A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Oh, by the way! How did your and Juvia's assessments go?"

Lucy suddenly remembered that she had been frozen unconscious by Gray, but what about Juvia?

"Juvia is in the same situation as you. She was defeated by Natsu in one move and is still unconscious. But don't worry, her constitution is special, so her injuries are not as severe as yours!"

"What?!" Lucy was stunned.

These words weren't spoken by Natsu, but came from outside the tent—it was Kira's voice.

"..."

So this guy didn't leave; he was eavesdropping outside... Luckily, Natsu didn't say anything inappropriate! Otherwise, if he had overheard something Natsu shouldn't have said and it spread throughout the guild, then...

Just thinking about it makes me blush!

After a moment of silence, Kira's voice rang out again from outside the tent: "By the way, you and Juvia are unable to continue the assessment, so this is where you'll end this year."

"Huh?! I'm eliminated? I just took a nap and the assessment is over?!"

"Yes!"

Damn it! I'm so unwilling to accept this!! But...

Although she was a little disappointed, and although this development seemed to be somewhat different from the rules she had heard this morning, Lucy knew in her heart that her strength was not as good as Natsu and Gray's, and even compared to Juvia, she was about the same. It was normal that she did not pass the test.

Wait a minute! Since Juvia and I were eliminated, then Natsu and Gray should be the ones advancing to S-class, right? So who won in the end?

Thinking of this, Lucy immediately looked at Natsu: "Natsu, have you and Gray decided a winner yet?"

“No.” Natsu shook his head.

Kira's voice came again: "With you and Juvia in this state, how can they possibly concentrate on the assessment? They've simply postponed it."

How long are you going to eavesdrop outside...?

Lucy was deeply puzzled and frustrated by Kira's behavior: "If you're going to eavesdrop, can't you just keep quiet? He wanted to talk to Natsu alone, but now he's too embarrassed to say it..."

After silently mourning for the ups and downs of the test for three seconds, Lucy crossed her arms and stretched vigorously, showing off her impressive figure to Natsu without any restraint. Then she got up and got out of bed, lifting the tent flap.

"Sigh... never mind, let's go out, Natsu!"

Before she could finish speaking, Lucy was stunned.

Outside the tent, there was not only Kira, but also Happy, Mira, Erza, Levy, Wendy, Makarov, Brandish... They were all piled on top of each other like a human pyramid, each with a maternal smile, eavesdropping. Now, as soon as the tent flap was lifted, their actions were immediately exposed to the person in charge.

Lucy immediately had a string of complaints running through her mind: How come I never noticed before that everyone in this guild loves to eavesdrop on other people's private conversations...?

"What...what are you doing??"

"I've come to call you for dinner!"

Instead of feeling embarrassed at being caught, the group looked at Lucy with amusement, having overheard her conversation with Natsu.

Lucy's face twitched: Can't you come up with a more plausible reason?

"Do we need so many people to eat together?"

"We're just worried that Natsu won't be able to call out to them by himself..."

On the fourth day of the S-class assessment, Lucy was frozen solid by Gray's attack and took half a day to recover; Juvia was also instantly killed by Natsu's attack and almost evaporated into water vapor.

Although both of them were eventually saved, Natsu and Gray really went all out against each other's girlfriends this time, making a fierce battle inevitable.

……

The following day, the final battle took place: Natsu vs. Gray.

"The assessment has been delayed again and again; today is the fifth day!"

"It's all because you guys keep causing me trouble..."

Makarov complained, saying he had thought he could preside over a grand and almost perfect assessment before retiring, and witness the birth of another new star in the guild, but he never expected so many things to happen.

"The trouble started on the third day, so it's all the president's fault..."

"What did you say?!"

Meanwhile, the mages were buzzing with discussion about the outcome of Natsu and Gray's battle today.

"So, who do you think will win?"

"Should we open for trading?"

"Hmph! The S-level assessment is such a serious matter, why are you opening a betting pool?! ...I'll bet 1 J to liven things up!"

"Juvia supports Lord Gray!!"

"Natsu will definitely win!"

"Ice-based magic is just as powerful as fire!"

The crowd argued fiercely, each sticking to their own version of events, but very few actually placed bets.

Kira clutched a banknote in one hand and kept scraping it lightly in his palm. He looked at Natsu and Gray beside him, who were fully prepared for battle, and his sapphire-like eyes gleamed.

"These two have always been evenly matched... I wonder if this time, risking everything on the S-rank assessment, will unleash their deeper potential..."

"Natsu and Gray's potential? I'm really looking forward to it!"

Erza has always treated these two as her younger brothers. They haven't grown up to be particularly well-behaved, but at least they haven't disappointed her in terms of character and strength.

"With their combined strength, they might even surpass us!"

Whether he can surpass her or not is another matter, but since he is her younger brother and also her close teammate, Erza will definitely praise him to the skies.

The "we" she referred to were naturally the S-class mages present.

Mira smiled and tilted her head: "I'm also really looking forward to their performance today!"

As the gentlest and most understanding older sister in the guild, who has always taken great care of her younger siblings since childhood, Mira naturally doesn't hold back her expectations for Natsu and Gray. However, her tilted head and slight smile seem to have a hint of cunning, as if she is saying "I'm really looking forward to it" on the surface, while secretly thinking "it's still a long way off" in her heart.

"They still have a long way to go!"

Laxus was as arrogant as ever. After making a sarcastic remark, he turned his head and pretended to look at the scenery in the distance, but his eyes were still secretly observing the two figures who were rubbing their hands together.

"I think Laxus is right. At least they've surpassed Cana, which is enough..."

"What did you say?!"

Enraged by this, Cana grabbed her drink and threw it at Kira. "Damn Kira! When are you going to stop mocking my 'S-class title'?! Even if I'm not as good as you guys, I earned it through my own strength and luck!!"

"Exactly... Don't say that, Kira! Our Cana-chan has already tried her best!!"

"Don't call me Kana-chan!! It's disgusting, you stinky old man!!"

"Hey……"

Erza noticed the sudden sigh and looked at the person who sighed curiously: "What's wrong, Mira?"

"No, it's nothing! It's just that I feel like something's missing from this battle..."

Kira, on a sudden inspiration, said, "It's 'Lucky Kiss'!"

"Huh?? A lucky kiss?"

"Yes! It's like in fairy tales, where before the male lead and the second male lead duel, their female companions give them a kiss as a blessing for their victory..."

"What fairy tale would contain such a thing?! Are you reading a non-serious fairy tale book?!"

Mira, however, thought Kira's words made a lot of sense, and slammed her fist in realization: "Ah! Now that you mention it..."

"Hey! You didn't actually believe that, did you, Mira?"

What are you saying! Does it matter whether I believe it or not? The important thing is that I want to enjoy the gossip and support my favorite couple!!

Mira ignored Erza's shock and, following Kira's lead, said in a pretentious tone, "Oh dear! If we're going to give Natsu and Gray a 'lucky kiss,' who should go?"

Could you have acted any more convincingly? Your eye contact was way too obvious!

Kira questions Milla's acting skills for the first time; he had previously believed Milla to be a highly talented actress...

Fortunately, Kira was not disappointed by his like-minded companions. After a brief exchange of glances, they said in unison, "It's definitely Lucy and Juvia!"

Excellent! I am not alone on this path!

At this moment, the S-class mages present achieved a tacit understanding.

Only one Laxus was a loner and didn't join the group of onlookers.

Hmph! I'll kick him out of the group chat later!

Chapter 614 The Final Winner

The four people involved were right next to them. Hearing that these people were either joking with them or about to joking with them, they couldn't help but lose their serious expressions.

Lucy and Gray, who were both intelligent and emotionally intelligent, understood the others' hints, but one was too embarrassed to kiss in public and the other was too embarrassed to be kissed in public, so they both blushed.

Juvia behaved completely differently from them. The guild's older brothers and sisters set up a ladder for her, this infatuated girl who had fallen in love, so how could she not take advantage of it?

"Juvia is the one to offer Lord Gray a blessed kiss! No one can take it from Juvia!!"

"Come on, Lord Gray! For your victory, let Juvia give you a 'victory kiss'!!!"

If it were Pizza Hut, Gray would accept it for the sake of filling his stomach, but a 'victory kiss'... no way!

A real man should protect himself!

"no need!"

In contrast, Natsu seemed much more naive: "Oh, that sounds amazing!! I'm telling you, Lucy! Give me your 'victory kiss'!!"

"What?! No!!"

Lucy blushed instantly and hurriedly turned her head away from the others. Her intuition told her that the group of people behind her were definitely looking at her meaningfully.

"Huh?? Why??" Natsu sounded extremely disappointed.

"No reason!! No means no!!"

"What a stingy person..."

Is this a matter of being stingy or not?!

Before Lucy could even speak, she heard laughter behind her, including "Oh ho ho ho" sounds, and people talking louder than anyone else, pretending to suppress their laughter.