Chapter 6: The First Quest and the Perverted Duke
The morning after the guild-wide brawl was unnervingly peaceful. Lucy woke up on a cot in the guild's infirmary, a blanket tucked neatly around her. The main hall, which she had last seen in a state of utter demolition, was miraculously pristine. The tables were whole, the chairs were upright, and the floor was swept clean. The only evidence of the previous night's chaos was a faint, lingering smell of booze and burnt wood.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!"
Lucy sat up to see Mirajane placing a glass of water on the bedside table, her smile as bright and calming as the morning sun.
"Mirajane? What... how is everything so clean?" Lucy asked, her mind still reeling.
"Oh, I tidied up," Mira said with an effortless giggle, as if magically repairing an entire building was as simple as doing the dishes. "The master gets grumpy if the mess is still here when the sun comes up."
Note to self, I thought, floating near the ceiling and observing the scene. Mirajane is not just the guild's friendly bartender; she's a high-level reality warper whose domain is 'tidiness.' Her power level is over 9000 when it comes to chores.
Lucy, now an official member, realized she had a pressing, real-world problem. "This is all amazing," she said, gesturing around the guildhall, "but I can't exactly sleep on a cot forever. I need to find an apartment!"
The word "apartment" seemed to be a trigger phrase for Natsu, who appeared out of nowhere with Happy in tow.
"Apartment hunting? We can help!" he declared with the confidence of someone who has never successfully helped with anything in his life.
What followed was the most chaotic apartment search in the history of Magnolia. Natsu's method of testing a property's integrity was to punch the walls. Happy's idea of checking for storage was to fly headfirst into cupboards. They were loud, they were destructive, and they got kicked out of three different properties in under an hour.
"This isn't helping!" Lucy cried in despair as a landlord chased them down the street, waving a broom and shouting about "pink-haired hooligans."
Okay, this is getting us nowhere, I decided. Time for the support character to gently nudge the plot forward.
As Lucy lamented her fate, I zipped ahead. I found the street I remembered from the anime, the one with the perfect apartment overlooking the river. I spotted the "For Rent" sign and, with a subtle psychic nudge, made it glow with a faint, inviting light that only Lucy seemed to notice.
"Hey, what about that one?" she said, pointing. "It looks... nice."
The landlady was a sweet old woman who explained the rent was only 70,000 Jewel a month. Lucy's face fell. It was a steal for the location, but it was still more than she had.
"Why is it so cheap?" she asked suspiciously.
"Well," the landlady admitted, "the last few tenants left, complaining about... a strange presence. A feeling of being watched."
Ah, the hidden 'quirk' that lowers the property value. A classic RPG trope, I mused. I already knew the "presence" was just Natsu and Happy breaking in all the time.
Lucy, a brave wizard-in-training, decided she could handle a little haunting for a good price. She took the apartment. As she stood in her new, empty living room, dreaming of how she would decorate it, the window suddenly slid open.
"Nice place, Lucy!" Natsu grinned, climbing inside.
"Aye! It's got a great view!" Happy added, flying in after him.
Lucy stared at them, her eye twitching. "You came in through the window?! This is my house! You use the door! And take your shoes off!"
They had already made themselves at home, Natsu sprawled on the floor and Happy investigating a dust bunny. This was their dynamic now. Lucy's apartment wasn't just her home; it was the unofficial Team Natsu clubhouse.
The reality of her 70,000 Jewel rent hit her hard. "I need a job, and I need one now!"
Back at the guildhall, Lucy was frantically scanning the request board, which was filled with low-paying, boring jobs. "Find my lost cat: 5,000 Jewel." "Help me plow my field: 8,000 Jewel." It would take her months to make rent at this rate.
Natsu, however, walked up to the board, sniffed it once, and tore down a flyer from the very top.
"Let's do this one!" he declared.
He held it out. The flyer was fancy, the request simple: "Infiltrate the mansion of Duke Everlue. Take the book 'Daybreak' from his study and burn it."
The reward, printed in huge, bold numbers, made Lucy's eyes pop out of her head: 200,000 JEWEL!
"Two hundred thousand?!" she gasped. That was almost three months' rent!
Mirajane walked over, her smile a little strained. "Oh, that one. The client is Duke Everlue's political rival. The Duke is... well, he's a rather unpleasant man." She shuddered slightly. "He's currently looking for a new blonde maid."
Understatement of the century, I thought. Duke Everlue is a peak-tier 'ugly bastard' anime villain. The kind that makes you want to scrub your eyes with bleach.
"So, what's the problem?" Natsu asked, only seeing the zeroes on the reward.
"The request is to burn a book," Lucy said, her brow furrowed. "I don't know... destroying a book just feels wrong. Especially if it's written by a famous author like Kemu Zaleon."
Natsu just shrugged. "Who cares? It's 200,000 Jewel! We can help you pay your rent, and I can buy a giant meal!" His logic was simple, flawless, and completely ignored the moral implications.
Lucy was torn. Her wizard heart, the part that loved books and stories, was screaming no. But her empty wallet was screaming yes.
Natsu saw her hesitation. "Come on, Lucy," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "It's our first job as a team. We should do it together."
He held out his fist. Happy put his little paw on top. Lucy looked at their expectant faces, then at me, floating nearby. I gave her an encouraging nod. I knew the truth of this mission. It wasn't about destroying a book; it was about uncovering a secret and doing the right thing. It was the perfect first test for her, for all of us.
She sighed, a small smile playing on her lips. "Okay, fine. But I'm not happy about it." She placed her hand on top of Natsu's and Happy's.
I floated over and gently tapped my little pink paw on top of the pile.
Team Natsu was officially open for business.
"Alright!" Natsu cheered. "Let's go to Shirotsume Town and burn a book!"
As they ran out of the guild, filled with excitement and the promise of a huge reward, I lingered for a moment. I already knew the secret of "Daybreak." It wasn't just a book. It was a confession, a father's hidden message to his son. This mission wasn't going to be a simple smash-and-grab. It was going to be a lesson in empathy.
And I'd be there to make sure they learned it.
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