Chapter 20 : Sunrise

The commissioned mission took place at Hilos Gate, a location not far from Magnolia.

Knight hired a carriage for the journey, which would take around two hours. Naturally, Lucy ended up footing the bill. Already strapped for cash, she grew even more anxious, shedding imaginary "tears of poverty" as she sat in the carriage.

"Couldn't we at least split the fare?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure, I'll get out here then," Knight replied, opening his programming tool and preparing to code.

"No! I'll pay for it. Please stay, Lord Knight!" Lucy quickly clutched Knight's arm, determined to keep him on board. "What about the commission reward?"

"You think I'll keep it all?" Knight said, not looking up as he continued typing away.

"Don't tell me you plan to take the entire reward!" Lucy huffed.

"Relax, I'll give you at least 10%."

"Only 20,000 J?! We're supposed to be partners—half each!"

Knight chuckled, unable to resist teasing the wealthy heiress. "Alright, but now, no more talking. I need to focus."

"Fine," Lucy grumbled, sitting up straight but silently fuming.

While Knight immersed himself in coding, oblivious to the world around him, Lucy peeked out the carriage window to enjoy the scenic countryside. The beautiful views tempted her to call Knight over to enjoy them together, but seeing him so focused, she decided against it.

"What incredible concentration..." she mused, thinking how Knight's work ethic reminded her of her father. She glanced at him quietly, though she had no idea what he was actually doing.

Before long, the carriage arrived at the Shiloh branch. Knight paused his work and noticed Lucy had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"We're here, Lucy," he said, gently waking her.

Lucy blinked awake, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry, you told me not to talk, and I must have dozed off."

"Blame me, then," Knight said with a smile.

"Thanks for the shoulder," Lucy giggled as she hopped out of the carriage.

The two walked into the small town. Compared to Magnolia, it was much smaller, resembling a medieval European village. The entire town belonged to Duke Abar, whose mansion lay hidden in a nearby forest.

"Shall we find the client first?" Lucy asked as she walked beside Knight.

Knight pointed to a nearby clothing shop. "First, let's get you some new clothes."

"...What?"

Lucy tilted her head, puzzled, before realizing what he meant. Duke Abar was looking to hire a blonde maid, and according to their plan from last night, she needed a proper maid outfit.

"I'll be right back," Lucy said, dashing into the store.

Moments later, she emerged wearing a black-and-white maid outfit, complete with white stockings and black leather shoes.

"Nate, how do I look?" Lucy struck a playful pose. "Seems like I can pull off anything!"

"Please call me 'Master.'"

"Why?"

"This is practice."

"No way!" Lucy pouted. "And I haven't even made any money yet. I spent 36,000 J on the carriage and this maid outfit."

"Are you serious? You could've rented it," Knight replied, shaking his head at Lucy's questionable spending habits. Then again, perhaps she just enjoyed shopping.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's go make that money back before we end up eating dirt next month."

Knight chuckled and led the way toward Duke Abar's mansion. "By the way, I have good news. While you were buying clothes, Mira sent me a message—the reward's been raised to 2 million J."

Lucy nearly fainted from excitement. Two million?! After splitting it and deducting the guild's cut, she'd walk away with 900,000 J.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go, Knight!" Lucy's eyes practically turned into J symbols at the thought of the money.

Not long after, Lucy arrived at the gate of a grand villa, dressed in her maid outfit.

"Excuse me, is anyone here? I'm here to apply for the maid position…" she called out.

Suddenly, the ground shifted, and a man in a black suit appeared, followed by a muscular maid.

"Applying for a maid job? You?" Duke Abar emerged from the shadows, inspecting Lucy from head to toe with disdain.

Lucy quickly composed herself, putting on her most polite face. "Yes, my name is Lucy. Please allow me to serve."

Duke Abar squinted his lifeless eyes at her. "Hmm… No need. Go away, dinosaur girl."

"D-Dinosaur?!" Lucy felt like she'd been struck by a lightning bolt. She stood there, stunned and speechless.

"What gave you the confidence to apply here? If you're so ugly, you shouldn't come out and scare people," Duke Abar scoffed, stroking his beard. "Only truly beautiful women are fit to serve someone as great as me."

Four other maids appeared, fawning over Duke Abar.

"Oh, Master, you're the best!"

"We adore you!"

"Master, your words always lift my spirits~"

"Dinosaur girl, get lost."

Lucy stared in disbelief at the four maids—each more bizarre-looking than the last—and wondered how such a twisted sense of beauty could exist in this world.

Back in the nearby forest, Lucy stormed toward Knight, still fuming.

"Back already, dinosaur girl?" Knight teased from where he leaned against a tree.

"I'm furious!" Lucy squatted down, hugging her knees and sobbing. "I'll never forgive that arrogant Duke!"

Then, suddenly determined, Lucy clenched her fists. "Plan A failed, so we'll go with Plan B!"

"Plan B?" Knight raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"I just came up with it!" Lucy declared. "You'll create a distraction, and while the guards are busy, I'll sneak into the mansion and steal the—"

She paused when she noticed Knight flipping through a book, seemingly indifferent to her plan.

"Are you even listening? What are you reading?"

"Sunrise."

"Wait, isn't that the mission target?!" Lucy gasped, snatching the book from Knight's hands. Sure enough, the title read Sunrise.

"Where did you get this?" Lucy demanded, still shocked.

"While you were applying for the maid job, I snuck into the mansion and took it from the library," Knight said, smirking. "Your distraction plan worked like a charm, Lucy."

Using his abilities, Knight had easily bypassed the mansion's security and retrieved the book unnoticed.

Lucy was speechless. On the one hand, she wanted to feel proud of her success, but something about Knight's compliment felt off.

Still, she quickly recovered. "Well, great job! We did it! Let's go turn in the mission and get paid!"

She eagerly grabbed Knight's arm, pulling him along, her excitement palpable.

Knight, once again, felt the soft press of Lucy clinging to him, but just as he was about to follow her, he stopped.

"Wait," Knight said, pulling Lucy back gently. "The enemy's coming."

Just as he spoke, a massive frying pan fell from the sky, crashing onto the road ahead of them.

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