9 The Bluegarden Estate
Meliodas and Gray finally arrived at the train station and Meliodas was stunned by what he saw. The station was a large, stone building. Inside, the duo walked down the stairs, leading to a large, open underground area. There were two sets of railroad tracks split by an island in the middle with large teal colored steel arcs high above the tracks. Just as he was staring at the tracks, he saw a large unknown object coming in from a distance. As it arrived at the station, it came to a slow, screeching halt.
"So is this the train?" Meliodas asked.
"Never seen a train before or something?" Gray asked. Meliodas shook his head and walked up closer to the tracks.
As the train stopped and people started exiting it, he walked up close to the train to see what made it move. There was no animal in front, and the entire thing was made of metal. He jumped on to the tracts and peeked under the train and he saw nothing but wheels and a system of metal rods holding the wheels. 'Must run on magic or something.' Meliodas thought. 'I wonder if Britannia will get something like this.'
Gray silently watched Meliodas with a shocked expression on his face as Meliodas jumped onto the tracks.
"Oy, what are you doing?!!" Gray shouted, having recovered from his brief moment of astonishment.
As Meliodas stood on the tracks, a few bystanders noticed him and made comments.
"Hey what's that guy doing!"
"Why is that kid jumping on the tracks?!"
"Hey kid, suicide is wrong, you have a lot to live for!"
The train conductor saw Meliodas jump onto the tracks and rushed over to the edge.
"Hey, get out of there kid!"
Meliodas looked up and saw a man yelling at him to get off the tracks. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and jumped back on.
"Wow you really haven't seen a train before." Gray commented as he approached Meliodas and the conductor.
"Never seen a train?!" The conductor blurted out as he looked at Meliodas. He took a closer look at Meliodas and noted his childlike appearance. The conductor sighed to himself. 'He's just a kid so I'll let him go for now.'
"Look kid, it's extremely dangerous to jump onto the tracks like that. So be careful alright. What are you doing here anyway? The conductor asked.
"We're going to Onibus town." Gray answered. "We're from Fairy Tail. We got a mission there."
"Oh I see." The conductor said as he looked at Gray's guild mark on his bare chest.
"Alright look, the ticket to Onibus is two thousand jewels per person for a round trip... But you need to wear clothes when you get on the train okay?"
Gray gave the conductor a confused glance before looking down at his body.
"Dammit! Meliodas help me find my clothes really quick!" Gray exclaimed as he scrambled around the station.
Meliodas shrugged and took out the money.
"Here. I'll get Gray's too."
The conductor took the money and handed Meliodas two small tickets. Meliodas looked at one of the tickets. It was a small card shaped piece of paper that was laminated.
"Alright, take the train at the other side of the tracks here. That one will get you to Onibus Town."
"Got it thanks!" Meliodas said as he waved at the conductor before chasing after Gray.
After spending several minutes picking up Gray's clothes again, Meliodas and Gray boarded the train to Onibus. They took a seat at one of the booths facing each other and stared out the window as the train started moving.
"How do you keep losing your clothes?" Meliodas asked Gray.
"It's...a habit from a long time ago." Gray answered. His face grew serious at the topic and Meliodas decided to deviate away from it.
"What kind of magic do you use?" Meliodas asked.
"Ice Make. I can practically make any object out of ice." Gray answered. "What about you? When you fought Natsu earlier, you made his flames disappear."
"Secret technique." Meliodas smiled as he raised his index finger over his lips.
Gray shook his head and let out a small laugh.
"The hell. Don't just ask me about my magic and not reveal yours."
--
A couple of hours later, Gray and Meliodas arrived at the Onibus Town Station. After leaving the station they walked through the town.
Meliodas looked around at the town as they walked through the main street. It was a lot smaller than Magnolia but its buildings had a similar design.
"Looks like you've never been here before." Gray commented.
"Nope. What about you?" Meliodas asked.
"I've had a couple missions here but nothing special." Gray answered.
The duo continued walking through town until they reached a road that branched off from the rest of the town. Gray and Meliodas walked down the long road for about a kilometer until they reached a lgate.
"Looks like this is the place." Gray said while looking at the large gate. The gate appeared to be made of sturdy steel bars with the golden letters "BG" in the center of it. Gray hit the buzzer button at the side of the gate. Above the buzzer, was a surveillance lacrima. Several seconds later, a voice answered.
"This is the Bluegarden Estate. State your names and business." The voice said from the buzzer.
"Gray Fullbuster and Meliodas...uhh…" Gray stuttered and looked at Meliodas, confused that Meliodas didn't have a surname. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and Gray continued.
"We're mages from Fairy Tail." He said, before lifting up his shirt and showing his tattoo. "We received a request from Joe Bluegarden to deal with some thieves."
"Very well. Follow the road and stop at the main door. You will be greeted by the Master shortly." The voice cut off and the gate opened up. Gray and Meliodas walked down the pathway. The path was made of smoothly cut stone and granite and patterned into diamonds. At the sides of the pathway, were steel lamp posts with golden lacrima as bulbs inside of them. To their left and right was a vast front yard with many gardeners trimming the greenery into various animals. One shape in particular caught Meliodas's eye, looking like a familiar pig shape.
"Meliodas, what is your last name?" Gray asked.
"You know, I think I might have had one at one point of my life...but I don't remember what it was…" Meliodas responded as he tried to remember if he ever took a last name.
"The hell? How do you not have one? Also, why does that sound like something an old man would say?!" Gray exclaimed, surprised at Meliodas's answer. Meliodas looked at Gray and grinned without saying a word.
The duo arrived at the front of the large manor. The manor itself was made of a refined form of dark wood. The front face of the manor was filled with dozens of windows spanning five stories high. At the entrance, were two stone pillars engraved with a dragon design, supporting the overhang.
The front door to the manor opened and a tall, lanky man in an indigo colored diamond studded suit with blonde hair and a large curly mustache greeted them.
"Ah yes, the mages from Fairy Tail. I am Joe Bluegarden, the owner of this fine estate, but you may simply call me Joe. Please do come in."
Meliodas and Gray walked into the manor and looked around in awe. The floors were a smooth white marble with an acrylic design. At the center of the room, was a large fountain. Mounted on top of the fountain was the statue of an angelic woman, holding a gourd where the water spilled out. Behind the fountain, was a grand staircase, adorned with a red carpet, leading to the second floor. Far above them was a giant chandelier that had at least a thousand tiny individual lights.
"Nice place ya got." Meliodas commented while staring at the pictures on the wall.
"Why thank you. Would you two care for a drink? I can have my maids get some of the finest wine, made straight from the vineyards in the backyard." Joe offered, while caressing his mustache.
"Well I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to try high quality booze. I'll have a glass!" Meliodas answered.
"Just get me a glass of water." Gray answered.
"Very well. Emma, Ali. I require your assistance!" Joe called out. Immediately, two maids ran down the stairs and bowed to Joe. One was a busty young woman with red hair and amber eyes. The other was a petite young woman with blonde hair and red eyes. Despite their differing bodily appearances, their similar faces indicated they were related.
"My guests are thirsty. Get them a glass of Rosa Bluegarden and our spring water." Joe ordered.
"Yes master." Both of the maids said simultaneously and they scurried into the kitchen. Several seconds later, they returned and handed Meliodas and Gray their drinks. Meliodas took a sip of the wine and his eyes opened wide. It was the one of the best tasting wines he had ever drank in his long life.
"This wine...is fantastic!" Meliodas exclaimed while Gray gulped down the water.
"Of course. We only serve the highest quality here."
"So what's the thief issue you're having?" Gray asked upon finishing the glass of water.
"Ah yes. Forgive me for getting sidetracked. Recently, my beloved family treasures have been stolen. I have hired private security multiple times to address this matter but each time, they perish and more of my belongings are stolen. This has been going on for months and I fear all of my treasures may be stolen soon by the end of the year. I just couldn't stand it any longer so I decided to request help from a magic guild." Joe responded while twiddling with his mustache nervously.
"So where do you keep the treasure? We'll just stand guard in front of it so when the thieves show up, we'll beat em to the ground." Gray said reassuringly. Joe stopped twiddling his mustache and from his coat pocket, pulled out a small black remote. Joe pushed the button on the remote, causing the water in the fountain to stop flowing.The structure of the fountain itself began to shift backwards, revealing a hidden spiral staircase.
"Follow me." Joe said. Meliodas and Gray followed Joe down the deep stairwell. Despite being underground, it was well lit due to lacrima embedded into the walls. As they reached the bottom floor, the narrow stairwell opened into a large, empty room. At the end of the room, was a large, black round door, made of some sort of hard material. As Meliodas approached it, he could feel magical power coming from the door.
"This door is well protected." Meliodas commented.
"It is indeed. In the past, I hired a mage to cast a special protective spell that can only be activated and deactivated by my remote here." Joe said as he pulled out his remote.
"So if you're the only one who has access here, then this could be an inside job then…?" Gray inquired.
"That's what I was originally thinking. However, I am the only one with the remote and it is on me at all times. Each time the vault was stolen from, the security I had hired was found dead."
"So that's why you hired mages...because magic may have been used here." Gray said, looking around the large room.
"Yes that is correct. For the time being, you two will remain down here. If you need anything, there is a buzzer on the wall to your left and I will personally come down and give it to you. Do you have any other concerns before I leave you two here?" Joe asked, looking at both of the Fairy Tail mages. Gray and Meliodas shook their heads and Joe twiddled his mustache one more time before walking back up the staircase.
"Well...we're gonna be down here for a while…" Meliodas commented as he lay down on the floor. "Could have at least given us a couch or something."
"A couch? No problem." Gray replied as he smirked. Meliodas lifted his head curiously to see what Gray was up to. Gray took a stance in the middle of the room with his legs spread apart, one of his palms up, and the other formed into a fist resting on top of it.
"Ice Make: Couch!" Gray yelled out. The room became cold as ice began to form in front of Gray. As the ice formed, it began to take shape until it looked just like a couch.
"How's that for a couch." Gray said as he jumped on it and took a seat.
"I'd rather not freeze my butt off. I think I'll just stay on the ground here." Meliodas replied.
"Hah. Suit yourself." Gray responded as he put his legs up on the rest of the couch and layed down.
Several hours passed as Gray and Meliodas lay in the underground room. There wasn't much talking going on between them as Meliodas had closed his eyes. Gray assumed Meliodas had fallen asleep and continued to stare at the ceiling until he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Gray sat up on the couch and saw two women walking down the stairs.
"Emma and Ali?" Gray asked, confused to see them down here. In Emma's hands, was a tray with cups filled with iced tea on it.
"Forgive us for interrupting your nap, but the Master was concerned that you two may have been thirsty so he requested we brought you drinks down here." Ali said. Gray looked at both of them suspiciously before grabbing a drink.
"Oi, Meliodas wake up!" Gray yelled.
"I've been awake." Meliodas said as he sprung up from his laying down position. He approached the two girls and Gray handed Meliodas the other drink from the tray. Meliodas looked down at his tea curiously before drinking it. The two girls watched as Meliodas and Gray drank the tea. Several seconds passed before both Meliodas and Gray suddenly dropped to the floor, their bodies limp.
