Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Heartfilia Kanzen HQ.
December, x777.
Several months had passed since the Eclipse Gate was opened. In those months, a few things of note had happened. First, Layla Heartfilia passed away. After feeding so much of her magic power into he Eclipse Gate, she came down with an incurable disease known as Magic Deficiency Disease.
This disease was a slow and painful death for anyone who came down with it as it caused all the magic power in an individual's body to dissipate from their body.
Before she died, however, she gave the three remaining Celestial Spirit Keys she had in her possession to the three people she trusted the most, asking them to give the keys to her daughter, Lucy when she was old enough.
While Grammi and another man named Zoldeo left the Heartfilia Kanzen after being entrusted with their keys, the third, a man named Sebastian, chose to stay behind and take care of Layla and Lucy until Layla passed away.
As Grammi never fully trusted Zoldeo, feeling that he had the desire to have all of Layla's Celestial Keys for himself, she only left for a short time, deciding to relocate her own daughter to somewhere safe, so that she could not be used against her, before returning to Layla's side.
Eventually, in December of x777, Layla could fight her disease no longer, passing away after telling her daughter how much she loved her and asking her husband to take care of their child. Unfortunately, due to the grief of losing his wife, her husband, Jude Heartfilia, would neglect their daughter, Lucy, for many years to come in favor of looking after his business.
Grammi, on the other hand, decided to return to her daughter after Layla passed away. Before she left, however, she left the Celestial Spirit Key in her possession, the one that represented Aquarius, with Lucy.
Unfortunately, shortly after she left the Heartfilia Kanzen HQ, she was killed by Zoldeo, who, just as she expected, intended to have all of Layla's keys for himself.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
Time also passed for the wizards of Fairy Tail. While not much of note happened, the time for the S-Class promotion exam came and went once again. And like previous years, no one stood out among their peers and managed to elevate themselves to the next level, once again.
The youths of the guild, however, were still making steady progress. In fact, Makarov was looking forward to some of them, namely Laxus, the Thunder God Tribe, Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, Ultear, and Erza, being eligible to take the S-Class promotion exam in the next few years.
Today, however, was not the day to think about that. Instead, Makarov, was accompanying Alfonzo and Elicia to the plot of land he had helped them acquire last year. And he was shocked at what he was seeing to say the very least.
Standing at front gates of a large, two-story mansion that was surrounded by a 10 foot (3 m) tall wall, Makarov could only gape at the exquisite home in front of him.
'Isn't this nicer than my own house?' Makarov asked himself while he occasionally glanced at the two youngsters standing next to him. 'How in the hell did those two make blueprints for a house this nice on their own?'
Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Elicia were brimming with excitement and a sense of achievement while they looked at their new home from a distance. While Alfonzo smiled calmly, Elicia would have been bouncing off the walls if they weren't so far apart from one another.
"Fonzie! Fonzie!" Elicia exclaimed as she held onto Alfonzo's left arm while she jumped up and down. "Our house,! This is our house! We have our own house again!"
While Elicia could not calm down, Alfonzo could only comb the fingers of his free hand through her hair.
"It's too bad everyone else is away on quests." Alfonzo said as he began walking toward his Vanquish. "It would have been nice to show them around."
"Yeah." Elicia said, calming down slightly when Alfonzo started to move. "But they'll be back soon enough, right? We can just show them then. We can even have a housewarming party!"
"You're right." Alfonzo said with a chuckle. "Well, let's go. We should check out the interior ourselves, right?"
"Right!" Elicia said, finally letting go of Alfonzo's arm and moving toward her own car.
Seeing the kids go, Makarov shook his head with a wry smile on his face. Then, he approached Alfonzo's Escalade.
"I get the feeling that they only offered to show me around the house so that they would have someone to bring their last car over." Makarov muttered to himself as he hopped into the Escalade's driver's seat.
A moment later, all three vehicles approached the front of the mansion. Then, they all turned to the left where a five-car garage was connected to the house.
Inserting a bit of magic power into a magic item that was hanging from the ceiling of his Vanquish, Alfonzo watched as the garage door opened before parking inside. He was then closely followed by Elicia and Makarov.
"This Garage is pretty practical." Makarov said after climbing out of the Escalade. "Maybe I should have one built at my house. That way, I won't have to worry about the car getting dirty because of the elements."
"Well, if you want, I can make the magic item to open and close the door for that garage whenever you build it." Alfonzo said as he walked past Makarov. "I'll even give you a discount on that one."
Makarov could only smile wryly as Elicia also walked past him with an excited smile on her face. Then, he followed the two kids as they entered the house through the door in the garage.
When they entered the house, the first thing they saw was a short corridor that lead further into he home. Turning to the left, they could see a small area that was clearly dedicated to doing laundry, with a magic washing machine and dryer, two devices that Alfonzo and Nell created and patented with the kingdom.
On a side note, Alfonzo had also received a patent for his new magic vehicle engine design. Though, it was a much weaker version of what was in the cars he made himself, and negotiated with the kingdom so that he would get a cut from every sold vehicle that used his new engine design.
"So, how are the sales for the washers and dryers?" Makarov asked, curious to know if the convenient objects were gaining popularity among the populace.
"There great." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Soon enough, we'll have enough money to buy a shop for Elicia. Then, she can sell the clothes she designs."
While Makarov wore an expression that said, "as expected," Elicia smiled brightly. She was looking forward to the chance to sell he clothes to people around the kingdom.
After answering Makarov's question, the trio continued looking around the mansion. If you continued past the laundry area, there was a small powder room. Then, after turning back and going down the short corridor, you would enter a fully equipped kitchen with a large sliding-glass door that lead to a patio and the backyard.
After walking through the kitchen, there was a large open space. Straight ahead, on the opposite side of the kitchen door was the door leading to the master bedroom and in the center of the wall to the right was the front entrance, a pair of ornately carved doubled doors. To the left, directly opposite the front door, was a staircase that led to the second floor.
The rest of the open space in this area was suitable for parties. In most cases, however, this area would be used to greet any guests that may arrive. Then, on the walls to either side of the stairs was a door. While the one on the left, led to the dining room, the one on the right led to the living room. And both rooms were connected by a corridor with a full bathroom and a pair of glass door that led out to the backyard.
Opposite the door to the backyard was a door that led to a flight of steps that went down to the basement where there was a storage room, a large weightlifting room, and a game room with a billiards table, several dart boards, card tables, and a bar. There was even a small wine cellar behind the bar.
Heading back upstairs, The trio then looked through the master bedroom.
"For some reason, I was expecting more." Makarov said as the trio stepped into the master bedroom.
"What more do you need in a bedroom?" Alfonzo asked while rolling his eyes.
"I know, right?" Elicia said with a bright smile on her face. "Besides, it's perfect!"
And just as Elicia said, the room was perfect for what the two intended to use t for. Upon entering the room, the first thing anyone would notice was a workstation that would eventually be piled up with thread, cloth, and drawing utensils. Naturally, this would be where Elicia worked on her clothing idea.
To the left, there was a wall with an opened sliding door that separated Elicia's workspace from the rest of the bedroom. Walking through that door, one would see a large bed against the center of the wall to the left. On the opposite wall, there was a love seat and a small table with a pair of chairs. There was also another pair of glass doors that led to the backyard on the wall opposite the entrance.
On the same wall as the bed, there was a door that led to a changing area with three walk-in closets and the master bathroom. It was a large bathroom with two sinks, a toilet, two shower, and a large bathtub with windows that allowed one to look into the backyard while nothing could be seen from outside.
"Okay, I have to admit this bathroom is amazing." Makarov said while looking around the bathroom. "But why are there three closets I the changing area when there are only two of you here?"
"One is for me." Alfonzo said, replying to Makarov's question. "One is for Elicia's clothes, and one is for her shoes."
"Seriously?" Makarov asked with an astonished expression on his face. "How can one person have so many clothes."
"Well, I do make clothes." Elicia said with a smile. "So, I'll need a lot of room to keep my finished products, right?"
"I see." Makarov replied with a nod. Even if he did not really understand the magnitude of Elicia's love for clothing.
"On top of that, I'm sure most of my closet will eventually be filled with her stuff, too." Alfonzo said with a wry smile.
"Hey, I don' have that much stuff." Elicia objected with a pout.
"Yet." Alfonzo countered.
"Stupid Fonzie!" Elicia shouted as she pouted even harder before looking away.
Seeing the interactions between his two favorite children, mostly because they don't cause the guild's coffers to be drained with every quest, Makarov smiled fondly.
"So, we're going upstairs next, right?" Makarov asked.
"Sure." Alfonzo replied. "But there really isn't much to see up there."
Even if what Alfonzo said was true, Makarov was still curious to see the upstairs. So, the trio made their way back to the open area at the front of the house. Then, they walked up the stairs. When they arrived, there was a short hallway that led to yet another pair of glass doors opposite the stairs.
There was also a hallway that stretched to either side of the stairway. On each side of the corridor, there were four bedrooms, two on each side of the hall. Each bedroom had its own full bathroom and a closet for guests or residents to store their belongings.
"Even if you say there isn't much to see, these guest rooms are very nice." Makarov said with a smile. "The two of you did a wonderful job designing this house."
'Damn it! I'm so jealous!' Makarov shouted mentally as he smiled at Alfonzo and Elicia. 'This house is better than mine in every conceivable way. I'm supposed to be the guild master, damn it! Maybe I should have my house torn down and build a new one. I wonder how much they'll charge me to draw the blueprint for the new one.'
While Makarov seriously contemplated having his house rebuilt, Alfonzo and Elicia were almost glowing at the compliment their new home just received.
"Well, since we've looked at everything else, why don't we take a look at the backyard?" Elicia asked, skipping toward the glass doors opposite the stairs.
Naturally, Alfonzo and Makarov followed her. Then, after opening the doors, the trio stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked the entire backyard. There was even a good view of the lake from there.
"You two definitely picked the best of the properties around the lake." Makarov said as he enjoyed the view. "But what are you gonna do with all the open space you have back here?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, we have a few ideas." Alfonzo said with a smile before exchanging glances with Elicia who was also smiling.