A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

In terms of being thick-skinned and straightforward, Natsu and Luffy are somewhat similar, but their attitudes toward battle are completely different.

For example, when Luffy hears about the duel between two giants, he will yearn for it, admire it, and respect it. If anyone dares to interfere with this sacred duel, he will never forgive them. But Natsu is different. When he hears about the duel between two giants, the only feeling in his mind is that he is "fired up". He only thinks about joining them and fighting together as a trio.

"How about you guys fight and I join in?"

Looking at the two giants in front of him, Natsu seemed eager to try, but the answer he received would eventually disappoint him, because the warriors of Elbaf valued dueling more than anything else.

"No! We will not allow anyone else to interfere in the duel!!"

"Huh?! What does it matter? How stingy!" Natsu complained sullenly, arms crossed.

Dongli: "..."

Brogy: "..."

This was the first time in their lives that the two giants had been called stingy for refusing to let others interfere in their duel.

"So... once you're done fighting, you can add me to the group, right?"

"Gabababababa!! That's what they say, but we've been fighting for a full 100 years, with 73,455 draws. How could we possibly decide a winner so quickly?!"

"Hmm..." Natsu frowned and pondered for a moment, then turned to Lucy: "Do you think asking Kira might help?"

"You're going to ask Kira for help with something like this??" Lucy was speechless, shocked but also thinking that this was indeed in line with Natsu's personality. "Just like you..."

Just then, Kira and his group finally found their way over, following Natsu's magical energy: "Where did you guys go? We've all finished lunch and were about to set off!"

"Oh, it's okay! We just had afternoon tea, so we're not hungry right now."

Happy flew over and saw Macao and his two companions following Kira. "Huh?! So it's you guys here? Ahh~ I don't know why, but I feel a little disappointed~ You're supposed to be background characters who can't even do a good job of being funny or making sarcastic remarks..."

Macao: "..."

Wakaba: "..."

Romeo: "..."

That stinky cat is showing off again! I really want to punch him!

However, Happy ignored the three men's glares that seemed to want to beat him up. Instead, he quickly approached Xia Lulu, pulled out a rice cracker he had just grabbed, now tied with a ribbon, and presented it to her like a treasure: "Xia Lulu, look! This is a rice cracker I brought you, it's really delicious!!"

Xia Lulu was immediately speechless; she didn't like rice crackers at all!

Besides, who gives a cat rice crackers as a gift?! And these rice crackers were just something I casually took from someone else's afternoon tea... This idiot's brain seems even dumber than I thought!!

However, out of politeness, Xia Lulu still reached out her paw to take it, while turning her head away haughtily, subtly expressing her preference to Happy: "Thanks! But compared to rice crackers, I still prefer sweets like cakes and puddings!"

Happy, completely oblivious to Charlene's meaning, foolishly flew to Natsu's side and boasted, "Natsu! Natsu!! Did you see that? Charlene accepted my gift and even thanked me!!"

Xia Lulu: "..."

Those who witnessed this scene were speechless.

Happy, you silly cat! You can't even seize the opportunities people give you. You're so useless!

"Speaking of which, Harpy said someone treated you to afternoon tea earlier? Who was it?"

Lucy thought for a moment, figuring that Kira might know something, and then said, "There's a very ugly old man named Galdino, and a little girl named Mariano."

Two almost completely unfamiliar names made Killer tilt his head in confusion: Galdino? Mariannu?? Who are these?? Logically, Luffy has already set sail; shouldn't Little Garden be deserted during this time? Could it be that the appearance of the mage has caused a plot deviation?

While Kira was still puzzled, Natsu chimed in, "That old man's hairstyle is interesting; it's the number '3,' and he's also a Candle-Shaped Mage."

"puff--!"

Hearing the familiar term, Grayton became curious: "You mean a Sculpting Mage?! Or a Candle??"

"Natsu, I already told you he's not a mage, he's a Devil Fruit user!"

"Oh right!" Natsu suddenly realized again.

After figuring everything out, Gray sighed helplessly and complained, "Seriously, can't you be serious for once? It's been so many days, haven't you even bothered to study the power system of this world? How can a mere Devil Fruit user compare to us Shaping Mages?"

"But the candle design for '3' is really amazing! I think it might even be more impressive than yours..."

Gray flew into a rage: "What did you say?!"

On the other side, Ultear glanced at Kira, who had a strange expression, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Kira waved his hand: "It's nothing, we just roughly know who they ran into."

Good grief, if Natsu hadn't reminded me, I almost forgot Mr. 3's name, and that little girl—she must be Miss Goldenweek, who can use colors to hint at things, right? This is the first time I've ever heard her name…

Without a doubt, Mr. 3's purpose in Little Garden was to capture the two giants in front of him, and their presence here indicates that Luffy and his crew may have already crossed the Upside Down and arrived at the Grand Line.

Speaking of which, how many times did those two giants fight when Luffy and his crew arrived at Little Garden? Maybe we can deduce how much longer they have to wait...

Just as Killer was considering whether to stay a couple more days and meet the future Pirate King, Natsu suddenly ran over and called out to him.

"I said, Kira!"

"what??"

Natsu grinned and said, "Do you have any way to settle things between Dorry and Brogy in the fastest way possible? I want to fight them!!"

Kira: "..."

Before he could even complain, Gray called out to him, "Hey Kira! How about we stay here for a couple more days?"

Kira glanced at Gray: "What? You're not like Natsu, wanting to fight them, are you? Or did you plan for a four-on-one battle from the start?"

Gray was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "No, I'm not that idiot Natsu, why would I want to fight them?"

That's good……

Kira breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "So what do you want to do?"

"I'm going to have a contest with that guy who uses candles to see who has the better costume!!"

Kira: "..."

I think you're no different from that idiot Natsu!!!

Chapter 824 The Arena in the Little Garden

Ultimately, Kira couldn't resist Natsu and Gray's requests and stayed overnight in the small garden, discussing whether to stay a few more days.

When camping in the wild, especially in the kind of wilderness that has been preserved from a hundred years ago, the most important thing to watch out for is not wild beasts and dinosaurs, but rather the microorganisms that are invisible to the naked eye and the insects that are easily overlooked.

So, before the sun went down, the group quickly began to set up their campsite for the night.

First, they used rock magic to build a sturdy low wall to protect against wild beasts at night. Then, they chopped down some firewood to make a campfire for nighttime lighting and made torches to stick on the low wall to ward off wild beasts. Then, they had Macao, Wakaba, Eric, and others work together to create fire, smoke, and poison barriers specifically to repel snakes, insects, and rodents...

In just thirty minutes, under Kira's command, the group worked together to build a perfect camp, and then continued construction within the camp.

Now it was time to see Kira's skills. He reached into his personal storage space and pulled out several sets of standard camping equipment, including tents, blankets, pillows, and more. Everyone was stunned and speechless, exclaiming how awesome he was.

"Just how big is your personal storage space? This is way too comprehensive!"

"Exactly... You even have several sets of camping gear. Don't you always stay in Magnolia, and even when you're working, you always go out alone? Why do you have so much prepared?"

"Wow~ Click click click!!"

Kira deliberately laughed arrogantly and proudly: "As a qualified mage, how can you go out without making some preparations? One must be prepared for unforeseen circumstances and plan ahead so that you can deal with problems calmly when they arise. That's why I became the number one mage in Fiore, while you guys can't even make it into the top four! You guys better learn from me!!"

"Amazing!!! Kira talks just like the old man!"

"That's right! It's that feeling where it seems to make a lot of sense, but it's easy to forget it as soon as you hear it..."

For a moment, Happy, Natsu, and Romeo looked at Kira with eyes full of admiration.

As they spoke, Gray, Marcao, and the others had already set up their tents, and Erza and the other girls had prepared dinner. The dozen or so people sat around a square stone table, eating and discussing the precautions for tonight and the plans for tomorrow.

"Listen up, even with Wendy here, safety must come first! So during this time, everyone must avoid direct skin exposure to the air... I'm talking to you, Gray!"

Kira directly called out Gray's name, saying solemnly, "If your habit of taking off your clothes leads to you contracting a serious disease and then infecting others, you'd better expect me to deal with you severely!!"

"I know..." Gray replied awkwardly and impatiently, then lowered his head to concentrate on eating.

Kira's face twitched. He knew that Gray's behavior meant he had taken it to heart, but whether he could maintain it was another matter. After all, habits can be terrifying.

Although the advice was nagging, the group agreed with Kira's words, since safety was the top priority. Erza quickly chimed in, "Kira is right. As for the girls... Lucy, you shouldn't wear those overly revealing clothes for now!"

Huh? I advise you not to meddle in other people's business!

Kira coughed twice, feigning seriousness: "Ahem... This is really not... Never mind, Erza is right! Lucy, you better watch yourself! Don't think that just because you're getting along well with Natsu right now, you can do whatever you want!"

Lucy's face instantly turned bright red, and she weakly retorted, raising her pink fist: "Who's getting along so well with him?!"

Kira wasn't going to listen to her explanation. Continuing with that question would only add more dog food to tonight's dinner. He turned his gaze to Wendy on the other side: "Wendy, you're the only professional doctor, so you absolutely cannot fall ill! You need to be more rigorous than us when it comes to personal protective equipment, understand?"

Wendy nodded solemnly, her twin ponytails swishing simultaneously: "Yes!! I'll be careful!!"

After rambling on for almost an hour, Kira finally stopped reciting the "Wilderness Camping Guide" and began the main topic. He first looked at Natsu: "You really want to fight those two giants?"

"certainly!!"

Natsu smiled brightly, clapping his fists together in front of his chest, creating a few sparks that gave the illusion of fireworks in the night: "I've never fought a giant before!"

"Furthermore, based on what you said before, the giants of this world and the giants of our world are not even on the same level in terms of strength, so of course I can't let them go!!"

Kira nodded, then looked at Gray on the other side: "You want to compete with that '3' in a speed-designing contest?"

“Of course!” Gray raised his chin, his face full of confidence.

"Uh...actually, you don't need to worry about Natsu. He doesn't know anything about styling or anything like that..."

Kira assumed Gray wanted to prove his strength to Natsu because of Natsu's previous mockery, but Gray shook his head and said, "No, it's not entirely because of what Natsu said!"

What?!

"I did this simply to familiarize myself with the cultivation system of this world more quickly, and also to experience the power of those Devil Fruits. After all, we might encounter a Candle Man today, and an Ice Man or a Fire Man tomorrow. If they become our enemies someday, I won't be clueless!"

Oh?? So that's the reason?!

It has to be said that Gray's words made a lot of sense, and his concerns were valid. If the mages of Fairy Tail wanted to gain a foothold in this world and even challenge the so-called "Age of Exploration," they had to have a good understanding of the strong people in this world. In order to prevent being completely defeated when they encountered powerful figures in the future due to their unfamiliarity with the power system, it was necessary to experience the power of the minor bosses now!

As expected, after Gray said those words, Erza and Ultear exchanged a glance, then nodded silently, clearly agreeing with Gray. Of course, there was also a hint of something only the other person could see in their eyes:

'How did Gray manage to think of that? Who taught him that?'

I don't know, maybe my brain will develop fully as I grow up...

After the exchange, Erza spoke up, "Kira, Gray is right. It's very necessary for us to familiarize ourselves with the Devil Fruit users of this world beforehand. If possible, I'd like to try it too!"