"So, how much for one key?" Lucy asked.
"Each key is 5 million jewels. With the 10% discount I mentioned, that's 18 million for four," Kira replied.
"That's so expensive!" Lucy gasped, then flashed a pleading smile. "Um… any chance you could make it a bit cheaper? You know I'm kind of a runaway right now, so I'm a little short on cash…"
Business is all about sitting down and hashing things out, especially for a big deal like this. Kira poured Lucy a cup of tea, and the two settled at a table in the reception area of his shop, Hope's Hut.
As for Natsu and Happy? Kira had distracted them with a few small toys to keep them busy.
"I'm already giving you a deal! These are one-of-a-kind Celestial Spirit Keys! Four keys for 10 million is practically a steal!" Kira said, leaning back. "Didn't you guys just do that duke's mission? I heard it had a 2-million-jewel reward."
Lucy shifted awkwardly. "Well… for certain reasons, we didn't actually get paid for that one…"
A mission with no payout? Kira wasn't having it. He swirled his porcelain teacup, took a sip of tea, and launched into his timeless sales pitch. "A Celestial Spirit wizard without a strong key is at a huge disadvantage in a fight, you know!"
"Money doesn't just vanish—it's just sticking with you in a different form!"
"Celestial Keys aren't like cards or armor. They don't break, they don't need repairs. Buy them, and they're your friends for life. How many friends can you say will stick with you forever?"
"Look, I'm a homebody. I don't know many Celestial Spirit wizards besides you. Who else am I gonna sell these to?"
"As a master craftsman of magical tools, do you think I'd really sell these adorable keys to some shady buyer? I've held onto them this long, waiting for someone who'll treat them right!"
"You joining our guild? That's practically fate!"
If Lucy had been in Fairy Tail longer, she'd know Kira recycled this speech for every sale, barely changing a word. But right now? She was totally buying it.
"Having four Golden Keys at once is a rare chance! With them, you'll be stronger, able to take on high-paying missions. You'll earn back the cost in no time. Forget renting that 70,000-jewel-a-month apartment—you could buy a mansion in Magnolia!"
"Big house, fancy clothes, financial freedom, fame, and dreams—doesn't that get your heart racing?!"
Heh, no one's ever resisted my silver tongue!
Sure enough, after his verbal barrage, Lucy was dead-set on buying the keys. Too bad determination doesn't magically make money appear.
If you can't harvest the leeks, you're not farming right. Seeing Lucy's desire but empty pockets, Kira decided to throw her a bone.
"If money's the issue, I saw a mission on the guild board yesterday. Weekly Sorcerer is looking for female wizard models. You should give it a shot."
Lucy's eyes lit up like she'd been tossed a lifeline. "Weekly Sorcerer? The famous magazine? Is that for real?"
"Absolutely!" Kira nodded, then dropped another tidbit. "I heard Mirajane did a shoot for them back in the day. It's a gig that gets you fame and cash, and it's easy work. Build a name, and you'll never be short on missions!"
"Hmm… that does sound tempting!" Lucy admitted.
In the end, Lucy didn't buy the keys, but to scrape together the funds, she jumped at the photo shoot mission. She promised to come back for the four keys once she had the money, asking Kira to hold onto them.
Before they left, Kira pulled Lucy aside. "You mentioned you're a runaway, right?"
"Yeah, why?" she asked.
He handed her a newspaper. "The Heartfilia family's finances haven't been looking great lately. If you get the chance, maybe check in at home."
"Huh?" Lucy glanced at the paper, her eyes catching the headline: "Heartfilia Conglomerate Faces Potential Acquisition."
Her brain short-circuited. Panic crept in. She'd only been gone a short while, barely making a name for herself, and now her family was on the brink of bankruptcy?
Lucy left with a heavy heart. Natsu and Happy, sensing her mood, uncharacteristically kept quiet.
Kira was feeling a bit down too—not because of Lucy, but because the deal fell through. Still, this wasn't like his usual sales. The keys weren't going anywhere.
Thinking about Lucy's photo shoot, Kira' curiosity piqued. What kind of pictures would they take? Maybe something spicy? Knowing the Fairy Tail vibe, they'd probably turn out pretty good.
Since it was Lucy, he had a feeling there'd be some unexpected flair. Of course, with Natsu around, there was also a chance the shoot would crash and burn.
After seeing Lucy and Natsu off, Kira settled in for his daily study session.
Yes, actual studying. In a world of magic, you either keep learning or fall behind. Kira, well-educated as he was, knew the value of hitting the books.
What was he studying? Magic, obviously! What else would you study in a magic world—martial arts?
Every so often, Kira borrowed a stack of magic books from the library. His Word Magic was versatile in battle, but that versatility came from its vast scope.
Take "Burn," for example—it was somewhat like fire magic. "Heal" mimicked healing magic. In the Fairy Tail world, most magics, when mastered, branched out into other fields.
Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic started with creating flames, eating flames to recover, and fire immunity. Later, it evolved into burning souls or even magic itself.
Gray's Ice-Make Magic had Absolute Zero, later patched to include "vanishing" properties. Then there were things like "altering space," "imbuing personality," "freezing magic," or "cutting strength"—none of which felt like their original magic types.
Altering space? What kind of alteration? Don't you need to study the corresponding magic?
Imbuing personality? Where does the personality come from? No cost?
Freezing magic counts as ice magic?
"Cutting strength" was the wildest—shouldn't that be mental magic?
Back when Kira read the manga, he thought it was just shameless power creep. Slap a vague concept onto another word, and boom—new magic.
By that logic, could Distortion Magic "distort thoughts"? Could Holder Magic "hold elements"? We've got Memory-Make, so why not Fantasy-Make? Oh wait, that's basically Arc of Embodiment.
It was all forced!
But since he was actually in this world now, it seemed the world had patched its magic system a bit.
To make his Word Magic stronger and more versatile, studying other magics was a must. Who knows? Maybe one day he'd master "Speak and Make True."
Word Magic, within its magical range, made anything spoken come true.
It sounded absurd, but it fit Fairy Tail's wild style perfectly. Kira mused that if he ever became a final boss, the protagonists might defeat him with "Burn True Name," "Freeze Voice," or "Sever Language."
Now that would be epic.