A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Natsu grinned excitedly, his face beaming and his eyes sparkling: "Look, since we can't go back now anyway, let's just treat this as a training trip and have an adventure here while we're at it!!"

"Oh, oh, oh, that sounds really interesting!!"

"Right, right?? And that guy who used smoke magic yesterday seemed pretty strong, let's set a small goal for now: defeat him!!"

The uncle who uses smoke magic that Natsu mentioned is actually Smoker.

He didn't quite understand the concept of Devil Fruits, only assuming that the other party had a similar constitution to Juvia. However, compared to water, smoke was more troublesome for Natsu, because when fire burned, it would definitely be accompanied by a lot of smoke.

In other words, the stronger your fire burns, the stronger your opponent becomes.

His elementalized body makes him immune to physical attacks. In other places, Natsu could fight by increasing his magic output, but this is a town, and a very large one at that. If he causes a lot of damage, there will be no council members or Makarov to clean up the mess for him.

"Natsu, according to them, that power comes from eating something called a Devil Fruit, not magic!"

"Really? Hahaha... Whatever!!"

Chapter 802 Thank you for treating me to dinner, as compensation...

Just as Natsu and Happy knew, one second they were in the guild as usual, starting a fight on some random excuse, and the moment they destroyed the guild, they were inexplicably transported to another world, the world of One Piece.

In reality, this is the 'anomaly' of World 7—it will transfer people to another world.

Coincidentally, Natsu wasn't the only one who traveled to the pirate world. Everyone in Magnolia with magical powers was a victim of this incident, only they were transported to different places.

East China Sea, Cocosia Village.

Eight years ago, a group of fishmen arrived and enslaved all the inhabitants, and the island's vitality vanished without a trace.

"The houses here are so strange..." Lucy wandered aimlessly through the village, jotting down her observations with the pen and paper she carried with her.

"Why did I end up in a place like this? And why am I all alone? Is this really a summon from another world??"

Half a day had passed since she woke up from her sleep to find herself here without knowing why. Although she had arrived in a completely unfamiliar place, Lucy had extensive travel experience. In the two years she had been a mage, she had been to all sorts of places and seen all sorts of scenery. She also had some experience in geographical reconnaissance.

Therefore, in just half a day, she had a general understanding of the situation in her place: a small island in the sea, inhabited by a group of ordinary people who do not know magic, and then... a group of villains who are neither human nor fish, called 'fishmen', rule over the place.

"It's like a fairy tale adventure... If I could write down the stories here, I'd definitely become a famous novelist throughout the entire Kingdom of Fiore!!"

Thinking of this, Lucy couldn't help but feel secretly delighted, but soon her expression suddenly froze: "Wait! I remember Kira wrote an adventure novel with a similar setting, didn't he? I've kind of forgotten..."

"Come to think of it, I haven't read many of Kira's novels before? Oh well, I'll just write down what I've seen and heard. It'll definitely come in handy later! After all, writing is about gaining more knowledge and experience!"

Glug—!

After talking to herself for a while, Lucy suddenly heard a piercing scream from her stomach, and at the same time, she felt an overwhelming sense of weakness.

"Ugh, I'm hungry." Lucy sighed helplessly.

Normally, when they go to work, they bring two or three days' worth of food and water, but this time travel came too suddenly. Now, besides the clothes she's wearing, all she has left is her keychain. She doesn't even have any money... She did bring some money, but she knows it won't be useful in this world. Just recently, she saw some fish-men extorting villagers and taking a kind of paper money called Bailey from them.

Lucy was furious. Her upbringing didn't allow her to just sit there and watch innocent people being bullied. But Lucy wasn't stupid. She knew she was all alone, weak and powerless, and had been hungry all day, so she had no strength left. Meanwhile, the other side was not only physically strong but also numerous, and had become a powerful force in the area. If she acted rashly, she would only alert them.

Besides, this is only a temporary solution. Even if I rush up and teach those fishmen a lesson, driving them away temporarily, what then? They will definitely retaliate fiercely against these defenseless villagers, and their lives will only get worse. The only way is to find Natsu and the others and completely eradicate all the fishmen here, once and for all!

"Until I find a way back, I can only find a place to stay here! But where can I find a place to stay here..."

Um?and many more!

Lucy suddenly mimicked Natsu, taking two deep breaths into the air, her eyes lighting up immediately: "This is... the smell of food?!"

Three minutes later, following the scent wafting in the air, Lucy arrived at the door of a small house filled with orange trees, but hesitated as she stood there.

"Isn't it too rude to just walk in and freeload?" Lucy was so hungry that she was swaying unsteadily, and even her long blonde hair had lost some of its luster as it swayed.

Just then, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her. Lucy felt a blackout before her eyes, her head spin, and she fell backward.

Bang!

What caught Lucy wasn't the cold floor, but a soft embrace, though not as big as her own. In the last moment before she closed her eyes, she saw a head of short blue hair.

After an unknown amount of time, Lucy suddenly threw off the covers and woke up in bed with a start.

"You're awake? Get up and eat something!"

A gentle voice rang out, and Lucy looked in the direction of the voice to see a girl who looked about her age.

The girl had short blue hair tied with a red string, cheap light pink lipstick on her lips, and wore an apricot-yellow vest that was probably too small for her. She wore faded blue trousers and flip-flops.

'They don't seem to come from a wealthy family, but their voice is very gentle; they seem like a very caring person…'

Once she regained consciousness, Lucy asked directly, "Am I still a girl?"

Huh? What kind of person would ask such a question the first thing after waking up? What have you been through in the past? Have you ever seen a case where a girl woke up from a coma and turned into a boy? Or are you actually a boy, but used some method to turn into a girl, and are you worried that you'll revert to your original form after fainting?

Nojiko was completely taken aback by Lucy's strange question. After hesitating for two seconds, she said, "Uh... if you were originally a girl... you probably still are now..."

Lucy tucked her hands under the covers and felt herself up and down. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with her body, she breathed a sigh of relief, then belatedly exclaimed, "Oh no, my keys!!"

"It's on the bedside table."

This time, Nojiko didn't hesitate. As if she had expected it, she quickly replied, "That's something very important to you, isn't it? You held onto it tightly even when you were starving..."

Lucy gave an awkward smile: "Of course they're important! They're my family and my partners!!"

Nojiko: "..."

Now we can be sure that this little girl has something wrong with her brain!

In fact, Nojiko is only 20 years old this year, the same age as Lucy. However, because the average height of people in the One Piece world is much higher than that of people in the Fairy Tail world, even the ordinary Nojiko is 10 centimeters taller than Lucy, who is a mage. In addition, Nojiko is used to being the older sister, so she subconsciously feels that she is older than Lucy.

"Um... my name is Lucy! Lucy Heartfilia!!"

"Just call me Nokiko."

Lucy got up and followed Nojiko out of the bedroom, but when she saw the environment of the house, she suddenly rejected an idea that she had just come to believe.

Imagine this: a detached house situated on the edge of a village, with a thriving orange grove outside. Its location is both secluded from the hustle and bustle and convenient for daily shopping. While the house may appear simple, it is fully equipped with all the necessary amenities…

'Hmm...it seems I'm much poorer than her!! If someone like her is considered poor, then what am I?'

Led by Nojiko, the two arrived at the kitchen, where four dishes and a soup, along with two sets of bowls and chopsticks, were neatly arranged on the table, making Lucy's heart flutter.

"Sit down and eat."

"Thank you so much!!"

Lucy, overwhelmed with gratitude, sat down in Nami's usual spot and began to eat heartily. Perhaps because she was starving, she ate much more than usual. Nojiko, on the other hand, seemed to have little appetite, only taking a couple of bites before stopping. Perhaps she noticed Lucy was very hungry and kindly encouraged her to eat more.

"It's best to leave this island as soon as you finish eating. You should know that this village and this island are very dangerous for someone like you."

"Danger... do you mean those beings called fishmen?" Lucy put down her chopsticks. She knew that the person in front of her was the best person to gather information about in this world, and her best course of action was to try her best to uncover all of the other party's secrets, and then leave this place without caring about the lives of everyone here.

But when Lucy saw Noki smoking a cigarette and gazing at the orange tree outside the window, her eyes filled with desolation, sadness, reminiscence, despair, and struggle, she suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. Any thought of her using her and then leaving was immediately dismissed from her mind.

Lucy was very familiar with Nojiko's gaze; in the years after her mother Leila died, she would sit quietly by the window, lost in thought.

"So you already saw it? It's amazing you didn't get noticed by those guys in that state..." Nojiko said slowly, turning her head with some surprise. "Yes, the source of the danger was the fish-men!"

Lucy's gaze involuntarily fell on the photograph beside her. It showed a woman and two girls, all smiling brightly in the sunlight. It was clear that Nojiko was one of the girls, and the other two were probably her mother and sister.

Based on her observations so far, Lucy is certain that only Nojiko remains in the house, so the other two are likely in a worse situation.

"Could you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help you?"

“You…” Nojiko was stunned, then shook her head with a wry smile and helplessness, “This matter has nothing to do with you. You don’t need to get involved. If Arlong finds out about your existence…”

"The Arlong you mentioned... is he the leader of those merfolk?"

Lucy wasn't an idiot; she quickly guessed what was going on and astutely grasped the key point from Nojiko's words: "This island became like this because of that guy named Arlong?"

"Yes...no!"

Halfway through his sentence, Nojiko suddenly realized something, his expression changed, and he walked to Lucy's side, placing his hands on her shoulders, and said seriously, "Lucy, don't be impulsive! Fishmen are naturally ten times stronger than humans, we can't beat them!"

Nojiko is precocious and her life has been full of hardships. These experiences have made her very cautious now. She can analyze everything at a glance, whether it is a big deal or a small matter. So now she can see what Lucy is trying to do.

Without a doubt, she wanted to rush up and beat Ah Long up!

Nojiko never expected that this blonde ponytail girl, who looked shorter than her and was starving to the point of fainting, would actually muster the courage to fight back against the fishmen after seeing how terrifying they were.

Have I been living in the countryside for too long, causing my understanding of the outside world to become distorted? Are all the young girls these days so reckless? In any case, if I cause a young girl to go and die because of a meal I gave her, I will never forgive myself!

Seeing Lucy's imposing manner, as if she were about to storm the fishman base and wreak havoc, Nojiko couldn't help but think of her younger sister who was wandering outside. The two seemed equally stubborn, equally innocent, and equally unreliable.

"Lucy, promise me you won't act impulsively!!" Nojiko hugged Lucy tightly, afraid that she would run away at any moment and follow in Nami's footsteps.

"Uh... I'm not as weak as you think. Although I'm not as strong as my companions, I'm still considered quite strong in the guild..." Lucy was a little taken aback when she was hugged. This warm care from her older sister made her cheeks gradually turn red.

This feeling is different from that of Mira and Erza. Perhaps it's because Mira and Erza are inherently strong, and being in their arms naturally makes one feel safe. Moreover, when they care for Lucy, they mostly express a kind of encouragement like, "You have to be strong, nothing is insurmountable." But Nojiko is just an ordinary person who has lived under Arlong's rule for eight years. The feeling she gives Lucy is, "Although I am very scared and powerless to resist, as long as I am here, I will not let you get hurt in the slightest." This warmth moves Lucy even more.

"I...I understand...I promise you, I won't act impulsively."

"But could you tell me in detail about this place and everything that happened to you?"

Accompanied by Noki's gentle voice, she recounted a tragic childhood story.

A kind-hearted retired female navy officer was brutally murdered by fish-men from overseas for the sake of her two adopted daughters; the fish-men exploited the money and spirit of more than twenty villages on the island, bringing them death and fear; a ten-year-old girl had to compromise for the sake of her village, struggling desperately for a promise that was likely a lie...

The story's tone is undoubtedly sad, but it's not over yet, so there's still a chance for a twist!

At night, after the storyteller had fallen asleep, Lucy lay on the bed of the girl named Nami, the protagonist of the story, tossing and turning.

She made a decision.

Lucy quietly left Nojiko's house, taking her ever-present Celestial Key with her, and arrived at a spacious and secluded place: "Open it!!"

With a crisp ding-dong sound and a golden magical light, a handsome orange-haired man in a black suit and a cold-faced girl in a maid outfit, bound in a tortoise shell style with ropes, wearing a black eye patch, appeared on the scene.

"You all heard it before, right? So... you'll help me, right?"

"Of course!"

"Please do as you please, Princess!!"

Under the cover of night, Rocky, Balrog, and Lucy looked at each other and smiled.

Chapter 803 The Beautiful Chef of Baratie

Natsu is working in Loguetown to pay off the losses he caused, while Lucy is in Cocoyasi Village, about to lead the Protoss army in a counterattack against the fishmen who enslave the people.