Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x787.
"Hey, I'm home!" Alfonzo shouted after entering his mansion floating on Lake Sciliora.
Immediately after his shout, a silver-haired woman wearing a blue French maid dress stepped into the entrance hall of the mansion before bowing politely.
"Welcome home, Master Alfonzo." The maid, Grayfia said with her head lowered.
Shortly after Grayfia gave her greeting, three more maids, Maria, Mey-Rin, and Ai, entered the entrance hall before bowing, as well.
"Welcome home, Master Alfonzo." Maria, Mey-Rin, and Ai greeted in unison.
"Hey, Ladies, how have things been while I was gone." Alfonzo asked as he handed his small travel bag to Grayfia.
"Everything has gone smoothly, as always." Grayfia replied after taking the bag from Alfonzo. "The mistresses have been training and taking quests diligently.
"Even Lici?" Alfonzo asked curiously as he began walking through the mansion.
"Yes, Mistress Elicia has also started taking quests again." Grayfia replied while gesturing for Maria, Mey-Rin, and Ai to return to their duties. "When she does, either I or Maria are tasked to watch over Young Master Amar'e."
"I see." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "And how is my little man?"
"He's currently taking his afternoon nap." Grayfia replied.
Nodding in response, Alfonzo began making his way to Elicia's bedroom. He knew that's where Amar'e would be at this time. And he could not wait to see his son again, in person.
Meanwhile, Grayfia, after noticing where Alfonzo was headed, decided that she would put Alfonzo's belongings away in his room before packing a bag for his return trip.
Although Alfonzo told Hiruzen that he would be coming back on weekends to visit Amar'e and the ladies in his harem, this was the first time he left, despite the fact that this was the third weekend since he arrived. And the reason for that was simple, he wanted to make sure that Naruto's mental state was alright before he left him in the mansion with the other ladies.
After a few minutes, Alfonzo reached Elicia's bedroom door. When he did, he did not knock, as Elicia was currently not home. Though, he figured she was not on a quest since she knew he would be coming home today.
Like always, Alfonzo had not spread out his [Magic Power Detection] while in Magnolia, as the barrier set up around the town would let him know if anyone over a certain power level had entered. Whereas, he did not pay much attention to anyone below that threshold, deeming them a non-threat.
After entering Elicia's bedroom, Alfonzo saw exactly what he was looking forward to seeing. Currently, Amar'e was lying in a crib that was set up near Elicia's bed. And the infant was sleeping peacefully
"Hey, Little Man." Alfonzo said softly, not wanting to wake up his sleeping son. "Daddy missed you."
With that, Alfonzo pulled the chair away from Elicia's desk before taking a seat next to the crib and watching Amar'e sleep.
Like that, Alfonzo spent the next hour or so simply watching Amar'e sleep with a content smile on his face. And after that peaceful time passed, Amar'e's eyelashes began to flutter. Then, the infant woke up and looked around. And when he caught sight of Alfonzo, the smile on his face made Alfonzo's heart melt.
"Hey Little Man." Alfonzo said as he stood up and drew nearer to the crib. "Did you sleep well?"
While making happy gurgling sounds, Amar'e began to fidget, clearly doing all he could to reach for Alfonzo. And Alfonzo, with a smile on his face, reached into the crib before picking up his excited son.
"Looks like someone missed me." Alfonzo said with a smile.
Meanwhile, while in Alfonzo's arms, Amar'e latched on to two of Alfonzo's dreadlocks and began playing with them happily.
Allowing his son to have his fun, Alfonzo started walking towards the bedroom door. And just as he stepped through it, Maria was standing there with a bottle in hand.
"Master Alfonzo, Amar'e usually eats as soon as he wakes up from his afternoon nap." Maria said with a smile while presenting the bottle to Alfonzo.
Nodding in response, Alfonzo accepted the bottle with one hand. Meanwhile, Amar'e stared at the bottle intently while starting to fuss, letting Alfonzo know that Maria was right about his eating habits.
"Thanks, Maria." Alfonzo said while rocking his, clearly, hungry son. "I'll feed him in the living room."
"Understood." Maria said while bowing her head politely. "And when you're done, I'll check his diapers."
"No need." Alfonzo said gently while continuing to rock Amar'e as he once again started walking. "I'll take care of it myself."
Hearing that, Maria was slightly taken aback. Though, she did not let it show on her face. From her experience, men with statures like Alfonzo generally did not take care of their children so attentively.
"As you wish." Maria replied. "But should you need my assistance, simply call for me."
With that, Maria bowed once again. Then, she turned around to prepare everything Alfonzo would need to change Amar'e's diaper, along with a towel for when Alfonzo placed Amar'e against his shoulder to burp him.
When Alfonzo eventually reached the living room, Ai was already in there dusting and making sure everything was in its proper place. And considering the fact that all the residents of this mansion, minus the maids, were members of Fairy Tail, that was a task that never seemed to end.
"Hey, Ai." Alfonzo said after noticing the blonde maid. "How are things going? Have any problems or concerns about the job so far?"
"Master Alfonzo." Ai said as she stopped to greet the master of the house. "And Young Master Amar'e. No, everything is great. Working here has been quite relaxing. Though, I find myself having to clean up much more than at my previous place of employment. Especially the empty alcohol bottles."
"Yeah, Cana really likes to drink… " Alfonzo said while smiling awkwardly as he took a seat on the couch. Then, he guided the nipple of the bottle into Amar'e's mouth as he continued. "I'll ask her to put her empties in a [Storage Card] when she's done with them. Then, she can throw them all away when the card is full."
"Oh, please don't trouble yourself on my account." Ai replied with a smile. "Compared to my last mistress, this is child's play. I mean, I don't have to give anyone advice about boy trouble… Or correct them about common sense… Or teach them how to use technology…"
As Ai continued to list the things that bothered her about her last employer, Alfonzo could not help but think to himself while continuing to feed Amar'e.
'It sounds like she's talking about Kaguya.' Alfonzo said to himself. 'Well, I guess it's not all that surprising if she's in this world. Hell, just about anyone else I can think of has shown up at some point. So, why not her? But that makes me think, I wonder if the Shinomiya family is a clan of nobles or a business family in this world. Well, I guess I'll have to do some research when I get the chance."
"Anyway, while I'm here, I plan on making something new." Alfonzo said, interrupting Ai's rant. "You wanna be my assistant while I work?"
Hearing that, Ai's rant immediately came to an end. Then, with her eyes shining, she nodded vigorously.
"Yes, I would love the chance to work with you, Master Alfonzo." Ai replied happily.
"Good." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Then, after the Little Man gets tired again, we'll head up to my workshop to get started."
"Understood." Ai replied eagerly before returning to her duties.
Like that, the room fell into a comfortable silence, that was broken when Ai began humming as she worked. Meanwhile, Amar'e continued to drink from the bottle as if nothing else in this world matter. And Alfonzo simply watched his son lovingly.
Eventually, Maria walked into the living room carrying a fresh diaper, wipes, and a towel. Then, after placing them on the coffee table in front of Alfonzo and acknowledging Ai, she left the room to return to her duties.
Around the same time, Amar'e pulled himself away from the bottle. Then, he smiled up at Alfonzo and reached out for his hair again.
Smiling in return, Alfonzo picked up the towel Maria left on the coffee table, draped it over his shoulder, put Amar'e, who immediately grabbed his hair again, against it, and gently began patting the infant's back. Unfortunately, instead of a small burp, he heard the sound of Amar'e vomiting. And as it just so happened, it all ended up in his hair.
Meanwhile, Amar'e after seeing Alfonzo's hair change color, began to laugh happily. However, before he could start playing with the vomit covered hair, Alfonzo pulled him away from his shoulder.
"I guess Daddy's gonna need a bath." Alfonzo said while smiling at his son, who was still reaching for his hair. "but before that, let's get you changed."
"Master Alfonzo, I could change him, if you'd like." Ai said while approaching the couch where Alfonzo and Amar'e sat. "And you could go wash your hair while I do so."
"No, that's alright." Alfonzo replied with a gentle smile. "I really don't mind. I've been covered in much worse sh.--- stuff on quests. I mean, a little baby throw up can't compare to giant centipede guts."
Ai shuddered just imagaging being covered in centipede guts.
At that moment, Mey-Rin, carrying a tray with a teapot and a teacup atop it entered the room.
"Master Alfonzo, would you care for a spot of tea?" Mey-Rin asked with a smile.
Though she was smiling brightly, Mey-Rin was actually quite nervous at the moment. She was afraid that she would misjudge the distance and end up making a mess and breaking the teapot and/or teacup. Despite her fears, she did not show it on her face. Grayfia's training had made sure of that.
Actually, for the last few weeks, Mey-Rin had not had any accidents, due in large part to Grayfia's training. Unfortunately, thanks to her past full of mistakes, she could not so easily banish her insecurities.
"I'd love a cup, Mey-Rin." Alfonzo replied. "unfortunately, that will have to wait. The Little Man just threw up in my hair. So, I need to change him and take a shower."
Mey-Rin visibly deflated. She had struggled quite a bit to bring the tea into the living room without making a mess. And now, she found out that Alfonzo won't be drinking it right away. In fact, she took such a mental hit that she almost… No, she dropped the tray holding the teapot and teacup. And when she realized that her hands were empty, she panicked even more.
Luckily, the tray was one made of metal. So, Alfonzo was able to catch it with his magic before it could hit the floor. At the same time, Ai, using her magic power to flood her body, had lunged towards the tray to catch it, as well. Unfortunately, that had become wasted effort, in the end. Still, Amar'e's happy laughter managed to lighten the mood after all was said and done, though.
"*Sigh* Mey-Rin, you have to be more careful." Ai said after she realized the tray was floating. Then, after grabbing it out of the air, she continued. "A crash like that could have scared Young Master Amar'e."
"Yes! You're right!" Mey-Rin said in a depressed tone as she bowed at the waist. "I'm terribly sorry. Please, I deserve to be punished for my blunder!"
"*Sigh* No harm, no foul." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "But Ai is right, Mey-Rin. You need to be more careful. More importantly than that, you need to calm down and be more confident in yourself."
"Yes. I know you're right, Master Alfonzo." Mey-Rin replied, still bowing ninety degrees at the waist. "But with my poor vision up close I can't help being nervous."
"*Sigh* Then I guess you should go see Porlyusica." Alfonzo said, once again shaking his head as he spoke. "I'm sure she could do something about it."
"I understand." Mey-Rin said.
"Anyway, do either of you know if Little Man has had a bath yet" Alfonzo asked. "Because if he hasn't, I'll just give him a bath while I get cleaned up."
"No, he shouldn't have." Ai replied. "Either Mistress Elicia or Maria usually give him one before bed."
"Cool." Alfonzo said as he took a step towards the living room's exit. Then, he looked down at Amar'e as he continued with a smile. "Well then, looks like you get to take a bath with Daddy today, Little Man."
In response, Amar'e began to laugh happily. A moment later, however, his face scrunched up as if he were struggling. Then, after a few more moments, his expression changed to a relaxed one while a pungent scent spread around the room.
"Throw up and poop in less than ten minutes." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "Nice! I really hit the jackpot today."
Despite the words he said, Alfonzo's bright smile, that had been present on his face since the moment he saw his son, widened just a little bit more. Even though changing diapers and cleaning up vomit were some of the less enjoyable parts of parenthood, Alfonzo was loving it all. Any time spent with his son was time well spent in his opinion.