Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
June 16, x792.
After eventually getting Alfonzo to calm down, the reward ceremony was able to continue. However, the sound of stifled laughter could be heard sporadically throughout the throne room coming from wizards, noblemen, and royalty alike. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, the target of this laughter, stood in front of the throne with an expression that looked as though his soul left his body several minutes ago. {Pic}
"To reward Alfonzo Marcus, the wizard who single-handedly defeated the continents greatest threat for the past four hundred years, Acnologia…" Toma said in a grandiose tone.
"Hey! He didn't fight that dragon alone!" Natsu shouted, interrupting the king's speech.
*Bang!*
However, just as quickly, Erza's fist slammed down on Natsu's head, slamming the pink-haired Dragon Slayer face-first into the floor. Erza then glared at all the other Dragon Slayers present with a promise of more if they interrupted. However, none of the other Dragon Slayer's had any intention of doing so. They all knew what kind of help they were when fighting Acnologia. And they were not shameless enough to claim they played any significant role in his defeat.
Meanwhile, the sound of Erza's fist striking the top of Natsu's head finally brought Alfonzo back to awareness. And when he realized he was still in the throne room and everyone was laughing at him, he understood that everything that happened was not just a dream.
Alfonzo did not make another scene, however. That would be reserved for the next time he saw Makarov, Ur, and Mavis. But for now, he decided he would listen to what the king would present as a reward. He earned it, after all.
"*Cough* As I was saying, as the one who defeated Acnologia, the Royal Family has decided to bestow upon you the title of Duke." Toma continued. "And this will not just be some honorary title, either. No, instead, you will be granted the lands that Everlue used to rule. A territory that also includes the home of Fairy Tail, Magnolia, and the town where the orphanage that helped you when you lost your parents and village, Hargeon."
*Gasp!*
The sound of people sucking in sharp breaths could be heard all around the throne room. And the envious, covetous, and appreciative looks sent Alfonz's way were numerous. Yet, Alfonzo did not look happy in the slightest.
'Wait… Did this old bastard just give me the area with the greatest costs in collateral damage around the whole kingdom and call it a reward?' Alfonzo asked himself as he tried his best to keep his temper in check. 'Does he think writing letters to the Magic Council to have Fairy Tail compensate me for all the losses they cause is a good thing? Oh, hold the fuck up! Does that mean I'll have to write fucking reflection letters to my-fucking-self? Fuck that!'
By now, Alfonzo's rage had reached the peak, and Elicia could see it in his eyes. However, she had no idea how to stop Alfonzo from turning into the kingdom's worst Dark Wizard from its greatest hero.
Luckily, Elicia did not have to think about it for too long. Because there was someone else who broke the silence before either she or Alfonzo could.
"Yes~~~~~!" Hisui shouted from her throne next to Toma's. Then, she shot up to her feet with her fists raised overhead in victory as she continued to yell. "Finally, all the obstacles have been cleared. Now there's nothing in the way of me and Alfonzo getting married! Ha! Let's see those nobles try and get in the way with reason like we're of different stations now!" {Pic}
*Tch!* *Scoff!*
As soon as Hisui's declaration rang out in the throne room, nobles clicking their tongues and scoffing were audible immediately afterwards. And the reason was quite simple.
It was no secret that Hisui was the only child of the king, Toma E. Fiore. Meaning, unless she were to pass away early, she would become the next monarch of the kingdom. Queen Hisui E. Fiore. And anyone who could marry her, although they would not be crowned king, would rise to a level well beyond their current status.
It was also no secret to anyone in the upper echelons of the country that Hisui had feelings for Alfonzo. She was also close with all of his wives. Yet, because Alfonzo, despite his wealth and influence in Fiore and the entirety of Ishgar, was only a commoner. There for, no matter how much Hisui liked, or even loved him, there was no way they would be allowed to marry in the future.
And when the noblemen who coveted Hisui as a means of growing their influence looked at Toma, they grew even more irritated. And that was because the smile on his face was too damn smug in their eyes.
In reality, Toma really was smiling. However, he was not even paying attention to all the sour noblemen whose plans to rise in the ranks had been shattered. Instead, he was smiling at his daughter with the doting smile of a father that would be willing to do anything to make his little girl happy.
In most situations, a princess would be used as a political bargaining chip. Because in most cases the king would have a prince to pass the crown to. However, in this case, Toma only had a single child, a daughter. Meaning, she could not simply be married away for political gain. As the only other person in the royal family, she was destined to become Fiore's next queen.
And because the Dragon King festival never took place in this timeline, there was nothing that could stop her from gaining her rightful title. But she would have to eventually marry to continue the royal bloodline. And the nobles were all hoping they could become that man.
But as previously mentioned, Hisui was already in love with another man. So, Toma decided to take this opportunity to make that man, Alfonzo, a proper marriage candidate. Though, he did forget about the fact that Fairy Tail was stationed in the territory Alfonzo would govern after this appointment.
But Alfonzo would figure something out… He always did, after all.
Meanwhile, every member of Fairy Tail was left with dumbfounded expression ons their faces. To think, a member of their guild would ever be considered for a position of nobility was crazy. They were all aware of how much destruction they brought to every kingdom they ever took quests in, after all.
But when they looked at Alfonzo, they saw the only exception in the guild history. Even the one time he was marked as responsible for the guild's property damage on a quest, he was not personally responsible for it. Rather, it was his teammates being unable to hold back while he was not present.
A moment later, every member of the guild other than Alfonzo and Elicia shuddered in unison.
"Wait… Don't most of the quests we take happen in the territory Alfonzo is gonna be in charge of?" Lucy whispered into Erza's ear.
"Indeed." Erza replied in a solemn tone.
"And he's also the guild master right now, right?" Lucy continued.
"That is correct." Erza replied with another solemn nod.
"Then, what kind of punishment are we gonna get if Natsu, Gray, and you keep breaking stuff in his territory?" Lucy asked a third question.
"Don't worry." Erza said as she turned to pat Lucy on the shoulder.
"Oh, you have a plan?" Lucy asked as her eyes lit up. "Wait, we are his wives. So, he probably won't punish us as harshly as Natsu and Gray, right?"
"No, that's definitely not it.' Erza replied while shaking her head.
"Then, what?" Lucy asked, the light in her eyes extinguishing just as quickly.
"We just won't take quests in that part of Fiore anymore." Erza said as if it was the simplest solution in the world.
"Does that mean you plan to take quests in other guild's territories?" lucy asked, her tone making it sound like she just heard the worst scandal in history. "Aren't all of the major guilds in other territories our allies? Wouldn't that be bad?"
"Don't worry, if we explain ourselves properly, I'm sure they'll understand." Erza said with total confidence.
Unfortunately, Lucy did not share that same level of confidence. Neither did the last member of Team Natsu, who had been standing quietly beside her and Erza.
"Um… Shouldn't we just try to be more careful and take responsibility for the things we break?" Wendy asked quietly.
"*Sigh* That would make too much sense for this guild." Lucy said in a forlorn tone. "Maybe it's time I finally started trying to take quests on my own. At least I won't have to worry about getting blamed for the demolition crew's mistakes."
"Maybe I should do the same." Wendy said in a small voice.
"I've been telling you the same thing for such a long time, Wendy." Carla said while crossing her arms. "You didn't have to stay on this team just because of my relationship with Happy."
Meanwhile, over in the area where the Mermaid Heel wizards were gathered.
"Damn… That brat has really risen up in the world, huh?" Tsunade, Mermaid Heel's Fifth Guild Master asked with her arms crossed under her more than impressive assets. "But I know he'll be getting the good stuff on the regular. Hmm… Maybe I should try seducing him not getting me a few bottles."
"Sensei, please stop." Sakura muttered with a slightly flushed face. "Everyone can hear you."
"And?" Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are any of them bold enough to try calling me out on it?"
"That's really not the point." Sakura muttered.
"So, my man is a Duke?" Yoruichi asked in a tone filled with disbelief. "He actually matches my status back home now."
"He's still never going to be good enough for you, Lady Yoruichi." Sui-Feng muttered while looking at Alfonzo with annoyance.
Ever since Sui-Feng met him, she always had something to say about Alfonzo not being good enough for her Lady Yoruichi. At first, it was his strength. Then, she saw just how strong he was. Then, she mentioned that he could not afford to take care of someone like Yoruichi… Then, she found out that Alfonzo was the owner of Sixth Sense Holdings, and that argument died, as well.
And for years, she held on to the fact that Alfonzo could not match the noble status Yoruichi held back on the Soul Continent. And although she knew nothing would change, it comforted her. But now… Now, her last pillar of security was gone, as well.
"*Sigh* When are you gonna let this go, Bumble Bee?" Yoruichi asked in an exasperated tone. A moment later, however, she leaned down to whisper in Sui-Feng's ear with a mischievous expression on her face. "Besides, if you actually accepted him and started to like him, maybe we could have fun together in his bed."
Immediately, all of Sui-Feng's thought processes crashed to a halt. Now, the only thing occupying her mind was an image of her and Yoruichi embracing passionately on a large bed. There was a man in the image, too, one she refused to acknowledge, but that was not important at the moment.
*Spurt!*
Then, when her daydream reached a certain, steamy, point, Sui-Feng's eyes rolled back, her body started tipping backwards, and two streams of blood shot out of her nose as she fainted with an expression full of bliss on her face.
"Well, it looks like she can't deny it anymore." Rangiku said while poking Sui-Feng's cheek as Yoruichi held on to her so she did not fall to the floor. "She's got it bad. Though, everyone already knew that. But now, it's official."
"*Sigh* Stop teasing her." Yoruichi said. "It's been hard for her, too. As my assigned guard, she was not supposed to have these feelings for me. So, she had to keep them hidden."
"And she did a bang up job of that." Rangiku replied with a snort of laughter.
"Well, she could not openly admit to them." Yoruichi corrected herself. "Anyway, let's just wait to see how Alfonzo reacts to this when he finally comes back to his senses."
And just as Yoruichi said that, Alfonzo snapped his head towards Elicia, who was smiling as if everything had gone according to plan.
"I don't know why… But I get the feeling this was your doing somehow." Alfonzo said while narrowing his eyes.
"Huh? Whatever could you possibly mean my dear husband?" Elicia asked while putting on the most innocent expression she could muster. "Why would you think I had anything to do with this? I mean, you make it seem like I gave Hisui the idea of hinting to her father that making you a member of the upper nobility would solve her problem. But that would just be silly. Or are you implying that I messaged her that rewarding you with a Dukedom would be fitting for everything you did during the war? Come on, Fonzie, do I really look like that kind of person to you?"
By the end of her innocent act, Elicia's smile had morphed into something so mischievous that it would have looked right at home on the face of some god of mischief instead of a twenty-eight-year-old wife and mother.
"I'll deal with you later." Alfonzo muttered as he turned back towards the throne.
However, before he could say anything about accepting or offer a word of gratitude to Toma, Alfonzo widened his eyes. And the reason for that was simple. There was a green-haired missile flying at him from nearby.
*Bang!*
"Alfonzo!" Hisui, now sitting on Alfonzo's waist without a care for how the others in the throne room looked at her, sad after tackling Alfonzo to the floor. "We're getting married in three days. I've waited too long for this day, and I will not wait any longer."
Not wanting to hurt Hisui's feelings, Alfonzo decided that it would be best to just accept his fate. Then, after letting out a sigh of resignation, he looked up at Hisui with a wide smile.
"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. Then, he turned to look at all the excited Fairy Tail wizards gathered around him. "I just hope the palace is still standing after the reception."
===Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads End=== {Pic}