Once we arrived at Shirotsume Town, rather than heading directly to our employer to learn more about the job, I opted to tour the town and learn about our environment; not for me, obviously, but to teach Lucy. I've taken several quests that ended up being traps, and I've learned that always securing an escape route beforehand could save your life; not that I actively do such a thing, but I didn't need Lucy to follow in my footsteps since, unlike her, I was strong.
"Oh, that's a lovely dress; I wonder if they have it pink?" Muttered Lucy with a raised eyebrow as she looked into a store, causing my face to twitch. "Big bro, can I go in and look? I'll only be a few minutes." Said Lucy with a faint smile while skipping to the store's entrance. I wouldn't have minded if it were any other time; hell, if she found a dress she really liked, I probably would've bought it for her. However, she's currently doing a quest, and I can't have her goofing around during a quest where her life could be taken at any moment.
"No. We can return once we complete the quest; until then, remain alert." Grabbing Lucy's ponytail, I yanked her back to my side, causing her to pout before nodding with a sigh. "Haa, you're right, fine." Muttered Lucy with a sigh as she hung her head down while walking beside me, causing me to roll my eyes.
Spending another half-hour walking around the town and learning its layout; only then did we go visit our client, who should be in one of the mansions on the outskirts of the town; after we arrived at the estate, we approved the mansion, where I kicked open the door, earning a slap to my back from Lucy. "Oi, that's not how you're supposed to act when meeting someone!" Stated Lucy as she glared at me with widened eyes, though I dismissively waved my arm while continuing into the mansion as she followed. Walking a few steps into the mansion, a middle-aged couple quickly approached us from one of the many rooms.
"W-Who are you two?" Asked the man, who I could only assume was Kaby Melon, our client. "You Kaby? We're here for the quest about stealing a book." Reaching into my pocket, I approached Kaby and handed him the quest, causing him to raise an eyebrow before sighing in relief. "Haa, you're from Fairy Tail? Please, right this where, allow me to answer whatever questions you may have." Nodding, I gestured towards Lucy, who looked blankly at me before following behind Kaby while I trailed beside her. "When dealing with your clients, remain alert; they can be sneakier than any enemy you meet during your job." Lightly rubbing Lucy's head, she faintly nodded and began to suspiciously eye Kaby and his wife, causing me to inwardly smirk, though I was slightly proud she took my advice to heart.
"You don't need to worry about them; they're prey, they don't have the balls to do anything, though not all clients will be like that… Also, you're taking the lead; I'm not the type to sit down and listen; it bores me." Patting Lucy's back with a faint smirk, I slightly pushed her forward as we entered a small room with two couches facing each other.
"Eh, I-I am?" "Relax, it's just some talking; you should be able to easily do that." Grabbing Lucy's shoulders, I lifted her over the couch and set her down while I stood behind her, prompting Kaby to focus on Lucy instead of me. Just like I had told Lucy, the moment she started to ask Kaby questions, I instantly stopped paying attention and shifted my focus to Aquarius, letting my mind wander as I imagined having sex with her in the middle of the ocean. 'Wait, I never really thought about it since she looked human enough, but does she have reproductive organs?' Tapping my chin, I eventually shrugged my shoulders, figuring I'd ask Lucy another time.
"Thanks, Mr. Melon, you've been of much help; we'll make sure to destroy the book!" Said Lucy with a confident smile as she stood up and clenched her fist, causing me to snap out of my daydream as I aimlessly nodded. "Thank you very much, Lucy!" Said Kaby with a smile while he and his wife waved us off, prompting Lucy and I to leave the mansion. "So, care to summarize what Kaby said?" Glancing at Lucy, who sported a pondering expression, I tilted my head before knocking her head. "Hmm, yeah, what? Did you say something?" "I asked you to summarize. Also, what were you just thinking about?" Raising a curious eyebrow at Lucy, she shook her head.
"Ah, nothing big, bro; I just thought the name Melon sounded familiar. However, Kaby wants us to break into Everlue's Mansion, steal a specific book, and destroy it." Said Lucy lightly as she gave me a summary of our job, causing me to nod while we walked through the town. "Kaby also said Everlue likes blonde-haired women and needed a maid, so maybe I could distract him while you stealthily steal the book?" Added Lucy with furrowed brows as she tapped her chin before looking at me, searching for my input, though I just nodded. "That is fine by me."
Stopping by the store from before, Lucy shot me a cheeky grin while entering. "Hehe, I'm going to need a Maid outfit, big bro." Rolling my eyes, I followed Lucy into the store, and unsurprisingly, she spent it shopping. "Get the maid outfit and one dress, but I'm only buying the latter." Leaning against the wall near the store's entrance, I folded my arms and eyed Lucy, who beamed at my words, causing me to sigh internally.
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Concealing myself in the bushes inside Everlue's mansion, I watched Lucy, who was wearing a short maid outfit with pigtails, knock on his door while acting all cute and dumb; after a few minutes, Everlure opened the door and stepped out of the mansion along with four hideous maids standing directly beside him.
I wasn't paying much attention to what they spoke about, but when I heard Everlue call Lucy ugly, I had half a mind to make him kiss the concrete ground. 'The fuck does he mean, Lucy's ugly? Every woman in Fairy Tail is gorgeous! He must be blind!' Gritting my teeth in anger, I imagined repeatedly slamming his face into the ground while Lucy exited Everlue's estate, prompting me to leap out of the bushes as I landed beside her.
"Haa, sorry, but the plan failed, big bro; stupid old man called me ugly." Said Lucy with a sad frown as she folded her arms, while I patted her shoulder. "Hmph, ignore that blind dumbass; you're exceptionally beautiful, Lucy." my earnest compliment caused Lucy to awkwardly fidget as she lowered her head while she brushed aside her blonde hair. "Eh, y-you really think so?" Nodding in agreement, I clenched my fist and glared at the mansion beyond the wall.
"Now, since your plan didn't work, let's follow my plan… We'll bust in and steal the book." "Y-You sure? We should probably sneak in, big bro." Said Lucy while hesitantly looking at me; although she made a good point, I wasn't going to let that old fool get away with disrespecting Lucy. "Nope, just follow behind me!" Before Lucy could say anything else, I charged through the front gate and into the mansion, where I was immediately attacked by the four maids, who all used earth magic, though I broke all their attacks with just a few punches.
Swiftly nearing the four hideous maids, I punched them in their face, stomach, head, and back, respectively, knocking them all to the ground. "Oi, Lucy!" "Y-Yes, big bro? "You go find the book; I'll deal with everyone else." Seeing Lucy nodded at my commands before running down into the left portion of the mansion while I followed the trail of Everlue's scent, which led to the right portion.
Along the way, I encountered various traps, though nothing I couldn't handle before I smashed through a door into an office, where Everlue's scent was the strongest; yet, before I could search for him, two men suddenly attacked me from the sides, causing me to raise my arms, blocking their attacks. 'What the, is he using a massive frying pan as a weapon? I've never seen that before.' Raising my eyebrows in surprise at the man's choice of weapon, I pushed the two back, causing them to land right beside each other.
"We are the Vanish brothers. Mercenaries Hired by Everlue; it is our obligation to defeat you, mage." Said the frying pan-wielding mercenary, causing me to tilt my head to the side while they speedily lunged toward me. "Oi, I don't like wasting my time with weaklings, so just save yourself the trouble and leave." Dodging the two's initial attack, I landed atop the desk while glancing at the two, though not only did they not listen to my advice, but they became visibly upset.
"Tsk, you dare call us weak!?" "While you mages sit on your assess and meditate, we train our bodies, pushing them to their limits; against the two of us, you stand no chance!" Blankly staring at the two, I felt my eye twitch before heaving a sigh. "Well, I guess I'll entertain you two for a few minutes; I want to give Lucy a chance to learn by herself as well."