Around a square table in the guild, Chase sat together with Lucy, Natsu, and the others.
"Huh?! 700,000 Jewels for a photoshoot?!!" Lucy exclaimed.
From Dark Magician Girl, she learned the amount of the reward from Weekly Sorcerer Magazine's commission, and her eyes gleamed with envy.
To think that she, Natsu, and Happy had worked so hard going to the duke's castle to destroy books, and that was only this much!
And they didn't even get it in the end!
Her rent was exactly 70,000 Jewels—meaning Dark Magician Girl and Mira-nee's photoshoot could cover ten months of rent?!
"Although it's safer than combat commissions, it's not exactly easy work either."
Mira walked over carrying beer and snacks. After setting everything on the table, she smiled and suggested to Lucy, "If you're interested, Lucy, I could put in a good word for you."
Hearing this, Lucy instantly deflated. "No way, no way. I definitely couldn't do it."
Even now, she vividly remembered what happened when she bought the Canis Minor key at the magic prop shop in Hargeon.
The seduction she'd poured her all into had only gotten her a measly 1,000 Jewel discount!
"Don't be so unconfident. Lucy, you're super cute and have a great figure." Mira carefully appraised Lucy and offered encouragement.
Chase took a gulp of ice-cold beer and laughed. "Haha, that may be true, but I somehow get the feeling not many people would fall for Lucy's act."
Come to think of it, from the bald old man at the prop shop to the gate guards at the Grand Magic Games, Lucy's seduction techniques never seemed to succeed in the original work.
"...If it's just a feeling, Chase, please don't say it out loud next time." Lucy's distressed expression deepened.
"Come to think of it, Lucy might be more suited for editorial work than being a cover girl?"
Natsu rested his cheek on one hand, eating noodles that were literally on fire in his plate, and spoke seriously for once. "After all, you secretly write... PFFT!!"
"AAAH! You can't just bring that up!!"
Before he could finish, Lucy's iron fist—fueled by a blush spreading across her entire face—sent him flying into a hall pillar, noodles mixed with foam spewing from his mouth.
"Lucy... so scary..." Happy trembled.
"My, my. I almost heard something quite interesting."
A smile hung on Mira's lips as she began speculating on her own. "Suitable for editorial work, needs to write secretly, can't let others know... Hmm..."
Seeing she was about to deduce the correct answer, Lucy resigned herself to her fate and closed her eyes.
As Levy had said, having her novel discovered by others was no different from being seen naked.
About to be publicly executed, Lucy felt the shame of having her skirt pulled down bit by bit.
"Could it be... Lucy, you've been secretly recording everyone's scandals?!" Mira looked horified.
"No, I've just been writing na—huh? Scandals?" Lucy's eyes widened.
The skirt that was about to be exposed suddenly snapped back up, firmly secured by a belt.
"That's right. Didn't I hear from Happy that you even spent money to buy scandals about me and Chase?"
Mira's lips suddenly curved upward into her signature gentle smile.
But in Lucy's eyes, this smile carried a few extra degrees of nuclear kindness.
Yep. Nuclear as in atomic.
You damn cat!
You sold me out!
Do you have no basic business ethics?
What happened to trust between people—no, between people and cats!!
Exposed on the spot, Lucy glared at Happy with bloodshot eyes, wishing she could throw the damn cat into the river to feed the fish!
Sensing the killing intent, Happy instantly zipped into the air. Only after ensuring his safety did he speak with complete confidence: "Well, Mira treated me to grilled fish for free, so you can't really blame me."
So a single grilled fish was enough to sell me out?!
Lucy clenched her fists, the fire in her heart burning even brighter.
Then her eyes met Mira's, and the anger instantly dissipated, replaced by pure obedience.
"Um, Mira-nee, let me explain..."
"It's really no big deal. But if you want this kind of intelligence in the future, just come ask me directly."
Mira pressed a finger to her cheek, her gaze sweeping sideways across the other guild members as she smiled. "The Intelligence I have is way more than Happy's, and I don't charge."
With her personality, she naturally wouldn't care about such trivial matters. The reason she'd put on that nuclear kindness act was simply because she thought it would be fun to scare timid Lucy a little.
After all, that hidden dark side was always there.
Only after repeated confirmation that Mira truly wasn't angry did Lucy heave a huge sigh of relief and collapse onto the table as if reborn.
She was relieved now, but Cana, Macao, and the others who'd been swept by Mira's gaze tensed up instantly, becoming restless.
Any one of the scandals Mira held could cause an explosion.
In the past, they could've bluffed their way out with fists, but now sitting before them was...
The one who had restored her magic power — Demon Mirajane!