章 630: The Guests Arrive for Amar'e's Birthday Party

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

August 12, x788.

The following day, everyone woke up early at the Mansion on the Lake and helped the maids make the final preparations for Amar'e's birthday. While Elicia, Cana, and the girls were helping Ikaruga, Mey-Rin, Ai, and Miyuki arrange the decorations around the mansion's yard, Alfonzo was in the kitchen with Grayfia, Maria, and for today only, Erina Nakiri to prepare the food that would be served today.

And the highlight for today's prepared dishes was the six foot tall, multi-layered birthday cake Alfonzo and the ladies put all their heart into baking.

At around noon, the guests started to arrive. First to arrive were the members of Fairy Tail, each carrying a present as they arrived at the mansion's front door. Naturally, they were greeted by at least one of the maids as they did. Then, they would be escorted to the area of the backyard where the party would be held.

And when they arrived at the party venue, most of them were stunned.

For today, Alfonzo had specially built several amusement attractions that could be commonly scene at amusement parks, such as the teacup ride, a merry-go-round, specially made, low-impact bumper cars, etc.

"Damn, did he really make an amusement park in his backyard just for Amar'e?" Macao, who was walking alongside Romeo, who was ten years old by now, asked in an astonished tone as he caught sight of all the attractions that had been set up.

"Dad, can I have one of those, too?" Romeo asked while pointing at the bumper cars. "I bet my friends would really have a lot of fun playing on that."

Hearing Romeo's question, Macao could not help but start to drip cold sweat from his forehead and back.

"Romeo, our house isn't big enough for something like that." Macao said after quickly racking his brains for a response. "But I'm sure if you asked Alfonzo, he would let you and your friends play on it every once in a while."

Macao's response disappointed Romeo a little. But when he thought about it, it was true that the backyard of their house was not big enough for something like that. So, he simply nodded his head while continuing to look at the other attractions.

"Romeo!" A female voice shouted while Romeo was emersed in the attractions.

Turning around, Little Elicia, Maes and Gracia's daughter, was running towards Macao and Romeo while waving her hand and smiling brightly. Meanwhile, her parents were walking leisurely behind her.

Then, when the two children met up, they quickly forgot about their parents as they started running around to see which of the rides they wanted to play on first. Meanwhile, the three parents could only smile wryly while they watched their kids run around. Though, Gracia did have to slap Maes upside the head when he reached for his gun after seeing Elicia grab Romeo's hand in excitement.

Fifteen minutes after the Conbolts and the Hughes family arrived, the first group of non-Fairy Tail guests arrived, and they were the group from Lamia Scale led by Jura Neekis. His group consisted of Lyon, Sherry, Sherria, Yuka, Tobi, Takashi, and Rei.

"Is this really his house?" Takashi asked as he and the rest of the group crossed the bridge leading to the artificial island.

"I know, right?" Rei replied. "It's amazing."

"It can be a lot to take in for first time visitors." Jura said in a peaceful tone. "I can still remember the first time I saw it back when Alfonzo and Elicia got married."

"Yeah, me, too." Lyon said while smiling reminiscently. "The even crazier part was the fact that it wasn't even on the lake the day before the wedding."

When they heard that, Takashi, Rei, and Sherria, who were all visiting for the first time looked at Lyon with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"Oh, I remember that, too." Sherry said with a smile. Then she raised her left hand to her chest while spreading her right arm out wide as she continued. "It was a show of true {love}."

"But how is that possible?" Sherria asked.

"Although the outside of the house looks like it's made of stone and bricks, don't' let that fool you." Yuka said calmly. "Not only the mansion, but even the entire island is made of metal under the surface. So, at least this is what I heard, Alfonzo had built it on a small island off the coast of Cedar. Then, the night before the wedding, he flew it back to the town and placed it in the center of the lake."

When they heard that, Takashi, Rei, and Sherria opened their eyes so wide that they almost popped out of their sockets.

Like that, the group of eight continued to chat until they were greeted by one of the maids and led to the backyard to gather with the others.

The next to arrive was a group of shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves led by Tsunade and Hiruzen. This group consisted of Kakashi, Guy, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten.

"Wow! Big Bro Alfonzo's house is so big." Naruto said in awe while looking up at the mansion.

"Shikamaru and the others are going to be so jealous when we get back and tell them about this." Sakura said excitedly.

"I doubt Shikamaru will be jealous." Sasuke replied. "Getting jealous takes too much energy, after all. He'll probably only say something like how much of a drag it is."

"There's a really powerful barrier surrounding the island, too." Neji said with his Byakugan active. "My Byakugan can't even see through it."

"Well, that should be expected." Guy said with his trademark smile. "Alfonzo is the continents best magic item crafter. I'm sure he takes his homes' security quite seriously. Especially with his son living there."

"That makes sense." Tenten said while nodding her head.

"I wonder if Wendy is here yet." Rock Lee said excitedly, completely unconcerned with the magnificent mansion standing in front of him.

Meanwhile, Tsunade, Hiruzen, and Kakashi walked at the front of the group. While Tsunade and Hiruzen spoke about their impressions of the mansion, Kakashi walked silently while reading from his favorite book.

"You were right, Tsuna." Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly smile on his face. "This mansion really is impressive."

"Yeah, the kid's got talent for stuff like this." Tsunade replied. A moment later, she turned her attention to Kakashi, who did not even seem to notice where he was. "And Kakashi, I suggest you put that book away right now. There will be children at this party."

"I agree.' A friendly, yet somewhat sadistic sounding female voice said right afterwards.

"Oh, hey, Laki." Kakashi said as he casually closed his book and stuffed into his waist pouch. "Long time, no see."

Just as Kakashi said, that voice belonged to Laki, who had appeared next to the group in a burst of speed after sensing that Kakashi had appeared on the island.

"Yes, it's been a while." Laki said with a smile. "Now, let's go see the attractions Alfonzo set up in the backyard."

With that, Laki took Kakashi by the arm and pulled him away from the group.

"Well, I guess we should have seen that coming." Hiruzen said after receiving a number of reports about Laki pursuing Kakashi.

"To think Kakashi let himself be pulled away like that." Tsunade said in an astonished tone. "Is he really interested in her?"

"I think so." Hiruzen replied. "By the way, Tsuna, it's already August, and most of the village's repairs have been completed, have you not made your decision yet?"

What Hiruzen was referring to was the fact that he asked Tsunade to succeed him and become the Fifth Hokage. However, Tsunade had been putting off giving him an answer. She really did not want to take that responsibility. Though, she had already made her decision. She was just trying to milk as much freedom as she could before taking the post.

Not long after the Leaf Village group arrived, Karen of Blue Pegasus ran across the bridge, ran right past Mey-Rin who was in charge of greeting the next group of guests, and sprinted towards the backyard. On top of that, for some reason, she was carrying a thick rope with her.

"*Sigh* She's such an embarrassment sometimes." Sorano said while shaking her head and approaching the mansion alongside Ichiya, Hibiki, Eve, Ren, and the newest member of Blue Pegasus, Yukino Agria, a slender, well-endowed, teenage girl appearing to be about fifteen years old with fair skin, short light blue hair with bangs that frame her face and brown eyes wearing a light blue, spaghetti strap top with a dark Blue Pegasus emblem over her left breast, a pair of white shorts, and a pair of knee-high, white, high heeled boots.

Aside from being the newest member of Blue Pegasus, this girl also had another identity, and that was Sorano's long lost younger sister. While Sorano had been taken to become a slave at the Tower of Heaven, Yukino was lucky enough to evade capture. And ever since she was old enough, she had been searching for Sorano. And at this year's Grand Magic Games, she finally found her.

"I can't wait to meet Miss Elicia." Yukino said excitedly. "I really want to thank her for helping you come back from the path of a Dark Wizard., Big Sister."

In response, Sorano smiled tenderly as she hooked her arm around Yukino's.

"Yes, if it wasn't for her, I would probably be in prison with the rest of the Oración Seis." Sorano replied. "Then, it would have taken much longer for us to be reunited."

Yukino nodded her head vigorously with gratitude in her eyes.

"Men!" Ichiya shouted his catch phrase with tears pooling in his eyes. "It's so touching!"

"Ichiya!" Hibiki, Ren, Eve, and Jenny all shouted as they agreed with Ichiya.

"We're all truly happy that you could be reunited, as well.' Hibiki said in a gentlemanly manner.

"Yeah, it's really good to see a family come together like that." Eve added.

"Damn it, something must have gotten in my eyes." Ren said while turning away and wiping the tears from his eyes. "Don't think I'm crying because I'm happy for the two of you."

"*Sigh* But maybe I should have picked another guild." Sorano said in an exasperated tone.

"I'm sure Elicia will be happy to meet you, too." Jenny said energetically. "She'll probably make some clothes for you, too."

"Oh, no, Miss Elicia has already done enough for us." Yukino said while waving her free hand frantically. "I could never ask for more."

"Oh, you won't have to ask." Sorano said with a giggle. "Elicia won't take your opinion into consideration in a case where it comes to making clothes for someone."

"Huh?" Yukino exclaimed in confusion while tilting her head to the side.

While continuing to chat, the group eventually reached Miyuki, who led them to the backyard.

And for the next twenty minutes or so, guests continued to arrive. Then, at around one in the afternoon, the most volatile of the guests, Darkness, arrived wearing a light blue sun dress and white high heeled sandals, looking as beautiful as could be.

"Okay, I have to keep control of myself today." Darkness said after taking a deep breath when she stepped off the bridge. "I was invited by the only two people who did not show me despise after knowing my… preferences. I can't embarrass them on their son's first birthday."

While she was giving herself a pep talk, Darkness arrived in front of the maid who was specially assigned to guide her, Grayfia. With Grayfia almost never changing expression, she was the least likely to set Darkness off, after all.

"Good afternoon, lady Dustiness." Grayfia said while bowing politely. "I trust your trip was pleasant."

"Ah, Grayfia, good afternoon." Darkness said elegantly, letting the etiquette training she received in her childhood come to the forefront. "Thank you for askin., I had a quite pleasant trip from the capital."

If anyone who knew Darkness and the way she acted on a regular basis saw her acting like this, their mouths and eyes would open wide in surprise, which would set off her usual behavior. Luckily, Alfonzo and Elicia made the decision to have Grayfia meet her.

"I'm glad to hear it." Grayfia said. "Then, if you would follow me, I'll lead you to the party venue."

"Please." Darkness replied with a nod. Then, she reached into the bag she carried over her shoulder and pulled out a small box wrapped with colorful wrapping paper. "And this is the gift I brought for the birthday boy."

"Then allow me to thank you on behalf of Master Alfonzo and Madam Elicia." Grayfia said as she took the box from Darkness.

With the pleasantries out of the way, Grayfia led Darkness, who appeared to be the perfect lady, into the backyard. The whole time, Darkness felt quite proud of herself for being able to keep up her act for so long, she had been keeping it up since she left Crocus, after all.

Unfortunately, as soon as she and Grayfia arrived in the backyard, Darkness' determination was tested, immediately, as she was just in time to see Alfonzo snatch up Gray by the scruff of his neck and back hand Natsu hard enough to send him flying into the lake before throwing Gray, who was only wearing his underwear, into the lake as well.

"I don't mind if you morons wanna fight!" Alfonzo shouted after the two he threw into the lake. "Stopping Fairy Tail wizards from fighting when enough of us gather is impossible, after all. But if your fights waste another morsel of food, you really won't like the consequences. Trust me on that."

Seeing the violence on display and the dangerous gaze Alfonzo was shooting in Gray and Natsu's directions, Darkness' switch was almost immediately flipped. However, she had promised herself that she would not do anything to shame her friends today. So, she held back from starting to pant like a dog in heat. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about the blush that appeared on her face.

'Today is going to be a long day.' Darkness thought to herself while trying to calm down. 'My determination will undoubtedly be pushed to its limits. But I shall prevail. I'm a knight with steadfast determination, after all.'