Lucy

Train Station

Natsu crawled out, barely avoiding another free ride on a train.

"Natsu, didn't Qian Guang give you motion sickness medicine? Why are you this sick?"

Happy looked worried as he watched Natsu's face turn pale with nausea.

"Ugh... save me... I don't know."

"Also, Happy, I'm hungry..."

"Natsu! Natsu! Hang in there!!!"

Harbor City was a trading town, but it mostly dealt in everyday goods. There were very few magical items.

At this moment—

Inside Harbor City's only magic shop.

A blonde woman with a side ponytail sat at the counter, striking seductive poses at the shopkeeper.

"How much is this thing, exactly, you cute old man?"

(u‿ฺu✿) Wink

Two minutes later.

"You lousy old man! You only knocked off a thousand J!"

"Is my beauty only worth a thousand J?! That's so infuriating!!!"

The woman instantly began walking like a gorilla. No one nearby dared approach, afraid she might bite them.

"Wow! I heard a famous wizard came here."

"They say it's Lord Fire Dragon."

Lucy overheard the two girls beside her and looked down at the crowd gathered in the plaza.

"Lord Fire Dragon?"

As if suddenly remembering something, Lucy clapped her hands and hurried down after them.

Elsewhere, Natsu trudged along with difficulty. "Damn it! The medicine Qian Guang gave me has to be fake!"

Far away in the treasury, Qian Guang sneezed twice. "Strange. Are two people thinking about me?"

"Aye, Natsu, but it always worked before."

"Then it was fake medicine too! And I'm starving to death."

"Whose fault is it that we don't have a single coin on us?"

"Tell me, Happy, Fire Dragon means Igneel, right?"

"Aye! I can't think of anyone else it could be."

"Ah! Lord Fire Dragon!"

While Natsu and Happy were still talking, they suddenly heard someone in the crowd ahead shouting, "Lord Fire Dragon!"

One boy and one cat exchanged a glance, unable to hide their excitement as they ran over.

At the center of the crowd, a sleazy middle-aged man with purple hair was greeting the girls.

The girls around him kept calling him handsome!

Lucy, who had just arrived, had already gotten heart eyes.

Lost in her own fantasies, Lucy was nearly at the purple-haired man's side.

Suddenly—

"Igneel!"

A pink-haired figure and a cat burst in, and the hearts in Lucy's eyes instantly shattered.

"Who are you?"

The joy in Natsu's eyes vanished the moment he saw the purple-haired man.

"I am the Fire Dragon! Surely you've heard my name."

The purple-haired middle-aged man kept posing dramatically, and the girls screamed with every movement he made.

Natsu walked away in disappointment. "Not Igneel."

Seeing their idol ignored, the girls furiously pinned Natsu to the ground.

Having come to her senses, Lucy watched the Fire Dragon's performance coldly. She had already realized she had been affected by magic.

In the end, the purple-haired man ended the farce by claiming he had business to attend to and inviting the girls to a banquet aboard a luxury cruise ship that evening.

He had already flown away using a flashy but useless spell.

"What was with that guy?"

Natsu sat on the ground, unable to figure out what had just happened.

"Exactly. What an annoying guy."

The blonde woman cheerfully greeted Natsu. "Thanks, you two. Let me treat you to a meal."

"My name is Lucy. Nice to meet you."

Castle

Study

The purple-haired man from earlier appeared there, with Wip seated across from him.

"Mr. Wip, are we really going after Fairy Tail's doctor? I'm afraid Fairy Tail will retaliate against us afterward."

"Bora, when did you become so timid? You call yourself the Fire Dragon, and you're a Fairy Tail wizard too."

"It's different, Mr. Wip!"

"Enough! I know the risk is great, but Bora, think about the formulas for all those potions—and the most valuable one of all, the Mana-Recovery Potion."

Over the past two years, Qian Guang had finally developed the Mana-Recovery Potion. However, it could not yet be mass-produced, and its ingredients were quite precious. They were generally grown at Porlyusica's place.

Furthermore, none of Qian Guang's potions were sold publicly. He had no intention of letting them fall into an enemy's hands, and he had mixed in a few additional ingredients, making it impossible to decipher either the composition or proportions.

"You have to understand, by the time they realize what happened, we'll have completely changed our identities and be off enjoying ourselves somewhere else. We won't have to traffic people anymore."

Most of Wip's money came from human trafficking. He did not possess any exceptional business sense, so he could only take crooked paths. Bora was his powerful partner.

"What if that guy is strong? I can't beat him."

"Relax. How strong can a doctor be? I've heard about his mission record. He failed plenty of missions—he even failed at finding a pet pig. And I'll be going this time too."

A dark gleam flashed through Wip's eyes.

If Qian Guang had been there, he would have cried injustice. Had they ever seen a pet pig ten meters tall? By the time he found it, all that was left was one leg. What, was he supposed to give that leg to its owner and tell him he had no idea what ate his pig?

Bora wanted to say more, but when he thought of that terrifying figure after the curse, he kept quiet.

"I understand."

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Wip opened the window and gave Bora a look. Bora understood immediately, activated his magic, and flew away.

"Come in."

A flushed maid entered. She was the very maid Qian Guang had knocked out and cast magic on earlier.

"Lar, how did it go?"

As the castle's owner, he naturally knew Lar had spent a long time in Qian Guang's room. The little thing he had placed on her was gone as well, which meant they had already done it.

Heh heh, was this the kingdom's most popular man? Taken down so quickly.

He only wanted to confirm Qian Guang's condition now.

"Qian... Lord Qian Guang was incredible!"

Lar unconsciously squeezed her legs together, her face bright red as a tail suddenly emerged behind her.

Wip's expression did not change. This maid was also his companion, a succubus. She was not very strong in combat, but she was an expert at gathering intelligence.

"I'm asking what he's doing now."

"Lord Qian Guang has already fallen asleep."

"Is that so? Good. Nothing unusual, then? For example, did he come alone?"

Lar tilted her head, trying to remember. Yet the more she recalled, the redder her face became. Finally, just as Wip was growing impatient, she gave him an answer.

"He came alone."

"Good. Those potions will all be mine!" A cruel smile spread across Wip's face.

Of course, Qian Guang had not touched the maid. He had seen at a glance that she was not human, but he had not attacked her directly either.

He cast a sleep spell on her, then made her have a dream. As for what happened in that dream, Qian Guang raised both hands to insist that he had only provided a little guidance. She had imagined everything else herself.

He had also discovered a little something on Lar: a trace of black curse magic. It could enter another person's body through the union of two people, though he did not know what it did. The thing was simply too weak.

Qian Guang casually erased it with a wave of his hand. Still, it was his first time lifting a curse from a demon. What a sinful maid.

After Qian Guang finished his grand money-making venture and returned to his room, Lar was hugging a pillow and giggling foolishly.

His face darkened. What kind of dream had she even had? And wipe that drool away!

He woke her, gave her the illusion that they had just finished, and had her move him to another room.

It could be said that the poor little succubus had been completely fooled.