324 Dinner and Gambling

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

March, x785.

While Alfonzo was in the guild's kitchen, the seven ladies of Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel were sitting together in Ur's office and chatting happily, with the exception of Sui-Feng, of course, who was glaring daggers at Elicia.

"Seriously, Sui-Feng, it's time to stop this." Yoruichi said, sounding a bit annoyed at her protégé's actions.

"But Lady Yoruichi, this woman and that man are not worthy of you." Sui-Feng retorted.

"And what gives you the right to decide who is worthy of my time and affection?" Yoruichi asked in an exasperated tone. "And although I think I already know the answer to this question, but who do you think is worthy of me?"

Instead of replying, Sui-Feng only turned her head away with a deep blush on her cheeks.

'Yup, I saw that coming.' Elicia thought while watching the drama unfold.

"*Sigh* In any case, who I decide to give my time to is my decision, Sui-Feng." Yoruichi said in a much gentler tone after seeing Sui-Feng's expression. "But constantly glaring and barking at the people I show interest in will not gain you any favor from me."

Once again, Sui-Feng was unable to respond in words. Instead, she only lowered her head in shame. However, she still managed to glare at Elicia to show her discontent.

'This is all that man and that woman's fault.' Sui-Feng thought to herself with her head lowered. 'If they were not involved with Lady Yoruichi, she wouldn't have a reason to be angry or disappointed with me.'

Meanwhile, the other four women, namely, Ur, Kagura, Tsunade, and Ritsu only watched in interest. However, after seeing the expression on Sui-Feng's face, Ritsu, being the most experienced person in the room, immediately recognized that she would not be satisfied with Yoruichi's scolding.

"It would seem that this is an issue that cannot be solved with words." Ritsu said after taking a sip from a teacup. "So, might I make a suggestion?"

Hearing that, six pairs of eyes were focused on the former Mermaid Heel guild master. Ritsu, on the other hand, shifted her gaze to Sui-Feng.

'She's not gonna suggest what I think she is, right?' Elicia asked herself while waiting for Ritsu to continue.

"Sui-Feng, you claim that Mr. Marcus and Miss Taylor are unworthy of Yoruichi, correct?" Ritsu asked with a kind smile.

"Yes, Ma'am." Sui-Feng replied with a nod.

"And what makes them unworthy of her in your opinion?" Ritsu asked.

"Whether in terms of strength, status, or even appearance, neither of them is worthy of Lady Yoruichi." Sui-Feng said proudly.

In response, everyone in the room could only look at Sui-Feng blankly.

"Status and appearance aside, what makes you think they can't match Yoruichi in strength?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Because Lady Yoruichi is the strongest wizard of our generation." Sui-Feng replied as if it were obvious.

"*Sigh* Though that may be true in our guild, Sui-Feng…" Tsunade said while shaking her head. "Who is to say that is true in the entire kingdom, let alone the continent or the world?"

"Besides, I know for a fact that Alfonzo is stronger than I am." Yoruichi added. "And Lici is at least on par with me. Though, neither of them are as fast as I am."

Yoruichi mentioned the last part with her chest puffed out proudly.

"That's impossible." Sui-Feng replied in a tone filled with disbelief. "They don't even feel as strong as Kagura. How could they possibly be stronger than you, Lady Yoruichi."

"So, she is either not very proficient in sensing the power of others, or her pride is too high to admit it, huh?" Ur asked.

"Unfortunately, it is the latter." Tsunade replied. "Although she is quite the capable wizard, her fanaticism over Yoruichi is more than even we can do anything about. But since her loyalty to Mermaid Heel is so strong, we haven't really felt the need to do anything about it, either."

"I see." Ritsu, who had just taken another sip from her teacup, replied in a gentle tone. A moment later, however, her blood lust began to leak slightly. "Then, why not challenge them to a duel? That way, you can ascertain their worthiness for yourself.?"

'Yup, she really did it…' Elicia grumbled internally. 'I guess she really is looking for opponents with whom she can use her full power even in this world, too.'

Sui-Feng, on the other hand, had her eyes light up with anticipation after hearing Ritsu's suggestion. Then, with her whole body exuding battle intent, she turned her attention back to Elicia.

"*Sigh* If I win, will this be enough to make you stop looking at me and Fonzie like that?" Elicia asked in an exasperated tone.

"Yes, but should I win, I want the two of you to keep your distance from Lady Yoruichi." Sui-Feng replied in a solemn tone.

"I guess I don't get a say in this, huh?" Yoruichi asked while smiling wryly.

At that moment, Alfonzo, pushing a trolley filled with everyone's dinner orders, walked into the office from the elevator. However, when he noticed the tension in the air, he stopped and scanned the room.

"I feel like I missed something." Alfonzo muttered as he started moving again.

Then, one by one, he started serving the ordered dishes to the seven women in the room before taking his own plate and sitting next to Elicia.

"After dinner, I'll be having a spar with Sui-Feng while we tour the training facilities." Elicia replied, not sounding too enthused about the whole thing.

"Oh, I see." Alfonzo said as he reached out with his fork and picked up a sautéed shrimp from Elicia's plate. Then, while presenting it in front of her mouth, he continued. "Just don't go overboard. We don't wanna sour relations with Mermaid Heel because you hurt their newest S-Class wizard too badly."

While Sui-Feng frowned angrily at the insinuation that she would lose quite badly, Elicia smiled happily as she opened her mouth and let Alfonzo feed her. Then, after chewing and swallowing, she nodded to Alfonzo's words.

With that, the dinner continued. And while Alfonzo was happy to receive the praise from the members of Mermaid Heel, he was forced to sit with his legs crossed for the majority of the meal after the five women released sensual moans after getting their first taste of his food.

Then, after dinner, the three Fairy Tail wizards showed their guests around the guild hall. More specifically, they introduced them to the training rooms.

"So, you're telling me that thee gravity in these little, metal boxes can be increased up to one hundredfold Earth land's normal gravity?" Tsunade asked with clear interest in her tone.

Due to her interest in the gravity chamber, as well as the copious amounts of Alcohol she drank during dinner, Tsunade's cheeks were quite flushed, which added another level of charm to her already gorgeous face.

"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "And because of the sigils engraved into the walls, ceiling, and floor, the gravity doesn't affect the surfaces of the room. So, you don't have to worry about the room getting crushed by the excessive gravity."

"Would you mind if I tried it out? *Hiccup*" Tsunade asked with an alcohol induced grin.

"Are you sure?" Alfonzo asked, though he directed his gaze at Ritsu. "I mean, training like this after drinking so heavily might make you puke."

"Don't worry, young man. She'll be fine." Ritsu replied with a kind smile. Then, she turned her attention to Tsunade. "If you're gonna test it out, you'll have to sober up first, Tsuna."

"*Sigh* Fine…" Tsunade grumbled as her hands began glowing with soft, green-colored magic power. Then, she began rubbing her head with her right hand while she rubbed her stomach with her left. "But do you have any idea how hard it is to get a good buzz like this? And now, I'm gonna have to start all over again."

Hearing that, both Alfonzo and Ur's eyebrows twitched. Because she was a guest, as well as the master of an allied guild, they had both offered Tsunade alcohol from their private stashes. And she had already drank quite a bit of it. But now, she was talking about starting over to get her buzz back…

Luckily, Ritsu spoke the words of a savior.

"Then, I hope you brought enough alcohol with you to do so." Ritsu replied in a gentle tone that somehow left no room for argument.

"Tch!" Tsunade clicked her tone. "So stingy."

Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Ur sighed with relief while looking at Ritsu gratefully.

After another minute of Tsunade using her [Healing Jutsu] on herself, she was finally sober, and ready to give the gravity chamber a test run.

"Alright, let's get it started." Tsunade said while standing in the center of the training room while no longer wearing her hoari.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were standing near the rooms perimeter, with Alfonzo at the gravity controls.

"Alright, I'll start you off at five times normal gravity, just so you can get a feel for how higher gravity affects your body." Alfonzo said while adjusting the gravity.

"Whatever, Kid." Tsunade replied grumpily. She was still upset over having to drink her own alcohol, after all. "Just get it started."

And just as she said, Alfonzo activated the increased gravity.

Although Tsunade was familiar with the concept of gravity on an elementary level, she was still surprised by the pressure it put on her body. Even if it was nothing she could not handle with ease.

"I guess I was looking at this too simply." Tsunade said, her expression turning more serious after feeling the effects of increased gravity. "I thought it would just make me feel heavier and make it harder to move."

Reaching that point, Tsunade began stretching. Then, she threw a series of punches.

"And I wasn't wrong about that." Tsunade continued. "But it's more complicated than that. The extra gravity is putting pressure on every part of me. My skin, muscles, bones, internal organs… everything."

"Yeah, and that's why I warned against going in while you were drunk." Alfonzo said with a smile.

"Yeah, I get it now." Tsunade replied with a nod. "Thanks, Kid. I probably really would have puked, if I hadn't listened. Still, that doesn't change the fact that I'm gonna have to start over after this… And with my own booze, too."

After saying that, Tsunade performed a few more basic movements to get accustomed to the higher gravity. While doing so, she caught a glimpse of her hoari. More specifically, the kanji for "gamble" on its back.

"Hey, I just had a great idea." Tsunade said with her eyes lighting up. "Since we're already going to have a wager on the outcome of the spar between the Bumble Bee and the Seamstress, why don't we gamble a little more."

"Don't call me that!" Sui-Feng shouted in protest.

Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Ritsu could only face palm. However, neither of them said anything to dissuade Tsunade from digging her own grave.

At the same time, Alfonzo's eyes lit up as well. And although he was not a huge fan of gambling, though he liked to do it every now and then between friends, he knew that if he accepted a gamble with Tsunade, he would end up quite a bit richer by the end of the night.

"Sure, I'm always down for a friendly gamble." Alfonzo replied with a friendly smile. "But why don't we talk about that after you finish testing the gravity chamber."

"Great!" Tsunade cheered.

'Hahaha! He fell for it.' Tsunade thought to herself as she signaled Alfonzo to raise the gravity. 'Although I don't have the best… track record… when it comes to gambling, there's no way such a young kid who's still wet behind the ears will be able to contend with my years of gambling experience.'

"Hey, Fourth Master." Yoruichi whispered in a concerned tone. "Is this really okay? I mean, we just finished crawling out of the debt that she caused the last time she gambled." {A/N: Because Ritsu Unohana was the captain of the Fourth Division and Tsunade was the Fifth Hokage, that's how their order as guild masters was decided.}

"Don't worry, Yoruichi." Ritsu replied calmly. However, if one were to look closely, they would be able to see quite a dangerous glint in her eyes. "I wasn't around for that incident. But now that I'm here, I will make sure that she doesn't go overboard."

At that moment, just as Alfonzo raised the gravity to fifteen times the normal gravity, Tsunade shivered involuntarily. As a result, she almost lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Ur asked in concern after seeing Tsunade stumble. "Alfonzo, maybe we should stop it here."

"No, I'm fine." Tsunade said, easily regaining her composure. "You can keep going."

'Weird…' Tsunade thought to herself. 'Why did I feel cold all of a sudden? OH well, that doesn't matter for now. Instead, I should focus on seeing how far I can push myself.'

From there, Alfonzo continued to steadily increase the gravitational force. Eventually, Tsunade reached her limit at fifty-three times the normal gravity. Then, after Alfonzo lowered the gravity back to normal, Tsunade vacated the center of the room and made space for Elicia and Sui-Feng to have their duel.