A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

The hotel was connected to the tavern, meaning the first floor was for reception and the upper floors were for accommodation. So, as soon as the group returned to the hotel, Kana, who was already quite drunk, immediately came up to them.

"So, did you encounter anyone who seemed really strong?"

This guy... he really drinks wherever he goes...

"Absolutely not!"

"I didn't see a single one who could fight!"

"They all look so weak..."

Kira, Laxus, and Natsu answered simultaneously, their eyes revealing boredom.

"We must not let our guard down!"

Makarov smiled and took a glass of ale from the passing waitress, then turned back with a serious expression: "This world is larger than you can imagine. There are many powerful mages; you just haven't encountered them yet!..."

"Tch...so nagging..."

"Really? I'm fired up!!"

"Strong? Heh... just how strong is it?"

That's true, but Kira and his two companions weren't worried. They had even encountered mages of August's caliber before, so how much stronger could the mages outside be?

Kira is the least worried. At this point, due to changes in the plot, most of the members of Sabertooth have scattered, Mermaid Heel has not yet grown up, and if you subtract the Blue Pegasus, Boa Sue Scale, and Four-Headed Hound mentioned earlier, there are very few guilds left in the entire Fiore Kingdom that can fight.

The other one is Laxus. He has been focusing on training for the past six months, and with the occasional guidance from Serena, his strength has improved by leaps and bounds.

In comparison, Natsu, Erza, Mira, and Cana have improved more slowly, but in a tournament where the overall strength is obvious, they are more than capable of winning a championship together.

"Hey!! You bunch of brats, get serious!!"

Makarov, his beard twitching, pointed at the nonchalant Kira and his two companions and shouted, "The tournament champion gets 3 million J! If you miss out because you underestimate your opponents... you know how serious that is, right?"

"3 million?? If we get it, will we get a share?"

Kira's soul-piercing attack left Makarov speechless: "Well... well... ta-da... of course there is!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the remaining five people lit up: "Really?"

Makarov frowned again, feeling the wine in his hand suddenly lose its flavor: "Really... really!"

"How many?" Kira raised an eyebrow, bringing his face close to Makarov's, relentlessly pressing for an answer.

"Ahem... Why ask so many questions?! Kira, how many times have I told you, young people should focus on practicing magic and improving their strength, not on money. It's all external stuff! Don't always think about what you've gained from the guild, think more about what you've brought to the guild..."

Kira was speechless and interrupted Makarov's motivational speech: "President, did you read 'The Magic Guild Master's Training Manual'? I wrote that book!"

What?! Such a thing actually happened?!

Makarov froze instantly, his old face turning bright red: "Isn't your pen name 'Light of Hope'? When did it become 'Money Above All'?"

"Look at the question you're asking... As a novelist, it's normal to use multiple pseudonyms, isn't it?"

"So... thirty million, how much of that do we have?"

This time it was Laxus who asked the question, and the scene of grandfather and grandson showing affection was touching.

Makarov's old face fell, his hands trembling as if he had Parkinson's disease. After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't worry, I will reward your opponents according to their strength!"

"How to say?"

"The stronger the opponent, the harder you fight, and the more money you get! If you want more money, you have to fight for it yourself!!"

Wow... That old guy's pretty shrewd!

Not to mention Kira, even Erza and the other two girls, who had only been listening from the sidelines, were shocked. After all, just a minute ago they were saying that there weren't many people who could fight in this tournament.

This isn't something we fought for; it's something our opponents fought for!

What about a minimum guarantee?

"No guarantee! I will not budge on this point!"

Makarov proudly straightened his back.

Chapter 652 The First Day of the Competition: The Grab

The Grand Magic Games will begin on July 1st!

On the mountain west of Crocus, a square arena, built with four half-body stone sculptures holding weapons at its corners, is bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder.

More than 10,000 spectators, some standing and some sitting, were enthusiastically discussing everything about today's grand event.

Guilds, mages, tournament schedules, venues... each of these things can keep the people gathered here talking for hours, even if they may not have known each other before and will never see each other again. But at this moment, they have something in common to talk about.

"So many people..."

"What a thunderous roar of applause!"

"It seems like more than 70% of the audience are mages..."

"They must be from one of the magic guilds that signed up for the competition!"

The Kingdom of Fiore has a population of about 1700 million, with mages making up less than one percent of that population. Furthermore, magic guilds are localized organizations, so each magic guild doesn't have many members.

Even Fairy Tail, the strongest magic guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, only has a little over a hundred members. Other guilds are even smaller, with dozens or even a dozen members being the norm.

"Good morning, everyone!! The grand magic tournament we've been looking forward to for half a year, the 'Grand Magic Games,' has finally begun!! I'm your announcer, Chapati Lola!!..."

Similar to the original work, the announcer for the competition is still the bald man with the wig, and the commentator Yajima, a mysterious pumpkin man who is also a pet of the competition.

"...Now, the Grand Magic Games events are being announced!!"

Inside the arena, a wide platform is paved with the simplest stones. Following the announcer's instructions, a large stone slab rises from the arena, displaying the schedule of this five-day competition.

"There are both competition events and combat events throughout the day. For the competition event, athletes can be sent out from the team at will, but they cannot be the same as each other. For the combat event, the team will be randomly selected by machine."

"But as you can see, there are a total of 66 guilds that have registered for the competition. Each guild consists of a five-person team and a substitute, which means there are a total of 330 mages!"

"There are too many participants, so there will be an elimination round on the first day of the competition! Only the guilds that advance through today's matches can continue to the next round!!"

Upon hearing this, all the mages from the participating guilds exchanged bewildered glances, and the audience buzzed with discussion. No one had expected such a turn of events. However, upon further reflection, they realized that according to the competition's established format, it was impossible for so many people to compete one-on-one, so an elimination mechanism at the outset was necessary.

"Now, the opening match of the Grand Magic Games, the 'Plunder,' begins!!!"

"Each team will have one participant. Once all 66 participants have gathered, the competition rules will be explained!!"

After the announcer's voice faded, all the participating guilds began to stir.

At the Fairy Tail headquarters, a group of mages gathered around Kira and the other six contestants to discuss the matter.

"So? The topic is 'Robbery,' who should we send?"

"Rob us? We're not robbers!" Makarov's old face scrunched up, his brow furrowed in worry, looking utterly troubled. "We're a respectable magic guild, the worst kind of thief..."

Lucy retorted, speechless, "Are you serious about that?"

Happy chimed in, covering his mouth with his paws and chuckling, his chubby cheeks puffing out: "Compared to destruction, we're definitely much less experienced when it comes to 'stealing'..."

How dare you say that?! What's there to be proud of?!

Several "#" marks appeared on Makarov's forehead, and his blood pressure instantly spiked.

Erza closed her eyes and thought carefully for a moment, then said, "Since this is the first time the event has been held, there's no way to gauge the difficulty level, and it's hard to guess the rules. But since it's a 'plundering' event, shouldn't we send the people who are best at plundering?"

That makes sense, but it raises another question—

Is there anyone among us who's good at robbing?

The air fell silent for two seconds, then everyone's eyes turned to Kira, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Kira: "..."

"What do you all mean?! Why are you all staring at me? Do you think I would steal something? Is that the kind of person you all think I am?! Even when I'm doing business, I always do equal exchange, okay?! Hey! If you keep staring, I'm going to hit you!!"

Happy floated over, patted Kira on the shoulder, and said with a hint of smugness, "Be confident, Kira! We have confidence in your moral standards in this regard."

"What did you say?!"

Kira's face darkened instantly. He grabbed the blue cat, who couldn't fly away in time, and pinched its increasingly round face, which had become from eating too much fish lately: "I think you've really gotten cocky, Happy."

If killing intent had a tangible form, Happy would already be riddled with dozens of holes by Killer's 'Eye Sword,' and countless drops of cold sweat would be pouring down his blue head: "I...I'm sorry... (rolled 'r' sound)"

"It's too late!!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

As it turns out, reckless behavior comes at a price.

After punching Happy twice, Kira felt much better: "I'm the strongest in the team! Who puts the strongest player on the field right from the start? What if an even harder question comes up later? Are you guys just going to play your strongest card right away? Are you kidding me!"

That makes sense. Besides, given Harpy's experience, the group knew they couldn't rely on the 'stealing' tactic.

Thinking of this, Mira smiled slightly: "Compared to fighting for it, there's something even more important this time, which is the 'qualification to continue the competition,' right? In other words, whether we pass this round or not will determine whether we can continue the competition. I think we should find someone with a stable personality, right?"

"Is it a safe bet...? How about I go in?"

Natsu strode forward and volunteered, hands on his hips, flames raging behind him, then he gave himself a thumbs-up, exuding a strong fighting spirit.

The guild's group of sarcastic commentators (Macao, Wakaba, Marcus, Sarusuk, Dhorel, Lucy, Happy...) immediately blushed: "Well... no matter how you look at it, Natsu, you have absolutely nothing to do with the word 'stable'..."

"Flo thinks so too."

"Eh?!?!?!"

"Do you really need to be so surprised?! Anyone could see that!"

Makarov looked at the barefoot, excited Mavis beside him: "Does the First Generation have any suggestions?"

Yes, Mavis is here too. She doesn't want to miss such a rare event, whether as the first guild leader or because of her childlike playfulness.

"Well... the data is lacking, so it's a bit difficult to calculate..." Upon hearing the inquiry, Mavis's expression immediately turned awkward. "However, I suggest sending someone stronger up there!"

What kind of advice is this?! It's practically nothing at all!! So all that 'fairy strategist' stuff is a lie!!

"Speaking of which, First Generation, is it alright for you to suddenly come running over here with us like this?"

Makarov sighed, then seemed to realize something, glanced around warily, and leaned close to Mebis, whispering, "Won't it cause problems if we leave that person in Magnolia?"

He was naturally referring to Jelf. Given Jelf's reputation, it was hard not to worry about the consequences of him staying in his stronghold. Others shared this concern, so they all turned their attention to Mavis.

"Don't worry, Magnolia will be fine! Because he came along too! Oh, and August is here too!"