Arriving in Era

Earth Land, Ishgar, Era.

March 15, x786.

After his conversation with Edward and Alphonse, Alfonzo enjoyed the time he had at Akane Beach. As a group, he, Marin, Sun, Winry, Lucy, Edward, and Alphonse spent a lot of time just having fun. Though, Alfonzo did make time to have finish his motorcycle. He even made time to take each of the girls for a ride. He also managed to keep its key out of Winry's hands.

On top of taking the motorcycle for a spin, the group spent a day at the Akane Resort doing everything they could to have fun. They also spent time playing on the beach and just relaxing, as well.

However, like all good things, the vacation eventually came to an end. And when it did, on March 13, Marin, Sun, Winry, Lucy, Edward, and Alphonse all piled into Lucy's 1500 and made their way back to Magnolia. Meanwhile, Alfonzo boarded Sixth Sense and set sail for Era.

At the present, Alfonzo was only about half an hour out from the Magic Council's port. And if everything went as it was supposed to, he would be an hour early for his appointment with the Magic Council.

"*Sigh* I really need to make more time to just relax like that." Alfonzo said while steering the ship. "I feel so refreshed after only doing the things I wanted to do, rather than the things I had to do."

["Yeah, a little R&R is good for the soul."] Bedlam added. ["Hell, even Riot seems a lot less angry than usual."]

["Fuck off…"] Riot replied without even looking in Bedlam's direction.

["But seriously, what do you think this summons from the Magic Council is about?"] Bedlam asked, his expression turning much more serious. ["I mean, we've known about it for a month. But we really haven't spent any time thinking about it."]

["I bet they want Alfonzo to build a state of the art HQ for them."] Riot said with a sneer. ["And when they do, I'm sure they'll end up properly fleeced."]

"Well, I hope that's all they want." Alfonzo said while checking the sea chart. "But something tells me it's gonna be much bigger than that."

["You really think they're gonna do that?"] Bedlam asked.

"Yeah, I do." Alfonzo replied solemnly while nodding his head. "And if they do, I'm gonna refuse. Unless they meet my demands, that is."

["If you go through with it, you'd better win!"] Riot shouted. ["Defeat is not an option!"]

"I know." Alfonzo replied. "But the more important issue is whether or not he'll accept my challenge. Hell, he might not even be there today."

["One can only hope."] Bedlam said. ["Anyway, until they make their announcement, we have no idea what the Magic Council actually called you in for."]

"I know, I know." Alfonzo replied. "I just hope it's worth the trip."

Like that, Alfonzo continued to sail towards Era while chatting with his [Armament Spirits]. Then, after half an hour, just as he expected, he caught sight of the Magic Council's dock where their entire fleet was docked.

"We're here." Alfonzo muttered as he looked upon the large building that acted as the Magic Council's headquarters.

["Yeah, and they sent a welcome party, too."] Bedlam said.

["Too bad they're not hostile."] Riot said in a disappointed tone. ["For as long as you've had this thing, you've never had the chance to test its weapon system on live targets."]

"Yeah, kinda makes me wish I had built it right after I made S-Class." Alfonzo said wistfully. "If I had, I could have used it against the Leviathan. I mean, that's the only naval battle I've ever been a part of in my whole career."

{"Attention! Approaching vessel, please stop!"} A male voice rang out over the sea with the use of a magic item. {"You are entering Magic Council controlled waters. Please allow us to inspect your vessel. Otherwise, we will deem you as hostile and attack! I repeat…"}

["Hey, let's pretend we didn't hear them."] Riot said with a smile.

"You're trying to turn me into a dark wizard, aren't you?" Alfonzo asked while rolling his eyes.

["Ignore this idiot."] Bedlam said. ["We've got more important things to worry about than causing explosions."]

["Fuck you!"] Riot shot back.

Ignoring the bickering from his [Armament Spirits], Alfonzo did as asked and cut the engine to his ship. Then, after a few minutes, the ships from the Magic Council approached. And when they did, Alfonzo stepped on to the deck. Not long later, a squad of Rune Knights led by Mest, who was still acting as Doranbolt, boarded Sixth Sense.

"Alfonzo Marcus, we we've been expecting you." Mest said in an authoritative tone. "Please, present your documents for inspection."

Without a fuss or any unnecessary words, Alfonzo showed the squad from the Magic Council all the documents they asked for. Then, once the inspection was over, Mest led the Rune Knights back to their ship before Alfonzo followed them back to land.

Fifteen minutes later, Sixth Sense was moored alongside the Magic Council fleet, and Alfonzo was being escorted to the waiting room in the Magic Council building by Mest. However, they did not engage in small talk along the way, despite the fact that Mest had regained his memories of his time as a Fairy Tail wizard. No one knew who was listening, after all.

"So, you still can't tell me why I was called here, can you?' Alfonzo asked in a bored tone.

"As stated back in February, I was not made aware of the Magic Council's reason for summoning you." Mest replied in a professional tone.

"Well, can you at least tell me who is here?' Alfonzo asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, the entire Council is present for this announcement." Mest replied.

"So, the former guild masters and the two through nine of the Wizard Saints then." Alfonzo muttered.

"Precisely." Mest replied as he stopped in front of a door. "We have arrived."

With that, Mest pushed the door open before ushering Alfonzo inside.

Shrugging his shoulders at the lack of information, Alfonzo walked into the waiting room. And what he saw was a typical waiting room with a couch, a coffee table, a few decorative plants, and a pot of tea waiting on the coffee table.

"If you need anything, you can press this button." Mest said while pointing at a button near the door after Alfonzo entered the room. Until then, please wait here. "And should you need the rest room, there is one adjoined to this room."

As he spoke the rest of his sentence, Mest pointed at a door on the opposite wall.

"Alright, I got it." Alfonzo said as he flopped down on the couch. "*Sigh* I kinda hope they call me late. Spending two days alone on the sea is more tiring than I thought it would be."

In response, Mest let a small smile slip. However, he did not reply. Instead, he nodded one last time before closing the door behind him.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo spread his arms and rested them on the couch's backrest with his eyes closed.

'They're watching me.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'There are five recording lacrima set up in this room. But why do they need so many?'

And just as Alfonzo thought, the members of the Magic Council were all watching him.

Currently in one of the rooms, Makarov, Ur, and Shizuka were watching the waiting room through a magic projection connected to one of the five recording lacrima.

"He looks so tired." Shizuka said in a worried tone. "Is he gonna be alright?"

"it's probably just from sailing for so long by himself." Ur said while smiling wryly. "You really don't need to worry, Shizuka."

Though that only lessened Shizuka's worry for Alfonzo by a little, she nodded her head vigorously, which caused her breasts to bounce along with the movement. And naturally, Makarov's eyes were drawn directly to the bounce.

*Smack!*

"Seriously, you're like a boy in puberty." Ur said as she slapped Makarov upside the head. "Can't you act your age at least once?" I mean, for God's sake, you're already ninety."

"If you know I'm so old, Ur, you should be more gentle." Makarov grumbled.

"When you act like someone worthy of gentleness, I'll be more gentle." Ur replied sternly. A moment later, her tone changed back into her usual tone. "Anyway, do you think he figured out why he was called here?"

"Probably." Makarov replied while continuing to rub the back of his head. "he's always been a smart boy, after all."

"Why was he called here, anyway?" Shizuka asked in a clueless tone. Then, she turned her attention towards Ur. "You never told me about it, Master."

Immediately, Makarov and Ur fell silent. Although there was no point keeping the reason for Alfonzo's summons secret at this point, for some reason, they felt like Shizuka would find a way to let him know before the announcement was made.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Ur said in a mysterious tone, causing Shizuka to pout and stare at her with puppy dog eyes.

'Just don't look, Ur.' Ur said as she quickly turned her head away. 'If you don't see those eyes, you'll be fine.'

Even Makarov, who had decades more experience dealing with people than Ur, had to quickly turn his head away from Shizuka.

'Seriously, that's just not fair.' Makarov thought to himself. 'How can someone with such a hot body be so cute?'

At the same time, in another room, three elderly men were also watching Alfonzo's waiting room.

"He's quite composed for such a young man." The first of the three men, an older gentleman with clean-cut, dark purple hair and a well-groomed mustache of the same color, red eyes, pointy ears, and a cross-shaped tattoo on the left side of his forehead wearing a black cape, white button down dress shirt, a lightly-decorated black vest, black slacks, and a black bow tie, said while watching the monitor. "He looks as though he would make a good addition to our ranks."

This man was Draculus Hyberion, the second seat of the Ten Wizard saints and one of the Four Gods of Ishgar.

"Oi! Can we just get this over with?" The second of the three older men, an older man with a dark green beard wearing a dark blue shirt, a light blue vest, dark blue slacks, dark brown rimmed glasses, and a large, light grey hat that covered his hair, said in an impatient tone. "If he's not suitable for the position, we'll just kick him out. Oi!"

This impatient man was the third seat of the Ten Wizard Saints and one of the Four Gods of Ishgar, Wolfheim.

"I don't think that will be a problem, Wolfheim." The last man in the room, an old man with facial features that resemble a slightly gnarled tree trunk, hair reminiscent of a leafy tree top wearing a high colored grey kimono tied closed with a light green belt, loose-fitting light green trousers, and a pair of black boots, said in a friendly tone. "I bet he can even take a joke, too."

And last, but certainly not least, the man with the tree-like appearance was Warrod Sequen, four seat of the Ten Wizard Saints, one of the Four Gods of Ishgar, as well as a founding member of Fairy Tail.

While Draculus nodded in agreement with Warrod's assessment, Wolfheim grunted in annoyance. Then, Draculus stood from his seat. And as he did, he picked up the cloak draped over the back of his chair.

"Anyway, I believe it's time that we get going." Draculus said as he draped his cloak, the same cloak Makarov wore to official meetings that signified the status of a Wizard Saint, over his shoulders. "We wouldn't want to be late now, would we?"

Before the other two could stand from their seats, however, the door to the room was opened abruptly. And when the three turned their attention toward the door, they were surprised by who they saw.

Standing in the open doorway was a man with shoulder-length wavy, yet spiky, orange hair that juts up at the top of his head like rabbit ears and a scar on the bridge of his nose wearing a fanciful white robe with blue sleeves, a blue belt, blue pants, and simple black boots. However, the part of his attire that stood out the most is the wheel of blades he wore on his back that gave him a superficial divine appearance.

"God Serena, I did not expect you to attend today's meeting." Draculus said in a surprised tone.

"I wanted to see the kid you all were making so much noise about." The new arrival, God Serena, the first seat of the Ten Wizard Saints, replied in an arrogant tone. "And to be honest, I'm not impressed."

"Perhaps it would be better to wait until you meet him to pass judgement." Warrod said in his usual tone. "Otherwise, it will be more like you're passing gas if you're wrong."

Immediately, the other three men turned their gazes towards Warrod.

"That was a joke." Warrod said in a good natured tone. "Hahaha!"

"Just ignore this fool." Wolfheim said in an annoyed tone. "Let's just get going."

Receiving nods in response, Draculus, Wolfheim, and Warrod left the room. Meanwhile, God Serena continued to watch the projection for a bit longer.

'Emperor Spriggan asked me to get a measure of this kid's strength.' God Serena thought to himself while staring at the projection. 'And he said I should get rid of him if I think he'll be a problem in the future.'

As God Serena's thoughts reached that point, his arrogant expression turned into a vicious smile. Then, he turned on his heels and followed after his colleagues.