Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October, x785.
"Fonzie! I wanna live here!"
Those were the first words Alfonzo heard after waking up from his nap.
Currently, Alfonzo had just entered the living room, feeling that there were a few people gathered there, that was the first place he went after leaving his bedroom.
A moment later, Shizuka, who was sitting on the couch when Alfonzo entered the room, threw herself at him shortly afterwards. Then, while pressing herself against his chest, she wrapped her arms around his torso and looked up with excited eyes.
At the same time, Alfonzo raised his hands, showing that he had no bad intentions after the surprise hug.
"Are you sure?" Alfonzo asked with a wry smile while looking around at the amused expressions on everyone's faces. "I mean, people might get the wrong idea, right?"
"Wrong idea?" Shizuka asked in confusion while tilting her head to one side. "What do you mean?"
'She's so innocent.' Alfonzo thought to himself.
"Shizuka, Lici explained to us that the only ones who live here permanently are Alfonzo and his girlfriends, fiancées, and wife, right?" Rika said. Though, she did not move to stop her best friend, finding it amusing how Alfonzo, a harem king, seemed to be flustered by Shizuka's presence.
"Oh!" Shizuka exclaimed in realization. Then, she pouted, looking absolutely miserable. "But I really wanna live here. Your house is really nice. And the bath is great. Plus, that grotto thingy, I wanna tan there."
Immediately after hearing that, images of Shizuka sitting in the large bathtub entered both Alfonzo and Kohta's imaginations, shortly followed by an image of Shizuka lying face down on a towel on the shore of the grotto with her upper body slightly propped up by her breasts and her butt showing in all its glory.
"Not a bad view, is it?" Rika asked mischievously.
Hearing Rika's comment, Alfonzo snapped back to his senses. Then, he calmly pulled Shizuka's arms from around his torso and took a step back. Then, he turned his attention towards Elicia, Sun, and Lucy, who had joined the group after the tour was over.
"What do you girls think?" Alfonzo asked.
"I don't mind." Elicia replied with a shrug and a smile. "I mean, we lived with her for a few days during the whole zombie thing, right?"
"Me neither." Sun said happily. "I like Shizuka, she's really nice."
"I don't really know her too well." Lucy replied with a shrug. "But I trust Lici. So, if she thinks it's fine, then I'm okay with it."
A moment later, however, Lucy narrowed her eyes and glared at Elicia.
"As long as things don't end up like that one time." Lucy said in a much sterner tone.
"I already promised that would never happen again, Lucy." Elicia said with a pout. "And I don't break my promises."
"Then, it should be fine." Lucy replied with another shrug.
"What do you mean, 'that one time?'" Rika asked curiously, smelling the scent of some good gossip in the air.
"Sorry, that's pretty personal." Alfonzo said before anyone else could reply while shaking his head. "And I'd rather not talk about it."
"Tch! You're no fun." Rika said playfully, trying to defuse the situation after hearing Alfonzo's tone. "Well, whatever. So, are you gonna let Shizuka live here?"
"*Sigh* I guess I don't see a problem with it." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head with a wry smile on his face. "But we'll have to get the other girls' opinions first."
"Well, I don't mind, either." Mirajane said as she walked into the living room with a small plate of food. "She seems nice enough. Plus, I can tell she would never do anything like that time."
Although everyone heard Mirajane's words, they all froze in terror when they saw her holding a plate of food, with Alfonzo and Sun having the most adverse reactions.
As she said, Elicia had told the story of Mirajane's cooking exploits during the tour. So, Saeko, Saya, Shizuka, Kohta, and Rika also recoiled, as well.
"Seriously, would you stop looking at me like that?" Mirajane said with a pout. "I promise it won't be as bad as last time. I tasted it before I brought it in here. And I'm still conscious."
"Yeah, but you might be immune to your own [Cooking Magic], though." Sun said while burying herself into the couch's backrest.
"[Cooking Magic]?" Mirajane asked while tilting her head in confusion.
"Uh huh." Sun hummed with apprehension. "There's no way food that knocks people out with just one bite isn't some kinda [Cooking Magic], ya see?"
As Mirajane's jaw dropped the other people in the room had to do all they could to stop themselves from laughing out loud. Meanwhile, Alfonzo nodded along with Sun's words in agreement.
Eventually, Mirajane snapped back to her senses and frowned at Sun for a moment. Then, after shaking her head to rid herself of the negative feelings swirling in her head, turned to Alfonzo with pleading eyes.
"Alfonzo, can you try this for me, pretty please?" Mirajane asked with puppy dog eyes.
Hearing Mirajane's request, Alfonzo's body shuddered violently. And just as he was about to refuse her request, he made eye contact with the white-haired She Devil.
'Damn it, that's not fair.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he saw Mirajane's eyes begin to water. 'You can't make such a life threatening request while looking at me like that.'
["Just give it up."] Bedlam said in a tone filled with resignation. ["You know you can't resist. Just look at it this way, It's a good thing you have it documented that everything you own will go to Lici and the girls after you die, right?"]
["Oh, stop acting like a pussy."] Riot said in an agitated tone. ["You haven't died yet. So, it's not like you'll die this time, either."]
'Yeah, but haven't you heard the saying; the third time is the charm?' Alfonzo replied internally as he reached out for the fork in Mirajane's hand.
Receiving the fork, Alfonzo saw Mirajane's expression brighten instantly. Then, with caution, he finally looked down at the plate she raised to make it easier for him to eat.
Lying on the plate was a small piece of breaded chicken covered in marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese sitting atop a small amount of spaghetti. On top of that the chicken had already been sliced into bite sized pieces, making it unnecessary to cut.
"Welp, here goes nothing." Alfonzo muttered as he speared a piece of chicken while simultaneously twisting a few spaghetti noodles around the end of the fork.
"Wow! He must really love her." Rika said, amazed that Alfonzo would ever eat something Mirajane cooked after hearing the story Elicia told earlier.
"Indeed." Saeko replied with a nod. "I'm not sure I would be able to bring myself to do something like that."
"Stupid." Saya added. Though, her expression had softened considerably after seeing Alfonzo's care for his girlfriend's feelings.
By now, Alfonzo was holding the fork in front of his face. Then, after staring at the food on the tip of the fork for a few moments, he closed his eyes tightly before putting it in his mouth.
With all eyes on him, the room fell silent as Alfonzo slowly chewed the chicken parmesan in his mouth. All the while, he frowned.
"So salty…" Alfonzo muttered. "The chicken is dry, and the breading is burned, too…"
Hearing that, Mirajane lowered her head in frustration.
"But the noodles were cooked perfectly." Alfonzo said. "Firm but still springy… *Gulp* I definitely can't say that it's good, though…"
Mirajane's free hand clenched tightly at Alfonzo's words. His next words, however, caused her to look up in surprise.
"But it's definitely a huge improvement." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I mean, I'm still conscious. ON top of that, my stomach doesn't hurt. Though, I would like a glass of water to clear the extra salt from my mouth."
Hearing that her cooking was edible… If not palatable… Mirajane was overjoyed. Not caring about the plate, she was still holding; Mirajane threw it away before flinging herself at Alfonzo and wrapping him in a hug.
At the same time, Elicia shot threads from her fingertips, catching the plate before it could hit the floor. Still, everyone could not help but look at Mirajane fondly. The residents of the mansion were aware of just how much work she had been putting into improving her cooking skill. And now, there was finally a tangible sign of improvement.
"So, are we gonna ask the others?" Shizuka asked, breaking the cheerful atmosphere. "I wanna live here even more after seeing that."
October 15, x785.
Eventually, it was decided that none of the new arrivals from Takanosu would be living in the mansion permanently. While Elicia, Mirajane, and Sun were completely fine with Shizuka living there, Lucy had only agreed because she thought everyone else would be fine with it, too.
However, Cana, Ultear, Erza, and Marin did not want anyone who was not part of the family living in the mansion. Sure, it would be fine to visit as often as she liked, but Shizuka would have to find her own place since she was not in a relationship with Alfonzo.
And Alfonzo actually agreed with that decision. Though, he almost allowed Shizuka to stay after she gave him the puppy dog eyes. Luckily, Cana and Ultear were nearby to pull him away.
In the end, Shizuka and Rika ended u renting an apartment together, Saeko and Saya decided to live in fairy Hills, and Kohta rented a room in the male dorms.
And with the living situations taken care of, the Harvest Festival finally arrived. And just like last year, the day would start with the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant followed by the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament and end with the Fantasia Parade.
Currently, the three rounds of the pageant had already concluded, the votes had been cast and counted, and the audience was waiting for the results while the participants were standing on stage, each illuminated by a spot light.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for is finally here." Warren said with the envelope holding the name of the winner in his hand. "I now hold in my hands the name of x785's Miss Fairy Tail. Now, are you ready to find out who is the fairest of all the fairies?"
"Yeah~~~~~~~!" The crowd cheered excitedly.
"Good!" Warren exclaimed energetically. "Then, the winner is…"
While Warren brought the atmosphere in the guild hall to its peak, the audience waited in anticipation, and the participants, Elicia, Evergreen, Cana, Laki, Levy, Ultear, Erza, Chico, Mirajane, Lisanna, Bisca, Marin, Sun, Lucy, and Juvia, stood on stage nervously.
A moment later, all the spot lights cut out. Then, after another moment, one spot light fell on the stage, illuminating the winner.
"Cana Alberona!" Warren shouted excitedly.
While all the contestants were disappointed that they lost, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy were hit harder than the rest, due to their wager on the outcome. Meanwhile, Evergreen was fuming that she had lost for a second time.
"You all must be blind!" Evergreen shouted angrily. "How could you not vote for the perfect beauty that is me!"
*Bang!*
"I thought I told you this last year, too." Ur said from the audience after dropping an ice hammer on the top of Evergreen's head. "Show some class."
"Yes, Master." Evergreen said while squatting on the stage and covering her head.
Meanwhile, three members of the guild staff carried a sash and a tiara onto the stage before helping Cana to wear them. Cana, on the other hand, was standing still in shock. Her shock did not last too long, however.
"Cana! Daddy voted for you!" Gildarts shouted; the magic power imbued in his voice causing all the sigils in the guild hall to light up.
*Smack!* x 2
"Are you trying to destroy the guild hall you dumb ass?" Ur asked after slapping Gildarts upside the head.
"If the guild hall collapses because of your stupid shit, I'll charge you, and you alone, for all the materials to rebuild it!" Alfonzo shouted as he also slapped Gildarts upside the head. "On top of that, I'll never cook for you another day in your miserable life!"
While covering his head and wondering when Alfonzo and Ur got so strong, Gildarts eventually paled when he heard Alfonzo's threat.
"I'm sorry!" Gildarts shouted. "I was just excited that my princess won."
With that, the entire guild burst into laughter. Then, the awarding ceremony continued as scheduled. And when the pageant was officially concluded, the atmosphere began heating up as the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament was next on the agenda.