A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Helping others change the weather... isn't that just work?"

"No way! If you don't have the skills, you'll only hurt yourself and others!" The girl's attitude was resolute, and her words were firm and powerful.

"...How serious are you about your work?!"

Kira was stunned. If it were anyone else (like himself), he wouldn't care how long it lasted. As long as the weather changed, wouldn't that be enough? He would just take the money and run, and by the time the other party realized something was wrong, they wouldn't be able to find him.

But not much is said about it; being dedicated and conscientious is a good quality.

Even though Kira adheres to the principle of prioritizing money above all else, he still strives to complete every task to the best of his ability. Even though he has been running a magic shop for the past two years, he still maintains a considerate heart when recommending products to customers.

In the end, Gila could only conclude that the other person preferred the job of a reporter who ran around doing interviews to the job of a shrine maiden who ran around helping people change the weather.

"Besides, the Alvarez Empire isn't Ishgar. We don't have organizations like 'magic guilds' here. For a mage like me who can't use magic in combat and whose talent isn't high to begin with, it's hard to get ahead in the military. It's much freer to be a reporter!"

"Isn't that even more of a pity?! Because of the Imperial system... Wait a minute! I don't think I mentioned that I'm from Ishgar, did I?"

Zena chuckled: "I'm a reporter! Although I didn't recognize you when we first met, my memory is pretty good! The news that the genius mage 'Sage' Kira of the Kingdom of Fiore defeated the world-destroying dragon Acnologia spread throughout the empire back then!"

"Oh...I see!"

Wow, my fame has spread this far? Doesn't that mean I'm a well-known figure in all of Aslant now? It's quite exciting to think about!

Based on this praise, Kira felt he needed to broaden the horizons of the girl in front of him: "Actually, if you're leading an army, having the ability to control the weather is very powerful!"

"Look, if we could create harsh conditions like blizzards in the enemy's location, wouldn't that greatly weaken their forces?"

Zena thought for a moment and then understood Kira's meaning: "This... seems to make sense... but magic power is still the biggest problem! Without enough magic power, it's impossible to do this!"

"Yes... what a pity!" Kira looked at the girl in front of him with regret.

How can it not be a pity? His magic was clearly quite good, but due to the imperial system and his own limited talent, he could only be a reporter…

"There's nothing to regret, and constantly changing the weather might even invite divine punishment!"

This is just its own CPU!

Kira pursed his lips, but ultimately didn't discourage the girl's self-consolation.

"In short... if you don't want to be a journalist anymore, you can try the job I just mentioned! If you can't stay in the Alvarez Empire, you can come to the Kingdom of Fiore."

"We, Fairy Tail, are the number one magic guild in the Kingdom of Fiore. We'll never lack requests to change the weather! You can use the title of 'Sky Priestess' and we're guaranteed to become the next star in the magic world!"

Anyway, the previous 'Sky Witch' has now become the 'Wind Witch', so there's no issue of duplicate nicknames.

"Speaking of which, we have two people from the Alvarez Empire in our guild! They just got married this year thanks to our matchmaking efforts. Maybe you'll find your prince charming over there too! Oh, and that girl has the same hair color as you; you two might become good friends..."

Hearing this, Zena was suddenly tempted, but the next moment...

"Don't worry, we in Fairy Tail are known for our freedom and unity. Besides, there are no performance-based rewards in the guild, so it's okay if you spend all your time drinking and bragging in the tavern without doing any work!"

"..."

"The council usually has to defer to our guild. But this year, during the discussion meeting, our guild leader could throw a tantrum and they could only obediently put up with it! It's so satisfying, hahaha!!"

"??"

"And another thing... the Fiore royal family also has a very good relationship with us. The king and princess have a past with me, and their exclusive magic guild used to be my underling. Even if they accidentally damage one or two mountains while playing around, they can only obediently go and revise the map!"

"!!"

Are you sure you're talking about a legitimate magic guild?

Chapter 570: Burying something under the altar? Isn't that an overused trope?

As night deepened and all was quiet, most of the banquet guests had already left.

Those who remain here are only a few upright gentlemen who are self-disciplined, fools who can't see the truth of the world, ugly people who are ignored because they are not good-looking, or middle-aged men who are too old and their bodies can't keep up, lacking the energy to last a day and a night.

These people all have one thing in common: they really enjoy parties, because those who don't have already gone home to sleep.

Kira is not any of the types of people mentioned above. Although he is a gentleman and enjoys parties, his purpose in staying here is not because of the party. In fact, his real purpose is somewhat dishonorable.

Tonight, he will explore the altar!

The night grew colder, and the only source of warmth was the campfire flickering among the firewood.

Someone started snoring like thunder, the sound echoing rhythmically and continuously across the wide, old square. This caused the group of people who slept with the sky as their blanket and the ground as their bed to furrow their brows in their sleep, their once peaceful hearts becoming restless.

However, they did not wake up.

After a long day of work, a night of revelry, and drinking, even if you called Harpy and had him try using sleep magic, you could guarantee they'd sleep until tomorrow. (*Here, Harpy's use of sleep magic had the opposite effect.)

A figure quietly ascended the sacrificial platform; it was Kira.

"The magic is quite potent."

After assessing his surroundings, Kira walked straight ahead.

The altar was empty, practically devoid of anything. The sacrificial animals had been taken away and eaten at the recent banquet. Now, all that remained was the still-wet crimson magic circle and the solitary, thick stone pillar inserted in the center of the circle.

The stone pillar was unusual; it looked like obsidian and was carved with strange patterns and obscure magical characters. It was covered in dust and looked very old. Perhaps because they felt it was disrespectful to the gods, the townspeople didn't clean it regularly.

But Kira's attention wasn't on the stone pillars, but on the magic circle beneath his feet.

"Such ancient magical script! If I weren't a mage who loves to learn, I might not be able to recognize it... Let me see what it says."

Three minutes later...

Kira stood up from the ground and stared at the magic circle on the ground, lost in thought.

This magic circle likely functions to protect the town from severe weather such as blizzards, torrential rains, or droughts. The previous festival was used to draw magic energy from the air to maintain the magic circle's operation. Everything makes sense; it's perfect. However…

"There was no mention of a sacrifice..."

Suddenly, a ridiculous idea, brimming with flaws, popped into my head: "Could it be that it was just an excuse to hold a banquet?!"

Kira realized he had discovered the truth, then shook his head. "No, no... it must just be that the original intention was changed in the transmission of history!! That must be it!!"

Just as Kira was about to turn and leave, he suddenly stopped. On a whim, the thought of 'why not try to sense this altar' popped into his mind, and then he couldn't stop himself from doing so.

"Since we're already here, there's no harm in taking a look, right? Isn't it normal for a passing righteous mage to investigate such a suspicious altar?"

A spirit of adventure is at play.

"Magic perception!!"

The immense magical power, following Kira's spiritual energy, spread outward from him, quickly covering the ancient ruins before him. Whether it was the sleeping citizens below, the extinguished campfires, or the unfinished food, every move was enveloped by the giant net formed by Kira's magical power.

"Let me see, this altar... there's definitely something fishy about it!"

Kira couldn't help but let out a smug smile.

Intuition is right!

The magic power drawn through the ritual is transported deep underground, which happens to be located in a place similar to the core of the earth's veins. Although it is only a tributary in terms of distribution, it is enough to affect the entire town, as well as the surrounding mountain range.

Moreover, there really is something under this magic circle. Although it doesn't seem to be a living thing from the senses, it's still very suspicious!

You know, even a pig can turn into a magical beast if it is constantly infected by magic. In this case, the thing inside has been subjected to magical baptism for countless years. Although the frequency is not high, only once a year, it is hard to say that it will not turn into a monster or demon.

The novel is right!

The idea that there is an unknown entity lurking beneath things like prayers and altars is a timeless trope in any work!

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be the legendary 'God of Agriculture' or something related to it!"

Kira, who has experience with hundreds of novels and films, quickly became puzzled. "But... how long ago was that? Is it possible for ordinary things to be kept here for so long? I heard them say that this festival has been passed down for at least several hundred years. Let alone the relics of the 'God of Agriculture,' even the 'God of Agriculture' himself would have turned to ashes long ago, right?"

Dig up the ground and go underground to dig that thing out? Doing so would likely damage the terrain, and the resulting noise would be…

Kira glanced at the citizens sleeping soundly in the distance and quickly dismissed the idea.

For these citizens, the altar of this "Farming Festival" should be considered a part of their local cultural heritage, and they would rather not damage it.

Then we can only use the second method!

Kira's magic, like a massive octopus tentacle, powerfully penetrated thousands of meters underground, accurately pinpointing the final location of the magic flow. Then, with a wave of his hand, the magic was activated.

"Spatial teleportation!"

It doesn't teleport itself underground, but rather it teleports things from underground to the surface.

Bang! !

With a soft sound, a long-rusted rectangular black iron box appeared out of thin air in Kira's hand.

"That's it!"

Sensing the flow of magic in the air, Kira's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he couldn't resist the urge to open them.

However, due to being buried underground for many years and its special material, the iron box had long been rusted and could not be opened. In addition, there was a strong magical seal on it, which further prevented it from being opened easily.

Kira hesitated, looking at the box in his hand: No matter what, sneaking into someone else's house, eating and drinking for free, and then opening someone else's sacrificial object without permission... it's really unethical to say that out loud!

"What if a monstrous god that wants to destroy the world jumps out of the box as soon as it's opened?"

There was a time when Grand Marshal Hong broke the seal and released 108 demons. If things really develop in that direction, wouldn't I end up being compared to those kinds of people?

"This is unacceptable... This is absolutely unacceptable... My lifelong reputation cannot be ruined here!"

But... now that we've got the blind boxes, wouldn't it be a bit unreasonable not to open them and take a look?

After much deliberation, Kira gritted his teeth and spat out a sharp "Let's do it!"

boom!

With a low whistling sound, a cluster of white flames appeared at Kira's fingertips. He slowly pushed the fireball toward the iron box. Under the extreme heat, any magical seal was no better than paper, and it was instantly turned to ashes. Kira easily broke through its magical shield, and then with a forceful thrust, he melted the box's shackles into molten iron.

"It's open!"

As Kira slowly opened the blind box, the things that had been stored inside for who knows how long finally saw the light of day again.

There was no black mist escaping as in the old tales, so it's clear that an evil god wasn't sealed inside; nor was there the expected stench or poisonous gas. Despite being sealed for a thousand years, the contents inside weren't oxidized the moment they came into contact with the outside world, but remained exactly as they were.

"A notebook?"

Kira froze the moment he saw what was inside.

Is something this simple really necessary to hide so secret?