahaha..."

"Laxus!!" Mira shouted, "Since you saw it, why didn't you stop them?"

"I only saw a cat run away like the wind with a tattered piece of paper in its hand. I had no idea that Natsu and the others were going on an S-class mission."

Laxus's "I don't know, don't ask me" expression immediately enraged Mira.

"This is bad..." Makarov wiped the sweat from his face. "Which one is missing?"

Kira looked at Mira curiously. To be honest, it was quite exhilarating to have your fate take a different turn because of your own actions.

"It's Zonia's."

Zonia? Kira was completely bewildered. Was that a person's name or a place name?

When Mira mentioned it, Makarov couldn't immediately recall where it was, but after thinking for a long time, he finally found a place called Zonia in his memory: "It's... the Spirit Peak Mountains!"

Chapter 53 The Qualities a Real Man Should Possess

Zonia, in the northern part of the Kingdom of Fiore, at Spirit Peak.

The world was covered in ice and snow, with a biting wind that chilled to the bone; it seemed as if only one color remained between heaven and earth.

Here, there are only endless snow-capped mountains and ceaseless wind and snow.

Deep in the mountains, it's much colder than the border. Footprints only stayed for less than a minute before being covered by falling snowflakes, making it difficult to discern the path we came from.

Looking up, there was no blue sky; looking down, there was only white snow. Pedestrians could see less than a hundred meters ahead, and beyond that, everything was obscured by the wind and snow.

At this moment, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are struggling through the snowstorm.

"Achoo!" Lucy sneezed violently. "Seriously, why do we have to do these kinds of missions?!"

She must be crazy. The guild clearly forbids non-S-rank mages from accepting S-rank missions, but seeing Natsu and Happy's resolute attitude, Lucy couldn't help but follow them.

"What do you mean 'why'...aren't we a team?" Natsu was clearly not afraid of the cold, but he was no longer wearing his previous vest and capri pants. Instead, he had changed into winter clothes, and of course, the dragon scale scarf that he never took off.

As for Harpy, I've never seen it wear clothes; I don't know if it's because it's poor or because it's a cat.

But it's not completely empty-handed. Just like Natsu always carries his scarf, Happy has always carried a small, light green package. As for what's inside Happy's package, it's unclear. Maybe it's fish, since it's hard to imagine Happy carrying anything else.

“Natsu is right, and isn’t Lucy saving up to buy the Celestial Spirit Key?”

"If you hadn't ruined my photo shoot mission by catching wild boars, I wouldn't have come to a place like this!" Although she was wrapped in a down coat, Lucy couldn't stop shivering. "Besides... even if you're going to do an S-rank mission, couldn't you have chosen one in a warmer environment?"

"Listen to Habby, how could she say something like that!"

"That's normal. After all, she's Lucy. People like her wouldn't understand."

"??" Lucy was both puzzled and unconvinced.

"Harsh weather, dangerous environments, seals and curses, gods and demons, adventures and treasures—that's what an S-rank mission should be like!"

"Hey!"

With a sigh, Lucy thought again about her mission: [To repel the monsters emerging from the snowstorm].

There is a legend in Ishgar.

Long ago, there was a black celestial maiden and a white celestial maiden. The two maidens possessed great power, but they fought because of a man.

After an unknown period of time, the two celestial maidens fought a final battle. In the end, the white celestial maiden emerged victorious, but the place where they fought was permanently covered by snow.

Time has passed, and this battlefield has been incorporated into the territory of the human kingdom. Today, it is located in the snowy mountains in the northern part of the Kingdom of Fiore.

At some point, people gave this battlefield a name: Lingfeng, Zonia.

"Lingfeng...Zonia? What kind of place is that?"

In the Fairy Tail guild, Kira asked Makarov curiously, "Is it dangerous?"

"I heard that two celestial maidens once fought a duel there, and their magic permanently transformed the entire landscape into a snow-capped mountain! To this day, it is still snowy year-round!"

Although she hadn't done any dangerous missions, Levy, who had read many books, immediately exclaimed, "Ah! I've heard this story before. It seems to be the legend of the Black Fairy and the White Fairy fighting over a man! How romantic!"

"Levy! We're willing to fight for you too!!!" ×2

The Black and White Fairies? After Levy mentioned it, Kira finally remembered that they had appeared in the Empire arc of the original work.

Elfman roared, "Those two celestial maidens are real men!!! The man being fought over by the celestial maidens is also a real man!!!"

"Is it ice magic? That's amazing!" Gray thought of his master, Uru, and compared them in his mind. "I wonder if Uru could permanently change the landscape?"

The same story can evoke different interpretations depending on the reader's perspective: some see it as magic, while others see it as gossip.

Nearby, Rocky, with his girlfriends in tow, began discussing the celestial maidens and the man: "Hmph, what kind of man could possibly capture the hearts of two such powerful celestial maidens?"

"Ah~ He must be a handsome man like Rocky~"

"Well said! Hahaha!"

"A celestial maiden from the snow? Natsu is a fire dragon! It doesn't sound like a good match!"

"Ice and Snow Celestial Maiden, is she some kind of Snow Maiden? I really want to meet her!"

"It's probably just a title. We even have fairies in our guild!"

"Haha, you're right! I wonder which one is more powerful!"

Makarov sighed, rubbing his forehead. "That Natsu, he always does things that cause me so much trouble! Kira, go and bring them back to me right now!"

"Don't just spout off so self-righteous nonsense!" Kira slammed his hand on the table. "Loki, you're way too narcissistic. A man who's fought over by celestial maidens has to be as outstanding as me!"

I don't know why Kira only heard this among all the discussions...

While groping his female companion, Rocky looked at Kira with regret: "Sorry, although I admit you're handsome, I won't accept you just because you don't have a girlfriend!"

"Huh?" Kira was a little unconvinced. "If a man can be judged solely by the number of girlfriends he has, then Gildarts must be the most handsome guy in this guild."

Gildas, far away: Achoo!! Who's talking bad about me?!

Hmm? Kira looked in Cana's direction. Was it just his imagination? He thought Cana had glared at him just now.

"Besides being handsome, a man should also possess formidable strength, profound knowledge, and a fearless heart. Who else in the entire guild is more capable than me?! Hahaha!!!"

Rocky retorted loudly, "No! A real man should possess handsome looks, gentlemanly manners, and a gentle and loving heart!"

Kana, still drunk and clutching the barrel of liquor, said, "Hiccup~ What are you guys talking about? Men should be able to drink, right?"

"A real man should use his fists!!!" Elfman waved his fists.

"Hey, isn't it true that only men are brave enough to show themselves?"

"Grey, that's not the reason you're an exhibitionist!"

"Quiet down, all of you!" Erza shouted. "Being able to make strawberry cake is the bare minimum requirement!"

"No way!!!" ×N

Are you guys questioning what I'm saying?

As if they had forgotten about Natsu taking on an S-rank mission without permission, the guild started arguing heatedly again after a heated discussion.

Drinking contests, table flips, brawls, magic—every punch lands hard…

"Alright! Since that's how it is, let's go see what kind of man this is that the two legendary celestial maidens are fighting over! Whoever he is closer to the image they described wins!"

Clearly, whether in a past life or this one, no one can refuse the phrase "you win"! This is especially true in Fairy Tail!

"Alright! Let's make a bet then!! If he's the kind of person I described, then I win!"

"In that case, I'm going too!!"

"He must be a really good strawberry cake baker!!!"

"That's impossible no matter how you look at it!!!"

By this time, Makarov was already furious: "You lot!!! Get serious!!!"

"Huh?" Kira turned around with a puzzled look. "What did you just say, Chairman?"

Chapter 54 Maklov: Erza should be able to rest assured.

Three minutes later, Kira, who had taken a punch to the head from Makarov, nodded and assured him, "I understand. We will definitely bring Natsu and Lucy back safely, so don't worry, Master!"

"Hmph!" Maklov took a swig of his drink. "Be serious, that place is unusual! Until ten years ago, no one in the entire Kingdom of Fiore had ever heard of anyone living deep in Zonia. This mission is too strange. I was originally planning to go there after Gildarts returned, or you could do it with Laxus and Erza, but I didn't expect this to happen!"

"What?! You mean Gildarts can take on all three of us by himself...?"

“I told you to be serious!” Maklov tapped Kira on the head.

Kira rubbed his aching head and complained, "I know! Don't worry, Master, there are so many of us going together this time! Although Laxus refused to go, Natsu and Lucy, who have already left, can barely fill in!"

"That's right, President. Although I'm also angry about Natsu's recklessness, there shouldn't be any worries about his safety. Natsu is very strong!"

Erza was confident in Natsu's strength, after all, the two of them had only fought not long ago.

However, she expressed concern about Natsu's intelligence. S-class missions are not as simple as ordinary missions. Often, the client will not explain everything in the mission, and various unexpected situations may occur during the mission.

Although Lucy is quite intelligent, she is still a bit lacking in strength.

"Alright, Erza, Gray, Cana, Loki, Elfman, let's go!"

At Makarov's insistence, the six formed a temporary team to go and provide support, not only to bring back Natsu and Lucy, but also to successfully complete the mission. Since the mission had been accepted, they had to do their best to complete it, otherwise it would damage Fairy Tail's reputation.

Meanwhile, Kira and Erza are also responsible for gathering intelligence on Mount Zonya.

"But will we make it in time?"

"Don't worry!" Kira smiled. "We have airships!"

In this world where most skill points are invested in magic while technology is neglected, magic airships are a rare mode of transportation.

In Kira's memory, among the several formal magic guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore, only Blue Pegasus clearly possessed a magical bomber named Christina. It was shaped like a Pegasus and, in addition to being able to carry people and fly, also had attack methods such as magical cannons.