Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Margaret.
January, x786.
While Ultear and Juvia were talking to Jura and Sherria, Alfonzo was on the second floor of the Lamia Scale guild hall in Ooba's office, discussing the finer details of the training room installations.
"So, you had a space dug out below the guild hall for the six training chambers?" Alfonzo asked while looking over the guild hall's floor plans.
"Thats' right." Ooba replied with a nod. "I was going to send a message asking you to install one of those elevators, too. But I decided against it in the end. The shaft necessary for the elevator would not have been finished by the time you arrived."
"Yeah, I guess that would have been an issue." Alfonzo said, finally looking up from the blueprints. "Other than that, everything looks to be in perfect order. So, I'll get started tomorrow morning. And I'll spend each morning installing the chambers. Then, once all the chambers are installed, I'll run the lines so that you can have control over them from your office."
Nodding in response, Ooba expected nothing less. That was what they discussed back when she visited Magnolia, after all.
"Good, all the materials are loaded onto my ship." Alfonzo said. "So, I'll bring them over tomorrow morning when I arrive."
"Do you need me to send someone to help transport the materials?" Ooba asked.
"Nah, that won't be necessary." Alfonzo replied while waving dismissively. "I'll bring it all over with my magic. Unfortunately, since the space for the chambers is underground, it will take a little while for me to move them through the guild hall."
"I figured as much." Ooba replied with a nod. "Why don't I show you the way to your work space. Then, you can use the rest of the day to rest before getting to work tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good to me." Alfonzo replied with a smile.
A moment later, Ooba picked up her cane before standing from her seat.
Following Ooba's lead, Alfonzo also stood up. Then, he followed Ooba out of her office as they both made their way towards the stairs.
A few moments later, Alfonzo and Ooba had just reached the first floor. When they did, Alfonzo looked towards the table where Ultear, Juvia, Jura, and Sherria were sitting and chatting happily.
"Hmm... That girl looks like someone I've met before." Alfonzo muttered while looking towards Sherria, knowing exactly who she was.
"Hmm..." Ooba hummed as she also turned her head in the same direction. "Oh, that's Sherria, Sherry's younger cousin. Sherry came along with me when I attended your wedding a few months ago."
"Right... Now that you mention it, I remember her." Alfonzo said while cupping his chin with his right hand. "She was talking with that one guy from Blue Pegasus the whole time, right? She talked about love a lot, too, didn't she?"
"That's right." Ooba replied. "She and her cousin are a lot alike in that regard. They're both very serious about... {Love}."
As she spoke the last word, Ooba mimicked the tone Sherry used whenever she spoke of love. Somehow, she managed to get her voice to reverberate the same way, too. However, when she said it, it was not nearly as heartfelt. On top of that, Alfonzo found it quite cringe.
"Not to be rude, Master Ooba." Alfonzo said while wearing a wry smile. "But I really don't think that... fits your style, ya know."
Instead of flaring up with an offended expression, Ooba simply shrugged her shoulders.
"I agree." Ooba replied. "It felt wrong to me when I did it, too."
Hearing that, Alfonzo smiled as he continued to follow Ooba towards the staircase leading to the guild hall's basement. And when they finally reached the stairs, Ooba gripped the railing with her free hand as she struggled to climb down.
"Ugh! Age is really catching up to me." Ooba said as she climbed down one step at a time. "Ten years ago, these stairs would have been nothing. But now, they feel so steep."
Instead of replying, Alfonzo hurried to Ooba's side. Then, he offered her his arm to help her climb down the stairs.
"Such a gentleman." Ooba said with a slight smile. "It's hard to believe that you were raised by that Makarov."
Hearing that, Alfonzo smiled as he carefully helped Ooba down the stairs.
"Despite his short comings... pun intended... Gramps is a good guy." Alfonzo said. "And he helped me and Lici a lot over the years."
"Ha! You probably wouldn't speak so highly of him if you had heard him talk about how alike you and he were." Ooba replied with a scoff. "He used to say how you were just like him. Your talent, your good looks, and your luck with women."
Hearing that, Alfonzo's breath caught in his throat while he almost fell down the stairs, something that would have been catastrophic. Since Ooba was still holding on to his arm, he would have undoubtedly pulled her down with him.
"*Cough* Okay, I can give him talent." Alfonzo said as he got himself back together. "But good looks and luck with women? Was he cursing me or something? Hell, I'm not saying he was ugly... But to call himself good looking is a bit of a stretch. And if I had his luck with women, I would have several women who either never wanted to mention my name because of something I did or want to turn me into a eunuch."
This time it was Ooba's turn to almost fall down the stairs. Luckily, Alfonzo was supporting her. So, like last time, nothing happened. Ooba did start laughing, though. And she laughed hard. Hard enough that everyone on the floor above could hear her.
"Is that Ooba Babasama?" Sherria, who was still sitting at the table with Ultear, Juvia, and Jura asked in a shocked tone as she heard the laughter echoing through the guild hall.
"It would seems so." Jura replied with a nod. "I wonder what could have tickled her so."
"It was probably Alfonzo." Ultear replied with a smile. "He has a knack for making people laugh like that."
"Hmph! He isn't that great." Juvia, while snorting disdainfully, said in a jealous tone.
"Maybe if you ever gave him a chance, your opinion of him might change." Ultear replied with a wry smile."
"Maybe I will when he gives Juvia back her soul mate." Juvia said as she turned her head away.
While Jura and Sherria wore confused expressions, Ultear could only smile wryly, having expected Juvia to reply like that. However, like Alfonzo, she was hoping to get Juvia to lose her hate for Alfonzo. And while she was at it, she was hoping to get Juvia to stop stalking her. Though, she felt like the latter was little more than wishful thinking.
About twenty minutes later, Alfonzo and Ooba returned from the basement. And when they did, they made their way over to where Ultear, Juvia, Jura, and Sherria were sitting.
"Alfonzo, how is it?" Ultear asked once she noticed Alfonzo and Ooba approaching. Will installing the training chambers be an issue?"
"Nah, no trouble at all." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "The only issue will be getting the materials down into the basement. But that's just an issue of time rather than difficulty."
As he spoke, Alfonzo and Ooba arrived at the table. Then, like a gentleman, Alfonzo pulled a chair out for Ooba before helping her to take a seat. After that, he took a seat next to Ultear.
"Just a playboy." Juvia muttered discontentedly in response to Alfonzo's kind gesture. "That's why Ultear should be with Juvia."
In response, Alfonzo and Ultear could only smile wryly while shaking their heads. Meanwhile, Ooba, Jura, and Sherria looked at Juvia as if she grew a second head.
"What do you mean?" Ultear asked curiously.
"Anyway... when I installed the training chambers at the Mermaid Heel guild hall, they wanted them attached to the exterior walls. So, I could just fly all the materials to where I needed to work." Alfonzo explained. "But since I'll be building underground this time, I won't' be able to move as much material at one time as I did back then. And when I get to the final stages, I'll have very little space for the materials. So, I'll have to move them one at a time, more or less."
"Do you mean to say..." Jura said after taking a moment to process what Alfonzo said. "... that you need more space underground?"
"I wouldn't say I need it, but it would be nice." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
"Then, if you're willing to accompany me, I could expand the space." Jura suggested. "Since you're doing this for us, it's the least I could do."
"You are paying me for this, you know." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "Don't make it sound like I'm doing you a favor. Otherwise, I'd feel a little bad."
"I think you're misunderstanding something." Jura replied calmly. "Originally, I was the one who dug out the space for the new training chambers. However, I did not consider the space needed to prepare the materials. Instead, I only dug out the space to the specifications Master decided on."
"Ah... That makes sense." Alfonzo replied, finally understanding what Jura was getting at. "In that case, if you wouldn't mind, it would make completing the work much easier. Also, if you could, raising a few support pillars would be good for the stability of the underground space and the guild hall, too."
"That won't be a problem." Jura replied with a nod.
Like that, Alfonzo and Jura spent a little more time talking about what would be best for the underground space where the training chambers would be built. Meanwhile, Sherria, who had only heard about Alfonzo from Ooba and through Sorcerer Weekly was impressed by the professional tone he spoke to Jura with.
"Ooba Babasama, do you know what they're talking about?" Sherria asked quietly.
"They're talking about construction." Ooba replied. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Girl."
"Oh, okay." Sherria replied as she completely stopped paying attention to Alfonzo's and Jura's conversation as Ooba said.
"So, Sherria, I can tell you have quite a bit of magic power." Ultear said in an interested tone. "What kind of magic do you use?"
When she heard Ultear call her name, Sherria's attention turned to her immediately. However, when Ultear asked what kind of magic she used, Sherria turned her head back towards Ooba, waiting for permission to answer the question.
"It's fine, you can tell her." Ooba said.
Nodding in response, Sherria turned back to Ultear.
"I use [Sky God Slayer Magic]." Sherria said as she puffed out her chest proudly.
"Hmm... That would explain the feeling I was having." Ultear replied while nodding her head.
"What do you mean?" Sherria asked curiously.
Not only Sherria, but Ooba was also looking at Ultear with curiosity.
"Oh, are you referring to young Miss Marvell?" Jura asked as his and Alfonzo's conversation came to an end. "She's a [Sky Dragon Slayer], if my memories are correct."
"A [Sky Dragon Slayer]?" Sherria asked in wonder.
"Well, that's partially correct." Ultear replied. "But not all of it."
"You thought she felt similar to both Romeo and Wendy, didn't you?" Alfonzo asked with a smile.
"Exactly." Ultear said with a nod. "With Wendy practicing [Sky Dragon Slayer Magic] and Romeo practicing [Fire God Slayer Magic], I felt that your magic felt like a strange combination of the two. And what do you know, I was right."
"Fairy Tail has a [God Slayer] now, too?" Ooba asked with disbelief in her tone. "You already have four [Dragon Slayers], is that not enough?"
Alfonzo and Ultear only smiled in response while Juvia did not seem to be paying attention to the conversation.
"Anyway, Jura..." Alfonzo said, doing his best to change the subject. "Since we have some free time this afternoon, how about a little spar?"
Hearing that, Ultear looked at Alfonzo while wearing a pout.
"No fair, Alfonzo." Ultear said in a pitiful tone. "I wanted to spar with him, too."
"You snooze, you lose." Alfonzo replied with a shrug as he wrapped his arm around Ultear's waist. "But we'll be here for two months. I'm sure the opportunity will present itself again."
"Indeed." Jura replied. "Comparing notes with strong wizards is something I enjoy. I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to spar multiple times during your stay.'
"Hmph! Fine." Ultear said with a snort as she snuggled into Alfonzo's arms.
Meanwhile, Sherria blushed at the display of affection while Juvia began to quite literally boil in anger. Jura, on the other hand, stood from his seat before gesturing towards the doors leading to the Lamia Scale training ground.
"As you said, since we have the afternoon free, what better time than the present to have our spar?" Jura asked with a smile.
"Looks like Fairy Tail wizards aren't the only ones who enjoy a good fight, huh?" Alfonzo asked as he, too, stood from his seat. "Man, Natsu is gonna be so jealous. I heard about how he asked you to spar back then. But time did not allow it. I'm definitely gonna rub this in his face when I get back."