A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

While Lucy was observing, Natsu and Happy couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, collapsing onto the sofa without any guard, and even pouring themselves a cup of black tea and eating the senbei on the table without any hesitation.

"Ah~ That feels so good!!"

Lucy couldn't stand the sound anymore and leaned close to their ears, yelling, "I mean, you two are so careless!"

Natsu was taken aback and looked at Happy beside him: "Huh? Really??"

Happy squinted and replied, "I don't think so!"

You'd think it's ghostly!

"Don't you think it's quite unusual for a tea restaurant to appear in a place like this?"

"Hmm... what you said makes sense, it really is very abnormal!"

Upon hearing this, the human and the cat stopped what they were doing, looked at each other as if they understood, which made Lucy breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that these two idiots could still be saved.

"But black tea is really delicious!!"

“Natsu is right! After traveling all day, it won't hurt to rest a bit!!”

Lucy: "..."

Chapter 821 Galdino and Natsu's First Meeting

In a small garden, a man and a woman were strolling through the woods.

The man's appearance was not exactly ordinary, but rather a kind of exquisite ugliness. He wore a pair of frog-shaped glasses, and his eyes revealed a sinister and cunning nature rarely seen in ordinary people. His rectangular face and thick lips suggested that he possessed some intelligence and good fortune.

He was thin and looked extremely frail. He wore a blue and white striped short-sleeved shirt with a purple-red bow tie, and beige trousers. He wore a pointer on his left hand, but what caught people's attention the most was the "3" hairstyle on his head.

He is Mr. 3 from Baroque Works, whose real name is Gal Dino, and the first mate of Buggy the Joker, one of the future Four Emperors!

Gardiner's illustrious life was filled with outstanding military achievements and countless heroic deeds. However, unlike Luffy, who was a supernova in the public eye from the very beginning, Gardiner was the type who accumulated experience and talent before making a breakthrough. He spent the first half of his life as a hidden dragon in the abyss, and the second half of his life was when he truly rose to prominence.

He cleverly ended the century-long feud between the "Blue and Red Demons"; single-handedly fought five opponents, turning the Blue and Red Demons, Princess Vivi of Alabasta, "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, and "Cat Burglar" Nami into wax figures, even forcing Zoro to nearly cut off his legs; he rescued the future Pirate King Luffy and the future Marine Admiral Smoker; he orchestrated the Impel Down mass breakout and provided weapons for countless pirates; he fought alongside the future Pirate King, fighting against Impel Down Warden Magellan to help his fellow prisoners escape, making indelible contributions; and he rescued Ace, the son of the Pirate King, from Fleet Admiral Sengoku and successfully escaped...

Gal Dino's life was so legendary and colorful that perhaps only the man he was willing to follow, Bucky Barnes, the only person in the world with Conqueror's Haki-like luck, could rival him.

At this time, however, Gardiner was just a lowly agent in the Baroque Works.

"I told you before, don't drink too much black tea, it will make you go to the toilet frequently."

The one speaking wasn't Mr. 3, but the petite girl beside him, Miss Goldenweek, a fellow agent of Baroque Works and Gal Dino's partner.

Miss Golden Week was born in Beihai. Her original name is Marianu. She is only 16 years old this year and looks very young. She is wearing a pink wide-brimmed hat, has big eyes, pigtails, and rosy cheeks. She is wearing a light blue floral shirt, a dark red skirt, blue and white striped socks, and red sneakers. She is wearing a few girlish jewelry on her right hand and is holding a rice cracker in her mouth with her left hand.

Instead of getting angry at the girl's words, the future vice-president of the royal family gave an elegant smile: "Even if you don't drink black tea, humans still need to go to the toilet regularly, so don't blame your diarrhea on black tea!"

As he spoke, Gal Dino clutched his stomach: "Besides, you got diarrhea from drinking green tea too, so I'm more inclined to think the problem is with the rice crackers."

"Miss Golden Week, are the rice crackers you just took out expired?"

"Impossible! There's nothing wrong with my senbei!" Miss Golden Week denied expressionlessly and without any inflection, while taking another bite of senbei, making a crisp crunching sound.

"Then how do you explain the fact that we both had diarrhea at the same time?"

"Didn't you just say that people need to go to the toilet regularly?" Miss Golden Week said casually.

Stubborn to the end!

Gardiner thought to himself, but didn't say anything, because he had just had diarrhea and his legs were still trembling, so he had no mind to complain about his partner.

Besides, young girls are very sensitive, and teenage girls are rebellious. They also need to give face to their teammates. If I were to continue to investigate, I would be doing a disservice to my intelligence.

"Roar--!!"

Just as the two walked side by side toward the candle house, accompanied by a loud roar, a huge figure suddenly sprang out from the nearby forest, rushing toward the two unarmed people, one big and one small, with a whooshing sound.

Tyrannosaurus Rex!

The undisputed overlord of ancient times!

However, even though the Tyrannosaurus Rex was very powerful, it still couldn't gain the upper hand against these two.

Galdino was in a bad mood because of diarrhea, and since some fool dared to come to his door, he was not going to let him off easily.

He swung his arms forward, and a large amount of white liquid gushed out. These were liquid candles. The liquid candles started from the Tyrannosaurus Rex's feet and spread rapidly upwards along its two limbs, covering its entire body in an instant and turning it into a Tyrannosaurus Rex wax figure!

Galdino is a candle person who ate the Wax-Wax Fruit. He can convert his physical strength to create liquid wax. This liquid wax will solidify in a very short time after being exposed to air. And the solidified liquid wax is as hard as steel!

The Tyrannosaurus Rex, encased in candles, stood motionless in its attacking posture. It had lost consciousness and would soon die completely, becoming a wax figure.

Galdino, having withdrawn his hand, acted as if nothing had happened, leading Miss Goldenweek towards the candle house he had created. Neither of them said anything, as if the danger they had just encountered was insignificant.

"Huh?? Someone's entered my candle room??"

When the two saw the large hole in the candle house, they were both surprised, because according to the information they had received, no pirates should have come here recently.

Gazing at the large hole in the wall, Galdino frowned, vaguely sensing something amiss. Having used the Wax-Wax Fruit's power for many years, he was intimately familiar with almost everything that could destroy a candle and what the damage would look like. So he immediately recognized that what had dug the large hole in his candle house was not something like swords, axes, hammers, or fists, but rather the only nemesis of candles—fire, and not just any ordinary fire!

Galdino knew that the wax he made was highly flammable and would melt quickly under the intense heat once ignited, unable to remain solidified. An ordinary fire wouldn't leave only such a small hole after being lit, but since it was extinguished by the person who started it, there were no signs of fire being put out. Therefore, whoever set fire to the candle house must have had complete control over the flames!

In Galdino's memory, it seemed that only... could do this on the high seas.

"The Flame-Flame Fruit?! Could it be 'Fire Fist' Ace, the second captain of the Whitebeard Pirates?? Could it really be him? What's he doing here? He's not someone we can handle!!"

As an agent of Baroque Works, Galdino had a certain understanding of the changing power dynamics at sea. Moreover, those who were out in the game were bound to know more about those who restrained them.

'Fire Fist' Ace was the only person Galdino knew who completely controlled himself when it came to Devil Fruits.

Thinking of this, Galdino was terrified. He was drenched in sweat, trembling all over, and even his voice was shaking: "MM...Miss Golden Week...Is...is anyone inside?"

"No." Miss Golden Week's calm voice came from the candle shop, followed by the familiar 'crunch' sound of eating senbei.

No? That's good!

Gardino breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, then opened the door and went inside, grumbling, "I told you, your senbei is probably expired. Eating it now might cause diarrhea—"

"Yo!"

"Isn't there someone here?!"

With a scream exceeding 200 decibels, Galdino was so frightened that his eyes bulged out by more than ten centimeters, his tongue trembled uncontrollably in a wavy shape, and even the "3" hairstyle on his head jumped off his head.

What did Galdino see?

Inside her candle room, a man, a woman, and a cat appeared—a complete stranger. The cherry-haired man and the blue cat were sitting comfortably on the candle sofa, eating rice crackers and sipping their treasured black tea, as if they were at home. It was obvious that the 'snap' sound from earlier was made by them. Meanwhile, the blonde woman sat in her chair, observing Miss Golden Week sitting in front of her, calmly sipping green tea.

The man, woman, and cat are Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, who haven't left yet.

Seeing this, Galdino couldn't help but roar at the young girl who was calmly drinking tea, "What are you doing? Miss Golden Week?! There are clearly people here, why did you lie to me and say there was no one?!"

Miss Golden Week calmly and expressionlessly took a sip of her steaming green tea, then slowly put down the cup before saying, "Because I thought it would be interesting to surprise you."

Galdino was instantly stunned, and a few tears and snot dripped from his nostrils at the same time: How could he say such vicious words in such a calm tone?!

"Alright, alright, he's my own kid, I can't exactly beat him up," Galdino immediately turned his attention to Natsu on the sofa. His gaze was icy: "Who are you people?! What are you doing here?!"

"I am Natsu!"

"I'm Happy!"

Natsu and Happy munched on their senbei (rice crackers) while waving to Galdino, waving their senbei and black tea, and asked, "Want some? By the way, your hairstyle is really funny!!"

This casual tone shattered the tense atmosphere that Gardino had built up.

"Those teas and rice crackers are mine! Don't act like they're yours!!" Galdino roared angrily, then suddenly realized something was wrong and looked at Happy in surprise, "Wait?! A cat can talk?!"

After a brief moment of shock, Galdino snapped back to reality, shaking his head violently: "No, no! That's not the point. You two, get out of here right now!"

He then pointed at Lucy sitting in his seat and roared, "And the woman sitting over there, get up right now! That's my reserved seat!!"

Lucy already felt uneasy about their abrupt entry and subsequent search for senbei and black tea. Hearing what the other party said, she was immediately embarrassed and was about to get up to apologize when Natsu suddenly hummed in agreement, attracting everyone's attention.

Natsu suddenly seemed to realize something, and slammed his fist into his palm in a moment of enlightenment: "So you built this place?!"

"Even an idiot could see that?! How slow-witted are you?!" Galdino roared again in a fit of rage.

It seems I guessed wrong. It wasn't 'Fire Fist' Ace, but just two young people who accidentally came to the small garden. Judging from their young age and lack of vigilance, they were eating things like rice crackers and black tea without any warning. They probably aren't too strong.

Galdino relaxed, his gaze turning icy, white wax dripping from his body: "Listen up, brat! You have three seconds to get out of here, or else..."

boom--!

With a whistling sound, the flames ignited.

Natsu raised his flaming fist, winked at Galdino, and asked with a mixture of scrutiny, provocation, and amusement in his eyes, "Otherwise what?"

Galdino: "..."

"Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to treat you properly!"

Chapter 822 The Candle-Shaping Mage - Galdino

This isn't from the heart; it's just my own hospitality.

Inside the candle room, Galdino rebuilt a chair, took out a fresh serving of rice crackers, and brewed a new cup of black tea before finally taking a deep breath.

Bending down to serve the tea, maintaining a gentlemanly elegance, was the last vestige of his dignity as Mr. 3: "Are you satisfied with my rice crackers and black tea?"

Natsu happily ate his senbei without looking up: "It's delicious!!"

Harpy, taking advantage of its owner's status, demanded, "Pour me another cup of black tea!!"

Those two bastards!!

Galdino was furious, his dark gaze like a sharp dagger, secretly stabbing Natsu and Happy hundreds of times where the others couldn't see. But when he turned around, he still had a smile on his face: "Yes~"

Then, just like a coffee shop waiter with ten years of experience, he respectfully poured a standard eight-tenths cup of black tea into the cup in front of Habi.

"Slurp—ah!!"

"It tastes so good!"

Damn it! That brat and that stinky cat are acting so arrogantly in my place, ordering me around like servants...

In a deserted corner, Gardino, tears streaming down his face, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, his heart filled with resentment: If word gets out, where will I put my face in the future?

He, who should have been the master, had become the lowest-ranking person in this candle room, which filled Galdino with resentment.