บท 190: After the Tower Fell

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Akane Beach.

September, x784.

After the battle between Alfonzo and Jellal came to an end, the first thing Alfonzo and the girls did was look to restrain Jellal. Unfortunately, during the short time that Alfonzo and Erza were speaking, his body was swept away by the current.

After searching the area with their [Magic Power Detection], with no results to speak of, they tried to save as many people as they could from the wrecked ships. Unfortunately, the two explosions, as well as the subsequent shockwaves and tidal waves, caused a lot of damage to many of the ships that were escaping the island.

In the end, with confirmation from Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna, they were only able to save about a third of the people who were forced to clean around the tower. As for those who became enforcers/security for the tower, they were only able to save the few who ran immediately instead of fighting. Those that fought, were more than likely still unconscious inside the tower when it fell and sank into the sea.

Then, once all the rescue operations were over, the five Fairy Tail wizards wished everyone well as they were sent off to start a new life. Meanwhile, Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna returned to Akane Beach with them on their ship.

The group eventually returned to Akane Beach shortly after noon, dropping Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna off somewhere along the way. Since they decided that everyone who escaped from the tower would get another chance, even those who attacked them the night before. Other than Ikaruga, that is.

On a side note, Ikaruga, after finding out that it was Elicia who saved her, vowed to dedicate the rest of her life to Elicia. She declared that once her sentence was complete, assuming she did not receive the death penalty or life in prison, she would find Elicia and serve her as gratitude for saving her life.

A while later, after Alfonzo and the girls gave their report on the events that took place on the unnamed island and handed over Ikaruga, who had woken up on the way back to Akane Beach, to the authorities, the five returned to their hotel room to get some much deserved rest.

Meanwhile, Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna were walking towards Akane Resort from the spot where Alfonzo and the girls dropped them off. Although they were not exactly thrilled about having to walk back to the resort from such a long distance, they understood why they had to do so.

When they left Akane Beach with the wizards from Fairy Tail, they were prisoners whose only value was the fact that they could lead them to the Tower of Heaven. And none of them had any doubt that if they returned with the wizards from Fairy Tail to Akane Beach, the authorities would want to take them into custody for their attack in the casino.

So, with little in the way of complaints, they walked back to the resort with a promise to meet up with Erza and her friends.

"I can't believe Erzie-Werzie joined a harem." Millianna said as the group of four walked. "She's so pretty, I always thought she would have men flocking to her instead, meow."

"Yeah, I'm so jeal--- *Cough* curious… I definitely meant curious… how that Alfonzo guy managed to convince all those dames to join his harem." Wally said, hastily correcting his initial statement after Millianna shot a glare in his direction.

"Sister Erza deserves someone who loves her and her alone." Shô chimed in. "But I'm curious, too. I mean, how awkward does it have to be to ask more than one girl to join your harem?"

"In the end, that doesn't matter." Simon said, not looking back at the others from his position at the front of the group. "As long as Erza is happy, that's good enough."

Hearing that, the chatter between Shô, Wally, and Millianna died down as they exchanged glances. Then, they all nodded in agreement.

"But if I were to ever find out that playboy made Erza sad, I would come to make him pay." Simon continued in a determined tone.

Shô, Wally, and Millianna could not help but smile after hearing Simon's declaration. Though, they decided to tease him about it, nonetheless.

"Make him pay? How?" Wally asked with a smirk on his face. "You saw that fight, didn't you? He would kick your butt faster than you could get your first complaint out."

"Wally's right, Simon." Shô added. "I didn't know you were suicidal. Should we find a therapist for you after we get back?"

"Besides, someone who doesn't have the courage to confess doesn't get to say stuff that sounds so cool, meow." Millianna chimed in.

Though she said it in a playful tone, Millianna's comment caused the conversation to die out momentarily. Her jab seemed a little too much like a personal attack, after all.

"*Cough* Of course I didn't confess." Simon said awkwardly. "She's already in a relationship. That would be weird."

"You had all the chances in the world to tell her how you felt before she left the tower." Millianna pointed out. "But you didn't. So, that's not an excuse, meow."

'She really was making a personal attack.' Simon, Shô, and Wally thought after Millianna's retort.

Seeing that Simon had fallen silent, Millianna wore a smug expression on her cat-like face. The fact of the matter is, Millianna was a bit dissatisfied with how shy Simon was in the past. In her opinion, if he had been able to confess his feelings back then, they might not have lost touch with Erza. At the very least, she would not have been taken by someone outside their group.

"*Cough* Anyway…" Shô muttered trying to break the awkward atmosphere. "What are you guys gonna do after we meet up with Sister Erza later?"

Hearing Shô's question Simon and Wally were quick to agree with changing the subject while Milliana just let the change happen.

"I'm gonna go out and see the world." Wally said. "And if I'm lucky, maybe I'll be able to find Richard along the way."

"That's right, your brother was taken away by that guy, Brain, who came to the tower and inspected all the slaves shortly before we staged the rebellion, wasn't he?" Simon asked as more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah… Apparently he had a lot of talent for magic." Wally replied with a nod. "So, he and a few other kids were taken away."

"I wonder why he took them, meow?" Millianna asked curiously.

"I don't know, but after hearing the old cultists talk about that Brain guy, I can only hope they're all right." Shô said, chipping in on the conversation.

"What do you mean?" Wally asked with concern.

"One time after they were taken away, I heard some of the old cultists talking about it." Shô replied. "Apparently, that guy wanted to train them. But he had a reputation for breaking most of the people he helped get stronger."

Hearing that, Wally clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. A moment later, he took a deep breath and released all his tension with the exhale.

"Getting mad won't do me any good now." Wally said. "It's been years since then. Anyway, I'll go out and explore the world. I'll listen for rumors about Richard along the way. And if I find out that guy caused him to die, I'll get strong enough to make him pay for it."

"And if you need our help, we'll be there for you." Simon said, patting Wally on the shoulder.

Shô and Millianna nodded their heads in agreement.

"So, what about you, Simon?" Shô asked. "I remember you said you had a sister, too. And you managed to hide her so that she wasn't captured by the cultists when they attacked your village. You're gonna go look for her, too, aren't you?"

"Indeed." Simon replied. "She's four years younger than me. So, she should be about sixteen now. I wonder how she lived all these years. She was only six when our village was attacked, after all."

To everyone's surprise, the perpetually grumpy expression Simon always wore on his face vanished while he talked about his sister, replace by a small, doting smile.

"Simon, you're smiling?" Shô asked, disbelief clear in his tone. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Yeah… I thought your face was stuck like that after you took that magic spell to the face back then." Wally added in astonishment.

"Meow, meow, meow." Millianna exclaimed while nodding in agreement wit the other two.

"*Sigh* Of course, I can smile." Simon replied in an exasperated tone. "But there weren't really any reasons to smile back on the island."

With that, the other three calmed down, completely agreeing with Simon's statement.

"Anyway, if your sister looks like you, I kinda feel sorry for her, meow." Millianna said light-heartedly.

At that, Shô and Wally involuntarily imagined a female version of Simon. When the image of a tall, muscular, tan skinned woman with a perpetual scowl on her face appeared in their minds, they could not help but recoil.

"No, you idiots." Simon replied after seeing Shô and Wally's expressions. "Kagura looks nothing like me. She takes after our mother while I look just like our father. Kagura was so cute back then. I bet she's absolutely breath taking now. *Sigh* When I find her, I'll have to make sure that the boys stay away from her. And I definitely can't let that playboy get anywhere near her."

Once again, as Simon spoke, his usual expression disappeared and was replaced by a doting smile when he talked about his sister. But when he mentioned the boys that would undoubtedly flock around her, his scowl returned. And when he thought about Alfonzo seducing his sister into his harem, his scowl deepened.

Meanwhile, Shô, Wally, and Millianna could only smile wryly at this new side of their friend.

"Anyway, I'm gonna explore the world, too." Shô said, looking up at the sky while walking forward. "Other than that, I don't really have anything planned."

"Me too." Millianna followed up. "I wanna see the world, too, meow. Then, maybe I'll join a guild. It seems to have helped Erzie-Werzie make a lot of friends."

Hearing Millianna's idea, the others also considered it. Joining a guild would at least mean that they would not be alone, even if they ended up separated from each other, which they all knew was a distinct possibility.

After that, they continued making their way towards Akane Resort while they discussed their plans for the future.

A few hours later, just after sun set, Alfonzo woke up, surrounded by Elicia, Cana, Ultear, and Erza, after they finally got the chance to rest. On top of giving their reports about what happened with the Tower of Heaven, they were also grilled for quite some time about Jellal's whereabouts.

Apparently, a bounty was placed on Jellal. His infiltration and subsequent destruction of the Magic Council's headquarters were more than enough reason for the continent to see him as a criminal.

Because of that, the officers from the Magic Council, who had inherited the bias of the Councilmen towards Fairy Tail, heavily implied that Alfonzo and the girls might have helped Jellal escape. Because of that, the debriefing took around four hours when it could have been done in less than two.

"*Yawn* Damn… I'm still sleepy." Alfonzo muttered as he sat up. "We didn't even get it in before falling asleep. I blame the Magic Council for this."

With that said, Alfonzo spread out his [Magic Power Detection] to check if Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna had arrived. And just as he expected, he found them walking along the beach, approaching the resort from the direction where they were dropped off.

"Okay, girls." Alfonzo said, raising his voice slightly. "Those four from the tower are finally here."

"Of course, gimme another drink." Cana mumbled.

"Five more minutes." Elicia said in her sleep.

"No, you use a knife, not a sword to cut strawberry shortcakes." Erza mumbled while drool flowed out of her mouth and onto the pillow.

Ultear was the only one who did not mumble something in her sleep. Instead, she simply turned away from the sound of Alfonzo's voice and pulled the blanket up over her head.

"*Sigh* Lici's always been like this." Alfonzo muttered as he looked over the four sleeping beauties he was sharing a bed with. "But when did the rest pick up the same habit?"

After that, Alfonzo spent the next few minutes trying to wake up his fiancées. Then, when they were all finally awake, the five of them got dressed and went out to meet the four new arrivals on the beach where they talked about their plans for the future. Eventually, the four, newly independent wizards were sent off with a display of magical fireworks to celebrate their new beginnings.

Afterwards, Alfonzo was dragged back to the hotel suite so that he and the girls could do some intense testing of the bed int their room's comfort levels.