Lucy stood confidently, but suddenly, the ground behind her bulged and a short, stout middle-aged man emerged from the hole, his height only reaching Lucy's chest.
"Were you calling for me?" Duke Everlue flirtatiously stroked his beard.
"Master, please guide me well." Lucy rested her cheek on her hand and bowed slightly, feigning the role of a maid.
"I'm watching..." Everlue squinted his eyes.
"No need. Go back, you dinosaur."
"Dino...?" Lucy froze.
"Listen, a great and outstanding man like me is only suited for beautiful women."
After Everlue said this, four "beauties" who didn't quite fit conventional aesthetics emerged closely behind him.
They looked like..... four Gorillas instead!
"Dinosaur, go back. Don't embarrass yourself here."
They didn't forget to kick Lucy while she was down before burrowing back underground with the Duke.
"You're completely useless..." Natsu muttered from the bushes.
"That's not true! It's just that Everlue's aesthetic sense is way too bizarre!" Lucy shouted, recovering from the shock.
"That's just an excuse!" Happy mercilessly retorted.
[Blonde Maid Operation: Failure!]
Seeing the infiltration fail, Natsu decided to switch to a surprise attack.
Happy carried Natsu and Lucy up to the rooftop one by one, where they broke the glass to enter Everlue's mansion, moving from the storage room to the main corridor.
"Intruders spotted!" The four gorilla maids emerged with brooms, blocking the path.
"They must be expelled!"
Following closely behind them, a heavyweight, pink-haired maid made her appearance.
"So annoying!" Natsu sent the four ugly maids flying with a single Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
"Flying Virgo Impact!"
The giant maid, Virgo, leaped high and came down in a diving pose, intending to crush Natsu with her immense weight.
"What's with this weight!?" Natsu lifted Virgo up with surprising strength and kicked her away with a Fire Dragon's Claw.
After defeating the maids, Natsu and Lucy "sneakily" (with Natsu causing destruction along the way) made their way to Everlue's study.
"It's all books here."
"Wouldn't have guessed that old man was a book collector."
"Finding one specific book among so many volumes is way too hard, right?" Lucy climbed up a ladder to search the higher shelves, thinking Everlue would probably keep important books up high.
"Found an amazing book!" Natsu raised a book and shouted.
"Found a golden book!" Happy chimed in.
"Wuba!" Even Plue found one.
"Could you two please search seriously! Huh?"
While complaining, Lucy glanced at the cover of the book in her hand—DAYBREAK.
"Daybreak? It says Daybreak here!"
"We found it~"
"2,000,000 Jewels this easily? Let's burn it quickly!"
"Wait, the author is... Kemu Zaleon! I'm his super fan!"
"I see, I see. So you came for this 'Daybreak' book." Duke Everlue said while emerging from beneath the floorboards.
"What's with all the floors in this house..." Happy didn't even know where to begin complaining.
"I've been wondering what you Mages were looking for—turns out it's this trashy book!"
"If you say it's trash, how about giving it to me?"
"No, my things will always remain mine!"
"Stingy!" Lucy protested under her breath.
"Annoying dinosaur." Everlue dug his nose while looking at Lucy with disdain. "How dare you touch my belongings! Come forth, Vanish Brothers!"
The bookshelves behind Natsu and Lucy slid apart to the sides, revealing two men—one tall and one short—standing behind them.
"Such brats are actually Mages from Fairy Tail?"
"That emblem... they're from the Southern Wolves mercenary guild," Happy noted, pointing at the insignia on their clothes.
"Natsu, give me some time. I have a feeling this book holds some secret."
After saying this, Lucy hugged the book and ran out of the library.
'A secret? How come I don't know about it? Could it be that this book contains a hidden treasure map?' Natsu wondered.
"I'll handle capturing the girl. You two deal with him," Everlue ordered before diving into the ground.
Amid the chaotic start of the fight, Natsu was sent flying by a large frying pan wielded by the shorter brother, landing on the extended tongue of a giant statue of Everlue.
"Do you know where a Mage's weakness lies?" the taller brother asked arrogantly.
"Is it their fear of riding vehicles?" Happy guessed.
"No... that seems to be your personal issue..." The mercenary scoffed. "The weakness lies in the physical body. So-called magic can only be obtained through rigorous training of one's mental power."
"As a result, in the pursuit of Magical Power, physical training becomes insufficient."
"In other words, compared to us mercenaries who train our bodies every day, you Mages fall far behind in both strength and speed."
"How stupid," Natsu replied with a look of utter disdain.
'Call me lack of muscle training?'
With the well-defined muscles rippling all over his body, Natsu thought these guys ought to visit a doctor or something.
What kind of hellish life did he lead in the guild? Training his body? He trained every single day!
The memories of being chased by Raizel and hacked at by Erza were still vivid in his mind.
'Ugh, can't think about it, can't think about it. Too horrifying.'
Natsu shook his head vigorously and rubbed his arms, feeling goosebumps all over just remembering his "training" sessions.
"Hmph, let us show you our ultimate technique!"
"Heaven and Earth Annihilation Slash!"
"Fire Dragon's... Wing Attack!"
Natsu couldn't be bothered to waste any more time with them. He unleashed his flames, destroying part of the house and instantly defeating both brothers in one blow.
...
Meanwhile, in the Sewers—
"There's actually such a secret in this book!" Lucy read rapidly with the help of her Wind Reading Glasses.
"Quickly, tell me the secret in the book!" Everlue emerged from the wall behind Lucy and grabbed one of her arms.
"Open, Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!"
As soon as the tall, suit-wearing goat appeared, he utilized his martial arts to lift Lucy and leap away from Everlue's grasp.
"A goat!" Happy pressed his paws against his cheeks, drooling slightly at the sight of the animal.
"Miss Lucy, what are your orders?" Capricorn set Lucy down and placed his right palm over his chest in a formal salute.
"Help me defeat him, Capricorn!"
"As you wish."
"So it's Celestial Spirit Magic, nut i am not one to be easily defeated! Diver Magic!"
Everlue engaged in a chaotic battle with Capricorn using his earth escape techniques.
Everlue's skills were fairly decent, and he even managed to taunt Lucy during the fight.
'What exactly is the secret? Could it be records of the shady dealings under my numerous enterprises? This won't do. If she hands it over to the Council's investigative Mages, I'll be left with nothing.' Everlue panicked and summoned his strongest servant.
"Open, Gate of Virgo! Virgo!"
The large maid Virgo appeared from the Spirit World, but she brought someone along for the ride...
"Yo, Lucy!"
"Natsu!"
"Why did you come out with Virgo?" Lucy screamed, scratching her head in confusion. "How could a human like you possibly have passed through the Celestial Spirit World? That's impossible!!!"
"Never mind that! Natsu, you handle that one. I'll take care of Everlue!"
"Leave it to me! Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu blasted Virgo back, while Capricorn delivered a powerful kick that sent Everlue flying.
Seizing the opening, Lucy unfastened the whip from her waist, swinging it to bind Everlue tightly.
"We win!"
...
Back at the Client's Mansion—
Lucy and Natsu met again with their client, Kaby Melon.
"You are Kemu Zaleon's son, right?" Lucy asked gently.
Just as Kaby was about to burn the book in despair, the magic cast upon it finally activated thanks to the secret Lucy had uncovered.
The letters on the cover rearranged themselves.
"He had enchanted this book back then. Its true name is 'DEAR KABY'."
"The contents are the same—the reason he gave up being a writer. It might be the worst work he ever wrote in his lifetime, or it could be the best masterpiece he ever created."
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