A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

It was only then that Chapati came to her senses and finally realized that what was happening before her eyes was not an illusion, but the result of a real duel. She also finally remembered that she was the commentator for this battle.

He immediately grabbed the microphone in a flurry and loudly announced, "B-B-B match is over! The winners are Team Kira: Kira Hopelight and Cana Alperona!!"

"And so, the winner of this best-of-seven series of matches between two teams of 22 is Team Kira! They will qualify to participate in the Fiore Kingdom's banquet tonight!!"

Two announcements were made, revealing two different results. This voice, filled with bewilderment, finally jolted the audience out of their shock, and then endless applause and cheers erupted, filling the entire venue.

In the audience, tens of thousands of spectators and mages were in a noisy uproar. The sounds of arguing and cursing mingled together, giving the entire venue an unusual vitality.

"Wow! Kira-sama is amazing!!!"

"Thai pants are hot!!!"

"Although I don't know what happened just now, I was deeply shocked!!"

"Hiss—! This kid is actually this terrifying?!"

"We won! We won!! They won, and I won too! Pay me back!!"

"It ended so hastily, could it be a fixed match?!"

The Muggles who didn't understand magic could only shout, while the mages who did know magic, especially the important mages of the guilds, were all dumbfounded, sweating profusely, staring blankly at Kira, who was acting calmly in the arena, their hearts already churning with turmoil.

Who am I? Where am I? What did I just see?

Kira ended the battle in an instant?! He took down 'Fairy Queen' Erza and 'Demon King' Mira in a flash?! What was he doing for the previous twenty minutes? Was he putting on an exhibition match?!

Most importantly, he simply let two beautiful, delicate, and youthful girls fall face-first to the ground without even helping them up!

Is this what you call a man?! Is this what you call a companion?!

"What are you still standing there for, Kana? Come over here and lend a hand to help lift it!"

Kira waved to Cana, who was staring at him in disbelief not far away. Then, while helping Mira up from her demon form and back to her original form, he complained, "Erza's armor is too heavy. Let the staff carry her. You take her sword and halberd with you."

"Ah? Oh..."

Cana seemed to still be immersed in the battle and hadn't recovered yet. After hearing Kira's words, she just nodded blankly and did as he said, which didn't seem very smart.

After the two left the arena, escorted Erza and Mira to the lounge, and returned to the guild's territory, the audience was still in a daze, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

In fact, Kira had simply used spatial displacement magic to instantly teleport behind Erza and Mira, and then used maximum sleep magic on them. However, his actions were too unexpected, and the magic was unimaginably powerful, which is why he was able to kill them instantly.

"You really do manage to surprise me every time..."

Faced with Makarov's inexplicable gaze and words that were neither praise nor blame, Kira simply smiled and then humbly waved his hand, replying, "It's nothing, it's all what I should do."

Makarov was already used to Kira's unserious behavior, but he just said with a sigh, "You've made Erza and Mira lose face in front of the entire Kingdom of Fiore and the mages of all the major magic guilds. They'll definitely come after you when they wake up, and then you'll know what trouble is!"

The old man seemed quite gloating?

Kira paid no attention to the trouble Makarov mentioned, simply straightening his back and saying firmly, "As the eldest brother, my responsibility naturally includes letting my sisters experience the wickedness of the magical world, and also showing them how vast this world is, how powerful the outsiders are, and how awesome our family is..."

The last sentence must be what you really think!

"Never mind, it's your problem anyway!"

Makarov sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation, and then said earnestly, "After we return from this Grand Magic Games, I will abdicate and hand over the position of Fourth Chairman to you..."

"What's wrong? Why the long face? Haven't you been clamoring for my position all this time?"

Kira: "Heh...heh..."

I did say I wanted the position of Fourth Chairman, and I'm confident I could do it well, but the way you're saying this now, in this tone and phrasing, is making me very uneasy! Are you sure you can still return to Magnolia?

Thinking about what he heard from Wendy (number 5) yesterday—that on July 7th, 7-X786, dragons, humans, and demons would appear at the Grand Magic Games, forming a massive battle at the Dragon King Festival—Kira now felt uneasy about all the foreshadowing.

"It seems... to be tomorrow?"

Chapter 734 Popularity Grouping

So far, 'Blue Pegasus' and 'Heart of the Dragon' have been eliminated one after another. There are four mages from 'Fairy Tail', two mages from 'Emperor's Shield' and 'Witch's Sin', and one mage from 'Boa Princess Scale', 'Four-Headed Hound' and 'Raven Tail' remaining on the field, for a total of eleven.

It was only then that the public belatedly realized how accurate it was to say that Fairy Tail was the number one magic guild in the Kingdom of Fiore.

"So, how lavish do you think the banquet tonight is?"

Back at their position, Kira had already entered a fantasy phase, his smug expression infuriating the group of mages: "You... you're still thinking about tonight's banquet?!"

"Why are you not in the mood?"

Mages from other guilds either successfully advanced but their teams lost and they couldn't attend the banquet, or their teams won but they were eliminated. However, they won the competition and were able to enjoy the royal banquet. Isn't that something to be happy about?

Marcao, Wakaba, and a group of middle-aged men approached Kira with dark faces, glaring at him angrily: "Think carefully, what did you just do to Mira-chan?!"

"Huh? What did I do??"

Kira was taken aback. Recalling the whole thing, he suddenly realized, "It was just a sleep spell, I didn't even use any real force. Why are you old geezers in such a hurry?"

"Sleep magic? That's not what we're talking about!"

"In that situation just now, you actually let cute Mira land face down first?"

Oh, I see...

"Don't worry, Wendy's here, you won't get disfigured."

"Is this about getting disfigured?! You brat!!"

The older men were furious, but Gildarts was all smiles at Kira, patting him on the shoulder and laughing heartily: "Kira, you did a great job! You know how to help my daughter climb the ranks, all my years of teaching you were worth it..."

You didn't seem to teach me anything back then... Oh, wait, there was one thing!

"Yes, yes... Thank you for taking me, who was not even 12 years old, to the women's bathhouse and teaching me how to hide underwater..."

After a period of noise, the competition host finally announced the rules for today's official competition.

"Popularity! Popularity! And more popularity!!"

"The most important thing in this Grand Magic Games is popularity!"

"Today, we will divide the remaining 11 mages into four groups based on each mage's popularity to determine the top four in this Grand Magic Games!!"

The Grand Magic Games have progressed to a point where it's no longer just about choosing the 'Number One Magic Guild,' because anyone who glances at the remaining number of mages in each guild on the crystal screen knows which guild is the Number One Magic Guild.

But since the battle was supposed to last seven days, it couldn't just end like this. So Sai Fang decided to simultaneously select a 'Number One Mage of the Kingdom of Fiore' to increase their fame.

Of course, they knew that the title was exaggerated. The powerful mages, such as the guild leaders like Makarov, the well-established mages like Gildarts, and several of the Ten Wizard Saints from the Kingdom of Fiore, were stronger than most of the mages participating in the Grand Magic Games.

But what can they do if they don't participate in the Grand Magic Games?

Furthermore, the 'Ten Wizard Saints' belong to the entire Ishgard, and now only 'Fiore the First' has been chosen. The difference in rank between the two is obvious just from the names themselves.

As things stand, the title of 'Fiore Number One' is definitely going to go to Kira, because he is the strongest among all the current mages!

Previously, Kira was called number one, but those were accolades from magic newspapers and entertainment news. Now, with the involvement and witnessing of the kingdom's official authorities, it is a truly legitimate title.

This is actually a way for the royal family to enhance its influence.

The organizers had already prepared for the 'Mage Popularity Vote' event a few days in advance. Every day after the competition ended and the audience left the venue, some people would vote in a certain area outside the venue. Each guild and each mage was represented. Now, they were simply selecting a portion of these individuals and comparing them based on popularity.

The organizers originally intended to keep it as a backup, but the number of people who stayed in the past few days was too large, and yesterday's heavy rain caused the final showdown to be postponed. The original plan could not be used, so they had to use it for the time being.

"Should the audience's preference determine the outcome of the competition? Shouldn't it have been like this from the beginning? And it should have been even more emphasized..."

Upon hearing the host's words, Kira scoffed, "But this means someone as handsome and strong as me is definitely going to be incredibly busy today! Luckily, I have plenty of magic and my body can last a long time..."

This is the trouble of being famous!

Kira looked up at the competition format on the crystal screen. The 11 people were divided into four groups, with two people in one group and three people in three groups. The winners of each group would become the top four, and the semi-finals and finals would be held on the last day.

He didn't know the exact popularity of each mage, but he was certain that the organizers had intervened in the competition and controlled the direction of the Grand Magic Games.

This is normal, just like those talent shows. If the organizers don't intervene, the competition will become uncontrollable. If the script falls apart, it won't be entertaining, and if it's not entertaining, there will be no viewers, and they won't make money.

What is mere fame compared to making money?

Amidst the clamor and preparations, half an hour later, the official competition finally began.

"Now, based on the popularity vote, let's begin the first battle!!"

"The duo, 'Fairy Tail' Kira Hopelight versus 'Four-Headed Hound' Pakas!"

Upon hearing this matchup list, the audience immediately understood the organizers' strategy: by placing a clearly powerful mage in each group and eliminating the weaker mages, they could ensure the excitement of tomorrow's semi-finals and finals.

This is how most competitions in the world are conducted, so the audience didn't think much of it. However, Kira's performance at this Grand Magic Games was so overwhelming that the outcome of the match was completely predictable and not very interesting.

Although Pakas' strength is not bad, it is obvious to everyone that his success in reaching this point in the Grand Magic Games is largely due to luck.

To be honest, Pakas is only an ace among the 'Four-Headed Hounds'. Looking at the entire Fiore Kingdom, let alone 'Fairy Tail', he might not even be able to beat the members of 'Sin of Witches', not to mention the dark horse of this competition, the mysterious 'Emperor's Shield', and the old-established magic guild, 'Boa Hancock's Scales', whose reputation was previously second only to 'Fairy Tail'.

The 'Four-Headed Hound' is a long-established magic guild, but their performance at this Grand Magic Games was only so-so. Perhaps for this reason, the organizers arranged for their last member, who is also their ace, Pacas, to face the number one seed, Kira, in order to give them a dignified exit.

Kira on the field had already engaged in combat with Pakas, and the audience off the field had no interest in watching the match at all. They had already seen Kira fight Erza and Mira and were satisfied with that. Watching it now would only diminish their admiration for Kira.

This situation is like seeing a favorite singer sing a song that isn't very good; it only lowers your impression of them.

So what were the audience doing during this time?

The answer is that the 'pre-selected' players were guessed in the subsequent matchups.

"First and foremost, there's definitely Jurasang; his strength is beyond question!"

"And there's Laxus from Fairy Tail!! Have you all forgotten that on the second day, he shattered the Battle Bond of that Demon God of War with a single punch! Just based on that one punch, his strength is no less than Jura's!"

"That leaves only the last group. Who do you all think will be the final four? Urutiasan, Nazsan, Kanasan, and Agilsan have all been outstanding in the previous matches!"

"Could it still be mages from 'Fairy Tail'? Three of them are in the top four, it's ridiculous. If that's the case, they might as well make it an internal 'Fairy Tail' war..."

"I think it's definitely Ultear. Don't forget who's behind 'The Sin of the Witch,' she's bound to be in the top four."

Hmm? That makes sense!

Upon hearing this speculation, the audience was startled: they had almost forgotten this—'The Sin of the Witch' was a member of the royal family! Who would dare disrespect the royal family? They probably didn't want to stay in the Kingdom of Fiore anymore!

Chapter 735 Sandstorm and Thunder

"Match over! Kira wins!!"

What?! That's it?!