Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
July, x788.
After talking about Alfonzo making a movie, the group finally got down to business, discussing the things Jenny wanted Alfonzo to make for her. By the time the two came to an agreement, the sun was about to set and everyone had gotten hungry.
"Um… Alfonzo, will you be making dinner?" Jenny asked bashfully. "I heard from Master bob that you're one of the best cooks in Ishgar, so I was hoping…"
Jenny's question caused all the Fairy Tail wizards, even those who were not sitting at the same table, to strain their ears
'Look at all these hungry mother fuckers.' Alfonzo muttered internally. 'How did they even hear our conversation over all the noise in the guild? Well, they're going to be thoroughly disappointed.'
"Probably." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But I'll be going home to cook. The appliances at my house are much better than the ones here in the guild."
All the wizards let out a collective groan when they heard that.
"Oh, okay." Jenny said while poking her index fingers together. "Then, um…. Do you think I could come over for dinner? I really wanna try your cooking after hearing Master bob rave about it so often."
"Are you trying to--- Kya!" Mirajane, who was still sitting in Alfonzo's lap immediately started to lash out again.
*Smack!*
Before she could say too much, however, Alfonzo once again slapped her on her but, causing her tirade to come to an abrupt end. On top of that…
"Mmm~~~!" Mirajane moaned from the stimulation before blushing in embarrassment.
Mirajane then pinched the arm Alfonzo had wrapped around her waist in a sign of her discontentment. Alfonzo, on the other hand, laughed at Mirajane's actions.
"Sure, you can come over for dinner." Elicia said with a smile. "It's not like cooking for one more person will be a problem for Fonzie, right?"
"Sure, I don't mind." Alfonzo replied.
When Elicia allowed Jenny to come to the house, Mirajane glared at her with an expression that screamed: "Traitor." And when Alfonzo gave his affirmation, she pinched him again while pouting as hard as she could.
"Anyway, let's get going." Alfonzo said as he stood up, bringing Mirajane with him in a princess carry.
Just like that, the entire group of people sitting at the table with Alfonzo, namely Alfonzo, eight of his nine wives, Saeko, Rika, Alzack, Bisca, Natsu, Lisanna, Happy, Gray, Juvia, Levy, Jet, Droy, Gajeel, and Jenny, stood up and made their way towards the guild hall's entrance. They also invited Laxus, the Thunder God Tribe, Chico, and Saya along as well.
Eventually, the rather large group made it to the Mansion on the Lake. And when Jenny saw it, she was completely shell shocked. Although she had seen larger houses, or rather castles, this was the first time she saw a residence like this one.
"Master Bob wasn't kidding." Jenny said in a dumbfounded tone. "This place is incredible."
"That's right, Alfonzo built it himself." Mirajane said smugly from her spot in Alfonzo's arms.
"Mira's acting like you, Lici." Cana said as she bumped Elicia with her hip.
"What do you mean?" Elicia asked in a clueless tone.
"She's acting like she was the one who achieved one of Alfonzo's accomplishments." Ultear said, bumping Elicia with her hip from the other side.
"Do I do that?" Elicia asked with wide eyes and an innocent expression on her face.
In response, everyone who heard that rolled their eyes. Then, they all decided to ignore the totally shameless Elicia. Meanwhile, Elicia giggled at everyone's reactions.
Not long afterwards, the group entered the house and were greeted by five of the six maids, namely Ikaruga, Maria, Mey-Rin, Ai, and Miyuki. Grayfia, on the other hand, was in the living room watching over Amar'e while he played.
Since Amar'e was awake, the group decided to head to the living room. And when they arrived, most of them were surprised by what they saw. The only exception being Jenny, who was visiting the mansion for the first time.
"Is Grayfia… smiling?" Sun asked with her eyes wide open in surprise.
That's right, what everyone was surprised by was Grayfia, who was smiling brightly while playing with Amar'e and helping him walk more stably. And Grayfia's smile was absolutely breath taking. What made it even more surprising was the fact that shew as smiling while still in her maid uniform.
As the epitome of a professional maid, Grayfia always wore a stoic expression when she was on duty. Yet, when she was playing with Amar'e, that ice-cold expression had melted away.
When Grayfia heard Sun's confused voice, she turned around in shock. Then, her cheeks turned a light shade of pink before her expression returned to her usual stoic one.
"Good evening, Master Alfonzo." Grayfia said after standing up and dusting off her apron dress. "I hope your trip outside went well. Oh, and I see we have a guest."
Now, everyone was dumbfounded for another reason. Grayfia had just acted as if nothing happened after getting her bearings back. In fact, her change was so complete that no one could even see the slight embarrassment and shock she showed only a moment ago.
However, no one could stay focused on Grayfia for long, as Amar'e had also seen the large group of people who entered the living room. More specifically, he had seen his parents. So, with a happy smile on his face, he walked towards them as fast as his little unsteady legs could carry him.
Seeing that, Elicia wanted to rush forward to pick up her son. However, before she could step forward, Alfonzo grabbed her arm without even looking in her direction.
"Fonzie, what's wrong?" Elicia asked with a confused expression on her face.
"Let him come over on his own.' Alfonzo said while smiling proudly. "Little Man is trying so hard to come and give us a hug. Don't ruin it for him."
After hearing that Elicia turned back to watch Amar'e toddle over to them. And when she saw the smile on his face and the way his arms were stretched out for a hug, she smiled just as proudly as Alfonzo.
"Oh, my goodness, he's so cute." Jenny said while covering her mouth and watching Amar'e with sparkling eyes. "Is that Alfonzo's and Elicia's son?"
"Yeah, he's really cute, isn't he?" Marin asked with a smile. "Everyone absolutely adores that little boy. And with good reason."
Jenny nodded her head vigorously in understanding. At the same time, Alfonzo, who had been carrying Mirajane since they left the guild hall, put her down next to him. Then, he focused on Amar'e. And he had to fight his desire to rush forward every time Amar'e started to wobble.
"It's only been a little more than a week since he started walking, right?" Chico asked in an amazed tone.
"That's right." Saya replied. "I still remember when Alfonzo called everyone to come celebrate."
"But look how well he's walking already." Chico said. "He's a genius, right?"
"Well, he is Fonzie's and Lici's kid." Cana said as she put away her bottle of liquor. "Did you really expect anything less?"
All those present continued to talk about Amar'e's progress in hushed tones while watching Amar'e slowly approach. And when Amar'e finally arrived and wrapped his little arms around one of Alfonzo's and Elicia's legs each, everyone cheered happily.
At the same time, both Alfonzo and Elicia bent down and picked up Amar'e together with happy smiles on their faces.
"Hey, Little Man, did you miss us?" Alfonzo asked with a great big, doting smile on his face.
"''Cause Mommy missed her little Mar'e." Elicia added before planting a big kiss on Amar'e's cheek.
In response, Amar'e laughed happily as he grabbed a handful of Alfonzo's hair.
After cheering on Amar'e for a while, everyone other than Alfonzo and Grayfia sat down to chat and play with Amar'e. Alfonzo, on the other hand, took Grayfia and grabbed Maria along the way to make dinner.
A few hours later, dinner was finished and everyone was allowed to relax in the mansion as they saw fit. They could even spend the night if they wanted to. And most of those present took Alfonzo up on the offer.
On a side note, Mirajane tried to drive Jenny away to stay at a hotel. But she was quickly stopped by the others.
On another note, with Edward's, Alphonse's, and Izumi's [Alchemy], the interior of the mansion was expanded, since with the addition of all the new residents, there was no space left in Alfonzo's original design. And with the aid of Alfonzo's space expansion sigils, the mansion kept its original external appearance. Though the inside was significantly increased in size.
While everyone was playing around and having fun, Alfonzo had returned to his bedroom. More specifically, to the workshop that was built off of his bedroom. And he brought Ai along with him, having her act as his assistant and teaching her about item crafting at the same time, while he worked on completing Jenny's order.
"This time, we'll be making weapons." Alfonzo said as he began producing metal parts with Riot's and Bedlam's released states. "Jenny's already got enough armored suits. She just needs weapon attachments to make her stronger."
"But isn't this a bad idea, Master Alfonzo?" Ai asked in a slightly concerned tone as she watched Alfonzo produce the parts. "If she gets stronger, won't that lead to Blue Pegasus getting stronger? And wouldn't that increase the chances of Fairy Tail losing in the Grand Magic Games?"
"I hope it does." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Keep this to yourself, Ai. But most people don't know that Lici and I aren't allowed to participate in the Battle of Fairy Tail tournament for a spot in the Grand Magic Games until Laxus and his team lose."
Ai's mouth opened into an O-shape when she heard that.
"Ur made us promise that we wouldn't." Alfonzo continued. "And because I've been out on the job at the Village Hidden in the Leaves, no one finds it strange that we're not participating. But when that job is over at the end of the year, it won't make sense for us to not participate after that. So, I'm kinda hoping they lose next year."
Ai did not know how to react to what Alfonzo just said. On one hand, she thought it was wrong for Alfonzo to hope that his guild mates would lose. But on the other, she could completely understand where he was coming from. As one of the publicly recognized top three members of the guild, the fact that he couldn't show off the guild's might on such a large stage must have been torture. Especially since he was required to come and watch every year.
Shaking her head, Ai decided not to think about it any longer.
"So, what kind of weapons will you be making this time, Master Alfonzo?" Ai asked curiously.
"Magic gatling guns, vulcan cannons, and magic power blades." Alfonzo replied.
"I'm not sure what vulcan cannons are." Ai said in a curious, yet concerned, tone. "I do have an idea what a magic power blade is, though. But I'm not sure it will work. But didn't you say that Master Goldstein instructed you to not make gatling guns for others?"
"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But these won't be like regular gatling guns that use magic bullets. Those are too dangerous."
"Then, what will be the difference?" Ai asked.
"This one will fire balls of compressed magic power." Alfonzo replied. "It will be like the [bullet Magic] Alzack learned. Jenny will be able to control the output when she fires. That way, unless she wants them to be lethal, they won't be."
"Oh, I get it." Ai replied in an enlightened tone. "But what is a vulcan cannon?"
"It's basically a shoulder mounted gatling gun. But the barrels are much shorter, making their accuracy worse." Alfonzo replied casually. "And because of the way they are mounted, they can't be aimed anywhere but where the wielder is facing. So, they are a lot less versatile. But in close-range, they can be pretty deadly."
"I see." Ai replied with a nod.
"I wonder where Master Alfonzo comes up with all these crazy ideas.' Ai thought to herself.
"Alright, let's get to work." Alfonzo said as he finished producing the necessary parts. "I'll tell you which sigils to inscribe and where to inscribe them. I know I usually let you do some metal working to get you some experience. But I wanna finish this job as fast as I can. Otherwise, Mira might really start a fight with Jenny."
"I understand." Ai replied as she bowed her head politely. "I'll work as fast as I can."
"No, work as stably as you can.' Alfonzo said. "We don't' want any mistakes, after all. You can worry about picking up the pace when you don't have to worry about making major mistakes."
"Understood." Ai said.
With that, the two started working in hopes that they would finish before Mirajane's patience ran out.
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