Surprise Visitors

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

June, x785.

After accepting Laxus' challenge, Alfonzo entered the elevator before pressing the button for the top floor.

["I wonder why Laxus was so confident, this time?"] Bedlam asked curiously. ["Did you hit him too hard last time and he forgot all the times you kicked his ass over the years?"]

"I don't think so." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head lightly.

["Then what do you think it was?"] Bedlam asked.

["Maybe he awoke a trait as a masochist."] Riot replied with a sneer. ["He probably grew to like the feeling of getting beat up."]

Hearing Riot's hypothesis, both Alfonzo and Bedlam could not help but shudder.

"Dude, that's fucking disgusting." Alfonzo said with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

["Yeah, I feel kinda sick after saying it, too."] Riot replied. ["Let's just forget I said that, okay?"]

In response, both Alfonzo and Bedlam nodded their heads in agreement.

["Anyway, what do you think he's up to?"] Bedlam asked curiously.

"If I had to guess..." Alfonzo began to say. "He probably just really wants a [Soul Armament] of his own. But he's too embarrassed to just ask me for it. Especially if you consider the way he used to ask me for things in the past."

Hearing Alfonzo's thoughts on the matter, Riot and Bedlam nodded their heads in understanding. Before they could continue the conversation, however, the elevator reached its destination before the doors slid open.

As soon as the doors were opened, Alfonzo caught sight of Ur, sitting behind her desk, listening to Wendy and Carla report about their time at Mermaid Heel.

"So, you learned a lot under Master Tsunade, huh?" Ur asked with a smile.

"Yes." Wendy replied with a pleased smile and a nod. "I should be able to help a lot more if anyone gets hurt."

"That's good." Ur replied with a smile of her own.

"Plus, now Wendy can explode her [Sky Dragon Slayer] spells on impact, too." Carla added, sounding even more proud of Wendy.

"Oh, really?" Ur asked with interest in her tone and gaze. "I'd like to see that. You'll have to show me what you learned during tomorrow's training."

"Okay." Wendy replied as she clenched her fists in front of her chest. "I'll show you that I didn't waste the opportunity Alfonzo got for me."

"No one thinks you did." Alfonzo said as he approached Wendy and Carla from behind.

While Ur and Carla noticed Alfonzo's arrival, Wendy, who had been engrossed in her conversation with Ur, jumped after hearing Alfonzo's voice. However, before she could panic, Alfonzo patted her on her head, causing her to calm down quickly.

"Easy, Wendy." Alfonzo said as he removed his hand from Wendy's head. "It's just me."

"Oh, Alfonzo..." Wendy said as she began patting her chest with her right hand. "It's just you."

"And how did your trip go?" Ur asked with an amused smile. "I heard your little problem left."

"Yeah, Yoruichi and Sui-Feng went back to wherever it is they and Master Unohana came from." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Something about Sui-Feng needing to be re-educated while Yoruichi would receive punishment from her clan, or some shit."

"I see." Ur nodded, having already heard that report from the other girls after Marin sent her letter. "But what is this about you poaching a member of Mermaid Heel's staff?"

"Oh, I hired a talented chef." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "She'll have more opportunities to grow her reputation if she works for me than she would at Mermaid Heel."

"Are you saying being your personal chef is a better job than working for a prestigious guild?" Ur asked with confusion in her tone.

"OH, that's right, I didn't tell you yet, huh?" Alfonzo asked with a sheepish grin. "You know that new company, Sixth Sense Holdings? Yeah, I'm the owner and CEO. I'm looking for someone to take over as CEO, though."

Hearing that, not only Ur but Wendy and Carla also dropped their jaws. They had all heard about Sixth Sense Holdings. But no one knew who the owner was. Though, in hindsight, it made sense that Alfonzo was its owner. It specialized in selling all the things he had patents for, after all.

Naturally, being the most experienced, Ur was the first to regain her bearings.

"Are you looking to sell any shares of the company?" Ur asked with the smile of a greedy merchant. "I'm sure having Fairy Tail as one of the shareholders would be great for business, wouldn't it?"

"We can talk about that later." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm here to give my report about my time at Mermaid Heel."

"Yeah, I guess that's the more important topic at the moment." Ur replied as she let her merchant-like smile slip away.

With that, Alfonzo explained that he had completed the work he was commissioned to do. Then, he handed Ur the guild's cut. Though, when she tried to take it from his hand, Alfonzo's fingers tightened around the wad of cash subconsciously.

"*Sigh* This feels like highway robbery." Alfonzo said as he finally released the cash.

"That's just the way it works." Ur replied with a shrug.

A moment later, however, Alfonzo wore a smile similar to the merchant-like smile Ur wore a few minutes ago.

"By the way, while I was installing the training rooms for Mermaid Heel, I found a way to make the gravity chambers safer." Alfonzo said. "Now, I can make it so that the effects of the heightened gravity only affect organic material in the range of the sigils, leaving the air untouched. Interested in having the guild's facilities upgraded?"

Hearing that, Ur's eyebrows began to twitch as she glanced down at the wad of Jewels in her hand.

"You can't just let the guild have this, can you?" Ur asked as she put the money in her hand away. "Anyway, how much are the upgrades and how much will they take to implement?"

Meanwhile, Wendy and Carla could only watch on in disbelief. They never expected that Alfonzo would have already found a way to get the money he had to hand over to the guild back.

"He really isn't willing to take a loss, is he?" Carla asked while continuing to watch Alfonzo and Ur.

"I guess you have to have a mindset like that if you want to be that strong." Wendy added while once again clenching her fists in front of her chest.

"Anyway, do you know when Gildarts will be back?" Alfonzo asked a moment later. "It's been a while since I sparred with him. And I wanna see how much I've grown."

"Nope, no clue." Ur replied with a shrug. "But he should be back within the next two months.

"I hope he's back in time." Alfonzo muttered quietly enough that no one could hear him clearly.

"What did you say, Kid?" Ur asked curiously.

"Don't worry about it." Alfonzo replied while waving off Ur's question. "You'll find out soon enough. Anyway, I'm gonna go home. I wanna sleep in my own bed."

"Go ahead, you've earned it." Ur said with a smile.

With that, Alfonzo nodded at Ur, Wendy, and Carla before turning around. Also, Wendy and Carla, having completed their reports, decided to follow Alfonzo back down stairs, too.

"Oh, before you leave, I received a letter from the old man." Ur said, stopping Alfonzo before he reached the elevator.

"The old man?" Alfonzo asked as he turned around. "You mean, Gramps?"

"That's right." Ur said as she rifled through one of her desk drawers. Then, after finding the letter in question, she set it on top of the desk. "Apparently, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, Lamia Scale, and, surprisingly, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, have made requests to have some of the same training facilities installed."

Hearing that, Alfonzo's expression fell.

"And let me guess..." Alfonzo said as he faced Ur. "You accepted all their requests, didn't you?"

"Of course." Ur replied with a nod. "Strengthening ties with our allies is a good thing, after all."

With that, the room fell into silence while Alfonzo stared into Ur's eyes unblinkingly.

"Is there a problem?" Ur asked in a confused tone.

"*Sigh* You do know that I'm a wizard before being a magic item crafter, right?" Alfonzo asked in an exasperated tone. "Just installing four of those training rooms took a month. And depending on the scale, this could take a really long time. So, how am I supposed to have time to take quest?"

Hearing that, Ur actually began to flush in embarrassment. She actually had not even considered that point. She was actually only concerned with gaining income for the guild, strengthening the bonds with their allies, and making a bond with a new ally, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"*Sigh* I'm sorry about that, Alfonzo." Ur replied in a genuinely remorseful tone. "I honestly was only thinking about the guild as a whole and how this would be a good thing for the guild. But I didn't consider your opinion on the matter."

Hearing that, Alfonzo's expression relaxed. He knew that Ur had no bad intentions, but he felt as if he had to remind Ur about his status as an S-Class wizard.

"Either way, they'll each be sending a representative to discuss the matter in the next few months." Ur continued. "But once this is all over, I'll make sure to talk to you about it before I accept any more requests."

"I guess that's all I can ask." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "At least I can space out the appointments."

With that, Alfonzo, Wendy and Carla finally made their way out of Ur's office. Meanwhile, Ur, while watching the young wizards disappear behind the closing elevator doors, could only shake her head.

"It's only been a few years, and he's changed so much." Ur said as she leaned back in her chair. "Although he's still unyielding about getting paid for the work he does, he doesn't jump at the chance to make money anymore. Well, when you get as rich as he is, I guess that will happen, huh? Even so, I can still remember when I came to him about getting that leg made. His eyes lit up so brightly..."

Little did Ur know, Alfonzo was more excited about creating the leg than the money he would get for it.

"... and I can still remember the face he made when Gray suggested that he do it for free, too." Ur continued as she chuckled at the memory. "But now, he stays so calm when the topic of making money comes up. It's amazing how much ten, or so, years can change someone."

With that thought spoken aloud, Ur leaned forward again before pressing her hands against her desk.

"*Sigh* I'm too young to be reminiscing like some old lady." Ur said as she pushed herself out of her chair. "I should go and spend time with my wizards."

Getting to that point, Ur could not help but smile.

"Maybe I'll start calling them my children in a few years like the old man did." Ur said as she walked around her desk and headed towards the elevator.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, Wendy, and Carla had just reached the guild's main hall. And only a few moments after stepping out of the elevator, they saw a little girl, about six years old running in their direction.

"Alfonzo!" Elicia, Maes Hughes' daughter, shouted as she ran towards Alfonzo. "You're back!"

A moment later, with a smile on his face, Alfonzo scooped up Elicia and held her in his arms.

"Hey little Elicia, did you miss me?" Alfonzo asked.

"Uh huh." The little Elicia nodded emphatically. Then, she looked at Alfonzo with sparkling eyes. "Did you bring me a souvenir?"

Hearing that, Alfonzo could not help but laugh. Meanwhile, Wendy and Carla looked at this scene with soft smiles.

"I did." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Go get Romeo and come meet me out by the Escalade."

"Okay~~~!" The little Elicia replied happily.

Then, Alfonzo put the little girl in his arms back on the floor and watched as she ran off to find Romeo.

"Alfonzo, when did you have time to buy souvenirs?" Wendy asked curiously.

"Oh, one day when you were training with Master Tsunade, I took a trip to Cedar." Alfonzo replied as he started walking towards the front doors. "And I saw some things I thought those two would like."

Curious to see what Alfonzo bought for the younger children, Wendy and Carla followed him outside.

A few moments later, Alfonzo was standing behind the Escalade with the trunk open and searching through his luggage. Not long later, two six year olds, Elicia and Romeo ran out of the guild hall and stopped next to Wendy and Carla.

"Alfonzo, what did you get us?" Romeo asked in an excited tone.

Looking back, Alfonzo saw Romeo and Elicia watching him with excitement and anticipation shining in their eyes.

"First, this is for you, Romeo." Alfonzo said as he handed a soft package to Romeo.

Taking the package quickly, Romeo looked up at Alfonzo with a question in his eyes.

"Go ahead, you can open it." Alfonzo said, answering Romeo's unasked question, with a smile.

Immediately, Romeo ripped the packaging open. And when he did, he found an orange scarf with a scale like pattern stitched into it.

"Whoa! It's just like Natsu's!" Romeo shouted excitedly before quickly wrapping the scarf around his neck.

"And what about me?" Elicia asked impatiently.

Reaching into the same piece of luggage, Alfonzo pulled out a rectangular package before handing it to Elicia. Then, without even asking with her gaze, Elicia ripped it open excitedly.

"A book?" Elicia said in a confused and somewhat disappointed tone.

"It's a book about magical beasts." Alfonzo said with a smile, having expected Elicia's reaction to some degree. "Since you're learning the [Arc of Embodiment], I thought you would like to be able to make your own magic beast friends."

At the thought of having her own magical beast companions, Elicia's eyes, which had started to dim after seeing the book, lit up once again. Then, she started flipping through the book to see pictures of the different magical beasts.

"Elicia, what do you say?" Maes, who had followed his daughter outside asked in a slightly reprimanding tone.

"You, too, Romeo." Macao said in a much more severe tone.

"Thank you, Alfonzo!" Romeo and Elicia shouted happily before turning around to show their fathers their gifts.

Meanwhile, Gracia, Maes wife, made her way over to Alfonzo.

"You really---" Gracia began to say.

"I know I didn't have to." Alfonzo said, cutting off Gracia. "But I wanted to. So, you don't have to worry about it."

"Lt. Colonel? Gracia, Elicia?"

Before the conversation between Alfonzo and Gracia could continue, the voice of a young man could be heard from the direction of the town.

Looking back, a short young man with long golden blond hair tied in a braid, a tall man wearing a suit of armor, and a young woman with long, light blonde hair and dark blue eyes approached from the distance.

"Ed? Al? Winry?" Maes asked after looking up when he heard his old title. Then, after recognizing the new arrivals, he smiled as he continued. "What are you three doing here?"