Chapitre 665: As Expected
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October 10, x789.
"*Sigh* I can't believe I lost." Brandish said while resting her head in her hands at one of the guild hall's tables. "And so easily at that."
Currently, Brandish was sitting at a table with Elicia and Marin. And after hearing Brandish repeat the same thing for the fifth time, Elicia, who was sitting next to her, patted her on the shoulder.
"Well, Fonzie is called the second strongest member of the guild for a reason, you know?" Elicia said while smiling wryly.
"Ugh!" Brandish groaned in annoyance. "But I was a member of the Spriggan 12. The strongest wizards in Alvarez." Brandish replied.
"Well, I kinda beat Jacob in a one-on-one, you know." Elicia said. "And according to you and Irene, he was stronger than you, right? And Fonzie is stronger than me.'
"Yeah, and the proof of that is that he's still locked up in the guild's prison." Marin added.
"The only reason I couldn't beat him is because I couldn't see him when he used his [Stealth Magic]." Brandish countered. "But now that I know [Magic Power Detection], I'm sure I could take him easily."
"Well, you're probably not wrong." Alfonzo, carrying a plate of peach cobbler said as he approached the table where the three girls were sitting. "And if your magic worked on me, that fight would have gone differently. I still don't' think I would have lost, though. But I would have had to work harder for it."
Hearing Alfonzo's voice, Brandish raised her head just in time to see Alfonzo put the plate of peach cobbler in front of her.
"And just how the hell is your magic power so dense?" Brandish asked while looking up at Alfonzo who was walking around the table to sit next to Marin.
"Lots of hard work and training." Alfonzo replied while taking a seat next to Marin.
Brandish could only grumble at that response. It was not like she did not train hard, too. Though, she knew that thanks to her apathetic nature, she did not train as hard as she could. Plus, she had seen Alfonzo's training regimen before. And there was no way she would train like he did. Hell, she was sure that not even Zeref trained that hard when he was Alfonzo's age.
"Anyway, now that our team is complete, we should talk about our strategy in the tournament." Alfonzo said after he saw Brandish pick up her fork to start eating. "Lici, Sun, Marin, and I haven't participated in the tournament since it was four-on-four. And Brandish has never participated at all."
"Mmm~~~~~~!" Brandish moaned in food-gasmic bliss after taking her first bite of the peach cobbler.
Having grown used to such a sight over the years, no one reacted to Brandish's faux pas, deciding to carry on the conversation as if it never happened.
"That's true." Marin said with a nod. "But shouldn't we wait to have this conversation with Sun? She's still at the hospital visiting Shizuka with her mom, right?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that." Elicia replied. "We can just tell her about what we came up with later."
"Yeah, she's pretty good at following the majority." Alfonzo added.
With that, the group of four started talking about their team set up in certain situations and against particular teams. And that continued for a while after Brandish finished eating. Then, they all left to do their own things. Though, Alfonzo and Elicia did make a trip to the hospital to see Shizuka and Calvin before heading home.
October 15, x789.
Time passed quickly after that. And before anyone knew it, it was the day of the Harvest Festival. And things went like they always did on that day. Or rather, like they have for the last five years.
The streets of Magnolia were decorated with festival decorations. The people were happy, looking forward to the festivities sponsored by Fairy Tail. Especially the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament and the Fantasia Parade. Though, a lot of the men in the town were wishing that the guild would open the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant to the public. Unfortunately, all they could do was wish, as the pageant was an internal event.
Yet, all the free members of the guild were gathered in the guild hall's first floor. And like always, the stage used during important announcements had been lowered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?" Warren asked from the top of the stage while wearing a midnight blue suit with a white dress shirt and no tie. "Then, allow me to welcome you to the fifth annual Miss Fairy Tail Pageant. Now, without further ado, let's kick things off with the Evening Gown portion of our proceedings. Please help me in welcoming our first contestant, Saeko Busujima."
With that, the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant began. And just like every year, there were three stages, the evening gown stage, the talent show stage, and the swimsuit stage. And by the end, after all the votes were collected, a winner had been decided.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's been another great pageant, hasn't it?" Warren, standing on the stage with all the contestants standing in a line behind him, asked the audience. "And all the girls were amazing, weren't they? Unfortunately, there can be only one winner. And I'm sure you're all looking forward to finding out who that is, right? Then, I won't keep you waiting any longer."
With that, the lights in the guild hall went out. Then, spot lights fell onto all the contestants, highlighting their appearances in their swimsuits. A moment later, the spot lights began to flicker between all the contestants as Warren continued.
"And the winner is…" Warren said, doing his best to build suspense. "Brandish µ~~~~~!"
With that, the spot lights stop cycling, lighting up Brandish's figure. And just like always, she wore that bored expression on her face.
"You can't be serious!" Evergreen shouted. "How? Every year? How can the perfect example of beauty that is me not win this contest?"
"Maybe if you fixed your attitude, things would change." Ur said from her seat in the audience. "You act like this every year. Hell, I still remember the time I had to drag you back stage and teach you how a proper lady should act after you did this the first time."
"I really don't think you have the right to teach anyone how a proper lady should act, Miss Guild Master Wino." Alfonzo said with a cheeky grin on his face.
"What was that?" Ur asked as she snapped her head in Alfonzo's direction.
And just like that, in classic Fairy Tail fashion, the guild hall devolved into a brawl. However, this one did not last as long or get as intense as the usual Fairy Tail guild brawls. And the reason for that was simple, the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament would start soon. So, after the brawl ended, everyone made their way to the town's outskirts where the usual arena was set up.
Once all the wizards and spectators had arrived, things proceeded like they usually do. The teams drew their lots, and the order of battle was decided. After that, it was time for some of the good old fashioned, controlled violence that everyone has come to expect from this tournament.
It should be noted that ever since the format of the tournament changed from four-on-four to five-on-five, the rules of the tournament had changed slightly.
It was still a single elimination tournament with the winner of each match moving on to the next round while the losers were eliminated. However, the way teams won points had changed. On top of that, the flow of each match had changed as well.
Now, instead of a one-on-one, a two-on-two, and a one-on-one match as a tie breaker, there were two one-on-one matches before the two-on-two match, which would be followed by the last one-on-one match.
And because the number of matches would be even, a point rule was introduced. Meaning, each one-on-one match won would net the winning team one point. While the winner of the two-on-two match would receive two points.
Then, after about six and a half hours, with breaks between rounds, it was time for the finals. And to no one's surprise, the two teams competing for the title of the strongest team in Fairy Tail, as well as the chance to compete in the Grand Magic Games, were the Thunder god Tribe, consisting of Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, Evergreen, and Saya, and Team Steel Threads, consisting of Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, Sun, and Brandish.
And just as unsurprisingly, the match went to the final round, Alfonzo versus. Laxus, a rematch from the very first Battle of Fairy Tail tournament. The other matches were quite similar, as well.
In the first round of the match, Elicia and Evergreen had a rematch, as well. And just like in the first iteration of this match, Elicia won. Though, it was not quite as close as the first time. Even though both fighters had grown since their match five years ago, Elicia had outpaced Evergreen since then in terms of training, despite having to take time away because of pregnancy, parenthood, and her business.
After that round, Brandish faced off against Saya. And unfortunately for Saya, she was just lacking too much in terms of power and experience to put up a fight against Brandish, resulting in an easy victory for Brandish.
The third round was another rematch from the first tournament, Marin and Sun versus Fried and Bickslow. And although it was much closer than the first time, Fried and Bickslow were able to just barely take the win.
The last match, Alfonzo versus Laxus, was not as anticipated as expected, however. It was common knowledge by now that Laxus, ever since the first time they fought a little more than seventeen years ago, had never beaten Alfonzo. And although they both used the [Partial Release States] of their [Soul Armaments], Elexion only had the effect of amplifying Laxus' [Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic]. And Alfonzo had already proven that he was able to handle that for years.
So, in the end, Team Steel Threads won the tournament and regained their title as the strongest team in Fairy Tail. On top of that, they would be representing Fairy Tail in next year's Grand Magic Games in a bid to reestablish Fairy Tail as Fiore's strongest guild.
After that, the wizards of Fairy Tail had just enough time to return to the guild hall and change into their parade costumes before starting the Fantasia Parade, the highlight of the Harvest Festival. But for some reason, there were quite a few guests from out of town this year. And Alfonzo and Elicia happened to know most of them.
For example, from Tatsumi Port Island, Takeharu and Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, and Yukari Takeba were in attendance. There were a few more people accompanying them, as well They even brought a dog.
Then, there were quite a few shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye from Fiore's Knight Order, Pinako Rockbell and Din from the town of Resenbool, as well as Moka and Bobo from Galuna Island. There were others, as well. However, those few were the most notable of the visitors from out of town.
And just like that, the Fantasia Parade went off without a hitch. And before everyone knew it, the time flew by, and it was almost time for the S-Class Promotion Exam to begin again. However, Team Steel Threads were not too concerned with that. Instead, they focused on training hard. And when they were not training, they all did the things they enjoyed.
Meaning, Alfonzo either cooked or tinkered with new inventions. Elicia made clothes. Sun went to Akane Beach to swim as often as she could. And Marin and Brandish spent, what most would say was, an unhealthy amount of time reading erotic novels with Erza and discussing their contents.
December 13, x789.
And some time just before the S-Class Promotion Exam was set to take place, while the S-Class wizards were on Tenrou Island getting the exam ready, Ao, from the Village Hidden in the Mist showed up with a message from Mei Terumi addressed to Ur. He then left to return to the Mist Village shortly after handing it over.
"So, she's finally got enough free time to make the trip, huh?" Ur said while reading the message from Ao. "Well, I'm sure Alfonzo, Laxus, and Marin will be willing to entertain her when she shows up after the exam."
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Chapitre 666: Welcoming the Mizukage
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
December 20, x789.
A week has passed since Ur received the message from the Village Hidden in the Mist. In that time, the preparations for the x789 S-Class Promotion Exam were completed, as well as the exam itself. And for the first time since x778, when Laxus was promoted to S-Class, no one was promoted during the exam this year.
So, with everyone feeling disappointed, the guild members returned from Tenrou Island with nothing to show for it. Even so, there were still things to look forward to when they got back.
For example, Mei Terumi, the Mizukage of the Village Hidden in the Mist would be showing up at some point before the year ended. Then, there was Laxus wedding. And finally, though a bit further way, there wass Team Steel Threads participation in the x790 Grand Magic Games.
And if you were to tell anyone, even Chico, one of his brides to be, that Laxus would be getting married ten years ago, they would all laugh. Laxus was just as unlikely to get married as Natsu was before he started dating Lisanna. But somehow, both of them would be among the ranks of those with wives in the near future.
However, Laxus' wedding, that would have to wait for a couple more weeks. Instead, they would be welcoming a visitor before that. And many of the guild's members were waiting for that visitor on the guild hall's first floor.
"So, when do you think she'll show up?" Laxus asked from his spot at the bar.
"Who knows." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But Ur said it would happen before the ball dropped."
"The ball?" Laxus asked in a confused tone.
"Is someone going through puberty?" Gajeel asked with a grin on his face.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo looked at not only Laxus and Gajeel, but Alzack, Gray, and Elfman, who also seemed to have no idea what he was talking about, as well, with confusion. A moment later, however, he understood what the issue was.
'Oh, that's right, there's no concept of the ball dropping at the end of the year in this world.' Alfonzo thought to himself with realization sparkling in his eyes. A moment later, he had a great idea as he continued his thoughts. 'But maybe I should do something about that. But do I have enough time? There are only eleven days left.'
"Hey, Alfonzo, I know that look." Gray said, leaning over the bar to look at Alfonzo intensely. "Over the years, every time you've had that look on your face, you've made quite a bit of money in the near future."
Hearin Gray's words, Laxus, Alzack, Elfman, and Gajeel turned to look at Alfonzo with inquiring gazes. And they all waited on tenterhooks.
"Oh, I just had an idea for an annual event." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "And I think it will be something people will come to love over the years. But if I want to have it happen this year, I'll have to make a few phone calls. And that may not even be enough to get things rolling this year."
With that, Alfonzo stood up and stepped away from the bar. He then pulled his lPhone out of his pocket and started walking towards a corner of the guild hall that was comparatively quieter than the guild hall's usual din. And just as he held his lPhone to his ear, they could only hear a few words before he was out of earshot.
"Hey, Masumi, I just had a great idea." Alfonzo said while walking away from prying ears. "I'll tell you what I'm thinking. Then, I need you to give me an estimate of how quickly you can get everything together. So, this is what I'm thinking…"
Laxus, Alzack, Gray, and Gajeel could only look on in curiosity. However, they were unable to hear anything Alfonzo said after a certain point.
"Seriously, he's always so secretive when it comes to things like this." Laxus muttered.
"Well, can you blame him?" Alzack asked with a shrug. "Even though we're all friends, he tries his best to keep business and his personal life separate."
"I know." Laxus grumbled before picking up his drink and draining it in one go.
*Bang!*
"That won't stop me from being curious, though." Laxus continued while slamming his empty mug on the top of the bar.
"What's got you so annoyed, Laxus?" Ur asked, walking up behind the group of four after leaving the elevators.
Ur's voice caused Laxus, Alzack, Gray, and Gajeel to look back. When they did, they saw Ur as expected. They also saw Marin and Shizuka flanking her on either side. And Shizuka was holding the sleeping Calvin in her arms, as well.
"Don't worry about it." Laxus replied while waving Ur's question off dismissively. "Anyway, do you need us for something? Actually scratch that. Since those two are with you, I can already guess what you're here for."
"that's right." Ur replied with a nod. "Come with me. We're going to the train station to greet our guests from abroad."
"*Sigh* So they're finally here, huh?" Laxus asked as he placed his hands on the top of the bar to support himself as he stood up. "Well, it took long enough."
"Don't say things like that, Laxus." Ur said. "It takes time to stabilize a situation when the leadership role is forcefully taken. In fact, I'm impressed that it only took her this long."
"If you say so?" Laxus replied with a shrug.
"Anyway, where's Fonzie?" Marin asked curiously.
"Over there." Alzack said while pointing at the corner where Alfonzo was having his phone call.
"Ooh! I'll go get him!" Shizuka cheered happily, speed walking over to Alfonzo before anyone could object. "I'm sure Cal will love to see his daddy."
Just like that, the group watched Shizuka approach Alfonzo happily. She then handed Calvin to him and Alfonzo put his lPhone away before they returned with Alfonzo cradling Calvin in his arms while Shizuka held onto Alfonzo's elbow.
"So, she's finally here, huh?" Alfonzo asked when he and Shizuka returned to the others. "Well then, I guess we should get going, shouldn't we? But I assume we're not gonna be walking, right? Then, who's driving?"
That question brought everyone up short. The only two cars that were present were Shizuka's, since she drove to the guild hall with Calvin and Ur's. However, neither vehicle was big enough to carry so many people. And even if they took both, there would not be enough space for everyone.
"*Sigh* I'll take care of it." Alfonzo said in an exasperated tone. "You should have told me we would be driving to pick them up earlier, Ur. If you had, I would have brought the limo here."
With that, Alfonzo handed Calvin back to Shizuka. Then, he walked towards the guild's sliding doors.
"I'll be back in a few minutes." Alfonzo said while walking away. "Shizuka, you should take the car seat out of your car. Unless you plan on leaving Calvin here with Ren."
"Nope!" Shizuka said in her usual, slightly airheaded tone. "I wanna show off Calvin to Mei. She'll be surprised by how cute he is."
'Yeah, and even more determined to get married, too.' Alfonzo thought to himself while shrugging his shoulders.
A moment later, Alfonzo was standing outside of the guild hall. The, his body was engulfed by arcs of violet electricity before he simply vanished from where he stood.
Not long after that, Alfonzo appeared outside of the Mansion on the Lake. He then opened the door and walked inside.
"Grayfia, are you here!?" Alfonzo shouted, his voice carrying to every corner of the mansion.
*Swish!*
Not even a second later, Grayfia appeared in front of Alfonzo with her hands folded over her lower abdomen and her head bowed in respect.
"Master Alfonzo, how may I be of assistance?" Grayfia asked.
"The guild is going to be picking up some important guests from the train station." Alfonzo explained. "And I'll need someone to drive the limo. I could do it myself, but I'm sure I'll be expected to entertain our guests on the way back to the guild hall."
"I understand." Grayfia replied.
"Good, then please get the limo out of the garage." Alfonzo said as he turned around. "I'll levitate it over to the guild hall to save time. Then, we'll drive to the train station."
"As you command." Grayfia replied, bowing her head once again before she vanished in a burst of speed to retrieve the limo's key and drive it out of the underground garage.
A few minutes later, a trio who was dressed differently than the townsfolk of Magnolia stepped out of the train station. When they did, the two men and one woman looked around, the wariness in their gazes evident to nearly no one.
"This is quite the peaceful town." The woman, Mei Terumi, said while watching the people of Magnolia go about their business. "It's rare to see such carefree people in Caelum outside of the capital city."
"Indeed." One of the men, Ao, replied with a nod. "There are so many rogue shinobi and dark wizards running around Caelum's countryside that it is impossible to have this many carefree people anywhere other than the capital."
"It's nice." The second male, a young man with short, spiky sky blue hair, standing at about 5'4" tall looking to be in his late teens and wearing a pin-striped shirt that matched his hair color and a pair of camouflage-patterned pants with standard ninja sandals with a large sword in the shape of a large flounder fish wrapped in bandages strapped to his back , said in a shy tone while looking around cautiously. "But what if it's just a façade to get us to lower our guard? How will we protect Lady Mizukage in that case?"
"Chōjurō, you're one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist." Mei said in an exasperated tone. "How can you be so unconfident? You need to take pride in the fact that you've reached such a height."
"Y-yes, Lady Mizukage." The sky blue-haired young man, Chōjurō, replied while lowering his head. "I'll do my best."
Mei could only sigh in response. Even Ao looked at Chōjurō with a bit of exasperation. However, it was not long after that before the trio's attention was drawn to something in the distance. At the same time, Chōjurō flashed in front of Mei with his hand gripping the hilt of his sword and the shy expression on his face having been replaced with a resolute one.
"*Sigh* Why can't you show this kind of expression all the time, Chōjurō?" Mei asked as she stepped forward and placed a hand on Chōjurō's shoulder. "It suits an Elite Jōnin like you much better. Even so, there's no need to be on guard. That should be our hosts."
As Mei calmed Chōjurō, the thing that caught the trio's attention, a long magic vehicle that resembled a stretch Lincoln Continental Limousine approached before pulling up in front of them. Then, once the magic vehicle came to a stop, the driver's door opened, and a tall, well-endowed, silver-haired woman wearing a blue and white apron dress, clearly denoting her status as a maid, stepped out of the vehicle before moving to the back door and opening it for the passengers.
With the back door open, a group of people started exiting the magic vehicle. Most of whom, the trio of Mei, Ao, and Chōjurō were familiar with, as they had met them during the Mist's Civil War. First was Marin shortly followed by Laxus. After him, Alfonzo stepped out of the door. Then, he held his hand out to help the next person, Shizuka, who was holding an infant in her arms.
'Oh! My! God!' Mei exclaimed internally when she saw Calvin. 'He's adorable! Now, I really want one of my own. I just need to get married first, though.'
As that last thought ran through her head, Mei's mood visibly worsened.
"Lady Mizukage." Ao, having noticed the change in Mei's expression, whispered. "Please, hold yourself together. I don't' know what's bothering you, but you're too experienced to be showing your thoughts on your face like that."
'Too experienced?' Mei thought to herself. 'Is Ao calling me old? Too old to get married?'
"Ao…" Mei said in a low, threatening tone.
With that tone, Ao noticed yet another change in Mei's mood. However, he did not know what caused such a dangerous, for him, at least, change. Yet, before he could figure it out, Mei continued.
"Do you want to die? If you do, I can help you by melting you down to your bones." Mei asked quietly with a promise of pain and perhaps even death in her tone should he answer incorrectly.
"I apologize, Lady Mizukage." Ao replied, quickly lowering his head.
"*sigh* those two are at it again." Laxus muttered while watching Mei and Ao's two-man show. "I wonder what Ao said this time?"
"Who knows." Alfonzo replied with a shrug while watching the Mist Village trio. "Probably something she misinterpreted… again."
At that moment, Ur finally stepped out of the limo, as well. When she did, she wanted to welcome Mei grandly. However, when she saw the atmosphere surrounding the trio and how Mei was glaring at Ao, who had his head lowered in apology, while Chōjurō looked on with an expression that made it clear he had no idea what to do, she could only scratch the side of her head in confusion.
"Uh... hello?" Ur said in an uncertain tone. "Welcome to… Uh… Magnolia and the Kingdom of Fiore… Um… Friends from afar."
"Hold off for a few minutes, Ur." Alfonzo said while patting Ur on the shoulder. "This will probably take a little while. You can do another take once they're back with us again."
With that, the Fairy Tail wizards watched the Mist Village trio go through their usual song and dance. But the most impressive thing about the whole scene was the fact that once the civilians noticed the Fairy Tail wizards near the spectacle, they shrugged their shoulders and stop paying attention, as they had come to expect strange things that they could not comprehend to happen whenever members of Fairy Tail were present.
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
200+ Classement
Power Stone 
250 Power
stone 
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