A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Go for it, Juvia-chan!!"

"You have to win, Juvia! Your Gray is watching you!!"

"What?! Lord Gray is looking at me?! Oh my god!! Juvia's about to get fired up!!!"

Happy flapped his wings and weaved among the mages, acting as a messenger between the two locations, while Charlene and Lily watched from the sidelines, providing commentary for Happy as needed.

"First test room, Natsu vs. Juvia!"

"Judging from their momentum, the two sides are evenly matched. Although they haven't made a move yet, based on our understanding of Natsu, his magical power is already about 70-80% of his normal level. What about Juvia?"

Xia Lulu rolled her dead fish eyes: "I think she should be at her peak right now, right?"

"Huh?! Really?!"

"Hearing Gray's name, her entire magical aura changed!"

Happy nodded, then flew happily to the other side: "Let's look at the second exam room, Gray vs. Lucy!"

"Oh my god, Gray has already entered his evil-slaying state?! Lucy has also put on her Celestial Cloth and summoned Loki and Valkyrie?! The battle hasn't even started yet, and they've already gone this far?!"

Lili explained calmly, "I think they probably intend to settle the matter in one move..."

"Then let's wait and see!"

"Battle begins!!"

At August's signal, Habib announced the start of the match.

Upon hearing the sound, Lucy and Juvia acted simultaneously.

"Water flow..."

"Star Spirits..."

however……

"The one who should have won first... was me!!" ×2

Despite not being in the same location, Natsu and Gray seemed to be telepathically connected, speaking in unison. At the same time, their magic surged wildly, overwhelming Lucy and Juvia's magic with a powerful, overwhelming force.

"Eh...?!!" ×2

The sudden turn of events startled Lucy and Juvia, causing them to abandon their unfinished special moves.

The next moment, the two were filled with deep regret, regretting why they had stopped the magic just a second ago.

A powerful spell, accompanied by a familiar shout and carrying boundless power, crashed down upon him with earth-shattering force.

"Flame Mode - Roar of the Fire Dragon!!!"

"The Ice Demon's Fervor!!!"

At this moment, flames and ice filled Juvia and Lucy's entire field of vision. The magic before them was overwhelming, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down, leaving them no way out.

Natsu and Gray, for the sake of their bet, did not hesitate to use their ultimate moves, attempting to end the battle as quickly as possible!

"No!!!"

At that moment, Lucy and Juvia's exclamations echoed throughout the entire Darussal Mountains.

boom!!!

Bang! ! !

Almost simultaneously, flames and ice caused a tremendous explosion. On one side, flames flew everywhere, like a black rope hell, while on the other side, ice chilled to the bone, like a silver world.

The spectacular display of ice and fire, far surpassing anything seen before, left the assembled mages speechless for a long time before they came to their senses.

"Those two idiots!!"

Chapter 613 Lucy and Natsu's Secret Talk in the Tent

Ice... so much ice...

All I could see was darkness, and the icy temperature spread from my hair to my toes, as if it had completely locked me in, making it difficult to even breathe. The cold that permeated my entire body and was felt from the inside out was something I had never experienced before.

It’s so cold!

After an unknown amount of time, a beam of light suddenly ignited in the darkness.

The fire burned brighter and brighter, quickly illuminating the dark world. It radiated an indescribable warmth, which soon melted the ice on my body.

How heartwarming!

So warm!!

So warm!!!

……

"It's so hot!!!"

Lucy opened her eyes and saw a familiar face: short, cherry-colored hair, a white scarf, slanted eyes... and a smiling face full of 'wisdom'.

"Natsu..."

"You're finally awake, Lucy!"

Lucy blinked in confusion, finally realizing something was wrong: Natsu's face was so close to hers, and he was holding a fire in his hand, constantly heating up the small tent.

"What are you doing?! -- Ouch!! What happened to me...??"

Lucy abruptly threw off the covers and sat up. A slight pain came over her, and she belatedly realized that she had several bandages on her body, indicating that she had suffered a serious injury, possibly frostbite.

Now, under Natsu's flames, there was an additional slight burning sensation.

Good grief, are you planning to use some old-fashioned methods to make my injuries worse?

Just as he was silently complaining, a figure lifted the tent flap and walked in: "You're awake? The surgery was a success, you're a boy now!"

"Huh?!?!"

Lucy was taken aback at first, then quickly looked down and reached under the covers to check her body. She found that her body was perfectly normal, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I was terrified! Which bastard played this kind of joke on me?!

Lucy looked up at the person who came in, pouting... Kira? Oh well, she didn't dare to get angry.

"What am I doing...??"

After a brief moment of reflection, Lucy finally remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness. "Oh, right! I faced off against Gray in the assessment!! How did it go?"

“You lost! You were frozen by Gray in one move and have been sleeping ever since,” Kira explained.

"Hehe... I thought so... How long have I been asleep?"

"It's been a day, and everyone's getting ready for dinner. I've come to call you!" Kira said, lifting the cover and walking out. "Come out when you're done talking!"

"Huh?! Really?! I slept for so long?!"

Inside the room, Lucy froze.

I didn't expect Gray to be so weak against outsiders, but so ruthless against his own people! No, no, no… it's best not to say things that would hinder unity…

"Are you alright, Lucy?"

"Yes! I'm fine! I'm so sorry to have worried you, Natsu."

"I'm so glad you're alright. When I saw you frozen solid by Gray, I thought you were going to die..."

Natsu's smile was as warm as a flame, reminding Lucy of the firelight she had felt in her dream, which pulled her out of darkness and cold.

Wait... a fire?!

"You didn't use fire to melt the ice off my body, did you?"

Lucy asked cautiously, unable to imagine what would happen if she were melted by fire while frozen in the air.

Even in the best-case scenario, I'd say there's damage to the nerve tissue...

"How is this possible?!"

Natsu straightened his back as if it were a given. "Although that was what I was planning to do at first, Kira said that your body was frozen solid and that it would hurt you, so I didn't use it."

"Phew...that's good..."

Hearing this, Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. However, the next moment, Natsu conjured two balls of flame in his hands and revealed a bright, innocent yet confident smile: "So I used my own magic to melt you away!"

"Huh?! Magic?" Lucy was stunned.

"Uh-huh!!"

Natsu was completely unaware of the impropriety and just kept nodding.

Three seconds later, a startled cry rang out, rousing the birds perched in the Darus Mountains: "What's the difference?! What did you do to my body while I was unconscious?!"

Lucy yelled and jumped up, grabbing Natsu by the collar and slapping him hard across the face.

clap clap clap...

"I...I also wanted to...help..."

After a long while, Lucy finally stopped: "I can't stand you! Fine, since I'm not seriously hurt, I'll forgive you this time..."

"Lucy!"

Natsu suddenly leaned close to Lucy, gazing at her with deep affection, which made her heart skip a beat, and she nervously clutched the bed sheet in her hands.

"W-what's wrong, Natsu?"

When their eyes met, Lucy felt her blood pressure spike, a blush spreading from her toes to the top of her head, her head buzzing and in complete disarray.

The atmosphere is right.

Huh? What's going on? Why is Natsu giving me that look? The atmosphere feels tense... Could he... could he be thinking...?

"Let's go eat!!"

A loud roar instantly turned Lucy's carefully cultivated hormones into cholesterol, and her slightly shy expression turned cold in an instant.

“…Oh, I see.”

Lucy, Lucy, what were you expecting just now?!