Chapter 439: The Stalker

Chapter 439: The Stalker

The members of The Odin's Assembly recovered quickly, and after a couple of days of rest, they were almost back to full mobility.

As long as they avoided intense battles, they wouldn't face any significant setbacks.

Coincidentally, the city's compensation bills had all been delivered, and Rod had already calculated them.

The trio took a look at the amount and immediately decided to start working.

"Or you can go help out at the church first," Rod suggested, "There aren't any high-paying jobs recently."

During the Harvest Festival, many guild members had spent their meager savings, and some even ended up in debt after getting into fights on the streets.

As a result, the high-paying missions at the guild were in high demand. With their strength, taking on small missions worth a few thousand or tens of thousands of J wasn't appealing, and choosing missions worth millions while still injured wasn't safe.

Instead, they decided to head to the construction site to do some work as a gesture of apology. They could also return to the guild to rest and mend their relationships with the others.

"What do you think?" Fried asked for Eba Gurin and Big Kuroro's opinions.

Eba Gurin hesitated, feeling a bit uncomfortable looking at Rod: "I... I have no objections."

"I'm fine with it," Big Kuroro said, and the five small dolls beside him started repeating his words.

"No problem!"

"No problem!"

They chattered noisily.

Rod waved his hand dismissively: "Once you've decided, go quickly. I'll keep an eye out for suitable missions for you, but these little guys are just too noisy."

His annoyance was clearly expressed without holding back, and he didn't need to worry about being overly considerate.

After all, the guild members were used to such expressions of annoyance and wouldn't take offense.

If that were the case, Lucy wouldn't have to worry about constant intrusions into her home.

Today, as usual, Lucy went to the guild and complained to Mira about how Natsu and Happy had made a mess of her home the previous day.

Not only that, but just as she was about to kick them out, Gray appeared at the door and bumped into Natsu.

Without a word, the two started fighting.

"Oh dear, is your home in terrible shape?" Mira was concerned that Lucy's rented house might be demolished.

"Although the house wasn't demolished, Natsu snatched Gray's pants and threw them out the window. Then... Gray ran out naked to retrieve his pants..."

Lucy wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. As a single woman, she was startled by the sudden appearance of a naked man in her home, and she wondered what her landlady would think of her.

Mila felt a bit of sympathy for Lucy, but it didn't stop her from covering her mouth and laughing: "It seems like Lucy is too popular, with Natsu and Gray always running to your place."

Lucy quickly turned around to make sure Juvia wasn't staring at her, then she sighed in relief:

"It's not about being popular. Gray was looking for Loki for something, so he came to my place... Are they close?"

"Yes, Gray used to team up with Loki often."

"Huh? So, Loki is going to team up with someone else again, leaving me behind?" Lucy looked around, "No wonder I haven't seen them together."

The word 'again' made Lucy feel a bit sad. Despite being one of the most powerful combat-type Celestial Spirits among the Zodiac, Loki often teamed up with others.

"But they didn't come to take on a mission, so they might have other matters to attend to," Mira flipped through the records and confirmed that there was no record of them taking on a mission.

"What could it be for...?" Lucy thought for a moment, then suddenly hugged herself, "It can't be something perverted, right? I've been feeling like someone is watching me lately."

Mira smiled and waved her hand dismissively: "Don't worry, I often feel the same way."

Lucy teased her: "That's because someone is actually watching you... like your fiance or your fans."

"Mmm... mmm..." Mira didn't bother to argue.

Lucy spread her hands and said, "I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm not as popular as Miss Mira, but I still feel like someone is always staring at me when I walk on the street."

Happy eagerly chimed in: "Love, we know, that's what they call an overactive self-awareness."

"No way!"

"Natsu, Lucy has an overactive self-awareness!"

Today, Natsu wasn't goofing around with the others; instead, he was seriously looking at the bulletin board.

When Happy flew over, Lucy hurried to explain, but Natsu asked earnestly: "Are you still chatting? Shouldn't you be preparing for work soon?"

Lucy and Happy both looked shocked: "Natsu is actually volunteering to work!"

Natsu looked puzzled: "Happy, why are you so surprised? Haven't I always been working hard?"

"That's true, but recently, it's either Lucy complaining about rent or Erza forcing you and Gray to work."

Natsu immediately refuted: "I wasn't forced by Erza!"

Happy placated him: "Love."

"I wanted to work!"

"Love."

"Happy!" Natsu was itching for a fight again.

Nabu, who was also looking at the bulletin board, complained, "You guys are so noisy."

"As expected, I can't rely on them..." Lucy opened her hands, still deciding to choose for herself.

She went through the tasks one by one, not rushing her decision, as she knew that Rod would soon come to post the new task list.

However, instead of Rod, it was Marcus who arrived.

He was there to post the final ranking poster for the Fairy Tail Miss Contest.

Mira had won first place by a narrow margin of just a few votes.

Erza came in second, and Lucy was third.

Following them were Juvia, Kana, Bisca, and Levy.

In fact, Laxus had drawn an additional poster featuring the winner this morning, depicting Mira in a bunny girl outfit playing the guitar.

But as soon as he finished drawing it, Rod snatched it away.

Such a beautiful poster should be displayed in its rightful place, like on Rod's bedroom wall.

So, in the end, everyone only saw a ranking list.

Although she already knew the results, Lucy still felt a sense of disappointment, knowing that the 500,000 J prize money was truly out of reach.

Within a few minutes, Rod arrived with a stack of task sheets and began pasting them onto the bulletin board.

As he posted them, Lucy read each one:

"Apprehending convicts... Hunting suspects... Catching criminals... Why are there so many manhunt tasks?"

Rod explained, "Because recently, many prisoners took advantage of the Council of Judges' chaos and escaped from prison. Now, the Council is too busy to handle it, so various municipal halls and townships had to seek help from the major guilds."

"If you're interested, give it a try. These posted tasks have precise eyewitnesses and locations, making them relatively easier to find.

I have detailed information at my place, like criminal records and their specialized magic. Feel free to come and ask us if you need it."

These escaped convicts were either too arrogant or not thinking straight, causing trouble everywhere as soon as they got out, as if no one could stop them now that the Council was in disarray.

Of course, it's also possible that some escapees are lying low, which is why they haven't been spotted yet.

Without a second thought, Natsu tore off the task with the highest reward: "I choose this one! Apprehending the escaped convict Belbano, with a reward of 2 million J!"

"2 million!" Lucy was tempted, but as she stared at the task sheet with the emphasized, bolded, and red-highlighted word 'dangerous', she hesitated, "Isn't this too dangerous?"

Happy confidently said, "No problem! We have Erza and Gray, so there's nothing to worry about."

Natsu was about to argue with Happy, "Why is it that when Erza and Gray are here, there's nothing to worry about? Isn't it because I'm here?"

Hearing him say that, Lucy also gained confidence:

"Let's go with this one. I'll go tell Erza, and you guys find Gray... Let's prepare today, and we'll set off tomorrow!"

Rod quickly stamped their approval, as their team was eager to capture a fugitive.

The only uncertainty was how much of the reward they would receive.

"Oh, by the way," Rod suddenly asked, "Did that competition not even have an award ceremony?"

"No, there wasn't one last year either," Mira replied, "After confirming the results, the prize money was directly distributed."

"Who distributed it?"

"Of course, I did."

"So casual..." Despite receiving the prize money legitimately, Rod felt like he was abusing his power.

"What else could we do?" Mira cleared her throat and spoke formally, "Congratulations to Miss Mirajane for winning the championship. And now, Miss Mirajane will present the prize money to Miss Mirajane!"

She counted out 50 large bills with utmost seriousness, extending both hands forward: "Congratulations, Miss Mirajane."

After saying this, she turned to the other side, retracted her outstretched hands, and made a gesture of receiving the prize money: "Thank you, Miss Mirajane."

Not a single mistake in the first 691 characters!

She bowed to herself and then looked at Rod with a wink: "Is this okay?"

Rod couldn't help but laugh at her cuteness, but he feigned a troubled expression:

"Damn, my fiancee has a split personality. What am I going to do... Hmm? Luckily, she's just my fiancee, and we haven't married yet..."

Mira smiled as she watched Rod's performance, giving him a dangerous look: "And then? What do you plan to do?"

"I want to give her double the attention, so she can be happy no matter how many personalities she has."

"You know what to say." Mira laughed, shaking the bills in her hand, "I'll treat you to a nice dinner tonight as a reward."

True to her word, Mira found a restaurant that evening and had a candlelit dinner with Rod.

It wasn't overly expensive, and the taste might not have been as good as Chef Cook's, but the atmosphere was excellent.

As the saying goes, 'Under the moonlight, a beauty outshines the sun.'

With Mira's deliberate dressing up, her fair skin, exquisite features, beautiful lip color, and a strand of hair hanging by her ear... even before the meal, she was already feeling full.

"It's already October," Mira said, resting her chin in her hand and gazing at Rod without blinking.

"Yeah, and October is almost halfway through," Rod replied.

Rod wasn't sure if Mira was looking at him through a filter, but he knew that in the candlelight, her eyes looked even more beautiful, and her two crystal-like lips were even more alluring.

Both of them smiled lightly, not continuing the conversation.

After settling the bill, Rod, as usual, escorted Mira to her doorstep. Then, he hugged her waist without saying a word, gazing at her intently.

Mira asked, feigning ignorance, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I want to eat something delicious."

"But we just had dinner, didn't we?"

Rod lowered his head. "Because there's something even more delicious here."

"Hmm..."

...

The next morning, the strongest team gathered at the guild.

Elusa came with a serious question about the criminal they needed to arrest, and Lucy listened with her.

Natsu waited idly by the side, while Gray, feeling a bit irritated, stood at the guild entrance, gazing at the sky.

"Why is it raining again? So troublesome," he muttered.

Juvia cautiously explained, "Gray... Juvia... Although it's sad to think that I can't team up with Gray, I've been controlling my magic power, and I definitely didn't rain on purpose to interfere..."

Gray casually replied, "Huh? No one said it was your fault."

"Juvia! Gray is so considerate. I'll make a sunny doll right away!" Juvia transformed into a blue afterimage and disappeared.

Gray wanted to retort, "A rain woman making a sunny doll..."

Happy rode past on Worm, "There's a leg."

Pru joined in, "Pru Pru..."

Worm chimed in, "Hulu~"

"You guys are so annoying... And Worm, why is your body getting more and more exaggerated?"

"Hulu..." Worm's horn drooped, its size now a source of sadness as it couldn't fit through the kitchen door anymore.

In the past, its master would throw it through the serving hatch to feed Chef Cook, but now it couldn't even fit through the door.

It had only eaten a little, so why was it growing so fast? Worm really didn't want to grow up.

"That's about it. This person's magic is quite dangerous, so be careful not to get caught in it," Rod said, providing the most crucial information to Elusa and Lucy before handing them the documents to read.

"Okay, that should be fine," Elusa nodded. "Natsu, Gray, let's go."

"We can leave anytime."

"We've been waiting for so long!"

Happy whined, "They ignored us again..."

Lucy excitedly calculated, "2 million J, we can each get 400,000, almost half a year's rent!"

This time, they had to keep an eye on Natsu! And...

"Gray, do you want to put on some clothes?"

"Huh? When did I take them off?" Gray looked down at himself and then ran around the guild looking for his clothes.

"I can't stand him..." As Lucy spoke, she suddenly turned around and looked towards the guild entrance, only to see a dense curtain of rain.

"Who?" But Rod clearly saw a figure flash by and rushed out of the guild in a few steps.

The figure was sneaking around suspiciously, which was a clear sign of trouble.

Moreover, Lucy had mentioned that she had been feeling like someone was watching her lately. Perhaps it was someone who had seen her at the beauty pageant or the magic parade and had been stalking her ever since.

However, the person was running a bit slowly, and Rod caught up in a few steps, placing his hand on the person's shoulder.

The figure was wearing a tattered cloak with a hood, carrying a torn package on their shoulder, and wearing dirty leather shoes with loose and torn pants...

The more Rod looked, the more suspicious the person seemed, but he couldn't sense any magic.

Rod concluded that it was an ordinary person, but he couldn't be sure if they had malicious intentions.

He tried to maintain his politeness and asked, "I've seen you around here several times. Do you have a request for us?"

The person's body stiffened noticeably, hesitated for a few seconds, and then, as if making a decision, slowly removed the hood and turned around.

"I'm looking for Lucy. Is she in this guild? Can I speak to her alone?"

Indeed, he was looking for Lucy!

"This... Huh? You..."

Rod suddenly felt that the person's eyebrows looked familiar, but he couldn't recall anyone he knew with such features—golden hair and a thick golden beard.

At that moment, Lucy had already caught up, and she could see the person's face.

"Dad..." Lucy was so surprised that she covered her mouth, unable to call out, "How is this possible?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end