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The mission location was Shirotsume Town, not far from Magnolia. Nate hired a carriage, and they estimated they'd arrive in about two hours.
Of course, Lucy was the one who paid.
Already poor, she was now even poorer, shedding tears of poverty as she sat in the carriage.
"At least we could split the fare, right?" she suggested hopefully.
"I could just walk," Nate offered, as he opened his coding tool, preparing to write some code.
"No! I'll pay! Please stay, Nate!" Lucy quickly grabbed his arm, determined. "What about the payment from the mission?"
"You think I'd keep it all to myself?" Nate asked casually as he typed away.
"You were considering it?!" Lucy retorted, shocked.
"Don't worry, I'll at least give you 10%," Nate teased.
"That's only 20,000J! Aren't we supposed to be partners? It should be 50-50!"
Amused by Lucy's persistence, Nate couldn't help but chuckle.
"Alright, alright, half it is. But from now on, no more talking. I need to focus."
"Okay." Lucy sat up straight, grumbling in her mind about how Nate was a devil.
For the next while, Nate concentrated on coding, completely ignoring the world outside the carriage. Lucy lifted the curtain to admire the scenery, wanting to share the beauty with Nate, but seeing how focused he was, she kept quiet.
"His concentration is amazing..." she thought. Watching him work reminded her of her father. She continued to quietly observe Nate, though she didn't really understand what he was doing.
...
Soon after, the carriage arrived in Shirotsume Town.
Nate stopped his work and glanced over to find Lucy asleep on his shoulder.
"We're here, Lucy," he said, gently waking her.
Lucy rubbed her eyes, mumbling, "Sorry, I fell asleep since you told me not to talk."
"Oh, so that's my fault now?" Nate joked.
"Thanks for your shoulder," Lucy giggled as she climbed down from the carriage after him.
As they entered the city, it seemed smaller than Magnolia. To Nate, it resembled a small town from medieval Europe.
The entire town was part of the estate owned by Duke Everlue, whose mansion was located in a forest just outside the town.
"Shall we meet the client first?" Lucy asked, walking beside Nate.
Nate stopped outside a clothing shop and pointed inside. "You should go buy an outfit."
"Huh?"
Lucy was confused for a moment but quickly understood. Duke Everlue was looking to hire blonde maids, and according to their plan from the previous night, she needed a new outfit.
"I'll be quick," she said before hurrying inside.
A few moments later, Lucy emerged wearing a classic black-and-white maid outfit.
"What do you think, Nate?" Lucy struck a pose on the street. "With my figure, everything looks great on me, right?"
"Call me Master."
"Why?"
"We need to practice."
"I refuse!" Lucy shot back, then sighed. "We haven't even made any money yet, and I've already spent 36,000J on the carriage and the maid outfit."
"You're an idiot. You could've rented it," Nate remarked, wondering if her rich-girl mindset was to blame for her not thinking of renting.
"Let's go meet the client," Lucy said, rolling her eyes but clearly eager to earn back the money. "We need to make some cash, or I'll be eating dirt next month."
"We're heading straight to the Duke's mansion," Nate replied, adding, "Oh, by the way, I've got good news. While you were buying clothes, Mira sent me a message. The payment's been increased to 2 million J."
Two million?!
Lucy was stunned. If they split it 50-50, and after deducting the guild's cut, she could take home 900,000J.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes practically turning into J symbols.
Before long, the maid-clad Lucy arrived at the gates of a grand estate.
"Excuse me, is anyone there? I'm here to apply for the maid position..." she called out.
Suddenly, a patch of ground lifted, and a man in a black suit emerged from the ground, along with a muscular maid.
"You? Applying for the maid position?" Duke Everlue, who had appeared with them, looked her up and down, stroking his chin.
Lucy quickly put on her most innocent look, her maid outfit complemented by white stockings and black shoes.
"Yes, my name is Lucy. Pleased to meet you," she said, trying to sound polite.
"Let me see..." Duke Everlue's dead-fish eyes showed disdain as he inspected her. "We don't need you. Get lost, you dinosaur woman."
'D-Dinosaur woman?!'
It felt like an arrow had pierced Lucy's heart. She was frozen in place.
"I can't believe it. What makes you so confident? With a face like that, you shouldn't be out here scaring people," Duke Everlue mocked her, twirling his curly mustache. "Only beautiful women are fit for a great man like myself."
Just then, four more maids emerged from the ground, fawning over the Duke.
"Oh, Master, you're too much!"
"We love you, Master!"
"You always know what to say~"
"Dinosaur woman, you should hurry up and leave."
Horse-face, pancake-face, pig-face, and shoehorn-face.
Lucy glanced at the four maids, feeling mentally assaulted by their appearances.
'What the heck is wrong with this perverted Duke's sense of beauty?!'
...
Near the Duke's mansion, in the forest.
Lucy trudged back, looking utterly defeated.
"You're back, dinosaur woman," Nate greeted her with a grin, leaning against a tree.
"I'm so mad!" Lucy cried, crouching down by the tree and hugging her knees, tears streaming down her face. "I'll never forgive that jerk of a Duke!"
Determined, Lucy stood up, clenching her fists. "Since Plan A failed, it's time for Plan B!"
"You have a Plan B?" Nate asked, glancing up from his book, surprised.
"I just thought of it!" Lucy puffed up her cheeks angrily. "You go cause a distraction, draw out the guards, and I'll sneak in and—"
She paused mid-sentence, noticing Nate's nonchalant demeanor.
"Are you even listening? What are you reading?" Lucy asked in frustration, then froze. "Wait... that's 'Daybreak', our mission target!"
She quickly snatched the book from Nate's hands, checking the cover. Sure enough, it was 'Daybreak'.
"How did you get this?"
"I followed your plan," Nate said with a smirk. "While you were applying for the maid job, I snuck into the mansion's library and took it."
'I was the distraction?' Lucy thought, stunned.
While his words seemed like praise, something about them didn't sit right with her.
Still, she quickly let it go.
"Awesome! We did it!" she exclaimed. "You did great, Nate! Let's go turn it in and get our reward!"
She cheerfully latched onto Nate's arm, eager to collect their payment.
Nate, feeling the soft pressure against him again, sighed before pulling her back.
"Hold on, we've got company."
Lucy halted as Nate yanked her back. Just then, a giant frying pan came crashing down on the path ahead of them.