Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

Chapter 223: Bank Approves, [Magic Net Pay], 0.8 Update!

The next day, when Nate woke up, it was already 11 a.m.

As he opened his eyes, he saw he was still covered with the blanket he'd conjured the night before, but Mirajane had already woken up. Sitting up, he noticed Mavis, still engrossed in watching an animation.

"First Master, are you planning to watch the whole series in one go?" Nate asked, rubbing his somewhat messy hair.

Mavis, curled up on the couch with her knees hugged close, looked bright-eyed and lively, showing no signs of fatigue. She turned to him, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Pokémon is indeed very entertaining! But, Fourth Master, your Celestial Pokémon is even more fun!"

Nate glanced at the light screen she was watching—it was the Vermilion Gym episode, somewhere around episode 30. She was watching at an impressive pace.

"By the way, the magic crystal projecting the animation will only last a week," Nate said, standing up to freshen up. "I'll just give it to you."

Mavis puffed out her cheeks, her expression playful and a little demanding.

"Celestial Pokémon is even more fun!"

She repeated, making it clear she was hinting at something. Nate couldn't help but laugh; watching the animation would make anyone want to try the game.

"Have you not tried summoning cards yet, First Master?"

"I don't have the app! No one sent it to me," she said, looking close to tears, her eyes filled with exaggerated sorrow as she stared at Nate.

No one sent it? He was startled but quickly realized that, besides himself, the only others who knew about her were Master Makarov and Erza. Mirajane knew now too, but it made sense that Mavis hadn't received anything yet.

"Alright, alright, don't cry," he said with a smile, opening the game network to send her the app and the magic bank app. Immediately, Mavis's face lit up, and she eagerly opened the game.

So that sad look was just for show—she was just like Mirajane, with the same overly dramatic expression. Nate thought, 'I'm even playing along!'

"Fourth Master, something's wrong with the app!"

Nate looked over to see Mavis giving him an expectant look. It wasn't broken; she just didn't have any tickets to start summoning.

Slightly exasperated, he thought, 'So now the First Master wants to freeload my tickets too?' Still, he couldn't resist her adorable expression and sent her 200 golden tickets.

Mavis looked at her ticket count and once again gave him that expectant look.

A silent, yet clear message: 'More, please.'

"How many do you need? Are you planning to fill out all eight Pokémon spots?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, and Nate thought, 'I may not be into little kids, but the First Master is just too cute,' like a child asking an adult for more candy. Finally, with a sigh, he relented and sent her another 200 tickets.

"Four hundred tickets should be enough for you to get all eight," he said.

"You really are a good person, Fourth Master! I've decided—I'm going to demote the Third Master and hand the Guild Master title to you~"

Nate: "..."

Wait, no, that's just betrayal in disguise!

...

Ground Floor Tavern Hall

Behind the bar, Lisanna was quietly chatting with her sister.

"Mira, did you... last night?"

"We just watched a movie!"

Mirajane rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated, wondering what kinds of strange books her sister had been reading lately.

"Just a movie?" Lisanna's eyes widened. "I don't believe you! Come on, tell me, Mira~"

...

Meanwhile, upstairs, Nate was finally able to convince the First Master to abandon her plan of dismissing the Third Master. While freshening up in the bathroom, he opened the Magic Net and caught up on his messages.

Lucy had sent a quick hello the previous night to check on him, as he hadn't been home. After replying to her, another message popped up from someone unexpected: the former Magic Council Chairman.

Crawford Seam: "Nate, the council's been restructured. Be careful—the council has its eye on Fairy Tail again."

Sigma Male: "What's going on, Chairman?"

Crawford Seam: "No longer the Chairman, actually. After that incident with Grimoire Heart, I'm just a regular council member now. ???????"

Crawford Seam: "The new Chairman is Gran Doma, and he's never liked Fairy Tail. Thinks you're all a bit... unruly."

Sigma Male: "You were the best chairman, Crawford-san."

Crawford Seam: "Anyway, just be cautious. Doma might take action soon."

Sigma Male: "What kind of action?"

Crawford Seam: "He may want to investigate you openly... or discreetly. Even if he disapproves, he still needs an excuse to act."

Got it. They'd likely send someone to investigate—either publicly or quietly. Nate figured this was more of a headache for the Guild Master and sent a heads-up to Makarov.

Fairy Tail's Grandpa: "Got it. The council's just blowing smoke—don't worry about them."

Not surprising from Makarov, with all his experience handling council politics. His confidence made Nate chuckle.

Then, he noticed another message from early that morning—from Jude Heartfilia.

Jude Heartfilia: "My boy, the bank has agreed to move forward with it. They want to test out a payment system on the Magic Net."

'When did he suddenly start calling me his 'boy'?' Nate thought. He figured Jude must have caught wind of his relationship with Lucy. Should he lean into the new father-in-law dynamic a little?

Sigma Male: "As expected from you, father-in-law. You made it happen with ease!"

Jude Heartfilia: "Haha, it's really your Magic Net that's impressive! ??"

'That was easy,' Nate thought, amused by how a little flattery worked wonders.

Jude Heartfilia: "So, when are you and Lucy getting married? I'll spare no expense on the wedding!"

'Whoa there, that's moving a bit fast!' Nate thought. 'Marriage? What about the others?'

Sigma Male: "I think it's a bit early to say."

Jude Heartfilia: "Haha, you young people take your time—I won't rush you."

After a few more friendly messages, they wrapped up the conversation. Nate didn't take the marriage talk too seriously and focused on setting up the payment system for the bank.

...

Magic world banks weren't unfamiliar with magic-based transactions. They already had enchanted transfer cards that could instantly transact between two accounts in person. Nate's goal was simply to allow this system to run on the Magic Net as [Magic Net Pay].

The bank also preferred to test this payment system initially to evaluate how it would work on a large scale, knowing that any potential losses would be manageable.

...

Two days later, Nate completed the development of [Magic Net Pay] and integrated it with the bank. At the same time, he checked in on Levy, who had just finished coding the [Video Streaming Site].

The video site was relatively simple, much like the novel site he'd had her work on before. Since they didn't need to worry about storage, as the data was held somewhere mysterious (likely the system itself), the task was straightforward.

"Looks like it's time to roll out version 0.8. This is a big update..." Nate thought about whether he was forgetting anything important, then shrugged. He could always fix bugs later.

After crafting a long update announcement, he synced the new version for all users:

[Magic Internet alpha 0.8 Version Update Announcement]

~~~

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