A Damn Scam of a Request

"Esteemed wizards... please wake up." The coachman patted Feng Lan, waking the sleeping group.

Feng Lan groggily rubbed his hair. "What is it? Did something happen?"

The coachman shook his head. "No, we've reached our destination."

Feng Lan looked outside and saw a modest-sized town. "I see... thank you. You can head back now."

Feng Lan and the others got out of the carriage one after another and entered the town.

Dada Liya flew around beside Feng Lan. "Feng Lan, it's so hot here..."

Feng Lan shrugged. "Of course it is. Otherwise, they wouldn't have hired us to cool the place down."

Happy lay limply atop Lisanna's head. "Hey~ Natsu, aren't you hot wearing so much?"

Natsu scratched his head. "Am I? I actually find it pretty comfortable here..."

Gray had already stripped down to his underwear, yet he was still sweating like a dog as he said to Feng Lan, "Brother Feng Lan, I'm melting... save me."

Lisanna poked Feng Lan, then pointed at a convenience store nearby. "Brother Feng Lan, I want a popsicle... please?"

"Brother Feng Lan, I want one too..." Feng Lan looked at Gray and Lisanna clinging to him with hopeful expressions, then at the pitiful-looking Dada Liya and Happy.

Feng Lan sighed. "Sigh... what flavors do you want?"

"Strawberry!" Lisanna raised her hand. "Brother Feng Lan is the best!"

Happy and Dada Liya chimed in as well. "Us too! We want strawberry!"

Gray bounced excitedly. "I want chocolate!"

Natsu smiled. "Bro, I want an orange one."

Feng Lan stared at Natsu with black lines across his face. "Didn't you say you weren't hot!?"

Natsu innocently shrugged. "Who says you can only eat popsicles when you're hot...? Can't I just want one?"

Forcing a smile, Feng Lan went inside. A few minutes later, he emerged with a dark expression. "Damn... what kind of ice cream costs 700J each..."

"Feng Lan, what's wrong?" Dada Liya flew over and asked.

"Nothing... just hand out everyone's popsicles." With that, Feng Lan opened one for himself and started eating. "Let's get moving. We need to find the client and see what's going on, finish this up, and get home."

"Excuse me... are you Fairy Tail wizards here for the job?" A middle-aged man slowly approached from behind Feng Lan and the others.

Feng Lan turned and sized the man up. "That's right. We're Fairy Tail wizards. Are you the client?"

The middle-aged man nodded. "Yes. I've been waiting for you for quite some time. Please follow me, and I'll explain the details of the request."

With that, he led Feng Lan and the others toward a tall tower.

Feng Lan asked in confusion, "Sir, this request is for us to help lower the temperature... right? What exactly are we supposed to do?"

The client led Feng Lan and the others to the top of the tower and pointed into the distance. As far as the eye could see lay a barren desert without a blade of grass. "Deep within this desert is a scorching volcano, and that is why this place is unbearably hot."

Feng Lan thought for a moment. "So... we're supposed to calm the volcano?"

The client nodded. "That's right! I hope you can extinguish the volcano deep in the desert."

Gray looked at the endless desert. "How are we supposed to get to the volcano? We can't just search for it ourselves, can we?"

The client smiled. "Of course not. Here, take this." He pulled out something like a compass. "Follow this needle. It will guide you."

Feng Lan took the pointer and examined it, discovering that no matter how he moved it, the needle always pointed in the same direction. "All right, then we'll be on our way."

The client gave a slight bow. "Mm, I'm counting on you..."

Along the way, Lisanna asked worriedly, "Brother Feng Lan, isn't a volcano dangerous? What if it suddenly erupts...?"

Feng Lan smiled slightly. "It's fine. We have Natsu, don't we? Let him drink all the lava."

Natsu's face darkened. "Bro, you really don't hesitate to throw me under the bus, do you?"

Feng Lan shrugged. "Gray's an ice wizard, so heat and fire are exactly what he's worst at. Lisanna is so cute—how could I bear to make her deal with something like this? Besides, she's my future sister-in-law~ Are you saying Dada Liya and Happy should do it?"

Natsu retorted speechlessly, "Then what are you even here for...?"

Feng Lan smiled at Natsu. "I'm here to manage you. Talk less and work more!"

...Ten minutes later...

"Th-This is really a fucking volcano!?" Feng Lan stared at the sight before him and shouted in disbelief.

Before Feng Lan and the others stood a massive mountain blazing with raging flames. The temperature was so high that everyone except Natsu was practically being roasted alive.

Gray asked Feng Lan uneasily, "Brother Feng Lan... how are we supposed to put this out...?"

Feng Lan looked at Natsu. "Natsu... are you hungry?"

Natsu looked at the mountain of flames. "Even if I ate until I burst, I couldn't finish all that..."

Feng Lan wiped the tip of his nose. "Heh heh~ Looks like it's up to me!"

Feng Lan did a brief warm-up. "Hoo~ Dragon Force—Zero Release!"

"W-Whoa!?" Gray, Dada Liya, and Happy watched as Feng Lan gradually transformed into a giant dragon, shouting in utter shock, "That's Feng Lan!?"

Natsu nodded. "Yep. What do you think? Mind-blowing, right?"

Gray looked at the dragon before him. "This isn't just mind-blowing... it's shattering my entire worldview! A person... can turn into a dragon!?"

Natsu crossed his arms. "Heh heh, I can do it too! Just not yet... One day, I'll catch up to Brother Feng Lan... no, I don't want to catch up to him. I want to defeat him and surpass him!"

Lisanna said with a giggle, "Then when Natsu can turn into a dragon, you have to take Lisanna flying in the sky~"

"Oh! Definitely!" Natsu said with complete confidence. "Just wait until you can sit on my back and soar through the skies... I used to sit on Igneel's back all the time and have him take me flying..."

Lisanna noticed Natsu's sadness and stepped forward to comfort him. "Don't worry, Natsu. Even if Igneel isn't here, Lisanna will always stay by Natsu's side."

Natsu blushed slightly. "Ah... thank you, Lisanna."

Gray stood silently to one side, muttering under his breath, "Why did I even come along... I haven't done anything, just got force-fed romance."

"Tell me about it..." Dada Liya had been left off to the side as well.

Covering his mouth, Happy watched the show and said, "They've got something going on~"

"Water Dragon's Roar! Wing Strike! Soul Devour!" Dragon Feng Lan flew into the sky and hurled several spells heavily at the flaming mountain, extinguishing its fires.

Feng Lan then returned to human form and landed on the ground. "Job done. Let's head home!"

"Yeah!" Gray and the others instantly felt much cooler and cheered happily.

...The scene immediately fell silent.

Natsu poked Feng Lan. "Bro, lead the way?"

Feng Lan tilted his head. "Lead where?"

Natsu said helplessly, "The way back... where else would we be going?"

Feng Lan looked utterly confused. "The way back... I don't know. This pointer only guides us here, not back."

Happy flew over and whispered, "Hey~ that guy didn't tell us how to get back~"

Everyone awkwardly looked at one another. "Damn... we're screwed. We can't get back..."