Mira's predictions were correct, as they received a letter from the Advisory Council requesting the bounty on Ailiger after arriving at the Guild.
The bounty amount is 5 million J.
It's quite an ambiguous number.
If considered an S-level mission, the reward seems a bit low. However, if not considered an S-level mission, the risk is too high.
Ailiger, after all, is a ruthless killer with substantial power, and it's unclear what the Advisory Council means by this pricing.
After discussing with the President, Mira decided to post the decision on the first floor, using the high bounty to remind everyone that this is a dangerous individual and not to act recklessly if encountered.
"5 million J?! We let 5 million J slip away?!"
Miss Lucy, who was fretting over rent, was sitting at the counter and inelegantly banging her forehead against the table upon hearing the news.
Hapi, counting on his paws, asked, "Hey Mira, how many fish can you buy with 5 million J?"
Mira said, "That's hard to calculate. I think... probably enough to fill Hapi and Natsu's house?"
Imagining his house filled with fish, Hapi drooled at the mouth: "Natsu, let's go catch Ailiger!"
"Oh, I'm fired up!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly, "But we agreed, Lucy gets to choose the mission this time."
Hapi asked again, "Is Lucy going to choose this one?"
"This kind of mission doesn't need choosing, and there's no clue at all, how could we specifically take it on..."
Lucy frowned, "Miss Mira, is there a job suitable for me you could recommend?"
"Let me think... the fountain in the park is broken, someone needs to fix it or replace it with Water Magic." Mira said, "Lucy, don't you have Aquarius Constellation?"
Lucy waved her hand, "No way, sending Aquarius to do such things feels like she'd kill me."
"Then, the boxing gym is recruiting sparring partners, and you have Taurus Taurosu and Virgo Constellation, right?"
"Well, Taurus would be okay, but why mention Balrog?"
Mira smiled sweetly, "Because didn't you say Balrog likes to train others? Boxing (getting beaten) could work too, right?"
"No, that's too pitiful." Lucy couldn't bear to let Balrog get beaten up, nor Taurus either.
"I think Balrog would enjoy that kind of thing..." Mira thought again,
"What about having Kyansa from Cancer Constellation help Mr. Rhode with a haircut? I can issue the commission, letting Lucy run a temporary barbershop in the Guild."
"That's a good idea! Kyansa likes helping people with haircuts."
Mira smiled gently, "Right now, I feel Rhode's hair is a bit long; trimming it would look better."
"...So it was all about the boyfriend." Lucy sighed, "Helping a friend with a haircut is free... besides, if I open a barbershop, my Magic Power won't last long."
Although it looks odd, and hairstyling is what's best at, Kyansa is after all a Star Spirit of the Zodiac.
Lucy is still a bit weak at the moment.
Mira propped her chin and lightly complained, "Lucy is so picky."
"Ah, Lucy is like that. She didn't even let us scratch her wall yesterday morning."
"You know that's my wall!" Lucy couldn't understand how these people acted like her home was theirs.
Eating, bathing, sleeping, even reading her novel draft, not bothered at all.
It made her exhaust herself with complaints yesterday morning.
But in everyone's eyes, despite Lucy's face showing disdain, she seems to actually enjoy it.
Speaking of which, Mira also felt a bit embarrassed.
When she sent Lucy home the day before, the atmosphere was too good, so she couldn't help but stay over with everyone that night.
She even bathed with Erza, cooked together, and helped Lucy change clothes.
Mira realized Lucy's figure was exceptionally good, as was Erza's.
"In any case, to apologize for bothering at your home that day, could you summon Kyansa to help Mr. Rhode with a haircut?"
"Okay." Lucy instinctively reached for the key at her waist, then suddenly realized, "Wait a minute, whose apology are we talking about?"
Mira waved her hand, "Don't worry about these details."
Rhode was called over by Mira and as soon as he arrived, he saw Lucy using magic.
"Open the doors to Cancer Constellation, Kyansa!"
A phantom keyhole appeared in the air, and Lucy turned the key in her hand. In a flash of golden light, a towering man with crab-claw shaped hair appeared, holding scissors in both hands.
"What kind of style are we cutting today?"
Hapi shouted, "It's here! The crab that ends sentences with 'lobster'!"
"You've already commented on that." Lucy said helplessly, "Kyansa, could you please give Mr. Rhode a haircut?"
"OK lobster." Kyansa had Rhode sit down.
Rhode wanted to ask for a cloth to wrap around first, but Kyansa directly started, making Rhode hesitant to move as the scissors danced.
Although his hair indeed became shorter, magically not a single strand fell on him.
Mira observed Kyansa's technique for a while and slightly furrowed her brow, "It seems quite difficult to learn."
"Does the lady wish to learn hairstyling lobster?"
"I'd like to learn a bit," Mira said, "Could you teach me?"
"No problem lobster," Kyansa said while working, "It's a special kind of magic; whether you can learn it depends on you lobster."
Kyansa's hairstyling magic is amazing; with a few moves of the scissors, it not only shortens hair, but can lengthen it, and even provides care.
"Oh~ Miss Mira wants to learn so she can help Mr. Rhode?" Lucy's eyes danced between the two of them, "You two have a really good relationship."
Hapi couldn't hold back: "They're involved!"
"Yes, exactly like that." Mira admitted straightforwardly, helping him with a haircut isn't something to be shy about, "Lucy, don't you have any guy you want to help out with something?"
"No." Lucy replied, sounding a bit down.
Recounting the guys she met after joining the Guild: animalistic, exhibitionists, playboys, chatterboxes...
Among the few normal ones, one keeps an eye on Bisca, and another is already Miss Mira's boyfriend.
In this Guild, normal guys are a rare species.
"Done lobster!"
"Looks stylish!" Mira took out a small mirror to show Rhode.
Rhode looked at his smooth, glossy hair, better than any salon could achieve:
"Achieving an all-in-one wash, cut, and blow with just two scissors? This is amazing!"
"Customer satisfaction is my greatest praise lobster!" Kyansa politely gave a slight bow before disappearing.
"Thanks Lucy, could I get a year membership here?"
"There's no such thing!" Lucy thought Mr. Rhode might not be completely normal either, "Miss Mira has helped me a lot, so feel free to ask if you need anything."
"How about I introduce two great jobs to you?" Rhode proposed,
"They're the adventurous yet less dangerous type that fit teaming up with Natsu and Hapi."
Lucy said excitedly, "Really?"
A job tailored for them?
"Yes, the first is a hunting mission. Villagers' livestock have been repeatedly bitten to death, hunters searching the mountain have instead been scratched and bitten, and traps don't work. It's speculated to be a nimble carnivorous beast, a leopard or a wolf type, with a reward of 100,000 J."
"Oh~ that sounds good!" Natsu was interested; he liked these simple missions that involve fighting.
Lucy thought it could work, a nimble beast can be surrounded together, then three people split 100,000, each getting over 30,000, half the rent covered.
But she didn't rush to decide: "What's the other one?"