Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
March 9, x792.
Eventually, the ruckus outside the mansion died down and the other wizards followed Ichiya and the Trimens inside to meet the client. And while most were unfamiliar with him, Elicia and Lucy recognized him. Though, he did look quite a bit older than the last time they saw him.
"Huh? You look familiar." Lucy said while scrutinizing the client. "I feel like I've met you a long time ago."
"That's because you have." Elicia said with a smile. "Remember your first quest with the guild? The quest where you got Virgo."
"My first quest…?" Lucy muttered rhetorically while thinking back to when she first joined Fairy Tail.
Meanwhile, the others, Marin, Karen, Ichiya, the Trimens, Darkness, and her two subordinates remained quiet, finding the situation somewhat interesting. As for the client, he was also silent. Though, his reason was because he did not expect to see some familiar faces.
"Let's see…" Lucy continued. "That quest was when we went to steal that book from that trashy Duke Everlue, right? He used that weird magic that let him drill through the ground. And that book was actually written by… Oh, it's you! Kaby Melon."
Hearing that, the client, Kaby Melon's, expression turned from shocked into a smile.
"That's right." Kaby replied with a nod. "Because the two of you and that young man who led your team…"
"Our husband." Elicia said proudly.
"… I didn't have to give up everything to pay the commission for that quest." Kaby continued. "So, I had no issue starting my business again. And now, I'm doing even better than I was before."
"You're not borrowing someone else's house again, are you?" Elicia asked suspiciously. "Because from what I know, becoming a noble in Fiore isn't that easy. And this is definitely the noble's district."
"Ah! Ha… Ha… Ha…" Kaby laughed embarrassedly. He then waved his hand dismissively. "No… No, this is definitely my house this time. And you're right, I'm not a noble. But buying a noble's house is much easier than you think."
"I see." Elicia replied with an understanding nod.
"Although this reunion has been heartwarming, I believe it's time for us to hear the details of the quest." Bacchus said, interrupting the trio's trip down memory lane. "The request said something about your caravans being attacked repeatedly. Do you have any information about the attackers? Or where the attacks happened?"
"I don't have much information about the attackers, unfortunately." Kaby replied, his tone turning solemn while shaking his head. "But where they happened, that I do know."
Hearing that, the wizards in the room subconsciously leaned forward to make sure they caught every detail.
"All the attacks have happened on the routes passing Shirotsume." Kaby said solemnly. "And every attack site is littered with holes in the ground., as if someone was swimming through the… No, it couldn't be… He was supposed to be in prison after everything he did."
Kaby was not the only one who put two and two together at that point. Though, like him, they all thought the culprit they were thinking of was supposed to be in prison.
"So, he managed to break out, huh?" Elicia asked with a shrug. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone broke out of Fiore's prisons. I mean, Orochimaru, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and Jellal Fernandez did it, too."
"Yeah, but those three weren't basically joke characters, either." Lucy pointed out.
"Yeah, I remember the quest to capture the two scientists." Marin added. "That was pretty dangerous."
"Oh, I got a good fight out of it, though." Bacchus said with a grin. "Too bad Guy isn't here."
"Let's stay on track." Yumichika said while shaking his head at his guild's ace. He then turned to look at Kaby. "So, we need to go to Shirotsume. Do you have a map that shows the locations where your caravans were attacked, Mr. Melon?"
"I do." Kaby replied with a nod as he reached out and grabbed a bell.
*Ding!* *Ding!* *Ding!*
Shortly after shaking the bell, a servant came in. Kaby then instructed the servant to retrieve the map with marked locations of the attacks. Before long, the servant came back carrying the map and handed it to Kaby.
Upon receiving the map, Kaby rolled it out on the table in the reception room. And the wizards and knights gathered around the table to take a look.
"These are the locations of the attacks." Kaby said while gesturing to the marked spots on the map of Shirotsume's surroundings. "As you can see, all of our trade routes have been hit."
"Have more than one caravan been hit at the same time, Men?" Ichiya asked in a serious tone. Though, his catch phrase somewhat ruined the solemn atmosphere he was going for.
"Unfortunately, yes." Kaby replied. "At one point, we tried sending dummy shipments to trip them up. Yet, they were all attacked at nearly the same time."
"How many did you send?" Karen asked in a cold tone.
"Five.' Kaby replied.
"So, there are at least five people with the same magic." Elicia said while stroking her chin in contemplation. That could be a bit of a problem."
"What do you mean?" Kaby asked.
"Well, the members of Fairy Tail should have no issue tracking the attackers." Elicia said while gesturing to herself, Marin, and Lucy. "But if there are more than three attackers attacking different locations, we can't cover everything."
["You could cover all of Shirotsume and then some if you wanted."] Scylla said.
'Yeah, I could." Elicia replied. 'But even if I can cover all that area, how am I supposed to get to each attack before the attackers run away.'
["Ah! I guess that makes sense."] Scylla said. ["But this is weird. If I wasn't connected to your soul, I would wonder when you were replaced."]
'What's that supposed to mean?' Elicia asked indignantly.
["You're actually thinking things through."] Scylla answered. ["Honestly, it's kinda creepy. It's some Twilight Zone type stuff."]
'How rude~!' Elicia huffed internally. 'Especially since you know my mind works differently when I'm on a job. I can't do anything that would disgrace Fairy Tail.'
["I guess that's fair."] Scylla replied with a nod.
While Elicia was having her conversation with Scylla, the others were thinking of how to use the fact that Fairy Tail wizards had abnormally heightened sensory abilities.
"Why don't we just split up into groups of three, then?" Darkness said, her tone much more solemn than anyone would ever expect from her. "We can have one member of Fairy Tail in each group. And Mr. Melon can send three more dummy shipments. Each group will then watch over the shipments and try to catch the attackers in the act."
Hearing Darkness' well-thought out plan, everyone looked at her like she grew a second head. Obviously, no one had a high opinion of the knight's cognitive abilities. And for good reason.
Meanwhile, Darkness, feeling everyone's disbelieving gazes, began to shudder as her face reddened and her breathing grew heavy.
"Oh no! Because of the way I always act, they must think I'm a fake." Darkness muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. She then raised her hands and cupped her cheeks as her eyes grew way too excited for what she said next. "Are they going to capture me and interrogate me for such a change in attitude? And what if the interrogation doesn't work? They'll probably torture me next, right? Elicia will tie me up… Marin will use her [Transformation Magic] to change my body structure… Lucy will whip me… Bacchus will use his [Palm Magic] to spank me… Ikkaku and Yumichika will stab me over and over with their swords… Karen will… *shudder* Glare at me like I'm worthless…"
'And she's back to normal.' Everyone in the reception room thought simultaneously.
"Hey… Wasn't it the captain who said we can't do anything to disgrace the knights or the kingdom?" One of Darkness' subordinates whispered to his comrade.
"You still actually pay attention to stuff like that?" The other knight whispered back. "Honestly, I've been letting stuff like that go in one ear and out the other for years."
"The only reason I haven't started doing that yet is because I can't let it become a habit." The first knight said. "I mean, what if we get transferred to another squad? We can't just ignore our new captain, can we?"
Though it was hard to see the second knight's expression, his eyes showing through his helmet held nothing but pity for his comrade's delusions of grandeur. Because even though it was unsaid, they both knew they would never be reassigned. Especially since the knights finally found someone who did not run away from Darkness screaming and in tears.
"*Cough* Anyway, that could work." Elicia said in an awkward tone. "Now, the only question is who should be in which team?"
"I'm going with Lici." Karen said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
*Flash!*
"Darkness is on our team!" Virgo said cheerfully with a hand raised after summoning herself from the Celestial Spirit World.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Lucy asked, almost in tears.
"I guess we'll go with Marin." Bacchus said with a shrug before throwing a glance at Elicia.
"Yes… I've missed our conversations about skin care." Yumichika said with a smile.
"As long as we get to fight, I don't care who I'm teamed up with." Ikkaku added.
"That's fine with me." Marin replied with a shrug. "As long as I'm not teamed up with the Blue Pegasus boys. That host club crap makes me uncomfortable."
"Men!" Ichiya exclaimed while striking what he thought was a handsome pose. "Which team should we join?"
"You four can stay in Shirotsume." Elicia said quickly. "That way, if necessary, each team can take solace in the fact that there will be reinforcements should they need them."
["Wow! You really don't wanna team up with Ichiya or the Trimens, huh?"] Scylla said with a giggle. ["I mean, you got quite articulate just now."]
'Although you're not wrong, I thought it was the best plan, too.' Elicia replied. 'Hands down, I'm the strongest person here. So my team doesn't need to be that big. Lucy can summon an army of spirits. So, she's fine with just her, Darkness, and the probably useless knights. And Marin isn't really a front line fighter. But with Bacchus, Ikkaku, and Yumichika, she should be fine.'
["I noticed you didn't say anything about being alone with Karen."] Scylla pointed out in a tone filled with schadenfreude.
'Honestly, I was trying not to think about that.' Elicia replied. '*Sigh* I miss Fonzie and Mar'e.'
After that, the group discussed a few more details. Then, after bidding Kaby farewell, they all returned to their magic vehicles before making their way towards Shirotsume to carry out the operation.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Shirotsume.
After arriving in the town of Shirotsume, the four groups, the wizards from Fairy Tail, the wizards from Blue Pegasus, the wizards from Quatro Cerberus, and the knights each found their own lodgings, with the knights staying at the barracks in the town while the three guilds found their own hotels to stay in.
Then, after they were all settled, they started a group video call to discuss the finer details of the operation.
{"We'll need to stay here for at least three days."} Ichiya said in a serious tone.
{"During that time, we can check out the sites of the previous attacks."] Elicia added. {"If we can identify the traces, we should have a better idea of what we're up against."}
{"As expected of you, Ms. Elicia."} Ichiya said with what he thought was a charming smile. {"Your intellect is just as impressive as your perfume."}
*Smack!*
*Bang!*
{"Don't talk to Lici in such a creepy way."} Karen barked after slapping Ichiya upside the head and causing him to slam face first into the table holding the lPhone.
{"Master Ichiya!/Ichiya, Sir!/Big Brother Ichiya!"} The Trimens cried out in alarm.
Yet, Ichiya sat back up as if nothing happened. The only evidence of Karen's violent outburst being the fact that the camera was now a bit askew, and Ichiya's rather large nose was red.
{"Anyway, Mr. Melon's caravans should be passing by Shirotsume on the third day."} Bacchus said, completely ignoring the Blue Pegasus antics. {"so, we should have more than enough time to check everything."}
{"We should probably try not to gather in large groups, too."} Lucy said. {"we don't want to alert the attackers to our presences."}
{"If they're any good at what they do, they probably already know we're here."} Darkness said, her breath starting to get heavy. {"we should be careful… *Pant* *Pant* They might attack us before the operation starts… *Pant* *Pant* And they might kidnap us and try to get information about our operation out of us… *Pant* *Pant* But don't' worry, I'll do my best to keep all of you safe… *Pant* *Pant* And if I'm the one who gets captured, they'll never break me…"
Just like with Blue Pegasus, everyone did their best to ignore Darkness.
{"On top of that, if we're right that the one attacking was the former Duke Everlue, then he'll probably come after Lucy and I first."} Elicia said solemnly.
{"You think he wants revenge?"} Lucy asked.
{"No doubt."} Elicia replied with a nod.
{"Well, that little ugly man is welcome to try."} Lucy said, her tone filled with fighting spirit. {"I'm not the same as I was seven years ago. And I kicked his butt back then. If he attacks, I'll show him just how strong I am now!"}
And just like that, the planning session continued. However, there was one thing Darkness was right about while she was lost in her delusions. And that was the fact that their target was aware of their presence. And just like Elicia said, his sights had been set firmly on the two Fairy Tail wizards he recognized from seven years ago.