Chapter 55

The Deal


Shô


"You have another mission for us?" I asked in surprise.

I was stationed at the bar serving guild members when Master Makarov jumped up on a stool to address Erza and I. He had a yellow manilla envelope in his hand that looked like it was packed full of documents. I could tell it was sealed with some kind of magic seal.

"That's right, an easy delivery mission." Makarov laughed to himself.

"Who's the requestor?" Erza asked.

"Me."

I looked to Erza, silently asking her, "We aren't getting paid for this, are we". The only response I got from her was a side eye look at me. Her attention was solely on Master Makarov.

"And who would we be delivering it to?"

Any semblance of a smile disappeared from Master's face, "…Phantom Lord."

Erza fell silent, in fact, much of the guild fell silent at the drop of that guild's name. This was despite the fact that nobody seemed to be paying attention to our conversation.

"Is there…a problem with Phantom Lord?" I asked.

I could tell there seemed to be some tension at the mention of that guild, but whatever the reason was, I wasn't privy to it. I genuinely did not know why people didn't seem to like Phantom Lord.

"They're a rival guild." Erza explained to me, "And we don't typically get along."

This came somewhat as a surprise to me, "You both seem to work well together in my experience."

"Our relationship has been improving." Master Makarov added, "But regardless, I need these delivered, and Jose specifically requested that they be delivered by you two."

"Why us?"

Master shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."

"Then I guess…if you're entrusting us with this mission…"

"I am." Master said as he handed Erza the envelope, "Under no circumstances are you to open that folder. Make sure it makes it to Jose."

"You can trust us, Master." I replied.

Master gave me a big smile and replied, "Good luck, to both of you."


Later


Erza and I sat on the train on our way to Phantom Lord's main headquarters. I learned from Erza that Phantom Lord is undeniably the riches guild and has several subdivisions spread out across not just Fiore, but the entire continent. I was quite surprised to learn they have subdivisions in other countries. Furthermore, they are formally ranked as the number one guild in Fiore. While Fairy Tail is regarded as an equal and potential rival for the number one spot, Fairy Tail has never participated in the Grand Magic Games, a competition to determine the number one guild in Fiore. Apparently, we are always barred from the Grand Magic Games due to various incidents that occur throughout the year, most of which have to do with debts the guild owes due to property damage.

I looked out the window and watched as a massive castle came into view. Atop each of the flag poles was a flag with the emblem of Phantom Lord on it. The castle looked imposing, like an impenetrable fortress.

"So that's Phantom Lord." I muttered.

Erza grabbed her things and stood up, "We'll be arriving in a moment."

I grabbed my things and joined Erza at the door. Just as I reached it, the train came to a complete stop and we were able to get off. From there, it was a short walk towards the imposing castle.

"Just…keep your voice down and don't try and start anything." Erza warned me.

"Same goes to you."

We were just about to leave the train station and walk out into the pouring rain when someone stopped us from behind.

"Drip, drip, drop." Came a familiar woman's voice, "What brings Fairy Tail all the way out here?"

We turned around to face none other than Juvia Lockser. I recognized the water mage from the incident at the Tower of Heaven. Fortunately, I never had to fight her. I'm told she is a very powerful water mage.

"Er, hello Juvia." Erza replied somewhat nervously, "We've come to deliver something to your Master."

Juvia pulled out an umbrella and approached us, "Juvia can take that for you, if you want?"

"I'm sorry, but we have orders to deliver it to Master Jose personally." I told the water mage.

"Juvia sees. Then Juvia will escort you back to the guild."

"Oh, um…thank you?"

With that, Juvia led us through the pouring rain. Erza was able to keep dry on the trek up to the castle thanks to Juvia sharing her umbrella. I wasn't so lucky as there wasn't enough room for me. As we approached the castle, all I could think about was how dreadful it would be to try and siege this massive structure. The rain only added to the imposing nature of the castle.

I was relieved when we entered the castle and we were finally out of that downpour. What I found inside was much different from Fairy Tail. Where Fairy Tail was rowdy and welcoming, Phantom Lord was quiet and menacing in comparison.

"Ah, Mademoiselle! You return!" came the voice of an eerily slender man.

"Hello, Sol."

The man, Sol, bowed to Juvia and then turned his attention to us, "And what are Fairies doing here?"

Sol's tone when speaking to Juvia was much warmer and welcoming compared to venomous words aimed at Erza and I.

"Pay them no mind, Sol." Came a new voice, "They're here for me."

We looked in the direction of the voice and found it belonged to a scary looking man with dark red hair. The most important feature of this man though, was the Wizard Saint Medallion hanging around his neck. We were in the presence of Jose Porla, and he made it known. He let out some of his magic and it was suffocating. I was almost paralyzed in fear and wanted to run away. This power reminded me of Jellal.

Erza didn't seem to be as affected as I was, and albeit nervously, handed over the papers. Jose snatched them out of her hands and undid the magic seal on them. He pulled out the papers and tiny bit and scanned the document and smiled.

"Well, it's about time I received my payment."

That caught me off guard.

"What do you mean by payment?" Erza asked.

Jose chuckled to himself and looked back at us, "What, Makarov didn't tell you? How do you think all your legal fees were paid? There's no way Fairy Tail could have paid that bill."

Erza's eyes widened in shock. Even I was surprised. Why would Phantom Lord, let alone any guild, pay our legal fees?

"But…w-why?" I stuttered out.

"Simple, Makarov had something I wanted, and I had something he wanted." He explained, "Honestly, it was a pretty good deal."

Now I was wondering what kind of documents were in that folder. Whatever it was, it was valuable enough for Master Makarov to make a deal with Master Jose.

"Well, I have some business to attend to." Jose said, "You two can show yourselves out."

With that, Jose left us and headed further into the castle.

"Well then, au revoir Fairy Tail." Sol said in a happy tone of voice.

"Juvia will escort you back to the train station."

"Thank you," I gave Juvia a slight bow. Truth be told, I didn't want to get on the train just yet. We had only just got off and it was still pouring outside. The major reason I didn't complain though, was that I did not feel welcome here. Juvia was probably the only person here who didn't look like they wanted to gut me.

Juvia led us out of the guild and towards the train station, "By the way, Juvia would have expected Natsu to come, where is he?"

I gave Juvia a confused look, "Why would you expect him?"

"Because of Gajeel," Erza answered, "Those two are good friends. Speaking of, where's he?"

"You answer first."

Erza glared at the woman, but quickly replied, "Natsu's on a mission right now."

We stepped out into the rain, and like before, Erza and Juvia shared an umbrella. I was left to be soaked by the rain.

"Gajeel is on a mission as well. You know, ever since Gajeel and Natsu became friends, Master Jose's stance against Fairy Tail has softened."

Erza seemed surprised to hear that.

"In fact, Master Jose will be attending the upcoming Guild Masters meeting."

"That's going to be an eventful meeting." Erza mused.

"How so?" I asked.

"Jose never really got along with Master Makarov. In fact, they got into a fight once, and if the stories are true, Master beat Jose pretty handily."

The umbrella tilted away from Erza ever so slightly, "Makarov didn't beat Master Jose so easily."

Erza tried to stutter something out, but all she could muster was nonsense. It was as though she wanted to argue but couldn't.

By the time we reached the train station, I could have sworn I put on ten pounds thanks to the water clinging to me. We bade our farewell to Juvia and waited for our train to arrive. With that, we returned to sunny Magnolia, having completed our mission.


What do you think was in that envelope?

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