Chapter 472: After the Commotion
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Karakura.
March 31, x786
Less than twenty minutes after leaving Quatro Cerberus' guild hall, Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, and Ikaruga returned to Karakura Town. And the first thing they did after arriving in town was book a couple of hotel rooms at the town's most luxurious inn. Coincidentally, it was the same inn where the allied forces met to deal with Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Orochimaru a year and a half ago.
After booking their rooms, the group immediately headed up to the fifth floor, with Marin and Ikaruga carrying the luggage. And the reason for that was because Alfonzo's hands were full with Elicia, who he was carrying like a princess.
"Although I thought she'd end up getting violent with Bacchus, I never thought I'd be stopping her from killing him." Alfonzo said as he sat on the hotel room's couch with the sleeping Elicia in his arms. "I would have bet any amount of money that it would have been the other way around."
"I don't know..." Marin said after putting the luggage in her hands down next to the couch. Then, after sitting down next to Alfonzo, and while looking at Elicia's tear-stained, sleeping face, she continued. "I had a feeling things would end up like this from the very beginning. Especially after she said she wanted to deal with Bacchus herself."
"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Alfonzo said as he swept some of Elicia's hair out of her face.
Meanwhile, Ikaruga, with the bags she had been carrying, began putting away Alfonzo, Elicia, and Marin's clothing in the drawers and closet in the room.
"Ikaruga, it's okay to take a break for a little while, you know?" Alfonzo asked after seeing Ikaruga work.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Master Alfonzo." Ikaruga replied politely. "But this is my duty. I can rest once my work is finished."
While Marin smiled at Ikaruga, Alfonzo only shook his head before returning his attention to his wife.
"Anyway, I think it would probably be for the best to keep Lici from meeting Bacchus for the rest of the trip." Alfonzo said. "And for his own sake, I hope he stays away from me, too."
"Yeah, but how are we supposed to do that?" Marin asked curiously. "I mean, unless Master Goldmine sends him away for some reason, he'll definitely be in Quatro Cerberus' guild hall, right?"
"*Sigh* I know..." Alfonzo muttered while combing his fingers through Elicia's hair. "Either way, after all that, I wanna get some rest. So, I'll take Lici and get some sleep."
"*Sigh* I'll come to bed with you, too." Marin said as she reached into the luggage next to the couch. "I'll just read my book until I get sleepy, though."
Nodding in response, Alfonzo, with Elicia in his arms, stood from the couch and headed for the king-sized bed in the room. Then, after taking off Elicia's clothes, leaving her in her bra and panties, Alfonzo took off his own clothes and tucked the two of them into the bed. Meanwhile, Marin also stripped down to her own underwear, put on a night gown she took out of her luggage, and climbed into the bed on the other side of Alfonzo before starting to read her book.
While Alfonzo and Marin got ready for bed, Ikaruga continued to put away Alfonzo, Elicia, and Marin's luggage. Then, once she was done, she bid Marin, the only one still awake, good night before leaving the room and headed next door to her own room.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Quatro Cerberus Headquarters.
Around the time Alfonzo fell asleep, Goldmine, who was sitting in his office, nursing a glass of scotch, had a huge headache over what happened earlier in the evening.
In all honesty, Alfonzo and Goldmine had seen most of the conflict between Elicia and Bacchus, as they had returned to the main hall shortly after Elicia slapped Bacchus. However, since she had not gone too far at that point, they were content to watch.
In fact, Goldmine thought the conflict would end for the time being when Elicia smashed Bacchus head into the floor. However, after hearing Bacchus threaten to kill Alfonzo, he, like Marin, knew that things would get bad, and rather quickly.
Luckily, before Goldmine had to make a move to save his ace, Alfonzo moved to stop Elicia before she could kill him. However, although he was not happy about how far Elicia was willing to take things in her rage, Goldmine could completely understand why she was angered so.
"*Sigh* What am I gonna do with Bacchus?" goldmine muttered while swirling his glass of scotch. "Over the years, he has offended quite a few people while drunk, but it never caused any serious issues. But now, he might cause a long term alliance to be broken if I don't do something about him. *Sigh*"
With his second sigh, Goldmine brought his glass to his lips, tipped his head back, and finished its contents in one go.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Master, it's Bacchus." Bacchus said from the outside of the door.
"Come in." Goldmine said in a somewhat irritated tone.
Shortly afterwards, the door to Goldmine's office was opened slowly. And when it was open, Goldmine saw Bacchus' slightly pale face.
"So, you actually came without drinking something, first, huh?" Goldmine asked with narrowed eyes. "Even though I said I wanted to see you sober, I didn't think you'd actually listen."
Instead of replying casually or in a joking tone like he usually would, Bacchus only lowered his head as he closed the office door behind him. Then, without a word, he walked in front of Goldmine's desk.
"*Sigh* Have a seat." Goldmine said.
Following Goldmine's instructions, Bacchus took a seat.
"So, have you finally figured out that you were wrong?" Goldmine asked.
"Yeah, I get it." Bacchus replied quietly. "I was wrong about how she felt. Seeing all that hatred in her eyes and feeling her killing intent told me more than I needed to know."
"Good." Goldmine replied with a nod.
"But how could I be so wrong?" Bacchus asked while clenching his fists. "I clearly remember her telling me that she was in love with me and that she just couldn't leave that bastard."
Hearing that, Goldmine raised an eyebrow. Then, he leaned forward, placed his elbows on his desk, and supported his chin with his intertwined fingers.
"Really?" Can you tell me when that happened?" Goldmine asked skeptically. "Or where it happened?"
Immediately, Bacchus looked contemplative. Then, after nearly two minutes of silence, he began to shudder.
"I... can't." Bacchus replied. "I can't remember when she told me that. How she told me... Or where we were when she said it. But why? Why can't I remember?"
As Bacchus spoke, his voice grew in volume. And by the end, he was shouting at the top of his lungs in frustration.
"*Sigh* It's because it never happened." Goldmine said after Bacchus calmed down slightly. "When you've had too much to drink, which is the majority of your waking hours, you seem to think that any woman who is polite to you is in love with you."
Hearing that, Bacchus' head snapped up to look into Goldmine's face.
"It happened with Karin Lilica of Blue Pegasus, that one... knight from the capital... and Elicia of Fairy Tail, to name a few."
Now that he was sober, Bacchus could finally recall the expressions that Elicia and Karen usually wore when they looked at him. However, when he thought about the knight Goldmine was referring to, and the way she started talking about, Bacchus selling her off for more alcohol money with a fierce blush and panting breaths, he shuddered in disgust.
"But that's not the important thing right now." Goldmine said, snapping Bacchus out of his recollections. "For the first time, your excessive drinking has caused a serious issue for the guild. An issue I wouldn't be strong enough to save it from."
"What are you talking about, Master?" Bacchus asked with a smile. "You make it sound like our guild would have been in danger or something."
"*Sigh* I told you about this after my last trip to Magnolia, Bacchus." Goldmine said while shaking his head lightly. "But Alfonzo is capable of fighting on par with Gildarts."
"You were serious about that?" Bacchus asked in a skeptical tone. "But he's even younger than I am. How can he be so strong?"
"Talent and hard work." Goldmine replied.
If it had been reported in the news that Alfonzo had defeated God Serena, with little effort, Goldmine would have done everything he could to keep Bacchus from meeting Elicia at all costs. Even if Elicia said she wanted to settle things with him. Because he had envisioned something like what happened before.
"Anyway, you'll have to stop drinking so much." Goldmine said. "Now that your actions have brought trouble to the guild, I can't let it continue."
"But alcohol is necessary for my fighting style." Bacchus replied.
"Yes, I am aware." Goldmine said. "But your excessive drinking is not. So, unless you can cut back by a large amount, I can't allow you to drink anymore."
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?" Bacchus asked in an irritated tone.
"Find another martial art to incorporate with your [Palms Magic]." Goldmine replied bluntly. "It's not like there are no other palm based martial arts you could learn. And with your solid foundation, I doubt it will take too long."
Hearing that, Bacchus lowered his head while clenching his fists in frustration.
"I know this seems harsh to you, Bacchus." Goldmine said solemnly. "But this is necessary. And I think you should leave to find your new martial art inspiration immediately. I'd rather not have either Alfonzo or Elicia lose it if they see you first thing in the morning."
Hearing that, Bacchus began shivering in anger. However, when he remembered the way Elicia looked at him when she almost killed him, he sighed heavily. Then, he looked up at Goldmine once again.
"Fine, I'll go." Bacchus said in a somewhat lifeless tone. "Can you at least apologize to Elicia for me after I leave? I never wanted to do anything to make her so angry."
"I can do that." Goldmine replied with a nod. "I have no idea how she'll respond, though."
"*Sigh* I understand." Bacchus replied. "As for Alfonzo, I won't thank him for saving me. But tell him I'm gonna kick his ass the next time I meet him."
"*Sigh* Though I seriously doubt that, I'll pass on the message." Goldmine said.
In the next instant, Bacchus stood up from his chair. Then, without a word, he left Goldmine's office and would not be seen by anyone from Quatro Cerberus for the next two years.
April 1, x786.
The next morning, Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, and Ikaruga returned to the Quatro Cerberus guild hall. And to no one's surprise, they were greeted with both anger and suspicion. Elicia did come to their guild hall, injure their ace, and destroy quite a few of their tables the night before, after all.
Luckily, during the short discussion Alfonzo had with Goldmine before the quartet went back to Karakura, Alfonzo agreed to pay for the damage Elicia caused.
Before the atmosphere could get too awkward, a pair of swordsmen, Ikkaku and Yumichika approached the four visitors from Magnolia.
"Hey, one of you, any of you, fight me!" Ikkaku exclaimed once he was standing in front of Alfonzo and the other three.
"Well, the three of you can decide what you wanna do with that challenge." Alfonzo said while waving his right hand and walking past Ikkaku and Yumichika. "I've got work to do. So, I'll see you later."
Then, without looking back, Alfonzo walked towards the back of the Quatro Cerberus guild hall to get started installing the training chambers.
On a side note, had anyone been outside the building, they would see the building materials floating up from the cart hitched to the back of the Escalade, and over the guild hall.
Back in the Quatro Cerberus guild hall, Elicia, Marin, and Ikaruga watched Alfonzo leave without giving them a hand with the situation.
"I really wanna fight you, though." Ikkaku said while pointing at Elicia. "Seeing the way you beat up Bacchus really got my blood boiling. It even made me so happy that I did my happy dance."
"Uh... Sure." Elicia said while smiling wryly. "I guess we can do that."
Hearing that, Ikkaku smiled happily as he once again began dancing. Meanwhile, Yumichika was scrutinizing Marin and Ikaruga, unable to decide who he'd rather fight based on their appearances.
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