章 396: The Day Before the Wedding

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

September 16, x785.

After getting Mystogan to agree to his two requests, Alfonzo returned to Earth Land and went about his business as usual, never even telling Elicia or the other girls that he had made a trip to Edolas to see Mystogan.

After a little more than a month, today, the day before Alfonzo and Elicia's wedding, the town of Magnolia was decorated in a festive manner. Two of its S-Class wizards getting married the next day was a big deal, after all.

On top of that, many visitors from outside the town had arrived to attend the wedding. So, all the town's hotel owners were ecstatic over the extra income. Meanwhile, most of those visitors had gathered at the Fairy Tail guild hall.

"It's the day before his wedding." Tsunade said while holding a bottle of sake. "But he's off completing a quest, or something. That kid is so irresponsible."

"Although part of me wants to agree with you, Tsuna." Ritsu, with a cup of tea in her hand, said in a gentle tone. "You are the last person who should be commenting on someone being irresponsible. Or did you forget? You still owe the guild and I quite the sum of money."

"You owe money again, Lady Tsunade?" A fair-skinned woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenties with onyx-colored eyes and jet-black, shoulder-length hair wearing a bluish-black kimono with white trim asked in an incredulous tone. "How did that happen? I was only gone for eight months."

"How else could it have happened, Shizune?" Ritsu asked in an exasperated tone. "While Alfonzo was working on the new training facilities, she had the urge to gamble. So, she took the money she was supposed to use to pay for the new work and gambled it all away."

Hearing that, the black-haired woman, Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, wanted to put on an astonished expression. However, things like this had happened so many times over the years that she could only sigh in resignation.

"And since you said she owes both you and the guild, Master Unohana, I'm assuming that you covered the costs, correct." Shizune asked in an exasperated tone.

"That's correct." Ritsu replied before taking a sip of her tea. "On top of that, I've been training her in an attempt to instill the value of discipline in Tsuna, as well."

With that, Tsunade, who was about to take a sip from her cup of sake, began shuddering violently.

'Instilling the value of discipline, my ass.' Tsunade thought to herself as she gently placed her sake cup on the table. 'That can't be called anything but torture. I mean, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'm pretty sure I've died at least a couple times during her training."

By this point, not only Shizune was looking at Tsunade with pity in her gaze. But all the other members of Mermaid Heel, namely, Millianna, Kagura, Anko, Araña, Risley, and Beth, who followed them to Magnolia to attend the wedding were doing the same.

"So, it really did happen." Kagura said in her usual, nearly emotionless tone. "I thought you were acting strange that one day. You were acting strange the day they left, as well."

"Yeah, I remember the day when she snuck in like a thief." Anko said. "It was completely obvious, now that I think about it."

Hearing that, all the other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"Would you brats shut up!" Tsunade shouted in embarrassment.

At the same time, the attending members of Blue Pegasus were also in the guild hall. Though, they were not all seated at a table and chatting amongst themselves. Instead, they had broken into a few groups to mingle with the wizards of Fairy Tail.

While Bob, the master of Blue Pegasus, was sitting at the bar and chatting with Makarov, Goldmine, and Ooba Babasama, Ichiya was currently in one corner of the guild hall by himself after being frozen from the neck down when he tried to kissthe back of Ur's hand.

Meanwhile, Hibiki and Eve were currently being batted around the guild hall as part of a brawl that was started after the ladies they tried to flirt with kicked them into other tables. Ren, on the other hand, was sitting with Sherry of Lamia Scale acting like a tsundere while flirting with her.

Then, there were Karen and Sorano, who were not even at the guild hall. Instead, while Sorano was offering any assistance she could with last minute preparations for the wedding, Karen was pestering Elicia to cancel the wedding and become her owner full-time, instead.

"It's good to see that the guild hasn't changed too much since we left." Bob said in a nostalgic tone.

"Yeah, a Fairy Tail without meaningless brawls isn't a real Fairy Tail." Goldmine added with a smile. "But this guild hall really is something else."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Phantom Lord's attack last year, it would still be the same old guild hall." Makarov, with a mug of ale in his hand, replied. "I guess that's the only good thing that came out of Jose's foolish attack."

"I'm actually even more surprised that Jose passed away so shortly after his guild was defeated, though." Ooba said after taking a sip from a glass of wine. "Who would have thought he would have a heart attack in his sleep so soon after his magic power was crippled by [Fairy Law]."

'I'm actually not so sure that was the case.' Makarov thought as he took a swig from his mug of ale. 'I can still remember the killing intent Alfonzo and Elicia released after Jose said something about torturing and raping them. I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck into the prison and finished him off themselves. They did take a trip to Crocus shortly after the investigation ended, after all. I have no idea how they could have done it and left no traces if they did, though.'

With his thoughts reaching that point, Makarov decided it was better for his mental health to not think about it anymore. Instead, he decided he would simply chat with his old friends. It was a happy occasion, after all.

"Anyway, where is that young man you brought with you, Goldmine?" Makarov asked curiously. "The strange one with the bushy eyebrows and the green jumpsuit, I mean."

"Oh, he got someone to show him the training rooms." Goldmine replied. "And he hasn't' come back since."

And just as Goldmine said, the young man who accompanied him, Might Guy, had been escorted to a training room by Reedus shortly after arriving at the guild hall. And ever since then, he had been working out under sixty times normal gravity while shouts of youth echoed through the entire floor.

On a side note, Goldmine chose to leave Bacchus at his guild hall. Even though Bacchus had given his relationship with Elicia some thought after Alfonzo knocked some sense into him, he unfortunately returned to his prior thoughts not long afterward. So, to not only keep the ace of his guild alive, but to also not sour relations with an allied guild, Goldmine forbid Bacchus from attending the wedding under the threat of excommunication.

Sitting at another table, Jura of Lamia Scale was chatting with Gildarts, Ur, Gozaburo, Ren, and Masa. And while the Fairy Tail wizards were all drinking, Jura chose to refrain from doing so.

"So, what's it like being a member of the Magic Council, Jura?" Ur asked curiously. "I mean, I have to do so much paperwork as a guild master, I can only imagine how bad it must be for you."

"Seriously, and that's why I refused to become the next guild master after the old man." Gildarts said with a hardy laugh.

*Bang!*

In the next instant, while he was laughing, Gildarts was slapped on the back of his head. As a result, his face was slammed into the table.

"Damn it, Ur!" Gildarts shouted. "What the hell was that for?"

"And just who do you think is responsible for most of my paperwork?" Ur shouted back. "If it weren't for you, your daughter, Erza, and Natsu, I would have almost no paperwork to do at all. Instead, because the four of you can't be bothered to care about your surroundings, I have so many compensation reports to fill out! I can only imagine how long it's been since you had Alfonzo's cooking!"

Like that, Ur continued to rant while violently shaking Gildarts by his collar. At the same time, Gildarts began feeling a wave of depression over the fact that he had not been able to enjoy Alfonzo's cooking in over four years. Meanwhile, all the other Fairy Tail wizards at the table could only look on with pity. Pity for Ur, that is. They only looked at Gildarts with a sense of schadenfreude. At the same time, Jura, with a peaceful expression on his face, watched the interaction calmly.

Meanwhile, the last of the guests, Darkness, watched the ongoing brawl in the guild hall with flushed cheeks and labored breathing. And while doing so, she constantly tried to insert herself into the fight. However, whenever she got too close, the nearby Fairy Tail wizards would somehow reconcile and stop fighting... Until Darkness took her distance again, anyway.

At the same time, back at Alfonzo and Elicia's mansion, Elicia, with all the mansion's residents, Evergreen, Laki, Bisca, Karen, and Sorano, was making any necessary last minute adjustments to their dresses while paying extra attention to her Maid of Honor and bridesmaids.

"So, did you ever get Fonzie to tell you who his last groomsman would be?" Cana asked while Elicia manipulated her threads to adjust her dress.

"Nope." Elicia replied with a slight pout. "He told me that it would ruin the surprise."

"That damn surprise again." Cana muttered. "He's making me so curious that it hurts."

"I know, right." Elicia replied, continuing to pout as she did so. A moment later, however, her pout turned into a smile. "Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing the surprise, you know. I don't remember the last time Fonzie kept a secret from me this long."

"Has he ever?" Erza asked curiously. "Alfonzo does not seem like the type of man to keep secrets, after all."

"Now that you mention it..." Elicia muttered as she continued to work. "I don't think he has."

"Hmph!" Karen, standing off to the side and watching Elicia work snorted. "He truly is not deserving of your love. To think that man would keep secrets from you. You should cancel this wedding and the engagement. Then, you can become my owner and punish me whenever I do something wrong."

"OMG! Does this chick ever quit?" Marin asked while wearing her own bridesmaid dress. "It's obvious she's only going to end up pissing Lici off if she keeps going on like this."

"I think that's what's she's aiming for." Ultear said in reply to Marin's exasperation.

"You all really shouldn't pay attention to her." Sorano said while shaking her head. "Karen really only thinks about herself, anyway."

Meanwhile, Elicia had come to the same conclusion as Ultear. Though, she also knew that Karen was genuine when she told her to break things off with Alfonzo. Still, Karen was more concerned about getting Elicia to punish her in any way.

"By the way..." Mirajane said, cutting into the conversation. "Does anyone know where Alfonzo took Alzack, Laxus, Gray, and my brother?"

In response, everyone, other than Elicia and Karen, exchanged confused glances, completely unsure of where Alfonzo and the other members of the bridal Party were.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Unnamed Island.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, with Laxus, Alzack, Gray, and Elfman were walking through the recently finished mansion Alfonzo built off the coast of Fiore, near Cedar.

"So, you're planning to move this whole mansion from here to Lake Sciliora?" Alzack asked in an astonished tone.

"Yeah, shouldn't be that hard with my magic." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "So, what do you think?"

"You're insane." Laxus said bluntly. "You're gonna fly something this big over half of the kingdom, that's the only way I can describe you."

"Yeah, but if I built it any closer, there's a good chance someone could have seen it. Or at the very least, sensed it." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "The good thing is that no one will see it flying through the air. Since I can bend the visible light around it while it's airborne. That way, it won't cause a panic."

"But didn't you say you wanted to keep it a secret from your girlfriends until the wedding day?" Gray asked in a curious tone. "How are you gonna do that? They'll definitely find out tonight, won't they? I mean, I wasn't even using [MPD], and I could feel it when we were still over half a mile away."

"That's where my last groomsman comes in." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I left a magic item in his house that will amplify the power of one of his spells to an insane degree."

"And who is this last groomsman of yours?" Laxus asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he did so.

"He's a member of the guild." Alfonzo said. "He's been gone for a while, though. But here's a hint, he tends to put everyone to sleep whenever he comes to take a quest."

Hearing that, Laxus, Alzack, and Gray stopped to think about what Alfonzo said. However, they did not get to think about it for very long.

"This house is fit for a real man!" Elfman, who had been overwhelmed by the sight of Alfonzo's new mansion, shouted enthusiastically after he finally regained his senses. "Mira's gonna love living here!"

That exclamation immediately pulled Laxus, Alzack, and Gray out of their contemplative states, causing them to glare at Elfman in annoyance. Meanwhile, Alfonzo could only pray to everything holy that Elfman was able to get that "real man" stuff out of his system with that... At least until the end of the ceremony, anyway.