A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

After Kira and the others arrived here, they continuously consumed the food of this world, and the energy naturally entered their bodies as well. Coincidentally, this energy made the mages' bodies more compatible with the magic path, so they became stronger even faster!

As for why mages absorb energy from food more effectively than local residents, it's probably due to body compatibility, which Kira himself hasn't yet figured out.

"Alright, alright..."

Kira clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Now that the Titan matter is over, it's time for the carefully prepared second gladiator match!"

Upon hearing Kira's words, the group's spirits lifted simultaneously: What?! There's gladiatorial combat?! Who...?

Oh right! Yesterday, besides Natsu saying he wanted to fight two Titans, Gray also said he wanted to have a style showdown with this guy named Galdino...

Thinking of this, all the mages turned around and their gazes fell on Mr. 3, who was standing behind them looking bewildered. A dozen pairs of eyes gleamed, looking terrifying as if they wanted to devour him.

Mr3: "...??"

Why are these guys looking at me like that? Do I have yesterday's rice crackers on my face?? Hey, hey, hey...stop looking! You guys are making me nervous!!

"Um... is there something you need?" The voice was respectful and humble, tinged with a strong desire to survive.

"What is it? Isn't it obvious?"

Several men stepped forward and surrounded Mr. 3, like a pack of wolves cornering a fat sheep, their smiles like those of bullies harassing the weak. "This is an arena, so naturally we'll have a duel! Now that the giants have been defeated, it's your turn!"

"No, no, no... please don't!"

Although he had expected it, Mr. 3 was still completely terrified when he heard the others challenge him to a duel. Pointing at Natsu, who was a head shorter than him, he cried out in horror, "I surrender! I surrender!! How could I possibly be a match for that kind of monster?!"

"Oh, you've misunderstood! It's not Natsu who's going to duel you!" Killer casually reminded him.

"Huh?? Not that brat who uses fire?? Then who is it?"

Hearing that his opponent was not Natsu, Mr. 3 felt relieved. He then looked at the remaining mages, trying to guess their strength.

'The red-haired guy is clearly their leader, so he must be the strongest among them. The rest, while their strength isn't apparent, all look very young… No, that's not right! Youth doesn't mean anything. That fire-wielding brat is young too, but he's as strong as a monster!'

'The one in armor looks dangerous, the woman with long black hair has terrifying eyes, that grinning, pointy-eared man is incredibly sinister, the blonde girl seems quite clever and must already have a plan to deal with me, and even those two little girls don't seem simple...'

'Looking at it this way, the ones I might be able to handle among these people are probably those two older men and the little brats with them?'

(Makao, Wakaba: ...Uncle??)

“Your opponent is this guy!” Kira pointed at Gray. “Don’t worry, he uses ice magic, not fire, so you don’t need to worry about being countered.”

Mr. 3 was taken aback, clearly not expecting Kira to be able to see his unease at their first meeting, and even to realize that his unease stemmed from the fact that his Devil Fruit ability was countered by fire. He secretly thought to himself: No wonder Kira can be the boss. His keen observation and insight alone are more ruthless than mine, a veteran agent who has been around for decades!

Seeing that his next opponent wasn't Natsu, Mr. 3 breathed a deep sigh of relief: since his opponent wasn't using fire, it seemed like he didn't have to be afraid anymore!

"It's just that Gray is just as strong as Natsu..."

Mr3: "..."

Did I relax too soon?

The next moment, before Mr. 3 could react, Kira used a spatial magic spell to teleport the group back to the center of the arena.

In those few short minutes, Kira had used space magic several times. Previously, Mr. 3 had been completely bewildered, unaware of how he had teleported. But this time, seeing Kira's actions, he finally realized: 'That was space teleportation?! Could this kid be a user of a space-time Devil Fruit?'

"Um... what kind of competition do you want to have?" Mr3 had already decided that he would surrender the moment he saw the kid throw a punch.

Kira chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, this time it's not about fighting, it's about the speed of creating designs!"

"Uh... Modeling speed??" Mr3 was a little confused; it was the first time he had ever heard of this term.

"I'll set the challenge, and you and Gray will create a wax figure and an ice sculpture based on the challenge. Then, these other people will score them, and the one with the highest score wins!"

So that's what it's about?!

After hearing Kira's words, Mr. 3 felt much more at ease, and his whole body instantly became radiant. His slightly haggard face became spirited, and even had a hint of a cold smile.

"Hmph...comparing sculptures? I, Galdino, have traversed the seas for so many years, and I've never been afraid of anyone!!"

"Bring it on!!"

Chapter 828 A Battle of Styles!

Arrogant and disdainful of everyone! Looking down on the world!

What a powerful aura! What an overbearing tone!

Mr.3... no, Galdino, truly worthy of being the man who could serve alongside 'Clown King' Buggy and become his first mate!

After a brief moment of surprise, Kira's face returned to calm, and he excitedly led Gray and Mr. 3 to the match location, inviting Erza and the others to sit nearby.

Why did Kira seem so surprised just now?

"I don't know, maybe he just suddenly wanted to act..."

Amidst the murmurs of discussion, the sculpture competition began.

"Listen carefully, there are seven topics in this competition, which means seven rounds. The two of you will each create a wax figure and an ice sculpture that correspond to the topic. After each sculpture is completed, a total of thirteen judges here will score it accordingly."

"Although twelve of the thirteen judges are from our side, as the host, I can assure the two contestants with absolute certainty that this competition will be fair and just, and there will be no favoritism, bribery of judges, or anything like that!"

"The competition rules are as follows: the first four questions are worth 10 points each and have a time limit of 5 minutes; the last three questions are worth 20 points each and have a time limit of 10 minutes, for a total of 100 points and 50 minutes. The score obtained by the contestant for each question is the average score given by the thirteen judges. The contestant with the highest total score wins."

The competition rules were quite simple, and everyone, from Gray and Mr. 3 as contestants to Erza and the others as judges, understood them immediately.

“So what’s the reward for winning?” Gray asked, raising his hand.

"Good question!!"

Kira shouted, then reached into his personal storage space and pulled out a beautifully bound photo album measuring 50×30×10cm, radiating a dazzling golden light. "This is the prize! It contains close-up photos of 128 art sculptures in 36 different art styles!"

The mages were all shocked: "What?!"

Mr3 looked completely bewildered: "What?!"

Miss Golden Week calmly took a bite of rice cracker and sipped her hot tea.

"Seriously? Are you sure you want to bring out something this useless?" Erza and the others were stunned, staring speechlessly at the exquisite photo album in Kira's hands.

Kira raised his head arrogantly and snorted coldly, "What kind of expressions are those? A bunch of ignorant, artless idiots! This is a collection I spent three years and a lot of money to prepare!!"

"These sculptures, each with its own unique artistic style, could be mastered by any sculptor, if they could even grasp a fraction of their essence, and they would be among the world's top sculptors!"

As he spoke, Kira couldn't help but gently touch the exquisite cover of the thick photo album in his hand. "Most importantly, there's a video inside, a video of sculptors from all over the world giving on-site guidance at the sculpting competition held in Ishgar three years ago. Let me tell you, this video alone is worth at least 3 million J!"

"What?!"

The mages were instantly moved, exclaiming in surprise, some even slamming their fists on the table and standing up, "Really?! A single video is worth 3 million J?!"

What does 3 million J mean? It's the total reward for at least four or five S-rank commissions, or the prize money for winning the Grand Magic Games. For Erza's team of mages, it's almost a year's salary. If they want to save up that much, it would take at least twice as long.

Not to mention, for non-S-class mages like Macao and Wakaba, who don't have S-class mages to carry them, it might take them ten years or even longer to save up 3 million J.

However, if this amount of money is converted into the world of One Piece, it's not much—3 million Berries...that's the amount of the bounty on Luffy's head when he finished clearing the East Blue.

So Mr. 3 was completely calm, his face was as still as water, but his gaze toward Kira gradually became strange, and he kept thinking to himself: Where did these guys come from, these country bumpkins... Have they never seen big money before?

"Hey! What kind of look is that?!"

Before Mr. 3 could even finish his internal monologue, Kira had already shoved his face close to Mr. 3's, questioning him with an unfriendly gaze, "I felt something was off about your eyes just now. Were you cursing me in your mind?!"

"No...no! Absolutely not!!" Mr. 3 panicked instantly, breaking out in a cold sweat, his legs went weak, and if Kira hadn't been holding the '3' on his head, he would have collapsed to the ground by now.

However, this kind of sophistry was useless against Kira, because he had a better way of interrogating: "You say no, so you don't? Eric, did he or she?"

Eric's voice came from behind: "Yes! He said you're a country bumpkin, a mutt who's never seen big money, a self-important idiot, a greedy and lecherous bastard, an arrogant and vicious pirate, a parasite on the sea, a stinking rich man, a filthy world nobleman, and..."

"Enough!" Kira shouted, cutting off Eric's voice.

"Eh?! But I haven't... finished speaking yet..."

Mr3 was completely stunned, his eyes wide open, looking like a clueless little guy. He stared in disbelief at Eric, who was sitting on the judges' panel with a slightly regretful and unsatisfied expression. His mind went blank, wondering why Eric had tricked him like this.

But when he saw Kira approaching with clenched fists, even though he was completely confused, he knew what he might be facing next, and his face turned pale: "No... don't listen to that person's nonsense! Calm down, I didn't say those things at all!!"

"Still trying to argue?!" Kira roared in fury, grabbing Mr. 3's hair and slapping him hard across the face several times. "You bastard, how dare you look down on me?!"

The moment the slap landed, Mr. 3 had only one thought: Damn it!! In the end, he couldn't escape the beating...

clap clap clap...

Ten minutes later, Mr. 3, his face bruised and swollen, stood next to Gray again, ready to begin working on the task Kira had given him.

"Alright, the first question is 'The Age of Exploration'!"

After Kira finished speaking, he took out a timer and pressed it. Without looking at the two people's actions, he turned around and walked to the judges' table, where he ate breakfast with everyone and chatted casually.

"Erza, the sandwiches this morning were good. Keep it up tomorrow!"

"Natsu, you really made us mages proud just now! As your captain, I have to give you a reward. Hmm... how about I kidnap the user of the Flame-Flame Fruit later and let you suck him up for good? Don't worry, he's not a woman! Don't worry about Lucy getting jealous..."

"Lucy, what are you writing? An isekai adventure diary... Wait, really? You're actually writing a diary?? You've disappointed me so much! I never thought you were such an unserious person!"

"Urudia, you're putting on makeup at this hour? Let me tell you, no amount of makeup can compensate for a good night's sleep... What?! You're asking who woke you up so early this morning? How should I know? It definitely wasn't me!!"

"Eric, stop eating! Come here, I have a few words to say to you... Get over here!!"

If someone asks, what can you do in five minutes?

Eric's answer was that he could soak the delicious cup noodles until they were mushy, or he could have Kira beat him from a handsome young man into a bloated, puffy-faced guy.

The first question was about the Age of Exploration, which undoubtedly gave Mr. 3, a local, a greater advantage.

During the presentation of his work, he showed the judges countless wax figures of ships sailing on the sea, with surging waves and a hundred boats racing, perfectly capturing the spirit of the "Age of Exploration". In contrast, Gray's ice sculpture was much less impressive. He only created one ship, which was based on Crick's ship. Although the details were exquisite enough, it failed to convey the essence of the "Age of Exploration".

So in the first round, Mr. 3's wax figure got 7.7 points, a pretty good score, while Gray only got 3.5 points. If it weren't for the fact that they were from the same guild, Erza and the others would have even pushed Gray's score down to below 3 points.

"The topic for the second round is: The Navy!!"

navy?

Mr3 narrowed his eyes, immediately becoming confident. He had spent so many years at Baroque Works and had dealt with the Navy more than once; he knew them almost inside and out.

But Gray was in a terrible situation. He had hardly ever met any Marines, and all his information came from Kira's intelligence and newspapers. Moreover, due to his stereotype of 'justice,' he saw Marines as people like those in the Council. As expected, Gray eventually created a faceless man wearing a cloak with 'justice' written on it, a Marine uniform, and a military cap.

Mr. 3 is completely different. His works are much richer than Gray's works. There are three people in total: a vicious pirate, a civilian who is harmed by the pirate, and finally the navy who protects the civilian.

The navy is unremarkable, without uniforms, hats, or capes, but its actions perfectly embody the ideals of the 'navy,' and the entire work seems to have transcended the individual, rising to the level of a concept.

This surprised the judges present, including Kira. He didn't expect that Mr. 3 would have such creative talent, able to make an ordinary naval statue to this extent. This kind of longing is far superior to that of many colonels and commodores!

No wonder he became the Joker King's vice-president; his reputation is well-deserved!