Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Valley of the End.
January, x787.
After the incident with the merfolk, Kai Mikawa, the rest of x786 went on without a hitch, with Irene and Brandish integrating into Fairy Tail without issue. On top of that, Irene took it upon herself to join Team Natsu. Brandish, on the other hand, only took quests as a solo wizard.
On top of that, the x786 S-Class Promotion Exam took place as well. And like the previous year, there was more than one wizard who passed the exam and was promoted to S-Class. Unsurprisingly, Irene and Brandish were not among those who were promoted. And the reason was self-evident. In fact, they were not even among the eight participants.
From the eight participants, Bickslow, Evergreen, Laki, Levy, Gray, Natsu, Elfman, and Marin, the only ones who did not pass were Bickslow and Evergreen. And the reason was that they had just received their [Soul Armament Embryos] a week before the exam. The others, on the other hand, already had [soul Armaments] with their first seals released. So, Bickslow and Evergreen found themselves at a severe disadvantage, despite their strengths.
After the S-Class Promotion Exam, Alfonzo finally had the time to present his Lacrima Phone idea in front of the Magic Council. And with part of the signal receivers having been placed between Fiore and Era, they were able to demonstrate all the lPhone's features during a video call between Alfonzo and Hibiki.
Then, after explaining and demonstrating the system that would pick up key words and phrases to alert the Council to activity between dark wizards and the like, Alfonzo and Hibiki gained permission to launch their new business.
Unfortunately, before either Alfonzo or Hibiki could start making the kind of money they were anticipating, they would have to install the rest of the signal receivers around Ishgar. Luckily, that would be taken care of soon enough, if the current Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves accepted Alfonzo's mission when he went to upgrade their training facilities.
After presenting the lPhones to the Magic Council, the next thing of note that took place was Alfonzo and Cana's wedding. Unlike Alfonzo's wedding with Elicia, Cana's wedding took place in the evening. That way, the reception, which would be another long affair, would still be going on when the calendar changed from x786 to x787.
And just like during his wedding with Elicia, Gildarts walked Cana down the aisle. Also, like when he married Elicia, Alfonzo sang to Cana during their first dance. And the song he chose was "All My Life" by K-Ci & Jo-Jo, which Cana, and the rest of the guests loved. They also wondered where he gained the inspiration to write songs like the ones he wrote for the two weddings.
Naturally, Alfonzo only smiled in a mysterious manner when anyone asked him about it. Still, having their wedding on the last day of the year was a great way to close out x786.
The last thing to take note of since then was Elicia announcing her pregnancy only a day later. And according to the news she received from Porlyusica, she would be due to give birth in August. Naturally, this brought a wave of excitement to the wizards of Fairy Tail. On top of that, it made Bisca put Alzack through his paces, so as to not be left behind.
Other than that, nothing else of notice happened. As for the current time, Alfonzo, Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene were waiting in the Valley of the End for the representatives from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, to arrive.
"*Sigh* We talked about hiring more maids months ago." Alfonzo said while leaning against the side of the Escalade. "I'm surprised no one has applied for the position yet."
"Well, the fact that they need to have a certain amount of magic power has been cutting the numbers quite severely, too." Elicia, who was leaning against Alfonzo, replied.
"*Sigh* I know." Alfonzo replied while rubbing his right hand over Elicia's still flat belly. "I was even thinking about lowering the criteria. Until you told me you were pregnant, that is. Unfortunately, the vetting process is gonna have to be even more strict with the little one coming into our lives."
"*Sigh* If only my husband in the past had been so loving." Irene said while she glanced at Alfonzo and Elicia. "Unfortunately, he was just an opportunistic waste of life."
In the months since Irene decided to change sides, she has spent a lot of her time either taking quests with Team Natsu or talking magic theory with Alfonzo or Levy, the two most interested in the subject in the guild.
And during that time, she has come to understand something about the current generation of Fairy Tail. And that was the fact that they were extremely hard workers. In fact, the only reason they were weaker than the Spriggan 12 of the Alvarez Empire is because of the environment on Ishgar.
For example, those meant to be wizards on Alakitasia started off with a higher amount of magic power at birth. On top of that, the ambient ethernano in the air was much denser in Alakitasia. Those two facts naturally led to the wizards of Ishgar being weaker on average.
"If you'll excuse me, Miss Irene." Ikaruga said politely. "I'm actually surprise you insisted on coming with Master Alfonzo and Madam Elicia on this trip. I would have thought you would want to spend more time with your daughter, Erza."
"I actually came because I was curious." Irene said, answering Ikaruga's query before she finished speaking. "I've heard of the shinobi of old. They usually only stuck to members of their own---"
Irene's explanation came to a complete and sudden halt, however, when she registered the rest of what Ikaruga had to say. Then, she turned her eyes, which were open to a comical degree, towards Ikaruga with shock and panic swirling in their depths.
"Wh-Wha-What are you talking about?" Irene asked in a stuttering mess. "I-I-I-I have no d-dau-daughter. I haven't laid with a man in over four hundred years. There's no way I could have an offspring."
Hearing that, Ikaruga looked at Irene awkwardly while tilting her head in confusion. Then, she turned her head towards Alfonzo and Elicia.
"*Sigh* We told you that was supposed to be a secret, Ikaruga." Elicia said in an exasperated tone. "Everyone knew that Irene didn't wanna talk about it. That's why it was never brought up in the past."
"Ah… Now that you mention it." Ikaruga said in a tone of realization. "I forgot you said that some time ago."
On a side note, now that Elicia was confirmed to be pregnant, Ikaruga came along on this trip to make sure that Elicia did not push herself too far.
After hearing that short interaction, Irene also turned her incredulous gaze towards Alfonzo and Elicia once again.
"Don't look at us like that, Irene." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "You've made it way too easy to tell that you and Erza were related since you came to Magnolia."
Irene opened her eyes wide in response.
"If it wasn't because of the 'discreet glances' you shot at her every time you were in the same room." Alfonzo said while raising air-quotes as he spoke the word "discreet". "The similarities between your features were a dead giveaway, too."
"Then, there was that time you almost crushed magnolia with your magical pressure when we talked about our childhoods." Elicia added. "Or rather, when Erza talked about her childhood as a slave in the Tower of Heaven."
Hearing that, Irene slumped her shoulders.
"Does that mean Erza knows, as well." Irene asked in a dejected tone.
"Yup." Elicia replied with a smile. "But I think she knew way before that. She said something about feeling a connection to you not long after she first met you."
"*Sigh* I see." Irene replied while shaking her head. "I guess I've been trying to keep it a secret for nothing then, huh?"
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think Brandish knows." Alfonzo said with a smile. "But I think she was suspicious until she found out you were a dragon."
"*Sigh* I'm sure she'd be able to figure it out, too." Irene said while shaking her head with a wry smile on her face. "If she didn't feel like it was too troublesome to think about, anyway."
With that, the area around the Escalade fell into an awkward silence. Not long later, the awkward silence was eventually broken when a trio of young men appeared near the quartet from Magnolia.
"Oh, it's Genma." Elicia said after recognizing one of the three young men. "Long time, no see. How have you been?"
"Yeah, it's been almost a year since the last time we saw each other, Elicia, Alfonzo, and Ikaruga." Genma replied while adjusting the Senbon in his mouth. "And I see an unfamiliar face with you, as well. Mind introducing us?"
"Yo, what's up, Genma." Alfonzo said while nodding his head in greeting. As for the new face, she's a new member of Fairy Tail…"
"Irene Belserion." Irene said as she changed her expression back to her confident, yet sadistic, smile. "It's nice to meet you. But I'd appreciate it if you stopped staring at my breasts."
"Maybe if you didn't put them on full display, they wouldn't." Alfonzo muttered.
In response, Irene shot a glare in Alfonzo's direction. However, because she was still trying to figure out if the [Soul Armament Embryo] she had been given could reverse her [Dragonization], she chose not to say anything.
"Anyway, why don't you introduce us to your friends, Genma." Elicia said, deciding to move the conversation forward.
"Right." Genma replied with cold sweat sliding down his back after feeling Irene's glare. "These are the members of my squad, Raidō Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami."
Like Genma, Raidō and Iwashi also wore the standard Hidden Leaf uniform consisting of a dark blue body suit, a green flak jacket, and black ninja sandals. On top of that, Iwashi wore his forehead protector as a bandana that covered most of his brown hair. He also wore a small goatee on his chin. Raidō, on the other hand, had spiky brown hair and scars on his face that covered the majority of the left side of his face and the bridge of his nose.
Another thing everyone noticed was the fact that Raidō and Iwashi were both glaring at Ikaruga with hostility.
"Oh, that's right." Elicia said while bringing her right fist down into her left palm. "Maybe bringing Ikaruga wasn't such a good idea. She's the one that left those scars on that guys face."
"Yeah, but you're pregnant." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "And she's only here to take care of you. She won't do anything to bring harm to the village, right?"
As he asked his question, Alfonzo turned his attention to Ikaruga. In response, Ikaruga lowered her head as she replied.
"I swear that I will not cause any trouble for you on your trip to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Master Alfonzo." Ikaruga said in a solemn tone.
"Well, there you have it." Alfonzo replied, shifting his attention back to the trio of Hidden Leaf Shinobi. "And if she causes any trouble, Lici and I will take responsibility. Especially since she's been our responsibility since she was released from prison."
"*Sigh* All three of us know that." Genma said in an exasperated tone. "But letting go of a grudge isn't so easy."
"Yeah, I get it." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "As long as she isn't attacked unprovoked, we won't have any problems."
"Got it." Genma replied with a nod. Then, he looked in his teammates' direction. "That won't be a problem, will it?"
"No." Raidō replied in a begrudging tone.
"I'll have my eye on her, though." Iwashi said while continuing to glare at Ikaruga."
"Alright, I guess that's good enough." Alfonzo replied. "Anyway, should we get going?"
"Yes, but we'll need to blindfold your companions." Genma replied.
"Yeah, Master Tsunade already explained that to us." Alfonzo replied. "So, go ahead. Just don't let your hands wander anywhere they shouldn't. You're only B-Class wizards… Or rather, Special Jonin if we go by your village's ranking system."
"You don't need to worry about that." Genma replied while smiling wryly. "None of us are suicidal."
With that, Genma, Raidō, and Iwashi each blindfolded Ikaruga, Elicia, and Irene respectively. Once they were done, they quickly stepped away to show they had no bad intentions.
"Alright, this will probably take a while since we have to lead them to the village." Genma said. "I hope you understand."
"Nah, you don't need to worry about that." Alfonzo replied while waving dismissively. "Ladies, why don't you climb into the Escalade. Then, you can enjoy the ride. Oh, but don't take off the blindfolds while you're inside. That would just cause unnecessary problems."
After Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene nodded in response, Alfonzo helped each of them into the Escalade. Then, once they were all settled, Alfonzo levitated the vehicle as he turned towards his guides.
"Alright now, let's get going." Alfonzo said with a smile.
In response, Genma, Raidō, and Iwashi only stared at the floating magic vehicle in a daze. A few moments later, they broke out of their dazes. Then, they started running towards the Village Hidden in the Leaves at high speed. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, while dragging the Escalade through the air with his [Metal Magic], sprinted after the shinobi, keeping up with little effort.