Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
May 1, x785.
A few days have passed since Lunar showed up in Magnolia. And to Alfonzo's surprise, Sun did not come to him and ask him to take in her best friend. But what truly surprised him was the reason why.
"Wait, Lunar already has a boyfriend?" Alfonzo asked in a shocked tone while he stopped his hands that were checking the contents of the material delivery that arrived a few hours ago. "That guy must be a fuckign saint to deal with the Budget Terminator."
"Yup." Elicia replied with a smile while sitting on top of one of the crates and swinging her legs like a child. "And you'll never guess who."
"Well, it can't be that hard to figure out." Alfonzo replied, lowering his head to return to his work. "It's gotta be Nagasumi, right?"
"Boo! You're no fun." Elicia replied with a pout.
Hearing that, Alfonzo smiled without letting his hands slow down.
"Anyway, our birthday is coming up." Elicia said, changing gears completely. "Aren't you excited?"
"Hahaha… You're just excited that you won't have to spend your points to eat my food that day, aren't you?" Alfonzo asked in a teasing tone.
In response, Elicia's pout returned to her face as she glared at Alfonzo lightly. And after feeling Elicia's glare, Alfonzo looked up once again with a teasing grin.
"Oh, come on now, don't look at me like that." Alfonzo said with a smile. "You know I was joking."
"Yeah, well, it wasn't funny." Elicia grumbled while flopping backwards to lay down on top of the box. "You know, I've run out of points completely three times in these past two months. I've even had to take a lot more jobs to feed my habit."
In response, Alfonzo could only smile wryly. Although he really did feel bad for her, it would not be much of a punishment otherwise.
"Well---" Alfonzo said, wanting to console Elicia. However, he was interrupted before he could barely get started.
"And what's up with that cruel torture Erza came up with for the other part of the punishment!" Elicia shouted as she threw a tantrum, flailing her arms and legs around.
With that, Alfonzo's wry smile could only widen.
Elicia's second punishment, being present while restrained and blindfolded whenever Alfonzo had sex with the other girls while having her mouth available for any of the girls to use at any time, had been carried out more than a few times since the punishment was announced.
But nothing went as she expected. In fact, she thought that being used by the girls would make the punishment bearable. However, not once did any of the girls use her.
"I swear, Erza is just a red-haired demon!" Elicia continued with her tantrum. "She said they would use my mouth as they please. But they haven't used it at all. Not. A. Single. Time!"
'Yeah, I have to admit, that was pretty devious.' Alfonzo mused while watching Elicia with amusement. 'They dangled the possibility in front of her. Yet, they never made it a reality.'
["Devious Indeed."] Bedlam chimed in. ["I approve."]
["You should be outraged for her."] Riot said, clearly trying to keep his anger in check. On top of that, Alfonzo felt like he was glaring at Bedlam. ["She's put up with so much for us---"]
'Sorry, Riot, this time I can't agree with you, even subconsciously.' Alfonzo chimed in. 'Although I wanted to forgive her immediately just because she's Lici, I know that what she did angered a lot more people than just me, this time. And she hurt a lot of people who trusted her implicitly.'
In response, Riot fell silent.
Meanwhile, a different conversation was going on in Elicia's head.
["I don't' know why you're acting like that."] Scylla said disdainfully. ["Stop acting like you haven't had some of the best make up sex in either of your lives since then."]
'You just don't' get it, Scylla.' Elicia replied. 'I---'
["You feel left out."] Scylla said, interrupting Elicia. ["Yeah, I already know what makes you tick."]
In response, Elicia stopped flailing around and simply pouted while looking away from Alfonzo.
["But so, what?"] Scylla continued. ["You deserve it."]
'I know…" Elicia said.
"Anyway, it's about time for me to go." Alfonzo said while taking a look at the watch on his wrist. "I've got a date with Lucy in about an hour."
"Huh?" Elicia exclaimed as she sat up. "Is it that time already?"
"Yup." Alfonzo replied with a nod as he checked off a few items on the packing list in his hand.
In fact, ever since they got back from Tenrou Island, Alfonzo had done his best to make more time for the girls to spend some alone time with him. And over the past four and a half months, he's gone on several dates with all of them individually.
On top of that, Alfonzo and Lucy were an official couple as well. However, it took until the third date before it became official. And that's because Lucy actually repeated her blunder from their first date at the end of the second one, as well. Then, on their third date, Alfonzo took the initiative to ask her to be with him before initiating their customary goodnight kiss. And to know one's surprise, Lucy agreed.
"I wonder when she'll move in with us." Elicia wondered aloud as she hopped off the box she was sitting on.
"No clue." Alfonzo replied with a gentle shake of his head. "But she said she's not quite ready to take our relationship to that step, yet."
"I guess that makes sense." Elicia replied with a nod. "She's known you a lot less time than the other girls, who had known you for years by the time they got together with you."
"*Sigh* And when that happens, we'll only have one guest room left." Alfonzo muttered as he started to leave the storage shed with Elicia following closely behind him. "I guess we'll need a new house, soon."
"Yeah, who would have thought that an eight bedroom mansion wouldn't be enough after only five and a half years." Elicia replied with a nod. "Anyway, I guess I should get going, too."
"Be careful." Alfonso said, turning around with concern in his eyes. "This ruin you're going to was one of the massacred cities Hughes mapped out."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Elicia replied with a smile. "I don't plan on letting a single person, more than necessary, see me. We don't need Father and his Homunculi thinking we know what they're planning, after all."
"*Sigh* That's just a matter of time." Alfonzo said as he began combing his fingers through Elicia's hair. "They'll figure out where Hughes and his family are eventually."
"I know." Elicia replied, leaning into Alfonzo's touch. "But we won't' let anything happen to them. They became family as soon as they joined the guild."
"Right." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Anyway, we should get going, neither of us wants to be late, after all."
"'Kay." Elicia said before standing on her tip toes and giving Alfonzo a kiss. "I'll be back in a few days. There's no way I'm missing our birthday party."
With that, Elicia ran towards the garage instead of the inside of the house. She had packed her necessities for the quest before finding Alfonzo, after all. Then, after hopping into her Z3, she drove off towards her destination.
Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Road.
"So, I'm supposed to find some kind of family heirloom that was left behind when the people fled from the attack of a Dark Guild, huh?"
Nearly thirteen hours after leaving Magnolia, Elicia was close to her destination. So, she was looking over the request one more time sheet while taking a break to refill her Z3's magic power supply.
["Doesn't the location of this ruined village sound familiar?"] Scylla asked from Elicia's inner world.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Elicia asked as she looked up from the quest sheet with confusion.
["Well, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it's similar to the place where Ultear found Meredy, isn't it?"] Scylla replied. ["Unfortunately, the village was unnamed and the only thing she could remember about it was that it was past Clover Town."
"So, you think this might be a trap?" Elicia asked as her gaze sharpened.
["There's a possibility."] Scylla replied.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Elicia said with a nod. "If I remember correctly, Grimoire Heart killed every man, woman, and child in that village, Meredy being the sole survivor. So, there shouldn't be anyone that would want a family heirloom from those ruins. On top of that, it's been years. Yet, the quest was posted not long ago."
["Exactly."] Scylla replied with a nod. ["So, you need to keep your guard up."]
"I will." Elicia replied as she fell silent and continued to charge her Z3's rechargeable lacrima.
Three hours later, Elicia had finished refilling her Z3's rechargeable lacrima and restored her magic power to full. Then, she started her trip to the unnamed village once again.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Unnamed Village Ruins.
After driving for another hour and a half, Elicia finally arrived at the village mentioned in the quest.
"Yeah, Grimoire Heart really did a number on this place, huh?" Elicia said as she opened the car door.
["Yeah, and look over there."] Scylla said, directing Elicia's sight to a decaying sign. ["There's the orphanage Ultear mentioned in her report. This is definitely the same place."]
Hearing that, Elicia went on alert, immediately. Then, just before closing her car door, she activated the car's protective barrier and took the emergency beacon out of the center console.
["Are you sure you want to take that with you?"] Scylla asked after Elicia stored the emergency beacon in her waist pouch. ["What if it were to get damaged?"]
"[Camouflage Magic: Hiding in Plain Sight]." Elicia chanted, turning herself invisible. "I don't know if the Gluttony of this world can eat magic, but if he can, it wouldn't be safe in there, anyway."
["*Sigh* I guess you're right."] Scylla replied.
With that, Elicia slowly made her way into the ruins of the village. Meanwhile, from a distance, two people watched Elicia as she disappeared from view.
"Where did she go?" A fat man with beady eyes and a large nose asked while putting a finger in his mouth in confusion.
"Gluttony, wasn't that like what you told us happened when Hughes disappeared, too?" A beautiful woman, the homunculus, Lust, asked as she began approaching the village.
"Uh huh." The fat man, Gluttony, replied with a nod. "I didn't get to eat him."
"Don't worry, Gluttony, you'll definitely get to eat that woman." Lust said with a malicious grin. "And all her little friends in that guild of hers, too."
"Really?" Gluttony replied with excitement.
"Yes, it's true." Lust replied with a nod. Then, she continued in a somewhat saddened tone. "It's just such a pity that we'll have to kill such a talented clothing designer. But since she decided to get in the way of Father's plans, there's nothing that can be done about it."
Meanwhile, Elicia had arrived at the place where the quest sheet said she would be able to find the heirloom.
"This should be it." Elicia muttered as she looked at the small house in front of her. "The house in the northeastern most corner of the village."
["Be careful, Elicia."] Scylla said in a heavy tone. ["Someone is approaching."]
"I know." Elicia replied. "There are two of them. I guess it really was a trap by the homunculus. I can't feel them with [MPD] at all. It's a good thing I still have my [Detection Threads], though. But how did you know they were coming too, Scylla."
["I can feel the souls trapped in their Philosopher's Stones"] Scylla replied. Then, she asked a question of her own. ["Any idea which ones they are?"]
"Well based on the pressure my threads are sending back to me, one should be an adult woman. So, that's definitely Lust." Elicia replied. "And the other one is pretty heavy. So, either Gluttony or Sloth. But since they're with Lust, I'm betting on Gluttony."
["Why not Envy?"] Scylla asked curiously.
"Because I remember his weight from the time Fonzie fought him." Elicia replied, finding a small pendant with a vibrant red stone. "And he's a whole lot heavier than that. And there's the quest item."
["Got it. Let's grab it and---"] Scylla replied as Elicia picked up the pendant. However, before she could finish, she cut herself off and she shouted at Elicia in warning ["Get out of here, now! They're attacking the house."]
Meanwhile, a few moments earlier, Lust and Gluttony had arrived outside the same house Elicia just entered.
"Can I eat it now, Lust?" Gluttony asked with his index finger in his mouth.
"Not yet, Gluttony, be patient." Lust replied.
A few moments passed with Gluttony watching the house as if it were a sumptuous meal. Then, as soon as Elicia picked up the pendant, which was housing a Philosopher's Stone, Lust smiled maliciously.
"You can do it now, Gluttony." Lust said.
Without a word, Gluttony's face morphed into a radiant smile. A moment later, however, Gluttony's body underwent a change. First, he opened his mouth, far further than what should be possible. Then his torso split open from its center, revealing an eye inside of his torso. On top of that, long, sharp teeth jutted out from the peeled back flesh.
Then, once his transformation was complete, Gluttony inhaled a deep breath. A moment later, everything in a thin, conical area, not even enough to destroy the entire small house, stretching a hundred feet in front of him, was sucked into the eye inside Gluttony's torso.