Fairy Tail Magic Academy

Chapter 7 - Weekend Quest

Lucy's POV

It was finally the weekend. Natsu and Happy picked me up early this morning so we could arrive in a town called Shirotsume before midday. When we arrived at the client's place, we were amazed that it was a beautiful mansion. It was a quarter of the size of my father's mansion, but it was still big. It was three storeys with high pale beige walls and a grey tile roof. The client must have a lot of money to afford this place.

We walked up to the mansion and I knocked on the front door. A woman in her late fifties opened the door and greeted us. "Hello, may I help you?" she asked nicely. "Hi ma'am, we're from the Fairy Tail guild. I'm Lucy and these are my friends Natsu and Happy" I greeted back. Her eyes lit up in happiness, "of course, silly me. Come in, come in" she eagerly ushered us inside.

She led us to a large living room and gestured to the lounges. "Please take a seat. I'll just go grab my husband" she said before leaving us to fetch her husband. We took a seat on one of the light grey lounges and waited for her to return. "Nice place they've got here" Happy commented. "Yeah so make sure not to scratch anything up Happy" I replied. Who knows how much everything costs?

"Why are you only looking at me? Natsu's more destructive than I am" Happy said, pointing the finger at Natsu. "Hey, I am not" Natsu denied with his arms crossed. "Oh yeah? Well who was it who went overboard and destroyed half the town on our last weekend quest?" Happy said and my eyes widened. "You destroyed half the town?" I questioned Natsu in disbelief. "It's not my fault that the jerk we were trying to catch kept moving" Natsu grumbled while looking away. Soon the woman came back with her husband and they sat down on the lounge across from us.

"First of all, thank you for accepting the request. My name is Daisuke Mori and this is my wife, Ena" Mr Mori greeted with a kind smile. Where have I heard that last name before? "It's nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Mori. I'm Lucy and these are my friends Natsu and Happy. Please tell us more about the job" I replied. "I have reason to believe that Duke Finkleman has stolen one of my paintings which was painted by my late father, Minato Mori" he explained.

I recognised the name immediately. "Minato Mori? The famous artist?" I asked with enthusiasm. "Well yes. I'm surprised someone your age has heard of him" Mr Mori said. "I've read about his many artworks. Anyway, sorry for interrupting. Why do you believe he stole it?" I asked.

"Every month for the past year, he's been coming to my estate for our regular business meetings, and I've noticed him eyeing my father's painting every single time he visits. Just a month ago, after I came home from an overnight business trip, I found my father's painting stolen with a large hole underneath leading to the outside. Only a select few of my important business friends have seen this painting but Duke Finkleman has been the only one to show any interest in it. Since it was stolen, he has been unusually quiet and has cancelled this month's meeting. I am certain he is the one who stole it, and I would like you to get it back to me" Mr Mori explained and then his expression went sad. "It was the last thing my father gave to me before he passed" he added mournfully as he looked at the floor.

Natsu jumped up with a big grin. "Don't worry Mr Mori. We'll get your painting back" he said enthusiastically. I smiled, when he says it like that, I can't help but feel certain we're going to get the painting back to Mr Mori. A kind smile crossed Mr Mori's face again as he raised his head. "Thank you. I look forward to your return" he replied. After that, we headed out of his mansion and followed his directions to Duke Finkleman's estate.

Duke Finkleman's mansion was a little bit bigger but was definitely gaudier than Mr Mori's. The walls shined like rose gold and had a bold terracotta red roof. A tall white wall with a black fancy steel gate protected the whole estate. Natsu, Happy and I stopped and hid behind some trees in the forest surrounding the estate. "Ok, time to bring it out" I said to myself as I dug through my bag. "What are you talking about? Let's storm the place" Natsu said. "I'm not going to jail for arson because of you. Anyway, I have a better plan" I replied and then pulled out a maid outfit.

"Is that a maid uniform? I don't think cosplaying is going to help us steal the painting Lucy" Happy said. "It's my disguise. I'm going to sneak in as a maid and search the mansion for the painting when no one's looking" I explained. "It's faster to just storm the place" Natsu commented. "No" I replied and then went behind a tree to change.

After I changed into my maid outfit, I walked up to the gates of the estate. "Hello! I heard you're looking to hiring a maid!" I called out, hoping someone heard me. A minute later a man in his late forties wearing a dark grey suit with dark brown hair and a handlebar moustache walked up and opened the gate. "Did I hear correctly earlier? You are here to respond to my ad?" he asked. I immediately knew this was Duke Finkleman.

I gave him the kindest smile I could muster. "That is correct sir" I replied. It didn't go unnoticed that his eyes scanned me up and down, lingering a little too long on my breasts. A creepy smirk grew on his face and I couldn't help but get a bad feeling burning in my chest. "You're hired" he said the words I was hoping to hear.