Chapter 145: Lucy Is In Debt Again...

Angel obediently followed Nate back to Master Bob's villa. Without her celestial keys, her combat abilities were practically useless, so she didn't dare to run away.

Upon returning to the villa, Nate encountered Jenny Realight, this time in person, not disguised as a celestial spirit.

"Nate!" The energetic poster girl greeted him, "Why didn't you reply to my messages?"

Is she still upset about that? Nate sighed. "I'll reply next time."

Jenny turned to Angel, clearly upset. "So, you're the one from Oración Seis who knocked me out?"

Angel awkwardly hid behind Nate. "It wasn't on purpose," she mumbled.

Earlier, she had knocked Jenny out by using Gemini to copy her while Jenny was preparing juice in the kitchen. Now, the tables had turned, and Angel found herself captured.

"As expected from a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, you're really something," Hibiki commented with his usual playful tone. "Now, little girl, care to tell us where the Oración Seis base is?"

The vast Worth Woodsea was aptly named—it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack without proper guidance.

Angel, aware of what they wanted, huffed, "Fine. But could I at least have some tea first?"

Immediately, she received a light tap on the head.

"Ouch…" She pouted, looking at Nate pitifully. "Can't I just have some tea?"

"Miss Oración Seis, remember that as a prisoner, your tone should be more respectful," Nate said, shaking his head. "Ultear, you take over the questioning. Jenny, please make her some tea."

Ultear couldn't help but chuckle.

Not long after, Angel finally sat quietly on the sofa, holding a cup of tea.

"So, what do you want to ask? I won't tell you anything!" she declared defiantly.

Ultear, noticing how Angel's hands trembled while holding the cup, teased, "No need to be scared. Fear won't help you."

Her words only made Angel shiver more. She knew Ultear's reputation—the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory from Grimoire Heart. What baffled her was why someone from such a dark guild was with the alliance. And Meredy was here too?

Angel wisely kept quiet about their true identities.

Nate, uninterested in the interrogation, turned to Hibiki, a mage from Blue Pegasus known as "Hundred Night Hibiki," and gestured for him to follow. Hibiki immediately obeyed.

The others noticed them leaving the villa and followed suit.

As Nate stepped outside, he turned and saw all the men trailing behind.

"Why are you all following?" Nate asked, puzzled.

"Didn't your gesture mean, 'Let's give the women some space for the interrogation'?" Ichiya responded, flashing a "handsome" smile, despite his rather peculiar appearance.

Nate: "..."

You really know how to overthink things.

This isn't some interrogation of a female mage captured on video, just a regular questioning for information.

Angel was tough-talking, but Nate knew it was just bravado.

"Hibiki, your magic is called Archive, right?" Nate asked.

Hibiki nodded. "Yes."

Archive Magic allowed the user to access any information or knowledge, a type of ancient magic. However, it wasn't as straightforward as it sounded.

"It's similar to your Magic Net library," Hibiki explained. "The difference is that Archive doesn't instantly generate new knowledge. It gathers information recorded by previous users. Every Archive user contributes to its database."

"But compared to your library, searching for information is more difficult with Archive," Hibiki added.

"For example, if you want to find something related to 'Archive' in your library, you can simply type in the keyword and get results quickly. But with Archive, it's like standing in an enormous library and having to search manually."

While Archive contained ancient and valuable knowledge accumulated over centuries, it lacked the user-friendly interface of the Magic Net library.

"Do you need me to look up some information for you?" Hibiki asked.

"I'm looking for details on the super magic 'Urano Metria.'"

Nate remembered that in the original story, Hibiki had shared this magic with Lucy through Archive. Since he had the opportunity now, he figured he might as well ask.

"Urano Metria, the celestial spirit mage's exclusive super magic?" Hibiki recalled the term and nodded. "Got it. Give me a moment to search."

He activated Archive, and a translucent interface similar to the Magic Net's appeared before him.

Nate watched with interest, noting that Archive's search methods were indeed far less efficient than the Magic Net.

At that moment, Nate's ring flashed, signaling an incoming message. He stepped aside and opened the Magic Net.

It was a voice message request from Lucy.

Amused, Nate accepted, and immediately, Lucy's voice echoed in his mind.

Lucy: "Nate~~~"

Nate: "Stop crying and speak properly."

Lucy: "Please sell me the keys! I'm begging you!"

Nate: "Did you forget you still owe me 15 million jewels?"

Lucy: "I know, but can't I owe you a little more?"

Lucy: "Three gold keys for 24 million jewels!"

Nate: "That puts you at a total debt of 39 million jewels. Can you even pay that back?"

Lucy: "I'll try my best!"

Nate: "Let me do the math for you. At 3,000 jewels a day, it'll take you 13,000 days, which is 427 months, or 35 something years."

Lucy: "No! Can't you give me a discount? I'll end up cooking for you for life!"

Nate: "I've already rounded it down for you."

Lucy fell silent for a moment before sending a photo.

Nate opened it and found a picture of Lucy in a swimsuit, striking a seductive pose.

Then, her voice rang out again in his mind.

Lucy: "How about now? Will you give me a discount?"

Nate silently saved the picture. He had to admit, Lucy had a fantastic figure, and judging by the bathroom tiles, she'd taken the photo at home.

Nate: "Alright, I'll knock off 5,000 jewels."

Lucy: "What!? My swimsuit picture is only worth 5,000 jewels? You're a devil!"

Nate: "How about 3,000 jewels?"

Lucy: "No! Fine, 5,000 it is."

Lucy: "At this rate, I'll have to send you 7,800 swimsuit photos to pay off the debt (heh, heh)."

Lucy: "Wait! Why did I say that out loud!?"

Nate: "Only the first swimsuit photo counts."

Chuckling, Nate thought, Lucy is really fun to mess with.

Meanwhile, in Magnolia, at Lucy's apartment, Lucy, still wearing her new swimsuit, hurriedly cut the voice chat, blushing in embarrassment.

"A swimsuit picture only counts once, huh?" Lucy muttered to herself, pouting. "But swimsuits are expensive! I could've used that money to pay off my debt instead!"

Suddenly, the memory of Nate seeing her naked flashed through her mind, and her face turned crimson.

He's already seen everything anyway, so what's the harm in taking more daring pictures?

"I really want those keys. Nate, you're so frustrating!"

With a determined expression, Lucy bit her lip, and after some hesitation, she took off her swimsuit.

Moments later, Nate received another, far more daring photo.

Gotta Earn Money: "Bathroom nude pic.jpg"

Gotta Earn Money: "Don't you dare share this! Or I'll hunt you down, Nate! You devil!"

Nate couldn't help but laugh as he viewed the message.

Looks like the princess has fallen down the rabbit hole!

~~~

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