A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Kira, speechless, retorted, "...I already said it wasn't a coincidence! It was me..."

Irene ignored Kira's sarcastic remarks and continued her reasoning, word by word: "If I'm not mistaken, you initially only wanted to dissuade me, someone who is known as one of the 'Twin Pillars of the Empire' along with August, but after seeing my appearance and finding that I resembled your companion, you deliberately stayed behind, right?"

"Well... well... since you've said so, then it must be true."

"No wonder someone like you would willingly stay here; it turns out you were creating an opportunity for me to meet her!"

clap clap clap...

Kira clapped along enthusiastically, the applause rapid, powerful, and rhythmic: "You're right, absolutely right!"

"During this time, you deliberately cultivated an image of being lazy and unproductive, thereby constantly arguing with Heine. You also held a food competition that I had canceled years ago, all to delay your time here and at the same time attract my attention."

No, I really just wanted to be lazy and make money!! Why are you imagining things to this extent?!

"Oh right! Speaking of getting my attention, I almost forgot. When we first met, you clearly intended to get closer to me, and you even said things like 'godmother' and 'mother-in-law.' Weren't those all tests to get me to cooperate?"

What a load of rubbish!

I simply lacked maternal love when I was a child!

"So... you're admitting it? You are Erza's mother!"

Kira pretended that Erin's predictions had come true, appropriately revealing three parts probing, three parts panic, three parts smugness, and one part feigned composure.

His voice was soft, yet it struck Eileen's heart directly, like a sharp knife constantly rubbing against her heart. Although it didn't hurt, it was still uncomfortable, and this feeling made her unconsciously grip the magic wand in her hand a little tighter.

After a moment, Eileen regained her composure, and a half-smile curved her rosy lips. Her gaze toward Kira held a newfound interest.

"So what if I do? Do you expect me to put on a touching mother-daughter reunion with her?"

Under the moonlight, the most beautiful and charming woman spoke the most heartless words in the gentlest tone: "If that's really the case, then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I've never treated her as my child!"

"Remember when I told you 'I don't have a daughter'? I wasn't joking. I have absolutely no feelings for her! To me, she's just a useless piece of trash that I can throw away later."

"Really? That's a real shame! If Erza could find her mother, I think she would be very happy—though she would probably pretend not to care on the surface..."

Kira sighed, feigning regret, then continued to watch Eileen, gesturing for her to continue. He wanted to see how far Eileen's imagination could take her.

Just how confident she is now will only make her more embarrassed once she finds out the truth!

Unfortunately, at the time, only the person involved could understand the pleasure of that mockery. Even if the video recording was made, others could hardly empathize with it.

"Regret...is it because you feel sorry for your companion?"

Eileen's eyes flashed, then she seemed to realize something, and suddenly chuckled softly, "Oh! Or were you not joking when you called me 'mother-in-law' back then?"

"Huh...?!" Kira was stunned. He didn't expect that Irene could even interpret such a casual remark he made.

"Could it be that you're pursuing that child now? Is that why you're trying to use this 'mother-daughter reunion' opportunity to win her favor?"

Kira (glancing sideways, speechless): "..."

Are you kidding me?! If I wanted to pursue Erza, would I need to wait until now to start building up my affections? The 'family/companion' buff alone, plus eight or nine years, would have been more than enough!

(↑ This stems from Kira's inexplicable confidence, which is actually impossible.)

but……

Auntie, you really know so much!

Why are you, a woman whose political marriage failed and who has absolutely no other dating experience, so sensitive about teenage dating?!

Could it be that he's so suspicious because it concerns his own daughter?

Oh, right! Speaking of which, I have indeed heard the saying that "most people are very sensitive to other people's feelings, but rather insensitive to their own"...

Kira internally scoffed at the joke, while Irene, already lost in thought, froze when she saw Kira standing there speechless: "What's wrong? Did I really hit the nail on the head? That kid seems pretty charming..."

This time, Eileen was genuinely surprised.

The thought that even a man like Kira was captivated by Erza, while Erza only inherited less than a tenth of his beauty and strength, made her feel a little smug.

However, Erin hid her little bit of pride very well and didn't show it outwardly, so Kira didn't notice it.

Erza is incredibly charming? Absolutely! Don't you even know whose child she is?!

Kira thought to himself, but given his serious nature, he would never say something as easily misunderstood as "Erza is whatever you want."

"Sigh! I originally wanted to get along with you as ordinary siblings, but all I got in return was suspicion."

"I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean!"

Eileen: ? ?

"How can a true man remain subservient to others for long?!"

"Let's settle this once and for all, Eileen!"

"If I win, you'll join Fairy Tail and reclaim your identity as Erza's mother; if I lose, I'll tell you how to turn back into a human!"

Chapter 522 As a qualified magic merchant, it's normal for him to carry a magic wand, right?

After infiltrating the Alvarez Empire as a spy for nearly a month, Kira finally confronted Erin on this night and officially declared war.

In fact, even if Erza and the others hadn't come, and if Irene hadn't discovered Kira's true purpose, Kira had planned to end things within the next few days.

It wasn't that he couldn't continue acting, but rather that his salary for this month had been paid yesterday.

Having received a salary gives you confidence!

Judging by the time, the others should have almost finished their work, so he couldn't possibly work here for another month. If he left halfway through without getting paid, wouldn't he be losing out big time?

Therefore, a showdown was inevitable, and Kira was simply going with the flow.

Under the moonlight, Kira, oblivious to the danger, proposed a duel, leaving Eileen stunned. But what surprised her even more was the wager Kira mentioned.

"The way to turn back into a human..."

In her excitement, Irene took two steps towards Kira, then stopped, her brow furrowing as she realized something was amiss: 'What's going on? Does he know I'm a Dragon Slayer Mage in my dragon form? I don't recall telling him about my past, did I?'

“I know you, like Acnologia, are a Dragon Slayer Mage who has transformed into a dragon and are desperately trying to turn back into a human.” Kira was pleased with Irene’s expression; he knew what she was thinking. “If you beat me, I’ll tell you how!”

Eileen didn't easily believe Kira's words. If it were that easy to find, she would have already recovered: "Do you think I would believe that you have a way to regain human form?"

"Since you don't have any anyway! Why not give it a try? My intelligence-gathering skills are well-known throughout the guild!" Kira began to boast.

"..."

How many people are in a guild? Everyone in the guild knows about it, so what's so special about that?

“If you had an intelligence expert like me by your side, you would know that Fairy Tail and Acnologia fought a year ago, and no one died in that battle. We even banished Acnologia to another world and never appeared again.”

This level of news did indeed make Irene look at Kira with newfound respect, but she was Irene after all, and her composure was unmatched. She regained her composure in just one breath: "Given your magical power, it's not surprising that you survived from that Dragon King, but banishing it to another world... isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? If Acnologia were that easy to deal with, the dragon race wouldn't have perished four hundred years ago!"

"Besides, it's only been a year, so it's perfectly normal for Acnologia not to appear. It's not a character that often appears in front of the world anyway!"

This... is indeed something that Kira cannot refute, so Kira does not intend to refute it.

"Hey, hey, hey... Can you please listen to the point? Complaining isn't your style! What I'm trying to say is that my intelligence gathering ability is very strong, and I even have complete knowledge of your affairs!"

"??"

"I know all of this, including the fact that you created Dragon Slayer Magic, the fact that you were a dragon for four hundred years and were restored to human form by Zeref, and the fact that you gave birth to Erza but did not kill her because of family ties!"

Eileen was indeed no longer calm.

Because this matter should only be known to Zeref, who helped her regain her human form, besides herself! Even August, the most trusted member of the Twelve Shields, is unaware of it!

'Could it be that His Majesty told him? No! His Majesty has no reason to do such a thing…'

Eileen believed she understood Jelf quite well. A pitiful man, bound by the 'Curse of Ankhseram' and torn between life and love, would not be so gossipy as to spread other people's private matters around.

Although Erin had many doubts about how Kira knew about her past, what she cared about most was the method to return to human form.

She had been searching for this method for twenty years, but still had no luck. Even Zeref, whose magical knowledge and talent far surpassed hers, could not do it!

"You really know how to turn back into a human?!" Eileen gripped her magic wand tightly, her heart pounding with anxiety.

"Of course! Beat me and I'll tell you!"

Arrogant brat!

Although I have a human appearance, I am a dragon in essence. You are not a Dragon Slayer Mage, and the effect of ordinary magic on dragons is greatly reduced. I am born invincible, so defeating you is a piece of cake.

Just as Eileen was feeling triumphant and preparing to quickly knock Kira to the ground and extract the method to return to human form from him, Kira made his move.

With a flick of his wrist, a square opening about thirty centimeters wide suddenly appeared in the space beside him with a 'snap'. It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen or heard. Even Eileen could only vaguely sense clusters of magical energy within.

"Storage magic?" Eileen's eyes lit up. "To use it so skillfully, it seems you've put in a lot of effort in this area..."

Faced with this undisguised praise, Kira became even more smug, but still waved his hand dismissively: "It's alright, I didn't spend much time training, I just lay at home, eating and drinking as usual, and I did it!"

"Ugh...what an annoying brat!!" Eileen said in an unfriendly tone.

Soon, Kira pulled a silver-white magic wand from the black hole. The wand was over two meters long, made of metal, and extremely mysterious. Eight magic crystals of different colors, sizes, and shapes complemented each other, and in the shimmering light, they faintly emitted a powerful magic.

Dragon Slayer Magic Staff!

It is a magic staff with a sticky dragon-slaying magic crystal embedded inside and eight magic crystals on the outside, used to convert ordinary magic into dragon-slaying magic.

The artifact that Kira used to fight Acnologia on Tenrou Island a year ago.

The white staff, black robes, and red hair complement each other, creating a mysterious and indescribably dashing image of Kira under the bright moonlight.

As the creator of Dragon Slayer Magic and the mother of Dragon Slayer Mages, Irene immediately recognized that the magic staff Kira had pulled out was extraordinary: "I didn't expect you to have such a magical item? That's amazing!"

"Surprised? What are you talking about? Didn't I tell you from the very first day we met? I'm a magic merchant!!"

Kira looked around to make sure no one was nearby before slowly walking to an open space a short distance away, where he carefully patted the dust off his clothes.

"As a qualified magic merchant, of course I have all kinds of magical items!"

"Otherwise, what if one day a customer comes to the door looking for trouble, asking to buy some random or hard-to-find items? How can I handle that?"

Eileen, who followed silently, was speechless.

With your personality, you think you can't handle this? I don't believe anyone would dare to act like a scoundrel in your shop!

In fact, Eileen was wrong this time. There really are such people, and most of them are those guys in the guild. Every few days, they ask Kira to order some strange things, such as props related to some indescribable activities, or some related items. It's making him almost doubt the image of 'Hope Hut' in the minds of the residents of Magnolia.

On an empty street, in an open space, Kira and Erin stood a few meters apart.

As they looked at each other, Kira suddenly realized that Eileen not only had a great figure, but was also a bit taller than the other girls in the guild. With her high heels and tall hat, she looked almost as tall as him.