In Kira's eyes, crossing over into the Fairy Tail world didn't require the desperate struggle that other transmigrators went through. All he needed was to join Fairy Tail, and whether he was strong or weak didn't matter much to the story. In the end, everything would turn out fine.
You could say, among the famous shonen manga worlds, this one was the safest.
He had no deep grudges to settle, no unrealistic dreams to chase, and he wasn't some reckless thrill-seeker. He didn't care for fame or riches, nor was he swayed by greed or lust. There weren't many regrets in the original story that needed fixing, either.
Maybe Urtear aging was one. Erza's mom, Irene, dying was another. And the Magic King not being able to let Mavis and Zeref know of his existence—yeah, that counted too. But that was about it.
Kira wasn't like those so-called "protagonists" who claimed they wanted to lay low but stirred up trouble everywhere they went. He firmly believed that with the knowledge he had, he could live a perfectly comfortable life.
None of that "pretend to be weak, make enemies look dumb, act all fake and hypocritical" nonsense that made people want to gag. He wasn't about to try that. Let the main characters handle the bosses. Kira would just stay in the background, quietly supplying info and support. That was the real way to grow strong safely, wasn't it?
Kira figured any transmigrator with half a brain, who genuinely wanted a peaceful life, wouldn't go around picking fights every day. They'd just hide out and coast until the story's end.
After all, in the original story, the big bad bosses always targeted Fairy Tail, right? Other guilds barely suffered any losses. The only thing that might've affected regular mages was the "Face" device from the Tartaros arc, which could've wiped out all magic power on the continent.
Thinking about it, it all became clear! He didn't have to fight the final boss himself. If his strength was low, he'd open a shop and make a living. If he was stronger, he'd just coast and watch the show. Either way, he'd make it to the happy ending.
He was practically a model transmigrator, a shining example of reborn-in-another-world excellence.
In this life, financial struggles wouldn't catch up to him. As for dark forces? Please, "We're Fairy Tail!" Who'd dare mess with them?
Even luckier, Kira was among the slightly stronger crowd, which conveniently took care of a lot of life's little annoyances.
---
Lucy was completely floored by Kira's impressive collection. "F-Four keys? And one of them's Ophiuchus? I thought that key was just a legend. It actually exists?"
"Of course it exists," Kira replied. "Legends are just stories to hide the truth! So, four keys—which one do you want to buy?"
Lucy didn't even need to think. Was there even a choice? She wanted them all!
"Or maybe you want all of them?" Kira teased. "If you buy these keys, you'd have eight in total. Feeling the urge to collect every Celestial Spirit Key yet?"
"Well…" Lucy scratched her head, blushing a little. "I mean, I'd love to have them, but I'm not some obsessive collector. As long as they're treated well, they don't have to be mine."
Whoa… what was that?
Kira felt a dazzling light radiating from Lucy—holy, warm, and as bright as the sun!
So this was it? This was what a true Celestial Spirit Mage was like? They say Celestial Spirit Mages wield magic through love—was this what they meant?
He could feel it! This was a level of greatness that ordinary mages like him could never touch!
"Well said, Lucy! You really are the best Celestial Spirit Mage out there!" Kira couldn't help but give her a big thumbs-up. "I didn't expect you to say something like that. I can feel your heart in those words! Because of that, these four keys…"
Wait—what?! Was Kira about to give her all four Golden Celestial Keys?
Lucy clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling like stars under the sunlight. She was practically glowing!
Wow! She hadn't expected this turn of events. Who knew Kira was such a good guy? Calling her the best Celestial Spirit Mage? He had great taste!
This guy was definitely a keeper!
"I'll give you a discount—ten percent off."
Lucy: …Well, there goes my excitement.
She took a deep breath, batting her eyes pleadingly. "Then you've gotta make it a bit cheaper, okay? I'm kinda broke right now…"
Kira couldn't help but notice her outfit looked like it was about to burst. "Hey, hey, don't try that bargaining trick on me! I stopped falling for that when I was eight. If you don't buy them, I might just sell these keys to some shady folks, you know!"
"No way, Kira wouldn't do something like that!" Lucy flashed a radiant smile that left Kira a bit stunned. What was with this girl? She trusted him that much?
"Uh… how are you so sure about that?" he asked.
"Because you're a friend!" she said, her smile unwavering. "I know you wouldn't do something like that!"
Oh no, it was too much! That dazzling light again! What was this feeling? Was this what it felt like to be trusted?
She was so… pure, Lucy. If she wasn't leaning forward so much, he might've actually believed her. Looks like she'd picked up some of Natsu's smooth-talking tricks lately!
"You think you've got me all figured out, huh? I'm not Natsu, you know! I'm a businessman. All I care about is profit…"
Lucy's expression turned serious, her gaze steady. "But you care about your friends, don't you? I can tell. Natsu, Happy, and everyone else in Fairy Tail trusts you, so I trust you too! Besides, you've had those keys for a while. If you really wanted to sell them, you would've done it already, right?"
Man, she might seem like a dreamy airhead, but her instincts were sharp!
Wasn't he, in fact, just waiting for her to show up and… hand over the cash?
Come to think of it, Lucy was always pretty clever in the original story. Her mind worked fast. She was the first to figure out where Mavis's grave was on Tenrou Island, and in the final battle, she was the one who thought to use Fairy Sphere to seal Acnologia. Her smarts were on a whole different level from Natsu and the others.
She wasn't just part of the strongest team—she might be one of the sharpest in the whole guild.
And let's not forget, she could use Urano Metria, open three Celestial Gates at once, and even rewrite the Book of E.N.D. Her knowledge and talent were top-notch!
This girl was definitely a keeper!
A sly grin crept onto Kira's face as an idea struck him. "But if you don't buy them, what if their next owner mistreats them? Lucy, you wouldn't want to see Celestial Spirits treated badly, would you?"
Why did his tone suddenly sound so weird? Wait a second…
Lucy seemed to catch on instantly, crossing her arms and giving Kira a suspicious look.
That caught him off guard. How did she get that reference so fast?!!
"Cough, cough…" Lucy, realizing she probably shouldn't have understood the joke, looked embarrassed and quickly faked a cough. She put on a serious face and said, "No way would a Celestial Spirit Mage mistreat their partners! Would someone like that even qualify as a Celestial Spirit Mage?"
Her confidence and earnestness left Kira momentarily speechless.
"There's all kinds of people out there, Lucy. Not everyone's as kind as you," he said after a brief pause. "You know Karen from Blue Pegasus, right? She was a big deal, a magazine model and everything. Three years ago—"
"Kira! Lucy! What are you guys talking about?"
As if on cue, Loke, draped in his green coat, strolled up, cutting Kira off mid-sentence.
"You've got perfect timing, Loke," Kira said. "What's up?"
Loke's face looked serious. "Kira, I wanted to ask you about that thing you got from the last mission…"
"Look! It's starting!"
Just like Loke had interrupted Kira, some random guild member's shout cut Loke off. Seriously, why was everyone in this guild so good at interrupting each other? Who did they learn that from?
Definitely not Kira!
"Let's watch first. We'll talk later," Kira said, turning to leave. He left behind a silent Loke and a Lucy still daydreaming about collecting those keys.