"Now that gets my attention!" Kira perked up.
Sitting next to Lucy, Erza chimed in, "Kira's Hope Hut is Magnolia's biggest magic shop. Everyone in the guild gets their magic tools from him—my armors included."
"Yup, that's right!" Kira said, his enthusiasm kicking into high gear. "Magic potions, weapons, toys, books—you name it, I've got it. Can't find it? I'll custom-make it. Everything from Hope Hut comes with a quality guarantee and a three-year warranty."
Kira slipped into full sales mode. "These are all my handcrafted masterpieces, and they're top-notch—everyone loves them. My magic gear's sold all over Fiore, even to neighboring countries. I'm practically carrying Magnolia's GDP on my back! Oh, and the books? The ones they use to teach kids at Magnolia's orphanage? Wrote those myself."
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Hold up, how did we not know this?!" Gray exclaimed.
Lucy was dumbfounded. "I'm shocked, sure, but you guys seriously didn't know either?"
Kira grinned cheekily. "These two aren't exactly the type to care about economic growth or education. My influence in Magnolia's huge, though. Who knows, maybe I'll be mayor one day! Then I'll move our guild to the heart of Magnolia's main street."
As the daughter of the Heartfilia conglomerate, Lucy hadn't studied business formally, but growing up surrounded by wealth gave her a sharp eye for it. She knew how big a deal it was to drive a city's economy.
"That's incredible," she said, genuinely impressed. "You make all these tools and weapons by yourself and still find time to go on missions? That's amazing!"
Seizing the moment while Lucy was still starstruck, Kira pushed his pitch. "My shop's super popular in Magnolia, Lucy. You should swing by sometime!"
Gray, sitting nearby, added, "Lucy'd probably be into Celestial Spirit Keys, right? Didn't you get a golden key from that last mission?"
Nice assist, Gray! Kira thought. I was wondering how to bring that up casually.
Lucy's eyes lit up at the mention of keys. She could ignore potions, armors, and weapons, but Celestial Spirit Keys? Those were her obsession. "Really? You've got keys too?"
Jackpot! Here comes the big fish! Kira thought, practically vibrating with excitement. He knew Lucy's bond with her Celestial Spirits was unbreakable—she'd pay any price for a golden key.
After all, Lucy, you wouldn't want your precious spirits suffering in my hands, would you?
Kira flashed a mysterious smile. "Oh, I've got some. Only the Zodiac ones, though. The key from our last mission was Sagittarius. I could give you a discount if you're interested."
"Seriously?!" Lucy's eyes sparkled, her grin unstoppable, her heart racing with excitement.
This is too perfect! Joining Fairy Tail was the best decision ever!
Kira was thrilled, Lucy was over the moon, and Erza was happy too—she saw it as a win-win. Kira makes money, Lucy gets her key. Perfect.
Comrades should always help each other like this… Erza thought, oblivious to costs. Money was never an issue for her.
Of the four, only Gray regretted opening his mouth. He had a sinking feeling Lucy was about to get fleeced, just like Cana, who'd spent 500,000 jewels on ten cards. Lucy might end up worse off—unlike cards, golden keys were one-of-a-kind.
Gray even started to wonder if Kira had taken the Galuna Island job because he knew Lucy would join them.
"No… that's too far-fetched, right?" Gray muttered, shaking his head like he was having a seizure.
Kira raised an eyebrow. "Gray, you okay?"
"N-Nothing… just thinking about stuff…"
"You sure it's not a cold? I keep telling you to stop stripping," Kira teased.
"I'm an ice wizard. I don't catch colds easily," Gray shot back.
After a brief pause, Kira spoke up again. "Gray, don't you think you need a bit more… flair? Your current vibe's not cutting it. It's dragging down the guild's rep."
"What?! That's the worst topic switch ever!" Gray snapped.
Kira ignored him, continuing, "In the magic world, strong wizards get cool nicknames. People call me the Sage, Erza's the Fairy Queen, and I hear Natsu's being called the Fire Dragon King now. But you? Nothing. No catchy nickname. Are you really gonna let Natsu outshine you?"
Gray: "…"
"Even that guy you fought, Lyon, had a nickname—Zero Emperor. And you've got nothing. We can't just call you 'Ice-Make Kid,' right? Naming you after your magic would be kinda sad."
Nicknames for comrades? That sounded fun.
The two women perked up, especially Erza, who loved this kind of thing—just like Kira.
"For nicknames, you'd go with something unique, right? What's Gray got that's one-of-a-kind?" Erza asked.
Kira blurted out, "He strips fast!"
"Hmm… that's a tough one," Erza mused.
"Shut up!! Can't you be quiet for once, Kira?!" Gray roared, too scared to snap at Erza and too polite to target Lucy, so Kira took the heat.
"Fine, fine," Kira said, backing off.
A minute later, he piped up again. "What about Frost Knight or Ice Warrior?"
Gray: "Shut it!"
Lucy: "Not bad!"
Erza: "I like Ice Warrior!"
The three spoke at once, locked eyes for two seconds, then awkwardly looked away.
Kira felt like they'd just had a silent conversation worth a thousand words.
The group fell quiet for a moment.
"So, I've got a question," Lucy said. "They say hearing Lullaby's flute kills you. Does that include the user?"
"Who knows?" Gray shrugged.
"If it's recorded, someone must've used it, right? No notes on that?" Lucy pressed.
The question stumped them. Except for Lucy, none of them were big on books, and even she didn't know. The four fell into a brief silence.
"Wanna test it out?" Kira suggested.
"Are you an idiot?!" the other three shouted in unison.
"But that means they won't realize the flute's been swapped until the last second, right?" Kira said with a kind smile. "Poor guys."
---
Meanwhile, in Eisenwald's hideout…
"What?! Someone's picking a fight with us in Kunugi? Who?!" Erigor demanded, glaring at his battered subordinate, face covered in bruises.
"It's… Fairy Tail!!!" the lackey stammered.
"How many of them?"
"O-One…"
"You're telling me one person did this to all of you, and you have the nerve to come back?!" Erigor roared.
"Lord Erigor… ugh…" Before the lackey could finish, invisible wind blades sliced dozens of cuts across his body. Blood sprayed, his eyes lost focus, and he collapsed.
"Fairy Tail, huh? Perfect timing. You'll be the first to fall!" Erigor snarled, grabbing his scythe and heading for Kunugi.
Unbeknownst to him, Kageyama, carrying what he thought was Lullaby, was heading to a hotel. He'd planned to catch a train to Kunugi to rendezvous with his team and report to Erigor, but with no trains running that day, he decided to rest at the hotel instead.
After a relaxing bath to wash away days of fatigue, Kageyama clutched the wooden flute and drifted into a dream. In it, Erigor praised him for retrieving Lullaby. Their plan succeeded, wiping out the guild masters at the regular meeting. Eisenwald rose to become one of Fiore's most infamous dark guilds, rivaling even the Baram Alliance's three emperors. And Kageyama? He finally got the respect he deserved, living large, with everything he could ever want.
"Feels so good!" he muttered in his sleep.
---
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