Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x784.
Two and a half weeks have passed since Laxus was able to return to his wizarding duties. And in that time, nothing of note has occurred. Or that would have been the case if a messenger from the royal family of Fiore did not show up at the guild hall.
The messenger, a brown-haired, portly man accompanied by two a familiar squad of three knights strolled into the guild hall hesitantly. Something that was completely out of character for him.
The reason for his hesitance was simple, Fairy Tail's reputation for disregarding authority. On top of that, he had been warned by the king before he left that his usual high and mighty attitude would have no effect on the wizards of Fairy Tail. So, he was very careful with is actions.
Two of the knights, on the other hand, were following the messenger casually. The third, however, was looking around excitedly, hoping to see a certain member of the guild.
"Where is he?" Darkness muttered. "I heard how badly he beat up the guild master's grandson. I really wanna meet him. Maybe he'd have a spar with me and accidentally go a little too far."
Luckily, the female knight's voice was low enough that the royal messenger did not hear her. Her subordinates, on the other hand, heard everything she said, loud and clear.
The messenger, on the other hand, after wrestling with his hesitation and while wishing he was anywhere but here, finally decided to announce his presence as no one seemed to be paying him any mind.
"By decree of the---" The messenger began to say.
"What did you say, you frozen streaker!" A shout cut off the messenger's announcement.
Taken aback by the loud voice, the messenger flinched before looking in the direction the shout came from.
At the end of his line of sight, the messenger saw a pink-haired young man, Natsu, standing on a chair with one foot on the table in front of him glaring down at a black-haired young man, Gray, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear.
"Did all that fire burn your eardrums, Flame Brain?" Gray replied in a combative tone. "Or maybe you just didn't understand, proving that I was right and you are an idiot."
"I'll show you who the idiot is!" Natsu roared before lunging across the table and punching Gray in the face.
As a result of the force behind the punch, Gray was lifted off his seat and sent flying into the table behind him, flipping all the food and drinks on impact.
"Damn it, Gray!" A dark blue-haired, middle-aged man, Macao, shouted angrily after wiping the contents of his flipped mug out of his face. "I just spent the last of my points on that meal! Now, I'll have to do more quests to eat Alfonzo's food again!"
With that, Macao kicked Gray, sending him flying into another table where a similar angry roar followed shortly afterward.
This process repeated several times, with Gray being flung from table to table. Eventually, a guild wide brawl was started while the royal messenger watched on in horror.
Meanwhile, the male knights looked on without much change in their expressions. Which made sense, they had seen a similar situation when the representatives from the kingdom came to hand over the patent documents to Alfonzo after one of his inventions was approved. That was before they were assigned to Darkness' squad, of course.
Darkness, on the other hand, was watching the brawl with an excited gleam in her eyes while her breathing grew ragged and she started rubbing her thighs together in anticipation. Oh, how she wanted to join the fray and feel all those blows land on her body.
"I really hope someone comes to break up this brawl soon." One of the male knights whispered to his comrade.
"Yeah, before the captain does something to embarrass the knights… again…" The other knight replied in a whisper of his own.
"*Sigh*" Both knights sighed at what their lives have become after being assigned to Darkness' squad.
At that moment, a brown-skinned young man with dreadlocks, Alfonzo, came into the main hall from the restroom before scanning the area. Not that he was intimidated by the thought of making his way through the bedlam. Instead, he was calculating the path that would require him to beat up the least people on his way back to his seat.
When Alfonzo's gaze landed on the royal messenger and the three familiar knights, however, he decided that he needed to return to the bathroom… fast.
"Nope." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he turned around. "I'm definitely not dealing with this shit."
Before Alfonzo could make it back into the restroom, however, the elevator door opened, Makarov and Ur walking through it quickly.
"Knock it off, you brats!" Makarov shouted while washing the main hall in his magic power pressure. "Can't you see we have some very important guests?"
Immediately, all the fighting stopped. Natsu, who had been knocked into the air, falling to the floor a beat later. Alfonzo, on the other hand, did not stop walking towards the restroom.
"And where do you think you're going, Alfonzo?" Ur asked in a playful tone.
"Are your eyes going bad in your old age, Aunt Ur?" Alfonzo replied in an annoyed tone. "I'm obviously going to relieve myself."
Hearing the two jabs at her age, Ur's eyes narrowed while a tick mark appeared on her forehead. Then, with her magic power flooding her body, Ur vanished from where she stood in a burst of speed.
"What did you say, you brat?" Ur asked in a menacing tone as she appeared next to Alfonzo, trying to clamp her hand around the back of his head.
Expecting Ur's reaction, Alfonzo ducked the attack and sprinted away from Ur.
Unfortunately for Alfonzo, Darkness heard Ur mention his name. So, the masochistic knight's gaze was immediately drawn to him.
Alfonzo, feeling what he interpreted as the gaze of a predator, flinched while running away from Ur, which led to him being caught. Though, it seemed his luck had not run out completely as he heard the voice of salvation less than a second later.
"Ur, you can deal with him later." Makarov said with a jovial smile on his face. "For now, why don't you help me welcome our guests."
"Tch! Fine." Ur said, audibly clicking her tongue. Then, she leveled a glare that promised untold amounts of pain on Alfonzo. "Looks like you're off the hook… for now. But I'll be back."
Just as she finished, Ur also flinched as the same gaze that caused Alfonzo to pause momentarily landed on her. Looking around, Ur noticed that a blonde, female knight was staring at her like she was a juicy piece of meat.
"What the hell is up with that girl's gaze?" Ur asked quietly.
"She's the reason why I was trying to run away." Alfonzo replied just as quietly. "That's the super-masochistic knight we've told you about."
"Shit!" Ur exclaimed quietly. "And let me guess, the way I was glaring at you flipped her switch, or something."
"You probably hit the nail on the head." Alfonzo replied. "Anyway, you have fun with that crazy chick, I'm going home for the day."
'Thee's no way I'm gonna still be here when Gramps is done talking to them.' Alfonzo thought to himself.
"Tch! Traitorous brat." Ur muttered, envious that Alfonzo could escape such a world-level pervert.
Meanwhile, as if she could tell Alfonzo and Ur were talking bad about her, Darkness' breathing became even more ragged as her face reddened and she started fidgeting in place.
"I'm sorry for the ruckus." Makarov said while approaching the royal messenger. "Please excuse our inhospitality."
Makarov had also noticed Darkness. However he decided to pretend that she was not there. Even though that would most definitely rile her up more, he could not think of a better solution.
"Oh… Um… Ah… Yes, think nothing of it." The messenger said, unsure how to respond to everything he had seen in the short time that he had been in the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"I assume this is about the two request from the royal family, correct?" Makarov asked with a grandfatherly smile on his face, appearing as nonthreatening as possible. "If so, why don't we discuss this in my office. Ur, Alfonzo, as the strongest members of the guild present, you should come with us."
"Damn it." Alfonzo and Ur muttered simultaneously before slowly making their way to Makarov's side.
With that, the three Fairy Tail wizards, the royal messenger, and the three knights made their way into the elevator.
That short elevator ride was probably the most awkward any of the occupants, save one, had ever experienced.
While Alfonzo, Ur, and the two male knights remained silent, Makarov engaged the royal messenger in small talk. Darkness, on the other hand, was fidgeting with an excited flush on her face while her breathing became more and more ragged and her gaze repleatedly swapped between Alfonzo and Ur.
Eventually, after the longest forty seconds of their lives, the awkward atmosphere was slightly relieved when the elevator doors opened to reveal Makarov's office on the top floor.
A few moments later, Makarov was sitting behind his desk with Alfonzo and Ur flanking him on the left and right, respectively. Meanwhile, the royal messenger had taken a seat across from him with the three knights standing behind him in a line, with Darkness in the middle.
Once everyone who needed to be seated had a seat, the royal messenger reached into the magical storage bag on his waist and pulled out a pair of documents.
"The royal family has two requests that must be completed with haste." The messenger said as he placed the two documents on the desk. Then, as he slid them towards Makarov, he continued. "As the guild in Fiore with the most S-Class wizards, His Majesty requests that you send two S-Class wizards to assist with each request."
Once the documents were in reach, Makarov picked up the one on his right and began reading it.
"On top of the S-Class wizards, His Majesty also requests that two A-Class wizards accompany them on the quest you are reading right now." The messenger continued. "As for the other, an additional A-Class wizard is required."
"So, in total, you want seven of my wizards to join forces with wizards from other guilds on these quests." Makarov said with a frown.
"That is correct." The messenger replied with a nod. He grew nervous, however, after seeing the frown on Makarov's face. "Master Makarov, is there something wrong with the request? Something you are unsatisfied with?"
"No, there are no issues with the quests themselves." Makarov said as he set the request in his hand back on the desk before picking up the second one. "But why do these requests have the Magic Council's seal on them? Weren't they disbanded after the Tower of Heaven incident?"
"Ah, yes." The messenger replied, completely understanding Makarov's confusion. "By his Majesty's decree, and with the support of the other nations of Ishgar, the Magic Council has been reestablished as policing the magical community of Ishgar was proving too much for the varies governments."
'And I bet their reestablishment won't be made public until at least one of those quests is completed. Then, they'll be credited with organizing the teams that completed them, so that the Magic Council can be seen in a better light after its massive failure a month and a half ago.' Alfonzo, Makarov, and Ur thought disdainfully while keeping their thoughts from appearing on their faces.
"I understand." Makarov said in an even tone as he placed the second quest sheet back on his desk. "Fairy Tail will accept the kingdom's requests."
"Excellent." The messenger said in a relieved tone. "The dates and locations for the teams from each guild to meet are as stated on the request sheets."
In response, Makarov simply nodded in understanding.
"Then, I believe there is not much more for us to speak about." The messenger said, sounding a bit too happy to end the conversation.
A moment later, The messenger, shortly followed by Makarov, stood from his seat. Then, Alfonzo, Makarov, and Ur escorted their guests to the guild's entrance.
Just before the messenger walked through the open doors, he turned around and bowed his head in Makarov's direction.
"In my capacity as a messenger of the royal family, I thank you on behalf of the kingdom and its citizens." The messenger said in a sincere tone.
At the same time, Darkness and her subordinates stood at attention and saluted by placing their right fists on their chest plates, just over their hearts. Surprisingly, Darkness looked quite dignified as she did so.
After that, the four visitors turned around and left, Darkness turning around to glance at Alfonzo and Ur after every few steps with longing in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, Makarov, and Ur stood at the entrance, watching their visitors walk away, until the four were no longer visible.
"Ugh… That girl's stare was too much." Ur said when she could no longer feel Darkness' gaze on her. "How does someone turn out like that?"
"Beats the hell outta me." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
"Let's head back inside." Makarov said, trying not to think about the masochistic knight at all. "We have some things to discuss. I want the two of you to each take the lead on one of those quests. We can discuss who will accompany you up in my office."
"Sure thing, Old Man." Ur said with a shrug. "It's not like I didn't expect this when you called us up to your office earlier."
"*Sigh* I was about to have a breakthrough on my research." Alfonzo said, though he did not seem all that disappointed. Then, he put on a bright smile as he continued. "Anyway, how much are we getting paid for this?"
With that, the three wizards returned to Makarov's' office to discuss the details of the two quests.