Earth Land, Isgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
March 14, x792.
After signing the deal with the Nodding Chef, Alfonzo and Maria did not stay in Balsam Village any longer. And right around the time the sun set, they had returned to the Mansion on the Lake. They also gave Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla a ride back to Magnolia, as Alfonzo was driving the S 600.
As for Gray, Natsu, and Happy... Well, there wasn't enough space in the car for them to get a lift, as well. Plus, Natsu did not want a ride, anyway. So, there was no problem there.
What about Gray and Happy, you ask? Well, the three were kind of a packaged trio in Alfonzo's mind. So, he would have felt bad about giving one or two of them a ride and leaving the other(s) behind.
As for how the Ice Wizard and the Fire Dragon Slayer got back, Alfonzo did not care. But he did leave them with a warning that if they destroyed anything on their way back, he would punish them with "that." And that was more than enough to make both of them straighten up, give a military salute, and say "Ai, Sir!" In their best Happy impression.
Though, it was never made known that Alfonzo, till this day, had no idea what "that" was. But since it was enough to make those two idiots act right, Alfonzo would use it as often as possible to get them to do what needed to be done.
"You know, you don't actually have the right to punish them with 'that'." Erza said as she, Alfonzo, Lucy, Wendy, and Maria climbed out of the S 600 in the garage under the Mansion on the Lake. "If I'm not mistaken, only the guild master has that right."
"Oh, I am well aware." Alfonzo replied with a wide smile on his face. "But as long as they don't know that, everything is fine."
When Wendy heard that, her eyes widened in surprise. Carla, on the other hand, only shook her head.
"You... You tricked them?" Wendy asked in an aghast tone.
"I did." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "For their own good."
"He's right, Wendy." Carla said. "Leaving the two of them alone is a sure fire way to make sure that something gets destroyed. So, giving them something to fear is the best way to make them be as careful as possible."
"I suppose." Wendy said, still sounding a bit unsure.
"By the way, I still don't even know what 'that' is." Lucy said, her tone making it clear that her ignorance was frustrating her.
"Neither do I." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
"Nor do I." Erza added casually.
"Huh?" X 4
The chorus of confused sounds made Alfonzo laugh aloud while Erza looked at Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Maria with a confused expression. {Pic}
"Why are you looking at us like that?" Erza asked while tilting her head in confusion.
"What do you mean you don't know what 'that' is?" Lucy asked, her pitch rising proportionally to her level of confusion.
"Why would we know?" Erza asked a question in return.
"Because of how long you've been in the guild?" Wendy said, though it sounded more like a question.
"But we've never broken any guild rules." Erza countered. "So, there's no reason for us to have ever experienced 'that'."
"That still doesn't stop you from inquiring what 'that' is, though." Carla pointed out.
"You saw how scared Gray and Natsu were when I mentioned punishing them with that, right?" Alfonzo asked, drawing acknowledging nods from Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Maria. "Then, do you really think getting a straight answer from people who are so out of their minds scared would be possible?"
"In fact, we asked Natsu about it once." Erza added. "But he was so traumatized that he could not even answer."
Hearing that, the four ladies were all dumbfounded.
'What kind of punishment could do that to Natsu, of all people?' Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Maria asked themselves at the same time.
As the group of six chatted, they eventually reached the elevator. Then, after a quick ride up, they arrived on the ground floor of the mansion.
"Well then, we'll head to the guild hall to report on our quest." Erza said after the group stepped out of the elevator.
"Do we have to go now?" Lucy asked. She then turned and batted her eyes at Alfonzo. "I mean, we didn't eat at the Super Express Restaurant. And I'm pretty hungry."
That actually brought Erza up short. Although she was not feeling hungry before Lucy said anything...
*Growl!*
... her stomach had other ideas. And when it let everyone know what it was thinking, Erza's face flushed in embarrassment.
*Growl!* x 4
Yet, Erza's was not the only stomach that made its presence known. Lucy's, Wendy's, Carla's, and Maria's stomachs sounded shortly afterwards.
"Actually, I'm kinda hungry, too, Alfonzo." Wendy said while raising her hand shyly.
"Alright, I get it." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "I'll whip something up for you four while I cook dinner for me and Maria."
"Huh?" X 4
This time, it was Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla chorusing their confusion in unison.
"Why does it feel like we're just an afterthought?" Lucy asked what the other three were thinking.
"Because you kinda are?" Alfonzo replied in an innocent tone while tilting his head in his best impersonation of Sun. "I mean, Maria and I were on a date. And we came back so I could cook her a candle-lit dinner. But the four of you shamelessly asked to ride back with us. You even left your teammates behind."
Alfonzo's response caused Lucy's eyes to fly open and her jaw to drop while she pointed an accusing finger at him. Yet, she did not know how to retort him. Because on some level, what he said was true. For example, Team Natsu did ask if they could get a ride back to Magnolia. {Pic}
But it should be mentioned that TEAM NATSU as a whole asked for a ride back to Magnolia, not just the four ladies on the team. Granted, only the ladies came back with Alfonzo and Maria, but that was due to space constraints. Meaning, there simply was not enough space for everyone. And after some consideration, Gray decided to let them ride with Alfonzo while Natsu did not want to get in the car to begin with. So, that was how Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla ended up riding back with Alfonzo and Maria.
They definitely did not ditch Gray, Natsu, and Happy like Alfonzo made it seem.
"Anyway, I'll be in the kitchen." Alfonzo said as he turned away from the ladies. "You all can wait in the living room until the food is ready. Lici and the girls from Mermaid Heel are probably in there right now, too. I mean, if they managed to leave after what Lici and I have been doing to Yoruichi for the last few days, I'd be surprised."
As Alfonzo spoke the last sentence, his volume dropped quickly until he could barely be heard at all. Then, before Lucy could formulate her rebuttal to his earlier words, or the others could ask what he meant by his last sentence, he walked away, disappearing around a corner on the way to the kitchen.
Even after Alfonzo walked away, Lucy was still stuck pointing at Alfonzo while sputtering to form a sentence. Meanwhile, the other ladies exchanged confused glances while wondering what Alfonzo meant with his last sentence.
"Something tells me it would be better if we didn't know." Carla said sternly. "Especially Wendy. She doesn't need to be corrupted by their perversions."
"Carla! I'm not a little kid anymore." Wendy shouted with red cheeks.
"I'll ask them about it later." Erza said while looking in the direction Alfonzo left. "But for now, I'll hurry and get changed before Lucy snaps out of it."
"Not that it will take much effort for someone with [Requip Magic]." Maria said while shaking her head at Erza.
*Flash!*
And just as Maria said, Erza did not even move when she changed clothes, as she used her [Requip] magic to do so. And just like that, in the blink of an eye, Erza's [Heart Kreuz Armor] was gone, replaced by a white, long sleeved blouse with a blue ribbon tied around the collar and a pair of black leather boots.
"Alright, let's go." Erza said as she grabbed Lucy by her outstretched arm. "Alfonzo said Elicia should be in the living room with the girls from Mermaid Heel. And it would be rude if we did not at least go and say hi."
"Huh? Wait, Erza!" Lucy squealed as Erza dragged her along. "I can walk by myself. Besides, I need to say something to Alfonzo for calling us shameless."
"You can go tell him whatever you want after you figure out what it is you want to say." Erza replied without even looking back. "But for now, let us go to meet our guests."
Naturally, Lucy was incapable of fighting Erza's superhuman strength. So, she stopped trying after a few steps. Meanwhile, Maria, Wendy, and Carla followed close behind.
Eventually, the quartet reached the living room. And when they did, they found Elicia, Yoruichi, Rangiku, and Sui-Feng occupying the two couches. And like always, Sui-Feng was glaring at Elicia, which Elicia ignored. It was also a common occurrence to see Rangiku with an amused smile on her face.
But what was decidedly uncommon was seeing Yoruichi with her head lying on Elicia's lap while looking thoroughly exhausted. {Pic}
"Now I understand why Alfonzo said they should still be here.' Wendy said while looking at Yoruichi with concern. "But what did they do to her for her to look like that?"
"Like I said, you shouldn't ask." Carla repeated. "I'm sure it was something quite degenerate."
"Even so, I should at least see if she needs healing." Wendy said as she stepped past everyone else to approach Yoruichi.
"You're really sweet, Wendy." Yoruichi said as she turned her head to look at Wendy. "But I'm fine. This is a good kinda tired. The kinda tired I wish I could experience every day."
"Huh?" Wendy exclaimed in confusion, a question mark practically floating over her head.
"Yes, I definitely need to ask Alfonzo and Elicia about it later." Erza said with a determined expression on her face.
"You get serious about some of the strangest things." Lucy muttered.
"Then, you're not curious to know, Lucy?" Erza asked as she turned to look Lucy in the eyes.
"I… I didn't say that." Lucy said with her cheeks tinted red as she looked away. "But those two things are not the same. They can both be true at the same time."
Hearing the conversation between Erza and Lucy, Elicia could not help laughing.
"Welcome back, girls." Elicia said with a smile as she looked away from the clothing designs she was looking over. She then focused on Maria. "And how was the date, Maria? Did you have fun? Was it everything you thought it would be?"
Maria's immediate blush let everyone know there was a story to be told. So, with the hunger for gossip flashing in their eyes, everyone, even Sui-Feng, turned their attention to her and started pestering her for details.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo was in the kitchen preparing ingredients for dinner, both his candlelight dinner with maria and the food he planned to prepare for everyone else. Before he could actually start cooking, however, Grayfia stepped through the kitchen's entrance, drawing Alfonzo's attention.
"Welcome back, Master Alfonzo." Grayfia said, her usual stoic expression nowhere to be seen. Instead, she wore a gentle smile while rubbing her stomach with her left hand.
Seeing Grayfia, Alfonzo stepped away from the counter and approached her. And when he saw her rubbing her stomach, his guess about Grayfia's condition was almost confirmed.
"Maria told me you weren't feeling well this morning." Alfonzo said while trying to hide his excitement. "Is everything okay? Did you see Shizuka about it?"
In response, Grayfia took a deep breath. Then, her smile widened, becoming even more gentle.
"I did." Grayfia said, her voice choking up slightly as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. "And yes, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually."
Reaching that point, Grayfia stepped forward and wrapped Alfonzo in a hug. Then, with her head resting against his chest, she spoke again.
"Alfonzo… I'm pregnant." Grayfia said, her voice cracking from the overwhelming emotions. "We… We're going to be parents… We're going to have twins."
Hearing that, a wide smile spread across Alfonzo's face. Then, he wrapped his arms around Grayfia and lifted her off the floor before spinning her around happily. {Pic}
Unfortunately, he could not celebrate for too long. He had dinner to cook and a date to finish. Even though Maria would most definitely understand, he did not want to put her aside. So, he decisively gave Grayfia the day off tomorrow and was determined to spend as much time with her as he could while working on the barrier project for the kingdom.
'I just hope Irene and I can finish before Zeref makes his move.' Alfonzo thought to himself without letting his anxiety show. 'But even if we can't, I'll make damn sure he won't be able to hurt my family.'