Setting Lisanna Up

In the corner, Hughes gathered his thoughts and turned his gaze back to Lucy and Aquarius.

Right now, Aquarius has her arms crossed over her chest, looking at Lucy playing around with a fierce expression, occasionally responding with a few words.

Hughes knew that Aquarius was also a tsundere, and her impatience with Lucy was all an act; in fact, she loved Lucy more deeply than anyone else... except when she was on a date with Scorpio Scorpio.

"Hughes, are they our target this time?" Lisanna nudged Hughes's waist and whispered.

Hughes nodded, then his hand suddenly landed on Lisanna's back, shoving her away...

It's you I've chosen, Lisanna.

Everyone saw it, right? It was Lisanna who came over on her own; it had nothing to do with him.

A figure suddenly appeared in the room, startling Lucy and Aquarius.

Aquarius shielded Lucy behind her, raised the magic water bottle high with both hands, aiming it at Lisanna. The immeasurable flow of water inside the bottle surged, ready to burst forth.

"Who are you? Why are you here all of a sudden? What is your purpose?"

Faced with Aquarius's three consecutive questions, Lisanna kept her head down without raising it, coldly pointing to the corner.

"I'll remember that Hughes, I'll definitely get my revenge later!" Lisanna thought bitterly.

Aquarius looked in the direction Lisanna was pointing, and her whole body tensed up instantly.

"Why were there so many extra people in the room, yet I didn't notice a single one of them?"

Strangely, all three people in the corner were masked, but the first person to appear wasn't.

Is it because you are very confident in your abilities?

In an instant, a flood of information rushed through Aquarius's mind.

She understood!

The four who infiltrated Lucy's room were dark mages, and the little girl in front of her must be their leader in disguise Aquarius had figured everything out, glared fiercely at Lisanna, her eyes seeming to spit fire.

Lisanna: ("ノ?

Is this mermaid crazy? Why are you looking at her?

Go keep an eye on Hughes! She specifically pointed out who the mastermind is...

Seeing that Lisanna was still feigning innocence and trying to deceive him, Aquarius was furious. "Despicable dark mage, don't think you can fool me by pretending to be a child."

Lisanna blinked her big eyes. If she wasn't mistaken, the mermaid was probably talking about herself.

..("日`)

"You piece of trash, how dare you pretend to be innocent?!"

Enraged, Aquarius snatched the magic water bottle from her hand, and a continuous, gushing sound of water came from its mouth.

Water Blast!

Before the shouts had even subsided, Aquarius vanished completely.

Hughes stood where Aquarius had been standing and exhaled.

As expected of a mermaid with a violent temper, she explodes at the slightest provocation; doesn't she even know where she is, using a powerful attack like Water Blast without warning?

[Detection indicates that the "Lord of the Coast" has been defeated by the host. The first sub-mission of "Pirate Journey," "Defeat the Lord of the Coast," has been completed.]

[Note: Since the reward for this task is calculated based on the amount of work completed, there is no need to actively accept the task.]

Having completed two sub-tasks, you can claim the reward: a significant boost to your physical fitness once.

Friendly reminder: Completing three sub-missions will unlock an additional Devil Fruit Slot...

The system notification sounded as expected, but Hughes only glanced at it briefly and didn't pay much attention to it afterward.

I need one more sub-mission before I can unlock an extra Devil Fruit Slot.

On the other side, Little Lucy blinked in disbelief; her powerful Aquarius had vanished in an instant.

"Don't worry, your Aquarius is fine. She's just returned to the Celestial Spirit World. You can summon her again in a bit!" Hughes said with a smile.

Hughes was clearly in a good mood after completing his task, and he even picked up the toy that Lucy had dropped in fright and put it in her hand.

Hughes had a lot of goodwill towards Lucy and harbored no ill will towards her.

This true protagonist of the Fairy Tail world is, in some ways, the most tragic character in the Fairy Tail universe.

They're either getting beaten up or on their way to getting beaten up.

Shaking his head and sighing inwardly, Hughes turned and left; he still had things to do!

Saving Private Lucy can wait; it's too early to talk about that now!

"Oh, by the way, while your dad's got money now, have him collect a few more keys for you. You'll thank me later," Hughes said to Lucy with his back to Lucy before leaving.

"Also, remember this short-haired little girl who isn't wearing a mask. Her name is Lisanna, and she's the one who sent us to bully you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hughes appeared beside Lisanna and covered her mouth with his hand.

We can't let Lisanna ruin things, otherwise how will we be able to enjoy Natsu's antics in a few years!

Four people with six legs... Lisanna appeared suddenly and disappeared just as inexplicably, held in the arms of Hughes.

Little Lucy was left looking completely bewildered...

At that moment, a radiant light shone before Lucy; it was Aquarius, who had expended her own magical energy to travel from the Celestial Spirit World.

"Lucy, Lucy, are you alright? That short-haired white-haired bastard disguised as a little girl, did he hurt you?" Aquarius circled around Lucy, looking her over anxiously, and asked.

Little Lucy for a moment, Lucy told Aquarius everything that had just happened.

Then, two pairs of bewildered eyes appeared in the large room.

What is the purpose of this group?

Scare Lucy, then beat yourself up?

Aquarius, unable to understand, frowned deeply. "Seriously, are mages these days all this crazy?"

Suddenly, Lucy nudged Aquarius and said, "Aquarius, do you know who hit you?"

Aquarius's doubts subsided slightly, but after thinking for a moment, she felt a chill run down her spine.

She genuinely didn't know who had beaten her up; she was only brought back to the Celestial Spirit World passively before realizing that someone had attacked her.

Although his strength had declined considerably because of Lucy, his perspective was still intact. He hadn't even seen anyone attack him, nor had he reacted when he was attacked.

"Is that trash disguised as a little girl with short white hair really that strong?" Aquarius murmured absentmindedly.

Lucy quickly shook her head and retorted, "Aquarius, it was the tallest of the four who hit you!"

She didn't understand why Aquarius was so hostile towards the little girl with short white hair who hadn't done anything.

"Lucy, you're still young, you haven't seen how disgusting the magical world is!"

"Seeing is not necessarily believing. The one who attacked me must be that trash disguised as a little girl with short white hair," Aquarius said with the air of someone who's been there.

"Of the four of them, she was the only one who didn't cover her face, and given that she was the first to appear, what does that mean?"

"This shows she's arrogant, that she's powerful enough to do nothing and isn't worried about our retaliation!"

"Also, remember this: some dark mages like to disguise themselves as old people or children, making them seem weak and harmless; when you're not paying attention, they'll stab you in the back."

"

Aquarius recounted her personal experiences to Lucy with deep feeling, only returning to the Celestial Spirit World after her magic dissipated.

The room was somewhat empty, with only Lucy and the three words "Lisanna" that she kept repeating.