Some are happy, some are worried.
Lucy is the kind who is worried to the point of almost being unable to sleep.
The next day, as soon as she arrived at the guild, Lucy was at the counter complaining to Mira about her predicament.
We had agreed to drive people out, then take action outside the town, or at least hold back a bit while taking action.
But once the target was found, apart from Lucy and Hapi, no one else could hold back.
Under the attack of Erza, Natsu, and Gray, that magic order could only flee wildly.
And their fleeing resulted in two more streets being destroyed.
"In the end, it was all in vain, we didn't earn any money at all, boo hoo hoo..."
"Oh dear, oh dear..." Mira sympathized with Lucy and consoled, "At least there was no extra compensation, right?"
"Yes, because we stopped the other party's crimes in time, and recovered a lot of items from their hideout, the client barely forgave us, just deducted all the reward."
Rhode said, "Look on the bright side, to destroy three streets and only pay 500,000 J in compensation, you guys are quite lucky."
"That's what they say..." Lucy admitted that it was rather lucky to only have to pay 500,000 J for so much damage, "But what about my rent? There's only three days left!"
Lucy had agreed with the landlord to pay rent on the 5th of every month, and today was already the 2nd.
Although she could ask the landlady for a few days' extension, that lady seemed hard to negotiate with. Unless absolutely necessary, Lucy didn't want to bring it up.
Mira thought for a moment and said, "I think tasks like hunting magical beasts, which take place far away from human settlements, are more suitable for you guys."
"Hearing that makes me a bit sad..." Lucy quipped first, then asked, "Anyway, is there such a task available?"
"There are a few recently, but they're either very far away or they're 'wandering' magical beasts, and just finding their tracks is hard. In short, they're not the kind that can be solved in a few days."
Rhode knew these kinds of tasks well, as they were suitable for him and Mira too.
"It's okay if we don't earn money, Lucy." Hapi said while munching on a steamed fish, "If you can't pay the rent, you can sleep with us and Natsu."
Lucy glared at him, "If you're serious about this, be careful I'll pluck all your whiskers."
Natsu passed by pushing a small cart and shouted, "Lucy, stop slacking, come help push the stones, or you'll lose to Erza!"
"I'm choosing the next task!" Lucy glared fiercely at Natsu, "And why do I have to compete with Erza in pushing stones?"
Erza walked by effortlessly pushing a small cart and smiled at Lucy, "Want to compete with me? Keep it up, you're still far behind."
Lucy sighed helplessly, "Do I seem like someone with such high energy?"
Gray walked by shirtless, pushing a cart. Lucy looked at him, Gray looked back at Lucy, but in the end, he just sighed and left.
Lucy felt even worse: "Say something!"
Jubia, hiding in a corner, bit her handkerchief, tears swirling in her eyes. A rival had appeared! And could naturally talk to Gray like that!
Lucy shivered, suddenly feeling a bit chilly.
Mira glanced at Gray and then at Lucy, mimicking Hapi's tone: "Something going on? (with a not quite accurate tongue click)"
Lucy uncharacteristically shouted at Mira, "No way!"
The fish fell out of Hapi's mouth, splattering soup on his belly: "My... my line! Lucy, that was mean! Boo hoo hoo..."
Hapi cried as he ran off, crouching in a corner of the tent.
"It was just a word, why cry? Besides, it was Miss Mira who took it, why blame me!"
Lucy covered her head with her hands, feeling like she was about to break down.
"Lucy is so funny." Mira laughed behind her hand for a while, then nudged Rhode, "Help Lucy pick a suitable task, will you?"
Rhode nodded, "Well, as a favor since her performance amused Miss Mirajane, I'll reluctantly help."
Why suddenly use the full name... and also the honorific... and I wasn't performing!
Lucy looked conflicted, there were too many things to complain about, she didn't even know where to start, and suddenly felt very tired.
Mira laughed even more happily and, in good spirits, took the plate of steamed fish to comfort Hapi.
"Do you have any particular type of task you're interested in? I remember you seemed to like adventure-type ones before."
Lucy sighed, "Yes, but there have already been many adventures lately, now I just want to earn the rent, I would do anything."
What a terrible line.
Rhode flipped through some documents, found a sheet, and handed it to Lucy, "Try this, a newly opened pool hall is having some trouble.
Since opening day, there have been people causing trouble, smashing things, making it hard to attract customers, maybe you could figure something out?"
"Pool hall?" Lucy looked at it, "Won't Natsu smash it while dealing with troublemakers?"
"These troublemakers are usually small-time thugs; the instigator might be a competitor or a local leader. Even if there's a fight in the pool hall, at most a few pool tables get smashed, a bit of glass shattered—it'll be fine as long as magic isn't used."
Rhode continued, "The challenge is how to ensure they don't dare come back after you leave, or stop the instigator from causing trouble. Think of a good strategy."
"Ah~~~ Do we need a good strategy? That sounds kind of fun." Lucy checked the reward, 180,000 J, enough to cover the rent when combined with the money she had left.
"I'll go find Erza right now!"
"Don't rush, the troublemaking might involve a different kind of tactical disruption. You may need to study how to play pool properly, make sure you're well-prepared before you set out."
Lucy, full of enthusiasm: "Got it, we'll definitely earn the reward this time!"
Rhode finished checking last month's accounts and started reviewing the expenditures and materials at the construction site from the past few days.
Soon, another batch of wine and stone had to be delivered, he wrote it down for Mira to handle later.
He looked around; it seemed no one else was taking on a task, so he greeted Mira and joined the brick-moving team.
The guild was like his first home in this world, and he really wished to finish building it soon.
Plans to go out with Mira after the guild was completed could wait.
As days went by, busy and bustling.
The first group to go out working had slowly sent back reports on the presidents' share of reviews.
Luckily, none of them made major mistakes, just needed the old man to sit down and write them during breaks at the construction site.
Elfman returned full of energy after completing a task, plunging back into the guild's construction. However, after a few days of work, he chose another task to head out again.
He was genuinely earning money seriously.
Mira didn't stop him or explain, judging by his savings and task amount, he was definitely not quicker at accumulating money than Mira and Rhode.
They'd surprise him later on.
When Lucy returned this time, she wasn't gloomily somber but rather slightly resigned and puzzled.
Because following behind her, Gray and Natsu each were carrying a pool table, looking excited.
Erza's luggage cart had an extra box containing two sets of billiards and four cues tied on top.