12 The Kingdom of the Stars

It's currently March of X781, almost over half a year since Wendy and Carla began traveling with us, and we've made quite a lot of progress with one another since then in interacting with one another. When the four of us began traveling together, I had to admit that it was slightly awkward at first between myself and the newcomers, especially since Wendy and Carla were not used to being with an older individual within the same generation. Carla would often be the one who spoke to me on Wendy's behalf, while Wendy and I would only exchange a small amount of words with one another due to how shy she can be.

Of course, considering what I remember of her prospective future self, I was more than accepting of the situation, understanding that this is a new experience for her as well, so I happily accepted our small talks while speaking through Carla as the primary medium.

Fortunately, this wouldn't be a too long of a trend due to the fact that they took to Yukino like a fish took to water, the young girls being like two peas in a pod while Carla watched over them aided by the fact they were just a year apart in age. That in turn, led to Wendy warming up to me when she continued to join Yukino in both her magic and academic studies that are taught myself. Honestly, I really am glad that the two of them got to meet one another, given their respective pasts. If anything were to happen to me, at least Yukino would have someone to turn to and Wendy would not grow up with just Carla within an illusory guild.

I'm honestly not even sure at this point if Wendy will even join Fairy Tail once Cait Shelter disbands. Maybe she will, or maybe she'll still with me and Yukino. And of course, where Wendy goes, Carla follows.

On that matter, the Exceed was easier to interact with in the beginning even if slightly tentatively. It wasn't that she had any negative thoughts about her and Wendy accompanying us, since she knew that at the very least they would be traveling with a Wizard Saint. I think that it was more the fact that Yukino and I were for all intents and purposes strangers, so she was slightly skeptical about whether or not we would all get along well with each other. Thankfully, those doubts were left behind once she saw that Wendy was already bonding with Yukino before eventually warming up to me, allowing the Exceed to be more open. Or at least, as open as someone of her personality can be.

In short, despite some reservations and the most minor of hiccups, it turned out for the better between us. And with that came moments like these...

"Oh wow! So this is Caelum?" Wendy exclaimed in excitement as she, Yukino, and Carla admired the spectacle around them, since we were in one of the largest bazaars in the island kingdom of Caelum, the alleged Kingdom of the Stars.

How and why we may be here, one may be asking?

Well, Yukino wanted to visit a new kingdom and Wendy seemed to be excited about the idea. Carla, while very reluctant, was willing to go since the Exceed had a soft spot for Wendy, especially since she was more outgoing with Yukino by her side.

That in turn led to Yukino begging me to go. Wendy, while not really following suit, still gave me those hopeful puppy eyes and I, not being one to want to dash their hopes, gave in rather quickly.

Not because I wanted to right on a large ship and see a kingdom I haven't been to or anything.

"Wendy, Yukino, Carla." I called out to the three and watched as they moved closer to me since they were starting to stray away from me.

Was I this consumed by wanderlust when Layla had taken me in? I mean, I did often sneak out of the mansion to explore the property to practice my God Slaying Magic in private...something I suspect Layla was aware of this whole time now that I think about it.

And then there was the time that before reaching Era, I'd just go around and walk through some of the woods and mountains that I had passed through.

And then there was the time I roamed Hargeon to just explore the fish markets to window shop of sorts.

And of course after I became a Wizard Saint, I had explored the Ishgar Headquarters of the Magic Council for fun while I was there and had gotten lost for some time before I was eventually found and escorted back to Draculos...

Okay, so maybe I don't have room to talk.

Once the three little ducklings under my care finally waddled over to me, I knelt by them and then whipped out a stack of bills to hand out to Yukino and to Wendy, the latter's stack slightly larger to account for Carla's presence.

"Now girls, this should be a good amount of Jewels for you all to go around shopping, be it clothes, objects, or anything else. But be careful alright? I want the three of you to remain close by that I can easily see you or hear you if I'm needed. Carla, you're in charge. Otherwise, have fun!"

And with that dismissal, I watched as Yukino pulled at Wendy's hand, the two of them going down the aisles to check out the wares that were sold here, Carla being hot on their heels before I went to some of the stalls that sold produce.

Caelum, one of the many kingdoms of Ishgar, located west, south or southwest of Fiore, depending on which of the islands you wished to visit that made up the kingdom itself.

All things considered, it's quite unique from Fiore. While of course every country is under the same influence and jurisdiction of the Magic Council, unlike Fiore which was under the rule of Toma E. Fiore, Caelum is cooperatively ruled by three sovereigns.

The first sovereign, Lord Wilhelm, ruled over what was apparently considered the 'mainland', the island directly south of Fiore, where we were right now.

The second sovereign, Lord Regis, ruled over the island that was further west of the mainland, the island that formed the tip of the peninsula of Ishgar.

And then the third sovereign, Lady Sylvia, ruled over the remaining five islands west and southwest of Fiore.

Apparently, all these rulers were very, very distantly related to each other, since this territorial split was due to the fact that when Caelum was a single nation, there had been a divide between the last king's children that caused a lot of infighting and rebellions, hence leading to the situation today, three territories ruled by the descendants of that late king's children.

Thankfully it seems like time really did mend wounds since the three territories, while divided by figurative borders and literal sea borders, eventually unified to became what would be known as Caelum by those children's successors.

Each of these regions had their own capital city as well, oddly enough. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that a Kingdom has three capital cities and three ruling lords and lady, but I didn't pay it too much mind all the same.

What made their rule interesting was that their culture, economy, and way of life didn't differ from one another between the three territories, and in order to declare an act, the decision must be a unanimous one between the three sovereigns. In fact one could argue that Caelum was arguably one of the more prosperous kingdoms within Ishgar due to this, despite how natural it was for human interests to conflict. And yet, for years, they made it work, a textbook case of collectivism over individualism.

Of course, there are deviations on their culture due to factors such as location and such, but there is no abnormal difference that makes it seem as if you're visiting three wholly different lands with a separate identity.

Another striking feature of Caelum was its military. Of course, there was a Caelum Branch of the Magic Council located on the mainland, with its own branch of Rune Knights posted around the kingdom. And much like Fiore with its royal family having its own militarized group in the form of knights and Mages, such as the Garou Knights, Caelum had its own military force as well. Unlike Fiore though, theirs is considerably stronger than what Fiore had to offer. After all, what kingdom can boast that their army was led by a unit composed of some of their strongest Mages?

Twelve S-Class Mages collectively known as the Twelve Heavenly Guardians, each of the three territories home to four Guardians apiece. And to top it all off, of the twelve of them, one was confirmed to be a Wizard Saint as well.

And with each Guardian being considerably active within the different landmasses of Caelum, it's no wonder that both the quantity and quality of the Dark Guilds are drastically lower than that of Fiore's, considering the existence of the Balam Alliance...

By Truth, I'm now genuinely wondering why Fiore is such a hotspot for trouble, setting plot aside.

But I dismissed those thoughts and opted to enjoy my time in Caelum for the time being, considering that I was in the mainland's capital of Randall.

"Hey big brother! Come over here and take a look at this!" I heard Yukino shout out to me while I was in the middle of inspecting some of the herbs that were sold here.

"Coming!" I called out and then walked over after confirming my purchase and made my way over to Yukino to see her and Wendy holding some sort of flyer that they were reading rather intensely.

So in order to sate my curiosity, I decided to just peak my head over their shoulders and check out what they were looking at.

[SUPER DELUXE SHAVED ICE!!]

And on the flyer, there was a drawing of a large bowl of shaved ice covered with different color syrups going down four different directions at at the bottom lied an array of fruits that matched the corresponding colors.

I won't lie, I think I felt some drool escape my lips when I saw what in my eyes was a work of art.

"Big brother, can we go get that? Pleeeeaaase?" Yukino asked me, flashing me the biggest puppy eyes.

"Please Atro, can we?" Wendy following suit, flashing her own puppy eyes at me.

I even looked down at Carla and saw her staring hopefully at me in silence.

My heart...they really didn't need to do that...

"Alright, alright, you don't need to use the puppy eyes, we'll go after we do some more shopping." I assured them, snatching the flyer from Yukino's hands as she, Wendy and Carla were giving double high fives while cheering 'yays' in the background, my eyes scanning the flyer for directions.

I spoil them too much.

(Later that afternoon...)

"Oh wow, I'm so stuffed." Wendy said with a smile with Yukino humming a small tune that showed how content she was.

Carla rode on my shoulder since she had eaten a lot of shaved ice for someone of her size, so I took some pity and carried her around.

"Well, I'm glad that everyone enjoyed themselves. I'm sure we're all tired, so how about we get checked in at the inn we'll be staying at and let you all get some rest?" I asked with a smile of my own, reaching out to pat the girls on the head.

"Yes, please." Yukino hummed with a nod while Wendy nodded as well in silence.

"Yes, I believe that would be best for us." Carla agreed from her spot on my shoulder, cementing everyone's decisions to rest up from the apparently food coma.

"Alright then, let's get going." I said as we began walking to where our inn was so that we all could take a breather from today's events.

As we did though, my eyes caught something that personally captured my interest that Yukino and Wendy weren't paying attention to since they were busy chatting to each other about everything they had seen today.

"Interesting..."

"Hm? Did you say something Atro?" Carla asked as she turned her head towards me, and I shook my head.

"Oh, it's nothing Carla."

...

...

After arriving at the inn and checking in to pay for a pair of adjacent rooms for myself to stay in one and for the girls to stay in the other, the four of us decided to hang out in my room where I saw Wendy and Carla put out a rectangular box on the table we were sitting around, a bundle of bags filled with things we bought sitting in the corner of my room filled with candies, clothes, jewelry, and other goods.

"Hm? What's this Wendy? Did you get this earlier?"

"Yeah, I did! Carla and I saw it while you were looking at some herbs earlier and ended up buying it. Actually, we got it for Yukino, since we didn't even expect to find something like it."

"Really? What did you find then Wendy, Carla?" Yukino asked them with a small tilt of her head before Wendy reached over the table to unveil the contents of the box...

Huh...?

What...?

"Thank you so much Wendy! You're such an awesome best friend!"

"You're welcome Yukino! I'm so happy that you like it!"

"Carla thank you as well!"

"It is no worries, child- excuse me, you're hugging me too tight!"

"..."

While Wendy and Yukino were hugging and celebrating what is admittedly something to be quite happy and proud about, with poor Carla being sandwiched in the middle of them, I couldn't help but glance at them for a moment before focusing my attention on the item in front of me with a slightly blank gaze while internally questioning the luck that they must have in order to even get their hands on it, and in such an anti-climactic manner.

"Ahem..." I started with a small clearing of my throat before opening my mouth to address the topic that I was so dumbfounded by. "Well girls, thank you very much for buying that for Yukino as a surprise gift. I admit that as far as lucky finds go, this is truly the luckiest ever. While I understand that the majority of the populace doesn't use Magic, even I have to admit that I didn't expect us to find..."

I trailed off again as I looked down at the item in front of me again before looking over to Wendy, who had separated from the hug so that Carla could breathe again.

"Wendy, how much did you pay again? And how did you get it?"

"Um...like I said, you were looking at the tea herbs at the time. Yukino wasn't that far away from us, but she was looking at some clothes that were being shown. And well, I saw it just sitting there on sale and I bought it with the money that you lent me."

Wendy said to me as she poked her fingers together, most likely due to being a sudden focus of attention. She may not be so nervous with us anymore, but the adorable little munchkin was still a shy one.

That was when Carla went on to explain the rest and fill in some gaps.

"The person who was manning the stall was not a Mage and had undoubtedly not realized just how valuable it was, instead treating it as just a rather odd ornament, due to how most of his wares were apparently made of false gold sold as decorations. As such, we had bought it from him to give as a gift for Yukino since I doubt we would ever get such a chance to encounter a quite fortuitous find. How he did not realize, its inherent worth aside, that it was actually valuable is beyond me."

I had no words whatsoever.

So instead I just knelt by Carla and Wendy and started to just pet them on the head, non-verbally showering them with affection.

"Eh? Eh?"

"What are you doing you ruffian?! Unhand me!"

'Wendy, Carla, you really have protagonist luck.' I couldn't help but to think to myself as I continued to blankly stare at the item in question.

The Gate of the Paired Fish Key that calls upon the Zodiac Spirit Pisces.

Bought at a measly twenty-thousand Jewels.

A Gold Celestial Spirit Key bought at the price of twenty-thousand Jewels.

"Big brother, you're being weird." Yukino called out as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Hush now Yukino. Big brother is just trying to get some of Wendy and Carla's good luck to rub off on me while showing my praise." I explained, watching as Wendy accepted my headpat with a pleased closed eyed expression on her face while Carla eventually moved out of the way of my headpat, but not without me noticing how she seemed to stay there and enjoyed it for a bit of time.

I already knew that at some point in the near future, Galuna Island would put the Gate Key for Sagittarius down as a reward for their S-Class quest, and while I was sorely tempted to claim it, I couldn't interfere. Not only so Lucy would have an additional Zodiac Spirit in her arsenal, but because Gray needed to face the demons of his past and Ultear would also be there.

That wasn't a situation I wanted to get entangled in.

Not to mention there hasn't even been word about the Island anyway, so I'm not sure if the Moon Drip ritual has even started.

Cancer and Aquarius were with Lucy.

Taurus is around somewhere, and even though he's a pervert, he's a loyal Spirit for Lucy, so I reluctantly leave him in her future care.

Virgo was already in possession of an owner whom I can't remember as vividly, all I remember is that Lucy got her soon after joining Fairy Tail on a job with Natsu.

Capricorn was with Grimoire Heart, as far as I remember.

Sorano, or rather Angel, had Gemini and Scorpio by now most likely.

As for Aries and Leo, it seemed that their Gate Key owner was still alive, but she was a nasty one. As much as I wish I could just liberate the two of them and gift them a wonderful contractor in the form of Yukino, I didn't have the right to really do something like that. After all, Wizard Saints, while renowned, still aren't above the law, not to mention the rules of the Celestial Spirit Realm was also a different beast as well.

So this meant that I had been looking into searching for the Zodiac Keys that Yukino's future canon self had wielded, but with no success, even amongst the rumor mills. But to this day I had never even heard word of them. I had figured since she and Sorano, were from Fiore, Pisces and Ophiuchus' Gate Keys would be in Fiore too, but I guess I was wrong.

Pisces was in Caelum of all places. In an open marketplace just lying there amongst the masses only to be discovered and bought because of a lucky discovery by little Wendy to be given as a gift to Yukino.

Honestly, how Yukino got it in the other timeline is beyond me.

Am I proud? Yes, absolutely proud.

Am I jealous...hell yes, I was jealous.

"Well, next time, you can settle with a 'thank you' and to not pat me like that!" Carla exclaimed with a huff as she turned her head like a little tsundere.

"Well I like it..." Wendy bashfully murmured with a smile as she opened her eyes to look up at me.

Oh bless this little small bean of kindness.

"Well I'm glad you do. After all, it's the job of an older brother to spoil his little sisters." I said to her, returning a smile of my own as Wendy's cheeks flushed red before she bowed her head before her head snapped back up, registering my words.

Ah, I guess I never really addressed her as my little sister, had I?

After all, Wendy is by nature a shy girl, and I didn't want to just sort of adopt her like I did Yukino, but I guess it was a slip of my tongue, considering that I've spent half a hear with her and Carla.

"Wait Atro! Does that mean I can call Wendy and Carla my big and little sisters!?" Yukino asked, her eyes seemingly sparkling with stars as she looked towards Wendy with an excited look on her face.

And all I could say was this.

"Who can say? After all, it's Wendy and Carla's choice. And once I find your sister Sorano, we can be a small happy family." I said with a small laugh before staring at Wendy and Carla, who had their own looks of surprise plastered on their faces.

"So? Wendy? Carla? What do you say? Would you like to be mine and Yukino's little sisters?" I asked them as I walked around them to kneel by Yukino, the two of us hugging each other's side before opening our other arms up to them.

I could see Wendy's eyes watering up as she looked over to Carla, whose expression as a whole seemed to have softened as they seemed to have a silent conversation.

And after a brief deafening silence that seemed to last forever but was only just a few second long, Wendy picked Carla up and rushed towards me and Yukino, jumping into our outstretched arms, her eyes shedding tears of joy as she clutched onto us.

"I guess that's a yes then..." I said with a small chuckle and closed my arms around the three of them as we basked in this familial warmth.

...

...

(Later...)

After putting the girls to sleep, I found myself walking down the streets of Randall to eventually arrive at the place that had caught my interest earlier since it was best to come here after the others had been asleep.

The Imperial Colosseum of Randall.

Not to be confused with Caelum's first Colosseum though.

Much like it's Earth counterpart, the kingdom's original Colosseum had quite a bloody history before the unification of what would be modern day Caelum, albeit arguably less so due to the fact that magic exists here in Earthland.

It had the whole kit and caboodle and all, wild animals, blood sports, gladiatorial games, slave and willing participants and everything in between, not that I should be too surprised since this land seemed to have some names being based off of Latin words and shared some parallels with ancient Rome.

Moral of the story was, the formerly bloody sport of the Colosseum was done away with following the unification of Caelum and the structure had been torn down to do away with that admittedly tainted segment of their history. And to make a long story short, some time later, the three Imperial Colosseums would be constructed with a larger emphasis on humane practices.

Nowadays, while there are games hosted at the Colosseums, it's primarily only with Mages for entertainment with a very miniscule chance of death.

Honestly it makes me think that Fiore took that idea from Caelum in the future, except Caelum was definitely more combat based.

Yeah, they definitely did.

And the thing is, you only need the proper credentials to enlist in the monthly games of the Colosseum. Whether it was a Guild mark with proper paperwork showing your successes on the field in Ishgar or some mark of honor, be it service in the Caelum army...or you know...the pendant of the Wizard Saints...then you're set to compete.

And wouldn't you believe it, it's the first week of March, so the Colosseum 'season' is open.

Now, I don't know if this is because I'm a warrior so to speak, because what guy would not want to see and compete in live colosseum, or if it's because of the God Slayer in me. Hell, it might just be the teenager in me despite my relative maturity and a need to prove myself, but...

"Hello, and welcome to the Imperial Colosseum in Randall! Are you here to spectate or to compete in our gladiatorial games?" The receptionist greeted me with a genuinely bright smile as she looked up from the desk she was working at.

"I'm actually here to spectate for the evening. Now, this is just a curious question since this is my first time here in Caelum as well, but is there any way for me to compete during the day perhaps so that my little sisters can watch?" I asked with a smile.

That's right. I've decided to throw my hat in the ring.

The receptionist looked at me with a small frown after hearing me ask that though.

"Well yes...but sir, are you sure? It's not anything against you personally, but while it is possible for your family to watch, this is still a combat event here so they will definitely see you get hurt and I'm not sure if that is something you wish for them to see."

Ah...I see where she's getting at. A young teenager talking about bringing his family for the first time. That would definitely raise some red flags.

"Don't worry miss. They're all Mages who don't really have any experience in the field, so I wanted them to be able to see these fights as well as my own as a learning experience in a relatively controlled environment so they have some expectation of what they might witness in a practical setting."

With that explanation, the receptionist seemed to have brightened up a bit in relief, most likely having been experienced with this stuff before. To be fair though, watching these things do provide some valuable lessons in some form or fashion, whether it's to beat a lesson in one's head or to make some kind of point.

"I see. In that case, can you please fill out this form for me and provide me proof that legitimizes your candidacy as a contender." She said to me as she handed me a paper form with a pen to write with.

I took the pen and paper and began to fill out information such as my first name only, age, kingdom of residence, affiliations, and emergency contacts and such while striking up some casual conversation with the receptionist.

"I wanted to ask. Clearly the purpose of the Colosseum is to provide entertainment and to provide the chance to test oneself in combat right? How are the match-ups organized to prevent a string of instant wins, say pairing that a first timer like me with a renowned S-Class mage?"

"Ah, excellent question. To answer that, you must understand that the process of matching opponents isn't perfect, so while something like you described wouldn't happen just like that, it is still inevitable to accidentally pair a less experienced Mage with one with relatively more experience. That is why we ask for your credentials when you first arrive to place you in place you in your appropriate ranking, that way you face people who are supposedly similar to you in terms of achievements and/or prestige. If you would like a comparison, it's sort of how there are the normal quests that don't particular have ranks and Mages normally have an idea on if they have the skill set to complete it. Except we are the ones who provide the estimation as to where our contenders rank, and then we get a more accurate measure based on their performance, if they need to ascend or descend the ranks."

Huh...that's actually considerably impressive honestly. It's definitely not perfect, and there are plenty of holes to jump through if you're considerably stronger and join for the first time, but this is to pair contenders with possible equals to actually make the spectacle...well a spectacle to the masses.

"And this is a dumb question, but what's to prevent someone from well...lying?"

The receptionist seemed to laugh at the question itself more than at me, as if it was an inside joke to her before answering that.

"Well believe me, people have certainly tried before, and not all that successfully to be honest. For the locals of Caelum, there is a system of verification that confirms the information that is given to us, especially if there are any who are within the royal army. As for Caelum Guilds, the Imperial Colosseum is not above the law by any means, and we are legally obligated to reach out to their Masters to confirm their record, or at least their identity. As for outsiders in a Guild or otherwise...no offense-"

"None taken."

"We have no way to truly claim the validity of their information since we can't just easily reach out to another kingdom overnight, which is why we always ask any newcomers to be completely honest with us, as all participants are required to sign an agreement that does not place us as liable for any severe injuries, or the gods forbid, death. Of course, it's contradicted by the fact that on the other hand, should they attack with lethal intent, the match will be halted and they will be subject to Caelum's laws. The reason why the Colosseum is more successful than ever nowadays is because it's widely known that among the Twelve Heavenly Guardians, two of them are known for possessing Healing Magic and in the very rare instances that there are more grievous wounds we are able to keep the victim stable until help arrives. And depending on the context, the other party may or may not be subject to the law. Of course, such a thing hardly ever happens, but there are precedents."

Huh...well this is a really interesting tidbit of information. Two Healing Magic users within the Twelve Guardians, which means they are both S-Class Mages and Healers, which is quite amazing to be honest. And with that explanation, no wonder why the Imperial Colosseums are so successful and are not under scrutiny of the Magic Council. They run a hell of a tight ship.

As I slid my form back across the table, having filled it out while listening to her explanations, I had one more question I had to ask while reaching for my neck.

"What about positions granted by the Magic Council?"

"Oh, the Magic Council? Well, because how the Magic Council spans Ishgar, we have a Caelum branch here on what you know as the mainland to verify the identities of individuals recognized by the Council. Of course, participants from that group is hardly rare so we don't ever...really..."

She trailed off slowly she seemed to read a particular line of information that definitely caught her attention and to add onto that heap of bomb drops, I gently placed a pendant with a quite recognizable emblem attached to it as proof alone.

"If you would kindly, please feel free to take that with you to verify my identity. Do be careful with it." I casually said to her with a gentle smile as if I didn't just reveal myself to be a Wizard Saint while she was talking.

"Y-Yes sir! R-right away!" She yelled and then quickly but carefully grabbed my pendant and form before running of to confirm my identity, but guessing by that shocked look on her face, my identity is already set in stone.

After all, for all the claims about validating information and such, as more than reasonable as they are...

Well I don't to brag or anything but...

There is just no soul on Ishgar suicidal enough to falsely claim to be a Wizard Saint.

{A/N: As always, be sure to check out the Creator's Thoughts!}