Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Takanosu.
October, x785.
About ten minutes after Alfonzo finished off the horde of zombies, Elicia, Kenji, Alice, and Zeke were approaching Rika's apartment. Then, without any warning, Zeke ran away from the group and bolted for the apartment building's front door.
"Zeke, come back." Alice said in a worried tone.
"You don't need to worry, Alice." Elicia said gently. "Zeke is gonna be fine."
"But..." Alice muttered, still sounding worried.
Despite Alice's worry, the group continued to walk. After a few more moments, they saw Zeke lying on his side. On top of that, Alfonzo was scratching his belly vigorously. Then, while continuing to scratch the puppy's belly, Alfonzo raised his head with a smile on his face.
"You guys took a while." Alfonzo said. "I thought I was gonna have to come back to get you."
"Not everyone can move at hypersonic speed, Fonzie." Elicia said as she rolled her eyes. Though, she was smiling, too. "Besides, we had to slow down for little Alice to keep up."
"I'm not that slow." Alice said somewhat bashfully.
In response, both Alfonzo and Elicia smiled while Kenji patted Alice on her head.
"Anyway, I'm sure you two must be tired." Alfonzo said as he finally stopped scratching Zeke's belly and stood up. "We should go inside. Then, you all can take a bath and have a little something to eat."
"Uh oh..." Elicia muttered.
"What's wrong, Lici?" Alfonzo asked curiously.
"I kinda gave all the food I scavenged to the people in that warehouse from earlier." Elicia replied bashfully.
"Don't worry about it." Alfonzo said while waving dismissively. "We have enough to give these two a late dinner---"
*Bark!* *Bark!*
"These three, I mean." Alfonzo said with a smile. "And unless someone goes through the fridge without any consideration, we should have more than enough for breakfast and lunch, too."
"I'll make sure not to forget tomorrow." Elicia said apologetically.
"I'll take care of going out tomorrow." Alfonzo said gently.
"Are you sure, Fonzie?" Elicia asked in a concerned tone. "You're better at training people than I am."
"It's fine." Alfonzo said. "You went out today, so tomorrow should be my turn."
"Thanks, Fonzie." Elicia replied with a smile.
Although Alfonzo mentioned that he was just taking his turn, Elicia knew he was giving her a break after what she saw in that shop today. Besides, through [Magic Power Detection], Alfonzo could tell there was a horde approaching one of the shelters that would arrive some time tomorrow. And he wanted to be there to deal with it.
"Anyway, let's go inside." Alfonzo said as he opened the front door.
Following Alfonzo, the group quickly reached the main living area where they were warmly welcomed by the others. Then, after the introductions, the girls took Alice to take a bath while Alfonzo cooked dinner and chatted with Takashi, Kohta, and Kenji.
Around the time dinner was ready, the ladies came out of the bathroom. Then, after a good meal, Kenji went to take a bath while Alfonzo, Takashi, and Kohta moved all the guns and ammunition out of the room they were using.
Not long after the boys finished moving all the weaponry, Kenji finished his bath and everyone decided to call it a night, with Elicia once again taking the first night shift and making clothes for Kenji and Alice during her shift.
The next morning, everyone woke up to another one of Alfonzo's meals. Then, they started getting ready for the day. And just like Alfonzo said the night before, he would be the one going out to deal with the zombies.
"Mr. Marcus." Saeko said just before Alfonzo could descend the stairs.
"Yeah, what's up?" Alfonzo asked curiously. Then, with a wry smile, he continued. "And seriously, just calling me Alfonzo is fine."
"Would you mind if I came with you?" Saeko asked with hope shining in her eyes. "I want the opportunity to help free the town I grew up in from this undead menace."
'Although there's probably some truth to what she said, she probably just wants the chance to commit some justified acts of violence.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he looked into Saeko's eyes. 'But then again, this is a different world, so I could be wrong.'
"Are you sure?" Alfonzo asked. "Things will be a lot different from the first day, you know?"
"Yes, I know." Saeko replied. "But I still want to go with you."
"*Sigh* I probably should say no..." Alfonzo said. "But something tells me if I do, you'll go on your own."
["If you really wanted her to stay, you or Elicia could make sure of that."] Bedlam said from Alfonzo's inner world.
'I know.' Alfonzo replied. 'But I'd rather not hold anyone against their will if it can at all be avoided.'
"That's right." Saeko replied while nodding solemnly.
"Fine." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "Hurry up and get ready."
"Okay." Saeko replied as she spun on her heels before running upstairs.
Smiling wryly, Alfonzo turned away from the stairs leading down to the first floor. Instead, he approached Shizuka, who was sitting at the table in the kitchen.
"Hey, Shizuka." Alfonzo said when he was close.
"Yes?" Shizuka asked while tilting her head cutely.
"Since Saeko wants to come with me, do you think your friend would mind if we used her magic vehicle?"
"Um..." Shizuka hummed as she placed her right index finger on her cheek while she thought about Alfonzo's question. "Probably not."
"Then, do you know where her keys are?" Alfonzo asked. "We never really looked for them after we Kamuro found the vehicle."
"Oh, they're in her bedroom." Shizuka said with a smile. "Wait right here, I'll go get them."
With that, Shizuka shot up to her feet, causing her breasts to jiggle gloriously. Then, she trotted past Alfonzo before climbing the stairs. Meanwhile, Alfonzo simply watched her go.
"I hate to see her leave..." Alfonzo muttered.
Before he could finish the saying, however, Alfonzo felt a glare on him. Tracking the source of the glare, he met eyes with Saya, who was standing on the mezzanine.
"Is something wrong, Miss Takagi?" Alfonzo asked curiously.
"If you're taking Miss Busujima, take me with you, too."
"You're not exactly a fighter, though." Alfonzo replied. "So, why do you want to come with us?"
"I want to see if my parents are okay." Saya replied.
"*Sigh* Fine." Alfonzo replied. "Get ready to go. And before you come back down, see if anyone else has an idea where their families might be."
"Good." Saya said while nodding happily.
With that, Saya turned around and rushed off to get prepared. Meanwhile, Alfonzo took a seat at the kitchen table.
Shortly after taking a seat, Alfonzo saw Zeke trotting up to him. So, like every other time the puppy approached him, he leaned down and started scratching him.
"I forgot how much you like dogs." Elicia said as she came down the stairs. "Should we get one?"
"I would love to." Alfonzo replied with a big smile. "but we'd have to run it by the other girls. If one of them doesn't like dogs, it probably wouldn't be a good idea."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Elicia said as she nodded in agreement. "Anyway, are you really taking those two with you?"
"*Sigh* Yeah." Alfonzo replied as he stopped petting Zeke. "Something tells me the only way to keep them from going out on their own is to tie them up. And I'd rather not do that. So, at least if they're with me, I can keep them safe."
"I guess you're right." Elicia replied as she took a seat in Alfonzo's lap. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Of course." Alfonzo replied. "Being careless with these zombies will end a hell of a lot worse than just losing an arm."
Nodding in response, Elicia enjoyed the few minutes with Alfonzo before Saeko, Saya, and Shizuka came back downstairs.
"I'm ready to go." Saeko said with the sword Alfonzo made her on the first day sheathed on her hip.
"Me, too." Saya added with a pair of magic pistols holstered on her hips and a bag filled with ammo.
"Did you find out where Kamuro, Miyamoto, Shizuka, and Hirano's families might have been before all this shit started?"
"So uncouth." Saya muttered quietly. Then, in a normal volume she answered Alfonzo's question. "Ms. Marikawa said that her family passed away a long time ago, so we don't need to worry about her. Takashi said that his mom should have been teaching at the primary school near my house. Hirano said that his parents were out of the country on business, and Miyamoto said that her parents should be at the shelter with the knights, since her father is one of the knight policing the town."
"Well, I guess we can check both those places while we're out." Alfonzo said with a shrug. Then, he turned to Saeko as he continued. "And what about you? Where are your parents?"
"MY mother passed away when I was young." Saeko said calmly. "As for my father, he was taking part in a tournament for swordsman in Caelum. So, he's not in danger."
"Alright." Alfonzo said as he lifted Elicia off his lap. "Now all we have to do is wait for Shizuka to come back with the keys to the magic vehicle."
"I'm coming!" Shizuka shouted as she started running down the stairs with a smile on her face. "I found the---! Kya~~~~!"
Unfortunately, before even getting halfway down the stairs, Shizuka, in her excitement, missed a step and started to fall down the stairs.
Luckily, before things got dangerous, Elicia reacted quickly, sending out her threads and wrapping them around Shizuka. Then, she lowered Shizuka to the bottom of the stairs gently before dispelling her threads.
"*Sigh* That would have hurt." Shizuka said while patting herself on the chest, causing her breasts to quake with every pat. Then, when she managed to calm down, she smiled once again. "Anyway, I found the keys!"
As she spoke the last sentence, Shizuka trotted over to Alfonzo. Then, when she was within arm's reach, she held out her right hand with her palm up, showing the keys to the magic vehicle.
"Thanks, Shizuka." Alfonzo said as he reached for the keys with one hand and subconsciously started combing his fingers through Shizuka's hair with the other.
Realizing what he was doing a moment later, Alfonzo smiled wryly as he pulled his hand away from Shizuka's head. At the same time, the content smile on Shizuka's face was replaced by a discontent pout.
"Sorry about that." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "I didn't mean to do that."
"I don't think she minded." Elicia said with a mischievous smile.
Ignoring Elicia's teasing, Alfonzo turned towards the stairs leading to the ground floor.
"Let's get started." Alfonzo said as he started walking towards the stairs. "We've got a lot of ground to cover today."
Looking between Alfonzo and Shizuka with weird expressions, Saeko and Saya eventually followed Alfonzo down the stairs. Then, when only Elicia and Shizuka were left in the kitchen, Shizuka started running her own fingers through her hair.
"That felt really nice." Shizuka said with a pout. "His fingers against my scalp was really soothing."
"I know, right." Elicia said while smiling happily. "And you know, if you come back to Magnolia with us when this is all over, you can get him to do that whenever you want."
Elicia's words were like the devil's whispers in Shizuka's ears as her eyes lit up at the thought.
'I wonder if Rika would come with me if I moved to Magnolia...' Shizuka thought to herself. 'Then we could still see each other all the time.'
"And if you joined Fairy Tail and worked as one of its healers, you would get even more chances to feel Fonzie's fingers in your hair." Elicia continued after seeing the glint in Shizuka's eyes.
'And if I'm guessing right, she's thinking of a way to get Rika to come with her, too.' Elicia thought to herself while continuing to tempt Shizuka into joining Fairy Tail. 'So, if things go well, we'll be getting two for the price of one outta this deal.'
["You really wanna touch her boobs that much?"] Scylla asked disdainfully. ["You really are just a dirty old man on the inside. You're even trying to drag an unsuspecting woman into this."]
'No, no, no, Scylla.' Elicia replied internally. 'What I'm doing is for the good of the guild. With more healers in the guild, everyone will be safer if they get hurt on a quest. What I'm doing is objectively a good thing. Plus, having another [Magic Gunner] wouldn't be bad for the guild, either.'
["If you hadn't said something about getting Shizuka into Fonzie's harem so you could feel how soft her boobs are the other night, I might believe you."] Scylla replied while rolling her eyes.
'I have no idea what you're talking about, Scylla.' Elicia replied with a smile.