บท 21: [Sponsored] Chapter 21: Zodiac Key Virgo! Fairy Queen!
[This chapter is proudly sponsored by "Zero Speed." Please join me in expressing your thanks in the comments! If you're interested in sponsoring a chapter, consider joining the Patreon.]
"Enemies!"
Lucy's heart skipped a beat.
If Nate hadn't pulled her back just now, the huge frying pan in front of her would have crashed right into her.
"You can't resort to theft, young mage," said a bald man standing effortlessly atop the handle of the frying pan, striking an imposing figure from above.
"Brother, there's no need to waste words on thieves!" A voice came from behind them.
Lucy turned and saw a large figure descending from the sky, aiming a fierce kick at the two of them.
Nate pulled Lucy back again, effortlessly dodging the sneak attack.
With a loud bang, the figure's foot slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
"Nice reflexes, mage," said the tall brother, sporting a spiky, star-shaped afro, with a cocky grin after missing his attack.
"We're the Vanish Brothers from the mercenary guild, 'Southern Wolves'. If you've run into us, consider yourselves unlucky!"
Through Nate's eyes, he saw that the magic power within these two brothers was weak—barely registering as "half a heart."
"They're weaklings, yet so arrogant. Can't even tell the difference in strength," Nate thought.
Lucy, meanwhile, had already taken out a set of keys from her skirt pocket and began chanting an incantation:
"I am the celestial mage who connects to the celestial spirit world! Answer my call and cross the gate! Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"
A celestial spirit with a bull's head, wielding a double-bladed axe, emerged from a golden magic circle.
Seeing this, the Vanish Brothers were visibly shocked.
"A celestial mage? And one of the Zodiac Keys, no less?"
"Taurus, defeat them!" Lucy commanded swiftly.
With a loud bellow, Taurus jumped up, took the axe off his back, and swung it down toward the brothers.
"Moo!"
With a tremendous crash, the ground split apart from the force of the blow.
The Vanish Brothers barely dodged the attack, scattering to avoid it.
The bald brother swung his frying pan in retaliation, the large pan appearing weightless in his hands.
He aimed a sweeping strike at Taurus.
Meanwhile, the other brother quickly moved toward Lucy, his well-trained fists aimed at her.
"A celestial mage's biggest weakness is that the mage themselves is weak!"
His voice was full of arrogance, but suddenly, a hand appeared right in front of his face, gripping his head tightly.
Before he could react, his vision flipped upside down.
As he was thrown backward, he saw the blue sky framed by Nate's fingers.
"What…?"
The spiky-haired brother was shocked, unable to comprehend what was happening.
The next moment, his head hit the ground hard, followed by a powerful seismic shock.
Boom!
The ground cracked beneath him. Just a second ago, he had been boasting, but now he lay there like a beaten dog.
"What should I call this move?" Nate pondered as he released his grip. "Grabbing someone's head and hitting it with a precise shockwave… 'Cranial Crush,' maybe?"
"Brother!"
The bald brother, who had been fighting Taurus, looked over in horror to see his sibling taken down in an instant.
Everything had happened so quickly that Lucy hadn't even caught Nate's movements.
"Wow, Nate's amazing!" Lucy felt completely reassured and shouted, "Taurus, finish him off!"
Taking advantage of the bald brother's distraction, Taurus slammed his axe into his back, knocking him flat.
The bald man screamed in pain before passing out.
"What were these two even here for?" Nate wondered, somewhat exasperated. "Looks like being a mercenary isn't an easy job."
"Lucy-chan, your figure is still as stunning as ever," Taurus commented, hearts practically shining in his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, now back to your world," Lucy waved dismissively, sending Taurus back to the celestial spirit world. "Nate, we're done here. Let's go find the client."
"Hold on, there's one more."
Nate walked over to a nearby tree, squatted down, and pressed his palm against the ground.
"Earthquake!"
Boom!
The earth crumbled, forming a massive crater several meters in diameter.
In the center of the pit lay Duke Everlue, looking utterly defeated.
"That dirty old man!" Lucy exclaimed. "When did he hide underground?"
"He's been following us ever since you left the Duke's mansion," Nate explained, walking over to the unconscious Duke. He fished a golden key from the Duke's pocket.
"So, I was the reason we got discovered?" Lucy suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. "I thought it was because you got caught stealing the book."
She was starting to feel like a bit of a failure. Thankfully, Nate was here.
When Lucy saw the golden key in Nate's hand, her eyes widened in shock, and she blurted out:
"A Zodiac Key! Virgo! He's also a celestial spirit mage?"
Suddenly, she recalled the maids she'd seen at the estate. She'd thought something was off at the time—it turned out one of them had been a celestial spirit.
The muscular maid!
Her eyes lit up, and her tone grew overly affectionate:
"Nate~"
"Hey, stop that. This is my loot," Nate said, playfully twirling the Virgo key in his hand. "Virgo, huh? Maybe I should try learning celestial magic too."
"Celestial magic isn't that easy to learn!" Lucy cried, rushing over and grabbing the key with teary eyes. "I'll buy it, okay?"
"Do you even have the money?"
"I'll write an IOU, alright…"
Her voice sounded pitiful, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Lucy felt like her debt was only growing larger.
Nate handed her the key, then patted her head and said with a smile:
"Come on, it's just a small debt of 15,997,000J. You'll pay it off in no time."
"…"
Lucy felt both happy and heartbroken at the same time. She was really being played with.
"Come on, stop standing around. Let's go find the client."
"Yes, sir!"
Before long, Nate and Lucy found the client, a middle-aged man who lived in a mansion.
The client was shocked when they arrived with the book, but in the end, he was happy to pay them.
Lucy, curious why he was paying 2 million J to have a book destroyed, read 'Daybreak' carefully before it was destroyed.
On the surface, it seemed to be a poorly written adventure novel by a famous author, intended for Duke Everlue.
It was terrible, completely unworthy of the author's usual skill.
Upon closer inspection, Lucy realized it was a magic book.
It was a gift from the author's father—a final work before he retired.
The author had been coerced by Duke Everlue, who had threatened his family, and thus, a deceitful switch had taken place.
"He was my father…"
Understanding the truth, the client broke down in tears and decided not to destroy the book after all.
Nate wasn't particularly interested in the drama and left the conversation to Lucy.
In the end, they received their 2 million J and boarded a carriage back home.
"That mansion was rented. The guy isn't even really rich," Nate said on the way back, shaking his head. "He just wanted to save face."
"Really?" Lucy was surprised. "Does that mean taking 2 million J from him is wrong?"
"It's a lesson. Instead of letting him waste it trying to impress people, I'll make sure it's spent properly."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Lucy couldn't argue with that logic. If he didn't have the money, he shouldn't have raised the reward from 200,000 to 2 million.
...
Back in Magnolia.
Nate and Lucy walked into the guild together.
"It's so quiet…" Lucy remarked, looking around in confusion. It was usually quite noisy.
Nate spotted Natsu and Gray with their arms around each other, looking like best friends.
Standing in front of them was a tall girl in armor, nodding in approval.
"Erza Scarlet…"
One of the five S-Class mages in the guild, also known as the "Fairy Queen."
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