Natsu, at the quest board, heard this and immediately punched the board, shattering it, then walked out with Happy.
Lucy couldn't help but look sad at what had just happened.
"The Master is so strict."
"And Natsu, what's wrong with him?"
Mira explained, "He probably thought of his father."
Ye Yang looked at the beaten Makarov and said, "Old man, you're really not straightforward."
"You're worried sick, but you insist on acting this way."
"Why bother? How can a mission be more important than life?"
Makarov sighed helplessly.
"Stinky Brat, you're right. How can a mission be more important than life?"
Just as Makarov was about to say something, Ye Yang interjected, "Don't worry, Natsu has already gone."
"By the way, Lucy, you should go with him too."
Lucy immediately looked puzzled when Ye Yang called her over. "Huh? Why?"
"You need to get familiar with the guild's procedures, right? Consider this your first mission in the guild."
Seeing that Ye Yang had already made his point so strongly, Lucy found it hard to refuse.
"Alright then~"
Makarov, noticing Ye Yang's unusual behavior, asked, "Stinky Brat, why are you so concerned about this Lucy? You're not looking at her good figure and wanting to..."
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
As soon as the Master finished speaking, Mira, holding a knife, looked at him with a smile.
"I'd like to know too~"
Ye Yang immediately panicked at this sight. He couldn't exactly say that this was how the plot went, could he?
"You're overthinking it. With a beauty like Mira by my side, how could I have time to look at other girls?"
"Right, my beautiful Snow White~"
Mira immediately blushed and covered her face upon hearing this.
Makarov, seeing his scheme fail, grumpily started drinking his wine.
"Oh, and old man, the payment for Lucy's quest will be on your tab."
∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) "Pfft—!!"
"What?!!"
Ye Yang immediately covered his ears, repeatedly saying, "Can't hear, can't hear."
Makarov was practically spitting on Ye Yang as he spoke.
By evening, Natsu and Lucy helped Macao return to the guild, and the matter was resolved perfectly.
That night, Lucy returned to her rented apartment. She had spent 70,000 Jewel on it. Although a bit expensive, the decor perfectly suited her taste, so she decided to rent it without much hesitation.
Just as Lucy finished showering and came out wrapped in a towel, she saw Natsu, Happy, and Ye Yang in her room, sitting on her sofa and eating her snacks.
"Hi!"
"Yo~"
"Ah ah ah ah!!"
Lucy immediately kicked Natsu flying. As for Ye Yang, her foot passed directly through his body, and Lucy lost her balance, falling to the ground.
The scene shifted, and Lucy was sitting on the edge of her bed, with Natsu and Happy back on the sofa.
"You... why are you in my house?!"
"Even if we have a good relationship, this is a complete invasion of my privacy! This is illegal trespassing! This is a crime!"
Natsu rubbed his kicked face and said, "Louise, you're being too harsh."
(〝▼dish▼) "I told you, my name is Lucy! And you guys are the ones being too much!"
"Are you perhaps coveting my beauty, and so you want to... I know I'm naturally beautiful, and I have a fatal attraction to men like you. Is all of this to blame on the beauty bestowed upon me by heaven...?"
Natsu, Happy, and Ye Yang felt a wave of speechlessness as Lucy began to get narcissistic.
So Natsu decisively cut off Lucy's further monologue.
"You're overthinking it. I just wanted to see what your new house looked like."
Hearing this, Lucy finally realized, "How did you get into my room? Did you pick my lock?"
"Huh? How could we pick someone else's lock? We opened the room with a key."
(◦˙▽˙◦) "Haha, so you opened it with a key, I was just saying..."
"..."
Σ(°Д°; "Why do you have a key to my house!!"
Happy replied, "Lucy, don't you know? The house you rented is my boss's property."
"Huh?" Lucy looked at Ye Yang, utterly bewildered.
"He... isn't he a Mage?"
Ye Yang took a sip of tea and said, "Who says a Mage can't rent out houses to others?"
"Aye! My boss is the man who will become the strongest landlord!"
"The... strongest landlord?" Lucy couldn't help but twitch her mouth upon hearing this.
"Every time the boss finishes a mission, he uses the money he earns to buy houses in Magnolia Town. The boss now owns the most properties in Magnolia!"
Lucy became even more bewildered after hearing this series of actions.
"Do missions to earn money — use the money earned to buy houses — rent out houses to collect money."
"What is all this?"
Ye Yang said indignantly, "You shortsighted bunch, real estate will definitely get more and more expensive in the future."
"Isn't this rent of 70,000 Jewel a bit low? Should I raise it a bit next month~?"
Lucy immediately panicked upon hearing this.
"Don't raise it, it's already enough! Any more and I won't be able to afford it (˘̩̩̩ε˘̩ƪ)."
"Haha, just kidding. I just heard someone rented a house here, so I came to show my face. I also met these two guys at the door."
"Considering you treated me to dinner yesterday, I'll waive next month's rent for you."
Lucy immediately stood up happily upon hearing this, and her towel fell off, revealing her perfect figure to the two men and one cat.
Ye Yang quickly covered his ears—yes, his ears.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"
Natsu was about to cover his ears but was immediately kicked flying by Lucy.
She then quickly picked up her towel and headed towards the bathroom.
("Mama, I'm tainted...") (╥﹏╥)
The scene shifted.
Lucy, fully dressed, returned to the living room and found that the two still hadn't left.
"Why aren't you leaving?!"
Natsu said with a smile, "We're not leaving. We came to play with you."
Ye Yang: "I heard from Natsu that you have fun stuff here, so I stayed."
Lucy thought for a long time but couldn't think of anything fun.
"I just moved in, so there's nothing here, alright?"
Natsu suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right! Lucy, don't you summon things?!"
"Let us see your keys!"
"Huh? Keys? You mean Celestial Spirits, right!"
"Exactly, exactly, let us see that."
Lucy looked helplessly at the excited Natsu and Happy.
Then Lucy took out all her keys: three gold and three silver.
"These silver keys can basically be bought in stores. These three are Horologium of the Clock, Crux of the Southern Cross, and Lyra of the Lyre."
"And these three gold keys, there are only 12 of them in the whole world, and they can open the keys to the Golden Zodiac. They are very precious keys."
"They are Taurus of the Golden Zodiac, Aquarius, and Cancer."