Team Natsu + Juvia's mission

3. Information

The person who asked for the job was obviously very rich, because their house was beautiful and huge, like Lucy's family's house. The butler led us in, and we waited for a few minutes in a room.
- Wow, this place is huge? Do you think there are treasures hidden here, or something?
- I'm pretty sure there aren't any, Natsu, it's not such a big house that no one would have noticed yet - said Lucy.
- Is your house big enough?
- I don't know... The garden sure is.
- We have to go back to your house, and find the treasure! What kind of thing would it be? I hope it's big!
- Natsu, calm down, I don't think there's anything hidden at my house! And my father lost the house with all his money, so you can't go back there.
- I'm sorry, are you the mages of Fairy Tail? - asked a girl we hadn't noticed had come into the room.
- Yes. I'm Erza, and these are Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Juvia. And you are...?
- My name is Reina, and I'm the one who asked you to come here. This way, please - she led us into another room, and she sat down on a chair behind a desk. She was really beautiful, with long dark hair and green eyes, she was wearing a long dress, light pink, and a beautiful ring with a stone in the same color.
- So, what's the job about? - asked Gray.
- My family is very rich... - she started, but was interrupted.
- We've noticed - said Natsu. I shot him a death glare, and he got a serious face again. She started over:
- My family is very rich, and we've had many troublesome encounters with bandits, but we've always managed to prevent the robberies, since our security is very good. That's why we believe that this robbery is a matter of mages, and that's why we called you to solve it.
- What was stolen? - asked Lucy.
- The necklace and earrings that match this ring - Reina said, showing off the ring.
- Do you know where they hide? - asked Gray.
- I do not. But maybe some people in the town do... Though they will probably say they hide in the haunted cave, one of our town's legends.
- Haunted cave? - asked Juvia.
- The legend says that a girl and a boy were in love, and had an affair, though the girl was supposed to marry another. But the boy didn't want to commit so much as to run away with her, and he run away by himself. She lost her interest in life, and killed herself on a cave where they used to meet. They say she still haunts the cave, looking for people who broke their promises. - She stopped to look at us. - It's just a story, though. There might have been a love affair, but I doubt there ever was a ghost.
- Alright, then. We'll go look for information, so we can do this job as fast as possible, and get your jewels back.
- Thank you very much.
We walked through the town, and we entered a diner, because of course Natsu was hungry. They got a table, and I went to the counter. I was about to ask some people about the cave when a hooded person entered the diner. Juvia and Lucy were facing the door on the table, so they noticed immediately too. Not many people did, though, and the person sat down two seats from me on the counter. I tried to get a look at their face; was it one of the bandits or was it Crime Sorcière? They looked at the door quickly (which was behind me) and I could see some blue hair. They obviously had noticed me, and sat down on the stool right next to me.
- Are you investigating this case? - Jellal whispered.
- Yes - I said, whispering too.
- Alone? - he asked
- No. They're on the table right behind me. - he turned to look. Natsu waved. I wondered how stupid he could be, and Jellal turned back to face me.
- It's a Dark Guild, and it's been giving trouble even to us.
- An even better reason why we should help you.
- I'm not going to convince you to leave this job, am I? - he said, smiling.
- Not really. Or them, for that matter. - I answered, smiling a little as well.
- How much do you know? - he asked.
- We've talked to the person who asked for the job, and we came here to get more information. Do you know where they're hiding?
- Most likely, the haunted cave everyone talks about.
- We heard about that too, but it was just a rumor, I think.
- Rumors are often right, but you're right, we should check. - he said - We have to exchange information if we're going to work together, so we should meet at the entrance to the forest after lunch. Okay?
I nodded. He got up and left, and I sat down at the table again to share the news. Natsu and Lucy had annoying smiles, but Juvia talked before they could:
- What did he say?
- Were going to work together, so we're supposed to meet them at the entrance to the forest after lunch, so we can exchange information.
- And something else, right? - asked Natsu. I hit him in the face, pretty lightly, but I guess it hurt, because he said "ouch" and stopped.
- Okay, so we should go to the hotel and get ready. - said Gray.