Chapter 18: Mystery Solved
Thanks to Hibiki's magic ability to locate people of his choosing, the Trimens had found Laxus Dreyar and his friends. As expected, the fully dressed men started hitting on Cana and Evergreen the moment they arrived in the hotel dining area much to Bickslow and Freed's chagrin.
The dragon slayer drummed his fingers on the table as he listened to the Trimens; they started to reveal everything that they had found out about their mysterious client. He had to admit that they did a great job with their investigation.
"So, our client happens to be part of a cult called the Avatar," Freed seethed, narrowing his eyes. "Is that what you're saying?"
"That's right," Hibiki responded. "When we were in his mansion, we found a lot of items in there that contained dark magic. At first glance, you'd think their ordinary stuff, you know, like—portraits, golden cups, or—"
"Keys," Laxus finished, his teeth clenched. Had he known about this, he would have sent his client flying along with those clowns who stole the magic goblet. He realized that those thieves were probably just pawns.
"Come down, Laxus," Evergreen implored her comrade. She turned to the Trimens, pointing her hand fan at them. "Can you tell us how you're able to get inside his mansion?"
"Well, we pretended to sell him some of Ichiya's perfume," Eve explained to her. "The client wanted to inspect each bottle, so he welcomed us into his home." He held up a device that contained a glowing lacrima.
"And what's that supposed to be?" Cana asked, raising an eyebrow.
"This thing can detect cursed items," the petite boy replied, now leaning forward and holding the device closer to the magic card user for her to inspect. "I used it earlier during our investigation. Pretty cool, huh?"
"So, that's how you saw through the stuff with dark magic inside the mansion," Bickslow mused. "That device has the same magic as my dolls."
Eve nodded. "Yeah, it's quite handy," he told the seith magic user.
"What else did you notice in there?" Freed asked curiously, his face grim.
"It was strange," Ren recalled, rubbing his chin. "There weren't even butlers or maids inside the mansion. The man had a lovely daughter, though." Then, he dramatically looked away. "She offered us refreshments, but it's not like I'm into her or anything—"
"Anyway," Hibiki pressed on, "we found a mark on her wrist, which she was trying to hide from us. I was able to search the symbol through my archives. It was the mark of a cult that worshipped Zeref. The cult's name is called the Avatar."
"Avatar, huh," Bickslow repeated. "Another one of Zeref's followers. Well, this can't be good."
"Then, what are we still doing here?" Cana slapped her hand on the table. "Let's swoop in there and get those guys! There must be other cult members hiding in that mansion."
"Well, there's really no need for you to do that," Eve told her quickly. He turned to his other comrades. "They're probably locked up in jail by now. We had reported them to the Magic Council, and the army came for them almost instantly. A lot of things in the mansion were either confiscated or destroyed."
So, the Trimens could handle a mission pretty well then, Laxus thought. He had underestimated them because he thought they were weak. It was like what Ichiya had told him—they could solve a case without having to use their fists. The idea still felt unnatural to him. Blue Pegasus was, indeed, far different from Fairy Tail.
"That's too bad," he said disdainfully. "It would've been satisfying to knock them all out in a fight." He cracked his knuckles. "I can't forgive them for keeping and distributing illegal stuff in this city."
"As expected of Laxus," Freed said solemnly, nodding his head in approval.
"I understand what you're trying to say, Laxus," Eve said, "but Master Ichiya said that if we could settle the problem without violence, the city wouldn't have to suffer unnecessary damages—"
"Yeah, I know that," Laxus growled at the younger mage, cutting him off.
Hibiki appeared to decide to change the subject. "So, where's Lucy headed?" he asked. "I saw her climbing onto a magic vehicle with Loke earlier on our way here."
There was a sudden change in the atmosphere on the table. Evergreen glared at Hibiki, who looked surprised by her reaction.
"Ah?" The dragon slayer frowned, not believing his ears. She's with Loke?
Ren shook his head and grinned knowingly. "Real smooth, Hibiki."
Cana laughed and then nudged Laxus playfully. "You know, you should've gone with her, Sparky," she teased. "You can't just let blondie run around freely like that. You never know who might take her away."
"Just shut up," Laxus said huffily, looking away. He knew that the magic card user was only jesting. He wasn't threatened. Or was he? Lucy and Loke only saw each other as friends, and that was it, he decided.
"I guess our job here is done," Hibiki said briskly, rising to his feet. "We need to fly back to the guild now."
"Aren't you coming with us?" Eve asked, looking at Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe. "We could really use your help in entertaining more clients in the guildhall."
"Nah. We're staying here for another night," Bickslow replied. "You guys can go ahead."
"Suit yourself," Ren said, waving his hand. "See you guys tomorrow."
The Trimens said their goodbyes and left the table. Cana and the Thunder God Tribe were now looking at Laxus.
The dragon slayer raised an eyebrow at them. "What?" he asked irritably.
"How about we all go to the photo studio and visit Lucy?" Evergreen suggested cautiously. "We don't have anything else to do today, right?" She glanced at Cana, Freed, and Bixlow and cocked her head.
Freed and Bixlow wordlessly nodded their heads while Cana leaned over and waited for Laxus' response. Laxus stared at them suspiciously—they seemed convinced that he was worried about Lucy. Unbelievable!
"Fine, whatever," he finally replied. "But only because we have nothing else better to do."