A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

After Gerald finished speaking, he noticed the different expressions on the faces of the people in front of him and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

The group shook their heads frantically: "It's nothing...it's nothing...we just don't think Kira holds a grudge!"

"Exactly... Kira is amazing! He's handsome, gentle, rich, and incredibly strong—he's practically the ideal boyfriend!"

"We were able to escape from 'Oración Seis' and 'Heart of the Devil', and sign a 'forgiveness agreement' with the royal family, all thanks to him. It was because of 'The Sin of the Witch' that we were able to reunite with our younger siblings..."

"Kira even gave me an angel summon! He's both talented and handsome!!"

"He also cured Gina's illness; I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life!!"

"Wendy wrote to me that Killasan often sponsors children in orphanages and is a very kind person!"

"If it weren't for Fairy Tail showing mercy, our Seven Kin would have been completely wiped out on Tenrou Island. We're only alive now because of his leniency..."

Gerald grew increasingly puzzled: "But don't you guys often speak ill of him? That he's greedy, lecherous, vengeful, arrogant, narcissistic, has a twisted sense of humor, and is childish?"

"Nonsense!!"

The men's expressions changed drastically, and they shouted in unison, completely stunning Gerald.

After a moment's hesitation, Gerald, still unwilling to give up, cautiously asked, "What nonsense are you spouting? Aren't you the ones who say he 'doesn't hold grudges because he retaliated on the spot,' 'is twenty years old and still hasn't dated,' and 'spends at least eight hours a day thinking about making money and playing pranks'?"

"Sora, don't you always complain that the 'angels' Kira created for you aren't pretty enough?"

“Urudia, don’t you always complain about him demanding money from you and making you do unpaid work? And because you’re often away, Melty is always distracted at work.”

"Eric and Lisa complained the most, didn't they? Almost everything you said just now was from the two of you..."

Gerald noticed that the more he talked, the uglier the expressions on the faces of the people in front of him became, like children who had made a mistake and were afraid of being scolded by their parents.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

The group remained silent, their heads bowed slightly, their hands and feet trembling, looking apprehensive.

Seeing this, Gerald's lips curled into a slight smile, and beneath his hood, a smug, cunning grin appeared: 'Heh... if nothing unexpected happens, Kira will be standing behind me, right?'

"These guys clearly tricked me into saying bad things about Kira so they could get me beaten up! Too bad, too bad. You've tricked me so many times before, I've seen through your little schemes! Now I'll say what you guys usually say in the guild, and let's see who gets beaten up!"

Feeling he had acted out his part, Gerald slowly turned around, intending to pretend he had unexpectedly discovered Kira.

However, when he turned around, the hidden smile and feigned confusion froze on his face, because there was no one behind him!

'Wait a minute! Where's Kira? Could it be that no one was here from the beginning? Then why were they panicking just now?'

When Gerald turned around again, wanting to ask the others for the reason, he saw that they were looking at him with disdain, as if they were looking at a rotting pile of garbage or a cockroach that feeds on garbage.

"Geralt, I never expected you to be this kind of person!"

"Stunned? Disappointed?? You must have thought Kira was behind you, right?! That fake acting was hilarious!"

"Trying to outdo us in acting? Do you think you're one of the 'Ten Saints' in this area?"

"I never expected that, not only would you not help cover for us in that situation, but your first reaction would be to kick us when we're down. Your behavior has really disappointed us. We treated you like a leader, and this is how you treat us!!"

"Merty-chan, you must remember this: the more handsome a man is, the more cunning he is, and the more likely he is to lie and deceive people! See, this test can prove it right away."

Lisa, Sora, and the others mocked Gerald's self-righteousness and treacherous nature to their hearts' content, showing him no respect whatsoever.

The more they talked, the uglier Gerald's face became. He had finally figured it out: from the very beginning, these guys' strange expressions were all an act, designed to trap him and then mock him mercilessly at this moment!

"They've teamed up to trick me again, and this time they even dragged little Melty along. How... insidious!"

Gerald was very unhappy at this moment because he had lost this battle of wits again, which meant he would have to treat them to a big meal again.

That's right. After two years of getting along, this kind of mutual sabotage has become a daily routine for 'The Sin of Witches'.

Their rule was that 'the one who gets tricked treats the other to a meal,' and Gerald, the seemingly clever leader, was always the one who suffered the most setbacks.

"Alright, alright... I was wrong this time. I shouldn't have tricked you guys, okay?"

"Hmph! Now you know you're wrong? What did you do wrong?"

"I shouldn't have kicked him when he was down!"

Not satisfied with that, the group pressed their advantage: "What about all the bad things they said about Kira?"

Gerald's face darkened, and he said stiffly, "It has nothing to do with you guys, I'm the one who said it, okay?"

As soon as they finished speaking, the group of people immediately dropped their smug expressions and returned to their previous trembling state.

"You heard that, didn't you, Kira? Gerald has admitted that he was the one who said all those bad things! It has nothing to do with us!!"

"Yes, I heard it perfectly!"

Upon hearing that incredibly familiar voice, Gerald was completely stunned. His brain went blank, and he stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what had happened.

It wasn't until a familiar hand landed on his shoulder that he finally realized he had been tricked by these people yet again.

So their previous expressions weren't fake; Kira really was behind me...

Gerald broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

Three minutes later, everyone in 'The Sin of the Witch' was bruised and battered, including Melty.

Kira clapped his hands, feeling completely refreshed: "You guys never learn anything good, all you do is scheme and plot against each other, you're corrupting the children!"

"We're mages, if there's a problem, we should just go for it. Why are you being so calculating?"

"Alright, Kira!"

Gerald, with a black eye, coughed awkwardly. "Let's get back to business. What brings you here?"

"No, it's nothing."

Kira shook his head. "I was just worried that Mark Beth and Eric wouldn't be able to beat Brian, so I came here to cheer you on."

Last night, members of 'Sin of Witch' and 'Fairy Tail' had a gathering.

After a few rounds of drinks, the group started talking about "Raven's Tail" and Brian. Then, that damned Eric, perhaps because he was drunk and not thinking straight, started planting flags like crazy.

"If I run into Brian in this tournament, I'll have to settle things once and for all."

"The princess has agreed to reduce our three-year labor reform to two years. We'll be free after the Grand Magic Games, and then we'll go to Magnolia and marry Ginana."

【…】

"We just talked about it last night, and we were matched today. How could I not be anxious?"

Snapped!

Kira slapped Eric hard on the head, scolding him with exasperation, "Tell me, aren't you just being a smart aleck? You're usually so quick-witted, how could you make such a stupid mistake at a time like this..."

The people present all knew that Kira was a believer in things like Murphy's Law and death flags, so they were used to his behavior.

"Alright, alright... if you keep hitting him, he'll go crazy..." Everyone quickly stepped forward to stop Kira's rampage. Although they knew it was his way of showing concern, Eric's face was really swollen.

The short but joyful time passed quickly, and the 10-minute halftime break ended, after which the organizers finished repairing the arena.

"The fourth Duel of Two Blades is about to begin. All four contestants, please enter the arena as soon as possible!!"

"The fourth match..."

Listening to the announcements playing on repeat throughout the venue, the mages of 'Sin of the Witch' spared no effort in cheering on their two companions.

"We have to win!! Markbeth, Eric!!"

"Gina's watching you from our side, so remember to show your most handsome and dashing side! By the way, there are a lot of guys in the guild chasing after her lately!!"

"Hey...you've slapped her face like that, where's the coolness in that?! Also, remember to tell me the information of those who harassed her after I'm done!!"

Kira completely ignored the second half of his sentence: "You don't understand, the key is to have 'love'! Right, Richard?"

"Of course! Love is the most beautiful thing in the world..."

Clang clang clang!!

"The fourth doubles match!"

"'Raven's Tail' Brian and Jerome VS 'Sin of the Witch' Markbeth and Eric!!"

"Let's begin!!"

Chapter 693 Eric and Mark Beth's Perfect Match

"It's starting, it's starting..."

"Is it finally here? The duel between the former dark guilds, the 'Oración Seis'..."

"Speaking of which, although they were all bad people in the past, I now support 'The Sin of the Witch' more..."

"That's normal, isn't it? After all, they're a whitewashing guild certified by the Fiore royal family, while 'Raven's Tail'... their looks are just too low!"

Amidst the cacophony of conversation, some voiced a very honest reason: for the general public, whether or not to support a magic guild depends on three things: first, its righteousness; second, its appearance; and third, its strength.

So far, the 'Raven's Tail' guild's sense of justice has not been recognized by the audience, the guild members are not good-looking, and although their strength is not bad, they keep losing, so their popularity naturally cannot be raised.

In this respect, 'Azure Pegasus', which has been struggling since the start of the competition, still ranks in the top three in popularity because of their status as the Light Guild and their unparalleled good looks. Even though their current performance is tied for last place with 'Raven's Tail', their popularity remains firmly in the top three.

"It's okay if we lose the game, the important thing is to participate! As long as we have popularity, that's enough!"

Bob, the president of 'Azure Pegasus', was wearing a long pink dress, heavy makeup, and wings on his back. He smiled and comforted his children.

"Thank you so much!!"

"terribly sorry!!"

The group of people were moved to tears and bowed to their guild leader in unison, acting as if they were family.

When Kira returned to the guild's base, he heard Natsu and the others discussing intensely the battle that had already begun in the arena.

Happy flapped his wings and came running up: "Hey, Kira! Who do you think will win?"

Kira pondered for a few seconds before revealing his thoughts: "I don't know. In terms of raw strength, 'Raven's Tail' is stronger, but I personally hope 'Witch's Sin' will win."

"Huh?? Kira doesn't think highly of Markbeth and Eric?"

"Of course! Brian was once the president of the Oración Seis, his strength is at least above the level of the Ten Wizard Saints, not to mention he has an ally. It will be too difficult for the two of them to win the match!"

After a brief analysis, the tone shifted, "Unless there's some kind of off-field motivation, like having Gina cheer for Eric during a crucial final move, or if he suddenly unleashes his full potential and turns the tide, right?"

"Um... is it really possible to achieve this just by showing support?"

"Of course! Don't underestimate the power of love!!"