Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October 20, x791.
Time passed quickly after Alfonzo, Elicia, and the rest of the Phantom Troupe Subjugation Team returned from Stella. And while some of the team was happy to be back, there were several members who were distraught at the time of return.
For example, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Elfman were among the few who were suffering after returning from Stella. Though, their suffering did not begin immediately. In fact, the only one of the six who was being punished immediately for destroying part of Altair was Cana, whose punishment was to not drink for a month.
The others, Bickslow, Evergreen, Ultear, Elfman, and Sun, had to help with Harvest Festival preparations. So, their punishments were pushed back for the time being.
And speaking of the Harvest Festival…
There were the three events that everyone was looking forward to. Namely, the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant, the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament, and the Phantasia Parade. So, there really was no way to start punishing the three. Though, Alfonzo could think of some punishments for Ultear and Sun that would have nothing to do with those events.
Then, again, what he was thinking probably would not be much of a punishment for his wives.
The Miss Fairy Tail Pageant went off without a hitch. And for the second time, Ultear ended up winning the title of Miss Fairy Tail. Then, everyone rushed to the arena set up outside of the town for the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament.
However, before the tournament could start, a representative from the Grand Magic Games Planning Committee showed up and made an announcement that left a few of the members of the guild dumbfounded.
"From this year forward, each guild may only send one team to the Grand magic Games." The representative said. "This rule has been implemented in the spirit of fairness. This way, more guilds will be able to display their abilities in front of the rest of the kingdom."
Despite what one would think, after that announcement was made, the competition between the members of the guild was cranked up to eleven. Because there was no chance that any members of the losing teams would be able to participate in the Grand Magic Games next year.
However, in the end, Team Steel Threads, Alfonzo, Elicia, Ur, Marin, and Sun came out victorious for the third year in a row. As a result, they would once again be representing the guild in the Grand Magic Games.
After that, all the Fairy Tail wizards, with the exception of Gildarts, who were banned from participating in the next event, rushed back to the town to get ready for the parade. And the Harvest Festival ended on a high note filled with laughter, cheers, a bit of destruction, and good memories for everyone involved.
The next few days after the Harvest Festival passed quickly, as well. While Elicia spent her time taking care of Amar'e, working on her clothing line, and training, Alfonzo did something similar. Training, researching the Dragon Cry Staff, and playing with the kids were the things he spent most of his time doing.
Alfonzo also began carrying out the punishments for the five members of the subjugation team who had yet to face any punishment.
First, for Ultear and Sun, their punishment was that they had to work at the guild as waitresses to earn points for his cooking both at the guild and at home. And the cavoite was that they could not gain points from taking quests. But on the flip side, they would not receive monetary payment from working at the guild.
Meaning, they had to both work at the guild and take quests to get money and Alfonzo's cooking.
At first, Ultear and Sun thought that a punishment like this would be easy. Neither was short on money. So, not working as a wizard for a month would not be much of an issue. And they were right about that. However, the fact that they had to cut back on some of their more luxurious pastimes was annoying.
Though, they could get around that issue by asking their parents for help. But that backfired rather quickly when they tried.
For example, Sun tried playing it smart by asking Ren for some spending money when her father was not around. However, Ren only smirked at her daughter and told her to ask her father.
That naturally caused Sun to pale immediately. Knowing what Gozaburo was like, she immediately decided that the things she wanted to buy or do could wait for a month.
On a side note, as Sun's punishment started the day they returned, she would not have even been able to ask Gozaburo to help her with financial aid. And the reason for that was simple.
As soon as Gozaburo found out that Alfonzo was punishing his precious baby girl, he threw himself at Alfonzo, wanting to fight his son-in-law to death. However, with only one backhand, Alfonzo sent Gozaburo flying into a wall of the guild hall, knocking him unconscious for three days.
Ultear faced the same response from Ur. In fact, Ur found it hilarious to see Ultear running around the guild serving food and drinks right after returning from a quest, still tired from exertion. So, there was no way she would make things easier for her daughter.
Then, there were the punishments for Bickslow, Evergreen, and Elfman. And their punishments were much simpler in comparison.
Like Ultear and Sun, all their accumulated points were taken away. However, they were not forced to do any serving work in the guild hall. In fact, life for the three did not change much from their usual lifestyles.
The only difference was the way they trained. Because… Alfonzo was in charge of their training schedules for the next month. And to everyone's surprise, Laxus actually joined them voluntarily. And because Laxus joined, Fried joined, as well.
Unfortunately, the only thing that did was increase the number of people who started the day exhausted and covered in bruises from three to five. Because Alfonzo made sure to push each of them to their absolute limits. Then, for a short time, he would push them just past them.
On top of that, each of them had to spar with Alfonzo while he was going all out in his base state. And other than Laxus, none of them could compare to Alfonzo's base state without unsealing their [soul Armaments]. Though, that's not to say that Laxus could face Alfonzo without unsealing his [Soul Armament], either. Instead, it meant that with Elexion unsealed, Laxus was about on par with Alfonzo when going all out in his base state.
"How was today's training?"? mavis asked with a smile after Alfonzo came down from training the others.
"Not bad." Alfonzo replied as he took a seat at the bar next to mavis. "They're adjusting quickly. But I guess I should expect nothing less from the strongest guild in Fiore."
"Yes, our wizards are some of the best." Mavis said, her smile widening as she spoke.
With that, Alfonzo and Mavis exchanged quick smiles. At the same time, Alfonzo raised his right hand to get the attention of one of the many waitresses navigating the pandemonium that usually happens in the guildhall's main hall.
"So, how are the new hires?" Alfonzo asked with a smirk, the air quotes audible in his tone.
"About what you'd expect." Mavis replied with a shrug. "The number of brawls has increased over the last few days. Mostly with Macao or Wakaba being sent flying from too much teasing."
"Yeah, that's about what I expected." Alfonzo replied with a shrug of his own.
"How can I help you?" A female voice asked in a strained tone, interrupting the conversation.
Turning to look in the direction of the voice, neither Alfonzo nor mavis were surprised to see Ultear standing there and gritting her teeth. Nor were they surprised to see her wearing a black and white maid uniform with a short skirt, a low neckline that showed off her cleavage, and a pair of black stockings with garter belts.
"Pfft! *cough* * Cough* Excuse me." Alfonzo said after stifling a bout of laughter. "Yeah, can I get a couple of chili cheese dogs and a beer?"
"What kind of beer would you like, sir?" Ultear replied, her tone growing even more strained after hearing Alfonzo's poor attempt at covering up his laughter.
"Oh, let me get the sour ale from Desierto." Alfonzo replied.
"Understood." Ultear replied. "Your order will be out shortly.
With that, Ultear turned away stiffly to relay Alfonzo's order to the chef. And that was when Alfonzo completely lost it.
"Ahahahahahaha!" Alfonzo laughed uproariously, drawing the attention of the other members of the guild.
Immediately, Ultear spun around, her face red with anger.
"Stop laughing, damn it!" Ultear shouted. "It's not funny. And what the hell kind of uniform is this? It looks like something Master Makarov would have come up with."
"Lici designed it." Alfonzo said innocently. "Besides, it wasn't me who chose the uniform for you."
"Yup, that was your mother." Mavis added.
Hearing that, Ultear froze momentarily. Then, she snapped her head to the side to look at Ur, who was sitting with Gildarts, Ren, and Gozaburo a little ways down the bar.
And when Ur felt her daughter's glare, she tilted her head in confusion. Then, when she saw that Ultear was standing in front of Mavis and Alfonzo, she understood why Ultear was so angry. However, instead of apologizing, she only laughed. Then, she raised her glass in a toasting gesture.
"Argh~~~~~~~~~~!" Ultear screamed in rage. "Mom, I'm gonna kill you!"
"Oh, you wanna go?" Ur asked with an amused expression on her face as she flared her magic power and coated her right hand with ice. "That's fine with me. But after I get done putting you in your place, I'm gonna punish you, as well."
Feeling her mother's magic power, Ultear did not flinch in the slightest. However, when she noticed the ice around Ur's hand, Ultear balked for a moment. Then, she snorted and turned away, returning her attention to Alfonzo and mavis.
"That's what I thought." Ur said in a victorious tone as she reeled in her magic power and dispelled the ice on her hand.
"*Cough* Anyway…" Ultear said, trying to pretend that her outburst never happened.
"That ice spankings still haunts you, huh?" Alfonzo asked with a grin.
"Shut up!" Ultear squealed, her face red once again. Though, this time it was from embarrassment instead of anger. "Anyway, why is my uniform like this? But Sun's is like that?"
As she asked her question, Ultear pointed at Sun, who was wearing her usual bright smile while serving drinks to Winry, Izumi, and the Elric Brothers while wearing a much more conservative maid uniform. Though, the skirt was still short. But there was no cleavage on display.
"Because no one wanted to hear Gozaburo's complaints if his little girl wore the same thing as you." Mavis replied while pointing at Gozaburo.
Ultear looked towards the group sitting around a table Mavis was pointing her finger before once again turning away when Ur looked at her again.
"*Sigh* I can't even get mad at that reason." Ultear grumbled. "I'm gonna have to have a talk with Lici, though. Why couldn't she make me a uniform like the ones she made for the girls at home?"
"Because they're professionals." Elicia said as she slid into the seat next to Alfonzo. She then pecked him on the cheek before continuing. "And you're… well… not."
"Plus, this is supposed to be a punishment, remember?" Alfonzo pointed out, as well. "So, making you uncomfortable is part of the deal."
As he finished, Alfonzo leaned back to look at Ultear, more specifically, her legs.
"Plus, those stockings make your legs look fucking sexy." Alfonzo added.
"I know, right?" Elicia chimed in. "I did a good job adding them to the design, didn't I?"
"Damn right." Alfonzo said as he sat up straight. "You deserve a reward for your excellent work, Lici."
"I hate both of you." Ultear said in a deadpan.
"No, you don't." Elicia said with a smile.
"Yeah, you know you love us." Alfonzo said with a smile of his own.
"Whatever." Ultear snorted while trying to hide a smile. "Anyway, I need to put in your order. Your food should be out shortly."
With that, Ultear finally turned around and walked away to put in Alfonzo's order. However, before the clicking of her high heels could even fade behind the noise of the guild hall, someone else ran up to Alfonzo excitedly.
"Hey, Alfonzo, spar with me!"
Turning around, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Mavis saw Little Elicia standing there wearing a blue short sleeved jacket with white sleeves and collar over a black t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of black and white sneakers, and a red baseball-style cap with a white front and a black Fairy Tail Emblem printed in the center.
"Lici, why does she look like…" Alfonzo asked in a dry tone.
"Because I thought it would be hilarious." Elicia replied with a smile. "And after seeing your expression, it was worth it."
The outfit Little Elicia was wearing was Elicia's take on Ash Ketchum's outfit from his Kanto League journey in the Pokémon anime.
"I see." Alfonzo said dryly. He then turned to Little Elicia. "You wanna spar with me? Why not Romeo?"
"Romeo is at his lesson with Totomaru." Little Elicia replied. "And no one else knows how to hold back. So, the spars end so fast that I can't improve."
"Well, I guess I can't argue with that." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "There are a lot of idiots in our guild. Anyway, yeah, I'll spar with you. Just let me get my food and finish eating."
"Yes!" Little Elicia cheered happily. "I love you, Alfonzo!"
*Click!* *Clack!*
*Bong~~~~!*
As soon as Elicia said she loved Alfonzo, she threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. At the same time, the sound of a pistol being racked could be heard. And that was quickly followed by the sound of Maes, the one who racked his firearm, being hit in the head by Gracia with the serving tray she was holding.
"Yup, filled with a bunch of idiots." Elicia said while smiling at Alfonzo and Little Elicia. "But I wouldn't trade any of them for the world."