Chapter 18.5

Sephiroth. Magnolia. A little bit later.

Lucy was very surprised when almost half of the guild met her on the platform (the other half was frantically finishing the salads for the feast at that moment, oh, my poor cellar, but I had promised to throw a second party in a row), and when she was literally flooded with flowers ... what can you say, Fakes are really imbued with a family spirit ... in general, the poor girl was simply carried in my arms to my modest house, where the second half of the guild expressed their love to her. Makarych, in fact, who headed this second half, tried to hug the girl well, as far as he could reach (looking at his anticipating physiognomy, he would have reached some interesting place), but was stopped by Mira's 'kind' look and a warning cough with Elsa's side, after which he got bored, muttered something about old people who were useless to anyone and went to the keg of beer - to please his 'dark side' with a foamy drink, since such a bummer came out with young sorceresses.

To tell what happened at the holiday is simply unrealistic - IT should have been seen, Elfman, drunk on green parrots, dancing on the table Natsu, Loki, with a haunted look trying to escape from the crowd of girls ... one, two, eight, fourteen! Hmmm, it seems someone overdid it, hehe. Lucy still could not get enough of her new key, in which ... the turtle lived, well at least not a ninja, otherwise my psyche would not have stood it, however, to the turtle 's credit, it is worth noting that it moved quite quickly and really closed Lucy from all sorts of objects that periodically arrive from the side of the rowdy Fairies - the respectable audience began to sort things out, but I tried to look at all this philosophically (and no, this has nothing to do with the fact that in one of my rooms there were already no Elves, Makarych and Macao and Wakaba, who tomorrow had to work hard as 'volunteer' assistants, although I have some vague doubts about Makarych ...) and come to terms with future repairs. But I didn't take into account one little nuance - three slightly tipsy sorceresses decided to 'talk to me seriously', and some fourth - to take part in the discussion ...

But it all started so calmly - a slightly drunk Mira came up and asked for help to get something from the warehouse, they say, the guests had time to destroy food supplies and needed to be replenished, I did not feel a trick and, without suspecting anything, went after the girl, immersed in thoughts about research (and no, the short skirt that the waitress in front of me wore today has nothing to do with it! At all!), that something was wrong here, I realized too late - we were not in the basement, but in a small room on the first the floor where Lucy was already waiting for me. Hearing the sound of the door slamming and the bolt closing, I turned and met Elsa's gaze. Mira was blocked by the only open window in the room. 'Have laid down', thought Stirlitz. By the way, outside the window, a suspiciously familiar head of hair of deep blue color seemed to flicker ... something made me completely sad. Meanwhile, the girls were looking at me seriously. Promising a lot of trouble, some amount of alcohol in their blood only made matters worse.

-Sef..irot, - Elsa began with a slightly tangled tongue, - we have to talk seriously, - and the day started so well ...

-Hm, and what about?

- About our take away ... ugh, relations, - Mira joined the conversation, - we are not blind and not stupid and ... - the waitress blushed, - we do not share, - at that moment I choked on air, taking my twisted face for trying to start unlocking, Lucy hastened to 'finish the press'.

-And don't try to argue! You yourself said that you would not mind becoming my boyfriend - after these words, the remaining girls frowned, it seems that some did not inform their friends about such a turn - but at the same time you go on dates with Mira, and what do you do in training with Elsa - they gazed at me indignantly, and the aforementioned Elsa turned noticeably pink, although there was nothing of the kind in training, well, he clung to her a little tighter than necessary, correcting movements a couple of ... dozens of times, well, he made compliments, well, they dropped in after that skip on cake ... hmm, hmm, but there were also joint missions ...

-And I'm not trying to hide what, I'm really not indifferent to all of you, - a strange gurgling was heard outside the window, and silence reigned in the room - the girls digested the confession they heard.

- Well ... we also ... like you, - Mira looked away, - but it can't go on like this!

-And what do you suggest? - using the symbiont, I sharply calm down the organism that was overwhelmed by the situation, now I do not need a faster heartbeat, no sweat on my forehead, much less redness with all kinds of nervous grimaces on my face. Calmness and only calmness, and not only external but also internal, otherwise I will make mistakes, which then will not be able to make out all my life.

"You have to choose," Elsa said in an adamant tone, leaning against the wall, apparently, she was already pretty good.

'So what to do?' A swarm of thoughts arose in my head, even though you go into combat mode and look for a solution in it, I definitely didn't intend to abandon one of the girls, all the more so - being forced, something inside from such a thought just turned out. Although now is clearly not the time to think about it, and if I choose one of them ... the feeling of awkwardness that has arisen will ruin any relationship faster than they have time to normally arise, not to mention the fact that the rest will hide anger at the chosen competitor, and me.

The sound of a boiling kettle brought me out of my thoughts, I ought to go and turn it off ... just a minute ... which kettle? Juvia! Hmm ... what if ... yes, this is an option, although you have to go for broke. Well, if it doesn't work out, I'll get at least three slaps in the face and I'll quarrel with the girls, and then it's not weak from Makarych. But if everything succeeds ... although in the face of the face I will still get a probability of ninety percent ... ninety-five ...

-Choose, speak ... - at that moment a hot stream of water hit from the window, quickly gathered in a blue-haired girl, which somehow was next to me in an unknown way.

- Mr. Sephiroth, - how much embarrassment in emotions, but also determination not to take, although perhaps the latter is associated with the smell of alcohol that comes from the witch - choose Juvia, because ... after all, I ... I love you! - the girl closed her eyes, and from the others came such a wave of surprise that I almost drowned in emotions.

-YOU?! - First, oddly enough, Lucy came to herself, but I reflexively hugged the water sorceress, for which I received a new wave of jealousy and some anger - 'Fakes' began to boil. It's time ... I feel it will hurt.

- Alas, - I tried to give my voice as much sadness as possible, however, if the venture fails, I will really be sad, - I cannot choose, and I have no such desire. In general, I am a very greedy person, or rather, no longer a person, but now that's not even the point. What you are proposing to me is, in fact, to personally cripple the soul, literally pulling out feelings from it with meat, and I am not ready to go for such a thing no matter what the circumstances.

-No? Mira narrowed her eyes with a threat. Now she and the rest of the fakes, just burned with indignation and discontent, and it seems from my speech they only took out what I refused.

-Yes. - Quite calmly looking at the girls, I confirmed, already internally prepared to experience the explosion. My pride did not allow me to run away, and they still could not kill me ... most likely.

But ... reality fell short of the worst expectations. Angered by the appearance of another 'rival' and encouraged by the wine they had drunk, the girls did not think about the possibility of living together or something like that ... three slaps and a slam of the door, that's the whole answer, Juvia hesitated for a while, as if wanting to say something or ask, but it seems that alcohol was not enough, and the girl's determination vanished very quickly. Without having decided anything, the water sorceress muttered that about 'I'll go home' and 'it's too late', probably it was worth stopping her or doing something else, but I was just tired - the past conversation, although it was short-lived, took more strength, Than the whole last week, my soul was very nasty, I wanted to kick it, but it was very problematic to do it - except forcibly turning off some body functions and hitting Simba with a hormonal cocktail, and why not? I have the right - the day really turned out to be unsuccessful, I don't know if I can now make peace with the girls, but really, it was stupid to expect that they would agree to ... hmm, collective living out of the blue. Summoning a flask of tincture from my pocket, I climbed out of the window and set off to wander around the city at night.

My legs somehow by themselves led me to the embankment, and it seems that I am not the only one who has not had a good day today - Loki was sitting on the bank, slightly shabby (it seems, he was caught up after all) and tired.

- Do you mind if I sit here?

-No, it's quite free here, - the redhead swallowed from a small scale - in my past world, 'one-time' portions of something strongly alcoholic were sold in such.

- Tough day, huh? - I kissed my flask.

-Yeah, I see your personal life hasn't worked out either, - it was more a statement than a question, but still.

-Yes, I think I overdid it ... but I just couldn't. How do you manage to cope with such a crowd of girls?

-Do not compare, that crowd, as you put it this way ... just have fun for one or two nights and disperse, and where feelings appear it is always more difficult ...

- I see, - we sit, we are silent ... we drink, - tell me how much you have left, Lev? - I don't know why I asked, although no, I know - losing Leo would be the height of stupidity, and according to the canon, his problems began around this time, but only here, thanks to me, he practically did not communicate with Lucy, which means with a much greater probability he will die safely, and whoever comes to his place and will even come at all ... besides, Loki is part of the guild, his own, and anyone can and should be torn for his own.

-How did you guess? - the guy did not look surprised, it seems that something similar he assumed.

-Not so long ago - I was surprised by your smell, it reminded me of something, but I just could not figure out that ... until I began to help Lucy with the Call, but when I realized that you were dying ... found in the library the main provisions of the Contract and compare them with the death of the summoner from Pegasus and the list of her Spirits ... you obviously do not look like Aries, which means that only Leo remains, since your tendency to recruit pride is clearly visible, - Loki only chuckled at the last words, but then answered the question asked.

-Some six months, but this is the maximum, if I do not use magic and physically strain.

-You know, if I were you, I would try to turn to Lucy, for some unknown reason, the Spirits favor her, by the way, you won't say why?

-No, forgive me, but this is the business of the Spirits, and it is useless to turn ... it is useless, there is only one sentence for the murder of the contractor and it cannot be appealed ... and I do not want to live.

-It's stupid, death is a way out only for cowards and weaklings, from the strongest of Spirits I expected something more than throwing a white flag. Where is your pride, Leo? And about the verdict ... in one distant country there is an interesting saying: 'The law is like a tongue - where you turned, it went there', you can find so many holes and loopholes in your contract ... it is only important that the judge is to you complacent. In general, think about my words ... you can always die, but you can continue to live, no matter what ... heh, I think I drank too much - I was drawn to speak ... well, okay, I'll go, perhaps ... - Slightly staggering (hmm, really lucky), I got to my feet and headed back to the house.

- Sephiroth, - I turned around, - thanks, - grinning back, I continued my way.

I met the morning in some night bar, it seems, Kana was talking about it, they say, one of the few establishments where she has enough booze ... hmmm, given that fortified wine of degrees was considered the strongest in this establishment twenty and given the strength of the body of even an ordinary magician ... it becomes clear why this girl almost does not get drunk ... Be that as it may, but having finished off supplies in this respectable institution, I moved home, well, or to the ruins of a house, you never know, how the fun of 'Fakes' ended.

Fortunately for me (and for them too), the house stood and did not even squint, it was tidied up inside and some humorist even bothered to put flowers in a vase, but everything was not so rosy - Makarych was already waiting for me in an empty house.

-Did you jump? - instead of a greeting, the old magician began, clearly not in the best state of mind.

- Old man, do not start - and without you I feel sick, - at this moment in time, I also could not boast of special complacency, - and how do you know everything so quickly?

-Well, should someone older look after you bastards? - the magician grunted into his mustache, - what will you do?

-Fair?

-Sure!

- Nothing, - I shrug my shoulders, watching how the old man has a nervous tic ... hmm, you shouldn't make him angry, his heart is weak, and I suspect that my house will not survive the rampage of the godlike magician ... - I probably will take it a short 'vacation', so as not to annoy the girls once again, and then ... then I will try to somehow improve the relationship ... and they themselves will already cool down.

-So you don't intend to retreat or choose? - Makarych asked, squinting suspiciously.

- Could you choose, Master? You yourself, too, constantly salivate all three, - a grin spontaneously crawls onto my face.

-But-but, I'm a respectable old wizard!

-With a weakness for the fair sex ... - realizing that no one will kill me right now, I decided to relax a little and turn around with the old man with a phrase or two.

-Look who's Talking! And in general, how do you talk to the bosses ?! Here I will take and send you on a joint mission with ... yes even with the Blue Pegasus, led by Bob!

- Hmm, - I pretended to seriously think about such a proposal, - and that, Master Bob is still that darling, and his guild should be interesting, - so now it's dreamy to roll my eyes and lick my lips. Makarych somehow warily glanced at me and sat away, - but, I'm afraid, after that incident, he won't want to talk to me, so you need to come up with something else, - I continued with a normal face.

- There is no one to beat you ... and I have no time, - the Master sighed with feigned sadness, - but okay, they joked and it will be, where will you go? - now in front of me was not a funny old man, but the head of the guild that ground the First Guild of Fiore.

- Still, you know how to be serious ... I think I'll look into Eru - I remember that they promised me access to the book depository there, or maybe I can ask which of the local magicians - the more I learn about magic, the more I understand that I have nothing understand.

-And why don't you understand?

-Well, for example, 'general' spells that are not related to any particular school or element, why are they composed according to a completely different principle? Or why an emotional state can affect the power of spells (of course, there is a theory, but I won't share it even with the Master ... you never know)? Or ... - I cast a rather tenacious glance at the old magician, - how can you cast a spell that overlaps the magic potential of the one who did it almost twice? - Makarov smiled strangely.

-Many wizards do not think about such things and at fifty, perhaps you really should go to Eru, at the same time, if you see Yamych, say hello from me.

- By all means, - bowing to the old wizard, I went to the station ...

Meanwhile, at Lucy Heartfilia's house.

Lucy slowly opened her left eye, a sunbeam, like a red-hot rod, poked into such an imprudently left defenseless place and the girl hurried to close her eyes, such a complex and abrupt action led to a flash of headache, accompanied by a slight ringing in her ears.

You need to get to the water - it should get easier. But first you need to understand where I am.

The girl carefully felt the surrounding area (she still didn't want to open her eyes - you never know). She herself was on something soft and flat, and around ... left and right there was also something very soft, but not flat. Thoughts about what it could be interrupted by a sudden insidious attack - something squeezed her tightly and pressed against something soft and warm on the right, trying to hold on, the girl involuntarily squeezed the 'soft and non-flat' that was on her left. There was a displeased murmur and she was shoved, pressing even more into the 'soft and warm' right. Finding herself in such a strange position, the girl nevertheless decided on a heroic act - she opened her eyes.

'Elsa' - thought Lucy distantly, watching the warrior, who pressed her to her in the manner of a soft toy, turning her head in the opposite direction, the girl saw Mira, starting to wake up gradually. 'What was I holding on to then?' - following her left hand with her gaze, the young summoner blushed and hurried to let go of her friend's chest, - yes, that's certainly 'soft and not flat', but I still have a little more, - the girl thought with a slight feeling of self-satisfaction. But then the returned hangover gently reminded of itself, giving a couple of incomparable minutes. Somehow freed herself from the truly steel embrace of Elsa (she in an unknown way reached Mira in a minute and squeezed her already), the girl hurried to crawl to the kitchen, where at the very least she regained consciousness, thanks to an abundant amount of water, as well as a certain supply of brine, which hangover remedies, according to Cana. Well, the honored drunkard of all 'Fey' did not deceive - it became much easier.

A cool shower finally reconciled the sorceress with reality, and the croaking belly cautiously noticed that it would be nice to throw something into it while the girl was thinking about breakfast, Mira and Elsa came out of the bathroom one by one - indecently cheerful and obviously not experiencing the same problems in the morning. how is she. Sitting at the table, they chewed gloomily on sandwiches, paying maximum attention to the process of absorbing food.

- Somehow it turned out badly, - the beginning of the World.

- About what ... - Lucy was beginning, but stopped short - memories of yesterday evening rolled in a sweeping wave - so they took a little 'for courage' and wanted to have a 'serious conversation' with a certain blond magician ... so they took a little more and they caught him, insidiously luring him into a trap ... and then ... the appearance of another 'competitor', dissatisfaction with Sephiroth's reaction, spurred on by excessively drunk and ... a slap in the face, after which they, proudly lifting their noses, left ... leaving clearly upset magician alone with a girl who appeared out of nowhere ... - Yeah, we almost voluntarily gave it to some left girl!

-What are you talking about? - Elsa was surprised, after listening to the thoughts of Heartfilia, the warrior bit her lip.

"I'll never drink so much again," Mira muttered gloomily, "but he is also good, give him all, but what should we sign up for him in line for an appointment? Oh, head, - it seems that unnecessarily harsh actions or experiences were premature for the waitress.

- Yeah, a pervert ... - Elsa began, Lucy simply had no right to miss such a moment.

-Who would say, I saw how you squeezed Mira ...

-It was by chance, I generally slept! But you watched all this and was not in a hurry to interfere with something! - nevertheless, Elsa was quite embarrassed, as was the waitress.

-Um ... well ... I didn't want to get under the hot hand! - the summoner excused herself, - and in general, we would like to discuss what to do next.

-And nothing, until he apologizes, we will ignore him! And just in case ... keep away from ... Juvia, isn't it? - the girls nodded in agreement.

A little later, at the construction site near the new guild building.

-What do you mean left? - marvelously a synchronous cry came from the 'inseparable trinity'.

-Well, he said that he needs to be alone a little, and there are a couple of things to do, - the Master answered calmly, drinking beer while sitting on the bar that was brought out into the fresh air, then, as if thinking about something, he continued, - it's true, I I didn't quite understand how his words about 'being alone' were combined with the rather pretty blue-haired girl who was waiting around the corner ...

-WHAT? - again it happened wonderfully synchronously, - where did he go?

-Well, Sephiroth said something about Eru, probably there ... - the head of the 'Fey' did not have time to finish the phrase, as the three furies had already rushed home - to collect things for the trip. Left in splendid isolation. The old wizard grinned into his mustache.

-Well, not all of you are the only one to make fun of the poor old man, my young friend, - after which he kissed the mug with pleasure.

Sephiroth. A few days later.

A beautiful and magical Era, where every stone is saturated with magic and wonders, what could be better than you? A magnificent library, a hidden dragon graveyard, Aetherion's control room and many, many other wonderful things. Alas, no one would have let me into the control room, it was also problematic to get to the cemetery - the city is rather big. I knew very vaguely where the burial was located, and it was very difficult to conduct inconspicuous searches in the city, where the number of magicians per square meter exceeded all reasonable limits. But the library made me happy, even general access there is the lot of a few, and even these 'few' had to work for the Council and take so many oaths and sign so many contracts that it became creepy, and what are hidden in the shelves, which could be approached only with the direct permission of the Council ... unfortunately, they were generally in a separate building, guarded by several branches of the Knights of the Rune and a bunch of barriers and seals, but what was open for me would be enough for a couple of lives ... if I were ordinary human. So ... 'Theory of Spells' by a certain Brain, isn't he the guy who leads the 'Six Beggars'? Let's read, sir, so on, 'Lost Magic' from Dyad, no, I don't know him, but to see what they could in the old days will be nice, hmm ... let's take this ... and this, and, of course, over there ...

When the stack of books in my hands began to exceed a couple of meters, I realized that it was time to stop - and so I would have to burn my brains a little, assimilating all this, but how could I not take a book about Dragon Slayers or about working with souls or ... I seem to have begun to carry me again ...

Many hours later.

Well, it seems the picture is starting to take shape. My analogy of sorcerers as computers was, although true, but not entirely correct, the fact is that there are countless 'servers' to which magicians can 'connect', in fact, each type of magic is its own 'server', with with the help of which the wizard can give the world certain commands-spells, there is also a certain 'world server', where calls go through rituals, or through neutral spells, although, again, theoretically, all these are just crutches and props, you can work through some then one magic with almost all the elements, space, time is not important, but this requires a very high concentration, unmeasured reserve and reason, sophisticated enough to clearly imagine how all this disgrace should work. There is, of course, an intuitive approach, for example, the same Mira in the battle with Freedom through the Darkness quite successfully gouged with Lightning, and she also did not manage a water tornado through the magic of water, in general, only Zeref could boast of a conscious use of various techniques and elements, damn, the more I read, the more I am imbued with respect for this magician, it's a pity that he wants to die ...

The book about Dragon Slayers also brought many interesting discoveries, no, it was not said about how and where they came from, but it was explained how the Slayer can actually kill dragons if they can also absorb their element and fry (freeze / poison, etc.) it is necessary to emphasize) after such a snack it is very, very painful. The whole thing turned out to be an admixture of human blood. Assassins can develop several schools, while dragons are rigidly tied to one and only one, and the same Igneel is fireproof by definition, but lightning can get him. As a result, a fully trained assassin became the most dangerous enemy for the dragon of his element - practically immune to the dragon's attacks, but capable of harming the Lord of Heaven himself. True, this does not explain why the hell and so almost exterminated dragons created a new generation of Assassins, however, it doesn't matter, I also found one interesting note about real and 'artificial' Assassins created with stones. Development difference. Artificial in terms of magic develop quite quickly, mental and physical development does not differ from human, but 'natural' ... if magic is still here and there, like physics, then here is the psyche ... Dragons are creatures, to put it mildly, long-lived , and therefore their development is much slower, I think that the 'dragon coming of age' comes in a hundred years, if not later, and now, getting the dragon-man 'laugh', we see an interesting picture - the body is already an adult man, and the behavior - child-child, of course, this is just a theory, but it explains Natsu's strange behavior - what could a child want? Delicious food and fun to play. With food, it's all clear - here Natsu is out of competition, but to play ... heh, what kind of games can creatures have that might well stand behind the very concept of the word 'fight'? That's it, at the same time it explains his neglect of the opposite sex - still small, hehe.

I spent several days in the library, greedily absorbing wisdom from countless folios, eh, but I still have to hand them over to the Book ... I would have sat there even longer, but my exercises were interrupted by a sudden visit - Ultear entered the temple of knowledge for some reason my business (uh-huh, I'll even pretend to believe that the magician of the Council has nothing else to do), where she met me completely 'by accident', a casual conversation ensued, and now, word for word, we agreed to meet for dinner ... in her chambers ...

The time remaining until the evening, I decided to spend on something much less interesting than Magic, but, unfortunately, often more necessary - geopolitics and the general political alignment of the country. If in the second case it was possible to pick up some information from Jose's memory (it turns out, I managed to acquire a debtor among one of the most influential people of Fiore, even if Leon is just the daughter of a baron, but WHAT baron ... interesting prospects open up ... although no, I swore get into politics!), then on the issue of geopolitics we had to poke around, so what we have ... firstly, the globe itself is not studied by the locals - there is information about the continent in the North, it seems like there is something in the West, about the South, everything is dull, and no one sailed to the East from Fiore - the kingdom is located on the western side of the continent and it was not recommended to sail through the territorial waters of its eastern neighbors. Why? Oh, everything is simple here too - the cold war with half of the neighbors, the reason, according to the books, was envy, they say, everything is so good and wonderful here that foreign 'friends' sleep and see how we could do badly. Hmmm, the picture is familiar, however, I would be very surprised if the real cause of the conflicts were indicated in the first book that came across, albeit not completely open, but still a public book depository. Although if we recall the 'wise' actions of the aristocracy at the Magic Games, namely, in fact, the insolent seizure of individual representatives of the magic guild of their own country, and in front of the rest of the guilds ... yes, at that moment the magicians could not do anything, but how much need not to be on friendly terms with the head to hope that everything goes unpunished? In general, if similar types are sitting in other countries, then maybe it really became enviable for someone that a neighbor's chamber pot is more beautiful ...

I also found references to the same mysterious 'Empire' that is located far in the east of the mainland. Everything turned out to be much simpler than I thought, so they called Pergerand, well, or Pergrand, whoever likes it more - a rather vast kingdom of the East, but the Empire was called it for two reasons - the first, she is the main one, the Fioreans hesitated to themselves constantly break their language, trying to pronounce this name (in the local dialect, without half a liter of it, you really can say fig), but the second reason - so the country was called by disgruntled traders for the 'imperial' style of communication - raise the prices? Are you trying to bargain? Well, go to the forest - we have everything of our own, but how will you be without our goods, what can you? Well then, if you deign to pay the duty and trade fees, oh yeah, don't forget the sales tax, income tax, and insurance ... in short, I figured out where Israel is in this world ...

Towards evening I left the library through the service entrance - so it was much closer to the apartment, where I was invited, and there was no need to leave the building and take a detour around the city, which, taking into account some kind of holiday, was very good - I don't like noisy crowds ... In Ultear's chambers it was extremely ... sad, no personal belongings or something like that, everything is strict and according to the ruler, damn it, but the impression is that even dust particles fly here exclusively in formation and along strictly defined and agreed trajectories in advance, if they are generally there. The hostess of the room was the same - a strict traditional yukata (although this is not quite an ordinary outfit for the locals), an intricate hairstyle and a serious look of dark eyes.

"I am very flattered that you accepted my invitation, Sephiroth," a shadow of a smile touched the girl's lips.

-Can you refuse such an interesting person? - but I smiled quite sincerely and openly, - besides, we really have something to discuss ... - now add a branded look from the series 'I know everything', hmm, I didn't even raise an eyebrow, but what is going on in emotions? Reading a person with a good supply of my cells, and even at this distance, is not difficult, so why not take advantage of this? I looked into Ultear's emotions ... heh, even though I can't read the thoughts at the moment, everything is clear without that - my image with a gag in her mouth, tied to the bed and a certain girl playing with a whip clearly stood before my eyes .. Hmmm, I, of course, thought that we would not be driving tea all night, but I would not agree to a gag! Why not ... heh.

-And what do you want to discuss? - the sorceress licked her lips, licking her tongue, of course, quite by accident, a drop of wine left there.

-Mmm, something bothers me ... - I began from afar.

-M? - a slightly raised eyebrow and the girl leaned forward a little, revealing a small 'cutout' on the yukata to my eyes ... really traditional style - there is nothing under it, I noted an interesting fact at the edge of my consciousness.

-For example, that we may not have enough time, - and then I just pulled the sorceress to me and kissed her parted lips, passionately and a little roughly, the girl tried to seize the initiative, but I was on my guard (at least part of my consciousness) and all the inclinations stopped very quickly and decisively, the only thing Ultear could do was pull back for a second and whisper

-Bedroom ... there, - after which her mouth was again busy (if you want to read the hentai scene, send an SMS to the short number ... yes, I'm a pig, but I still hold the opinion that if you want porn, then just go and see, and here we are gathered for the plot and humor for the sake of ... or not? * approx. by the author ^ _ ^).

Meanwhile, the famous trio.

-Do not do this, the Master will be very unhappy!

-This is not counting that there is a whole division of them here and we will feel their discontent before the Masters!

- Let me go, I'll go in there anyway! - Elsa tried to free herself from the steel grip of Mirazhana, which is in a semi-transformed state, perhaps she would have even succeeded if it were not for Lucy, who periodically hangs on one or the other of the warrior's hand, not that the girl was particularly heavy, rather , voluminous (if you understand what I mean), but it could cause some inconvenience.

The Knight Rune looking at this picture was torn between two desires and a duty, on the one hand, it was still very interesting for an old magician to watch a woman's struggle (still a pool with mud ...), but two of the three girls at the entrance to library, and he also seemed to have heard something about the blonde, in any case, the instinct of self-preservation urged to flee to a safe distance, only the unfortunate Knight knew perfectly well what the captain would do to him for the unauthorized place of the guard, and with three newcomers there were options ... And the devil pulled me to ask to be on duty at the library, well, comrades, well, they made me friends ... a quiet, calm place, they said, no one goes there, they said, and what is the result? First, that silver-haired psycho, and who else can have such an unhealthy glint of eyes at the sight of an ordinary library? Now almost the main striking force of the most controversial guild in the country ... What's next, members of the Council, plotting or returning dragons?

-No, you cannot pass without the appropriate permission and no, I cannot under any circumstances 'not notice' you, - the Knight repeated wearily, - you can get permission to visit the common part by filling out forms 319 and 743, you can get them by contacting any secretariat messenger ...

- It's useless, we can only pass through his corpse, - Lucy uttered sadly, but quickly recovered, seeing how Elsa's eyes flashed unkindly, and the already frightened guard twitched nervously, - but then the whole army of the Council will chase us, you won't find it a little overkill?

-Hm, and what to do? - asked Mira, continuing to hold the Valkyrie ... just in case.

- Maybe we should just watch the exit? Should he get out of there? By the way ..., - the girl thought, - well, Sephiroth will come out, we will meet him ... and then what? - An innocent question put the fairer sex into a stupor, but really, what? In the Eru, the girls went on emotions, without any plan of action. Go apologize? It's kind of stupid, and where have you seen it? In addition, the magician deservedly received it. Demand an apology from him? For some reason, the fakes thought that this was not the best idea.

-We need a plan! - summed up Mira, - and you still need to know when he will get out of there, - the girl poked her finger towards the entrance to the already hated library.

-Now, - answered Elsa and decisively went to the Knight of Rune standing at the entrance, the slightly twitching eyelid testified to the joy of the latter, - we stopped in a tavern on the square near the fountain, you know this? - the man nodded warily, - great, like Sephiroth, - the girl described the appearance of the desired magician, - will leave the library, send a message there, - after thinking a little, the warrior finished uncertainly, - ... please?

The guard nodded vigorously, glad that no one was going to turn him into a corpse yet, and at the same time thinking over how to thank his friends for advising him such a 'quiet' place.

A few days later. Sephiroth.

The train set off for Magnolia, joyfully knocking wheels on steel rails, taking me away from the Era, where I stayed for almost two weeks - first the library, then Ultear ... when I remembered the girl, my body ached pleasantly, she was not a virgin, although she was not a special experience either. was not observed, however, the latter she compensated with a furious temperament and rich imagination. Also, I learned a couple of funny nuances - with such close communication between two magicians, something like a slight resonance happens, bringing simply inexpressible sensations, well, and the second ... the scratches on the back inflicted in this state heal extremely slowly, I even had to connect Simba for overgrowing as soon as possible, otherwise traces could remain, I wonder what is the reason? Suddenly I caught myself thinking that most of the male population in my place would simply indulge in pleasant memories or plan a return visit to the glorious city, and I began to puzzle myself over physiological and magical problems ... hmmm, it seems that this is no longer is treated. In any case, the time spent in the capital of wizardry lifted my spirits and returned the stock of optimism slightly spent after the quarrel with the 'fakes', and the knowledge gained from the library slightly filled in the gaps in my education.

I arrived in the city in the middle of the day, perhaps, it is worth visiting in front of the bright eyes of the Master, and just to check how things are going with the restoration of the guild building, and for one to assess the condition of the girls.

Alas, to my great regret, the girls went somewhere, and, reporting this news, Makarych looked at me somehow strangely ... as if he did not expect that I would return so soon ... or that I would return alone? Problems came from where they did not expect - Natsu, who flew up, wanted to 'brush off' me again, apparently, he missed me for two weeks. At first everything was as usual, but I forgot about one feature of the Assassins ...

-Hmm ..., - the guy began to sniff me, - you have some strange smell, similar to ... to ... - damn, if he now burns me with the whole guild (and the people at the impromptu resting place, under open air, it was not enough), it will be very, very difficult to make peace with the trio, so, you need to get out ... oh, let's do like Elsa.

-Bale! - this, of course, is not a plate glove on the head, but it is still unpleasant, - Natsu, did they tell you that it is indecent to poke your nose into your interlocutor? - I started in an instructive tone, - and in general, I have little time now, do you really want to spend it on conversations? - now add a little taunt ... it's done, Dragneel is already on fire, a good guy Natsu after all, so simple and pleasant to operate, with a friendly interface, one might say, hehe.

This time I decided to slowly master the Spirits of Darkness - Jose's magic. Fortunately, both knowledge and a penchant for this element were, as well as 'legal' justify - a trip to Eru and access to her library, well, and the eyes of the Dragonsler, when suspiciously familiar ghosts went to attack him, albeit not in such numbers as the former head of the Phantoms, but nevertheless ... it was simply priceless, though Natsu was able to surprise me a lot - his progress was very noticeable - the 'jet thrust' was replaced by fiery wings, and when the guy got really excited, his fire started to burn out unfortunate ghosts, but what is there, even the first layer of protection put on our site by the Master began to slowly 'sag', in general, if the guy continues in the same spirit, then by the time Laxus wants to find out who is the strongest in 'Tail ', well, a very big surprise will await him, but he also does not know about Mira ...

I got home only in the evening - I had to tell the guilds where I was, what I did, and how I got to such magic, however, everyone knew the story of the Lullaby among our people, and after the cherished words, 'Yes, I was sitting in the library almost all the time!' 99% of the listeners lost interest in me, more precisely, only Levi remained, well, her support group, of course, but this blue-haired tick would have enough enthusiasm for all the Fairies and it would still be on top of me, in fact, she was me until the evening and tortured, calming down only with twilight (and even then, only after 'subtle' hints that the person was actually out of the way, and they had already tried to beat him in a fight, instead of letting him wash and sleep normally).

And now he is home, sweet home, so, secret passages were not found, food supplies ... hmm ... and there is no fish, I think I know who 'came to visit' here, but okay, most importantly, the house itself survived, Let's slam the door, so now the bolt, the shutters on the windows, great, now they won't get to me ... right away. Let's go down to the basement, now turn left, straight ahead for a few meters, left again, and then (suddenly!), At a fork to the right and hit this brick the required number of times. With a slight rustle, the wall slightly moved away, allowing it to be picked up and moved away - the last line of defense - moving a four-ton stone slab is problematic even for a magician (if it is not an earth magician, of course) ... but not for me under the cover of a symbiont - with full cover even without improving the body, you can raise the tank, so the stove is not a particular problem. And now, finally, my darling - a spell chamber and a laboratory, there was also a library, but one overly voracious book reached it ...

There was an ice crystal in a special niche in the palace, judging by the darkened drawing of the ritual, Ur's soul safely moved into it. Well, it's time to get started, but there are a few things that need to be tweaked. This something was the new body of Ur, after all, I had genetic material not of the ice sorceress herself, but of her daughter, so the puppet's appearance was the same. Considering that two Ultears were a little too much even for me, I started to restore the appearance of Gray's mentor. The image was pulled out of the early memories of the daughter's podop ... um, being resurrected - even though it is very difficult to act through Simba in this world, but when the moment heh, rather close communication presented itself, why not combine business with pleasure? True, judging by the memories, Ur at that moment was something about twenty ... well, okay, if anything, I can always make her old, but first show me such a woman that will voluntarily give up her second youth ...

Having double-checked the calculations, I proceeded to the ritual - if you prepare in advance, then nothing complicated, you just stand for a long time and tediously and work as a battery for a magic pattern, but make sure that everything goes as planned ...

Four hours later.

Fuh, it seems everything, the soul is firmly entrenched in the body, support for life is now on it, the body itself also functions within the normal range, it seems it's time to wake up the 'sleeping beauty' and has been sleeping for ten years already. In the process of awakening there was nothing mysterious, I just went up to the sleeping girl and gently shook her by the shoulder, so Ur's eyes opened slightly, so far there is little understanding in them, so she looks at me and I see a dilating pupil, fright? I didn't have time to figure out what the sorceress was afraid of - the ice spear that broke from her hands pierced my heart and pinned the carcass to the nearest wall. An original way to start a conversation, however.

Lvl. Among the living again.

The sorceress again and again experienced the battle with the demon ... Deliora, how many troubles and destruction he brought to her country ... a small stupid student who mastered the very top of the art, but brave and reckless enough to challenge a creature that they refused to contact where more powerful and skilled magicians ... including herself ... farewell and the last Spell, one of the Highest in the School of Ice - eternal imprisonment in an indestructible prison. Magic required a monstrous expenditure of strength and concentration, and it had to be performed in the form of an attranach, however, it doesn't matter, the sorceress forever remembered the fierce gaze of the captured demon, the rage and hatred in his vertical scarlet pupils. Then darkness and drowsiness set in, so does the prison look like from the inside? But that was not important - she had a goal, even a goal - to weaken, destroy the prisoner, and she began to draw heat from him - magic, life does not matter. Some time later, she felt how something freed the prisoner, and in fact she almost succeeded - a little more and he would have died, dissolved in prison, but she did not have time to be upset - almost immediately a feeling of despair and the demon's pain came - something was finishing the work of Ur itself - it was drawing out everything that was possible from the demon, but it did it much faster and more rudely, playfully destroying any resistance of the victim. Then came lightness and a feeling of something big and strong, gradually giving way to a feeling of peace and tranquility. And then the sorceress woke up and saw terrible eyes above her ... with a red vertical pupil - the body reacted on its own - an ice projectile blew the unknown and slammed him into the wall. Magic obeyed with some difficulty and discomfort, like a numb hand - there was no former ease. "I think I've lost my shape a lot," the girl thought, and only then noticed that she had no clothes at all, and she herself was in some kind of room that suspiciously resembles a laboratory.

-You know, starting an acquaintance with piercing the interlocutor is a bad form, - Ur watched in shock as a man with a broken heart first tore himself off the wall, and then, grimacing slightly, pulled out her icicle from her chest, lack of blood and in front of her eyes a closing through hole in the body of the interlocutor was no longer particularly surprised - by the way, welcome back to this cheerful world.

-Uh? Where I am? And who are you? - the ice witch began mentally sorting through her arsenal, wondering what could help in the fight against such a tenacious enemy, although the guy did not seem to be hostile, but you never know.

-How many questions, but okay, I'll try to answer, by the way, do you want to get dressed or have something to eat? - having received a nod, the interlocutor pulled out of the air a fluffy white robe, a table, a couple of chairs, slippers and a hot lunch for two, accompanied by a couple of decanters with some liquid, - juice, - the unknown magician briefly explained, - As for the questions, let's start -from. So, you are in the Kingdom of Fiore, which is in the southwest of your past habitat, yes, yes, the very west where magicians live, much stronger than me, - smiling, the guy quoted her own words, once said to my impatient students - and more specifically, in my laboratory located in the city of Magnolia, my name is Sephiroth and, if I may say so, I am responsible for bringing you back to the world of the living. Well, the magic of Life and all that ... - the magician waved his hand carelessly, Ur spent some time trying to comprehend what Sephiroth said, but somehow it didn't work out very well.

-But isn't resurrection prohibited by law, besides, it requires human sacrifice, - the sorceress warned. Feeling alive again was delightful, but the price paid for her life could be too high, which means that this magician should not leave the basement ... if his answers did not satisfy her.

-Yes, they are prohibited and yes, they require a body capable of withstanding the soul of the resurrected person, as well as a lot of energy for the process itself. But you, from a formal point of view, never died - your soul did not leave this world and it was not so difficult to call it, having some components, as for the body, - Sephiroth grinned, - 90% is water, we add some iron, phosphorus, a dozen more components that you can safely buy on the market and please grow the necessary container, well, or change ordinary pork with the help of the same magic of Life, with energy, of course, it is more difficult, but this can be solved ...

-And that phrase about magicians that you said ... only two people knew about it ...

-Grey and Leon, - Sephiroth nodded, - and let's go to 'you' - it annoys me very much when pretty girls kick with me.

-Uh, okay, - Ur nodded, discouraged, her interlocutor seemed to be a very strange type, but if everything he said is true ... however, it doesn't matter, there is still a lot to find out - so what about the small ones? - for such an innocent question the silver-haired magician laughed for some reason, the guy laughed, holding his stomach and wiping away the tears that had come out. When the sorceress was already thinking of using a new acquaintance who had gone mad with an ice hammer (the tool reliably stops hysteria, it has been tested more than once or twice), the guy calmed down and, quietly giggling, told the reason for his fun.

-M-yes, twenty-year-old gouge, that about a head taller than you definitely fits the description of 'small', and Leon is the same, though with him, unlike Gray, I saw only once and not for long.

-H-How's a twenty?

-Yes, it seems that you will have a lot, a lot to tell, well, listen, let's start with the fact that you stayed with an ice cube for a cocktail for a long time ... - the magician spoke and talked, talked about the events missed by the sorceress (though good reason), the adventures of her student (the little bastard caught the 'professional' illness of some Ice mages, as a result of which he acquired the fame of a pervert and exhibitionist), interrupting the story with funny stories and just curious moments, Ur suspected that her new acquaintance was somehow influencing her - she too calmly accepted her long absence, and, in fact, the resurrection, by the way, from a formal point of view, which is absolutely legal, but she could not feel the magic. The issue with the 'numb' magic was also resolved - the energy system of the new body was somewhat weaker than the one that the sorceress had before, but the problem with time and training had to be solved by itself. Finally, a few hours later, Sephiroth more or less recounted the missed events.

- Aren't you tired?

Listening to herself, the sorceress replied, - No, I suspect that I slept for a year ahead ... at least.

-Hmm ... why not arrange one interesting meeting then? - The magician thoughtfully scratched his chin, then went to the work table, from where he took out a communication stone on a stand. His next words made the sorceress flinch.

-Urteer, I have a number of news for you, - for a while the stone remained transparent, but here it seemed the sleepy face of a girl dressed (or, more correctly, undressed?) In one night dressing gown, plainly not hiding anything.

-Sephiroth, do you even know what time it is? By the way, I couldn't get enough sleep for several days, thanks to some ..., - the girl began to be indignant.

"Hmm, I think you'll forgive me when I introduce you to someone," the magician grunted, handing over the ball to the resurrected one. Ultear's image peered with disbelief at the features of the unknown sorceress, but now recognition came.

-Mum?