Chapter 23 - Sorcerer Weekly

---Two Years Later---

"Ugh...", I yawned waking up in my bed, "Tomorrows the day I move on to the next world...better make arrangements for my extended leave."

Having grown to 6ft tall now, I looked more like I was a teenager than seven years old. Rolling out of bed I did some stretches before heading downstairs. Finding Mirajane and Lisanna hurriedly eat breakfast, I said good morning to them. Nodding their heads they looked rather frazzled at the moment.

"Woke up late?", I chuckled.

"Yes!! Our model shoot with Sorcerer Weekly is today.", they said placing their dishes in the sink, "We will be back tonight, wish us luck!"

"Knock them dead.", I said with a smile as they ran out of the house, "Wait, what about the others!"

Already out of earshot by the time I asked, I sighed and went upstairs to check. Knocking on door to the girl's room, I found the women still sound asleep. Sighing I walked into the room and opened the curtains.

"Wake up ladies, you have big plans today remember? If you don't hurry, you are going to be late.", I sighed.

"It's not time yet...", Lucy groaned, "My alarm didn't go off."

"Lucy...your clock is broken.", I said glancing at the floor, "Some smashed it."

"What!?", she shrieked jumping out of bed, "What time is it!?"

"Twenty till eight.", I tried.

"Damn it Erza!!", Lucy shouted, "You broke my alarm again!!"

"...huh...", Erza yawned waking up from the yelling.

"If I lose my slot, I swear you are going to get it!", Lucy said throwing her pajamas off to get dressed in a hurry.

Glancing around, the other women with Sorcerer Weekly interviews this morning were already doing the same. Since Erza didn't wasn't going to try out, she wandered off to the bathroom. Shouting at her to hurry up, they said they needed to brush their teeth and freshen up.

"You need me to get you to the studio?", I asked the ladies.

"Yes...I am sorry to ask for help on short notice.", Sorano apologized, "We going to have time for breakfast?"

"Not looking like it...", Brandish sniffled.

"Have a breakfast bar, you will have enough time to finish it.", I reminded them.

Stumbling down to the kitchen after freshening up, the women grabbed a bar and walked through a portal I opened to get them there on time. Thanking me with hugs, they scrambled through in a hurry to get to check-in before it closed.

'I swear...if I wasn't around to keep them on time, they'd go crazy.', I thought making my breakfast.

"They gone?", Erza asked coming down the stairs, "Why do they all have to be so loud?"

"Yep, barely made it there. I have to ask...why are you destroying the alarm clocks?", I inquired with a smirk.

"It's not on purpose...", Erza said pushing her index fingers together, "They don't wake up, it keeps making noise, I get irritated, and then-"

Bashing her daughter on the head with her fist, Erza squealed and rubbed her head.

"What was that for!?", Erza said.

"This is the fifth time you have done this. You know how important this is for all of them.", Irene sighed.

"I know what when I am awake, but I was half asleep...", Erza complained.

"I swear...", Irene sighed.

Smiling at her, I asked what they wanted for breakfast. Telling me she wanted strawberry pancakes, Irene sighed and said she was going to turn into one. Saying that was crazy talk, Erza laughed it off and said it would have happened by now if it were true. Making breakfast for the three of us, the two of them left afterwards to see an Armorer about a refitting for Erza's current armor sets. Like the other women...she was maturing well which was a very good thing.

'Its funny, they have grown accustom enough to me that they aren't embarrassed to be seen by me anymore. Wonder if they see me as a kid brother or something else.', I thought looking out the window, 'At least I am not like those muscle bound idiots.'

Out in the back yard, the guys were busy with physical training. As they were starting to hit puberty, they were already eyeing girls in town and other Guilds. To achieve their goal of getting girlfriends...they had decided to train themselves to be built like me, a very tall order.

"Push it!!", Richard shouted, "No pain no gain!!"

"I am gonna puke...", wheezed Macbeth.

"I can't feel my arms!! Just like a real man!!!", Elfman laughed.

'I am regretting the decision to let them continue to live here...', I thought, 'Elfman may one day be my brother-in-law so he is fine but the others, well they need to learn hygiene and to clean up after themselves.'

Putting the dishes in the dishwasher, I headed out to get a report from Hermione and Levy. With my assistance, the two of them had been making huge strides in their research both for myself and their personal interest.

---Fairy Women's Dorm---

Knocking on their door, Hermione answered it with an exhausted look. Judging by her appearance, Levy and her got caught up in their research again and worked through the night.

"Morning...", she yawned.

"Sorry to wake you, I came over for the notes you had for me.", I apologized.

"One second...", she said stumbling away from the door.

Seeing the inside of their apartment, it looked like a hoarders home. They were amassing quite a collection of books, and were almost out of room. Seeing Levy asleep on some of the books, I shook my head with a smirk. Returning a few moments later with the notes, I thanked Hermione for their hard work. Nodding her head, she slammed the door in my face and collapsed. Hearing her hit the floor, I rubbed my forehead.

'Why are the young women in this world so terrible at maintaining their residence and themselves. Erza and company are just as bad as these two.', I thought.

Opening the door I picked her up, and carried her to her room. After laying Levy on her bed, I organized their books and left the apartment. I didn't want to mess with their stuff any more than that...even though their rooms looked dreadful.

'Gajeel...you have your work cut out for you man.', I thought walking out of the building, 'Wait...wasn't her room clean in the series? Does that mean...Gajeel is secretly a neat freak?'

Imagining him in a butler's outfit, I snickered and headed home.

---Guild Hall---

Stepping into the Guild Hall, the place was relatively empty as most people were out on quests. Seeing Makarov sitting on the counter talking with Rob, Bob, and Goldmine I gave them a nod and a wave.

"You aren't out on a quest today?", Bob asked.

"Not today, I am planning on taking a trip soon.", I chuckled, "I want to go out and do some exploring."

"Ah, to be young again.", Rob laughed.

"Getting to be too much living under the same roof with all those ladies?", Makarov snickered with a big grin.

Laughing at that, I said that if I complained about that someone needed to shoot me. Saying that I just wanted to explore the world for a bit, I said I was headed northwards to explore the Guiltina Continent. Saying I would be back in a year or two, I just wanted Makarov to know in case the Council asked about my whereabouts. Being the leader of the Wizard Saints was a pain sometimes as I got calls from the Council every now and then to handle problems. I kind of understood now why God Serena up and left...being on call 24/7 sucks ass.

"Not a problem! Have fun, and enjoy yourself.", Makarov chuckled.

"Bring back some Mead, the Frost Giant Meadery is up there. They hardly ever sell anything here in Ishgar.", Goldmine stated.

"Make in ten barrels!!", Makarov shouted, "I will pay you back for them!!"

"Got it.", I replied as I walked out.

Once I was out of the door, I could hear the men telling Makarov to invite them for drinks when I brought the mead back. Promising to do so, he said there was no guarantee there would be any left by the time they arrived though.

---Evening---

Listen to everyone talk about their auditions and interviews, they informed me that all of them got jobs. On top of the modeling gig, Lucy and Brandish secured internships to be reporters. All of them would start out modeling the latest fashion items, and when they got older they had the option of moving to more racy outfits like lingerie and swimwear.

'If they do that...I will need to make sure to buy every issue.', I thought hiding my smile, "Congratulations to all of you, I am happy you all made it big! We need to celebrate this special occasion!!"

Throwing a party in the backyard, I grilled us all up steaks, corn, and a few other items. While I was cooking the boys continued to train and swim around in the pool. The women helped me cook everything, and also did their best not to drool on me as they smelled the food cooking.

"Is it almost done...", Milianna purred with excitement, "It smells delicious!!"

"Meat!! Meat!! Meat!!", Erza shouted, "Medium Rare Meat!!"

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, I told the girls it would be a few more minutes. Circling the grill like vultures till it was ready, I barely got the food on their plates before they ran off to eat.

"Jeez, not even a thank you?", I chuckled.

"Thank you Mael, they sometimes forget their manners.", Irene sighed.

"It's fine, I am just giving them a hard time.", I replied with a smile, "How did her fitting go?"

"Fine, the armor will be ready next week.", Irene stated with a smile, "She is going to be asking you for your opinion on some suits of armor. Please give her your honest opinion."

"I see, I will do that then. It is a relief that he isn't trying to rip you off, I heard he has done that to a few customers recently.", I stated.

"Nope, I made sure he understands we get fair market rates.", Irene remarked with a smug grin.

Telling the boys dinner was ready, I set their food aside and took my portion over to where the girls were. Seeing them devour the food like it was going to run away, I was happy to see they liked the food.

"So, I wanted to let you know I am going on a trip starting tomorrow.", I told them, "Think you can watch the mansion while I am away?"

"Yeah, how long are you going to be gone?", Minerva asked.

"About two years, I am going to the Guiltina Continent to do some quests and explore.", I replied.

Stopping what they were doing, all of them looked at me to see if I was joking. When they realized I wasn't joking, they asked if they did something to upset me. Telling them it wasn't like that, I said I wanted to go north because I heard there were Dragons up there that were causing problems.

"Can we go?", Juvia asked with a pleading look.

"I don't think that's a good idea, the Guiltina Continent is a lot more dangerous than Ishgar.", I stated, "As you are now, you'd likely be killed almost immediately in a fight. That is something I can't stand thinking about."

"Oh...", they said looking depressed.

"It won't be too bad, you can still contact me if you need anything.", I reminded them, "I am a phone call away, and if you have any problems I will come to your aide immediately."

"Yeah...it's just, it's going to be boring while you are gone.", Lucy stated looking at her plate.

"I know, I am sorry it's on short notice but this gives you all time to get established in the modeling world. By the time I get back, I am sure all of you will be super famous models. Are you still going to want to live here?", I asked.

"OF COURSE!!", they shouted like I was an idiot.

"Well that's good to hear, living in this big house alone would suck.", I chuckled.

Telling them to worry about tomorrow later, I said tonight was their night to celebrate and to enjoy themselves. Finishing their meals, we went swimming a short time afterwards and enjoyed our time together.