A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

But now, thanks to Kira, the gadget master, the Fairy Tail crew also got to experience riding in an airship.

Airships are different from flying carpets. The latter are just carpets enchanted with magic, with no other function besides being able to fly, and they don't even have any decorations. Airships, on the other hand, are real, fully equipped manned spacecraft.

Kira's airship is 30 meters long and 10 meters wide, and it looks like a golden fairy. The face of the fairy is directly in front. Although the appearance is a little strange, no one cares about it. No one in this world has ever seen a fairy. Otherwise, the name of this guild would not be Fairy Tail. At the bow of the ship, there is also the crest of the Fairy Tail guild.

The airship's sides mimic the body structure of birds, with light yet sturdy wings that allow it to maintain balance in the air. Below the wings, there is a row of magic cannons, with 10 cannons in each row and each cannon having a diameter of 50 centimeters. With just one button from the gunner, it can blast half a town.

The tail of the airship is a strange-looking tail that functions as an engine in the overall structure, while also acting as a magic absorber and converter, providing ample energy for the airship's movement and attacks.

Kira's gadgets mostly consist of two things: one is a gadget that can absorb free magic energy in nature and convert it into energy; and the other is a magic energy storage device.

These two items played a crucial role in enabling his props to be sold far and wide to neighboring countries.

Whether it's a means of transportation like airships, cars, or ships, or a magical weapon like a staff, gun, or armor, the functions of absorbing, converting, and storing magic are indispensable.

Kira didn't know if other magical items in this world had similar technologies, but he had researched them himself. Although they were somewhat rough due to the short research time and insufficient manpower, they were sufficient for use at this stage.

On the airship, apart from Erza and Gray, who had ridden the flying carpet before, the others all looked shocked and envious.

Kana, just like she always was in the guild, sat cross-legged on the ground drinking: "Why didn't you bring out such a good thing sooner?"

“Given his personality, he’ll probably say something like, ‘Of course I have to show off my props one by one, otherwise the rest will just sit in the warehouse collecting dust,’ right?” Rocky said with a faint smile.

Gray said to Kira, "You really know your personality!"

"Who told me to be such a straightforward person? You see, besides being a mage, I'm also a renowned magic merchant, and honesty and integrity are my first principles in business!"

Kira spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without thinking, without a pause or remorse, as if that were just who he was.

"Kira truly lives up to his name, what a man!! This airship is just as manly!!"

"Quiet down, all of you!" Erza was as serious as ever. "Remember this! Our first goal this time is to bring back Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, who took on an S-rank mission without authorization! If they've already handed over the mission to the client, we'll take over to avoid damaging Fairy Tail's reputation!"

Kira looked completely bewildered: "What are you talking about, Erza? Weren't we going there to investigate the legend of the Celestial Maiden?"

Clearly, he had long since put Maklov aside.

Gray laughed and said, "That's right! We don't need to worry about Natsu! We just need to bring Lucy back!"

Cana and Loki smiled knowingly, clearly not worried about Natsu at all. Only Elfman was more realistic: "Natsu is very strong! It's just about eliminating monsters. Even if it's an S-rank mission, there's nothing to worry about."

"Anything can happen in a place like that. Most importantly, this is something the guild explicitly forbids; we can't let him run rampant like this!"

……

In the guild tavern, Makarov looked worried. These kids were getting more and more disobedient as they grew older, and he didn't know if they had listened to what he had just said.

After much thought, Makarov could only console himself with this thought: "Others may not listen, but Erza should be able to rest assured."

Unlike Maklov, Mira seemed to be in a good mood, smiling as she did her job as a waitress.

"Mira-chan, weren't you just looking worried? Why are you in such a good mood now?" Wakaba, smoking and drinking, looked at Mira, who was moving among the guests.

“Because…” Mira turned around and explained, “Although Kira and Erza were also worried about Natsu, they used the excuse of arguing to help him so that he wouldn’t be punished by the guild master. It was really heartwarming!”

"Moreover, Elfman went along too, which makes me, as the older sister, very happy in every way!"

If Elfman were here and heard these words, she would be moved to tears and shout, "Sister, I... won't let you down!"

But now that his object of affection is Wakaba, this old smoker, his emotions are naturally not as rich.

"Really?" Wakaba chuckled, "Based on my understanding of these kids, they might really just be there to argue!"

"How could that be?!" Mira immediately puffed out her cheeks, hands on her hips. "Don't let their appearance fool you, they're very reliable in times like these!"

"Hahaha... Mira-chan is so kind!!"

Maklov also noticed this scene. They say that old people are wiser, and he is over 80 years old this year. Mira can tell, so there is no reason why he can't. That's why he said that these guys are getting harder and harder to manage.

"Hopefully they can make it in time to bring Natsu back, and also, don't cause too much trouble..."

These guys are all good at managing towns... wait, this mission is in the Great Snow Mountain, there are no towns, so we should be fine!

Thinking of this, Maklov's uneasy heart calmed down instantly. With so many people mobilized, how could they not complete an S-rank mission?

"Mira-chan, I want a barrel of beer too!!!"

……

"Alright, let's leave Natsu and Lucy aside for now and solve the legendary mystery!" Erza said contentedly, munching on the sweets Kira had brought on the airship. "Once we reach our destination, let's go all out!!!"

"Oh!!!"

"Great!!!"

"Very good!!!"

Chapter 55 Avalanche

Because they only discovered Natsu's unauthorized acceptance of the mission a day late, they lingered in the guild for a long time, listened to Makarov talk about the ancients for a while, and finally decided on the manpower. Kira even went back to his shop to prepare some other things.

So when Kira and the others set off in the airship, Natsu and Lucy had already arrived in Zonya.

"Where is this?!" Natsu was on the verge of collapse as he looked at the map in his hand. "This is clearly the location marked on the map!"

In the snow-covered mountains, all you can see is snow. As far as the eye can see, everything is white, and there are almost no landmarks. This is similar to the desert or the sea, where there is nothing to help you determine your direction.

Fortunately, this is not a desert, nor is it a sea, but a snow-capped mountain. As long as we are still on the ground, there are enough conditions to place reference points.

The location marked on the mission sheet was a tavern in the snow, but Natsu led Lucy and Happy around for a long time and still couldn't find any trace of the tavern.

Happy frowned: "Could we have taken the wrong turn? Natsu, are you sure you followed the map correctly?"

"Of course! We followed the map exactly!"

Happy and Lucy leaned over to take a look at the map Natsu had unfolded, and were immediately startled: "This map...??!!"

"What's wrong with this map?" Natsu asked, puzzled.

"This map is... way too rudimentary!!!"

The map on the paper only showed a few snow-capped mountains, marked with the name Zonia, and a tavern in the middle of the mountains. That was all.

Lucy and Happy couldn't believe it: "You followed this map???"

However, Natsu, unaware of the seriousness of the situation, casually replied, "Yeah, so what?"

"You big idiot!!!" Lucy slapped Natsu away!

"What do we do now, Lucy?" Poor Happy asked, looking dejected.

"Why don't we go back first..." Lucy had actually already given up. If Natsu hadn't kept insisting, she wouldn't have gotten this far. However, when she turned around, she was instantly stunned.

The snow was so heavy that the direction we came from was no longer discernible.

Lucy and Happy were instantly frozen in place.

"Ah!!!" ×2

"What do we do? What do we do? We're lost!!" Happy cried out in distress, clutching his chubby face with his paws, frantically flying around Lucy.

Lucy sat there hugging her knees. Although the snow on the mountain made her bottom cold, her heart was even colder: "I'm doomed... I shouldn't have come... I never thought I'd die here..."

The two of them waited for a while when suddenly Lucy looked up and asked, "Happy, where's Natsu?"

Happy stopped in mid-air, looking puzzled as well: "Yeah, where's Natsu?"

Didn't you knock Natsu away?

Rumble...

Suddenly, Lucy heard a sound and jumped up in fright: "Happy, did you hear something?"

“What…sound?” Happy listened quietly for a long time before saying, “It sounds like a rumbling sound.”

"Hmm, and it seems to be getting bigger..."

"It sounds like Natsu's voice too..."

"Natsu... Natsu??!!!!" A bad feeling welled up in Lucy's heart.

Looking back, sure enough, it was Natsu running back with a smile, waving and greeting as he ran: "Hey! Happy! Lucy! Look! It's spectacular!"

Lucy and Happy looked up at the same time. Behind Natsu, a huge snowstorm rolled in, its roar echoing continuously.

"I see, that's the source of the sound."

"So that's it, it was an avalanche!"

"..."

"Avalanche!!!" x2

There was no time to wait for Natsu, nor to call out to their companions. Lucy and Happy, their survival skills maxed out, instantly burst into tears and ran off in the opposite direction, screaming, "No!!!"

At this point, it doesn't matter which way we came from, whether we're lost or not, or what missions or taverns we have to worry about; escaping is the most important thing!

"Wait a minute!" Natsu, full of energy and fast, caught up with Lucy in no time. "Wait for me!"

Lucy was furious at Natsu for framing her and still laughing: "Why did you cause an avalanche?!"

“You ask why…” Natsu thought for a moment and said, “After you knocked me away, I heard a ‘crack’ sound, and then I heard a rumbling sound.”

"So it was all Lucy's fault!" Happy flew forward desperately, complaining as he went.

Lucy was speechless, never expecting that her 'light' punch would have such a result, and her tearful face showed even more devastation.

Natsu covered his mouth and laughed, "What? It turns out it was Lucy's fault!"

"No, that's not true!!"

"What should we do now?" Happy, who was flying ahead, cried out in tears, "Natsu, think of something quick!"

The avalanche was getting closer and closer, less than three meters away from Natsu and Lucy, and it looked like it was about to catch up.

Suddenly, Natsu turned around, flames soaring from his hands, instantly warming Lucy and Happy: "There's no other way, let's just evaporate this snow mountain with fire!"

Are you kidding me?

"Natsu, it's all up to you!"

Natsu stomped his foot, and his magical power gathered, instantly igniting red flames that melted the ice and snow around him. Even the snow under his feet began to evaporate. An ordinary person would have fallen due to the unstable ground by now, but Natsu stood firmly without swaying at all.

"The fire dragon's...roar!!!"