"Come on, Lucy, you can do this."
Standing outside the mission site, Lucy looked up at the imposing iron gate, took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and cheered herself on.
She had to complete her first task in the magical world beautifully!
Just before stepping forward, she couldn't help but turn back toward the forest.
There, Roy leaned against a tree, with sunlight streaming through the leaves, casting shadows across his face, making it hard to see his expression clearly. But Lucy noticed he was "smiling" as he watched her.
"You can do it!"
Seeing Roy's "encouraging" smile and gaze, Lucy felt as if he was silently cheering her on. She pressed her lips together, nodded determinedly, and received his strength.
Finally, dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit that radiated youthful charm, Lucy boldly stepped toward the iron gate.
Her eyes were firm, her steps resolute.
In reality, Lucy had misunderstood the true meaning behind Roy's smile. The reason Roy was smiling was because, after meeting the task's client and seeing Lucy in a maid outfit, he couldn't help but recall what would happen next in the mission, which amused him.
Just imagine it—confident Lucy applying for a maid position with someone who has a rather eccentric sense of beauty. How crushed would her self-confidence be? Just thinking about it made Roy nearly laugh out loud.
As in the original story, Lucy was soon insulted by Duke Ebal, who found her unattractive and called her ugly, stabbing her confidence deeply.
Not only that, she was further insulted by Virgo, who called her a "dinosaur girl," adding salt to the wound.
With this double blow, Lucy stood there, looking downcast, completely speechless.
Roy took a few long strides over, placed a hand on her slumped head, and spoke softly.
"What's wrong, my adorable kouhai? Can't handle a little setback?"
Although this mission was a bit unusual, that's the reality of the magic world!
Not all tasks go smoothly; on the journey to completing missions, there will always be obstacles and challenges.
A mage's job is to overcome these obstacles and finish their tasks gracefully!
If she couldn't handle such a small setback, maybe she wasn't cut out to be a mage and should go back to farming!
Of course, Roy knew Lucy wasn't actually that fragile. His words were just to provoke her a bit, to lift her spirits.
However, he underestimated Lucy's reaction. She wasn't sad—she was angry!
Being called ugly by someone with terrible taste, when she prided herself on her appearance—how infuriating for a girl who cared about her looks!
"I'll make that jerk pay for this!" Lucy said, clenching her teeth in determination. "Since Plan A failed, let's activate Plan B!"
"Alright, show me your Plan B!" Roy said, smiling approvingly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Watch me!" Lucy responded confidently, her spirit renewed.
Suddenly, her face stiffened, and with a hint of anger in her beautiful eyes, she asked, "Excuse me? Where exactly is your hand?"
Roy's hand had somehow ended up on a rather delicate spot just above her maid skirt's hem.
"Oh! My bad, my bad! Slipped, it slipped!" Roy laughed awkwardly, scratching his head with his other hand.
Even though he said it was an accident, his hand showed no signs of moving from that spot.
"I'll show you what 'slipping' really means!" Lucy fumed, shoving Roy away from her.
Then, she grabbed onto his sides with her delicate hands, giving a firm twist to both sides.
As they had discussed in the guild, Roy was only there as her backup, meaning Lucy was in charge of the mission.
And so, Lucy led Roy as they stealthily infiltrated Duke Ebal's mansion.
For someone who was once a noble's daughter, sneaking into someone else's house to steal felt thrillingly rebellious.
But, remembering that this was for the mission, to retrieve a client's father's keepsake, and thinking of Duke Ebal's grotesque face, Lucy's guilt faded completely.
With a slight grin, she lowered her voice and declared, "Alright, Operation 'Retrieve Sunrise' begins now!"
As they advanced through the mansion, they eventually turned a corner and came face-to-face with a group of oddly shaped maids led by Virgo.
Following the principle of striking first, Lucy summoned Taurus with her key, wielded her Star River whip, and charged in.
Unfortunately, Lucy, with only the strength of a B-rank mage, struggled against five opponents and quickly found herself overwhelmed.
Still, she wouldn't lose right away.
Roy leaned casually against the wall, watching Lucy's battle, as they had agreed he would only step in if she was in real danger.
But facing the group's combined attacks, Lucy started to struggle, looking flustered. She turned toward Roy with a pleading expression and shouted, "Senpai, why are you just watching? Help me!"
Roy: OMO....