Chapter 76: The Seto Family
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Akane Beach.
January, x781.
After Masa opened the door, he gestured for Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza to enter the room. Then, after the trio, Masa entered, closing the door behind him, before taking his place behind the three people sitting behind a desk on the opposite side of the room.
Looking forward at the room's occupants, the trio of Fairy Tail wizards saw a man, a woman, and a girl that appeared to be a year or two younger than them.
The man was tall with short, spiky black hair, black eyes, thick eyebrows, a thin mustache over the corners of his lips, a bit of stubble on his chin, and a pair of eye-catching scars that run across his face horizontally, crossing over the bridge of his nose, and vertically, running from just below his hairline, over his left eye, to his jaw. Sitting behind the center of the desk, he wore a dark grey kimono with a black a sash.
The woman, sitting to the man's right, was a charming woman appearing to be in her late thirties with chin-length straight black hair with a dark blue sheen and eyes of the same color. Over the middle of her forehead, a single lock of her hair fell to the bridge of her nose. Like the man sitting next to her, presumed to be her husband, she also wore a kimono. Though, hers was violet with a crimson obi.
Lastly, the girl, who sat to the man's left, wore a bright red kimono with a light green obi. She had waist-length, light brown hair with square bangs that covered her forehead and the space between her large, light brown eyes that were filled with curiosity and innocence.
'Yeah, those are definitely Gozaburo, Ren, and Sun Seto from My Bride is a Mermaid/Seto no Hanayome.' Alfonzo and Elicia thought simultaneously after seeing the three people in the room.
"So, you brats are the wizards from Fairy Tail, huh?" The man, Gozaburo Seto, said after sizing up the three young wizards in front of him. "You don't look like much. But that magic power I can feel from ya says otherwise."
"Now, Dear." The woman, Ren Seto, said in a reprimanding tone. "You shouldn't be rude. They are here to help us."
"Yeah, yeah." Gozaburo said in a dismissive tone as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, I'm Gozaburo Seto, the Chief of the Seto Group."
And I'm his wife, Ren Seto." Ren said with a smile. Then, she gestured toward the girl and continued. "And this is our daughter, Sun Seto."
"Hi, it's nice to meet ya." Sun said with a friendly smile while lightly waving her right hand.
"It's a pleasure." Alfonzo said with a smile of his own, briefly making eye contact with the three members of the Seto family. "I'm---"
"Hey brat!" Gozaburo interrupted, glaring at Alfonzo. "You better watch those eyes of yours before you lose them. How dare you gawk at my beautiful, perfect little Sun?"
'Fucking great…' Alfonzo groaned internally. 'Now I have to deal with another, more prone to violent outbursts, Gildarts. 'I pray to everything that is holy that I don't happen to see Sun in her true form… If that's even how things work in this version.'
*Smack!*
"Dear, you need to control yourself." Ren said after smacking Gozaburo upside the head.
Sun, on the other hand, continued to gaze at Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza with curiosity, not seeming to even notice her father's outburst.
'I bet they have some really good stories to tell.' Sun thought to herself while Ren reigned in Gozaburo's unreasonable anger. 'I wonder if they would be willing to tell me about their adventures later.'
While those thoughts ran though Sun's head, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza were able to introduce themselves as they watched Ren slap Gozaburo around.
"Anyway, I'll tell ya about the problem we're having." Gozaburo said after having some sense smacked into him by Ren. "About two weeks ago, our shipping vessels started getting attacked by a large sea serpent about a mile out from Akane Beach."
Gozaburo then went on to explain that not all of the vessels were attacked. In fact, it only happened once a week. It seemed that was the feeding cycle for the serpent. During the second attack, one of the Seto Group's men was able to wedge a tracking lacrima between its scales before he was heavily injured.
With this tracking lacrima, the Seto Group's elite fighters were able to find its layer. Then, after baiting it to the surface, they tried to dispose of it. In the end, however, they lost nearly half their number and were forced to retreat.
That retreat led to the Group posting a quest with the legal guilds. Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza being the first to accept the quest.
After hearing the story, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza traded glances. Then, Alfonzo stepped forward to speak on all three's behalf.
"I'm sure you can tell, but we didn't come with a boat or ship." Alfonzo said in a serious tone. "But if you can provide a ship and someone to lead us to the serpent, we'll do our best to eliminate it."
While Sun's eyes sparkled because Alfonzo's words sounded so cool, Ren simply smiled. Meanwhile, Gozaburo gritted his teeth with barely restrained anger when he saw the look on Sun's face. Even with all that built up rage, he was still able to respond.
*Bang!*
"Good." Gozaburo said, slamming his fist onto the desk in front of him. "My men will guide you to the serpent's lair tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good." Alfonzo said, pretending that he did not notice Gozaburo's bloodlust.
"Masa." Gozaburo said, turning his attention to Masa. "Show them to a guest room."
"Only one, sir?" Masa asked.
"Hmph!" Gozaburo snorted in return. "This isn't a hotel. We don't have that many rooms to spare."
"Understood." Masa replied, deciding it would be better just to follow orders.
"In that case, I'll walk with them." Ren said with a smile. "I would love to have the opportunity to chat with the up-and-coming fashion designer, Elicia Taylor."
"You recognized me, huh?" Elicia asked with a smile while tilting her head cutely to the side.
"Of course." Ren replied with a smile of her own. "You make some of the most stylish and unique clothing in not just Fiore, but all of Ishgar. As a lover of fashion, how could I not recognize you."
"Wait!" Sun exclaimed after hearing what her mother had to say. "She's the one who made those pretty dresses in your closet?"
"That's right." Ren said with a nod. "Why, do you want to walk with us, Sun?"
"Uh huh!" Sun replied while nodding her head vigorously.
With that, ignoring the sound of Gozaburo's teeth grinding together, Ren and Sun stood up and walked around the desk. Then, alongside Masa, who was leading the group to a guest room, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza, they left the room.
*Bang!*
"damn that brat!" Gozaburo snarled, slamming his fist into the desk once again. This time leaving a dent in the shape of his fist on its surface. "There's no way I'll let him have my Sun… Maki!"
"Yes, Boss." Said a small girl that fell from the panels that made up the ceiling of the room before landing on the desk.
The small girl, Maki, was no taller than ten inches (25 cm) tall with long purple hair that reached the middle of her back, and grey eyes. She wore a white robe with a red belt that tied it closed, black shorts, black shoes, and yellow socks. On her head, she wore a white helmet and carried a conch shell on her back.
"Keep an eye on that brat." Gozaburo said through gritted teeth. "And if he tries anything with my Sun, make him regret it."
"You want me to off him, Boss?" Maki asked in a serious tone.
"No." Gozaburo replied after a short hesitation. "We don't want war with his guild, Fairy Tail. Those bastards are even crazier than us."
"Understood." Maki saluted.
A moment later, Maki jumped from the desk, disappearing into the ceiling once again.
Meanwhile, in the corridors of the mansion, Masa led the group to the room that would be for the Fairy Tail wizards to use until they were able to eliminate the sea serpent.
"I'm terribly sorry for the way my husband acted." Ren said while bowing her head slightly.
"Oh, don't worry about it." Alfonzo said, waving it off dismissively. "He's just like another guy I know. But his temper is a bit more explosive."
"It doesn't help that you're dating his daughter, either." Elicia said with a smile.
"And whose fault is that?" Alfonzo asked, narrowing his eyes at Elicia.
"I dunno~~." Elicia replied in a sing-song tone.
"Well, this is unexpected." Ren said. "Judging by your body languages, I would have expected you to be with Elicia, Alfonzo."
"In reality, Alfonzo has two girlfriends." Erza said bluntly. "One of which is Elicia. And the other is also a member of our guild."
"I see." Ren replied in understanding. "Well, there is no law in Fiore against having more than one partner. But many of the commoners look down upon the act of polygamy, thinking it an act of unfaithfulness."
"That's not really a big deal." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "We're wizards, common people look at us like we're animals in a zoo, anyway."
"I suppose that's true as well." Ren replied with a nod.
'So, the inventor of all those magical appliances and the most popular up-and-coming seamstress are a couple, huh?' Ren asked herself. 'Since they don't seem to be opposed to polygamy, maybe we can make a partnership through marriage. Well, only if Sun grows to like him and he can accept the truth about us.'
"Ma'am, we've arrived." Masa said as the group arrived in front of a door.
"Alright, Masa." Ren said with a nod. "You can attend to your other duties. I'll make sure that our guests get settled."
"Yes, Ma'am." Masa said with a bow before he left to take care of his other assigned duties.
As soon as Masa turned around, Ren stepped forward and opened the door.
The guest room was a large Japanese-style room with tatami floors. There was a large dresser on the wall opposite the door with two other doors on the adjacent walls.
"Wow, I've never stayed in a room like this." Elicia said as she looked around the room excitedly. "Oh, so we get a closet and a bathroom, too. Ooh! The bath is big, like, really big!"
"But there is no bed here." Erza said, confused by that fact.
"We sleep on futons here." Ren said, opening the door to the closet and pointing at a folded mattress. "You lay that out on the floor and sleep on it. They're quite comfortable. But you may have trouble falling asleep quickly if you're not used to them."
"I see, that seems rather interesting." Erza said while looking at the futon with curiosity. "But it seems that there is only one in here."
"You're right." Ren replied. "I'll have someone bring another one before it gets too late."
"Hey… Um…" Sun said, speaking for the first time since the group left the previous room.
Hearing Sun's voice, everyone's attention was drawn to her. However, instead of getting nervous at being the center of attention, her eyes were sparkling brightly.
"Do you think you could tell me about all the adventures you've been on?" Sun asked with her fists clenched in front of her chest. "Ya see, I've never been too far away from Akane Beach… And…"
"Of course." Elicia said, throwing herself at Sun and wrapping her in a hug. "I'll tell you as many stories has you want."
"Really?" Sun asked excitedly. "Thanks."
"Before that, Sun." Ren said with a smile. "We should let our guest get settled and take a bath. They must be tired after their long trip. Then, they can join us for dinner and tell us some of there stories at the dinner table."
"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Elicia said with a slight frown. "I''d love a bath after that long ride. Ooh, I know! Why don't you come and take a bath with me and Erza, Sun. Then, we can tell you some of our stories while we relax."
"Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea." Erza said with a nod of agreement.
'Man, Elicia is getting good at this.' Alfonzo thought as he watched Elicia interact with Ren and Sun. 'When we first woke up in that orphanage, she couldn't even talk to Gramps in fear of acting too familiar. But now, she's acting like she doesn't know about Sun's condition. Wait, she may have just forgotten. Yeah, that's probably it.'
While Alfonzo was thinking to himself, Sun began to visibly panic. There was a reason why she could not take a bath with Elicia and Erza, but that was supposed to be a secret. And she was unable to think of a reason to say no to Elicia's proposal.
"Although that sounds like a wonderful idea." Ren said, saving Sun from her predicament. "Sun and I took a bath not too long before the three of you arrived."
"That's too bad." Elicia replied.
"Yes. It would have been a great opportunity to get to know each other." Erza added.
"There's always next time." Ren replied.
"Y-Yeah, next time." Sun added nervously.
"Then, we'll let the three of you get freshened up." Ren said. "We'll send Masa to come and get you when dinner is ready."
"Okay, we'll see you then." Alfonzo said as Ren led Sun out of the room.
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