“Do you want to know how to make your body stronger?”

“Yes”

“Why would you want to do that, brat? Your magic isn’t something that focuses on the physical”

“I know it, that’s why I want to know how to improve physically; if someone found a way to avoid you, get to me or cancel my magic, I couldn’t do anything, that... it’s frustrating, and I heard from Cancer that you might know a way to do it”

“tch”

“Did you just tch?!”

“All the time you’ve spent with the other brat has made you more annoying; the next time I see him, I’ll hit him in the face with a house-sized stream of water, so he learns not to cause problems that I have to solve”

“Aquarius, I really want your help; I want to keep improving, so please”

“Ah, ok, I get it; I’ll help you, pesky brat, I know a couple of ways you could do something similar, but you don’t have the capacity for one of those yet, so let’s focus on what you can do now, first things first, show me how much control you have over the magic that flows within you”

#####

My eyes slowly opened and what greeted me was the sight of empty train seats. "A dream?" I asked no one in particular; it seems I had been a little nostalgic if I dreamed about when I asked Aquarius for help.

As I sat on the train looking at the scenery through the window, I couldn't help but sigh, thinking about my actions from the day before.

Perhaps my decision to go to the train station in the middle of the night was a bit hasty, especially since I had to wait about 2 hours until the next train to Crocus arrived; I guess it was because of the excitement of the moment.

But now, he was finally about to reach the kingdom's capital.

With that in mind, the first thing was to buy a ticket to Rublan Town before using the waiting time to have a little walk around the capital and maybe eat something.

According to Jean's book, Rublan town was the closest inhabited place to the anti-wizard forest, so if I had to bet, I'd say I could find him there.

After getting off the train with my suitcase, I left it in the waiting area and walked around Crocus; my next trip was in 3 hours, so I had plenty of time to go around.

The feeling of being completely free was fantastic, I could do whatever I wanted, and there would be no one to stop me. Still, right now, I wanted to look for some spirit keys; after all, I had heard that magic shops in the capital had a variety of products that could hardly be found elsewhere.

But I was confident my savings would be enough for anything that might catch my eye.

#####

“23,000 jewels?!!!” Lucy yelled as she looked at the small silver key the shop owner was holding in her hands.

“That’s right, miss, this is the capital of the kingdom, so the prices are a bit higher than in other places”

“B-but he’s just a Nikora; he has no special abilities besides being cute”. Lucy said as she tried to convince the saleswoman to lower the price.

“That is precisely the reason for its price, young lady”. The saleswoman countered. “The Canis Minor key doesn’t spend a lot of mana; any mage can use it, so it’s become an extremely popular spirit, hence the price”

“Ahhhh, fine, give it to me!!” Lucy pulled her hair, but in the end, she took out her wallet and paid for the key; actually, that amount of money would hardly make a dent in her life savings, but 23,000 jewels were still 23,000 jewels.

As she took the key and placed it inside her bracelet along with the others, she decided to ask a question.

“I know it probably don’t, but do you to know anything about any golden key?”

“Oh? You aim pretty high, girl”. The shop owner said with a smile, but not having received a negative to her question, Lucy perked up and asked again.

“Wait, so you really know something about a golden key?!!” She asked after hitting the counter with both palms in excitement.

“I think I heard something, but I don’t remember it well, although I’m sure 10,000 jewels could refresh my memory”

“A-Are you charging me for giving me the information?” Lucy asked the greedy saleswoman.

“Charging? Oh no, of course not, dear; I’m just saying that maybe if some kind soul helped this old lady with 10000 jewels, I would surely be able to remember things better”

A vein appeared on Lucy’s forehead, and she clenched her fist as she reached back into her purse to pull out the money and put it on the counter while she repeated. “It’s for the golden key, it’s for the golden key”

“Oh wow, is this for me? Thanks, young lady, and now that I remember, I just heard about an auction that was going to happen in an hour today, and my sources told me that the last item for sale would be a golden key, although I have no idea which of all the keys it will be”

“An auction in an hour? But it’s been a little over thirty minutes since I arrived, if I take too long, I might miss my train, and if I don’t get to Rublan town on time, I might not catch him up”

Lucy thought seriously about what she could do, and after a few seconds, she pulled her hair again and told the old saleswoman. “Fine, I’ll go, but do you think they’ll show the golden key before 4 p.m?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry, there will only be ten products in this auction, so it shouldn’t take too long”

“So, can you take me to that auction?”

“Oh, sure, I was just about to close the store to go there; I wouldn’t mind if you came with me”

#####

After the old lady, who had introduced herself as Helga, had finished closing the store in 20 minutes, she started walking through the capital together with Lucy. “And tell me, young lady, what brings you to the capital of the kingdom”

“How do you know I’m not from here?” Lucy asked curiously.

“Oh, that’s pretty obvious; first of all, being surprised by the price of Nikora’s key was a good clue; anyone who lives in the capital and is interested in celestial spirit keys would know the approximate value”. The older woman intoned in a happy tone before continuing.

“Second, at the store, you whispered that you arrived an hour ago and your train will leave at 4 pm, so I guess you’re just passing through, and your destination is Rublan Town, right?” This time, along with her tone, Helga gave Lucy a smirk.

“Wait, did you hear that? How can you have such good hearing at your age?!!”

“How rude; I’ll let you know that I give my body the best possible care, so even if I look like this outside, I’m sure my body is healthier than yours”. The woman said with a pout.

Lucy was more than sure that a woman her age shouldn’t pout.

“But leaving aside your rude comment, the last clue was the most obvious; you didn’t know about the auction”

“Eh?”

“Yeah, the auction was pretty hyped for the last two weeks; there was even a flyer announcing it outside my store, one like this”. The old lady said before taking a folded paper out of her pocket and showing it to Lucy.

“So do you charged me for something I could read on a post outside your store?!!” Lucy was genuinely shocked at the older woman’s nerve to admit that she had practically scammed her.

“Come on, don’t be so loud, young lady; besides, I gave you useful information; read the flyer, and you’ll understand what I’m saying”. The woman replied calmly.

Even with the annoyance that she had, Lucy unfolded the flyer and began to read everything; the sheet detailed general things about the auction, like the first two products that would be exhibited, the time and place, among other things, and when she finished, she looked back at Helga.

“Nothing about a golden key is mentioned”

“That’s right, the information about the golden key is something only I know, so it was useful information, right? If I hadn’t told you, even if you had seen the flyer, you wouldn’t have known about the key, so I wouldn’t mind getting a thank you”

“You charged me 10,000 jewels to tell me; I think that is enough as a thank you”

“How cold, but you still haven’t answered my question, what brings you to the capital?”

“Why do you ask? Didn’t you already say it? I’m just passing through; I’ll go to Rublan Town to-”

“To chase after a boy, right?” Helga cut Lucy off, speaking before she finished her sentence.

“WHAT?!!”

“Oh, you don’t have to be shy”. Helga put both her hands together and tried to imitate Lucy’s voice. “If I don’t get to Rublan town on time, I might not catch HIM up”

“J-Jean is just my childhood friend!” The blonde replied without wasting a second.

“Oh? A childhood friend? That’s so sweet; did you play house pretending to be a married couple when you were little?” The older woman pressed on to tease more.

“We never did anything like that!!”

“Ohohohoho, but you’re still running to find him, huh?”

“He… is going to do something stupidly dangerous because of a promise we made”. Lucy’s change of attitude when saying those words took Helga by surprise, so after a few seconds of silence, her next words were said with total sincerity and a bit of nostalgia.

“Promises made by certain types of people can be dangerous”. The older woman said as she looked at the ground, and for a moment, her eyes seemed to see a distant memory. “So you’re going to try to stop him?”

Lucy was curious about how Helga had spoken, but she decided not to ask and answered the question by shaking her head from side to side, expressing her refusal. “Even if I catch up to him, I couldn’t stop him, he’s too stubborn, so I’m not even going to try”

“So, what will you do?”

“I’m going with him”. She said with determination.

The woman smiled. “It’s a brave gaze that you’re doing, ah, young love; it reminds me of my younger days”. Helga started with a sincere tone, only to scoff at the end.

“I already told you we’re not like that!!”

“Well, anyone else would think like me; if he’s willing to put himself in real danger for a promise he made to you, then there are only three options, it’s more than just friendship, there’s an ulterior motive or your boy Jean is an idiot”

“He is not my boy, but yes, he is a complete idiot”

“You don’t seem upset when you say it”

“Ah, whatever, let’s go to the auction”. Lucy answered before increasing the speed of her steps, with Helga giggling a bit as she followed suit.

#####

“Yep, all this doesn´t look like something illegal”. Lucy said sarcastically as she looked around; after she and Helga arrived at the entrance of the auction site, the old lady said that she was her granddaughter, so they had no trouble getting in.

After that, they were led down a corridor until they reached a dark room with two small armchairs and only a dim light from the ceiling; in front of them was a glass wall Helga said would prevent anyone on the other side of the glass from seeing them.

“Ouch”. The blonde said after Helga karate chopped her on the head. “What was that for?”

“For being rude, this auction house takes the anonymity of its participants seriously; look there”. She pointed beyond the glass in front of them. “There are a total of 10 participants in this auction, the entrance fee alone was 120,000 jewels”

“120,000 JEWELS?!!!” Lucy couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “Wait, you paid that amount to be here?”

“Oh, no, actually, I was lucky; it turns out that a friend’s son owns this auction house, and one of the people who had bought a place canceled two nights ago, and reopening the sale at that point would not look good, so he gave me the place with the promise that I’d buy an item”

And before anyone else spoke, a soft female voice sounded in the room.

“All participants are informed that the auction is about to start; please take a seat and prepare to buy; remember that you cannot leave the building without paying, and you can only do it with the money you brought when you entered”

“Well, dear, let’s sit down; the sooner we finish this, the sooner you can run after your boy”

At this point, Lucy had decided it was a waste of time to respond to Helga’s taunts, so she went to one of the seats and waited for the golden key to appear.

“The first item we have is….”

And so the minutes passed; if Lucy were honest, she would have to admit that some of the items caught her attention, like the enchanted boots that could make the wearer walk on air while applying their magical power.

Or the brooch that would allow anyone to change the color of their hair.

Since although she liked her hair, she always wondered what it would look like if it were another color, but in the end, she managed to suppress her desire to press the red button between the seats and offer money for a product.

“And with that, we come to product number 9”. Said the same voice as the floor opened and a shelf with a bottle emerged from it; the material used to make it was white with soft green patterns that reflected light, very similar to porcelain.

“This bottle contains a dose of the famous rejuvenating liquid, an elixir that will make the skin look up to 10 years younger for almost a week, and it is the entire monthly supply that we offer, the price starts with 90,000 jewels, and the increase of price is 10,000 jewels per offer; if you want to withdraw from the auction remember to keep the button pressed for 10 seconds”

Lucy didn’t get to say anything when Helga immediately pressed the button.

“90,000”

“I-is that alright? It’s 90,000 jewels”

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine, I need that little bottle for a special occasion, and I can treat myself to something like that from time to time”

“100,000”

The female voice sounded again, indicating that someone else had raised the price, so Helga pressed the button again.

“110,000”

“120,000”

“130,000”

“140,000”

And so, the prices were increasing; soon, the same voice sounded indicating that of the 10 participating rooms, 8 had withdrawn, leaving only the room where Lucy and Helga were against another room.

“470,000”

The voice announced as Helga pressed the button again, her expression quite serious as she waited.

“480,000”. The voice sounded, making Helga look more worried and press the button again.

“490,000”

And after hearing that, the older woman collapsed in her seat, waiting for the verdict. “That’s all the money I bring with me”

“490,000”

“490,000”

“490,000”. The voice repeated, until in the end... “Sold for 490,000 jewels to room 4”

Instantly the woman jumped from her seat with a smile. “YES, I GOT IT!!” She said with a voice full of joy.

Lucy, for her part, couldn’t believe it; had Helga really just spent 490,000 jewels on an elixir that would make her look younger for just a few days?

Seeing Helga celebrate, Lucy decided not to say anything, it was the woman’s money, and she wasn’t hurting anyone, so she had no problem with this beyond how strange it seemed.

“And now, to close today’s auction.”

The blonde’s attention shifted from the woman still celebrating to the voice.

It was now or never.

“We have an extremely rare product, a golden key, belonging to one of the 12 spirits of the zodiac, to be more exact, the spirit of the maiden, Virgo, the initial price is 150,000 jewels, and the increase of price is 50,000 jewels per offer; if you want to withdraw from the auction remember to keep the button pressed for 10 seconds”

The voice finished saying when Lucy immediately pressed the button.

“150,000”

“200,000”

“250,000”

“300,000”

“350,000”

“400,000”

“450,000”

“500,000”

And an instant after the voice announced Lucy’s offer, many more arrived, raising the price to exceed the previous product easily.

“T-that’s a lot of money”. Lucy said, seeing how 3 of the 10 participants had already withdrawn, so she hardened her resolution and pressed the button again, hoping that this time no one would increase the price again.

“550,000”

But as she learned years ago, people don’t always get what they want, and less than a minute later, the price had skyrocketed again.

“850,000”

Of the 7 participants who gave offers, only three were active now, and among them was a very nervous Lucy who pressed the button again.

“900,000”

And with that, one of the three rooms that were still active was withdrawn, thus leaving Lucy and the same room that it had bet against Helga for the previous product.

“950,000”

“Ah, how much money did the one in that room bring!!! He already bought six items and is still raising the price!!” Lucy complained before pressing the button once more.

“1,000,000”

The female voice said, and Lucy clasped her hands together for a few seconds and closed her eyes, hoping the price would not go up again.

“1,000,000”

“1,000,000”

“1,000,000”

“Sold for 1,000,000 jewels to room 4”

“You got it, girl!!!” Helga celebrated, but when she turned to Lucy found her crying. “Eh? What’s the matter? Why are you crying? You Won!!”

“Those... those were all my life savings!!”Said Lucy while crying exaggeratedly.

Now that she had spent every last jewel she had, she had to find Jean the same day she arrived at Rublan Town at all costs, or that night she would be sleeping on the street.

======================================================================================

Omake: Jean loves spinning kicks

“Is this really necessary?” Lucy asked after seeing Jean making a different spinning kick move than the previous.

“Of course it is; there are few melee moves that are cooler than spinning kicks”. Jean answered as he tried to make a new move.

“Wasn’t you who said that preferred useful moves to showy ones? Also, you already mastered two different spinning kicks; isn’t that enough?”

“Oh, Lucy, poor and naive Lucy”. Jean answered with a tone that expressed pity for the poor pagans who did not understand the greatness of the spinning kicks.

“There we go again”. Lucy said as she massaged her temples.

“Spinning kicks not only look great, but they are much stronger than regular kicks because they have not only the force of the kicker, they also have an added force of spin, so if you can land the kick well”

Jean stood in front of a thick log and spun around before kicking out, the wood splintering and splitting; a second later, the tree fell to the ground.

“The damage will be devastating”

“Smug”. The blonde said softly, and although Jean heard her, he just gave a smug smile.

“Having a different kick for each occasion could be very useful, so do me that favor, okay? Uncle Mike can’t help me since he doesn’t know much about kicks”. Jean asked as he clasped his hands together.

“Okay, I wasn’t going to say no anyway; I just wanted to know why you were really so into this”. Lucy explained before taking out a golden key. “Open up, door of the goat: Capricorn”. And after that, a goat-man known by both appeared.

"Good morning, Lucy-sama, Jean-sama". The spirit greeted formally as usual.

“Hey Capricorn, looks like I was able to convince Lucy”. Jean greeted as she approached.

“Lucy-sama is a very kind person, so this was the expected result”

“Wait, you guys have already talked about this?”

“Yes, I told Capricorn about my idea yesterday, and he told me that I would have to ask you first so that he could spend as much time as possible helping me”

“Fine, then just do your thing”. Lucy said.

“Then let’s start; please tell me anything you think I can improve”. Jean said before taking a stance and launching a new spinning kick.

---

Well, this week's chapter ends here; if Lucy is the one who won the Virgo key in this auction, it is obvious who is the other person who was betting for it.

And it is also evident that he will cause problems, but for that, you have to wait another week until the next chapter.

Or if you want to read what follows right now, you can go to my P-a-t-r-e-o-n (Rosasola); there are more chapters there, as well as some extra benefits, Ciao.