Chapter 93 - Paperwork

---Mael POV---

Healing everyone back to full health, I sent Kratos back to the Guild Hall before he started berating their battle performance. Testing my portal before walking through as he was still concerned that things weren't working right. Since the Dark Slime Fragment in this world was gone, the magic was stable again meaning there was no danger now...but he still wanted to be careful. Closing the portal behind him, I turned to look at everyone else.

"So there is more than one Dark Slime out there? How many of them are there?", Annerose inquired, "If there was more than one, you should have told us."

"You only had to be concerned about the one Dark Slime Fragment in this world, there are other fragments out in the Omniverse that aren't your concern. The people responsible for creating it are all dead now, and so is the original creature. What is currently out there are small fragments of itself that it sent out to other universes, that is what we are focused on destroying now.", I stated.

"Why did they choose a slime though, they are so weak that children can kill them on accident.", Lina said.

Telling her that slimes were actually far stronger than they looked, I explained that they were only weak because they didn't have the drive to get stronger. Looking at me like I was crazy, Rikurou and Tatsurou must have thought I was insane or something.

"Did you hit your head?", Rikurou laughed, "Slimes are child's play to kill, in fact I used them to practice controlling my strength."

"He isn't wrong, I have actually looked into this before. A slime's adaptability is what can make them a nightmare, their environments make them into unique entities. Slimes exposed to radiation become Nuclear Slimes, just one of them is more than enough to blow up a city. A Poison Slime generates enough toxin to wipe out a small village if it gets into their water supply.", Aishe stated, "A few hundred years ago there was a giant slime that killed many Noble Demons before it was finally killed. That slime wasn't all that strong, but it was completely immune to magic and had a high physical resistance. They can become almost unkillable if given the right set of circumstances."

"You must understand, the slime it was based on is Demon King level strength. He's fought Dragons, Demon Lords, and a few Lesser Divine Entities with little effort...", I told them, "Thanks to this battle I have confirmed it has access to the same powers that slime has, if it shares that with other people or slimes...it will be a bad day for anyone that crosses paths with them."

"Oh fuck...", Murasaki gulped, "Damn if something that strong is out there, we seriously need to get stronger."

Agreeing with that assessment, it appeared all three groups would look into strengthening themselves should they cross paths with another one. Sending Ingrid back to the club first, she gave me a playful kiss on the cheek and thanked me for tending to her injuries. Telling me that the dinner offer still stands, she hoped to hear from me soon. Taking Lina with her, the two of them retired for the night.

"We are out of here too.", Annerose spoke up with a grin, "Have a good night."

Once they were out of earshot, I looked back at the Taimanin who all looked exhausted. Opening a portal back to their forward base, Yukikaze and Tatsurou were the first to head back. Following close behind them, Maika said to let me know when I was back in town so she could buy me a beer. Telling her I would I felt Asagi tug on my arm as soon as Maika was through the portal.

"So Mael...do you think you could come by and teach some lessons in magic and combat?", Asagi asked me, "It's clear we have a lot to learn, and have room for a lot of improvement. Hopefully you can help us get stronger to make up for the power balance upset."

"Of course, I will let you know when I am free.", I chuckled, "I got your number from Rinko so I will be in touch."

Giving me a smile, she thanked me for my assistance before leaving with Murasaki. Staying behind for a moment, Rinko came over and gave me a hug.

"Give me a call when you want a homecooked meal, I will come running.", Rinko said with a wink as she walked through after the others.

Closing the portal behind her, I retired to the Guild Hall myself as I wanted some good food.

---Earthland, Fairy Tail Guild Hall---

Walking in the door, I saw Kratos already four mugs in with a plate of fried food in front of him. Chatting with Makarov and Gildarts, the three of them seemed to be enjoying themselves which was good to see. Taking a seat at the bar, I ordered a drink and asked for the special's menu. Sitting there going over menu, someone walked up behind me and covered my eyes.

"Juvia thinks you should guess who it is.", Juvia giggled as she held on to me.

"Haha, Juvia you shouldn't tell me who you are when you ask that.", I chuckled as I turned around and gave her a hug, "Did you come over to have dinner here tonight? Come on and take seat next to me."

"All of us did actually.", Minerva stated with an exhausted look.

Getting up from my seat, I gave all my lovely ladies a hug. Seeing that all of them looked exhausted for some reason, I asked them what was wrong. Informing me that Juvia and Erza had tried baking cookies today, Minerva told me that they failed miserably. Looking at the two of them, Juvia said that it was all Erza's fault as she didn't bother following the recipe when they were cooking. She put anything and everything that tasted sweet or would make them fluffy.

"Needless to say Erza's experiment caused the cookies to swell up like balloons in the oven. When they went to pull them out, the violently exploded sending cookie dough all over the kitchen.", Irene laughed, "I watched it happen, it was quite funny. That said...the House Guardian didn't take too kindly to it and threw us out so she could clean up their mess."

Suggesting we grab a table, we took a seat at one of the bench. Ordering their drinks and our food, we talked about what I had been up to recently. Telling them about the two worlds Kratos and I had visited, I made sure not to bring up anything specific as now wasn't the time. If they found out how grabby Ingrid and Rinko were...they'd probably kill them. Eagerly listen to my story, they immediately asked to visit the world with me some time.

"Well actually I am thinking of bringing some of the people I met here for the training sessions I will doing with some of our Guildmates.", I told them.

"Oh right!", Lucy said remembering something, "Levy-chan said that you were going to help several teams get stronger so they could pass the S-Rank Promotion Trials next year. Do you think we can join too?"

"Yeah, I can't let my big sis have all the fun!", Lisanna spoke as she elbowed Mirajane, "I have to get promoted, Elfman and Mirajane are already S-Rank I am the only one left that needs to get it."

Telling them that I was more than happy to work with them on that, I said I was planning on stating in weeks time. Asking Erza and Mirajane to help teach, the two of them were happy to help everyone else out to the best of their abilities.

"Just make sure you don't overdo it dear.", Irene said patting Erza on the shoulders, "Not everyone straps thousands of pounds on their back, and walks up mountains to train."

"They don't!?", Erza gasped, "Mael is that true?!"

Letting out a sigh, I told her that her mother was indeed correct. Pulling out a book from her magic bag, she told me this is where she learned how to train. Flipping through the book, I let out a sigh as I realized this was one of those gifts you gave out as a joke. There were books like How to Be a Ladies Man, How to Get Jacked, and many others that were passed around in high school. It was always meant to be a jab at someone in a comical way.

"Who gave this to you?", I asked.

"Minerva and Brandish did.", Erza replied.

Looking at them, they said they didn't think she'd actually do it. She was always talking about getting stronger and training harder so they got the book for her as a joke. Hiding her face with embarrassment, Erza must have felt like an idiot after learning this now. Consoling her, I pointed out that the book did help her get stronger...though things like carrying boulders was a bit extreme for most people.

Enjoying the rest of our evening together, I got caught up on everything else that had been going on while I was away.

---Next Day---

Curled up with Juvia, I was happy to sleep in a bit today and get a later start. Having been away from them for a few days made me want to just enjoy some quality time with them. Unfortunately though, Yennefer wasn't about to let me have that chance. Kicking our door in at 8am on the dot, she stormed into the room and threw open the curtains.

"Time to get up, we have a busy day ahead of us.", Yennefer stated.

"...do you always have to be a bitch..?", I groaned as I sat up, "I am spending quality time here, go away."

"You went MIA for three days, the Council has a lot of paperwork for you to review.", Yennefer advised.

"Paperwork?", I questioned, "I am a Wizard Saint, it's an honorary title...not a paid position."

Telling me to be in the study in 30 minutes, she threatened to drag me there if I didn't show up. Leaving the room after that, I sighed with frustration.

"You know we could kill her, and dump her body on another world.", Irene told me as she sat up behind me.

"We don't have to kill her, we just need to leave her on another world.", Brandish corrected her, "Plausible deniability."

"Where did you learn that term?", I asked.

"Lucy father talked about when were younger, something about if she had a bad boyfriends or something.", Brandish trying to remember what was specifically said.

Letting Juvia go, I got out of bed and got freshened up. Heading downstairs to get breakfast and a cup of coffee I went to the study to find Triss and Yennefer sifting through a literal mountain of papers. Almost dropping my coffee in shock, I asked why they sent over all these papers. Explaining that this was all the paperwork for everything I proposed in my meeting with the King. The Magic Council and the Kingdom met up two days ago and this was the result.

"Why am I the one stuck with this? Shouldn't this have gone through the Kingdom since it's their lands being used?", I remarked.

"Normally yes, but as a sign of good faith the Kingdom wanted to involve you so you'd see they are making progress.", Triss told.

"Son of a bitch...", I groaned.

Coming out of the bedroom, the women came over to look at the paperwork. Realizing that I was going to be awhile, Irene told me she'd be downstairs having breakfast. Rubbing my forehead, I walked into the study and started chipping away at the paperwork.