Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
May, x786.
Three days have passed since Alfonzo, Elicia, and Marin found out about the intruders who entered Magnolia. And currently, Team Natsu had just returned to the town, having just disembarked from the most recent train to pull into the station.
"Ugh… I'm never riding that thing again." Natsu said, looking nauseated as the group of seven left the train station.
"But Wendy cast her [Troia] spell on you, didn't she?" Lucy asked curiously. "So, why do you still look like that?"
"It's because the spell loses effectiveness if it's used on the same person too many times." Wendy said in an apologetic tone. "If I was stronger, it wouldn't matter, though."
"Don't worry about it Wendy." Erza said in a consoling tone. "We've all seen how hard you've been working to improve. So, it's not your fault."
"She's right, Wendy." Carla added. "Just because this fool can't be helped, doesn't make it your fault."
"Yeah, we all know the fiery mouth-breather is only good for destroying stuff." Gray said casually. "So, don't worry about this idiot."
"Urgh! What did you say, Gray?" Natsu asked angrily. Though, he was feeling too sick to start a fight.
"It's okay, Natsu." Happy, who was sitting on Natsu's shoulder said with a smile. "We're almost home. You can have something to eat and get some rest when we get there."
"He didn't deny that Natsu was an idiot, though." Lucy muttered.
"*Sigh* It's too bad Alfonzo isn't back yet, though." Erza said wistfully. "I wouldn't mind having a strawberry shortcake that he baked."
"Yeah, we all miss his cooking." Gray added. "And I have a lot of points I can spend on it, too."
As a result of Alfonzo's two trips to other guilds, not to mention his trip to the Magic Council, many of Fairy Tail's wizards have amassed quite a few points. And when Alfonzo returns from his job at Quatro Cerberus, many of them intend to splurge those points.
"I just hope he doesn't get called away by the Magic Council again." Wendy said. "I really want him to make some spaghetti and meatballs for me."
"Hmph! His cooking isn't that good." Carla said with a snort.
"Really?" Gray asked with a smile. "Then, how about giving your points to me, Carla?"
Immediately, Carla turned her head and glared at Gray for even suggesting such a thing. Then, she snorted once again before turning away and picking up the pace at which she walked.
"Carla… *Sigh*" Wendy muttered at the actions of her best friend.
"Anyway, I'm ready to go home." Lucy said. "I wanna take a dip in the hot tub. I really need to wash away all this fatigue from that quest."
"Indeed, driving away an entire colony of badger moles was quite tiring." Erza added.
With that, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla wore dreamy expressions as they thought about taking a dip in the hot tub at the lake mansion or Ur's house.
Eventually, the group reached the guild hall. However, because none of them had their [Magic Power Detection] spread, as it was common for the wizards of Fairy Tail to let their guard down in Magnolia, they did not notice the two large magic power signatures in the most luxurious hotel in the town.
"So, another group has returned." Irene, who was sitting in the most luxurious suite in the aforementioned hotel, said after taking a sip from a glass of wine. "That's another four wizards with S-Class strength. Plus, there was an A-Class with them, as well."
On a side note, Irene completely ignored Happy and Carla, who she deemed inconsequential.
"Still, none of them are strong enough to be a threat." Brandish, who was lying lazily on the couch in the suite, replied in a bored tone. "They might be trouble for the rest of the army, though. I don't think His Majesty would like to see his armies destroyed."
"He won't care about that." Irene said casually while waving off Brandish's concerns. "All that cannon fodder is expendable. In fact, most of them will die as collateral damage when the twelve of us attack."
Shrugging her shoulders, Brandish could not be bothered to care about something so troublesome as keeping normal rank and file soldiers alive.
At the same time, Ireen finished her wine. Then, she stood from her chair after placing her wine glass on the table.
"Although I'm certain that our target was not among the group of new arrivals, I want to see who they are." Irene said as she strode towards the door to the suite. "So, I'm gonna go and do a bit of investigation."
"If that's what you want." Brandish said while shrugging uncaringly before rolling over. "I'll be here when you get back."
Shaking her head at her companions unwillingness to do anything she considered troublesome, Irene made her way out of the hotel room before eventually leaving the hotel. After that, she made her way toward the Fairy Tail guild hall while trying not to draw too much attention to herself.
Unfortunately, with her explosive figure that was even more curvaceous than Tsuande or Shizuka's combined with he revealing witch dress that showed off a large portion of her breasts, abdomen, and upper thighs, Ireene ended up drawing a lot of attention to herself from the men in town.
Naturally, Irene had no illusion that her movements were not being tracked. Although she was capable of hiding her magic power signature with one of her [Enchantments], it would be quite suspicious if her magic power signature just disappeared.
"*Sigh* I should have brought Heine and Juliet with me on this mission." Irene muttered to herself as she playfully winked at an unsuspecting shop owner who hoped to get her to take a look at his establishment. "It would have been much more entertaining if they were here. I could have had them have a duel to the death whenever I got too bored."
Meanwhile, back at Irene's residence in Vistarion, a black-haired young woman with a slim figure and an orange-haired young woman with a childish figure began to shudder. Though they had no idea why.
After a while, Ireen arrived at an area where she could view the guild hall's entrance, yet would not make her appear hostile. Though, she was sure that part of that was the fact that everyone in the guild could tell just how strong she was.
Seeing other wizards, ones she had already been able to identify by their magic power signatures, enter and exit the guild through the sliding doors, Irene could not help but be curious.
"How I would like to get a look at that building from the inside." Irene muttered to herself as she marveled at the Fairy Tail guild hall, which she had surmised was a giant magic item. "It's just one of the many things in this town that has caught my interest since I arrived."
Like that, Irene spent the next few hours simply wondering about all the functions of the three structures in the town that she could not see through with her [Magic Power Detection], the kind of person who could come up with this useful magic utilization method, and the ones who designed the security systems she was unable to see through.
Little did she know, Alfonzo, the target of her mission, was the one who created all the things she was interested in. If she had known, however, she would have more than likely decided to ignore Zeref's orders, kidnap the young man, and force him to tell her everything she wanted to know about the things she was interested in. Then, when she was satisfied, she would drop him in front of the emperor.
Luckily for Alfonzo, she had no idea. And no one in Fairy Tail was dumb enough to spill the beans. Well… Other than Natsu. However, there was a pretty good chance that Natsu was too dumb to tell her anything worthy of her notice.
"Oh, they finally came out." Irene said after watching the guild hall for a few hours.
By now, the sun had set over the horizon. And under the darkness, Team Natsu, minus Natsu and Happy, left the guild hall. However, they were not alone. Accompanying them were a few wizards Irene had identified over the last few days. Namely, Ultear Milkovich, Mirajane Strauss, and Sun Seto, and Juvia Lockser.
Eventually, after saying goodbye to the others, Gray and Juvia separated from the rest of the group, heading towards their homes in Magnolia. Meanwhile, the rest of the group began walking towards the two mansion that Irene could not see through with her [Magic Power Detection].
However, when Irene saw Erza, a woman with similar scarlet red hair and brown eyes to herself, she could not help but raise an eyebrow. However, she did not react in any other meaningful way, her thoughts a mystery.
Although she did not move, Irene continued to follow the group of seven as they left the guild hall.
"Hmm… So, the little girl and the cat live in the same mansion as the guild master, Ur Milkovich." Irene muttered to herself as she sensed Wendy and Carla's magic power signatures disappear behind the barrier surrounding the lakeside mansion. "And the rest are heading towards the mansion on the lake. Do they all live together? Well, that is my target's mansion. Hmm, maybe they are all his women?"
As her thoughts reached that point, Irene smiled. She had already gathered that Alfonzo was married during her investigation. And she knew he had a few more fiancées and girlfriends. However, she had only seen Ultear, Mirajane, and Sun living in the mansion. So, she thought that was it. But now, she could add two more to the list of residents. She was just unsure if they were all in a relationship with Alfonzo, or not. However, she found the entire situation interesting, nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Sun, and Lucy were talking about what they were sensing through [Magic Power Detection] while on their way back to the mansion on the lake.
"How can one person have that much magic power?" Lucy asked in an apprehensive tone, letting her anxiety show now that Wendy was no longer around.
"Indeed." Erza replied. "She has more magic power than even Alfonzo when he releases Riot and Bedlam. Almost one and a half times, in fact."
"Yeah, and we still have no idea if she's an enemy or not." Mirajane said, her usual pleasant smile nowhere to be seen. "But if she's an enemy, there isn't much we can do about her."
"And then there's the other one." Ultear added. "She's got almost as much magic power as Gildarts. Why would two people that powerful come here? I'm really worried about what will happen."
"Well, if Alfonzo and Elicia got Ur's letter, they'll probably be back within the next few days, right?" Sun asked in an optimistic tone. "I'm sure Alfonzo will think of something. He made something that could stop Acnologia, after all."
"Yeah, and that dragon was a whole lot stronger than that woman." Mirajane added.
"Speaking of that woman." Erza said in a solemn tone. "Have any of you seen her yet? I've only been able to feel her magic power signature."
"Actually, now that you mention it…" Ultear said with an odd expression on her face.
"Is something the matter?" Erza asked while frowning slightly after seeing Ultear's expression.
Not only Ultear, but Mirajane and Sun also wore strange expressions. Expressions that Neither Erza nor Lucy missed.
"The thing is…" Sun said, not knowing how to explain.
"There's no need to worry, Sun." Mirajane said while smiling at Sun. "It's only a coincidence, I'm sure."
With that said, Mirajane turned her attention back to Erza.
"What Sun was trying to say is that she looks a lot like you, Erza." Mirajane continued. "She has scarlet hair and brown eyes. On top of that, her facial features look a lot like yours."
Hearing that, Erza and Lucy widened their eyes in surprise. Then, Lucy looked towards Erza quizzically.
"Erza, do you think she could be related to you?" Lucy asked in an unsure tone. "Maybe she's a relative that came searching for you."
"Unlikely.' Erza replied. "I was abandoned in Rosemary Village before I could even remember." Erza said.
"Yeah, and if she were, she would have had many opportunities to do so after Erza made a name for herself in Ishgar." Ultear added, agreeing with Erza.
"I guess you're right." Lucy replied with a nod. "Still, it's weird that someone that looks so much like Erza has come to the town and has been watching the guild hall like that."
"Yeah, I think so, too." Sun added.
"Either way, we can think about that later." Mirajane said while smiling pleasantly. "For now, why don't we go inside. I'm sure Erza and Lucy are tired."
"Yeah, I really wanna take a dip in the hot tub." Lucy said, her mood brightening at the thought of the hot tub. "Besides, there's nothing we can do about someone that strong anyway. So, there's no point in worrying, right?"
"Indeed." Erza added with a nod. "But if she does anything to harm Fairy Tail , we'll stop her, no matter what."
In response, the other girls all nodded their heads in agreement.
By now, the group had crossed the bridge connecting the artificial island to the shore of Lake Sciliora. However, before they could get too close to the mansion, they all stopped and turned around with big smiles on their faces.
"Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, and Ikaruga are back." Ultear said happily.
"Yeah, but that's faster than I thought." Mirajane said. "I thought it would be a few more days at the very least."
"That doesn't matter." Erza said as she started walking back towards the guild hall. "We should go and welcome them."
"You only want him to make you a strawberry shortcake as soon as possible, don't you?" Ultear asked teasingly. "Still, I wanna go see him as soon as possible, too."
"Oh, are you going to let him pleasure you because he came back early?" Lucy asked in a teasing tone of her own.
"Shut up!" Ultear shouted, her face reddening in embarrassment. "You're not gonna start acting like Cana, too, are you Lucy?"
With that, the group began to laugh happily as they hurried back to the guild hall.
Meanwhile, Irene, from near the guild hall, and Brandish, from the suite in the hotel, also noticed the four S-Class magic power signatures that just entered the town while riding in what they assumed to be a magic vehicle. And they both had a hunch that their target had arrived.