The next day, early in the morning.
?
The weather was excellent. Although the sun had yet to rise, the sky and clouds made it clear that the day would definitely be sunny—a perfect day to explore and investigate the island.
Naturally, the good weather put Lucy in a good mood. She felt that things would probably go smoothly today, that they might make some unexpected discoveries, and that before long, they would complete that S-Class request, earn a huge windfall, and return cheerfully to Hargeon by ship?
However...
The only thing that displeased her today was that, in the end, she still hadn't been able to wake that troublesome little brat at six in the morning!
After trying everything she could think of to no avail, and not wanting to carry the girl on her back during their exploration and investigation, Lucy had no choice but to "abandon" her in the house and let her continue sleeping soundly. Instead, she dragged Natsu, Gray, and the cat-person Happy—the three followers who were much easier to wake—along with her.
In Lucy's view, this S-Class mission was merely about investigating and resolving a curse. It was more a test of wisdom and patience, and there was no need for fighting or anything like that. So if some little brat who only knew how to cause trouble didn't get up, then so be it!
If they managed to investigate everything or came up with another way to resolve the curse, they wouldn't need to share the money with her. Let that lazy little brat be jealous to death!
"..."
"Hey!"
"Lucy, isn't this a little too early to get up?"
"Yeah..."
"It's only just getting light..."
"Ugh..."
"Happy wanted to sleep for another two hours..."
After being tormented into getting up early by