A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Seriously, is the Alvarez Empire's border really that easy to cross now? Even if Zeref doesn't launch a holy war, this empire isn't far from its demise...

Kira was completely unaware that he had stepped on more than one landmine. Looking at Irene, who was sitting silently across from him, he was conflicted: I've said so much, you should at least say something to me, give me an answer! Looking at me like that, I don't even dare to eat!

Seeing that the food would get cold if they waited any longer, Kira had no choice but to start eating, letting Erin let her thoughts wander.

Kira ate his meal very methodically, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.

He first took a bite of each kind, then drank a large gulp of wine, then took a bite of each kind again, and drank a gulp, repeating this more than ten times. The more he ate, the hungrier he became, and the more delicious the food tasted. Finally, before the heat of the food dissipated, he filled his stomach to about 70-80% full.

Throughout the entire process, Eileen and her two little girls stared at him expressionlessly, seemingly intending to make Kira feel what embarrassment was with their three gazes.

However, Kira has always been a focused person. For example, when he's slacking off at work, he'll never work seriously. Once he's determined to leave work on time, he'll never let anything else distract him. When he's engrossed in eating, he doesn't care whether others are eating or not...

This is a good habit that Kira has cultivated since childhood, because this has always been the way of the Fairy Tail family. If there is anything wrong with this, it is Makarov's fault, and it has nothing to do with Kira.

Eileen and the other two were increasingly shocked: How could this guy actually eat so heartily under these circumstances?! I underestimated his shamelessness!

After thinking for a moment, Eileen coughed twice strategically and said softly, "Kira, I have something to tell you!"

"Hmm...hmm...just go ahead and say it, I'm listening!"

"I'm leaving everything about this culinary competition to you!"

After much deliberation, Eileen decided to refrain from interfering with Kira's actions for the time being.

She was now certain that Kira had come to the Alvarez Empire for a specific purpose, but she didn't know what that purpose was, whether Kira's willingness to stay here meant that this purpose was related to her, or whether his hosting of this 'food competition' was related to his ulterior motives.

Since I'm just idling around anyway, I might as well see what he's planning to do, just to kill some time.

Since we know nothing about Kira now, we might as well let him act freely. He will eventually slip up, and once Kira's purpose is fully revealed, that's when we'll get rid of him.

This is Eileen's current mindset.

If Kira knew what Irene was thinking, he would definitely cling to her leg and cry foul, claiming that he didn't mean any harm by organizing the food competition and just wanted to make a quick buck!

Even if Irene racked her brains, she would never have imagined that someone like Kira would value money the most...

'You're leaving the entire food competition to me?'

Kira froze, his mind racing for a moment. 'What are you talking about? Haven't I been handling this all along? Have you been involved?'

Two seconds later, Kira understood what Erin meant.

'Does that mean she agrees? I thought she was going to object... Also, judging from her tone, she doesn't plan to get involved anymore? That makes sense, given her circumstances, it's impossible for her to serve as a judge at the competition...'

Thinking of this, Kira immediately nodded in agreement, looking as if he had been entrusted with an important task by his boss: "I understand!"

……

Eileen didn't linger and quickly swayed away. The sight of Kira enjoying his meal at the table only irritated her more, and she didn't want to stay a moment longer!

Kira watched her leave, gazing at her graceful, slender, elegant, voluptuous, and alluring figure, when a bold idea suddenly arose in his mind.

He knew how to lure the other party to Ishgar!

Kira only lowered his head to eat again after Eileen's figure had completely disappeared. But as soon as he turned around, he saw another familiar person.

"Finally snapped out of it?"

Ultear, who appeared out of nowhere, was now sitting opposite Kira, in the spot where Irene had been sitting, and began devouring the food on the table. "Hey, you didn't forget your original purpose just because the other person is such a beautiful woman, did you?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

Kira stood tall and scoffed at Ultear's worries. "I'm Kira, the 'Sage' with a 100% mission completion rate! No matter how difficult the request, I can solve it perfectly! Don't underestimate the mages of 'Fairy Tail'!!"

After saying that, Kila pointed to her uniform and asked, "Speaking of which, what's with this outfit of yours?"

Urudia raised her fair neck proudly and said, "I'm a newly hired waitress here. Is there a problem?"

This is a huge problem! How dare a waiter sit at a table and eat with customers? Don't you have any manners?! I'm deducting points from this restaurant's service rating when I get back!

Speaking of service, Kira unconsciously looked around again and noticed that the previous group of beautiful waitresses were still working for other guests, only Ultear was being treated differently.

Not only that, Kira was surprised to find that people around him were pointing and whispering about him and Ultear, saying things like "That's what a real man does," "He can be replaced," "Scumbag," "So envious," and "Bastard kid."

Kira: "..."

Ignoring the malicious curses from the males in heat, Kira sat down and started eating again. He always adhered to strict table manners: no food waste, finishing your plate is a virtue, every grain is hard-earned, and finishing it is a bonus!

Why do you work as a waiter here?

"Of course, living here doesn't cost money!" Ultear didn't stop eating, rolled her eyes at Kira, and mumbled as she ate, "Of course I'm here to work!"

"Working? When did you learn to carry dishes? What if you break something... Oh, right, don't worry about breaking it!"

"My God! You're practically a mage born to serve dishes!!"

Wait! Is it just my imagination? Why does what she just said sound so familiar?

Suddenly, Kira seemed to remember something, and his brows furrowed: "Didn't I give you a secret stash of money before? Logically speaking, you shouldn't be short of money now, right?"

Ultear shuddered at Kira's words. She didn't answer Kira's question or respond to his questioning gaze. Instead, she buried her face in her chest and began shoveling food into her mouth at an astonishing speed.

Something's wrong with this woman! There's something fishy about her!

A bad feeling instantly welled up in Kira's mind.

Could it be...?!

"Hey you, talk to me!! Where's my money?"

"Ugh...ugh...#%%#@%..."

"Stop playing dumb! I'm not buying it! Tell me!! What did you do to my vault?! Ahhh, did you spend it all?!"

"I still have work to do, I have to go now..."

Seeing that things were not going well, Ultear tried to run away, but as soon as he stood up, he was pushed back down by Kira's henchmen.

"You should know what the consequences are if a girl doesn't pay back her debts, right?!"

Seeing Kira's dangerous smile after he suppressed his anger, Ultear tugged at his already meager clothes, like a big white rabbit that had spotted a gray wolf.

Chapter 516 The Legendary Experiences of the President of the Gourmet Merchants Guild

Three days later, it was sunny.

The 'Food Competition' is held in the town's central square. According to Kira's understanding over this period, this square is now thirty years old and existed for many years before Eileen, the city lord, took office.

Once the location for the food competition was confirmed as the central square, dedicated staff cleaned the area meticulously every day in preparation for this important day.

Today is the day of the competition, so the square is crowded with people coming and going.

Besides the local residents of all ages, there are also many tourists from surrounding cities. Their eyes sparkle with anticipation as they talk, and their presence exudes a vibrant, everyday charm.

Most of these people came because of her reputation, and as for whose reputation they admired... of course it was Irene! Who else could it be but Kira?

With titles like 'Scarlet Despair' and 'Strongest Female Mage', almost everyone in the Alvarez Empire knows her, so it's normal for her to have fans.

Twenty years ago, after Eileen took over the management of this place at Zeref's request, she canceled all activities related to 'food' in the city. Although the citizens did not know the specific reasons, they obediently complied in order to avoid being arrested by the Imperial soldiers. As a result, there have been virtually no food-related activities in this place for the past twenty years, because they have all heard the rumor that 'Lady Eileen does not like others to eat good food'.

Similarly, they didn't know why the event, which had been canceled for over twenty years, would suddenly be restarted, only vaguely guessing that it was related to the newly appointed assistant mayor, a man named 'Kira'.

When the announcement came out, the entire city's restaurants were in an uproar. 300 owners began recruiting outstanding chefs, renovating their shops, and even forming a 'Gourmet Guild', all in an effort to achieve a good ranking in this competition, promote their brands, and expand their influence throughout the empire.

The reason for this confidence is that this place is directly managed by Lady Eileen, and it can be considered a first-tier city in the entire empire, with a status almost equivalent to the royal capital, Vistarion.

In addition to the flow of tourists, there are also many food vendors and food suppliers who have been flocking to the city for days, taking advantage of the 'food competition' to do business here.

Instead of using harsh methods to drive away these unexpected vendors, Kira had someone manage and plan their stalls and collect stall fees from them, thus creating a thriving food street.

The residents ate to their hearts' content, the vendors did brisk business, Kira collected money, and everyone had a wonderful time.

In the very center of the central square stands a one-meter-high arena, which serves as the arena for the competition. To one side of the arena is the judges' seat, where Kira sits.

His handsome face, paired with slightly wavy red hair, alluring sapphire-like eyes, and a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth, exuded an extraordinary temperament, causing many beautiful, bold, passionate, and vibrant young girls to have their hearts flutter and scream.

Kira will once again be a judge. After all, it would be disrespectful to Lady Irene to have the mayor's assistant act as the host!

Kira came representing Erin, so he sat in the center of the judges' table.

To his left was the president of the city's "Gourmet Guild," a middle-aged man with stubble and a long, pink whip; to his right was a reporter for the "Gourmet Newspaper," a young woman in her twenties with a scholarly air.

As for the host, his seat was on the other side of the president of the Food and Beverage Association, but he had to keep moving around on stage and basically had no chance to sit down.

"Dear residents, and everyone from nearby cities, welcome to the long-awaited 'Food Competition'!! I, xxx, will be your host!!"

The host, microphone in hand, excitedly announced the start of the competition, his loud voice quickly attracting the attention of the already restless spectators.

The judges and guests for this competition are:

"Mr. Kira is being helped by the newly appointed mayor of XX city!!"

"Reporter YYY from XX Newspaper!!"

"Mr. ZZZ, President of the Food and Beverage Association of XX City!!"

"And 100 randomly selected diners on-site!!"

"The ingredients for this competition were provided by... and many other restaurants. Thank you for their generous support!!"

clap clap clap...

Amidst enthusiastic applause and cheers, the host continued to announce the competition schedule.

"The competition process is as follows: individual registration is open until 10:00 AM today!"

"The first five rounds will have limited challenges. The participating chefs will need to cook using the ingredients and utensils provided by the competition within a limited time! Those who exceed the time limit will be eliminated! Those who do not receive more than half of the votes will be eliminated!"

"After the five rounds, the remaining contestants will face off one by one in a draw within a set time limit, with the judges randomly assigning them questions. After three rounds, the remaining contestants will have a final showdown where they can freely express themselves, and the contestant with the most votes will win the championship!"

"The champion of this competition will receive: an official trophy for 'The First Culinary Master of XX City' and a prize of 30 yuan, free nationwide coverage by XX newspaper, and a two-meter-long elephant trunk tuna as a gift from the XX City Food Association!!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

Upon hearing this reward, the cheers from the audience rose again.

"The God of Cookery!! It's the God of Cookery!! The God of Cookery trophy!!!"

"XX Newspaper is the Empire's premier food publication. I wouldn't even dare to dream of getting them to cover my food for free nationwide!!"

"There are actually 2-meter-long tuna in this world?!"

Because Kira had done enough publicity beforehand, a lot of people signed up for the competition, at least 200 people at a glance. After registering, the contestants were taken to the backstage lounge, so it was more of a place for spectators.