Selling More Training Chambers

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

September 18, x785.

"So, what are you gonna do about your house?' Ultear asked as she and the residents from the mansion walked with Ur to where her house used to be.

"*Sigh* I'll either have to get it rebuilt or buy a new one." Ur replied in a downcast tone. "And the worst part is that I couldn't get it insured. Damn that Gildarts Clause!"

"Well, can you really blame the insurance companies on that one?" Elicia asked with a wry smile. "I mean, he destroys everything."

"Yeah, I know." Ur replied, sounding even more depressed. "Damn that Gildarts!"

"Well, maybe it's not as bad as you remember, Ur." Alfonzo said consolingly. "I mean, you were pretty pissed off. So, you might have remembered it wrong."

As those words left Alfonzo's mouth, the group rounded the corner nearest Ur's house. And when they saw the pile of ice shards, the two little girls, and the cat, all their mouths fell open in surprise.

"Or not..." Alfonzo muttered in a disbelieving tone.

Hearing the approaching group, Beth, who had been trying to console Wendy and Carla, turned her head back towards the corner.

"Oh, it's Master Ur." Beth Said with an awkward smile on her face.

Hearing Ur's name, Wendy slowly turned to look up at Beth. Then, when she saw that Beth was looking behind her, she also turned to look in that direction. And as soon as she caught sight of Ur, while seemingly not even registering the other nine people's presences, Wendy's eyes were filled with tears.

"Master, what happened to our house?" Wendy asked in a tearful tone.

Seeing the tears in Wendy's eyes and hearing her tone, the nine young adults looked at Ur reproachfully.

"She made the loli cry." Alfonzo said in a tone filled with disappointment.

"*Sigh* Just what kind of monster raised me?" Ultear asked, looking as if she were mortified.

In response, Elicia and Marin wrapped Ultear in a hug.

"Don't worry, Tear." Elicia said in a soothing tone. "You're not your mother."

"Yeah, you would never make a little girl cry like that." Marin added.

While Cana, Mirajane, Sun, and Lucy tried not to laugh aloud, Erza looked at Wendy and Carla with concern. Ur, on the other hand, felt her left eyebrow twitching violently. However, she managed to push down her agitation. She had already gone on a rampage once today. And she didn't want to make a repeat of that over a little prank.

Ignoring all the teasing, Ur stepped forward until she was standing directly in front of Wendy and Carla. Then, she crouched down and drew them into a hug.

"I'm sorry, girls." Ur said gently. "I lost control, and this is what happened. But I promise to find the two of you a place to live until I can have the house rebuilt. On top of that, I'll take care of any rent you have to pay for the duration."

Hearing that, although they were still sad that their home was destroyed, Wendy and Carla nodded in agreement with Ur's consolation. Before they could comment on it, however, Alfonzo cut in.

"I think there's a quicker solution to that problem." Alfonzo said, cutting in on the conversation. "I mean, there's a pretty good lake side property that I know of whose owners just recently upgraded."

While Wendy and Carla's eyes lit up at the insinuation, Ur shuddered. Although the thought of living in Alfonzo and Elicia's old mansion was tempting, she could only imagine how much she would be charged for it.

"If you're interested, me, you, and Lici can talk about price later." Alfonzo continued with a wide smile after seeing Ur, Wendy, and Carla's reactions. "For now, we should probably rush to the guild. I bet there are a lot of people there already."

'If judging by the looks in Wendy and Carla's eyes, there's no way Ur will be able to refuse.' Alfonzo thought as he took in the expressions of the three. 'But I guess we'll throw her a bone, this time. I'm sure Lici will agree to selling the old spot at the price we paid for it... If only for Wendy and Carla's sake.'

"Yeah, we should get going." Ur said while smiling wryly. "I'm sure all the guests are wondering where we are. Plus, you need to talk to the representatives from Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, and the Village Hidden in the Leaves about those training chambers."

"Damn it, I completely forgot about that." Alfonzo muttered.

"Yeah, but what about training?" Lucy asked.

"He probably won't have time for that." Ur replied with a shrug while smiling at Alfonzo with a sense of schadenfreude. "If it's anything like when he negotiated with Lady Tsunade, it will probably take a while."

"You know this is your fault, right, Ur?" Alfonzo asked while deadpanning.

"Sorry, what do you mean?" Ur asked while trying to look as innocent as possible.

"*Sigh* I guess she's still sour from losing our fight earlier this morning, huh?" Alfonzo said as he turned around.

Immediately upon hearing what Alfonzo had to say, Ur froze. Meanwhile, Wendy, Carla, and Beth looked at Ur with curiosity.

"Master, did you fight with Alfonzo today?" Wendy asked with curiosity shining in her eyes.

"*Sigh* We can talk about that later." Ur said after sighing resignedly. "For now, we need to hurry to the guild hall, it's already past time for you and Little Elicia's training."

"Okay." Wendy replied with a nod. Though, it was obvious she was interested to know the details of Alfonzo and Ur's fight.

With that, the entire group returned to the guild hall. And just like Ur suggested, Alfonzo was called away from everyone else as soon as they entered. So, while he went to talk to the guild masters and representatives who wanted him to install training facilities, Elicia led the other girls up to their preferred training rooms on the sixth floor to start today's training.

"Alfonzo, my boy." Makarov said as Alfonzo approached the bar. "These old guys want to talk to you about getting some new training facilities."

"*Sigh* I can't even get a day away from work after my wedding, huh?" Alfonzo grumbled as he took a seat at the bar with Makarov, Bob, goldmine, and Ooba. "Anyway, it's nice to see all of you again. Oh, and Gramps, how is it being on the magic council?"

"Damn brat." Makarov muttered after seeing Alfonzo's cheeky smile.

"It's good to see you, too." Bob said while batting his eyes at Alfonzo. "So, have you given any thought to my proposal about switching guilds? You and your ladies would fit in a whole lot better with the beautiful people in my guild, after all."

"Bob, can you please stop trying to poach Fairy Tail's most talented wizard?" Makarov asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, calm down, Maki." Bob said while smiling playfully. "I was thirty percent joking."

"That means you were mostly serious!" Makarov shouted back.

"As much as I appreciate the offer, Master Bob." Alfonzo said politely, though he was reeling internally from Bob's flirtatious behavior. "But Fairy Tail has done so much for me. And I would never be able to forgive myself if I turned my back on it."

Hearing that, Bob pouted visibly while biting his left thumbnail. Meanwhile, Makarov was almost brought to tears.

"I think it's time to stop, Bob." Goldmine said, a hint of amusement in his tone. "If you keep going, Alfonzo will keep heaping praise on Fairy Tail, and Makarov looks like he's about to cry because of it. And no one wants to see that."

"Fine~~~." Bob whined in response.

"Anyway, I heard that you three would like to purchase some training facilities, right?" Alfonzo asked, pretending he did not see Bob's reaction.

"That's right." Ooba replied with a nod.

"Exactly." Goldmine said.

"Yes." Bob replied, his expression turning into one that would be expected of the master of a prestigious guild.

"Then, let's get down to business." Alfonzo said as he placed his elbows on the bar top and interlocked his fingers together. "Master Ooba Babasama, how many training chambers were you looking to purchase? And do you have a preference about size?"

With Alfonzo's change in atmosphere, the three guild masters exchanged glances, realizing they would not be getting any concessions for having a prior relationship with Makarov. Then, in a last-ditch effort, they all turned their heads in Makarov's direction, hoping to get him to speak on their behalf.

Unfortunately for the three guild masters, Makarov had somehow gotten so drunk that he was incapable of proper speech in the short time that they had taken to exchange glances.

Realizing things would not be as easy as they thought, and because she was the first one Alfonzo named, Ooba stood from her seat at the bar while sighing resignedly.

"Why don't we go and discuss this somewhere more private." Ooba said in a solemn tone.

"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I was actually only trying to get a feel for the work's expected time frame with those questions. But if you want to go into the details right now, I'm okay with that, too. Let's go to Ur's office, she should be up there training Wendy and Elicia. Then, when she's done, we can talk there."

Nodding in response, Ooba followed Alfonzo to the elevator.

Meanwhile, Tsunade, who was watching Alfonzo negotiate with the other guild masters, could not help but feel a sense of schadenfreude when she saw the expressions on their faces.

"Ha! It feels good to see him rip off someone else." Tsunade said with a brilliant smile.

"Tsuna, did he really rip off Mermaid Heel?" Ritsu asked after taking a sip of sake.

"Of course he did." Tsunade replied, not losing her smile. "Because of him, I'm in debt again."

"It would seem you've forgotten exactly why you're in debt, Tsuna." Ritsu replied as she smiled gently at Mermaid Heel's fifth guild master.

Immediately after seeing Ritsu's smile, Tsunade began to pale.

"No, of course not, Master Ritsu." Tsunade replied with an ugly smile. "I was only kidding. I know it's my fault that I'm in debt. Ha ha ha... I guess my joke fell a little flat, huh?"

Instead of replying immediately, Ritsu continued to smile gently at Tsunade. In turn, Tsunade grew more pale over time. Meanwhile, the other ladies from Mermaid Heel shook their heads in unison.

"Besides, don't you have to negotiate with him again, Lady Tsunade?" Anko asked with a mischievous grin. "Didn't Lord Third appoint you the representative for the village in this manner?"

Once again, Tsunade froze. Then, she picked up her bottle of sake and started chugging.

"Lady Tsunade, what are you doing?" Shizune asked in a panicked tone.

At the same time, the other wizards of Mermaid Heel could only shake their heads once again. Meanwhile, Anko wore an expression that said: "Maybe I shouldn't have said that." Ritsu, on the other hand, decided that she would not bother, this time. Tsunade would not be representing Mermaid Heel, after all.

During the time Alfonzo and Ooba were up in Ur's office discussing their deal, the wizards from Fairy Tail ended their training. Then, about an hour after that, the elevator doors opened again and Ooba returned to the main hall on the guild hall's first floor. And when she did, the first thing Makarov, Bob, and Goldmine noticed was the frustrated expression on her face.

"So, how did it go?" Goldmine asked casually once Ooba returned to the bar.

"That boy is unyielding." Ooba replied in a huff. "Plus, he's strong enough to shrug off my [Spinning Magic] with very little effort."

"Really, Ooba?" Makarov asked in a disbelieving tone. "You tried to make him [Spin] because you were unhappy with the price?"

"No, the price was completely fair." Ooba replied while shaking her head as she took her seat. "I wanted to make him spin it for me because of when he said he would do the job."

"What do you mean?" Bob asked curiously.

"I wanted him to start the job this year." Ooba said after ordering a glass of wine. "But he said he would have to wait until after the new year. He said he did not want to miss the Harvest Festival or the S-Class exam."

"Well, those are pretty big deals for Fairy Tail." Goldmine replied with a shrug.

"I know that." Ooba said. "But missing just one person won't kill them."

"Well, since the Battle of Fairy Tail tournament will be happening again before the Phantasia Parade, it makes sense, doesn't it?" Makarov asked before taking a swig from his mug of ale. "He and his team are the returning champions, after all. So, he needs to defend that title."

"You think I don't know that?" Ooba shot back. "Do you wanna [Spin It] for me, Makarov?"

While she spoke, Ooba twirled her right index finger in the air threateningly.

"I'd rather not." Makarov replied while looking away. "I've had way too much to drink to not puke."

Snorting at Makarov in reply, Ooba turned her attention to Goldmine.

"Anyway, how long will the job take?" Bob asked curiously.

"Two months." Ooba replied, picking up the glass of wine she ordered. "He said he would start the work in January. I guess that will give me enough time to get the space under the guild hall expanded, at least. Oh, and he asked me to tell you to come up next, Goldmine."

"*Sigh* Although I really want those training chambers, especially after seeing them for myself, I almost want to give up on them." Goldmine said in a tone of lament as he stood from his seat at the bar. Then, he picked up his drink and finished it in one go before he continued. "I have to figure out what to do with Bacchus while Alfonzo is at our guild hall. But it's not like I can tell him not to come to the guild for the duration."

"Well, as long as you can keep him away from Alfonzo, there shouldn't be a problem, right?" Makarov asked.

"If only it were that simple." Goldmine replied as he started walking towards the elevator. "Anyway, I'll see you all later."