Spreading the Happiness

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

July 8, x788.

After witnessing Amar'e's first steps, Alfonzo went to the kitchen to start cooking. However, because he was in such a good mood after seeing one of the big moments in his son's life, he asked Maria to go out and buy more ingredients. He intended to cook a feast for the occasion.

Accepting the orders. Maria quickly left with the shopping list Alfonzo wrote for her. Meanwhile, Alfonzo started preparing the Indigo Salmon. Then, once all the preparations were done and he put the Indigo Salmon in the oven, he took out his lPhone and started making calls.

"Hey, Ur. Come over for dinner tonight. We're celebrating Amar'e taking his first steps."

"Yo, Natsu. Bring Lisanna over to have dinner tonight. I'm cooking a feast."

"Gray. Are you and Juvia busy tonight? No? Well then, come over for dinner. I'm cooking up a feast."

Like that, Alfonzo invited the members of the guild he was closest to. Not only Alfonzo, however, all the ladies invited the people they were close to, as well.

Eventually Maria returned with all the ingredients Alfonzo requested. Then, she and Grayfia assisted Alfonzo, who was smiling brightly the entire time, in cooking tonight's feast.

A few hours later, Ur, Gildarts, Wendy, and Carla arrived at the mansion on the lake.

"Hey, Ur." Elicia said with a smile. "I guess Fonzie called you, huh?"

"That's right." Ur replied with a smile as she patted Elicia on the shoulder. "I remember when Tear took her first step, I was just as excited as you all are."

"*Sigh* I'm jealous." Gildarts said with his head lowered. "I didn't get to see my Cana take her first step."

"Where's Amar'e?" Carla asked, flying past the other three and stopping right in front of Elicia's face.

"Carla acts so different whenever Mar'e is involved." Elicia said with a giggle. "He's in the play area in the living room. But don't be disappointed if he starts getting sleepy soon. He's been up all day."

Without a word, Carla flew past Elicia to find Amar'e.

"I bet Carla really wants a baby, too." Wendy said.

"And what about you?" Elicia asked in a mischievous tone. "I saw how close you were to Lee when we were in the Leaf Village."

Immediately, Wendy turned as red as an apple. Then, she lowered her head in embarrassment and started poking her index fingers together.

"Ooh! Wendy, you're still so cute, even though you're already sixteen." Elicia squealed and pulled Wendy into a hug.

Wendy did not struggle. Though, her neck and ears turned as red as the rest of her face.

"Alright, that's enough teasing Wendy." Ur said with a chuckle. "Let's just go inside."

"Okay." Elicia replied with a smile. Though, she did not release Wendy.

With that, the four entered the house and moved to the living room to chat with everyone else.

Over the next hour, quite a few more members of Fairy Tail came over. And the most excited of all the guests was little Elicia, who, as soon as she entered the living room, started teaching Amar'e how to do things that involved walking.

Shortly after all the guests arrived, Grayfia entered the living room and let everyone know dinner was ready. So, everyone moved to the dining room. And when they arrived, they realized that when Alfonzo mentioned a big feast, he really meant big.

The dining room table was filled with dishes. Fish, Pork, Chicken, Beef, all sorts of vegetables, etc. However, that was not all. On either side of the dining room table, there were tables pushed up against the walls. And there were even more of the same foods lined up on those, as well. Their purpose was for the maids to refill any of the dishes on the table that were emptied during the meal.

On top of that, Alfonzo had taken out quite a few bottles of liquor from his private collection. The really private collection. The one that even Cana had not found a way to get into. Something that has left her quite depressed.

When everyone sat down to eat, Alfonzo instructed the maids to pour a glass of champagne for everyone. Then, when everyone's glasses were full, he stood up with his own glass in hand.

"I'm sure you all know why I asked you here.' Alfonzo said while smiling brightly. "Today, my Little Man took his first steps. And to show how proud of him I am, I organized this feast on the spur of the moment. So, please, everyone eat to your heart's content to celebrate this occasion with us. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone at the table shouted happily, as well.

After that, the meal unfolded in true Fairy Tail fashion with lots of laughter, several people gorging themselves until they could not eat anymore, and a few fights. Though, Alfonzo settled these fights rather quickly. Especially when it looked like the combatants would damage his house.

After dinner, Amar'e was the first to call it a night, as he just could not stay awake any longer. As for the others, they broke into smaller groups to enjoy the leisure facilities in Alfonzo's mansion. And during that time, a few interesting conversations took place.

"Erza, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Irene asked while wearing a black and red bikini and relaxing under an artificial sun lamp at the grotto.

"Don't you think it's time for you to try out love again, Mother?" Erza asked in a serious tone while wearing a blue and silver bikini.

It was a good thing that Irene was not drinking the cocktail that was placed on a table next to her sun chair at the moment. Otherwise, she would have undoubtedly spewed it all over herself and Erza after hearing that question.

"And why in the world would you ask me a question like that?" Irene asked with her eyes wide open and a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Mother, you've been alone for over four hundred years." Erza continued in the same tone. "Aren't you tired of living that way."

"Alone? What are you talking about?" Irene asked while looking away from Erza's piercing gaze. "I have Heine and Juliet, I'm not alone. Plus, I have you back in my life now. How could I possibly be considered alone."

Although she said that, Irene was not willing to make eye contact with Erza, who was currently staring a hole in the side of her head.

"You know what I meant, Mother." Erza said without changing her expression. "You missed the chance to raise me. But don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming you for it. But don't you wish to see your child grow?"

"If that's all you want for me, I can use an [Enchantment] to return you to the age of an infant." Irene said without turning to look in Erza's direction. "then, I'll be able to watch my child grow up."

Erza did not respond. Yet, Irene could feel her gaze boring into her soul.

"*Sigh* Do you really want me to find a man?" Irene asked after she could no longer handle Erza's gaze. "But who could even match my stature? More importantly, who wouldn't view me as a monster after finding out about my past?"

"There is one man that I can think of…" Erza replied. Then, she stopped to think about it for a while. "Actually, I can think of three. But one looks even older than you and Ur might kill the other one if he even suggested having another woman by his side."

"Please don't tell me you were just suggesting Makarov and Gildarts." Irene said as she finally turned towards Erza with a deadpan expression.

"I was just letting you know there were people who would accept you as you are." Erza said bluntly. "Naturally, I was not suggesting them. Besides, I said there were three, remember?"

"And let me guess, the third is Alfonzo, right?" Irene asked.

"Is there a man better than him in this world?" Erza asked in a confident tone.

"*Sigh* You really have a progressive way of thinking." Irene said while shaking her head in exasperation. "It must be those books you, Brandish, and Marin are always reading. They've warped your values."

"I assure you, my values have been warped in no way." Erza said righteously. "I still abhor injustice and I will not tolerate anyone harming my family, no matter who they may be."

After saying that, Erza reached out and took Irene's hand into her own.

"I just want you to be happy, Mother." Erza said in a gentle, sincere tone. "And I believe Alfonzo would make you happy. Happier than you are now, at the very least."

By now, Irene's expression was quite complicated. It's not to say that she did not see Alfonzo in a favorable light. In fact, she saw him quite favorably. However, the thought of her, a former queen, being in a harem with women who were all centuries younger than her was a bit off putting. However, she could probably get past that. But being harem sisters with her own daughter was more than she was ready for.

"I'll... think about it." Irene said as she turned away from Erza. "I'm just not sure about sharing a man with my own daughter."

"I understand." Erza said with a nod. "but I assure you, it won't be as awkward as you think."

Although there was no basis for Erza's statement, the amount of confidence contained in her words was awe inspiring. So much, in fact, that Irene almost agreed on the spot.

At the same time, Shizuka and Rika were taking a dip in the large bath on the mansion's first basement floor. And they were having a similar conversation.

"Why are you still waiting, Rika?" Shizuka asked while shaking Rika's arm.

With every one of Shizuka's movements, her breasts, which were floating on the water's surface, would jiggle that much more vigorously. It was a shame that there were no men… Scratch that. It was a shame that Alfonzo was not present to see such a glorious jiggle.

"*Sigh* I'm waiting for him to make a move." Rika said. "Although I like him, I don't want to seem desperate."

"You're being silly, Rika." Shizuka said with a pout. "Fonzie is so busy. Do you think he has time to make a move on you? You told me to be bold and go for what I wanted. But you're acting like this. Are you really the Rika I know?"

Shizuka was being abnormally assertive on this matter. And the reason was simple. Rika was her best friend. And she wanted her to be happy, just like she was. But Rika was making all sorts of excuses.

"It's because I'm breaking the rule I set for myself." Rika said while shaking her head. "I've been saying for years that I wouldn't even consider a man if he wasn't a better shot than me. But now I'm actually considering a man who doesn't even use a gun. I feel like all the things I've said in the past were a joke."

"So, you're saying you want to be single forever, then?" Shizuka asked. "Because that's what will happen if you stick to that rule you set for yourself. Rika, you're the best shot in the world. And that's not going to change."

Hearing that, Rika smiled despite herself. But hearing Shizuka compliment her always made her happy. Especially because there was never any falsehood or envy in Shizuka's tone when she did so.

"*Sigh* I know you're right, Shizuka." Rika said in a dramatic tone. "It really is lonely when you're at the top."

Shizuka giggled in response as she wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"Oh, stop it." Shizuka said while smiling brightly. "Just stop being silly and go after what you want. That's what the Rika I know would do."

"Yeah, I guess I am being silly, aren't I?" Rika said with a smile of her own. "Besides, with Alfonzo's help, I'll probably be an even better shot than I am now. So, why am I even hesitating?"

"Exactly!" Shizuka cheered. "So, let's go!"

Reaching that point, Shizuka stood up explosively, putting her dripping wet, bombastic body on full display.

"Huh? Go where?" Rika asked curiously as her arm was grabbed. "Wait…. You don't mean to find Alfonzo, right?"

"Of course, I do." Shizuka said while nodding her head. "Why wait? You've already made your decision, right?"

With that, Shizuka pulled Rika up and out of the bath. Then, she started dragging her towards the dressing room.

"Wait! Shizuka, I said wait." Rika said while struggling against Shizuka to no avail. "I'm not ready for this yet. Damn it, I said wait. Why the hell are you so strong? Someone! Help! Shizuka is kidnapping me!"

When struggling did not work, Rika resorted to screaming for help. Unfortunately, they were the only ones on this floor. So, there was no one to hear her cries. Then again, even if there was someone to hear her, they would only think the two best friends were playing around.