Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

The Desert King, Ajeel, stood up to provoke the new emperor, only to be promptly and effortlessly put in his place.

The scene left the rest of the Spriggan 12 visibly shaken. Who would have thought someone could be so foolish?

The immense cursed energy that had briefly appeared was nothing short of terrifying.

“Offending His Majesty deserves death. Let me, Irene, handle the execution of this idiot on behalf of His Majesty.”

Irene raised her staff and tapped it heavily on the ground.

Enchant Magic: Transformation into a Mouse!

A crimson bolt of magic energy shot forth, instantly striking Ajeel. Still reeling from the earlier incident, he had no time to resist. With a small pop, he transformed into a mouse.

Squeak, squeak, squeak—!

The tiny mouse squealed in panic.

“Turn him back,” Nate said with a shake of his head.

“As you wish.” Irene smiled faintly, pointing her staff at the mouse.

Another crimson flash struck, and the mouse promptly reverted to its original form.

Now thoroughly cowed, Ajeel looked at Nate with a gaze full of fear. He was no stranger to curses or cursed energy. After all, among the Twelve, Bloodman the Grim Reaper—one of the demons from Zeref's Book—used curse-based magic. But the gap between Bloodman’s cursed energy and that of the new emperor was as vast as the heavens and the earth.

“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty. My words earlier were out of line!”

Knowing when to yield, Ajeel lowered his head.

“It’s fine.”

Nate retrieved Zeref’s magic letter and tossed it into the center of the round table. Zeref’s holographic image appeared once more.

A few minutes later, everyone had finished reading the contents and confirmed the presence of Zeref’s magic aura.

“So, that’s the situation.

I’m not interested in governing the empire. Things can remain as they’ve always been.

Invel.”

Hearing his name, Invel immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. What are your orders?”

Since this decision came directly from Emperor Zeref, Invel had no objections to Nate taking the throne.

“I need you to take care of something. This will be my first order as the new emperor.”

Everyone at the table perked up, listening intently.

“Establish a magic workshop dedicated to producing the Magic Net rings you’re all wearing.

There are two requirements.”

Nate raised two fingers. “First, keep production costs under 10,000 J per ring.

Second, the monthly production quota must reach one million units.”

He turned to Invel. “Is that feasible?”

Invel thought for a moment and then answered, “There is no difficulty in meeting those requirements.”

No difficulty? Nate was slightly surprised. It seemed the industrial capacity of the Alvarez Empire far outstripped that of the Kingdom of Fiore.

Curious, he asked, “If you mobilized every craftsman in the empire, how many rings could be produced monthly?”

“If we spare no expense, we could produce ten million units per month,” Invel replied without hesitation.

“However, this would cause some disruption within the empire.”

Hearing this, Nate smiled with satisfaction. “In that case, adjust the target to five million units per month. Does that sound reasonable?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Next, Nate asked the Spriggan 12 to introduce themselves. There wasn’t much to discuss; the purpose was simply to become acquainted. The atmosphere was harmonious.

Finally, Nate said, “That’s all for now. You’re dismissed. Irene, show me around.”

With that, he stood up and left the roundtable conference room. Irene and Mavis also rose and followed him.

…

After the three left, Neinhart couldn’t help but laugh. “We should be grateful for His Majesty’s mercy. Someone here narrowly escaped with their life.”

Ajeel glared at him, ignoring the sarcasm, and asked, “With this sudden change of emperor, shouldn’t we make a formal announcement to the entire nation?”

What a shift—he had gone from being a provocateur to a compliant follower. Neinhart found it a bit dull. Still, there was no denying the new emperor’s immense power. Anyone capable of lifting the Ankhseram Curse from Zeref must be an entity of equal magnitude. And that overwhelming surge of cursed energy earlier was enough to scare anyone witless.

Invel stood up. “I will consult His Majesty about informing the populace. Meeting adjourned.” With that, he left first.

Dimaria, the “Warrior Queen,” glanced at Brandish, who seemed distracted.

“Brandy, what’s on your mind?”

They had a good relationship, so Brandish didn’t hesitate. Her eyes flickered lazily as she murmured, “I’m just wondering... where have all the gods gone?”

Where have all the gods gone? Dimaria’s heart skipped a beat. It was indeed a profound question. The only relatively active god nowadays seemed to be Ankhseram, and even then, calling it “active” was an overstatement—it merely cursed people occasionally. No one had actually seen it.

Come to think of it, the new emperor was probably the most “active” deity around—a physical avatar walking among mortals, now even ruling the Alvarez Empire.

“By the way,” Dimaria mused, “is His Majesty really only here to have the empire produce those Magic Net rings?” The simplicity of it all left her speechless.

At that moment, August suddenly spoke: “Speaking ill of the gods brings disaster. Watch your tongue.”

“His Majesty seems easygoing enough,” Neinhart said with a yawn. “You’re worrying too much, August.” He stood and left, adding with a laugh, “Look at Ajeel—he’s still alive!”

…

Under Irene’s guidance, Nate and Mavis strolled through the royal palace.

“This is the former Emperor Zeref’s chamber,” Irene said, pushing open a door.

Nate took in the lavishly furnished room, its opulence practically dripping with the scent of wealth.

“Zeref rarely stayed in the empire,” Irene explained with a smile. “He preferred to wander the world, so this room hasn’t been used. Only the maids come in daily to clean.”

What are you trying to suggest by showing me this? Nate couldn’t help but wonder if Irene was hinting at something.

Thinking about it, he already had nine girlfriends. In chronological order, they were: Ultear, Juvia, Erza, Ur, Lucy, Cana, Mirajane, Irene, and Mavis.

Nine ships. Achievement unlocked!

For a moment, Nate felt a smug sense of satisfaction. But managing so many relationships was exhausting. A week only had seven days, and even if he devoted a day to each, two of them would still be left out. Perhaps it was time for some... group bonding activities.

He figured he could start with Ultear and Juvia, the first two women who joined his life. They’d likely be the most open to the idea. As for Mirajane, Lucy, and Mavis? No way—they’d never agree anytime soon.

Setting aside his mischievous thoughts, Nate turned to Irene. “By the way, how is the distribution of the 1,000,000 Magic Net rings I gave you coming along?”

“We’ve sold 500,000 so far. The rest are still in progress.”

Nate opened the Magic Net’s backend system to check the current statistics.

[Total Registered Users: 3,841,547]

Nearly four million users. It seemed like a lot, but compared to the world’s total population, it was just a drop in the ocean.

“On the way here, I saw Brandish’s troops selling rings on Caracole Island. Why go so far out to sell them?”

Irene narrowed her eyes slightly. “Shouldn’t the goal of dissemination be to spread the Magic Net as widely as possible?”

She wasn’t wrong. The further they spread, the more people would learn about the Magic Net. Those without rings could easily ask ring owners to order more through the [Magic Net Marketplace]. In terms of propagation efficiency, it was logical.

After some thought, Nate said, “Distribute the remaining 500,000 rings as quickly as possible, starting with the capital.”@@novelbin@@

“As you wish, Your Majesty~” Irene replied with a sly smile.