Lucy was about to eagerly agree when her eyes caught a line of fine print at the bottom of the job request: "Note: Duke Ebar is a notorious lecher and pervert, currently recruiting blonde maids."
"Heh heh!" Natsu's eyes gleamed with a "plan's going perfectly" glint as he pointed at Lucy's golden hair. "Lucy's blonde! Perfect fit!"
Lucy's smile froze, replaced by sheer panic! She clutched herself, jumping back like a cat with its tail stepped on. "You guys are setting me up!!!"
Happy floated lazily to her other side, delivering a slow, deliberate jab: "Celestial Wizards are all about honoring contracts, right?"
Lucy felt like she'd fallen into a trap, tears welling up. "I've been played!! Damn it!!!"
Natsu, grinning mischievously, waved a hand to calm her. "Relax, relax, we won't let you get the short end of the stick. All you gotta do is pretend to apply for the job and keep that creepy duke distracted."
A flame sparked to life in his hand, his eyes glinting with excitement. "Then I'll torch his whole mansion! Job done! Thirty seconds, tops! Fast, right?"
Lucy's jaw dropped. "=O= That's the kind of thing that lands you in jail! He's a duke, not some nobody. If you burn his house down, he's not gonna let it slide!"
"No worries!" Natsu gave a confident "leave it to me" grin, pulling his white, scale-patterned scarf up to cover half his face, leaving only his eyes visible.
"I'll disguise myself! And if I burn the place to ashes, who's gonna know it was me?"
He pointed at the fresh Fairy Tail guild mark on Lucy's hand. "Just make sure you cover your guild mark!"
"Guild mark?" Lucy glanced at her hand, then jolted as it clicked. "Oh! Right! With this, anyone can tell I'm a Fairy Tail wizard!"
She sighed, eyeing Natsu's "disguise" that barely changed a thing. "That's your idea of a disguise? At least change your clothes or something!"
Resigned, she glanced back at the job request, staring at Duke Ebar's sleazy face. Her shoulders slumped. "Ugh, fine, whatever. Let's just take it one step at a time. A creep like that duke probably has tons of dirty secrets. Maybe we can dig up something useful to hold over him."
---
A few days after Lucy and Natsu completed the job, back at the guild, Roger leaned against the bar, casually picking up the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly.
As he flipped open the cover, a jaw-dropping photo leaped out: Lucy, sporting a wicked, almost villainous grin, cracking a long whip while tying up a short man on the ground like a trussed-up roast! Behind her, a luxurious mansion lay in ruins, collapsing amid billowing black smoke!
The caption was even more explosive: "Fairy Tail's Rookie Star Shocks the World! The Strongest Celestial Wizard Ever? Single-handedly Destroys Duke Ebar's Mansion! Can She Break Fairy Tail's Record for Most Destructive Wizard?"
"Special Hobby Exposed? Exclusive Interrogation Scene! Our Reporter Risks a Whipping to Bring You the Full Story! Subscribe to Next Week's Issue for More!"
"Pfft—" Roger couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Studying the charred marks in the photo's background, he chuckled, "That burn pattern? Definitely Natsu's handiwork."
"Ever since the guild got more famous, we've been in the news more often—though it's rarely anything good. Still, Lucy's the first to make it onto the magazine with a photo this ridiculous."
"Most wizards are off on jobs all over the place, so reporters can barely catch them for a normal photo, let alone an embarrassing one like this."
"Lucy really lives up to her 'bad luck magnet' nickname."
He squinted at the photo. "There's some black residue on her hand. Was she wearing gloves? Looks like they got burned off. Her guild mark's almost fully exposed."
"We're… back…" Lucy's exhausted voice drifted from the guild's entrance. She dragged herself in, legs heavy as lead, looking utterly drained. Spotting the nearest empty table, she made a beeline for it, ready to collapse.
"Oh, welcome back," Roger said, turning with a barely suppressed grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Lucy, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Huh?" Lucy, practically boneless, had just slumped toward a chair. She forced her heavy eyelids open. "G-Good news, please…" She desperately needed a pick-me-up.
Roger held up the magazine, his tone light. "Congrats! You made it into Sorcerer Weekly!"
"Wha—WHAT?!" Lucy shot up from the chair like she'd been zapped, exhaustion replaced by wild joy. Her eyes widened to the size of bells. "I'm in the magazine?!"
In an instant, sparkly fantasy bubbles burst in her mind:
A sea of fans waving autograph boards, screaming, "Lucy-sama! Please sign this!!"
"Goddess! Lucy, our goddess! I'd give everything for you!!"
"Ohhh~" Lucy clutched her flushed cheeks, floating in a dreamy haze. "I knew this day would come! My charm is like a star that can't be hidden!"
She even started to "worry." "Oh no, what if I have too many fans and can't sign all their autographs?"
Happy glanced at the bright sun outside the guild's window, deadpanning, "It's broad daylight, and Lucy's already dreaming? Is this that legendary 'daydream' thing?"
"Hmph~" Lucy snapped out of her reverie, gracefully flicking her blonde hair and gliding toward Roger with a floaty, cloud-walking stride.
"Happy, it's not too late to butter me up~ Once I'm a big star, if I'm in a good mood, I might toss you some premium dried fish~"
Lost in her superstar fantasies, she giddily took the magazine from Roger. Her fingers brushed the glossy cover, and his earlier words suddenly echoed in her head.
"Wait, you said there was bad news too. What's the bad news?"
Roger's lips curved into a cryptic smile, and he nodded toward the magazine. "Take a look at page three."
Lucy's smile froze. A sinking feeling hit her. Taking a few deep breaths, she steeled herself, squeezed her eyes shut, and with trembling hands, slowly flipped open the magazine.
Mustering her courage, she peeked through a tiny slit of her eyelids. When she saw the massive photo taking up half of page three, along with its scandalous headline, her heart felt like it was gripped by an invisible hand and stopped dead! Her breath caught in her throat!
Then— "AAAAAAHHHH!!!" A piercing, voice-cracking scream echoed through the guild! Lucy's golden hair stood on end like a lion's mane!
Clutching the magazine, her face beet red, she shrieked, "Who took this photo?!"
"What's this about a 'special hobby'?! What's this 'risking a whipping' nonsense?!"
"That building was clearly blown up by Natsu's attack! What does it have to do with me?!"
"And I was seriously interrogating him for his shady crimes! Why does it look like this?!"
Happy, somehow holding a small piece of paper, floated up to the fuming Lucy with a smug grin, dragging out his words in the most infuriating tone:
"Ohhh~ Lucy-sama with her 'special hobby'~ Could you sign this for me, pretty please~~?"