Sorry for the longer-than-usual wait. Finally, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!!
Natsu pov
"No fucking way," I growl at Lucy before shoving another bite of food in my mouth. "It's a dumb plan. It won't work. Forget it."
We are sitting in a small restaurant, eating our food before heading to that Everlue guy's place. It's a cozy place, and the food is good. Unsurprisingly, the place emptied right as we took a seat. I know it was my fault, but I couldn't give a shit. The waitress who came to take our order was a small, brown-haired thing no older than we are, and she was shaking more than a leaf on a windy day. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to write our order correctly and came back with it in record time. Probably so we would eat fast and leave even faster. Our simple presence here was making them lose clients.
As if to prove me right, a couple entered the restaurant, freezing solid when they recognize me only a few seconds after catching sight of us. When the waitress approaches them with an obviously forced smile, it appears to shake them out of their daze, and they turn heels and exit the place faster than the waitress can finish her welcome. The little waitress seems one second away from crying, once again stuck alone with us. It's not the first time this scene happened in the last fifteen minutes we have been here, either.
I bring my attention back to Lucy when she speaks again. "It's not that bad of a plan." She waves her fork in my direction to emphasize her words. "On the request poster, it was mentioned that he was looking for a blond maid. It would be the perfect opportunity to infiltrate his house." She takes another bite of her food, humming her contentment at the delicious food. As for me, I grit my teeth together in irritation.
"I am not going to let you infiltrate an unknown house alone. More than that, I will not let you dress as a maid to do it. He will probably recognize you anyway. Don't forget your face was on a wanted poster for many years too," I try to reason her.
"Between the two of us," she argues, "you are the most easily recognizable, especially with your pink hair and mean eyes. For me, as long as they don't catch sight of my eye, they are none the wiser of who I am. As for dressing up as a maid, I don't understand why it bothers you so much."
I stab my fork in my food with a little more strength than necessary, needing an outlet for my frustration. 'Why?' she asks? Because she shouldn't have to put herself in a position to cater to anyone. Not anymore. Not even for a job. From the little details she shared with me from her childhood, I knew she had been treated worse than a servant. A fate she did nothing to deserve. And yet, she did not seem to hold any grudge of resentment about it. If she were not going to be angry about it, then I would in her stead. And I will do anything in my power to not make her feel like that ever again. Even for just a second. Even for pretend.
"Come on, Natsu," she pleads again. "You have to admit, it's not a bad plan. It could totally work. I get in as a maid, sneak around a little bit under the guise of cleaning up, find the book and throw it to you outside or something. All that would be left is for me to leave the house."
"That's if he hires you as a maid," I counter. "It's not a given. That your plan relies on a hypothesis is a pretty big flaw if you ask me."
She flips her hair behind her shoulder, replying, "It's almost a given. Who wouldn't want a beautiful girl like me as a maid?"
I make a noncommittal noise, bringing back my attention to my food. "I still don't like your plan. There are surer ways to get inside."
"You mean sneaking around?" she asks with skepticism. "You do know you are not the stealthy type, right? More like the raging bull storming the place." I snort. That's because most things can get resolved quickly when I hit people a few times. Or if I kill them. "We need a little bit more finesse for this mission, and that is my expertise."
I stare at her right in her eyes to make sure she sees how serious I am when I reply, "No."
After a few seconds stare-off, she finally looks away, breaking eye contact. She lets out a defeated sigh. "All right, if you are really so opposed to it, I guess we can do it another way." Her surrender doesn't make me happy, but I do feel relieved. We don't know what could await her inside this house. We don't know if we are the first to attempt this mission and if Everlue updated his security measures after the other mages' failure. I trust her to take care of herself and make the right decision, but I still want to be there to, if not protect her, then help her any way I can. If I'm stuck outside the building, I can't do that efficiently.
"So we are sneaking in?" Happy confirms.
I look at him in the corner of my eye, nodding. "Yeah. We could have you scout the exterior of the house and search for the library from the air." I pause, an idea forming in my mind. I turn fully towards the blue cat. "Can you carry a person while flying?"
"Aye! Only one thought. I can also go suuuper fast."
I nod again. "We will have to look around the place a little bit, but I think I know how we can get in. If you are finished with your meal, we can go."
We pay and exit the restaurant under the relieved stare of the waitress.
***
Lucy pov
The Everlue Mansion was not far, so it takes us no time to get there on foot. Once there, we stay hidden in the surrounding vegetation. By we, I mean Natsu and me since Happy went on a reconnaissance mission around what appears to be a fortress. The small palace (yes, yes, that's right, a palace) is surrounded by a ten-foot-tall concrete wall topped by metal spikes. The only entrance is a giant iron door that is surely blocked from the inside, which doesn't really matter since it won't be our entry point. We would have to bust it open and say bye-bye to our sneaking-in plan.
Speaking of, Happy is coming back, landing in my arms. I look down at him. "So, did you find something?"
"Aye!" he answers. "I found where the library is. It's that third window on the side starting from the back on the second floor. And I can also drop you guys on the roof where you can access the inside of the house."
"Thanks a lot. It's a great help," I say, kissing his forehead. I turn towards Natsu to see a sullen look on his face. "Something wrong?"
"No, nothing," he says after a short instant of silence. "We should go before someone notices our presence."
He insists on being the first to go, and I let him, not wanting to argue uselessly during the mission. So I let a smiling Happy fly away with a grumpy Natsu, only for Happy to come back a couple of minutes later with an unhappy look on his face. What happened the few seconds they were out of my sight? I ask the flying cat if something is wrong, but 'Nothing' is his only answer. He is not really convincing. Once we get to the roof, I join Natsu in front of a little turret where a glass window overlooks a storage area. I eye him suspiciously, but he only smiles innocently at me. That, added to the fact Happy landed on the ground instead of in my arms like the few times before, has me convinced something happened between them. I decide to let it go for now and concentrate on our infiltration. I test the widow, and it's locked. It couldn't have been that easy, right? I sight, motioning to Natsu to do his thing.
Since he controls magic, he can give it any attributes he wants. For example, make his flame-looking magic hot like real fire so he can melt the glass. The versatility of his magic added with its strength, and his capacity to eat his opponent's magic was what made Natsu the powerful dragon slayer he was.
In no time, the window has melted, and Natsu disengages the lock from the inside. We quickly slip inside. Without lingering, I head for the door and cautiously open it, looking into the hallway. "I don't think they know we are here," I say, relieved to see the hallway empty of people.
"We better hurry before they do become aware of our presence," Natsu says, gently pushing me out of the way so he can leave the relative safety of the storage room. One would expect someone breaking into someone else's house to at least try and be subtle, sneak around, stay close to the walls, feel some tension at the idea of being discovered. But no. Not Natsu. He strides into the place like he owns it, carefree and obviously not caring anymore if the occupants of the house saw us. After all, we were already inside. Resigned that Natsu will always act like Natsu, I follow him with Happy by my side. We only just put foot on the big balcony surrounding the entry hall when the surroundings began to shake and things? People? Shot out of the ground. I did not really have time to identify the threat because Natsu had already sent them flying into a wall, not breaking his stride. I wince in sympathy for the poor folks who just got stamped into a wall without a second glance. That is until I saw their faces.
They were five maids, all incredibly ugly and blond except one looking like a giant gorilla with pink hair. "If we go by what they look like, I don't think Everlue would have found you pleasing, Luce." I can't see Natsu's face, but I can hear the laugh in his voice. I stick out my tongue at his back but don't argue with him. This Everlue guy had strange tastes, and if I would not be sad if I were not to meet him. Ever.
Despite myself, my gaze is drawn back to the gorilla maid. There is something... peculiar about her soul. I can't quite place it, but it's just there, at the edge of my mind. On the tip of my tongue. Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the more the answer seems to escape me. The same thing happened with that orange-haired dude at the guild. It frustrates me that I can't identify what is bothering me.
"Luce." Natsu's call brings me back to the task at hand. I can't go spacing out here. We have to assume Everlue is now aware of our presence inside his manor. I should not waste time. I pick up my pace to catch up to Natsu, who is already opening the door Happy assures us leads to the library.
We enter a room with bookcases lining the walls, each and every one of them filled with books. Heavy couches and a coffee table occupied the center of the place. "It's going to take forever to find this book," Natsu complains. "You sure I can't just burn them all down? It would be so much easier."
I glare at him. "No way. You can't burn all of those books. It would be a sacrilege." I let my gaze wander around the room. One day, I will have a library just like this one, I swear to myself. Stupid Natsu who wants to burn it all down. He never did share my love of books. "We have to hurry if we want to find the book before...." My voice fades as something catches my attention. On one of the shelves, one book is... shining? I furrow my brows in confusion. It reminds me of what souls look like. "Hey, Natsu, do you see the book shining over there?" I ask him, pointing to said book. When he shakes his head no, it confirms my impression. Someone put some powerful magic on this book. What really disturbed me was that never before had I been able to see the magic on inanimate objects. It's a new development which I am unsure if it's good or bad. Added to my last episode's severity and the shift in the darkness slumbering inside me, it could be a worrisome change, which could be the first of more to come and not all as inoffensive as this one. After more than eighteen years without any change, so many at once made me uneasy.
I shake my head, telling myself I was being overly paranoid. Dismissing my worry, I get closer to the shining book and take it in my hand. Weirdly, it's warm to the touch, as if it was alive. Someone had not just put some magic on the book. That person had also put a piece of its soul in it. It was a strange occurrence hard to explain. When someone used magic, they pulled it out of their soul, but the soul stayed intact, and yet, there was a piece of someone's soul inside this book. I look at the cover and am surprised to see the title. Daybreak. It's the book we came for.
"Well, that was easy," Natsu's voice just over my shoulder makes me jump. I did not hear him get closer. "Now, let's destroy it and get out of here, or get out and destroy it. Whatever."
Right now, I have no desire to destroy this book. I was curious as to why someone would put so much effort into a book. I shake my head no. "We can't. Not right now. Something is intriguing about this book."
Natsu huffs out a breath. "C'mon, Luce. Give me the book. Whatever secret it has is none of our concern. We just have to destroy it. It's our job."
"Which we probably won't even be paid for, so let me at least satisfy my curiosity."
I know he is about to deny me again when a third voice interrupts us. A voice that does not belong to Happy.
"So that's what all those mages trying to infiltrate my house were after. That trash of a book."