A Youthful Welcome

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Quatro Cerberus Headquarters. 

March 31, x786. 

Standing outside the large building, Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, and Ikaruga took a moment to look at the sign hanging over the front door. 

"*Sigh* We're here." Alfonzo muttered. 

"Yup." Marin replied while nodding her head. "So… Why are we just standing here?" 

As Marin asked her question, she turned her head right and left while grinning at Alfonzo and Elicia. 

"Because we don't even wanna be here at all." Elicia replied in a gloomy tone. "By the way, why did you wanna come with us, again, Marin?" 

"Oh, because I haven't been to Karakura in almost a year and a half." Marin replied with a smile. "You see, because of the quest last time, I didn't get to explore or go shopping. So, I'm gonna make up for that little regret." 

And the real reason?" Alfonzo asked while turning his head towards Marin. 

"I wanna see one of you beat up Bacchus." Marin replied, her smile widening as she did so. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Alfonzo replied while turning his head back to the sign hanging above the door. "By the way, even though most guild halls look like bars, doesn't this place look more like a bar than a guild hall from the outside?" 

As Alfonzo mentioned, the Quatro Cerberus guild hall, though the building was rather large, was not a particularly grandiose building. Instead, it was a simple, wide, stone, two-story building with a pair of wooden, double doors, a sign that read: "Quatro Cerberus," with the guild mark settled between the words, and a number of rectangular windows. 

Looking through those windows, the quartet could see a number of round tables, a quest board, and a bar that stretched across nearly half of the building centered on the back wall. Also, there were a pair of doors on either side of the bar. Of which, one presumably led to the kitchen while the other led to the building's second floor. 

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it kinda looks like the Yellow Flag." Elicia replied. 

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Alfonzo replied with a nod. 

"The Yellow Flag?" Marin asked in curiosity while shifting her gaze back and forth between Alfonzo and Elicia. "What's that?" 

Not only Marin, but Ikaruga was looking at her employers with curiosity, as well. 

"Oh, it's an old bar we heard about on a quest a long time ago." Alfonzo replied as he reached out his arm and started combing his fingers through Marin's hair. "According to what we heard, it was a place where criminals used to hang out. However, a lot of fights happened there, and it was often damaged or destroyed." 

"Yeah, and the way the people we heard about it from described it, it was exactly like this building." Elicia added with a smile. "They even told us about this one chick named Revy who used [Guns Magic] and always owed the owner money because of how much damage she did to the bar." 

"Ah! Now I remember." Ikaruga exclaimed after hearing Alfonzo and Elicia's explanation. "You're talking about that little bar on the island of Roanapur, off the coast of Pergrande. It's run by a knight that defected during a war over thirty years ago. In fact, while I was still a member of Death's Head Caucus, I bought information from the owner of that bar for an assassination. I even met that woman named Revy. And I must say, she was quite the magic gunner. Though, she was quite vulgar and violent." 

Hearing Ikaruga's story, Alfonzo and Elicia looked at her with disbelief. Originally, they were just comparing Quatro Cerberus' guild hall to the Yellow Flag bar from the Black Lagoon anime in their past lives. But now, they come to find out that Black Lagoon was a part of this world, too. 

'Seriously, what's up with this world?' Alfonzo and Elicia asked themselves simultaneously. 

"Well, considering the way all the members of Quatro Cerberus act, it doesn't surprise me that their guild hall looks like a shady criminal bar somewhere in the world." Marin said while shaking her head. "Well, everyone other than Master Goldmine and that one guy, Might Guy." 

Hearing Marin mention Might Guy, Elicia's eyes lit up. Like Alfonzo, Elicia was also a fan of the Noble Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf in her past life. And although Guy was present at her and Alfonzo's wedding last year, he was too preoccupied with training for Elicia to speak with him. 

"Anyway, we should just go inside." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "Just standing out here won't make this trip any easier." 

"Fine~~~." Elicia whined. 

With that, the quartet stepped forward. And just as Alfonzo was going to push the doors open, they were flung open from the inside. 

"Alfonzo, my friend, you've arrived!" a man in his early twenties with bushy eyebrows and a bowl cut wearing a green jumpsuit and a dark green flak jacket said excitedly just after the doors were flung open. "But why have you just been standing out there? That's no way to burn your youth!" 

"Well, speak of the devil." Marin said with a smile. "We were just talking about you, Guy. How are you?" 

Hearing a familiar voice, the bushy-eyebrowed man, Might Guy, looked towards the voice. Then, when he saw Marin, he made a nice guy pose while giving her a thumbs up. 

"I'm great, Marin." Guy said energetically. At the same time, his teeth seemingly sparkled. "I'm still burning my youth as brightly as ever." 

"Uh… Glad to hear it." Marin replied awkwardly. 

"Anyway, it's good to see you again, Guy." Alfonzo said with a smile. "And I'm sure you remember, this is my wife, Lici. And that's Ikaruga, our new maid." 

"Ah, yes, Elicia." Guy replied with a smile "Your wedding, as well as your home were truly beautiful. I've yet to see many more youthful displays in my life. And Miss Ikaruga, it's nice to meet you, as well." 

In response, Elicia also smiled awkwardly. Meanwhile, Ikaruga only bowed her head politely. 

"Anyway, we can talk more inside, Guy." Alfonzo said. "I still need to talk to Master Goldmine about the specifics of the training chamber installations." 

Hearing that, Guy's eyes lit up in excitement. Then, he turned to the side and ushered the four guests inside. 

"Yes, please come in." Guy said excitedly. "I've been looking forward to your arrival ever since we left Magnolia back in September." 

With that, Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, and Ikaruga entered the guild hall. And when they did, Guy shut the doors to the guild hall before leading them to Goldmine. Meanwhile, the other members of Quatro Cerberus watched the newcomers move through the guild hall. However, there were three tables that seemed to be a little more interested in them than the rest. 

"So, he's the guy who is going to upgrade the village, huh?" A relatively tall man, standing at 5'11", with shoulder-length brown hair and eyes wearing a dark blue body suit, a dark green flak jacket, bandages wrapped around his ankles and feet, and a pair of sandals, while holding a Senbon between his lips, said while watching the group of four Fairy Tail wizards walk through the guild hall. "He seems pretty strong. Maybe even as strong as Lord Third." 

"They're quite strong." A bald man with red markings on the outer edge of each eye wearing a black kimono with a katana on his hip, said while watching Alfonzo, Elicia, and the others. "I should be able to get a good fight out of them." 

"Indeed." The man sitting at the same table as the bald man, a man of average height with jaw-length, straight, black hair, purple eyes, feathers connected to his eyelashes and eyebrow on the right side of his face, and shiny skin wearing a black, short sleeved kimono with an orange cloth wrapped around his neck and a tight, long orange sleeve on his right arm, said with a nod. Then, he continued as he adjusted the position of the sheathed katana on his left hip. "And they are rather attractive on top of that. They might actually be worth getting to know." 

"I really wanna fight them." The bald man said as he stood up from his seat. "Just the thought of fighting them makes me want to do my happy dance." 

While the bald man began to dance, there was a group of men at another table who also watched the four Fairy Tail wizards more intently than the rest. 

"So, he actually brought her with him." Bacchus, the ace of Quatro Cerberus, asked while his eyes were focused on Elicia. Then, with a grin, he continued. "Truly, her overflowing love for me must have made Elicia insist on coming here. Don't worry, Elicia, I will one day free you from that man's control. Then, you can be happy with the man you truly love." 

As Bacchus finished speaking to himself, he picked up his wine gourd before chugging down nearly half its contents. At the same time, the five men sitting at the table with Bacchus began cheering loudly. 

"Bacchus! Your soul will always be wild!" The five men shouted excitedly. 

Meanwhile, Elicia slumped her shoulders after hearing Bacchus' friends cheering for him. 

"Are you sure you don't want me to take care of him, Mistress Elicia?" Ikaruga asked in a whisper. 

And once again, Elicia thought about Ikaruga's proposal for a little too long. 

"No, Ikaruga, Lici can deal with this herself." Alfonzo said. "That's the reason she asked to come here, remember?" 

"Fonzie's right, Ikaruga." Elicia said after taking a deep breath and putting on a resolute expression. "I need to put an end to this myself." 

While Ikaruga nodded in understanding as she shot a glare in Bacchus direction, Marin took hold of Alfonzo's arm while looking up at him in worry. 

"Fonzie, are you sure it's okay to let Lici deal with this?" Marin asked in a concerned tone. "I mean, you know how… intense… she can get when she gets ticked off, right?" 

"*Sigh* I know, Marin." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone. "But she's much less likely to kill him than I am. She might leave a few mental scars, though." 

"She's only less likely to kill him than you, though." Marin said, the worry in her tone becoming more intense. "But she's still likely to kill him if he goes overboard." 

In response, Alfonzo only shrugged his shoulders. 

"Well, if he dies, then he dies." Alfonzo said uncaringly. "There's nothing I can do about that." 

Expecting an answer like that, Marin could only sigh in exasperation. 

Meanwhile, Guy, who was leading the group of four towards Goldmine's office, was sweating profusely due to the dark auras Alfonzo, Elicia, and Ikaruga were releasing. 

"Ah, you've arrived, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Mairin." Goldmine, who had just stepped through the door to the right of the bar, said. "How was the trip? No issues, I hope." 

Goldmine's voice caused Alfonzo, Elicia, and Ikaruga to put away their dark auras, causing Marin and Guy to sigh in relief. 

"Master Goldmine." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "The trip was just fine." 

"Master Goldmine, it's good to see you again." Elicia said with a smile. 

"Hi, Master Goldmine." Marin said while waving energetically. 

"Oh, and you brought another guest with you." Goldmine said with a smile after receiving the three greetings. "And who might you--- Ikaruga of Trinity Raven… Why are you here?" 

"*Sigh* I would have thought Gramps would have told you about that." Alfonzo said in an exasperated tone. "He had her released early in the hopes that Lici could reform her." 

"*Sigh* That's definitely something Makarov would do." Goldmine replied. "He's always believed that people deserve second chances if they show the desire to change." 

A moment later, Goldmine's expression became much more solemn as he looked at Elicia. 

"I cancelled my plan to send Bacchus on a long term quest because of your request, Elicia." Goldmine said. "So, I pray you don't make me regret my decision to trust you to handle the issue between the three of you by taking things too far." 

"I'll do my best not to hurt him too bad if I can't get through to him with words alone." Elicia replied in an equally solemn tone. "But if he goes too far while insulting Fonzie…" 

Elicia's words trailed off as she reached that point and lowered her head with a sinister smile on her face. 

"*Sigh* You know what, as long as he's not dead or crippled, do what you want." Goldmine said while shaking his head. "Because I'm certain he's gonna say something he shouldn't." 

"Wow! You gave up so easy." Marin exclaimed in surprise. "Aren't you afraid of your ace being hospitalized for a long time?" 

"*Sigh* I'll admit, I would rather he not be." Goldmine replied. "But this has been going on for too long. And it really does need to end." 

"You know if you made him stop drinking, this could have ended a long time ago." Marin said. 

"Yes, I know." Goldmine replied with a nod. "Unfortunately, without his alcohol, his combat effectiveness drops significantly. So, I was unable to do that after he became an S-Class wizard. Besides, he's never done anything to harm the guild, so I didn't see a reason to correct it." 

"*Sigh* You're definitely Gramps friend." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "You just let bad behavior go unpunished until something really bad happens. At least Bacchus is only an idiot and not a little dictator like Laxus." 

In response, Goldmine could only smile wryly. Then he turned to Guy, who had remained silent for a while. 

"Anyway, Guy, why don't you entertain our guests. Meanwhile, I'll go up to my office with Alfonzo to discuss the details of the training chamber installations." Goldmine said. 

"Yes, Master Goldmine." Guys aid while raising his right thumb. "I'll make sure to give a the most youthful reception."