Bacchus' Change

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

July 1, x788.

Not long after leaving the central plaza, Alfonzo returned to the hotel. And when he returned to his room, the first things he heard were Amar'e crying and Elicia trying to comfort him.

In fact, the reason Alfonzo was so annoyed was not because he was dragged out of his room by Laxus, nor was it because the loud buzzer and Mato's voice woke him up. Rather, it was because Amar'e was scared by the loud noise. And because of that, he wanted to beat someone up. Unfortunately, he could not beat up Mato. So, when Laxus showed up at his room, he became the target for Alfonzo's ire.

On a side note, because Alfonzo wanted to spend as much time with Amar'e as he could on this trip, Amar'e's crib was set up in Alfonzo's room. So, there was no nighttime fun between him and the girls.

"So, did Laxus get first place?" Elicia asked with a smile after she saw Alfonzo.

"Yeah." Alfonzo replied briefly.

"Well, that's good." Elicia said as she continued to rock Amar'e.

"That's good news, but what I heard after that isn't." Alfonzo said as he sat down next to Elicia and started making funny faces at his son. "Come on, Little Man, don't cry. Daddy's here."

That actually seemed to calm Amar'e down, as the volume of his cries lowered while he reached out for Alfonzo from Elicia's arms.

Seeing how ready to leave her Amar'e was, Elicia could not help pouting a little bit. Even so, she asked about the last thing Alfonzo said to her.

"What do you mean?" Elicia asked curiously. "What's not so good about the Grand Magic Games this year?"

"Bacchus is leading Quatro Cerberus' team." Alfonzo said as he took Amar'e into his arms.

Immediately, Elicia froze. However, that only lasted for a moment, as she frowned shortly afterwards.

"I hope he learned his lesson." Elicia said in a slightly dark tone. "Because if he hasn't, I might have to finish the job."

"*Sigh* Stop saying stuff like that." Alfonzo said as he poked Elicia on the nose while holding Amar'e, who was now happily playing with his hair, in the other arm. "It makes you a little scary. Besides, if he really wants a piece of me for something so stupid, I don't mind kicking his… *cough* Putting him in his place."

Naturally, Alfonzo had to correct himself, as he was about to start swearing in front of his son. And the fact that Elicia was glaring at him had nothing to do with it.

"Anyway, we can deal with Bacchus depending on the way he behaves if we meet him." Alfonzo said to change Elicia's focus. "for now, let's just get Little Man back to bed and get back to sleep ourselves, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Elicia said while shaking her head. "I just really hope he's changed."

July 7, x788.

The Grand Magic Games went by in a flash. And once again, Fairy Tail was crowned the champion and defended their title as the strongest guild in Fiore. But what really surprised Alfonzo and Elicia was the fact that they did not run into Bacchus even once during the Grand Magic Games.

Despite that, Bacchus surprised the people of Fiore greatly during the Grand Magic Games. For one, there were no sightings of him drinking, at all, during the festival. Secondly, He put on a phenomenal display during the games themselves, winning an event for Quatro Cerberus and tying in a battle round with Kagura of Mermaid Heel.

In fact, if he did not run into Kagura during the Grand Magic Game battle royale event on the last day, there was a chance that he could have led Quatro Cerberus to victory. However, because he was tied up with her for too long, they were unable to overtake Fairy Tail.

"Maybe Bacchus has changed." Alfonzo said while packing his luggage for the trip back to magnolia. "I mean, no one saw him drinking or flirting with women during the whole Grand Magic Games festival period."

"Maybe." Elicia replied while sketching a design for this year's fall collection. "but I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes."

In response, Alfonzo only shook his head as he continued to pack.

On a side note, Amar'e was currently out with Shizuka and Rika as they walked around the capital for the last time before the guild headed back to Magnolia.

"*Sigh* I guess I spoke him up." Alfonzo muttered.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

Not long after Alfonzo muttered to himself, there was a knock on the hotel room's door. And Alfonzo stood up to answer it after realizing that Elicia had no intention of doing so.

"What is it, Bacchus?' Alfonzo asked as he opened the door. "Did you come here to start shit? Because if Lici tries to kill you this time, I'm not gonna stop her. I'm just gonna get rid of the body and erase the evidence."

Hearing that, Bacchus, who was standing on the other side of the door, could not help but smile embarrassedly while scratching the side of his head.

"Um… Can I come in?" Bacchus asked.

Hearing Bacchus' question, Alfonzo did not answer immediately. Instead, he scrutinized his expression. And when he noticed genuine embarrassment and remorse, he stepped aside and allowed the man into the room.

In response, Bacchus nodded in gratitude before entering the room.

"*Sigh* Why are you here, Bacchus?" Elicia, who had finally put down her pencil after Bacchus was allowed entry, asked in a tone devoid of emotion.

"I… Uh… Actually came to… apologize." Bacchus said. "to the two of you.'

By now, Alfonzo had closed the door and moved to stand next to Elicia. And they were both looking at him with unfriendly gazes.

"And what exactly are you apologizing for?" Elicia asked as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"For everything." Bacchus replied quickly. "for imposing my misguided beliefs. For all the bad things I said about Alfonzo. For those threats I made even when you told me in no uncertain terms how you really felt about me…. Everything. I'm sincerely sorry for all the stuff I said and did to the two of you over the years."

As he reached the end of his apology, Bacchus actually dropped to his knees and bowed so deeply that his head was pressed on the floor. Despite his show of sincerity, neither Alfonzo nor Elicia said anything. And that situation lasted for nearly a minute.

"*Sigh* Get up." Alfonzo eventually said.

Hearing that, Bacchus raised his head to look at Alfonzo and Elicia, though he did not stand up.

"Look, I'm not gonna say I forgive you." Alfonzo said. "I mean, for years, you had been saying my fiancée come wife was in love with you and that I was forcing her to stay with me. You don't just get over that so quick, you know. But… I can at least say that I won't bring it up in the future. And if you actually continue to keep your shit together, then I might forgive you one day."

"I, on the other hand, don't' forgive you and never will" Elicia said bluntly. "If possible, I never want to see you again. But if I do, I don't ever want you to talk to me again. So, if that's all you had to say, you can leave."

"*Sigh* I understand." Bacchus said as he stood up from the floor. Then, he turned around and started walking towards the door as he continued. "Well, I guess I deserved that. Anyway, I apologized. And that was all I could do. Thanks for hearing me out, at least."

Just before Bacchus reached the door, Alfonzo called out to him from behind.

"Oh yeah, before you go." Alfonzo said, causing Bacchus to come to a stop. "What's the name of your new martial art. It was pretty interesting."

"[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]." Bacchus replied without turning around. "I learned it from an old man named Bang who teaches martial arts in a dojo on a mountain in Seven. He was the one who helped correct my attitude, too. I did have to make quite a few modifications to make it fit with my [Palm Magic], though."

After that, Bacchus opened the door and left while closing the door behind him. Unfortunately, because he never turned around, he never saw the completely amazed and dumbfounded expressions on Alfonzo's and Elicia's faces.

"Seriously, just what doesn't exist in this world?" Alfonzo asked after a few moments of silence.

"At this point, I really don't know." Elicia muttered in reply. "I kinda wonder if we'll ever run into Saitama, though. I mean, what would his catch phrase be in this world. 'I'm just a wizard for fun'?"

"Wouldn't that just make him an independent wizard?" Alfonzo asked. "Besides, I get the feeling he would be the only person on the continent that the Magic Council hated more than Fairy Tail."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Elicia replied with a nod.

A few moments later, Cana, Ultear, and Lucy, who had been out shopping, rushed into the room.

"Hey, we just saw Bacchus coming out of the hotel." Lucy said in a somewhat concerned tone. "He didn't try anything, did he?"

"Was he walking when you saw him?" Alfonzo asked with a smile, putting the thought of Saitama existing in this world out of his mind.

"Of course he was." Cana replied while rolling her eyes as she took a bottle of liquor out of her [Storage Card].

"Oh, I get it." Ultear said with a smile. "If he had done anything, there was no way he would have been able to walk out of the hotel, right?"

"Exactly." Elicia replied with a nod of her own.

"Yeah, they probably would have had to carry him out in a body bag if it were left up to Lici." Alfonzo said with a smile.

"Fonzie~~~!" Elicia whined.

"So, why was he here?" Cana asked curiously.

"To apologize." Alfonzo replied.

"Yeah, it looks like he really has cleaned up his act." Elicia added. "Still, I want nothing to do with him. And I told him that without mincing my words."

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Lucy said in an understanding tone. "I mean, he was a real pain in the butt, for a long time."

"Good for you, Girl.' Cana said as she walked over to Elicia's side and slung an arm over her shoulders. "Then, we should celebrate with a drink. Say Ahh!"

"Why are you acting like you need a reason to drink, Cana?" Ultear asked.

"I know, ri--- Mmph!" Elicia started to agree with Ultear. However, once her mouth was open wide enough, Cana shoved the bottle into her mouth.

"You mean how you always have to give Alfonzo a reason to ravage you, Tear?" Cana asked cheekily while continuing to pour the contents of her bottle into Elicia's mouth.

"*Sigh* Cana, if you don't stop, you're gonna choke Lici to death." Alfonzo said as he stepped forward to stop Ultear from starting a fight.

"Huh?" Cana exclaimed in confusion before looking down at Elicia, who was struggling to take the bottle out of her mouth while liquor was spilling from the sides of her lips and tears were forming in her eyes. "Oops…"

Cana then pulled the bottle out of Elicia's mouth before taking a swig.

"Sorry about that, Lici." Cana said.

However, instead of getting a reply, Elicia threw a punch that sent her flying and the bottle in her hand falling to the floor.

Luckily, Alfonzo reacted quickly, catching the bottle with a hand he made of metal before it could fall to the floor and shatter. Meanwhile, Elicia and Cana started to fight like the Fairy Tail wizards they were. They even managed to pull Ultear and Lucy into it.

Alfonzo, on the other hand, just watched from the bed. He did remember to coat the whole room in shock absorbing metal before anything got damaged, though. Because if Fairy Tail caused any property damage during the Grand Magic Games, they would never hear the end of it. On top of that, all the hard work they had done to raise their reputation would go down the drain.

"Well, they'll probably be at it for a while." Alfonzo muttered as he created a small metal coin in his right palm. "S-Class wizards have stamina in spades. For now, I'll just start researching that mysterious metal we got from killing those Wealth Hands in Tartarus. And if I'm quick, I might be finished before they're done."