Blue Pegasus' Welcome

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Onibus.

July 1, x786.

As Alfonzo, Erza, Mirajane, and Sun entered the Blue Pegasus guild hall, the entire guild hall fell silent. A moment later, however, a red carpet rolled from the back of the guild hall to its main entrance. Then, Ichiya, who had miraculously recovered from Karen's attack, appeared at the end of the red carpet opposite the entrance.

"Here he goes again." Sorano said in an exasperated tone. "Karen, couldn't you have hit him harder?"

"You know it wouldn't have made a difference." Karen replied in just as exasperated a tone as Sorano.

At the same time, Karen and Sorano noticed that Jenny had disappeared from where she stood in front of their table.

"Friends from Fairy Tail, welcome." Ichiya, with a red rose in his hand, said as he started walking down the red carpet.

At the same time, Eve, Hibiki, Ren, and Jenny appeared on either side of the red carpet, each with a basket in their hands. Then, in unison, the four reached into the basket and began throwing flower petals into the air.

"*Sigh* No matter how many times I've seen it, this never gets any less cringe." Alfonzo muttered while rubbing his temples.

In response, Erza, Mirajane, and Sun nodded their heads vigorously while hiding behind Alfonzo.

"Hey, Alfonzo..." Mirajane said in atone filled with trepidation.

"What's up, Mira?" Alfonzo asked, having an idea what she was about to ask for.

"Can you make me a new car?" Mirajane asked. "I just remembered that I forgot something back at the mansion."

"Me, too." Sun added. "It's really important, too."

"Indeed, a new car sounds like a necessity." Erza said while shuddering. "And I think a four seater would be for the best."

Alfonzo could only shake his head in response. AT the same time, Ichiya, the Trimens, and Jenny were drawing nearer. Everyone also knew that Ichiya was speaking. However, they all tuned him out shortly after he started. Unfortunately for the four Fairy Tail wizards, after a certain point, it was impossible to tune him out any longer.

"Now, please allow us to entertain you properly, friends from afar." Ichiya said from directly in front of Alfonzo while smiling brightly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ichiya reached past Alfonzo, intending to take Erza's hand. Before he could do so, however, Alfonzo's hand shot out and clamped around the shorter man's wrist.

"We talked about this the last time you tried to put your hands on my fiancée, didn't we, Ichiya?" Alfonzo asked with a friendly smile.

Despite the fact that Alfonzo's smile was so friendly, no one was under the illusion that he was happy. Even Ichiya, despite his my-pace attitude, could feel cold sweat forming on his back.

"You're right, Alfonzo." Ichiya said with a smile that was only a moment away from crying. "I only wanted to greet our allies."

"I see." Alfonzo replied, not losing his friendly smile.

In the next instant, Alfonzo released Ichiya's wrist. Then, he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Well then, it's good to see you again, my friend." Alfonzo said.

Smiling brightly, Ichiya thought that Alfonzo had finally understood his gentlemanly spirit. That notion changed rather quickly after he grasped Alfonzo's hand, however.

"My, what a firm handshake." Ichiya said, cold sweat dripping down his forehead thanks to the pain in his right hand. "A firm handshake is the mark of a gentleman."

"You think so, too?" Alfonzo asked. "Although I didn't get to spend much time with him, my father always said the same thing."

With that, Alfonzo released Ichiya's hand. Ichiya, on the other hand, grasped his right hand with his left. Then, with the ugliest smile anyone present had ever seen, he replied.

"I see. He must have been a truly great man, then." Ichiya said. Then, he turned around and quickly walked away. "Well then, I'll leave the rest of the welcome to the Trimens and Jenny. If you'll excuse me."

Though Ichiya covered his hand quickly, everyone on the guild hall saw that it was rather swollen. On top of that, it had turned almost completely purple. And while the Trimens were concerned about their mentor, since Ichiya left the welcome to them, they would welcome the guests with the best of their ability.

Jenny, on the other hand, was thoroughly surprised by Ichiya's exit. Like the others, she knew what had happened. However, instead of being wary of Alfonzo, who hurt one of her guild mates, she looked at him with sparkling eyes.

A moment later, just as Ichiya had instructed, Jenny was the first to approach the Fairy Tail wizards. Then, she hugged Alfonzo's right arm and looked up with stars in her eyes.

"Wow! You're so strong." Jenny said coquettishly.

Looking down, Alfonzo made eye contact with Jenny.

'Damn, she really is pretty.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'It's no wonder she's giving Mira a run for her money as Sorcerer Weekly's top model.'

["Yeah, but Mira is definitely prettier."] Bedlam said. ["But you're right. It's no surprise she became Miss Fiore and the top model in Sorcerer Weekly after the canon Fairy Tail disappeared in x784."]

["Hmph! Lici is prettier."] Riot said after snorting in disdain. ["If she wanted to be a model, she would definitely be the most popular."]

In unison, Alfonzo and Bedlam rolled their eyes at Riot's simping for Elicia.

"You must be Jenny Realight, right?" Alfonzo asked with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

In reply, Jenny's smile widened. Meanwhile, Mirajane felt her eyebrows twitching in irritation. Unfortunately, before she could intervene, Eve, Hibiki, and Ren made their way over and began their usual act.

Though, it could be seen that Ren was not as passionate about entertaining the female guests as usual.

'I guess it's not the same for Ren now that he's got Sherry, huh?' Alfonzo thought to himself as he allowed himself to be led to a table by Jenny.

Not only Alfonzo, Erza, led by Eve, Mirajane, led by Ren, and Sun, led by Hibiki, were also ushered to the same table. Then, once everyone was seated, the four Blue Pegasus wizards engaged them in conversation.

It should be noted, however, that none of the Trimens had the courage to touch any of the ladies from Fairy Tail. Especially since Ichiya's state after trying to touch Erza still fresh in their minds.

Jenny, on the other hand, was practically glued to Alfonzo. And Alfonzo could only smile wryly for the duration. Even though he was enjoying the feeling of Jenny's body pressed against him, he was unsure how much longer Mirajane, whose teeth he could hear grinding together, could hold back from beating her up.

After a few minutes, and just before Mirajane reached her boiling point, Bob, who was tired of being ignored, stood up from his seat at the bar. Then, with his hips swaying back and forth, he made his way over to the table where the Fairy Tail wizards had been seated.

"So, how was the trip from Magnolia?" Bob asked in a coquettish tone while batting his eye lashes at Alfonzo.

"Master Bob." Alfonzo said as he stood from his seat while separating himself from Jenny. "The trip was good. Thanks for asking."

"That's good." Bob replied as he got even closer to Alfonzo. "We still need to discuss the arrangements for the training chambers. Why don't you follow me to my office?"

Hesitantly, Alfonzo nodded his head.

"Sure, why not?" Alfonzo said.

"Great!" bob exclaimed happily. "Then, let's go."

With that, Bob hugged Alfonzo's arm and started pulling him towards a door to the side of the bar. Meanwhile, Erza, Mirajane, and Sun had to stifle their giggles after seeing Alfonzo's expression.

"Master really seems to like Alfonzo, huh?" Jenny asked while watching Alfonzo and Bob walk away.

"He doesn't seem to be the only one." Mirajane said sharply.

Immediately, Jenny's attention was drawn towards Mirajane. And as soon as she made eye contact, her eyes lit up.

"Wow! It's Mirajane!" Jenny exclaimed as she stood up from her seat. A moment later, after circling around the table, she had Mirajane's hands grasped in her own. "You and Karen are my idols. The two of you are the reason I got into modeling."

"Uh... Thanks..." Mirajane, taken off guard, replied awkwardly. "I'm glad I had such an impact on an aspiring model."

"That's right." Jenny said with a smile. "And like you and Karen, I wanna be the top model in Sorcerer Weekly one day."

Hearing that, Mirajane's awkward expression changed in an instant, replaced by a sharp, competitive one. Jenny, however, did not seem to notice this change. Instead, she continued to gush about how much of an inspiration Mirajane had been for her.

"Uh oh..." Sun murmured. "It looks like the Old Mira's coming out."

"Indeed." Erza replied. "We haven't seen this side of her since we made that deal about the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant last year."

"Yup." Sun said while nodding vigorously. "And after talking so big, she didn't even win."

Immediately, Sun shrunk back while smiling sheepishly when Mirajane's intense glare landed on her. A moment later, however, Mirajane returned her gaze to Jenny.

"Anyway, I look forward to the challenge." Mirajane said while smiling challengingly. "Unfortunately, you're at a severe disadvantage in this competition. All my clothes are made by my sister, Elicia Marcus Taylor."

Once again, Jenny's eyes lit up.

"That's amazing!" Jenny exclaimed excitedly. "Do you think you could introduce me to her? Even though I've bought some clothes from the Taylor Shop, I've never been there when she's there. So, I've never been able to get a custom dress. Instead, all my outfits are made by Eri Hirano."

"Eri Hirano... isn't that Kohta's mom?" Sun asked while tilting her head cutely.

"That's right." Erza replied with a nod. "Elicia has been trying to reach an agreement with her to either cooperate or buy out her company."

"Wow! Really?" Jenny asked, turning her attention from Mirajane to Erza and Sun.

"Yeah." Sun replied with a nod. "Lici said she really likes the clothes Mrs. Hirano makes and wanted to work with her."

By now, Jenny's eyes were as bright as torch lights as she continued to discuss with the three Fairy Tail ladies. Meanwhile, Eve, Hibiki, and Ren could only look on awkwardly. They were being completely ignored by the ladies they were trying to entertain, for a woman, no less.

"I get the feeling we're not needed here." Eve said while scratching the back of his head.

"Well, it's not like I was here for them, anyway." Ren replied as he turned his head away. "I was only doing it because Ichiya said so."

"We can't be discouraged." Hibiki said. "Even if we can't engage them in conversation, there are other things we can do."

With that, Hibiki stood up before making his way over to the bar. Meanwhile, Eve and Ren watched their teammate's actions.

A few minutes later, Hibiki returned while carrying a platter with four teacups and a pot of steaming hot tea. Then, in an elegant manner, he placed a cup of tea in front of each of the ladies.

"My lovely ladies, something to quench your thirst." Hibiki said with a smile.

Acknowledging Hibiki with nods, the four ladies continued to chat while occasionally taking sips from their teacups. Meanwhile, Hibiki stood nearby, refilling the cups whenever they were emptied.

Seeing that, Eve and Ren were enlightened. Standing up, they also rushed back to the bar. Then, they ordered snacks and finger foods to go along with the tea. A few minutes later, Eve and Ren were standing nearby with Hibiki, acting as butlers.

On a side note, after taking care of his swollen hand, Ichiya decided now that Alfonzo was not around, he would try to talk with Erza. And for the first few minutes, though Erza was clearly recoiling due to his fervor, nothing happened. So, Ichiya got bolder in his actions. Eventually, he tried to take Erza's armored hand to plant a kiss on its back.

*Bang!*

Before he could even touch Erza's hand, however, the sugar spoon floated out of the sugar bowl. Then, at high speed, it slammed into the side of Ichiya's head, knocking him out on impact.

"Ichiya!" The Trimens exclaimed in shock and concern after seeing Ichiya's fate.

At the same time, they vowed to themselves that they would never try to touch Alfonzo's lovers ever again, especially if he was nearby.

Meanwhile, Sorano could only shake her head while drinking her cocktail.

"*Sigh* He'll never learn." Sorano said. "What makes it even worse is the fact that he's trying this with someone's fiancée. Where did all that talk about being a gentleman go?"

"All is fair in love and war, as they say." Karen replied. "Still, it does bring down his self-proclaimed image of a gentleman."

"Yeah." Sorano replied with a nod. "Anyway, I'm gonna go over there to greet our guests. You coming?"

"Hmph!" Karen snorted disdainfully.

Despite that, Karen stood up and started walking towards the table where the Fairy Tail wizards sat.

Once again, Sorano could not help but shake her head.

"She's such a tsundere." Sorano said with a smile. A moment later, she finished her cocktail before standing up, as well. "She's even worse than Ren."