Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
March 9, x792.
"Man, this feels nostalgic." Marin said with a smile while walking through the streets of Fiore's capital city, Crocus, alongside Elicia and Lucy.
"Yeah, we did this about eight years ago, didn't we?" Lucy asked with a smile. A moment later, however, she pouted as she continued. "At least I'm not being punished for breaking guild rules this time. So, I can help with the quest, too."
"Let's just hope that the Unholy trinity doesn't gather for some reason." Elicia said cheerfully.
*smack!* x 2
"*Sigh* There she goes again." Lucy muttered while gripping Virgo's key tightly and trying to suppress any attempts that the Celestial Spirit might make to summon herself.
"Just because she accepted the truth doesn't mean that she's going to stop, huh?" Marin asked rhetorically.
Hearing Marin and lucy, Elicia smiled sheepishly. She then tilted her head to one side, raised her fist, and tapped herself on the head.
"Oops." Elicia said apologetically. She then hurried to change the subject. "Anyway, we should get going to see the client. That quest isn't going to complete itself, right?"
With that said, Elicia continued walking. Though, it was clear to see that she was walking a little faster than usual. Meanwhile, Marin and Lucy shot her some of the driest glares anyone had ever seen before following behind her.
Before long, the trio reached a house, or rather a mansion, in the noble district. And just as they were about to knock on the door, they heard a familiar voice coming from inside.
"Men~~~!" The somewhat raspy, smooth males voice said, carrying from the inside of the house. "Don't worry, we'll find out what's been attacking your caravans. I'll stake my honor as a gentleman on it."
"Master Ichiya~~~!" A trio of voices shouted shortly afterwards.
Hearing those voices, Elicia, whose hand was raised to knock on the door, froze with her eyes wide open. A moment later, she turned back to look at Marin and Lucy, whose expressions were practically screaming: "This is your fault."
"Hey, don't look at me like that." Elicia said while avoiding eye contact with her guild mates. "Just 'cause Ichiya is here, it doesn't mean that---"
*Bang!*
Before Elicia could finish her sentence, the front door of the mansion was pulled open with great force before slamming against the adjoining wall. And when Elicia turned back towards the door to see who slammed it open, she could only smile wryly when she saw Karen standing there.
"Lici!" Karen shouted excitedly as she stepped forward. "I knew today was going to be a good day. I could feel it in the air."
"Uh… High, Karen." Elicia said stiffly as she lowered her raised hand. "I guess Blue Pegasus took a job about the attacks on the merchant caravans, too, huh?"
"That's right." Karen replied with a vigorous nod of her head. "Originally, just that creepy old guy, Ichiya and the Trimens were going to take it. But something told me that I needed to go with them. So, I beat them… *cough* convinced them to take me with them."
"She was definitely about to say beat them up until they agreed, right?" Marin asked Lucy.
"I have no doubt about that." Lucy replied in a deadpan while tightly holding Virgo's Key
"I… see…" Elicia replied while taking a step away from Karen. "Well then, we should go inside to see the client, too."
"Of course." Karen said happily. She then reached into her coat and took out a collar and a leash. "Just give me a second. I'll put these on and lead you to the reception room where the client is meeting the rest of the members of my guild."
"Absolutely not." Elicia said firmly.
"Huh? But why not?" Karen asked in a confused tone. A moment later, it seemed as if something occurred to her. Then, she glared at Lucy and Marin. "Ah… I think I get it. Now that you're the manager of that man's harem, you've found new pets, right? so, which one of these trollups have you replaced me with?"
"Wow… Using your low standards to judge others much?" Marin asked in ana astonished tone.
"Seriously, you solicit a man's wife all the time." Lucy said in an offended tone. "Yet, you have the nerve to call someone a trollup. Pot, thy name is Karen for sure."
"Hmph! You two know nothing." Karen said while trying to force the leash into Elicia's hands. "Lici and I share a special bond. It was that man's fault for getting in the way."
"Now, you're starting to sound like Bacchus used to." Elicia said as her eyes narrowed.
"How could you say that?" Karen asked in an aghast tone. "That man was trying to force his ideals and feelings upon you, Dear Elicia. But what we have is truly special."
"Karen… I have no romantic interest in you." Elicia said bluntly. "Nor do I have any interest in being a dom for you. So, how are you any different than Bacchus was?"
"Urgh!"
A painful and embarrassed grunt suddenly interrupted the conversation. Naturally, this startled Elicia, Marin, Lucy, and Karen. And when the four women turned to find the source of the sound, they found three men standing at the mansion's gate. And all three were familiar.
While two of the three men were laughing and poking at the third, the third, S-Class wizard of Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus, was standing there with his hands covering his face.
"Wow you really left a bad impression on them, didn't you, Bacchus?" the first of the two laughing men, Yumichika Ayasegawa, also a member of Quatro Cerberus, said while covering his mouth daintily as he laughed.
"Yeah, I mean, you're taking stray shots as soon as we get here." The other laughing man, Ikkaku Madarame, added while laughing loudly as the sunlight reflected off his bald head.
"Would you two shut up?" Bacchus barked, embarrassment dripping from his tone. "*Sigh* Things like this are making me wish I never stopped drinking. I know I was bad. But you don't have to hold a grudge like that, do you, Elicia?"
Elicia could only smile sheepishly when she heard Bacchus' complaint. Even so, she had no intention of apologizing for what she said. Especially because what she said was absolutely true.
"Man… This is giving me a real case of déjà vu." Marin said while glancing between Kaern and the wizards from Quatro Cerberus. "It's starting out just like that quest we took to find those missing girls. Now, the only one missing is---Mmph!"
"Don't say it, please!" Lucy screamed while covering Marin's mouth with both hands. "If you don't say it, she might not show up. Please, don't raise flags like Lici!"
"It's too late for that." Elicia said while smiling wryly. "she's already on her way here."
"Why did you have to say it out loud." Lucy shouted, practically breaking down. "I've been trying to ignore it ever since I felt her presence. I thought that it might be able to stop the inevitable if I didn't acknowledge it. But you just had to shatter my hopes and dreams."
"You said it yourself, Lucy." Marin said while smiling with schadenfreude. "It's inevitable. So, just accept it. Nothing you do will change anything."
*Flash!*
Then, as if to prove Marin right, Virgo, despite all the effort Lucy put into keeping her [Celestial Gate] closed, summoned herself to Lucy's side. She then turned to face the mansion's main gate with sparkling eyes.
"Princess, I can feel lit." Virgo said excitedly while staring at the street beyond the mansion's gate. "She's coming. My best friend is coming. Princess, I'm so excited."
"How?" Lucy asked as she fell to her knees. "I poured most of my magic power into keeping her [Gate] closed. But it doesn't even feel like she overpowered me. Instead, it feels like she opened a second [Gate], or something."
"Don't ask me." Marin said with a shrug. "You're the Celestial Spirit Wizard. This should be something you know, shouldn't it?"
*Clank!* *Clank!* *Clank!*
Before Lucy, or anyone else, could answer, the sound of armored footsteps carried into the mansion's courtyard. And as the footsteps grew closer and louder, Virgo's eyes shined even brighter. Then, before long, a small squad of three knights, one female and two male, stepped into view.
Yet, before the group entered the mansion grounds, the woman leading the group, Darkness, stopped and turned to face her subordinates.
"Remember, we're representing the Cherry Blossom Holy Knights to uphold justice in the kingdom." Darkness said, sounding much more serious than usual. "We cannot do anything that would bring shame to the knights or the kingdom while on this assignment."
"You're the last one who should be saying that, Captain." One of the knights said quietly.
"No matter how many times I hear her say something like that, it always feels like I've been affected by [Illusion Magic]." The other knight muttered under his breath.
Pretending as if she could not hear her subordinates' complaints, Darkness continued her speech. Though, the way her breathing sped up and the flush that spread across her face let the two knights know that their words affected her. So, to not make things worse, they both decisively shut their mouths and let her continue.
"Darkness! My best friend!"
Luckily, a shout from the inside of the mansion's gate drew Darkness attention away from her quickly spiraling thoughts. And when the trio turned to see who called Darkness, they saw Virgo sprinting towards her with her arms spread and a happy smile on her face.
"Virgo?" Darkness asked in a surprised tone. A moment later, however, she put on an excited smile, as well. Then, she turned around fully to embrace her friend. "It's been so long. How have you been? Have you experienced any new punishments from your master?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't." Virgo replied in a disappointed tone as she threw herself into Darkness' arms. "But I'm doing my best to get all the punishments I deserve."
And from there, the two were practically off to the races. As time passed, their conversations about punishments and the like got more graphic, causing everyone else to shiver in disgust. The only exception being Karen, who pulled a small notebook out of her coat and started taking notes. Notes that she would use to study ways to get Elicia to bind and punish her faithful pet.
"I'm never taking a quest with the two of you in Crocus ever again." Marin said while glaring at Elicia and Lucy. "I don't' know what it is about you two, but you just attract weirdos like flies to honey."
"It's not my fault!" Lucy shouted while on the verge of tears. "I didn't want any of this."
Elicia did not respond to Marin's accusation. Instead, she only turned away. She knew she was the one who originally raised this flag. So, she would take responsibility for it. Though, she had no intention of getting between the Unholy Trinity. Her responsibility would be in spirit only.
Luckily, there was someone on the mansion grounds who had no ability to read the room. Nor did he have any problem interrupting a conversation that everyone else would rather run away from.
"Men!" Ichiya shouted as he led the Trimens through the mansion's front door. "It seems that everyone has arrived. I could smell your fragrant perfumes from the reception hall."
And once again, everyone present shivered in disgust. Even Darkness.
"Now, let us head inside." Ichiya said with what he thought was a handsome flourish. "The client is waiting. And as wizards of such prestigious guilds, we should not let him wait too long. Men!"
"Master Ichiya/Brother Ichiya/Boss Ichiya is right." The Trimens said in unison Though, the way they addressed Ichiya was as non-uniform as ever.
Then, with one final flourish, Ichiya turned around and strode back into the mansion. Meanwhile, the Trimens produced rose pedals from somewhere and began tossing them onto the path the ladies would use to walk into the mansion while completely ignoring the men in the group.
Though, it should be noted that none of the Trimens tried to get touchy feely with the ladies from Fairy Tail. Their last run in with Alfonzo made them quite aware that if word ever got back to him, they would not live too well for several months after he was done with them.