Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Margaret.
January, x786.
Driving through the town of Margaret, Alfonzo, Ultear, and Juvia engaged in conversation, talking about the sights of the town that were relatively unfamiliar them. Then, after about twenty minutes, they approached a large building that was separated from the rest of the town.
The large building, with spires on each corner, a dark banner with the Lamia Scale guild symbol adorning its front, and a small port to the side of the building, was painted a forest green color. And near the large doors that served as the building's front entrance, there was a beautiful, man-made rock formation with a statue of a lamia, a creature with the upper body of an alluring, bikini-clad young woman with a long serpentine tail, sitting upon it.
"I was hoping they would have gotten rid of that tacky statue." Ultear said as she glanced at the lamia statue through the front passenger seat's window. "I mean, who wants to see that when they first arrive at the guild hall."
"Juvia thinks it's pretty." Juvia replied while looking at the statue as well.
"And what about you?" Ultear asked Alfonzo with narrowed eyes.
"It's not a bad piece of art." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But you're definitely prettier."
Hearing that, Ultear smiled sweetly as she leaned over and kissed Alfonzo on the cheek. Meanwhile, Juvia glared at Alfonzo in annoyance. On top of that, she produced a notebook where she wrote down what Alfonzo said for future reference.
"Anyway, it looks like they were expecting us." Alfonzo said, not paying any attention to Juvia's glare as he pointed out the wind shield.
Standing in front of the guild hall's front doors was Jura Neekis, a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, the Magic Council, and Lamia Scale's ace, smiling at the approaching magic vehicle.
"It looks that way." Ultear replied with a nod. "And although I wasn't really paying attention to it back when you got married, it looks like he's gotten quite a bit stronger since the Oración Seis quest. I bet fighting him would be pretty fun."
"I was thinking the same thing." Alfonzo replied. "And since I'm not rushing this job like I did with Mermaid Heel, there should be some time to spar with him."
A few moments later, under Jura's instruction, Alfonzo parked the S 600 between the rock formation where the lamia statue sat and the guild hall's main entrance. Then, once the engine was turned off, he, Ultear, and Juvia climbed out of the magic vehicle.
"Welcome to Margaret, my friends." Jura said with a smile. "I hope your trip was peaceful."
"Hey, Jura." Alfonzo said with a smile. "It's good to see you again. And it was smooth sailing all the way from Akane Beach."
As previously mentioned, ever since Ultear bought the summer villa in Akane Beach for Alfonzo and Elicia as a birthday gift, Alfonzo had been docking Sixth Sense at the dock attached to the house. So, on top of having a private place to dock his ship, Alfonzo was also freed from the exorbitant docking fees at Hargeon.
"Excellent." Jura replied with a nod. Then, he turned his attention to Ultear as he continued. "And Miss Ultear, it's good to see you again, as well."
"You, too, Jura." Ultear replied with a smile. "Mom says hi, too."
"Ah, please send my greetings to Master Ur when you return, as well." Jura said. Then, he turned his attention to Juvia, someone he had never been formally introduced to. "And you must be Juvia Lockser. It's a pleasure to meet you. But um… why are you glaring at me like that?"
Just as Jura said, ever since he began speaking to Ultear, Juvia had been glaring at him. Something she does to all men, other than Gray, whenever they speak to Ur and Ultear.
"Don't mind her, Jura." Alfonzo said as he waved off Juvia's behavior. "She's got her own, significant, brand of crazy going on. And if you think about it too much, you'll end up with a headache."
Alfonzo's words naturally caused Juvia to shift her glare from Jura to himself. And when he made eye contact with Juvia after feeling her glare, he smiled brightly, causing Juvia to snort and look away."
"I see." Jura said, an expression of confusion making its way onto his face for a moment.
Shaking off the confusion he was feeling, Jura gestured towards the guild hall's main entrance.
"Well then, Master Ooba is waiting." Jura said. "And I'm sure you would like to know where you'll be installing the training chambers, correct. Then, let's head inside."
Receiving nods from all three visitors, Jura led the way as they entered the guild hall. Though, as they did so, Juvia scowled while Alfonzo and Ultear walked hand-in-hand.
Upon entering the guild hall, Alfonzo, Ultear, and Juvia looked around. And they more or less expected what they saw. Like most guild halls, Lamia Scale's first floor was filled with tables, wizards sitting at those tables, a bar, and a quest board. There was also a second floor overlooking the first, as well. Though, they were not sure if it was restricted like the second floor in the old Fairy Tail guild hall was.
"Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Lamia Scale." Jura said as the three wizards took in the sights.
"Thanks." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "It's almost exactly like I remember from the last time I was here."
"Yeah, me, too." Ultear said. "By the way, is Lyon here? Mom asked me to assess his progress."
"Unfortunately, he is not." Jura replied while shaking his head lightly. "He's out on a quest with the members of his team. They should be back in the next few days, though."
"Oh, he's got a team now?" Ultear asked in apparent interest.
"Indeed." Jura replied with a nod. "He and Sherry have been teaming up with another pair of promising wizards for the last year."
"Now that's a surprise." Ultear muttered. "I would have thought that Sherry wouldn't want to team up with Lyon after the thing with Nirvana."
"I'll admit, things were awkward between the two for a while after that." Jura replied with a wry smile. "But they got over it quickly enough. And with Sherry being romantically involved with Ren of the Trimens, things stabilized quickly enough."
"*Sigh* Gray and Lyon are the same." Ultear said in an exasperated tone. "Neither of them could appreciate the girl who was head over heels for them. I wouldn't be surprised if they both end up alone."
"Juvia won't let that happen." Juvia said resolutely, cutting into the conversation. "Gray is one of Juvia's soul mates. So, he will never be alone."
Smiling wryly in response to Juvia's outburst, Ultear looked at Jura with agaze that asked: "See what I mean?" Meanwhile, Jura could not help but smile wryly in understanding.
"Jura, what are you doing?" an aged, female voice shouted from the second floor. "Hurry up and bring the kid up here. I need to discuss the details with him. Or maybe you'd like to spin it for me?"
"Understood, Master Ooba." Jura replied as he turned towards the source of the voice while bowing his head politely. "We'll be there momentarily."
"At least she never changes." Alfonzo said with a wry smile spreading across his face. "If nothing else, she's consistent. Though, I didn't really appreciate her trying to use her [Spinning Magic] on me when I wouldn't agree to come here before the new year."
"*Sigh* I can only apologize on her behalf for that." Jura said in an exasperated tone. "As someone who's been a guild master for so long, I suppose she's gotten used to younger wizards following her orders without question."
"There's no need for you to apologize, Jura." Alfonzo said as he waved off Jura's apology. "Like I said, she tried to use her magic on me. But it didn't work."
"I see." Jura replied with a smile. "Anyway, shall we go? I'd rather not keep master Ooba waiting."
"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
Before leading Alfonzo upstairs, Jura turned to Ultear and Juvia.
"You two can have a seat and make yourselves at home." Jura said with a smile. "After taking Alfonzo up to meet with Master Ooba, I'll return to keep you company."
"Okay." Ultear replied with a nod and a smile.
Juvia, on the other hand, only nodded in response while glaring at Jura, thinking he might try to take Ultear away, as well.
Feeling as though she could understand what Juvia was thinking, Ultear shook her head while smiling wryly as she made her way over to an unoccupied table, followed closely by Juvia. Meanwhile, Jura led Alfonzo up to the second floor to meet with Ooba.
*Bang!*
A few minutes later, while Ultear and Juvia were waiting for Alfonzo and Jura to return, the guild hall's front doors burst open, drawing everyone on the first floor of the guild hall's attention.
Standing in the open door way of the guild hall was a petite little girl, looking to be nine or ten years old with pink hair tied into short pigtails with orange bows and bright blue eyes, scanning the guildhall for someone. However, when she could not find the person she was looking for, she visibly deflated.
"Big Sis isn't back yet…" The pink-haired little girl muttered.
A moment later, the little girl stepped forward, entering the guild hall.
"Don't worry, Sherria, Sherry will be back soon." A male wizard said after seeing the disappointment on the little girl, Sherria Blendy's, face.
Meanwhile, Ultear and Juvia were also paying attention to the new arrival.
"That girl's magic feels familiar." Ultear muttered while scrutinizing Sherria. "It's like a combination of Romeo and Wendy's magic. How peculiar."
At that moment, Jura returned from the second floor. And just as he did, Sherria's eyes lit up before she rushed forward to greet him.
"Uncle Jura, hello!" Sherria shouted as she ran. "It's nice to---"
*Bang!*
Before she could even get halfway to her destination, however, Sherria tripped over her own feet and fell, face first, to the floor.
"*Sigh* Sherria, are you okay?" Jura asked as he approached Sherria, who was lying face down on the floor wither arms and legs spread.
"Ow!" Sherria muttered as she pushed herself off the floor. A moment later, as she saw Jura's worried expression, she lowered her head. "Ah! I'm sorry to make you worry. I'm fine, so you don't need to worry about me, Uncle Jura."
"*Sigh* I'm just glad you're okay." Jura said with a wry smile. "Anyway, I assume you're here to find your cousin, correct?"
Nodding her head vigorously, Sherria eventually lowered her head once again.
"But she's not here." Sherria said in a somewhat depressed tone.
"That's right." Jura replied with a nod. "But she should be back in the next few days. But one of her friends is here. Would you like to meet her?"
Hearing that one of her cousin's, Sherry's, friends had come to visit, Sherria looked up shyly. Then, in an incredibly meek manner, she nodded her head.
"Very well." Jura said with a smile. "Then, follow me."
With that, Jura began walking towards the table where Ultear and Juvia were sitting. Naturally, Sherria followed him closely. Eventually, while poking her head out from Jura's side, Sherria noticed Ultear and Juvia.
"Wow… So pretty." Sherria muttered subconsciously after catching sight of Ultear and Juvia. A moment later, she covered her mouth with her hands in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Ultear could not help but smile at the cute little girl's actions. Juvia, on the other hand, looked on in disinterest. Though, her eyebrows began to twitch after seeing Ultear smile at the little girl.
'Another one is trying to steal my Ultear away from me.' Juvia thought as her eyes began to gleam dangerously.
Feeling the hostility in Juvia's glare, Sherria quickly hid behind Jura while gripping his Wizard Saint cloak.
*Smack!*
"I have a pretty good idea what you're thinking." Ultear said after slapping Juvia upside the head. "And you need to stop."
Normally, Juvia wouldn't have even registered a slap like that. However, when she slapped her, Ultear had coated her hand in [Ice Magic]. So, Juvia felt the full force of Ultear's slap. AS a result, Juvia lowered her head while holding the spot where she was hit. Though, she did still steal glances at Sherria.
"*Cough* Anyway." Jura said, breaking up the awkward atmosphere. "This is Sherria Blendy, Sherry's younger cousin."
Hearing that, Ultear turned her attention back to Sherria, who was poking her head out from beside Jura. Then, she nodded in understanding.
"I thought you looked familiar." Ultear said with a smile. "You and Shery really do look a lot alike."
"You really know Big Sis?" Sherria asked, her eyes sparkling in interest.
"Yeah, I've known her for a few years." Ultear replied. "I met her when my mom and I came to visit her first disciple, Lyon."
Hearing Lyon's name, Sherria's eyes began to sparkle even brighter.
'Oh, she has a crush on Lyon, huh?' Ultear thought to herself as she saw Sherria's expression. 'What is that boy doing to attract the girls of the Blendy family? But if he were to accept this one's feelings, I might have to beat him up. She's way too young for him. He should be the same age as me, after all.'
At the same time, Lyon, who was completing a quest in the capital with the rest of his team, sneezed before shuddering violently. Though, he could not understand why.