Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
March 11, x792.
*Ding!* *Dong!*
"Hmm? Someone's at the door." Alfonzo said while sitting at his workbench in his workshop.
"It probably has something to do with that call you ignored earlier." Irene said while pointing at Alfonzo's lPhone.
"I missed a call?" Alfonzo, having been engulfed in the research he was doing with Irene, asked in a dumbfounded tone while reaching for his lPhone.
Picking up the phone, Alfonzo immediately noticed that he missed a call from Yoruichi. Then, without calling her back, he extended his [Magic Power Detection] to see who just rang the Mansion on the Lake's doorbell. And sure enough, Yoruichi, along with Sui-Feng and Rangiku, was standing at the door while Maria moved through the mansion to answer the door.
"Damn... I don't even remember hearing the phone ring." Alfonzo muttered to himself while shaking his head. He then stood up and stretched as he continued. "Honestly, after making that barrier for our battlefield, I never thought making one that covered the entirety of Fiore would be this hard."
Irene's flat stare caused Alfonzo to flinch momentarily. Then, as if to hide that involuntary action, he glared back at Irene.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alfonzo asked, though he already knew exactly why Irene was staring at him the way she was. "Anyway, I think we could use a break. The problem of crops returning to the moment when the barrier went up isn't going anywhere. Besides, if we can't figure that part out, we can always just put up barriers around the cities."
Then, without giving Irene a chance to respond, Alfonzo turned around and left the workshop, leaving Irene staring at his retreating back.
"He can be so cute sometimes." Irnee said with a giggle before also getting up and leaving Alfonzo's workshop.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi, Sui-Feng, and Rangiku had just been led to the living room where they sat on the couches and relaxed. Maria, on the other hand, went to the kitchen after they were settled to prepare refreshments for the three Mermaid Heel wizards.
"This mansion is something else." Rangiku said while leaning back into the couch and crossing one leg over the other. "Just how much does a mansion like this one cost."
"You couldn't buy one like it even if you wanted to." Yoruichi replied while flipping through an issue of Sorcerer Weekly that was lying on the coffee table. "Alfonzo built the whole thing from scratch using his magic. Meaning the whole thing, including the island its floating on, is made of an alloy made of Adamantite and Orichalcum."
"Is that even possible?" Rangiku asked in an astonished tone. "I mean, Adamantite is an anti-magic metal while Orichalcum amplifies magic. Shouldn't they just cancel out the other's effects if they're alloyed together?"
"No idea." Yoruichi replied flippantly. "If you want me to punch something out of existence, I'm your girl. But if you want me to analyze the properties of new metals, you'd be better off finding literally anyone else."
Reaching that point, Yoruichi looked up from the magazine and turned to face Sui-Feng, who was standing behind her like a dutiful guard.
"Bumble Bee, do you have any idea how it works?" Yoruichi asked, though she already had an idea about what kind of answer she would receive.
"I do not." Sui-Feng replied in her usual, somewhat cold tone.
"Well, that's about what I expected." Yoruichi said with a shrug before returning her attention to the magazine.
"I can explain it to you if you're really interested."
That familiar male voice drew all three ladies attention to the entrance of the living room. When they turned to look, they saw exactly who they expected to see, with two additional women walking alongside him.
Naturally, the male voice they heard belonged to the owner of the mansion, Alfonzo. And walking with him were Irene, who followed him down from the workshop, and Maria, who was returning with the refreshments she prepared.
While Yoruichi smiled at her lover and Sui-Feng gritted her teeth at the man who stole her Lady's heart, Rangiku quickly waved off Alfonzo's offer of explanation.
"Don't bother." Rangiku said nonchalantly. "I only said anything about it for the sake of conversation. Even if you did explain it, I probably wouldn't actually understand it."
Shrugging his shoulders, Alfonzo walked over to the couch Yoruichi was sitting on with her legs spread across the other cushions. He then lifted her legs, sat down, and let her legs rest across his lap. Meanwhile, Irene took a seat next to Rangiku while Maria placed the refreshments on the coffee table.
All the while, Sui-Feng glared at Alfonzo like she wished she could call Suzumebachi's name and stab him twice in the same spot. Naturally, Alfonzo felt Sui-Feng's murderous glare. So, instead of rising to the provocation, he began massaging Yoruichi's legs before slowly turning towards Sui-Feng with an infuriatingly cheeky smile on his face.
As for Yoruichi, she found the whole situation hilarious. However, she knew if she did not put a stop to it, Sui-Feng was likely to lose her rationality and attack Alfonzo, which everyone knew would not end well for her.
"Okay, stop teasing my little Bumble Bee, Alfonzo." Yoruichi said with a giggle.
"Fine~." Alfonzo said as if he were upset that his fun was being ruined. He then turned to look at Yoruichi as he continued. "Anyway, what brings you to Magnolia? Did you come to see Retsu?"
"Not really." Yoruichi replied. "Though, I wouldn't mind saying hi if she's around. We actually just decided to stop by since we finished up a quest in the area."
"Fair enough." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
"And since Bee and Rangiku have never seen the grotto, I was thinking of taking them to relax." Yoruichi continued. "You know... If you don't mind, that is."
"Go on." Alfonzo said while waving off Yoruichi's last statement.
"Nice." Yoruichi said while popping up off the couch. She then turned to look at Rangiku and Sui-Feng as she continued. "Alright, girls! Let's go! You brought your swimsuits like I told you to, right?"
"Of course." Rangiku said with a smile. "A chance to relax like this in the winter? There's no way I was gonna miss it."
Sui-Feng did not respond verbally. But anyone who knew her knew that she would follow any of Yoruichi's orders without question, even if she did not want to.
"Wanna join us, Irene?" Yoruichi asked after receiving Rangiku's answer and intuitively understanding the meaning of Sui-Feng's silence.
"I don't see why not." Irene said as she stood up. "Alfonzo and I have been working non-stop for days. So, a bit of relaxation is quite welcome."
"Let's go, then." Yoruichi said with a bright smile.
"No invitation for me?" Alfonzo asked while putting on a fake expression of hurt.
"This is your house." Yoruichi replied while rolling her eyes. "Even if we told you not to come, would it really matter?"
"Not really." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle. Then, he glanced at Sui-Feng before continuing. "But there's at least one person in the room who looks like they'd rather I stayed away."
Like Alfonzo, Yoruichi glanced at Sui-Feng, as well. Then, she looked away and shrugged her shoulders.
"She'll get over it." Yoruichi said nonchalantly. "Besides, if she tried to do something about it, you'd handle it with ease, right?"
"Although you're not wrong, I'd rather not start shit for no reason." Alfonzo said with a shrug of his own. "So, I'll keep my distance. I'll just wait for the kids to wake up from their naps. Then, I'll play with them until you're done with your relaxation."
"If that's what you want." Yoruichi said as she turned towards the living room's entrance. "Well then, let's go."
By now, Rangiku had stood from the couch, as well. Then, with Sui-Feng and Irene, she followed Yoruichi out of the living room, leaving Alfonzo and Maria behind.
"They didn't even eat or drink anything ." Maria said with a slight huff. "Had I known they were planning to go to the grotto so soon, I would have brought everything there, instead."
Alfonzo could not help laughing at the expression on Maria's face, causing the young woman to blush slightly. She then turned away to hide it.
"By the way..." Alfonzo said after getting his laughter under control. "When's your next day off, Maria?"
"I have a day off in three days." Maria replied after mentally checking her schedule. "Why do you ask?"
Despite her tone being rather calm, Alfonzo could see that Maria had tensed ever so slightly. Clearly, she was hiding a bit of anticipation. Ever since Erza, Sun, Retsu, and Saeko had their little "Sword Handling Competition," Maria has seemed a little more conscious of him.
"Well, I was thinking of taking a trip to Balsam Village in the near future." Alfonzo said gently. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come along. We could spend some time at the hot springs and eat at the Super Express Restaurant."
Hearing that, Maria's eyes widened in shock. A moment later, however, her face burst into a furious blush. Just thinking about taking a trip alone with Alfonzo made her mind return to the 'Sword handling Competition," and that drop of thick, white fluid she tasted off Ai's finger. And don't get her started about a possible mixed bath.
Seeing Maria's change in expression, Alfonzo could not help but smile, at first. However, as the red on her face began expanding to her ears and down her neck, he started to worry.
'She's not going to faint, is she?' Alfonzo asked himself while preparing to move just in case Maria passed out.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi, Sui-Feng, Irene, and Rangiku had arrived at the grotto. After arriving in the changing room, Yoruichi and Rangiku wasted no time changing out of their clothes while Irene stood nearby with an amused expression on her face.
"You two don't have to rush." Irene said casually. "The grotto isn't going anywhere."
"I'm just too excited." Rangiku said. "From what Yoruichi told me, this place is amazing. Plus, we can call on the maids to have drinks delivered. *Sigh* There's nothing quite like having a drink on a deck chair. It's really only something you can do at a resort in most cases."
"Yeah, because this house isn't just a mini-resort." Yoruichi said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. She then turned to look at Sui-Feng, who had not started getting undressed yet. "Come on, Bumble Bee. Why are you just standing there? Don't you wanna go for a dip? Swimming is pretty good training, after all."
"If that is your order, Lady Yoruichi." Sui-Feng replied, her tone making it clear that she wanted to leave the Mansion on the Lake as soon as possible. Especially because she knew what Yoruichi would get up to with Alfonzo later.
"Stop being so stiff, Sui-Feng." Rangiku said with a smile. "Even if you don't like Alfonzo, he's already being very nice to let us relax here like this. You might as well take advantage of it."
The phrase, "take advantage," actually caused Sui-Feng to pause for a moment. In all their confrontations, she had lost to Alfonzo. Whether it be in strength or intellect, the outcome was the same. So, being able to take advantage of Alfonzo made her feelings change by quite a bit.
"That's right…" Sui-Feng whispered to herself. She then raised her head with determination burning in her eyes as she continued at a much louder volume. "I can take advantage of him. I can eat and drink HIS food. I'll do my best to put a dent in his wallet while I'm here."
"That's the spirit." Rangiku replied energetically before turning away from Sui-Feng and winking at Yoruichi.
'So simple-minded.' Yoruichi and Irene thought simultaneously.
*Tap!*
Shaking her head, Irene summoned Belserion. She then tapped the butt on the floor of the changing room. And with that tap, Irene's outfit was swapped for a black, one-piece swimsuit with a large cut out on the chest that showed off a generous portion of her breasts and cleavage before dismissing Belserion and turning towards the grotto's entrance.
"*Whistle* You sure know how to pick a swimsuit, Irene." Yoruichi cat-called. "I bet Alfonzo has nothing but good things to say."
"Naturally." Irene replied, a proud smile on her face, as she strode away while flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'll make myself comfortable first."
And just like that, without turning back, Irene walked into the grotto and headed straight for the deck chairs that were set up near the water. And when Yoruichi and Rangiku saw that, they hurried to change, as well. Then, once they were wearing their swimsuits, Yoruichi in a black and orange one-piece, and Rangiku in a blue bikini, they hurried to follow Irene. Meanwhile, Sui-Feng was left behind to continue plotting how best to make Alfonzo's wallet bleed.