章 557: A Quick Trip Back Home
Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Unnamed Island.
December 14, x787.
After hugging for a little while longer, Alfonzo eventually used his lPhone to contact the Magic Council reporting their encounter with Junko Enoshima and his current location . Then, after only an hour, a large airship approached the island from the horizon. And after only a few more minutes, the airship landed near the destroyed school and Lahar, leading a squad of Rune Knights, disembarked.
"Seriously, for such a big organization like the Magic Council, why does it seem that we only ever deal with Lahar and/or Doranbolt when we're out in the field?" Elicia asked as she finished the last set of simple clothing for the forced laborers she and Alfonzo had rescued.
"Please, may we know exactly what happened here?" Lahar asked respectfully.
Although Alfonzo was the reason for most of the former Magic Council ending up in prison, Lahar respected him for what he did. Especially after hearing about all of Org and Crawford Seam's crimes in the past. On top of that, since then, the Magic Council has been working much more transparently. So, the chances of spies sabotaging its operations had fallen significantly.
"Well, it all started when I got a tip from an informant…" Alfonzo said before explaining the chain of events that led to the death of the Magic Council Traitor, Junko Enoshima, and the escaped criminal and former member of two guilds comprising the Balam Alliance, Himiko Toga.
Though, Alfonzo did keep it secret that the terminal's that monitored activity on the lPhone network had the ability to track magic power signatures.
"I see." Lahar replied while adjusting his glasses. "The Council has been searching for her for quite some time. And now that she's been dealt with, we can all breathe a sigh of relief."
"Yeah, that's good and all, but we're still expecting the reward for her bounty." Alfonzo said dismissively.
"And you shall receive it." Lahar replied with a twitching eyebrow. "After we've seen to it that all these people are taken care of."
"Okay." Elicia said with a smile. "Then, we'll leave them to you."
With that said, Elicia jumped onto Alfonzo's back before continuing.
"Now, let's go, Fonzie!" Elicia said energetically. "I miss Mar'e!"
Smiling in response, Alfonzo nodded to Lahar. Then, he and Elicia were covered in arcs of violet electricity before they shot up into the air, leaving the Fourth Custody Enforcement Unit to deal with the aftermath.
Meanwhile, Lahar watched the two Fairy Tail wizards until they could no longer be seen on the horizon. Then, he turned back to his squad of Rune Knights and began giving orders to secure the victims, the corpses, and any evidence of what Junko could have been planning by searching the rubble.
Earth land, Ishgar, Bosco, Undisclosed Location.
"Lord Orochimaru, we've just received a report from that Junko Enoshima's contact that the Kazekage has been killed." Kabuto said after entering Orochimaru's laboratory in one of his hideouts located in Bosco.
"Cucucu." Orochimaru, who was noting down the results of an experiment, chuckled creepily at Kabuto's message. "They work much faster than I expected. Well then, it seems I have no time for experimenting. It's time for me to become the Kazekage. Cucucu."
"Do you think we should request Enoshima's help when attacking the Leaf, Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto enquired while adjusting his glasses.
"I'm sure she would jump at the opportunity." Orochimaru replied after finishing with the results of his experiment. "She does enjoy the feeling of despair. However, I am not sure that is necessary. I should see the state of the sand before making my decision. It won't be too late to request her aid should their forces be lacking, after all. Cucucu."
"Understood." Kabuto replied with a bow.
"Hmm…" Orochimaru hummed thoughtfully. "But since we plan to act during the Chunin Exams in June, we'll need a team of Genin, won't we? Kabuto, I leave the selection and training of the three candidates to you. Also, we'll need to contact the Leaf to express interest in our Genin participating in the exam"
"I understand." Kabuto replied while once again bowing respectfully. Then, he raised his head before asking a question. "But Lord Orochimaru, if we want to have our people participate, we'll need to tell them what village we're from."
"I've already thought of that." Orochimaru said while waving dismissively while beginning the preparations for his trip to the Village Hidden in the Sand. "We shall be known as the Village Hidden in the Sound."
"Understood." Kabuto replied, bowing respectfully for a third time before turning to carry out his orders. "Then, I'll make sure everything is taken care of."
With that, Kabuto left Orochimaru's laboratory. He was planning to gather all the Genin level test subjects and prisoners they had collected since their escape from Prison. Then, he would have them all fight for their lives. And the three survivors would become the team they would send to the Village Hidden in the Leaves to participate in the Chunin Exam.
"Cucucu." Orochimaru chuckled in his uniquely creepy way once Kabuto was gone. "I heard that the Fourth Kazekage's son is a monster of some kind, most likely the One-Tail's Jinchuriki. I wonder what Sensei will think when it's unleashed in the center of the village. Cucucu. Maybe Kabuto was right. Perhaps requesting Junko Enoshima's aid would not be such a bad idea. She might even put in some extra effort if she hears about the despair an attack on that level will cause the people of the Leaf. Cucucu."
Little did Orochimaru know, Junko had died less than two hours ago. Meaning, Raza's death would be the last time he and Junko worked together on anything. Though, he would not find that out for another two months, at least.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
Around sunrise, Alfonzo and Elicia landed outside of the mansion on the lake's front door. Then, about thirty seconds later, the door opened without either of them taking the initiative to open it.
"Good morning, Master Alfonzo, Madam Elicia." Grayfia, the one who opened the door, said while bowing politely. "I was not expecting you for a few more days. Has anything come up that I should be concerned about?"
"No, don't worry about it, Grayfia." Elicia said with a smile as she hopped off Alfonzo's back. "We just missed Mar'e and wanted to see him. Is he awake yet?"
"Unfortunately, he is not." Grayfia replied while shaking her head gently. "But if his pattern holds, he should be awake within the hour."
"Good!" Elicia exclaimed excitedly. "I love watching my baby sleep! He's so~ cute!"
With that, Elicia rushed forward, just barely giving Grayfia the time to move out of the doorway. Meanwhile, Alfonzo could only smile wryly as he watched his first wife run away. Grayfia, on the other hand, stepped forward after Elicia left to take the bags slung over Alfonzo's shoulder.
"So, how are things in Magnolia with everyone gone?" Alfonzo asked after handing Grayfia his bags and stepping into the house?"
"There has been nothing out of the ordinary." Grayfia replied after following Alfonzo inside and shutting the door. "Though, Miss Shizuka seems to be rather down."
"Hmm… Shizuka? Down?" Alfonzo asked, having an idea of what could be bothering the bubbly nurse.
"That's right." Grayfia replied as she followed Alfonzo from a respectful distance. "If I had to guess, it's because she was left behind by everyone in the mansion, who are either examiners or participating in the S-Class Promotion Exam. Also, Miss Minami is gone for the same reason, leaving her feeling rather lonely."
"*Sigh* That's what I thought you would say." Alfonzo replied. "Is she here right now?"
"Yes, she is." Grayfia replied. "She is sleeping in your bedroom at the moment."
"Alright, I'll go see her after I check on Amar'e." Alfonzo said with a smile.
With that, Alfonzo separated from Grayfia. Along the way to Elicia's room, where Amar'e's crib was located, he came across Mey-Rin, who was watering a plant in the hallway. And when she noticed him, she dropped the watering can, spilling water all over the floor.
"Oh, no!" Mey-Rin exclaimed in panic. "Grayfia's gonna punish me again."
"Calm down, Mey-Rin." Alfonzo said as he continued to walk with a smile on his face. "You just have to learn how to keep calm. And stuff like this won't keep happening."
"I know, but I have to try so hard not to make a mess in normal times…" Mey-Rin said as she started pulling on her hair in panic. "So, when I get surprised, I make mistakes."
"Well, just clean up the mess." Alfonzo said as he walked past the frazzled maid. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."
Like that, Alfonzo continued to walk towards Elicia's room, which was only a couple of doors down. Meanwhile, he began thinking about making contact lenses or something similar to help Mey-Rin with her near-sightedness. Something that she could control for when she needed her superb long distance vision when necessary.
Eventually, Alfonzo arrived at Elicia's bedroom while using [Archive Magic] to start designing the magic item for Mey-Rin. However, since it was not far from where he met her, he did not make much progress. Still, he stepped into Elicia's room with a smile on his face.
When Alfonzo entered the room, he found Elicia holding Amar'e, who was already awake and smiling happily, as well as Ikaruga and Ai, who came to check on Amar'e and make sure he was sleeping well.
At the same time, as soon as Alfonzo entered the room, Amar'e began to squirm in Elicia's arms, as he had quickly noticed Alfonzo's entrance. That caused Elicia, whose back was facing the door, to turn around. And when she did, she smiled brightly, as well.
"Looks like Mar'e is happy to see Daddy." Elicia said as she started bouncing Amar'e in her arms.
Smiling brightly , as well, Alfonzo stepped towards the group of women and an infant. Then, once he was close enough, he took Amar'e from Elicia's arms and held him up to eye level.
"Hey, Little Man." Alfonzo said with a big smile spread across his face. "How'd you sleep?"
In response, Amar'e happily reached for Alfonzo's hair with his little hands. Then, when he got a hold of it, he began playing happily.
"I thought Grayfia said he would probably be sleep for another hour." Alfonzo said as he shook his head, letting his hair swing lightly and making Amar'e laugh as he tried to grab the swinging dreadlocks.
"You know there's never any way to tell." Elicia said as she smiled at her son. "He probably felt that we were home and woke up."
"Yes, Young Master Amar'e is quite perceptive." Ikaruga said.
"Yeah, he always knows when one of you comes home." Ai added. "This is the first time I've ever seen him wake up because of it, though."
"Well, he is our son." Alfonzo said with a proud, fatherly smile on his face. Then, Alfonzo's expression turned curious as he continued while continuing to move his head and hair around. "by the way, is Maria okay? I mean, isn't she usually the one that looks after Amar-e in the morning? She's not sick, is she?"
"No, sir." Ai replied. "Today is Maria's day off."
"Ah, so she's sleeping in, huh?" Alfonzo asked while nodding in understanding. "Well, she really works hard. So, she deserves it."
Hearing that, both Ikaruga and Ai exchanged awkward glances. Meanwhile, after seeing Ikaruga and Ai's reactions, Alfonzo and Elicia also exchanged glances.
"I guess she's not sleeping in, then." Elicia said with a smile. "In that case, what's she doing?"
"Well... She's probably in the converted storage room." Ai replied.
Immediately, Alfonzo and Elicia knew exactly what Maria was doing.
"Well, then, let's go and see her." Alfonzo said with a smile.
With that, Alfonzo, with Amar'e in his arms, Elicia, Ikaruga, and Ai left Elicia's bedroom. And they were just in time to see Mey-Rin cleaning up the mess she made, when she dropped the watering can, and Grayfia scolding her about being more careful.
Deciding to leave them to it, the group of four walked past the two maids. Then, they all entered the elevator and road down to the underground floor where the storage rooms were located. Then, they entered the storage room that Alfonzo had worked on with Ai not long ago.
When the quintet eventually entered the recently renovated room, they saw a room that had been divided in two by a clear glass wall. On top of that, there was a magic item placed against the glass dividing wall. And the person they were looking for, Maria, was standing on the other side of the glass wall.
In front of Maria hung a magic item resembling a microphone. On top of that, her mouth was moving, looking as if she were speaking or singing into the magic item. Curiously enough, however, despite the fact that the glass wall was not very thick, no one could hear her.
Even more surprising was the fact that Miyuki was sitting in front of the magic item placed against the glass wall while operating a panel with the knobs, switches, and sliders while wearing what appeared to be headphones. But when Alfonzo and Elicia stopped to think about it, they realized that Miyuki, Alfonzo's personal maid, had little to do with Alfonzo supposed to be somewhere else. So, taking the time to help Maria was not too strange.
"Well, at least the recording studio is being used by someone." Alfonzo said with a smile.
Despite the fact that she was wearing the headphones, Miyuki heard Alfonzo's voice. And when she did, she immediately took off the headphones, stood up, turned towards the room's entrance, and bowed politely.
"Welcome home, Master Alfonzo, Madam Elicia." Miyuki said, almost sounding panicked. "Please excuse me for not greeting you earlier."
"Don't worry about it, Miyuki." Elicia replied with a smile. "Technically, we're not even supposed to be here. But we missed Mar'e. So, we made a quick trip home to see him. We'll be heading back to Tenrou Island before the sun goes down."
"I understand." Miyuki replied as she raised her head. "Is there anything you would like my assistance with while you're here?"
"Nah, don't worry about it." Alfonzo replied while waving dismissively and still holding Amar'e with one arm. Then, he pointed at Maria, who seemed to be having the time of her life and asked a question. "By the way, what song is she recording?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the song is called, 'You'." Miyuki replied. "It's the song you sang for Madam Elicia during your first dance as husband and wife."
"I see." Alfonzo replied with a smile.
Like that, the group continued to chat. And while they did, Alfonzo walked over to the panel that Miyuki had been operating. Then, he pulled the cord connected to the headphones out of the panel.
As soon as the cord was pulled out, the sound of an instrumental ensemble and Maria's singing voice could be heard echoing around the room. And when it was, Amar'e immediately began laughing happily.
As it turned out, whenever Alfonzo or Elicia were away, when it was time for Amar'e to sleep, Maria would sing to him, so he came to enjoy the sound of her singing voice.
Eventually, the song came to an end. And when it did, Maria turned towards Miyuki to ask how she did. However, when she saw all the extra people in the studio, she froze completely. Then, she lowered her head in embarrassment as her cheeks turned red.
Seeing Maria's reaction, the adults in the room found her cute. Amar'e on the other hand, reached for her, as if he wanted her to hold him. A moment later, after Maria exited the recording booth, Alfonzo handed Amar'e to her with a smile.
"Well, you all have fun." Alfonzo said as he turned around. "I'm gonna see how Shizuka's doing. I'll see you later."
Like that, Alfonzo left the studio before taking the elevator up to the floor with is bedroom.
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