A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Faced with Val's order, the modder not only did not go as instructed, but nervously hid behind Lucy, his face showing a look of fear, weakness, and helplessness, and even a slight tremor, as if he was extremely afraid of this guy who looked like he was not to be trifled with.

A fear that can only be felt between the creator and the created, a fear that is connected to the blood and soul!

Hmm... It's like a child who has made a mistake facing their mother holding a cane and calling them by their full name with a serious expression. Basically, no one can withstand this kind of extreme emotion.

Seeing the modder's appearance, Val became even angrier, stepped forward, and reached out his wicked hand.

"Alright, Val!"

Just then, Silver suddenly patted Val on the shoulder, stopping him. "I'm the one who implanted the emotional system! Now it seems our experiment has been a great success!"

"Huh?! What success... Thoughts and emotions only hinder their evolution and combat effectiveness! Mechanical soldiers that can't be used in combat, mechanical soldiers bound by emotions, are completely useless!"

Val scoffed at Silver's words, "Have you forgotten? Our goal is to create mechanical soldiers and weapons that can lead the magical world into a new era!!"

Leading the magical world into a new era? What a boastful claim!

Such arrogant words stunned everyone present, but when they thought of the Four Horsemen's extraordinary learning ability, magic and combat power, they couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis.

These are enemies that even Erza finds difficult to deal with! And they are only the first generation of mechanical soldiers! If these mechanical soldiers were mass-produced and deployed in the Alvarez Empire's invasion of Ishgar...

The consequences would be unimaginable!!

Just as the group was lost in thought, they heard Silver's different opinion: "I think that robots that can have their own thoughts and feelings are much better than those cold, mechanical soldiers who can only follow orders."

"Val, this is, after all, a world of magic!"

"Powerful magic relies on extreme emotions, so implanting this system into mechanical soldiers isn't necessarily a bad thing! If used properly, they can also lead the magic world into a new era! And that new era might be even more glorious and splendid!"

"Hmph! You'll regret this!"

"I am their father!"

Silver walked past Val toward the modifier and said kindly, "Come here, child! Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you!"

Everyone was filled with amazement, and the phrase "kind father and strict mother" inexplicably came to mind.

Kira was completely dumbfounded.

What's with this overwhelming Hiruzen Danzo vibe?! Guys, this is Fairy Tail, not Naruto!

Under Silver's warm and gentle gaze, and under her father's handsome face, the mechanical girl finally emerged from behind Lucy and clung to his leg like a sweet little girl.

"Old west, I need an explanation..."

Soon after, after a brief conversation with Silver, Kira understood what he had done.

Originally, in order to prevent the war from starting, their plan was to defeat or kidnap the Twelve Shields, and Silver's target was Val, who was also a member of the Machine Race. However, at that time, he had not yet figured out how to deal with this member of the race.

But when he arrived in the mechanical town and experienced the local customs and the Val, he immediately had an idea.

Distract them, lure them, and make empty promises!

As a genius of the Mechanical Race, don't you want your people to live a better life? Don't you want to prove your race's strength to humanity? Since you love war so much, shouldn't you be thinking about upgrading your mechanical soldiers? How can you be so complacent and satisfied with these small achievements? You are a once-in-a-century genius of the Mechanical Race, bearing the mission of leading the magical world into a new era! You are the future of our Mechanical Race!!

A series of resounding questions struck Val like a bolt from the blue, and he was convinced.

Afterwards, with Silver's help and supervision, Val began a month-long process of manufacturing new mechanical soldiers.

"……powerful!"

After listening, Kira could only give a thumbs-up to express his respect and admiration. He never expected that Silver, a machine race member, could have such powerful persuasive skills! He was practically on par with Makarov!!

"Hahaha... I'm the boss of the Dragon Slayer Research Institute, with several underlings. This kind of thing is just commonplace for me!"

Oh right, those guys at the research institute probably grew up under his influence; no wonder they're so experienced with kids.

"Unfortunately, Val and I still have some differences in our ideas."

Silver's tone was tinged with regret. "In his view, ruthless, stronger fighting machines are the key to ushering in a new era; while I believe that sentient artificial mechanical life is."

"I can tell!"

Kira nodded, then looked at the mechanical girl not far away, and thought to himself: I wonder if having two creators like this is a good thing or a bad thing for her.

If Silver succeeds, perhaps another race will be added to the world in the future, just like Etelias.

I wonder if this technology, which involves the creation of species, will be subject to the 'Ankhseram Curse'?

Chapter 558 Harpy: I Successfully Shipped My CP?!

At Silver's invitation, Kira led the group to Val's residence.

Val lived in a metal castle far from the mechanical town, surrounded by a wide plain with yellow earth and green grass, offering a wide view. A not-so-straight path connected the two places, and on the vast plain, there was a row of tall metal windmill buildings.

These windmill towers are scattered in a staggered manner, arranged at certain intervals. Each one is at least a dozen stories high. At this moment, the four huge metal windmill blades on the top of the tower are slowly turning in the sunlight, with the wind blowing from the distant mountains. They look similar to the facilities commonly seen in the world of anime and manga, which are built in rural areas to generate electricity or irrigate farmland using wind power.

It was the season of transition from autumn to winter. The wind blowing from the north of Arakitasia crossed mountains and rivers, traversing mountains and rivers to reach this place, providing power for these large machines. The energy was then converted into energy needed for the lives of various unknown mechanical races through the machines inside the towers, and then transmitted to the nearby mechanical town through the thick steel pipes connected at the bottom.

Silver led the group on a stroll among the windmills. After some observation, they discovered that the windmills were built in the same way as the houses in the town, exhibiting a distinct mechanical architectural style. Not only were the materials similar, but the mechanical atmosphere and the faint smell of cooking oil were also nearly identical.

"It seems this is the town's energy source..."

“You’re right! There are usually dedicated mechanical beings who are responsible for guarding these facilities.”

Just as Kira was able to become the town mayor's assistant in a little over a month, Silver had, in the same amount of time, gained a clear understanding of the machine race's daily routine.

"In the future, perhaps Val and I will create mechanical soldiers specifically to guard the base here, which will reduce the manpower of the machine race."

As Silver spoke, a hopeful and optimistic smile spread across his face, the afternoon sun making his short, mechanically styled blond hair gleam.

Listening to his words, Kira suddenly remembered something: the Silver in front of him was not the real person, but a mechanical puppet!

The distance this puppet can transmit signals from Ishgar across the sea to the Western Continent is simply too great! Even Pain, controlled by Nagato next door, doesn't travel this far!

However, he was soon drawn to what Silver said.

Good grief, massive layoffs, huh?

Kira quickly thought of the employment difficulties brought about by technological development, and the social problems of the Alvarez Empire under such circumstances, which he himself had once been a victim of!

Fortunately, they did not intend to target the entire empire, but only the territory of the machine race; those deployed to the empire would only be the machine soldiers responsible for the war.

"What? There's still war going on? So not only did you fail to remove Val from the potential imperial invasion, but you also got yourself caught up in it?"

Kira strongly condemned Silver's slacking off.

We agreed to work together for the peace of the Kingdom of Fiore, but you secretly went to the enemy's territory and contributed to their cause. That's just too much!

"I'll stop him then!"

"All right……"

Mechanical Castle.

Since Silver's arrival, a bunch of talking mechanical animals have appeared here one after another, such as mechanical cats, mechanical dogs, and mechanical rabbits. They are servant-type robots produced in the same batch as the 'Four Horsemen'.

Their main function is cleaning and traveling between the castle and the town to carry out various tasks. They are not strong in combat, but they are very helpful in daily life.

"When I get back, can you give me a few?"

Kira always thought that taking advantage of others was a good habit, of course, only when he was the one doing it.

"When it becomes available on the market, you can buy it yourself."

Unlike Val's "magical weapons change war," Silver wants "magical technology to change life," so he claims he will sell similar mechanical life forms, namely artificial intelligence, in the future.

Simply put, the two are like the pro-war and pro-peace factions of the Machine Race.

"To be honest, both of these could change the current state of the magic world to a great extent, but if the day really comes when we move into a new era, the latter should have the support of most people."

"Of course, after all, most people in this world still prefer peace."

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning another issue: the possibility of people opposing the emergence of a 'new era'.

This is very possible, for reasons similar to those often seen in science fiction movies, where artificial intelligence counterattacks humanity. When there are enough mechanical lifeforms, and each one can use considerable magic, they become a force that no kingdom can ignore.

It's important to understand that even in the current Alvarez Empire, which is founded on magic, mages make up less than 30% of the total population, and in the Kingdom of Fiore, it's less than 10%. Who could tolerate the emergence of a mechanical kingdom where everyone is a 'Holy Ten'?

……

"How is it? My house is pretty big, isn't it?"

The mechanical girl skipped and hopped around, showing off to her best friend Lucy, completely unaware that the person opposite her was once a wealthy heiress from the Kingdom of Fiore.

"Mmm..." Lucy chatted and laughed with the modifier, and the two seemed to get along very well.

Watching this scene, Natsu couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow... Lucy's got a knack for coaxing kids."

"Yes, yes...she'll be a great mother in the future!"

Harpy relentlessly hinted to his perpetually clueless partner, never missing an opportunity to push for a romantic pairing.

It's fair to say that Happy sacrificed so much for Charlotte's love life!

Unfortunately, Natsu didn't understand Happy's meaning: "Have you had a similar experience before?"

"How is this possible..."

"Does Lucy have a child? I can almost picture what it's like..."

Natsu's mind involuntarily conjured up images of Lucy with children who resembled both him and Lucy: a boy with hair like his and a face like Lucy's; a girl with hair like Lucy and a face like his; or a boy who looked like him...

I considered all the possible scenarios, and the more I thought about it, the more interesting it became.

So Natsu stepped forward and, as usual, excitedly grabbed Lucy's hand as if he had discovered something: "I said, Lucy!"

"Hmm? What's wrong, Natsu?" Lucy looked up, a strand of long golden hair falling from her temple, her eyes filled with confusion.

She was exhausted from dealing with the mechanical girl's enthusiasm, and Natsu's arrival was just the right time for her to take a break.

Just then, Natsu suddenly looked at Lucy's dark brown eyes with anticipation, a bright smile spreading across his face: "Do you want to have a child with me?"

"!!!" ×N

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Everyone stopped what they were doing and talking, staring wide-eyed at Natsu, their faces filled with disbelief.

Oh my god?! What did I just hear?! Natsu asked Lucy if she wanted to have a baby?!

Is this Natsu?! Could this really be Natsu?! Could Natsu really say something like that?! Has he finally seen the light?!

Most importantly, isn't this a confession? No, wait, when did he and Lucy get to this point?!

Of everyone, the most surprised was Happy: I successfully shipped a couple?! That was so sudden! I didn't even realize it!!