"No way! I can get a key to the Twelve Golden Gates?" Lucy rubbed her eyes carefully to make sure she had read it right.
"Not just seven million J, but a golden key too? Hehe." A sly grin immediately spread across Lucy's face, and she hurried after the departing boy and cat.
Chapter 39: The Missing Mission
Early the next morning, at the Fairy Tail guild.
"This is bad!" A startled cry suddenly rang through the entire Fairy Tail hall.
"What is it, Mira? Why are you so flustered?" Makarov asked, sipping coffee at the bar as he watched Mira rush down from the second floor.
"Something's wrong, Master. One of the request sheets upstairs is missing," Mira said worriedly as she hurried to Makarov's side.
"Oh! It's just a request sheet, isn't it?" Makarov had yet to register what she meant and leisurely raised his drink for another sip. But the moment he took it, realization struck, and he spat it out on the spot before roaring, "What did you say? Nobody showed me an S-Class Mission request today!"
"What? A request sheet is missing?" Wakaba asked anxiously.
"An S-Class Mission from upstairs? How could it just disappear?" Macao rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"Then who took the S-Class Mission?" Levy asked Mira, looking puzzled.
"A cat. I saw a winged cat tear it off the board," a voice called from the second floor.
"Laxus."
"What's he doing here again today?"
"A cat? With wings? Happy."
"So it was Natsu and Happy?"
"What on earth were they thinking?"
"Don't they know an S-Class Mission is beyond them right now?"
"That kind of job could get them killed, those two idiots."
"They actually went on an S-Class Mission. I knew they were idiots, but I never thought they'd go this far."
Everyone looked worried and angry. They all knew exactly how dangerous an S-Class Mission was.
"Hahaha! That's against guild rules! Old man, kick them out when they get back! They're clueless little frogs in a well. With that measly strength, they actually dared to take on an S-Class Mission. Maybe they won't even make it back." Laxus laughed wildly as he watched Makarov's furious expression.
"Laxus! If you saw them, why didn't you stop them?" Makarov roared at him, his eyes wide with anger. He both loved and hated this grandson of his, but he had no idea why the once well-behaved boy had changed so much.
"I only saw that cat running away with a request sheet in his mouth. I never imagined it was Happy and Natsu, much less that they were taking on an S-Class Mission. That really caught me by surprise. Hahaha..." Laxus answered with a careless laugh. Everyone could tell from his expression that he had done it on purpose.
"Laxus, you..." Mira glared at him furiously.
"Hahaha! It's been a long time since I've seen that look on your face, Mira," Laxus said, standing up with a wild laugh.
"Laxus, you've really disappointed me." Makarov gave Laxus a calm look, then turned to the furious Mira. "This is bad. The missing request was...?"
"The cursed island, Galuna Island," Mira said gravely, clearly worried sick.
"What?"
"It was that one?"
"Demon Island?" Everyone in the hall looked worried and incredulous at the news. Although they had never seen the request sheet, they had heard about the island recently.
"That's far too reckless."
"They really are idiots."
"They never give us a moment's peace."
Xi Feng also held his head and shook it, then stood and addressed Makarov.
"Master, I'll take this mission. Put it down for me."
"Xi Feng, are you serious?"
Makarov looked at Xi Feng and asked uncertainly.
"There's no other choice. Who else can go after those two right now?" Xi Feng said helplessly. He always felt like a babysitter, constantly looking after those underage kids.
"Well..." Hearing Xi Feng's words, Makarov knew this was their only option. He glanced at Laxus upstairs, knowing that his grandson would certainly refuse, then said to Xi Feng, "Xi Feng, sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine. We're all in the same guild."
"Xi Feng, why bother with those weaklings? Let them learn that there's a price for weaklings like them taking on an S-Class Mission. And that price is... their lives!" Laxus spoke just as Xi Feng finished, sounding almost gleeful at their misfortune.
"Enough, Laxus!"
Laxus's words infuriated Makarov, and he shouted straight at him.
"Tch." Hearing his grandfather's words, Laxus picked at his ear, then left.
"Master, in that case, I'll go get ready too." Xi Feng merely glanced at Laxus as he left, then turned to walk out of the guild.
"Xi Feng..."
But just as Xi Feng turned around, Gray called out.
"Can you take me with you?"
"Hm?" Xi Feng looked at Gray in confusion. "Why?"
"I'm not letting Natsu get ahead of me by doing an S-Class Mission first," Gray said, his fighting spirit rising.
"In that case... Wendy." Xi Feng thought for a moment before finally nodding. After all, this matter involved Gray too. Then he turned and called to Wendy, who was nearby.
"Huh?" Hearing Xi Feng call her, Wendy froze for a moment before asking in confusion, "What is it, Big Brother Xi Feng?"
"You should come too."
"Ah!" Wendy was completely stunned, then asked uncertainly, "Wouldn't I just hold you back?"
"Yes, Xi Feng, won't taking so many people cause problems?" Even Makarov grew a little worried about Xi Feng bringing so many people on the mission.
"It'll be fine." Xi Feng shook his head, then said, "I've already looked into the Demon Island mission. Aside from a few minor complications, there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, I'm bringing Wendy because I'm worried Natsu and the others might get hurt."
"If you're that sure, then do as you like."
"Right." Xi Feng nodded, then said to Wendy, "Wendy, I'm counting on you this time. Give it your best."
"Yes." Wendy nodded her cute little head, clenching her hands tightly. "I'll do my best. This time, I'll definitely help you, Big Brother Xi Feng."
"You can do it, Wendy!"
"Give it your best, Wendy!"
"I believe in you, Wendy!"
The other guild members began encouraging Wendy too.
"All right, then let's head back and get ready to leave for Demon Island."
"Right," they both replied.
Chapter 40: Investigation (Please Send Flowers and Add to Favorites)
By the time Xi Feng and the others finished preparing and reached the harbor, dusk had already fallen.
Since it was nearly dark, and their destination was the notorious Demon Island, many boatmen shook their heads and refused. Even offering several times the usual fare changed nothing. In the end, the three of them, along with a little white cat, had no choice but to buy a small boat and row over themselves the next day.
The next day, after an hour or two of rowing, Xi Feng and the others finally reached the island.
Looking around the island, Gray had no idea what to do for a moment. He turned directly to Xi Feng and asked, "Xi Feng, what do we do next?"
Wendy also looked at Xi Feng, though her face was full of eagerness.
"Well..."
Boom! Just as Xi Feng was about to speak, an enormous commotion erupted in the nearby forest.
"What was that?" The sudden noise immediately put Gray, Wendy, and Carla on alert.
"Let's go take a look. Unless something unexpected happened, that should be Natsu, Lucy, and the others."
"Right." Wendy and Gray nodded at Xi Feng's words, then headed toward the noise.
Whoosh...
After learning about the village's situation, Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy felt they should head out and investigate the island. After all, destroying the moon was rather too much for the two of them to handle.
But while the two of them were talking in the forest, the nearby trees began rustling. Before the two humans and the cat could figure out what was happening, an absurdly large rat appeared right in front of them.
"A rat! And it's huge!"
At the sight of the enormous rat, the two humans and the cat cried out in shock.
"Natsu, hurry up and deal with it!"
"Aye!"
Lucy and Happy had already hidden inside Clock's body for protection. But looking at Happy beside her, Lucy couldn't help complaining, "Happy, aren't you a cat? How can you be afraid of a rat?"
"Aye! Have you ever seen a cat with wings?" Happy played dumb, looking at Lucy in confusion.
"..." Happy's reply left Lucy utterly speechless, her face darkening with exasperation.
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