Bacchus Groh Is Back

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

June 30, x788.

Just before the sun completely sank below the horizon, a group of three four-wheeled magic vehicles and a two-wheel magic vehicle drove through the gates of Crocus. Shortly afterwards the four vehicles came to a stop on the side of the road, drawing the attention of nearby pedestrians.

Not long after the vehicles came to a stop, the two women riding the two-wheeled magic vehicle took off their helmets, revealing their identities as the current and former guild masters of Mermaid Heel, Tsunade and Retsu.

Shortly after that, the doors of the three other magic vehicles opened. From them, a total of fifteen people, one man, thirteen women, and one talking cat stepped out of them. The fifteen then approached Tsunade and Retsu.

"We're finally here." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I'm so tired. It seems like all I've done for the last two weeks is travel and/or fight."

"Yeah, that was a pretty long ride." Elicia added as she hugged Alfonzo from his left. "We've been on the road since before the sun even came up."

"Well, we'd like to thank you all for giving Anko a ride from the village." Retsu said in a gentle tone. "Otherwise, she would have had to take the train, and she would have gotten here a little later. Still, she should have made it to the hotel before midnight."

"But I would have been too tired to help during the preliminary round." Anko said.

"Do you think the others wouldn't have been able to handle it?" Tsunade asked. "You have to trust your guild mates more. Look at Alfonzo and Elicia, they aren't even participating in the Grand Magic Games. Yet, Fairy Tail still wins."

After saying that, Tsunade turned to Alfonzo and Elicia.

"But that won't last too much longer." Tsunade said while smiling challengingly. "Our girls are getting stronger quickly. It won't be long before they surpass you and Mermaid Heel is named the strongest guild in Fiore."

"Do your best." Alfonzo said with a smile. "We believe in you."

"Go, you!" Elicia cheered happily. "We're rooting for you!"

Seeing how dismissive Alfonzo and Elicia seemed, Tsunade could not help gritting her teeth. However, if she only knew how serious they were when they cheered for her, she would be dumbfounded.

After Laxus and his team won the first Grand Magic Games, Ur spoke to Alfonzo and Elicia. And she made a request.

Ur's request was simple. Yet, it caused Alfonzo and Elicia to pout at her in discontentment. The request Ur made was to not participate in the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament, which was used to determine the team that would participate in the Grand Magic Games until Laxus and his team lost.

To Alfonzo and Elicia, that meant that they would, possibly, never get to join the Grand Magic Games. Because even though everyone was using the gravity chambers to train, the wizards of Fairy Tail had been doing it for at least a year longer than the other guilds, giving them a big advantage.

The group chatted casually for a little longer before they split up. While Tsunade, Retsu, while walking her motorcycle through the streets, and Anko headed to the hotel that housed the Mermaid Heel guild, Alfonzo, Elicia, and the others climbed back into their cars and made their way to the hotel where Fairy Tail was staying.

After arriving at the hotel, the group checked in before gathering with the members of Fairy Tail who were at the hotel. Though, most of the members were out touring the city of Crocus.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep." Alfonzo, who drove all the way from the Valley of the End to Crocus, said as he stretched after talking with Ur and Gildarts for a while.

"Okay, you've been working really hard since you got back from the village at the beginning of the month." Ur replied while patting Alfonzo on the shoulder. "Go get some rest, you've earned it. In fact, just take this week as a vacation. Don't work too hard while you're in Crocus."

"Oh, I'll be relaxing for the next two months." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I already told the Hokage. Little Man's birthday is in August. So, I won't be going back to work until it's passed."

"Good." Gildarts replied. "Then, when we get back to Magnolia, we'll have to spar. I've got a surprise for you."

"I wanna spar with Lici, too." Ur added with a crafty glint in her eyes.

"Sure." Alfonzo said.

"No problem." Elicia added.

After that, Alfonzo said his goodbyes and made his way to his room. Meanwhile, Elicia went to find Maria and Mey-Rin, who came to Crocus with Amar'e. Elicia hadn't seen her baby in a few days and missed him terribly, after all.

After that, time passed quickly. And midnight came quickly.

July 1, x788.

*Buzz~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*

{"Hello, hello, good night, and good morning!"} A high-pitched voice shouted, the voice reaching every corner of Crocus. {"Everyone's favorite Grand Magic Games host, Mato here! And it's time for the preliminaries to begin!"}

That voice was accompanied by a gong that sounded loud enough to wake up all but the heaviest sleepers, Shizuka. At the same time, a projection of the Grand Magic Games' mascot, Mato, appeared in the sky and was visible from every corner of the city.

{"This year's preliminary event to bring down the number of competing guilds in the Grand Magic Games' main event to eight will be different this year!"} Mato shouted excitedly. {"Last year, we had a simple little race, remember? Well this year, it will be a scavenger hunt!"}

A collective groan could be heard all over the city. However, Mato seemed to either not notice or not care about the reactions to his news.

At the same time, a white light shot up from the central plaza of the city.

{"Do you see that light in the center of the city?"} Mato asked while pointing downwards. {"That's where you'll find your search items. Don't worry, if that sounded confusing, I'll explain more clearly. There are several tables set up there. On those tables, there are little pieces of paper where you'll find what you have to find. Simple, isn't it?"}

By now, all the participating teams were looking towards the column of light in the center of the city.

{"Now, don't get too excited."} Mato said cheerfully. {"No one is allowed to start moving until I give the signal in… Three… Two… One… Go~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"}

With that, all the teams, who were not prepared for the event to start so abruptly, started moving from their hotels. And the team from Fairy Tail, with Laxus' speed, was the first to arrive at the central plaza.

"After choosing a slip, you can search the city for what it says on the slip." A Grand Magic Games staff member explained after the Thunder God Tribe arrived. "After you find the item on the paper, just bring it back here for verification. And if your item is deemed acceptable and you're one of the first eight teams to complete the task, you'll move on to the main event."

As soon as the staff member finished his explanation, Laxus stepped forward and grabbed a slip from the nearest table. Then, he opened it and read what it says.

"What does it say?" Saya asked while adjusting her glasses. "Is it something hard to find?"

"Don't worry, Saya." Laxus said confidently. "I got this. I'll be back in a second."

Then, without waiting for a reply, Laxus, with a confident smile on his face, turned into a bolt of yellow lightning and flew off in the direction of the hotel where the members of Fairy Tail were staying.

"So, what do you think it said?' Bickslow asked curiously.

"What did it say? What did it say?" Bickslow's dolls chorused a moment later.

"Who knows?" Evergreen replied with a shrug. "I just hope this doesn't take too long. This event interrupted my beauty sleep again."

Meanwhile, Fried remained silent as he looked in the direction where Laxus disappeared with a complicated look in his eyes.

'Why does Laxus have to get married?' Fried asked himself. 'I really don't like this. But I want Laxus to be happy. What should I do?'

Thoughts like these had been running through Fried's head ever since Laxus told him that he would be marrying Saya and Chico. And deep down, he was happy that Laxus had found the people he wanted to spend his life with. In fact, even if Laxus had told him that he wanted to be with him, Fried would not have felt much different.

Because contrary to popular belief, Fried was not interested in Laxus romantically. Rather, his obsession was a form of idol worship. And in Fried's mind, his idol, Laxus was meant for everyone. And monopolizing him was as close to blasphemy as one could get.

While Bickslow, Evergreen, and Saya speculated on what could have been written on the slip Laxus picked up, and Fried contemplated life, members of the other guilds started showing up at the central plaza. And to no one's surprise, Lamia Scale was the first to arrive. Following them was Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus. And the fifth team to arrive was the last of the most well-known guilds in Fiore, Quatro Cerberus. However, what surprised everyone was the man leading the team.

"So, he's finally back." Fried, who was pulled out of his contemplations when Quatro Cerberus arrived, said with is eyes narrowed. "And he's gotten a lot stronger."

"On top of that, is he… sober?" Bickslow asked in a confused tone.

"Sober? Sober?" Bickslow's dolls chorused.

Naturally, the person Fried and Bickslow were talking about was the Ace of Quatro Cerberus who had disappeared for almost two years, Bacchus Groh. And he was leading a group of four wizards, Ikaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Might Guy, and Genma Shiranui.

"Alright, boys!" Bacchus, not paying attention to the gazes he received, shouted energetically. "Let's show Fiore just how Wild Quatro Cerberus can be!"

After shouting that, he rushed towards the nearest table, swiped a slip of paper, read what it said, and rushed off with his team after informing them about the slip.

"I think he really was sober." Evergreen said while watching the members of Quatro Cerberus run off. "And he didn't ogle me at all. That's definitely a first."

"Who was that, exactly?" Saya asked in a confused tone. "I don't' remember seeing him or those two guys wearing flak jackets last year."

"Oh, that's right, you weren't a member of the guild before he disappeared from the public eye." Bickslow said in a tone of realization.

Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen then went on to explain Bacchus', Guy's, and Genma's identities to Saya. While they were doing so, a bolt of yellow lightning fell from the sky. A moment later, it turned into Laxus. However, he was not alone.

Standing next to Laxus was Alfonzo, only wearing a pair of underwear, with an annoyed scowl on his face.

"Laxus, I'm going to kick your ass when we get back to magnolia." Alfonzo said in a pissed off tone. "And if I'm not verified as the item you needed, I'm going to make it ten times worse."

Hearing that, Laxus could not help but shudder. He knew Alfonzo was really pissed off right now. And he had not seen Alfonzo this angry since that time he sneak attacked him and almost hit him in the eye with a small lightning bolt. So, he knew he was in for a world of pain when they got back to Magnolia.

Meanwhile, Evergreen, Saya, and all the female staff members were staring at Alfonzo's perfectly chiseled body. Saya was even slightly ashamed because her fiancé was standing right there. Still, she could not pull her gaze away.

"Hahaha…. Don't worry, Alfonzo." Laxus said after a hollow chuckle. "I promise this will get verification without a problem."

After saying that, Laxus dragged Alfonzo towards the table. Then, he handed over the slip in his hands.

"A man with a unique hairstyle." The staff member read aloud. Then she looked at Alfonzo to verify.

Unfortunately, her gaze was drawn by Alfonzo's body, rather than his hair. So, she did not make the call right away.

"*Cough*" Laxus coughed loudly to bring the staff member back to her senses.

"Oh… Um… Sorry." The staff member stammered as her face reddened in embarrassment. "Um… that hair style is… Um… *Gulp* unique, indeed."

The verification process took longer than it should have, as the staff member kept stealing glances at Alfonzo's body. But she eventually finished her assessment.

"Team Fairy Tail has passed the preliminaries." The staff member said while smiling awkwardly. "Congratulations on advancing to the main event of the Grand Magic Games."

"Finally." Alfonzo said in a perturbed tone. "I'm going back to sleep. If anything other than Little Man wakes me up before morning, no matter what it is, I'm gonna kick your ass, Laxus."

After saying that, Alfonzo turned around as he was covered in arcs of violent electricity.

"Wait, before you go, Alfonzo." Bickslow said. "You should probably know that Bacchus is back. He's leading the team from Quatro Cerberus."

Hearing that, Alfonzo's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Noted." Alfonzo said before he vanished in a flash of violet light.

After that, the other seven teams who qualified for the Grand Magic Games arrived one after another And just as expected, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Quatro Cerberus, and Blue Pegasus, in that order, were the next to arrive. And they were followed by three less well known teams. But even if they were not well known guilds, they undoubtedly showed their guild's strength and ingenuity to make it into the top eight.