The Morning After

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

September 18, x785.

The next morning, Alfonzo, lying in his bed in the new mansion's master bedroom, slowly opened his eyes. And like he had, so many times before, he felt a soft body snuggled up to him.

Looking down, Alfonzo saw exactly who he expected to see.

"We finally did it." Alfonzo muttered as he began combing his fingers through his new wife's hair. "We're finally married. And this time, there was no freak accident to prevent it."

Eventually, Alfonzo took a look around his new bedroom. Like the master bedroom in the old mansion, there was a bed large enough for him and all his girls to sleep comfortably. However, unlike in the old mansion, it was positioned on the wall opposite the door.

Then, to his right, there were two doors, one leading to the master bathroom while the other led to his closet.

And on the opposite wall, there was a third door. Not making the same mistake as last time, this one led to Alfonzo's workshop.

The biggest thing to take note of, however, was the fact that there were no extra closets for Elicia's clothes and shoes. There was also no workstation for Elicia in the room, either. And the reason for that was quite simple. This was not a room he would share with Elicia.

Although Alfonzo had forgiven Elicia for the incident with Yoruichi, there were still some lingering effects. On top of that, as the other girls were succeeding in leaving larger marks in his heart, he decided that all the girls would have their own bedrooms.

But since last night was his and Elicia's wedding night, she naturally spent the night in his room.

"What time is it, anyway?" Alfonzo muttered after taking in the sight of his new bedroom. Then, he looked up at the clock hanging over his workshop's door. "Damn, it's only 7 a.m. It's like a normal day."

Although the reception after the wedding lasted for more than ten hours, since it started so early, it was around 10 p.m. when it ended. Therefore, everyone got to bed, more or less, around the same time they usually would.

"Well, I guess it's time to get up." Alfonzo muttered as he gently pulled his arm away from Elicia. "I'm kinda hungry, too. I guess I'll make something for breakfast."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Alfonzo felt Elicia begin to stir. Then, not even a second later, her eyes opened slightly.

"I want pancakes..." Elicia muttered groggily. "Strawberries and whipped cream, too."

"I know." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "So, let's take a shower so we can start the day."

"'Kay..." Elicia replied sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

With that, Alfonzo climbed out of the bed and made his way towards the bathroom while Elicia slowly followed a few moments later.

Meanwhile, the other residents of the mansion, namely, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy, had all woken up as well. And like Alfonzo and Elicia, they started getting ready for the day. Then, one by one, they all made their way down to the kitchen.

"Holy hell!" Cana exclaimed after seeing the kitchen. "And I thought the kitchen in the old mansion was huge."

"Yeah, this place is massive." Marin added. "And look, are those grills? Fonzie actually put grills inside the house."

But isn't that dangerous?" Sun asked curiously while tilting her head.

"Normally, it would be." Erza replied. Then, she pointed at the ceiling above the grills. "But there look to be exhaust pipes that hang over the grills. So, it should be fine."

"Yeah, I doubt Alfonzo would ever overlook something like that." Ultear added. "Still, it makes you wonder what else is in this house."

In response, the other girls nodded their heads.

"Well, since I'm not planning on taking a quest today, I guess I'll explore after we finish training." Lucy said with an anticipatory smile.

"That's probably a good idea.' Ultear replied with a nod. "But more importantly, have any of you heard where Alfonzo and Lici are going for their honeymoon?"

The other girls all shook their heads in response.

"Actually, I don't think they've decided yet, either." Mirajane said while placing her right index finger on her lower lip. "I mean, the Harvest Festival is less than a month away, right? I don't think they wanna miss the Phantasia Parade."

"Ooh, or the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant." Sun said excitedly.

With that, Cana, Erza, Marin, Sun, and Lucy all looked at Ultear with competitive glints in their eyes.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Ultear asked with a wry smile. "I didn't think I would win last year, either."

"Indeed." Erza replied with a nod. "But the fact of the matter is that you did win. And I, for one, don't plan to let that happen a second time."

Once again, all the other girls who lost to Ultear in last year's Miss Fairy Tail pageant nodded their heads, the competitive glints in their eyes shining a little brighter as they did so.

"I don't think you all need to worry about that." Mirajane said with her usual pleasant smile. However, if one were to look closely, they would notice the sparkle of superiority shining in her eyes. "I'll be participating in the pageant this year, too. And since I'm already the most popular model in Sorcerer Weekly, I think this will be my win."

Immediately, all the girls snapped their heads in Mirajane's direction.

"Those are some pretty big words, Mira." Cana said with her eyes narrowed. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is."

Hearing that, not only Mirajane, but the other girls looked at Cana with interest.

"What did you have in mind?" Mirajane asked, the interest leaking into her tone.

Instead of cutting in, the rest of the girls focused their whole attentions on Cana.

"If one of us wins the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant..." Cana said, pausing for dramatic effect.

"Stop wasting time, Cana." Ultear said impatiently. "Just get to the point."

Holding her hands up disarmingly, Cana could only smile wryly at the intensity of the gazes she was receiving.

"Alright." Cana said, her expression turning serious as she did so. "If one of us wins the pageant this year, then, that girl gets to be the next one to marry Fonzie."

In response, the other six other girls all opened their eyes wide in surprise. A moment later, however, absurd amounts of battle intent flooded the kitchen.

"Whoa! What's going on in here?" Alzack, who was one of the people who spent the night in the mansion, asked after finding his way to the kitchen.

"Yeah, it feels like there's gonna be a fight." Natsu, another one of the guests who spent the night, asked excitedly. "You guys are gonna let me join, right?"

As Natsu asked his question, he flared his magic power, engulfing himself in a cloak of flames.

*Smack!*

"Not in the house." Alfonzo, who arrived only a moment after all the guests, said as he slapped Natsu upside the head with magic power covering his hand. "If you guys wanna fight, you can take it down to the basement or out to the back yard."

Immediately upon hearing the slap, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy turned their heads towards Alfonzo. Not only the seven of them, either. But Laki, Alzack, Gray, Elfman, Lisanna, Happy and Bisca also turned their heads in Alfonzo's direction. And when they did, they saw Alfonzo, with Elicia clinging to his arm and wearing a wide smile, standing behind Natsu with his hand raised with magic power dissipating from it.

"Come on, Alfonzo, you didn't have to hit me, did you?" Natsu asked while rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I think I did." Alfonzo replied as he walked past Natsu. "Words alone never seem to get through to you, after all."

With that, Alfonzo and Elicia walked past the rest of the crowd, greeting each person as they did so. Then, when they reached the other seven residents of the mansion, Alfonzo and Elicia separated.

"Anyway, I guess everyone's here." Alfonzo said after giving each of his girlfriends/fiancées a hug. "So, any requests for breakfast?"

By now, the battle intent from Cana and the others had been retracted. Then, they all requested their favorite breakfast foods. Not to be left out, the group Alzack led into the kitchen did the same.

"Alright, I guess I'll get started." Alfonzo said as he grabbed an apron hanging on the wall. "Lisanna, wanna give me a hand?"

"Sure." Lisanna said cheerfully. "The last time I helped you cook, I feel like I improved a lot."

Smiling in return, Alfonzo put on his apron while Lisanna bounced over and grabbed another apron for herself.

"I kinda wish I knew how to cook." Sun muttered. "Cooking with Alfonzo would be nice. Maybe I should ask Mom to teach me."

"I can help, too." Mirajane said as she began to approach.

"Me, too." Erza added.

Before Erza and Mirajane could get too far, Cana, Ultear, Marin, Sun, and Lucy grabbed Mirajane, stopping her in her tracks. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who had started washing his hands, quickly turned around while pointing his, still, wet right hand at Erza.

"Mira, are you trying to kill us?" Marin asked frantically.

"Absolutely not!" Alfonzo refuted strongly while pointing at Erza.

In response, Erza froze before hanging her head in disappointment. Meanwhile, Mirajane struggled against everyone who was trying to stop her.

"Let me go!" Mirajane shouted while struggling violently. "I'm not that bad, anymore."

"And who can prove that?" Ultear asked in a deadly serious tone.

"Elfman can!" Mirajane shouted. Then, she turned her head to look at her younger brother. "Tell them, Elfman!"

Instead of agreeing to what Mirajane said, Elfman shuddered just as violently as Mirajane was struggling as he paled rapidly while sweating profusely. Then, after making eye contact with his sister, he looked away, unable to agree with what she said.

"A real man doesn't tell lies, Big Sis..." Elfman muttered. "Even if you've improved, you still shouldn't serve your cooking to anyone."

Hearing that, Mirajane froze in shock. At first, she wanted to scold Elfman for betraying her. However, when she saw the tears in his eyes, she could not bring herself to do so.

In fact, the reason Mirajane thought that her cooking had improved was simple. Last time she tried, she asked Elfman to taste test for her. And when he did, he did not pass out, despite the fact that he finished everything on his plate. Unfortunately, because Mirajane was so happy, she missed the fact that he ran to the bathroom right afterwards.

On top of that, Mirajane had also slipped back into her habit of not tasting her food. So, she still has no clue how dangerous her cooking is. But after seeing Lisanna cooking with Alfonzo for the second time, she vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power to improve.

With that, Alfonzo and Lisanna started cooking breakfast while the others relocated to the kitchen table.

At the same time, in Ur's house, Ur was also just waking up.

Although she would usually wake up earlier, making sure that she was the first person to arrive at the guild hall each day, she decided that she could sleep in for a bit after the wedding. On top of that, she woke up in a good mood. Because despite how much she drank, she did not have a hangover.

"Damn, that kid went all out on the booze yesterday, huh?" Ur muttered to herself. "I drank so much last night. But I feel fresh as a daisy."

With that, Ur slowly opened her eyes, feeling that today would be a great day. However, once her vision came into focus, she froze with a terrified expression on her face.

"Why the fuck are you in my bed?" Ur shouted at the top of her lungs while flaring her magic power to its limit.

*Smack!*

At the same time, Ur, with all her strength, slapped the person she found in her bed while the temperature of the whole town dropped significantly.

Meanwhile, the person who was just slapped, Gildarts, woke up with a start. And when he saw Ur's enraged expression, he almost wet himself in fear.