Chapitre 454: Maids? The Magic Council?

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Margaret.

February, x786.

A month has passed since Gildarts and Ur confirmed their relationship. And the wizards of Fairy Tail were thoroughly flabbergasted when the news came out. At the same time, however, they all saw it as a somewhat expected outcome.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, Ultear, and Juvia were kept in the dark about it. And the reason for that was simple. No one knew how Juvia, who saw Ur as one of her soul mates, would react to the news. Luckily, spending time with Alfonzo and Ultear mellowed her out quite a bit.

Even though Juvia still saw Ur, Gray, and Ultear as her soul mates, she was no longer so insistent on having them all to herself. Instead, she had adopted the thought: "As long as they are happy, I can be happy, too." Or, at least, that's what she told herself, anyway.

"Damn, it feels like the last month just flew by." Alfonzo said while levitating the materials needed for the fourth of the six training chambers he was installing into place. "And Jura still isn't back yet."

["Yeah, didn't he say he would be gone for only a week?"] Bedlam asked, curiosity lacing his tone.

"That's right." Alfonzo replied. "And Ultear is getting impatient."

["Hahaha! And that's horrible news for Lyon."] Riot said while laughing uproariously.

As Riot said, because Ultear has been getting impatient about her spar with Jura, Lyon has been her outlet. Ever since Jura left, Ultear has taken it upon herself to help Lyon, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby train. And she put most of her attention on Lyon.

"Yeah, I almost feel bad for the guy." Alfonzo said with a chuckle. "But when I think about the training Gildarts used to put me through when I was younger, I can't help but think he's getting off easy."

["He might wanna fight you if you ever told him that."] Bedlam said with a smile.

["You should tell him."] riot added while smiling deviously. ["Since we've been away from the guild, we haven't got the chance to beat any one up. And my hands are itchy."]

In response, Alfonzo only shook his head. A moment later, he turned his head towards the entrance of his work space.

At the end of his line of sight, Ultear had just finished descending the stairs from the guild hall's first floor.

"Hey, Tear, what's up?" Alfonzo asked as he got the walls of the training chamber in place.

"A letter from Magnolia came for you." Ultear replied with a smile.

"A letter, huh?" Alfonzo said as he used his magic to the floor in place. "I wonder what's going on. I hope it's nothing serious."

"Who knows." Ultear replied. "There's no sender on the envelope. So, it could be from anyone."

"a hundred thousand Jewels says it's from Lici." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "I don't know what makes me think that. But my instincts are telling me that it's from her."

'Letters are so outdated.' Alfonzo thought to himself as Ultear approached with the letter in hand. 'Before I make the trip to Blue Pegasus, I'm gonna read up on [Archive Magic]. Then, I'm definitely gonna pitch the idea of the internet to Hibiki. And when we get that ironed out, I'm gonna make phones that work on the basis of internet calling.'

As those thoughts ran through Alfonzo's head, Ultear made her way to Alfonzo's side. Then, she handed the envelope to him with a pout on her face.

"What's wrong, Tear?" Alfonzo asked while accepting the letter.

At the same time, Alfonzo began combing his fingers through Ultear's hair.

"I wanna have my spar with Jura." Ultear muttered as she wrapped her arms around Alfonzo. "Do you think he's avoiding me?"

"You know, if it wasn't because you wanted to fight him, I might be getting jealous right about now." Alfonzo said while wearing a smile. "I mean, you spend more time thinking about him than you spend thinking about me lately. But since you want to fight him so bad, I kinda feel sorry for the guy."

"Hahaha! Whatever!" Ultear replied while laughing hardily. Then, she playfully swatted Alfonzo on the shoulder as she continued. "You know you don't have to worry about that."

Then, Ultear stood on the tips of her toes as she whispered into Alfonzo's ear.

"But if you're unsure, I don't mind showing you just how much I love you, after we get back to our room, tonight." Ultear said in a seductive tone. "I'll even allow you to pleasure me however you like."

Rolling his eyes, Alfonzo raised his hand to swat Ultear on the butt. However, just before he could, he felt Juvia's presence approaching. Meanwhile, Ultear pouted as she did not feel the swat on her butt that she was expecting.

"I'd be happy to accept your offer tonight." Alfonzo said as he placed a kiss on Ultear's forehead. "But I really don't wanna have to clean up after Juvia's nosebleed if she were to see me smack your ass."

"*sigh* Fine..." Ultear replied as she looked back at the stairs. And as she did, she could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. "*Sigh* I think I've been too relaxed. I haven't even had my [magic Power Detection] spread out in the Lamia Scale guild hall. I mean, it's not like we're in our own guild hall, I should be more cautious."

"Don't worry about it, Tear." Alfonzo said, planting another kiss on Ultear's forehead after he spoke. "It's highly unlikely that we'd be in any danger while we're in the guild hall of an ally. Besides, I've had my [MPD] active since the moment we left Magnolia. So, things are alright."

As Alfonzo finished speaking, his left eyebrow twitched, something that Ultear did not notice. And the reason for that was the fact that he picked up Lahar and Doranbolt, along with a contingent of Rune Knights, entering the town on an air ship. And from what he could tell, the airship was headed to the Lamia Scale guild hall.

'I just raised a fucking flag.' Alfonzo muttered internally. 'And it got picked up really fucking fast.'

["Yup, sure did."] Bedlam replied in a tone filled with Schadenfreude.

["Well, look on the bright side."] Riot said. ["At least you can fuck with Doranbolt, right?"]

'Actually, now that I think about it, why the hell is that guy still working for the Magic Council?'

"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Ultear replied, stopping Alfonzo's internal conversation, while letting herself sink into Alfonzo's embrace even further. "Anyway, you should open that letter. It might be important."

"Yeah, you're right." Alfonzo replied as he unwrapped his arm from around Ultear.

Then, he opened the envelope before pulling the folded letter out.

At the same time, Juvia finally arrived in Alfonzo's workspace. And when she saw Ultear snuggling up to Alfonzo, her eyebrow twitched for a moment. But other than that, she had no reaction to the scene in front of her.

'Damn, I'm really curious to know what Ultear said to her to set her straight like that.' Alfonzo thought to himself after seeing Juvia's small reaction. 'But at the same time, I know Ultear well enough to know that it wasn't anything tame. In fact, I'd bet there were a few psychological threats involved. Still, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall.'

In fact, Ultear did not say much to Juvia when they had their talk a month ago. The only thing she told her was that she was on the verge of hating her because of the stalking and the way she treated Alfonzo. And that was more than enough to make her fall in line.

"Hmm... Let's see..." Alfonzo said as he began reading the letter. "Just like I thought, it's from Lici."

"What does it say?" Ultear asked curiously.

Even Juvia's ears perked up in curiosity.

"It looks like Ed and Al came by to hear my theory on how to fix their problems." Alfonzo replied as he glanced at Juvia from the corner of his eye.

Both Ultear and Juvia noticed Alfonzo's glance. And they had completely different reactions. While Ultear knew that Alphonse did not have a human body in the suit of armor he wore, Juvia had no interest in anyone other than Ur, Gray, and Ultear back then. Meaning, she had no idea what Alfonso was talking about. So, while Ultear nodded her head in understanding, Juvia frowned.

"Oh, and it looks like Lici, and the other girls, want to hire a group of maids to take care of the house." Alfonzo continued. "Well, I guess I saw that coming. While I can cook, and Lici and I have no issue with cleaning, the rest of you are..."

"Yeah, you don't have to say it." Ultear interrupted. "We're not the best when it comes to housekeeping."

"That's putting it mildly." Alfonzo replied while smiling wryly. "At least Mira's getting better in the kitchen, though."

"Yeah, fine... We're terrible at it." Ultear said. "It wasn't so bad when the house was smaller. But now that the house is so much bigger, we tend to make things worse."

Alfonzo only smiled in response while combing his fingers through Ultear's hair.

"Still, how many maids did Lici want to hire?" Ultear asked curiously.

"Not sure." Alfonzo replied. "But she's already got a candidate for the first one."

"Really? Who is it?" Ultear asked instinctively. Then, she shook her head before continuing. "Never mind, it's not like I know any maids."

"You've met this one before, though." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly.

"Really?" Ultear asked.

Then, Ultear fell into contemplation, trying to remember all the maids she had ever met while meeting with clients.

"I can guess what you're thinking, Tear." Alfonzo said, cutting off Ultear's train of thought. "But she's not a maid... Not by profession, anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if she worked as a maid while on quests before, though."

"Huh? That means she's a wizard then, right? Ultear asked. "I mean, she's either a wizard or a mercenary if she's taken quests, right?"

"Right. Well... half-right." Alfonzo replied. "She was a dark wizard."

"A dark wizard?" Ultear asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, do you remember that chick from Trinity Raven?? Alfonzo asked. "The one Lici saved when we raided the Tower of Heaven?"

Immediately, the light of recognition flashed past Ultear's eyes.

"Well, I don't know how she got out so fast, but that chick, Ikaruga, came to Magnolia as soon as she got out of prison." Alfonzo continued. "Then, she went to the guild hall to find Lici. And when she did, she asked to serve her, to carry out the vow she made after Lici saved her life."

"Now that you mention it, it's all coming back to me." Ultear replied. "But is it really okay to accept her?"

"It should be fine, I think." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I mean, she's not strong enough to hurt anyone in our family. Well... she could probably give Lucy some problems. But I don't think Lucy would lose. So..."

"Yeah, we're all a lot stronger than we were back then." Ultear replied with a nod. "And with our [Soul Armaments] there's no chance she could beat us."

"Thaht's right." Alfonzo said with a nod. "And when Lucy unseals hers, she'll be leagues ahead of Ikaruga, too."

"Anyway, does that mean we're gonna get some maids?" Ultear asked with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "It would give us more time to train if we didn't need to worry about the housekeeping."

"We'll talk about it when we get back to Magnolia." Alfonzo replied. "I'd still like to have a little talk with that Ikaruga chick before agreeing to anything."

Nodding in understanding, Ultear separated from Alfonzo.

"Anyway, I think I'll go back upstairs and help Sherria with her training." Ultear said. "I bet the same training methods Mom uses with Wendy should work."

"Probably." Alfonzo replied. "You may have to modify them a little, though. If you've ever seen Romeo train, you should probably incorporate some of his training regimen into it, too."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Ultear replied with a nod as she continued towards the stairs with Juvia following closely behind her.

Before the two ladies could reach the stairs, however, Sherria came running down. Unfortunately, she missed the last step. AS a result, she tripped and fell face first onto the ground.

"Damn, that looked like it hurt." Alfonzo said while wincing at the fall.

In response, Ultear shot a glare at Alfonzo. Though, the hint of amusement in her gaze could not be hidden.

"Sherria, are you okay?" Ultear asked in a concerned tone as she reached down to help Sherria off the floor.

"Ow… That hurt." Sherria muttered while rubbing her nose as Ultear helped her up. "Uh… Yeah, I'm okay. And I'm sorry for making you worry."

"As long as you're okay, it's alright." Ultear replied with a smile, gaining a smile from Sherria in return.

"So, why were you in such a hurry?" Juvia asked curiously while looking at Sherria enviously because of the care Ultear showed while helping her up.

"Oh, that's right!" Sherria exclaimed as she remembered why she ran down the stairs. Then, she looked at Alfonzo as she continued. "Alfonzo, the people from the Magic Council are here. And they said they wanna talk to you. So, Ooba Babasama sent me down here to get you."

Hearing that the Magic Council wanted to talk to Alfonzo, he was confused. Not only him, but Ultear and Juvia were also confused, as well.

"What did you do?" Ultear asked in an uncertain tone. "Did you finally cause a bunch of collateral damage on your last quest?"

"Of course not." Alfonzo replied while rolling his eyes.

"Then, why would the Magic Council need to see you?" Ultear asked, her confusion growing even further.

"No clue." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. Then, after folding the letter and putting it back in the envelope, he continued while putting the letter in his pocket. "But there's an easy way to find out."

With that, Alfonzo began walking towards the stairs.

"Let's go and ask them." Alfonzo said as he walked past Ultear, Juvia, and Sherria.

After briefly making eye contact, Ultear, Juvia, and Sherria quickly hurried to catch up with Alfonzo with curiosity shining in their eyes.

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commentaire Commentaire 8

Voter

Chapitre 455: What's Going on in the Background

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Margaret.

February, x786.

Returning to the first floor of the Lamia Scale guild hall, Alfonzo, Ultear, Juvia, and Sherria were greeted with the sight of Ooba Babasama standing with Lahar and Doranbolt while the Rune Knights stood in formation behind them.

"Good, you're finally here." Ooba said as she noticed Alfonzo's entrance. "These gentlemen have something to say to you."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Alfonzo continued walking towards the men from the Magic Council. Meanwhile, Ooba took some distance from them while Ultear, Juvia, and Sherria joined her.

"So, what's up?" Alfonzo asked with a casual smile on his face. "The last time I saw this many people from the Magic Council in the same place was during that trial last year. So, do I have to break out my lawyer attire again?"

Hearing that, many of the Rune Knights could be heard gritting their teeth. On top of that, the sound of their armor creaking as they clenched their fists was audible, as well.

'So, I guess they haven't weeded out all the Rune Knights who were loyal to the old Council yet, huh?' Alfonzo thought to himself while his smile widened. 'But it looks like Lahar and Doranbolt don't seem to mind what I have to say.'

As Alfonzo noticed, Lahar's expression did not change in the slightest, which was not all that surprising, especially since Lahar always seemed to act fairly. Doranbolt, on the other hand, wore a guilty expression while avoiding eye contact.

'I guess he realized how bad he was getting played by that old fucker, Org.' Alfonzo said to himself as he examined Doranbolt's facial expression. 'Well, he deserves all that guild he's feeling. He actually took the mission to kidnap a fucking twelve-year-old. Hell, that's some Dark Guild type shit if I've ever seen it.'

"Alfonzo Marcus..." Lahar said, cutting through the awkward atmosphere Alfonzo's words brought with it. "... we have come to inform you that you have been summoned by the Magic Council."

Hearing that, Ultear, Juvia, and all the Lamia Scale wizards were surprised. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who was also surprised, raised an eyebrow without showing his surprise in his expression.

"Your presence is requested on the fifteenth of March in Era." Lahar continued. "And once you have arrived in front of the Council, they will make an announcement pertaining to you."

"And I guess you won't be telling me what this announcement is about, will you?" Alfonzo asked, his eyebrow still raised as he did so.

"Unfortunately, we were not made privy to the details of the announcement." Lahar replied. "We were only sent to give you the message."

When he finished speaking, Lahar gestured to Doranbolt, who reached into his cloak and pulled out a sealed envelope.

'Another letter, huh?' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'I guess something like this would continue even if I created the internet and cell phones, wouldn't it. The Council needs a way to show its presence to the public, after all.'

Meanwhile, Doranbolt stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of Alfonzo. Then, when he handed Alfonzo the letter, he spoke in a voice quiet enough that only Alfonzo could hear him.

"I'm truly sorry about what I did during the S-Class Exam." Doranbolt said quietly. "As a member of Fairy Tail, I feel sick every time I think about it. Unfortunately, as to not raise suspicion, I can't return to the guild yet."

This time, Alfonzo was unable to hide the shock he was feeling. Before he could say anything, however, Doranbolt turned around and returned to the rest of his entourage.

'Well, damn.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he watched Doranbolt... Or rather, Mest returned to the rest of the Magic Council group. 'I guess Gramps gave him his memories back. I wonder how long he'll remain a member of the Custody Enforcement Unit. And when will the rest of the guild get their memories of Mest back?'

"With that, we have delivered the message." Lahar said in a professional tone. "And now, we bid you all adieu."

Then, without giving anyone present the chance to reply, Lahar turned around and began leaving the guild hall with Mest and the squad of Rune Knights, leaving all the wizards in the guild hall to watch them blankly.

Eventually, Ultear was the first to snap out of her daze. And when she did, she immediately made her way over to Alfonzo's side.

"I wonder what that was about?" Ultear said as she reached Alfonzo's side.

"Who knows." Alfonzo replied while shrugging his shoulders. "But I'm sure Gramps knows what's going on."

"Yeah, he probably does." Ultear said. "But something tells me he won't tell you anything about it if you ask."

"I got the same feeling." Alfonzo replied. "And something is telling me he's up to something. And I have a feeling Jura is in on it, too."

In response, Ultear nodded her head. Meanwhile, Juvia also made her way over to Alfonzo's side, curious to know what all that was about, as well.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Era.

At the same time, Makarov, who was sitting in his office in the Magic Council's headquarters was talking with Ur via a magic projection.

"Lahar and Mest should have relayed the message to him by now." Makarov said with a foxlike grin on his face. "I wonder what he'll do when he finds out why he was summoned to Era next month."

Hearing the name Mest, Ur's expression did not change in the slightest. Makarov made her aware of Mest/Doranbolt's ture identity after she was name the guild master, after all.

"Something tells me things won't go as smoothly as you think, Old Man." Ur replied with a smile of her own. "I mean, you did want him to be the guild master over me, right?"

As she asked her question, Ur narrowed her eyes, clearly discontented about being the second choice for Fairy Tail's fourth guild master.

"*cough* *Cough* Anyway, things won't be as bad as you think, Ur." Makarov said in a blatant attempt to change the subject. "I mean, unless it's for important matters like this, he won't be called on all that often. A perfect example is Jura, who spends most of his time in Margaret. Everyone understands that active wizards don't have as much time to oversee the matters of the Magic Council, after all."

"Uh huh~~~." Ur hummed, though she continued to stare at Makarov with narrowed eyes. "We'll see."

Feeling the sharpness of Ur's gaze, Makarov felt cold sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck.

"Anyway, you can't tell Elicia or the other ladies living with him about this." Makarov said. "We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now, would we?"

In response, Ur wore an offended expression.

"Just who do you think I am, Old Man?" Ur asked. "Like I'll miss the chance to see the look on the kid's face when he hears the news."

With that, Ur's narrow eyed glare turned into a foxlike smile, similar to the one Makarov wore not too long ago.

"Anyway, I'm gonna get back to work." Ur said. "A few days ago, we got some visitors. And they're potential new members."

"Oh, who are they?" Makarov asked curiously. "And what kind of magic do they use?"

"One is a former member of the Kingdom's Alchemist Knights." Ur replied with a smile. "And the other is his younger brother. A young man who is just as skilled as his older brother when it comes to [Alchemy]. So, I need to work with Maes to convince them to join after their issues are solved."

"Hmm..." Makarov hummed while stroking his mustache. "What was the young man's title in the Alchemist Knights? If I'm not mistaken, they all receive a code name when they join, right?'

"That's right." Ur replied with a nod. "He went by the title of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Ah! You must be referring to the Elric Brothers." Makarov said while continuing to stroke his mustache. "They are both quite talented. Hopefully, everything goes well in your attempt to recruit them."

"Yeah, I hope so, too." Ur replied. "But something tells me I won't see any results until Alfonzo gets back."

"Really, why?" Makarov asked curiously.

"According to the Elrics, Alfonzo has an idea how to fix their problems." Ur replied.

"And what problems are they facing?" Makarov asked. "Perhaps I could offer some advice. Though I'm not well versed in [Alchemy] I do know a thing or two."

"If it were as simple enough problem that someone who only dabbles in [Alchemy] could solve, those boys would have figured it out a long time ago, Old Man." Ur replied.

"Then, why would they put faith in Alfonzo, who I've never seen practice [Alchemy] ever since he joined the guild?" Makarov asked, unable to comprehend the decision.

"It probably has something to do with his ability to think outside the box." Ur replied with a shrug. "I mean, you can just look at the guild hall to know that he thinks in a completely different way than anyone else on the continent."

"*Sigh* I can't deny that." Makarov replied. "Anyway, I wish you good luck."

"Thanks." Ur replied. "And I'll see you in March."

With that, Ur ended the projection. And as she did, she wore a mischievous smile, one that Makarov quickly mimicked as he thought about the look on Alfonzo's face when he received the news.

Earth land, Ishgar, kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

As soon as she ended the communication with Makarov, Ur's smile widened.

"Even though seeing the look on Alfonzo's face will be hilarious, I know that won't be the end of it." Ur thought aloud. "There's no doubt in my mind that he'll find a way to get Makarov back for this."

Reaching that point, Ur could not help but shudder.

"He'll want to take revenge on me, too." Ur said with an apprehensive expression on her face. Then, she forcefully shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. "No, he'll never know that I voted for him. But I'm certain that the old man will do everything in his power to bring me down with him, so he'll definitely tell Alfonzo about my vote."

Once again, Ur shook her head. Then, she put a smile back on her face.

"But the old man has no proof." Ur continued. "There were no names on the voting forms. So, as long as I deny everything, I should be fine."

Though she told herself everything would be fine, Ur could not shake the feeling that something would happen.

"Anyway, I should go find Wendy and little Elicia." Ur said as she stood from her desk. "I'm already quite late for their training because of this matter. I shouldn't keep them waiting any longer."

Meanwhile, Edward and Alphonse, who decided to wait for Alfonzo to return in Magnolia, were walking through the town.

"Sor, we're really doing this, huh, Brother?" Alphonse asked.

"Yeah, I can't think of any other way." Edward replied. "Any way without a Philosopher's Stone, anyway. And we both know how we feel about using those."

"Yeah, no matter how much I want my body back, I couldn't use a Philosopher's Stone." Alphonse replied. "Especially after finding out the main ingredient was human souls."

"That's right." Edward said with a nod. "And that's why, even if nothing comes of it, I want to know what that guy thinks. Hell, even if it doesn't work, it could point us in the right direction."

"Yeah." Alphonse replied.

"Oh, hey boys." A familiar male voice said from down the street.

Looking in the direction of the voice, Edward and Alphonse noticed that it was Maes Hughes who called out to them. And from what they could tell, he was heading towards the guild hall. On top of that, he had a bag from the bookstore in his hand.

"Mr. Hughes, didn't expect to see you out here." Alphonse said in a friendly tone.

"Yeah, aren't you usually at the guild hall at this time?" Edward asked.

"*Sigh* Yeah, I'm usually already neck deep in paperwork by now." Maes replied in an exhausted tone. A moment later, however, his exhausted expression turned into one of a doting father. "But my little Elicia asked me if she could have a new book about magical beasts this morning. So, I dropped everything to make a trip to the book store."

Hearing Maes response, the boys could only smile wryly.

"It's good to see that you haven't changed, Mr. Hughes." Edward said with a smile.

"Anyway, what are you boys up to?" Maes asked with curiosity.

"Not much." Edward replied with a shrug. "Basically, we're just killing time until that guy, Alfonzo gets back."

"I see.' Maes replied. "So, do you think he can help you with your... problem?"

While Maes asked his question, he looked around cautiously to make sure no one overheard him.

"Honestly, we have no idea." Alphonse replied.

With that, Alphonse explained the reason, that he just discussed with his brother, why they decided to trust Alfonzo with their secret.

"I see." Maes replied with a nod. "Well, I guess that makes sense. Plus, that guy usually thinks so far outside the box that you probably will have some inspiration, even if it doesn't work."

"Yeah." the Elric Brothers replied in unison.

"By the way, I'm surprised you didn't bring Winry with you." Maes said while waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I mean, I saw the way you were dancing back at Alfonzo and Lici's wedding. You two looked pretty cozy."

Though Edward blushed bright red, he sighed heavily when Winry was brought up.

"We didn't wanna get her hopes up." Edward said quietly. "I mean, what if it didn't work? She would have probably been even more crushed than we were."

That caused the trio to fall into a tense silence. However, Maes did not allow it to last for very long.

"I guess I can see where you're coming from." Maes said. "Still, I think she would have liked to be here, regardless of the outcome. I mean, you know how much she hates being left out of the loop when it comes to you two. And since you're not doing anything dangerous this time, maybe you should think about telling her."

Once again, the trio fell into silence. This time, however, it was not an awkward silence. Instead, it was because Edward and Alphonse were contemplating Maes' suggestion.

"We'll think about it." Edward replied, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Alphonse said in agreement. "Besides, if we told her ahead of time, it would ruin the surprise, right?"

"Well, it's your decision." Maes replied with a shrug. "Anyway, if the two of you aren't busy, why don't you come with me to the guild hall? I'll treat you to lunch."

"That would be a much more appealing offer if Alfonzo were the one cooking." Edward replied with a shrug. "But really, we don't have anything better to do."

"Yeah." Alphonse replied. "We would have just walked around for a while before going back to our hotel, otherwise."

"Great, then let's go." Maes said with a great, big smile. "You'll be able to see my little girl's happy smile when I give her the book, too. And that will definitely make your meal taste even better."

As he spoke, Maes wrapped his left arm around Edward's shoulders while he grabbed Alphonse with his right hand. Then, he dragged the brothers along with him while continuously gushing about his wife and daughter.