Chapter 142: Vice Raid on Hot Spring Street (Patreon)

The moon had risen above the treetops. It was the perfect time for lovers to be together.

Magnolia Town's Hot Spring Street was just beginning its busiest hours.

But tonight, Hot Spring Street was different from usual. It was unusually quiet and desolate, and the air lacked those familiar, indescribable scents.

All of this traced back to the anti-vice raid that had begun two hours ago.

...

At the end of Hot Spring Street, in front of the Emerald Spring Hot Spring Tavern, Hughes stood with his hands in his pockets, a wicked grin on his face as he casually glanced ahead.

To his left was Mira, fully transformed into her Church Demon Form. Her body resembled withered wood, with crystals gleaming across her torso.

To his right was Erza, clad in her Purgatory Armor. Her expression was stern, her jagged greatsword held in a reverse grip. Her spiked Purgatory Armor made her look utterly intimidating.

Hughes glanced at them from the corner of his eye, his sense of security instantly skyrocketing.

With the future Twin Terrors of Fairy Tail by his side, he wanted to see what tricks Cailin could pull this time.

Revenge was something he always took seriously!

At the entrance of Emerald Spring, the two female mages responsible for welcoming guests looked as though they were facing a formidable enemy. Cold sweat streamed down their foreheads, and their legs trembled uncontrollably.

The situation didn't look good. They wanted to run...

A monthly salary of only 300,000 J wasn't worth dying here...

Hughes remembered these two female mages clearly. Back then, they had stood outside the entrance just like tonight, smiling as they welcomed him and Macao inside.

If they claimed they knew nothing about Cailin's plan, Hughes wouldn't believe it for a second.

Tonight's payback would start with the two of them!

Hughes spread his arms slightly before making a grand sweeping gesture with both hands, as though he were commanding an army of thousands.

The Twin Terrors stepped forward twice, terrifying pressure spreading from them.

Those two steps seemed to land directly on the hearts of the two mages, making them shudder uncontrollably and retreat again and again.

"Sir... what are you trying to do?" one of them asked with trembling lips.

Of course, they knew exactly who he was. Thanks to their boss's shameless advertising, there wasn't a single person in Magnolia Town who didn't recognize the face of this "scoundrel."

Hughes ignored them. He simply coughed twice, signaling Mira and Erza that it was time to carry out the plan.

The next instant, Mira and Erza vanished like ghosts, appearing behind the two mages in the blink of an eye.

"Thud!" x2

Two clean knife-hand strikes landed, leaving the two women lying on the ground, sleeping like babies.

"Let's go. Tonight, we're ruining Cailin's business!" Hughes said as he waved the document he had just taken out.

As someone who always avoided taking the blame, the document in Hughes's hand was his scapegoat. After all, what he was about to do was extremely unethical.

To silence that crazy woman, Cailin, and stop her from fabricating more lies afterward,

Hughes had a "friendly discussion" with the mayor before coming here.

At first, the mayor looked at him with complete disdain, as though Hughes were an idiot.

But after Hughes calmly took out his Memory Crystal and showed the mayor footage of himself choking Crawford Seam by the neck and strutting around the Magic Council headquarters,

the mayor immediately dropped to his knees, hugged Hughes's legs, burst into tears, and promptly issued him an official anti-vice raid authorization document.

At this moment, Hughes led the Twin Terrors through the various rooms inside Emerald Spring.

With his exceptionally sharp hearing, whenever he caught even the slightest inappropriate sound, he would immediately kick the door open.

Well...

There was no helping it. Cailin had offended him, and after tonight, the customers would be filled with resentment and vent all of it on her.

"Everyone, stand still. Cover what needs to be covered. This is an official anti-vice raid. Please cooperate with the investigation!"

Hughes raised the official document issued by the mayor, then took out his Memory Crystal and filmed every "person involved" one by one...

"Miss, please be serious. Don't try to seduce an official. Also, no soliciting here, and no exposed parts."

"No exposure up top, and absolutely none down below."

Hughes spoke with a straight face while holding up the Memory Crystal.

Hughes... the scoundrel personally confirmed by the owner herself. Everyone in Emerald Spring knew exactly who he was.

Hughes: ...He was getting a little hot under the collar...

Just as the inexperienced Hughes found himself slightly stumped, one of the male customers pointed at the Memory Crystal in Hughes's hand and pleaded,

"Sir, could you destroy that Memory Crystal? I'll pay whatever price you want!"

He was something of a well-known figure in Magnolia Town. If the contents of that Memory Crystal ever got out, not only would his reputation be ruined, but his ninety-year-old wife would definitely deal with him.

The old woman was already close to the end of her life, and her fortune worth tens of billions would soon become his. If she found out about this, then all the hardship he had endured over the past ten-plus years would have been for nothing.

The man grew increasingly anxious. Seeing that Hughes still hadn't spoken, he even promised to give Hughes half of his inheritance if he would destroy the Memory Crystal.

Hughes seriously considered the offer for half a minute. After weighing the options again and again, he ultimately shook his head.

"Hmph. You think a little money like that can tempt me? My devotion to the public good is evident to heaven and earth."

...Well, we're all brothers here, so Hughes decided to be honest with him...

Compared to money, ruining Cailin's business and getting revenge on her was far more important.

No amount of money could buy his happiness.

So Hughes "accidentally" let it slip that Cailin had already been informed in advance about tonight's anti-vice raid on Hot Spring Street.

He had no idea why she hadn't made preparations beforehand...

The moment those words left his mouth, the man's anger became plainly visible.

He had chosen Emerald Spring to relieve some stress precisely because he believed it was a safe place.

Now it looked as though Cailin had deliberately set him up. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. He even started wondering if Cailin was after his ninety-year-old wife's fortune.

Hughes let out a regretful sigh, but his hands never slowed as he registered the man's information.

After handing him a registration form, Hughes waved the Memory Crystal in a subtle threat, telling the two of them to report to the official office on their own.

There was nothing he could do. He had forgotten to bring any officials from Magnolia Town with him...

To protect Mira and Erza's mental and physical well-being, Hughes had the two of them wait about ten meters outside each room.

Tonight, the Twin Terrors' main target was Cailin.

After stepping out of the room, Hughes adjusted his pants before rejoining the two girls.

The three of them tracked the sounds from room to room. Whenever Hughes heard anything suspicious coming from a room, he would hold up the official document and kick the door open.

In an instant, Emerald Spring was thrown into complete chaos, with startled cries ringing out one after another.

"Only one room remains. What if Cailin still refuses to come out?" Mira asked softly.

Hughes pondered for two seconds.

"If she still refuses to come out, we'll inspect the other hot spring taverns as well.

After that, we'll come back once every day!"

Hughes wanted to see how long the mastermind behind Hot Spring Street could continue hiding.

With that, the three of them continued toward the final room.

No one expected the final room to have such a huge shock in store for them...