Another Mermaid Arrives

Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Rosemary Village.

April, x785.

The next morning, Erza slowly opened her eyes. Feeling the pair of arms wrapped around her and the warm body pressed against her back, she could not help but smile. A moment later, however, her face reddened as remembering what happened before passing out last night.

["You're finally awake."] Astraia said from Erza's inner world. ["I never thought I'd see the day you passed out from exhaustion."]

'*Sigh* Last night was a bit too much.' Erza replied. 'It's quite rare that I'm the focus of all of Alfonzo's love, after all.'

["*Chuckle* Indeed."] Astraia said mirthfully. ["Still, it may be a good idea to increase your stamina training. I doubt you enjoyed being overwhelmed so one-sidedly, after all."]

'I was thinking the same, actually.' Erza replied with a nod.

After that short conversation, Erza carefully removed Alfonzo's arms from around her waist to not wake him up. However, her efforts were for not as just before she moved his arms, Alfonzo's hug tightened.

"Good morning, Erza." Alfonzo said, the smile on his face evident in his tone. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." Erza replied. "Though, I'm not really happy about passing out like I did."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Alfonzo said before kissing Erza on the side of her neck. "I think I went a little overboard at the end."

"No, you have nothing to apologize for." Erza replied in a determined tone. "It just means that I need to increase my training."

Hearing that, Alfonzo chuckled.

"Well, I can hear it in your voice. No matter what I say, you won't change your mind." Alfonzo said as he started combing his fingers through Erza's hair. "Not that more training is a bad thing."

Like that, the two laid in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then Alfonzo slowly released his arms from around Erza's waist.

"Anyway, we should have breakfast." Alfonzo said as he sat up and stretched. "We've got a long drive ahead of us to get back to Magnolia."

With that, Alfonzo and Erza got out of bed. And while Alfonzo prepared breakfast, Erza packed their belongings.

Then, after a hardy breakfast, Alfonzo and Erza decided to head to Simon's house to say goodbye. However, when they opened the front door of Erza's house, they noticed dried blood splattered on the ground in it.

"Is this blood?" Erza asked, squatting down to investigate. "I wonder what it's from."

'I think I have a pretty good idea.' Alfonzo thought to himself with a grin. 'Simon did come by the house last night. But he never knocked on the door. I guess he heard the sounds of love making inside and… well…'

"We should report this to Simon." Erza said solemnly, looking up as she did so.

Shaking his head, Alfonzo did not have the heart to deny Erza. So, the duo made their way to Simon's house. And when Erza told Simon about the blood they found outside of her house, Alfonzo struggled to keep his laughter in check as Simon's face reddened while he stammered out an excuse about a cat catching a mouse or something.

Meanwhile, Erza, believing her old friend would not lie to her, nodded her head in understanding before informing Simon that she and Alfonzo would be leaving.

Deciding to accompany the two Fairy Tail wizards to their vehicle, which they parked outside the village due to the roads in the village being too narrow, Simon bid Erza farewell as she climbed into the Escalade while Alfonzo put the bags in the trunk.

Then, without a word to Alfonzo, Simon turned around and returned to the village.

"Why does it seem as if Simon doesn't like you very much?" Erza asked curiously as soon as Alfonzo took his seat behind the wheel.

"Who knows, Alfonzo said with a shrug. "It's probably because he hasn't' gotten to know me like he has with you and your other friends from the tower."

"Perhaps." Erza said with a nod.

And with that, Alfonzo and Erza began the twenty-five hour trip back to Magnolia, taking a break over night at the nearest town to Magnolia.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

The next day, when Alfonzo and Erza arrived in town, rain was falling in sheets. AS a result, the usually bustling town had a much more subdued atmosphere. Though, there was a certain beauty to the town when drenched in rain.

"I guess the guild will be rowdier than usual today." Erza said as she looked at the town through the Escalade's window.

"Yeah, no one likes to go out on a job in weather like this." Alfonzo replied while driving carefully through the town. "By the way, I heard the girls were going to decide how to deal with Yoruichi while we were gone. Are you sure you didn't wanna be a part of that?"

In response, Erza shook her head gently.

"I trust their judgement." Erza said. "And I know they will make the best possible decision."

"And what's your opinion on the matter?" Alfonzo asked curiously.

"I don't really have one." Erza replied. "Although what she did angered me, I don't know her well enough to know if it was done with malice or just a mistake in judgement."

"I see." Alfonzo replied.

With that, the conversation about Yoruichi ended and the couple continued to chat while they made their way to the guild hall.

If Alfonzo were to be honest, he did not care one way or another if the girls allowed Yoruichi to join his harem. Though, he was leaning slightly towards not letting her join. She did take advantage of him while he was drunk, after all. But he also knew that there was no malicious intent behind her actions, and that's why he said he'd let the girls decide.

Eventually, the Escalade pulled up to the guild. However, instead of parking in front of the sliding doors like usual, Alfonzo brought the Escalade around to the back of the guild hall before opening the path to the underground garage and parking there.

A few minutes later, Alfonzo and Erza stepped into the main hall through the elevator doors. And naturally, Elicia was the first to notice their arrival.

"Fonzie and Erza are back!" Elicia shouted happily.

Despite Elicia's loud shout, no one reacted to it. And the reason for that was simple. Other than a few people, Elicia included, the entire guild hall was embroiled in a brawl.

Seeing the sight in front of them once they exited the elevator, Alfonzo could only smile wryly while tilting his head to dodge a mug of ale that came flying at him, allowing it to crash in to the closed elevator doors behind him.

Erza, on the other hand, was scanning the guild hall with a solemn expression on her face. All the while, her left eyebrow was twitching in irritation.

"Well, it looks like a few people, and by a few people, I mean a lot of people, are about to have a bad time." Alfonzo muttered while his wry smile widened.

"That's enough!" Erza shouted loudly as she unsheathed her [Soul Armament]. "[Deliver Justice as Swiftly as the Wind, Astraia]."

In the next instant, just as all the brawlers froze due to the sound of Erza's voice, Erza vanished from where she stood with a gust of wind.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

Then, near simultaneously, all those taking part in the brawl squatted down and covered their heads with pain-filled expressions on their faces.

*Bang!*

Followed by the sound of something smashing into a wall.

"I still can't control it." Erza said as she took a step away from the wall next to the bar while rubbing her reddened nose.

["What did you expect?"] Astraia asked in an exasperated tone. ["It's only been three days since you first used it. On top of that, you haven't used it since then, either."]

"I guess you're right." Erza muttered in response as her eyes narrowed.

Then, Erza spun around to glare at the members of the guild while still rubbing her nose, stifling the laughter that would have undoubtedly erupted had she not done so.

"I swear, this is all you lot ever do." Erza said, switching from rubbing her nose to her forehead. Then, she glared in the direction of the quest board. "And for the love of everything holy, Nab, please pick a job!"

Hearing that, Nab could not help but flinch. Still, he continued to look through each quest posting with concentration.

"*Sigh* Why can't you all use your time to do something more constructive?" Erza asked while shaking her head.

Then, Erza walked over to the table where she and her friends usually sat.

"Welcome back, Erza." Elicia said with a smile.

"Thanks." Erza replied, letting a smile creep onto her face as well. "It's good to be back."

"Is that your unsealed [Soul Armament?" Sun asked with curiosity shining in her eyes.

"Indeed." Erza replied with a nod as she dispelled the release, the fairy wings on the handguard retracting as she did so. "Her name is Astraia."

'Goddess of Justice, huh?' Elicia thought to herself after hearing Erza's [Armament Spirit's] name. 'It really suits her.'

"So, how was it seeing your old village again?" Marin asked while patting the seat next to her. "And how was your time alone with Fonzie?"

"Both were quite enjoyable." Erza said, a slight dusting of red appearing on her cheeks as she sheathed Astraia and took a seat next to Marin.

"Ooh, I need details, girl!" Marin said excitedly.

Not only Marin, but all the girls who were not part of the brawl showed interest in Erza's story. Meanwhile, those who took part in the brawl, namely Cana and Ultear, glared at her as they returned to the table. Still, they listened to her story in fascination, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who had seemingly been forgotten, turned around and pressed the elevator call button.

"I guess I'll go report on the quest." Alfonzo muttered as the elevator doors opened.

A few hours later, after giving Ur his report, and spending some time talking to his guild mates, Alfonzo decided to go back to the mansion. Although he was pretty sure the materials for Mermaid Heel's training rooms would not be delivered in such heavy rain, stranger things had happened before.

Meanwhile, the others living in his mansion decided to wait out the rain. So, he made the trip back home, alone.

"Our birthday is coming soon." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he drove down the street leading to his house. "I guess now's the time to do it."

["Are you talking about finally forgiving Lici?"] Riot asked, speaking for the first time in nearly three days. ["It's already been, like, two months."]

"Yeah, I'll be doing that, too." Alfonzo replied while focusing on the road. "But that's not what I was talking about."

["Hmm… This sounds quite interesting."] Bedlam said in an amused tone. ["You're not even letting us know. I tried peeking into your thoughts, but you're shielding them. I didn't even know that was possible."]

["Come on, Dude, just tell us."] Riot said in an irritated tone. Despite his irritation, however, he did not raise his voice. ["It's not like we can tell anyone and spoil the surprise."]

'Is that anger management shit actually working?' Alfonzo and Bedlam thought at the same time.

["He's right, you know."] Bedlam said, speaking in the tone of a shady merchant. ["Why don't you just tell us. Maybe we can help you brainstorm for whatever you're planning."]

Realizing the two [Soul Armament Spirits] were correct, Alfonzo wondered why he had been keeping it a secret from them in the first place. Well, he knew why he kept it a secret from Riot. And that was because if that guy knew, he would go into full simp mode.

Nearing the front gate of his mansion, and just as he was about to tell Riot and Bedlam what he was planning for his and Elicia's birthday, Alfonzo caught sight of an abnormal female silhouette lying on the ground between his and the Seto family's mansion with an umbrella being blown away by the wind not far away from her.

"Oh, hell nah." Alfonzo groaned after recognizing the silhouette. "Even if it happened a few years later than I expected, I still don't wanna deal with the shit she'll definitely brings with her."

As Alfonzo got closer to his mansion's gate, the identity of the silhouette on the ground solidified in his mind more and more. And when he made eye contact with the beautiful young woman with pink eyes and hair tied into twin tails, a petite figure, and a yellow fish tail in place of legs, his hunch tuned into certainty.