Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
December 8, x787.
The following day, Alfonzo, Wendy, Carla, Saeko, Rika, and Miyuki piled into the S 600 to leave the Village Hidden in the Leaves accompanied by Team Guy. Naturally, Saeko, Rika, and Miyuki were blindfolded until the group reached the Vally of the End. Then, after arriving at the valley, and after the blindfolds were removed, the group chatted for a short while. This time was mostly used by Lee to talk with Wendy. He even managed to get her to agree to have dinner with him one day after she came back with Alfonzo.
Then, after bidding each other farewell, Alfonzo's group once again piled into the S 600 before making the trip back to Magnolia. Meanwhile, the people of Magnolia were discussing some news that had been spreading around the town for the last couple of days.
"Hey, did you hear?" The woman who ran the shop, Snitches Get Stitches, asked the owner of the shop next door to hers. "Someone finally bought the land where the Fairy Tail guild master's house used to be."
"OH, you mean that place with the frozen pile of scrap is?" A middle-aged man asked as he flipped the sign on his shop door from "Closed" to "Open." "But I thought it was too cold there for anyone to live on that land."
"Yeah, that's the place." The owner of Snitches Get Stitches replied as she also flipped the sign on her shop door. "Apparently, it was one of the new members of the guild. You know the one with red hair that looks like that one girl who always wears armor… Titania?"
"Oh, her…" The middle-aged man drawled. "I guess she must be pretty strong, then. I mean, that place has basically been uninhabitable since Alfonzo and Elicia got married two years ago, right?"
"That's right." The woman replied, once again nodding her head. "I'm not sure what happened, exactly. But I remember it getting really cold in the town the day after their wedding. Then, news of the whole house collapsing into ice shards spread throughout the town. And no one has lived there since. No one was even willing to buy the land because the place was frozen over completely."
Similar conversations could be heard taking place all over the town. News of someone buying the frozen wasteland of a property was big news to the common civilians of Magnolia, after all. Meanwhile, the woman in question, Irene, was looking over her newly purchased property. And standing at her side were a pair of young women.
The first was a slim, black-haired young woman of average height with shoulder-length hair and bangs that covered her forehead, swept slightly to the left, and frame her face and sharp black eyes. This young woman wore a bandana on her head with gold trim and a crescent-moon patterned hair ornament on the back of her head, a navy blue cloak with a crescent moon stitched on its back, and a full black body suit with net patterns stitched into its sides and forearms.
On the opposite side of Irene was a young woman with a child-like figure with brown eyes and orange hair tied into twin tails, secured with brown bows, and straight-cut bangs that covered her forehead. Her attire consisted of a long-sleeved white coat with golden bands around the cuffs of the coat, the biceps, and two bands around the torso with a pair of golden lines running down the chest, a white skirt with golden frills, and a pair of white pants tucked into a pair of white, fur-lined snow boots.
These two women were Heine Lunasea and Juliet Sun. However, despite their appearances, the two were not actually human. Instead, they were a pair of swords Irene [Enchanted] to take on a human appearance and gave personalities with her magic.
"Irene, are we really going to live here?" The orange-haired young woman, Juliet, asked while looking at the pile of ice shards curiously. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I didn't change clothes yet. Otherwise, it would be really cold here."
"Juliet, mind your words." The black-haired young woman, Heine, said sharply in a reprimanding tone. "It is not our place to question Lady Irene's decisions."
Hearing the sound of her two subordinates back and forth, Irene could not help but smile lightly. She had missed them during the time she was on Ishgar after all. And just last night, they had finally arrived after she sent for them months ago.
As Invel revealed to Zeref, Irene had contacted Heine and Juliet months ago. However, as they were both members of Alvarez' standing army, they were unable to leave until they had time off. And that time did not come until about a month ago.
However, as soon as it did, without letting anyone know, they booked the first ship to Caracole Island. And after spending a day or two on the island, they booked a ship to Ishgar before traveling from Hargeon to Magnolia and arriving the previous night.
Irene, on the other hand, after getting back her humanity, commissioned Alfonzo to design a house for her while she, Elicia, and Ikaruga were accompanying him in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And she had already decided that she would buy the land where Ur's old house once stood.
So, as soon as the group returned in July,, she started devising the [Enchantments] needed to make that property livable again. And once she got confirmation that Heine and Juliet had left the Alvarez Empire, she started the process of buying the land.
On a side note, Irene and Brandish had been living in the same hotel they first booked when they came to investigate Alfonzo. However, after Irene regained her humanity, they both decided to move out in the near future.
And while Brandish was able to find a great little apartment on Strawberry Street for only 70,000 Jewels a month, something that made Lucy almost cry when she heard about it, Irene decided she would become a home owner.
"Not to worry, Juliet." Irene replied to her cheerful sword-girl's question. "I've been preparing for this for quite some time. [Enchant: Growth]."
With that said, Irene materialized her staff, her [Soul Armament], Belserion, before tapping its end on the ground. A moment later, the entire frozen over property was covered in light. And when the light dimmed, all the ice was gone. On top of that, the lot was covered in lush grass. There was even an apple tree that grew in that short time.
Though the name of Irene's [Enchantment] was simple, it did quite a few things in that short time. First, it melted all the ice that used to be Ur's house. Next, it forced all the water produced from the melting ice into the ground before forcing any vegetation to grow with the help of the water. After that, it somehow even killed all the weeds that grew along with the grass and the tree, leaving a beautifully maintained yard to cover the entire lot.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Juliet exclaimed, clapping her hands happily as she did so. "You think so, too, right, Black Angel?"
Hearing the way Juliet addressed her, a tick mark formed on Heine's forehead as she slowly turned towards her partner.
"I believe I've asked you to not call me that, Juliet." Heine said in a cold tone as she stepped towards Juliet. "And I hope you remember what I said I'd do if you ever did it again."
"Oh, come on, Heine." Juliet said with a smile while casually waving away Heine's anger. "It's just a nickname, a term of endearment. Don't get so angry."
"*Sigh* Please don't call me that again." Heine said, giving up on doing anything to Juliet, as she knew it would not make a difference. Then, she looked back at the transformed lot of land as she spoke once again. "But Juliet is right, Lady Irene. Your magic is as incredible as always."
In response, Irene only smiled.
"But without a house, where are we going to live?" Juliet asked curiously. "Are we gonna set up tents? It would be just like all those missions we took back in the empire."
"No, that won't be necessary." Irene replied. "We'll be building a house on this land. The building materials should arrive shortly."
Hearing that, both Heine and Juliet looked at Irene with wonder in their gazes. They had never built a house before. So, they were uncertain as to how things would go. And Irene noticed that uncertainty from their gazes.
"I guess saying that we would be building the house is a bit inaccurate." Irene said, trying to clear her subordinates' doubts. "Rather, I'll be building the house with the use of magic."
Hearing that, Juliet's eyes widened to a comical degree. Then, she once again began clapping her hands.
"Wow! I didn't know you could do that, Irene." Juliet said in a tone of genuine amazement.
"Of course she can." Heine shot back. "Lady Irene is capable of anything."
Before the argument could continue for much longer, a caravan of carts could be seen approaching the plot of land where the three stood. And it was clear to see that building materials were loaded into all the approaching carts.
"Good, you've finally arrived." Irene said once a middle-aged man climbed down from the leading cart. "Had you been late, I would have had to book a hotel room for another night."
Hearing that, even though Irene was smiling pleasantly, the middle-aged man in charge of the material supply shop where Irene bought these materials from could feel cold sweat forming on his back.
'Something tells me that had I been late, I would not have like the consequences.' The man thought to himself while wearing a, well-practiced, professional smile. 'I'm not sure why I feel that way, but I don't wanna take any chances.'
"There was no need to worry, Miss Belserion." The man said in the calmest tone he could muster. "We of Timber Works always keep our schedule. And since you were recommended to us by Mr. Marcus, making sure that you were satisfied with our service was even more important."
"Good." Irene said with a nod as her smile widened slightly. "Your work ethic is commendable. You'll have a good life because of it."
"I hope so." The man replied. "My father always said that hard work and dedication were the way to live a fulfilling life."
"I see." Irene replied nonchalantly before turning her attention to the row of carts holding the building materials.
"But are you sure you really wanted to order this much material?" The man asked as he followed Irene's line of sight to the materials in the carts. "I mean, there is much more than necessary to build on a plot of land this size."
"You need not worry about that." Irene said as she raised her staff and pointed it at the line of carts. "That's for me to deal with, not you."
Understanding that Irene was telling him to mind his own business, the man wisely chose to shut his mouth. However, he quickly opened it again when all the materials he and his employees were transporting began to float out of the carts. Though, his open mouth was incapable of making any sound, this time.
After about four minutes, all the materials were piled up neatly on the lawn Irene had grown with her magic. Meanwhile, all the employees of Timber Works could only look on in dumbfounded amazement. At the same time, Heine and Juliet looked at the people from Timber Works disdainfully.
"Hmph! They look like they've never seen anyone use magic before." Juliet said in a derisive tone.
"Well, they're only normal people, after all." Heine replied in an equally disdainful tone. "But if they're going to act like this, they won't go very far in this life."
Those comments were enough to snap the owner of Timber Works out of his daze.
"Well then, I suppose that concludes the material delivery." The man said in a tone that suggested he was forcing himself to sound calm. Then, he reached into the pouch on his waist and pulled out a document. "So, if you could sign here, we'll get out of your hair."
Taking the document for the man, Irene quickly read over the list of materials. And since she had checked all the delivered materials while moving them, she quickly signed the document, acknowledging that she had received the whole shipment.
"Now, you may leave." Irene said while smiling pleasantly. "I've much work to do. And you'll be in the way if you linger."
Nodding his head frantically, the man urged his subordinates to get back on to the carts before they pulled away from the lot and headed back to their shop. Meanwhile, Irene simply watched them go. Heine and Juliet, on the other hand, looked over the stacked up building materials.
"But he was right, though." Juliet said once all the carts could no longer be seen from where the trio stood. "This really does look like too much material for this little piece of land."
Though Heine agreed with Juliet, she still glared at her. She had already said that Irene's decisions were not to be questioned… Many times since they were created. But her partner never seemed to listen to her. Still, she also glanced at Irene in curiosity, wondering what her plans were.
"No, these materials are perfect for what I want built on this land." Irene said as she reached into her cleavage. "They are exactly to the specifications of the structure I commissioned Alfonzo to design."
"Alfonzo? Wasn't he the one you were ordered to investigate by his Majesty?" Juliet asked in confusion. "Why are you saying his name so affectionately?"
Though she remained silent, it was clear that Heine was also curious to know the answer to that question.
"Because he was able to do something that not even Emperor Spriggan was able to do." Irene said with a smile as she pulled several folded pieces of paper from between her breasts.
Hearing that, both Heine and Juliet leaned forward so they wouldn't miss any of Irene's following words. At the same time, Irene unfolded the sheets of paper she just produced from her cleavage. Then, she began reading over them at high speed. Naturally, those pieces of paper were the blueprints for the home Alfonzo designed for her. And she was just refamiliarizing herself with them before she started the building process.
"But I think I'll leave that to you two to figure out on your own." Irene said as her smile turned slightly sadistic. And that smile widened when she saw the disappointed expressions on Heine's and Juliet's faces. "For now, let's just worry about building our new home. [Spread the Sage's Knowledge, Belserion]."
When Irene released the first seal of her [Soul Armament], it did not change much in appearance. In fact, it did not really change at all. The only thing that was different was a translucent orb that floated in the center of the claw-shaped protrusions at the top of the staff.
"[High Enchant: Domum Aedificatoris]." Irene chanted as she once again tapped her staff on the ground.
In the next instant, All the building materials were briefly covered in a bright light, the same color as the orb floating atop Irene's [Soul Armament]. Then, without any further input from Irene, they began to move and mold themselves into the shapes and sizes necessary for Irene's new home.
Now, it should be mentioned that Irene was capable of performing [High Enchantments] without releasing Belserion's seal. However, the extra magic power was necessary for the long process of building a home. Especially when you consider all the sigils that would be carved into the home's surfaces. By the time Irene's home was complete, it would be nearly as fortified as the guild hall.
"Well, now all we have to do is wait." Irene said as she watched the building materials start building her new home on their own. Then, she glanced at Heine and Juliet, who were dumbfounded by everything that just happened, as she continued. "I only hope that it's done before Ur announces this year's S-Class candidates."