Here is the eighth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. The big time skips are over and Fairy Tail is back but they've missed out on 7 years and something new cropped up a few years back so some of them have to check at least part of it out and when better than before they get fully back to work. That is all the administrative stuff I have for you and there are no questions that can be answered as they're going to partially be in this chapter and in the note at the end but there is a guest review that require a response which I will do now and allows me to clear up something I was a little vague about last week. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work.
To Flame Fox (guest), thank you for your reviews and support of my work. I think, however, you are a little confused. The reason why I am considering Noelle as a 6th generation Dragon Slayer is because there are only 5 generations in the Fairy Tail canon. What you are referring to, the Dragon Eaters as they are called, are 5th generation Dragon Slayers revealed in the Fairy Tail 100 years Quest sequel story. Their inclusion as 5th generation do effectively canonize the events of Dragon Cry as that is where the 4th generation are introduced and the only place they are seen. If you're confused, 1st generation Dragon Slayers are those who learned the magic directly from dragons like Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy. 2nd generation Dragon Slayers are people who got their Dragon Slayer magic by having a Dragon Slaying magic Lacrima implanted in their body so Laxus, Erik, and 8 Dragon God Serena which makes them considered to be artificial Dragon Slayers. 3rd generation Dragon Slayers are hybrids of the first two so they both learned the magic from a dragon and have a Lacrima implanted in them and the only two known ones are Sting and Rogue. 4th generation Dragon Slayers are only in Dragon Cry and are automatons with Dragon Slaying Lacrima implanted into them. 5th generation Dragon Slayers are introduced in 100 years Quest and are so far only known to exist on the continent of Guiltina and get their power by consuming dragon meat. Noelle would be a new generation, a 6th generation one that will be non-canon in its creation and rather unique if I go with this idea. Hopefully that clears up any confusion for you. Also, to those wondering as there has been some confusion, which I accept was my fault for not being clear enough, should Noelle become a special 6th generation Dragon Slayer it won't make her OP or even increase her power, it will just be an alteration to her magic, an adaptation if you will to Earth Land providing certain criteria are met.
Anyway, that is it for pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the eighth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 8: Inspecting a New Store
"Man, so much has changed in the last 7 years." Natsu said as he, Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and Gray walked through Magnolia with Happy and Carla flying alongside them. "I don't even know where to start."
It was a couple of days after they'd returned from Tenrou Island and Team Natsu was still recovering from the whole realization that 7 years had passed while they were in that protective spell. Naturally they'd partied like there was no tomorrow when they returned because it was good to be back and those members who'd been left while they were in stasis following Acnologia's attack had been thrilled to see them but once that had settled, and Makarov, Erza, and Mira had handled the issues that Fairy Tail had with Twilight Ogre, they really started to understand the situation.
To them only a week had passed since they were last in Magnolia, the week of the S-Class exam and the subsequent battle with Grimoire Heart on Tenrou Island that ended with Acnologia coming and attacking the island. They'd somehow survived it but been frozen in time for 7 years as a result of it so those left behind had been around for 7 long years with no answers.
Fairy Tail had fallen on hard times without them as their guildmates grew. Some like Romeo had grown up and was now a full-fledged member of the Guild, some had fattened up, some slimmed down, Laki had really filled out in the bust department much to Wendy and Levy's frustration, some had gotten married as was the case with Alzack and Bisca much to their shock and now had a kid together. Yes, things had greatly changed but none more so than Lucy's father passing away only a few months back.
That had hit her hard, their relationship hadn't been a great one since her mother had died and over the years it got worse before culminating in her running away. That had been what had led to the Guild War with Phantom Lord, though unbeknownst to them the founder of Phantom Lord had once been the master of Blue Skull a Dark Guild defeated by Fairy Tail's founders before it was founded who'd sworn revenge on Fairy Tail one day, so the bad blood had always been there just waiting for a catalyst which was Lucy's father. After that though he too fell on hard times and lost everything.
That had led to an awkward moment with Lucy and then she'd tried to help but gone ahead of him and, well, things were strange, but they began to improve as her father remade himself via the Merchant Guild that he'd first been a part of and where he'd met his wife and Lucy's mother. The Guild was called Love and Lucky and was much stronger than it had been back when Jude Heartfilia first joined it but after leaving with his pregnant wife they'd named their daughter Lucy after the Guild's dilapidated sign at the time which as odd as it was was still touching to Lucy in a way.
Finally, though her father had started to accept her as an independent woman in her own right who was becoming a strong Celestial Wizard and member of Fairy Tail, Fiore's strongest guild at the time. Unfortunately, that had been shortly before the S-Class trial where Lucy went missing for 7 years and her father had not survived that long.
It had been a tough, hard, thing to accept but she had, and he'd even given her some presents over the years showing that he never thought that she was dead and also paid her back rent that she'd accumulated while away. She had been surprised by that but was back in her apartment once more and better off than almost all of the other girls who were now broke with 7 years of back rent to pay off for their rooms in the Fairy Tail women's dorm themselves.
Still, she missed her father, but Natsu had been there for her as always and together they could move on and get stronger now that they were back. He was always her rock, and she knew that she could count on him no matter what. Not in any other way she told herself, it was just comforting to always have him around even if he was annoying a lot of the time.
All that had been in the first few days back, but they were here, and Lamia Scale had even visited which led the amusing moment of Lyon, Gray's childhood friend, former enemy and rival falling for Juvia on first sight not realizing that Juvia was obsessively in love with Gray. It had gone about as well as to be expected which is to say that Juvia was massively overthinking things in the most unhealthy and unrealistic way possible and Lyon hadn't realized what he'd just walked into.
Other than that, though things were currently looking up for them. True Fairy Tail had fallen on hard times while they were away but they'd rebuild and get stronger, they knew it. An opportunity to quickly rise back to the top would soon present itself to them but none of Team Natsu knew that just yet as they walked around Magnolia to see how it had changed in their time away.
Already they knew a lot had changed what with the fall of Fairy Tail and the rise of other Guilds like Lamia Scale to the number 2 spot though they didn't know yet who the new number 1 as those who hadn't been on the island hadn't told them. That was just the tip of the iceberg as there were many other changes that they had to get used to.
One of those things was the strange prevalence, but not an abundance, of flying brooms with wizards on them. They'd learned that after recovering from their party and processing everything when they saw some in the Guild Hall and asked about them.
Apparently they were a new mode of individual travel for wizards and made by a new Guild that had come to Fiore from far away, though where was still unknown as the Guild was notoriously secretive on its origins and hadn't accepted a new member since establishing itself in Fiore, and revolutionized magic items. In addition, they'd begun to establish a solid, middle tier, reputation for themselves with only a few destructive incidents in the last two years though as Fairy Tail had been so low they didn't know much about the actual powers of this new Guild.
What they did know, however, was that they were called the Black Bull Guild and a few of the Fairy Tail members had met them on occasion when the Black Bulls showed up in Magnolia or a Fairy Tail wizard was on a job in Crocus where the Black Bulls had a presence, but they didn't know much more than the names of a handful of the Guild wizards who they'd interacted with. There were rumors that the Guild Master was as strong as a Wizard Saint but that was about it and even Jura, one of the Wizard Saints, couldn't speak much to this as he'd never met the Black Bull Guild Master so hadn't assessed him.
What they did know was that in the last 6 months or so they had established a chain of stores selling their items and other wares that promoted their Guild across Fiore including one in Magnolia. As such the Fairy Tail returners were currently heading there to check it out to see what it was all about as it was a new Guild with name recognition now that had popped up while they were away.
It took them a moment to find the story, it wasn't on the main path but did front one of canals that cut through the town though again pretty far from anything else of note in Magnolia. Once they found it though it wasn't hard to miss it as it was a slightly detached a few stories taller than the other ones near it and no architecture design to speak of.
In fact, it looked like a ramshackle of various designs stacked on top of each other with the third story overhanging the ones below it, the fourth wider than the others, and at least two chimneys for some reason. There was a large wooden plaque above the windows that read 'Black Bull Emporium' on it in black with a gold and black Bull's head logo on either side that was clearly their Guild Mark.
"Well, we did come here to check this place out so may as well go in." Gray said in a bored tone as he tried to look in, but the windows were too grimy to see through as if they were never cleaned. "Hard to see what this place is about though."
"Who cares, let's go in." Natsu said happily. "And see what they have. Maybe they have something for motion sickness, that would be great."
"Aye." Happy agreed as Natsu opened the door with a bell sounding and strode in causing the rest to shrug or sigh as they went in as well.
The store was pretty standard with fully stocked walls on both sides going all the way to a long counter that stretched across the single room almost right at the back of it so as to maximize floor space. On one end of the counter was a flip up thing to get behind it and a door leading deeper into the building while the rest of the counter was clean, clear, glass with an assortment of baked goods and cakes in it that instantly got Erza's attention.
The prices and listings of the sweets were on the board behind the counter with some prices in the quintuple digits, even exceeding Lucy's rent, making them very expensive sweets. It meant that the items there were either made from exceptional ingredients or were magical food or both but regardless they had Erza's interest right away.
As for the shelves on the walls, they were fully stocked with one side containing a collection of broomsticks in a locked display case with the note to ask the proprietor about them, followed by shelves filled with strange magical devices that none of them had seen before but which listed what they did, mainly communication devices but there were also magic power storage devices, potions, specialty wants and staffs, and what not. There were even notes about specialty services that could be request from the Guild which was basically just an advertisement to hire the Black Bulls for jobs.
That was just one wall though as the other wall was also stocked with items though these were very different to the ones on the other wall. These were clearly merchandise items for fans of the Guild and they really ran the gamut of options. There were the ones you'd expect like mugs, banners, posters, flags, and what not with the Black Bull Mark on them, always in the same color and on black however, but they clearly weren't big sellers. That couldn't be said about the rest of the items though which had higher prices indicating their popularity and in some cases scarcity.
These were a mix of plushies of a blood red cat in various different poses and a forked tail bird with horns that only had one variant to it, figures of various women some in battle poses though no magic being shown, or sexual poses. The most prevalent one, however, was a voluptuous pink haired woman either in revealing but full clothes, bikinis, or straight up lingerie that put Lucy's risqué stuff to shame who's options alone made up at least a plurality of the merch on sale.
This woman was clearly the Mira of their group as she had a full line of posters for her, some oddly with wine of all things, as well as other items featuring her image, but she wasn't the only one as posters of other women and a calendar of them in beach attire were for sale. Clearly the Black Bulls had no problem capitalizing on the looks of their female members and judging by the amount and range of options it was clear that they were popular enough to justify making them.
"This is certainly a lot." Erza said flushing at the images as she looked through a calendar that named the women of the Black Bulls and was a mix of single, double and group shots. "She's like Mira."
"Says here that she's called Vanessa Enoteca and she's one of the top new models for Sorcerer Weekly." Gray said as he looked at a small poster of the woman in an extremely sexually provocative pose with the blood red cat that had its own plushie line on her shoulder as he suddenly felt a shiver down his back and looked around but saw nothing as Juvia, who'd followed Gray, was much more adept at her Gray observing skills than Gray was at his Juvia locating skills. "The Drinker Witch apparently. I guess this cat is hers then, likely some kind of spell."
"It's not a Celestial Spirit that I've heard of though." Lucy said as she looked through a calendar purely for this Vanessa woman. "I think it's a magical construct though the type of magic is impossible to say."
"Can I help you." A voice said and they all turned with a start to see a woman standing a few feet behind them smiling at the teens she'd just snuck up on.
She was clearly the person running the store, but she was so quiet and unassuming that they'd missed her entirely when she'd come out of the back. Even Natsu with his nose had missed her because he was currently looking over the figure collection but now that he smelt her something smelt off and he didn't know what it was as the woman was totally forgettable otherwise. She was a plain woman with shoulder length and unadorned brown hair, slightly tanned skin, brown eyes, and wearing a black high collar, long sleeved shirt and ankle length, matching, skirt with a gold hem, gold belt, and cuffs on the shirt.
"Um yes, I guess you can, um…" Lucy said as she looked at the woman before her. "Who are you?"
"I'm Jane." The woman, who they didn't know as a Black Bull member called Grey in disguise and using a generic name said still smiling at them. "I am the manager of the Magnolia branch of the Black Bull Emporium, a chain of stores run by the Black Bull Guild. Here we sell a mix of magic items made by our members, specialty sweets baked by the best chef in the Wizard Guilds, and merchandise promoting the Guild and its members."
"Are you a member?" Natsu asked as Erza instantly got distracted by the cakes and headed straight there while Wendy had move away from the large selection of stuff showing this Vanessa woman as her chest looked bigger than even what the larger than average bust sizes of Fairy Tail had and she was getting really insecure about her own flat chest again.
"No, the Guild isn't very big and not actively recruiting new members, so I am just an employee of them." Grey said to them as she looked over them and noted that three of them had noticeable Fairy Tail Guild Marks on them which meant that she was dealing with members of that Guild and instantly began to think over Nero's latest report to pick out names based on the appearances before her. "I don't have any magic and they need their magic users for jobs, but I am a fan of them hence why I work for them. If you do have any questions please do not hesitate to ask."
Erza was drooling over the cakes, but she'd heard that and briefly stopped to turn around and look at the Jane woman because she was sure that what she'd just said had been a lie. She wasn't great at assessing magic power, but she could feel it clear as day coming off this woman almost as if she had a spell active at that very moment.
What was more was that this magic felt strange to Erza. It wasn't particularly strong, probably weaker than all of the Fairy Tail wizards present individually, but it was different for sure. It was unlike any kind of magic that she'd felt before and almost unclassifiable as if it was lost magic, a magic that actively violated the laws of nature in a way, but she wasn't sure why that was the case.
Still, it would be rude to point it out as a customer in the store, especially because Erza belonged to a different Guild, and besides, if it came to anything there was no way that this woman could beat any of them in a fight. Nothing short of either exceptionally powerful or crafty magic would take this group down, Erza knew it. Also, these sweets looked heavenly, and she really wanted all of them, so she had to behave herself and of course ask about them.
"I have one." Erza asked and the woman came over to her. "What is the story behind these sweets? They look amazing but the prices are rather steep in places."
"Ah I see you have a sweet tooth and a good eye for quality." Grey said which surprised her as the woman before her was the scarlet haired knight she'd heard a bit about called Erza and seeing the woman in person reinforced her power to Grey, this woman was easily at the level of a Senior Magic Knight if not a Captain's level though not Yami's, but Grey was biased there. "Those are all freshly made today so at peak deliciousness, or so I've been told."
As Grey spoke she took in all the gathered wizards and she had to say that all of the humans, the anthropomorphic cats that Nero had said were called exceeds were much harder to gage and frankly freaked Grey out a bit as she was still getting used to them, seemed to have immense magic power. All of them, well all but the busty blonde bimbo who would be showing more skin than clothes if not for her boots, gave off Senior Magic Knight level amounts of magic to Grey. Even the short, unassuming girl with long blue hair in twin tails that couldn't be older than 12 gave off a strong, unnatural, magical aura.
That wasn't to say that the blonde woman wasn't strong, Grey could tell that she had power but that hers was different which made it a lot harder to assess to Grey. She wasn't sure why it was, but she felt that this wizard was one of those that utilized a specialized school of magic, likely tool based, which made her harder to quantify though Nero's reports hadn't given the blonde a name yet.
Also, Grey was perplexed by the fact that the two older women seemed to be above average in breast department just like the reports had been on Bisca and Laki, two of the female Fairy Tail wizards that they'd learned about over the last two years, and that serving girl at the Guild, Kianna, had. It seemed that Nero's latest report that had for reasons unknown to Grey included the detail about how well endowed basically every woman of Fairy Tail was hadn't been a joke. The third girl was too young to have developed though but Grey didn't doubt that she'd also have a large chest in time as well.
All this flashed through Grey's mind as she spoke with Erza. She was grateful that she had transformed as she couldn't handle this but for a transformation, and now she had 7 new ones to use as she could take the form of the exceeds as well, but still it was a lot to handle even while transformed. But she was here on a job from her Captain, and this was why he'd sent her to run their store in Magnolia so she'd help them out and learn what she could of them.
"I am partial to sweet things." Erza said as Grey approached her and caused Grey to focus on her. "So, I enjoy sampling new varieties when the opportunity arises."
"I wouldn't have pegged a warrior like you to be like that." Grey said. "But we get all types, and everyone has their own tastes so how can I help you."
"Are they as good as you say?" Erza asked flushing a bit at the older woman's words as she was a warrior, but she did have a strong feminine side to her when it came to sweet things, and she was totally going to get some of those plushies as well.
"Best in Magnolia, though don't tell that baker that I said that." Grey said with a grin. "We only have them in sporadically as they have to be made by one of the Black Bulls, her magic is key to the creation process, and then sent here by another who can ensure swift delivery of fresh products. You'll never taste better sweets than what she makes and the ones with the higher prices are extra special."
"They are?" Erza asked now determined to just buy out the stock and unlike the others she actually had the coin thanks to being an S-Class wizard and thus actually having enough savings to avoid going broke due to back rent. "How so? Do they use rare ingredients? I have heard of specialty ingredients that really enhance food so I'd presume cakes and sweets made with those would be more expensive."
"I am not sure about those ingredients but ours are expensive because they will replenish your magic well." The woman said which instantly got the attention of all of them. "It's a one time restoration of course but from what I was told about them, they are great for when you need to use a lot of magic continuously."
"Come again?" Erza asked her eyes wide. "I've never heard of a food that can do that. Mages restore their magic reserves over time by absorbing Ethernano from the air, never have I seen a way to artificially restore it with the exception of slayer style magic which can do so but only if they consume their magical element."
"I am but a humble store manager so all this is beyond me, all I can say is that that is why the ones here are so expensive." Grey said. "And we only tell those who ask and are clearly in need of them because it so rare to have such food. Before you ask no I am not sure how they are made and wouldn't be told anyway as a Guild must protect its secrets."
"I'll take them all then." Erza said instantly interested in the food.
"There is a fair bit." Grey said surprised. "And this is fresh produce, it might spoil."
"I have space and ways to preserve it." Erza said gesturing outside to a cart of bags that she'd brought with her just in case she'd need them. "And I'll take the plushies as well, one of each of the cats and the bird one. What are they by the way? They're very cute."
"Ah they are the mascots of the Black Bulls." Grey said as she pulled out a pad and paper and began to tally things up and went to their plushie stash and began to pull one off of the different kinds of Rouge and the one of Nero in her bird form off them so that they could be kept at the counter for when Erza paid for them. "The cat is called Rouge, she's Vanessa's familiar though I am unsure what she does. The bird is called Swallow, the story I was told by the Black Bull who is the manager of the stores is that she just showed up in their Guild Hall one day several years ago, so they adopted her, and she's been with them ever since."
"How adorable." Erza said as Grey placed the various plushies on the counter for later. "I am sure that if I ever see Millianna again I'll have to give her one or two of the cats, she'd love them."
"Is the cat a Celestial Spirit then?" Lucy asked.
"No, she's not." Grey said though at the mention of Celestial Spirits she suddenly got a sense for who the blonde was, she had to be the Celestial Wizard Lucy Heartfilia that Nero had mentioned in her reports though stacked hot blonde hadn't made it into the report. "Just a creation that Vanessa can make with her magic but a real big seller and really adds to Vanessa's shots."
"I can tell." Lucy said looking over some of the posters on sale, almost all of which were of Vanessa so much so that she didn't really get a sense for what the other women of the Black Bulls looked like when she left the store. "What's her story? I've never seen her as a model before so she must be new."
"Well, all the Black Bulls are new, the Guild was formed less than two years ago though their history is unknown, but as I am from Fiore I barely know them besides being an employee and fan of their work after they helped me out one time." Grey lied. "But shortly after forming Vanessa there caught the eye of the editor of Sorcerer Weekly while in Crocus on day and agreed to be a model for them. Apparently they were in need of more after the disappearance of their top one, some woman called Mirajane I believe. A Blue Pegasus woman called Jenny has taken the top spot, but Vanessa is a solid number 2 from what I've heard."
"Well Mira is like us, a member of Fairy Tail who was stuck on an island for 7 years." Lucy said. "I am sure that you have heard of that."
"I have but I try not to focus on too much outside my work." Grey said. "It can be distracting and as I am a fan of the Black Bulls I only really follow their Guild."
"I understand." Erza said with a nod. "Thank you for explaining that. I can see why she's so popular. It seems all the women of the Black Bulls are."
"Only Vanessa is full time model." Grey said as Lucy pulled off a calendar and began to look through it seeing a total of 6 women of various kinds in it while Wendy looked on beside her though none stuck out to her the way Vanessa did. "The others agreed to do shoots to help promote the store and I must say it has driven up sales of their merch as many want to complete the set."
"I can see, they've all got their own appeal." Lucy said.
"Huh they do?" Natsu asked as he grabbed a calendar to look at but none of them really stood out to him at all. "I don't get it."
"That because you don't understand this kind of thing." Lucy said and Grey noted that it was maybe a shade too fast for someone who didn't take such a comment personally. "You never do."
"I'm amazed though." Wendy said as she looked through the calendar which had each girl with their own month and then various group or multiple shots of the girls. "I'm not too insecure about this."
She meant it because besides Vanessa and some vermilion haired girl who was often wearing plant-based bikinis none of the girls seemed to have large breasts. In Wendy's experience that was basically limited to Levy and that was it, so it was nice to see older women with more normal sized chests for once.
There was a silver haired girl in a sparkly, bejeweled bikini that looked fancy on her and drew one's eye to it that seemed distinctly average though she was still stunning in an austere, almost regal, way. Then there was a tiny girl in a one-piece outfit with a lot of food who seemed to be just happy though if she was in it then she couldn't be a kid and a note did say that the woman was called Charmy Pappitson and that she was 21. Then there was a very shy, nervous looking blue haired girl with a very homely beauty to her in a white bikini and sarong who was bright red in the picture that Wendy could sympathize with.
However, the one she liked the best was the one of the unsmiling girl with a black bob cut, cowlicks and what had to be fake horns on her head in a simply black bikini and looking like she didn't even want to be there. That wasn't what Wendy liked, no what she liked was that the girl didn't fill it out at all. She was flat as a board, possibly even more so than Levy was, and her age was listed as 17 so she had to be pretty much fully developed. It was good for Wendy to see the range of women the Black Bulls had; she only have Levy for support in that regard.
"The Black Bulls have a good range of women; it's actually helped a lot of sales as it's seen as different types, so it caters to most men and women who are interested in that kinda thing." Grey said though she still hated all the modeling she'd done for this stuff; it had been so embarrassing that she'd had to remain transformed for over a month to recover and now that she was merch of herself to people she was even more embarrassed by it all. "Of course, Vanessa is our best seller and has her own calendar as well."
"What about the guys?" The pink haired male teen who Grey knew was called Natsu based off Nero's reports said. "Aren't there men in the Black Bulls?"
"Of course, and we have merch with them including figures, but they don't sell as well." Grey said. "If you like though I can get you a catalog and you can see if there are any men that meet your tastes if that is what you're into."
"Pass, not into this stuff." Natsu said shaking his head and not getting what the woman was saying though Lucy certainly did, and she didn't know how to react to that though she was sure that Natsu at least liked women that way. "Just wondering."
"The market is such that our clientele is mainly male and well men are pigs at time." Grey admitted though more because she really couldn't look at the two figures of her, one in her normal attire hands out for a spell and one of her in her swimwear standing on one leg that was utterly mortifying especially because that was the one of her that sold better. "As such female figures, especially the ones with less clothes and bigger breasts, sell the best."
"I can see that; most men can be pigs at times." Lucy said with a sigh as she looked over it and the figures, as the highest selling figure for Fairy Tail she could sympathize a bit though clearly Vanessa was more shameless than she was. "But I think we've been distracted from why we came here."
"Yes while that stuff is interesting to those who like it, we have our own, or did at least, we actually came about other things." Natsu said while the white cat slapped the blue cat's paw to stop him from touching some of the figures that she felt were way to sexualized. "We came to ask about the brooms because we've seen them all around. What are they? Clearly they've become a thing while we were away we want to know more about them."
"Ah our brooms, the big seller we have that helped set up the store chain though if you have any way to fly with magic they aren't really worth it." Grey said heading over to the case that housed the brooms for sale. "They are from the country most of the Black Bulls hail from and are really just a way to control your magic. They are made to absorb magic that a wizard can produce and thus you just pour it in and fly it. Revolutionized individual transport over the last year or so."
"I bet." Erza said looking at it. "I don't need it, I have armor that allows for flight, but for the average wizard this looks great."
"So, it's a vehicle?" Natsu asked already getting sick.
"Technically yes." Grey said.
"Pass then I don't do vehicles." Natsu said. "Unless you have something for motion sickness."
"We do not but I did hear that there is something in development that might negate it." Grey said reporting something Nero had mentioned in one of her reports regarding the continual upgrades to that airship of Blue Pegasus. "But they aren't there yet."
"Shame, I'll stick with Happy then." Natsu said.
"Aye, I got you buddy." Happy said leaping up his wings out.
"Still, I can see the use in these." Gray said having come over and taken his shirt off at some point.
"Sir!" Grey exclaimed her eyes wide and cheeks flaring red at the sight of the other Gray. "Please put your shirt back on. This is an establishment that requires a certain level of decency and on top of that we sell food here so that is extremely unsanitary. If you cannot keep your clothes on then you will have leave immediately or else I'll call the authorities on you."
"Huh?" Grey said looking down before he suddenly looked shocked at his appearance. "Where did that go!"
"Gray, the woman is right." Erza said as she slammed her gauntleted hand down on his head to stun him before she picked him up and headed to the door. "Best to keep you out of the store. This belongs to another Guild remember and one who we might want to have good relations with one day."
"I'm so sorry about our streaker." Lucy said with a deep bow as Erza chucked Gray out and immediately Juvia appeared out of her hiding spot to lay his head in her lap and ask him if he was going to buy those posters because she would be more than willing to pose for him like that if he wanted though Gray was too stunned to pay attention at the moment. "He's never learned."
"Yeah ignore that pervert." Natsu said. "What about these other items? What are they?"
"Various forms of communication devises that sent a magical projection across a long distance as well as cheaper ones that are just voice based." Grey said moving over to them. "As well as devices to store magic power and then release or transfer it and a few kinds of wands and staffs for suppressing magic to improve control or help aim it better. The Black Bulls have many new ways to make devices that can't be made by anyone else in Fiore or Ishgar for that matter hence the prices."
Erza was intrigued and picked up what looked like a pot and opened for nothing to happen. She looked confused until Grey picked up another pot that matched it and was listed as part of the set and held it up so that the lid popped off and projections of the women were suddenly looking at each other.
"Oh cool." Erza said her eyes wide. "What's the range?"
"Well, we use these to communicate between our stores and we have branches in Hargeon, Crocus, Era, and a few other places in Fiore." Grey said. "As well as one that is in the Black Bulls' Guild Hall so that I can contact my boss there if I need to reach him."
"I can tell, they will be of use, I'll take a set." Erza said and Grey nodded taking the one in her hand and bringing it to the counter with the other things that Erza was going to buy. "Out of curiosity do you have any weapons?"
"No, the closest things that we have are the wands and storage items for magic power but that is it." Grey said gesturing to the line of such items. "Most of the Black Bulls fight solely with magic from what I've heard, the ones who save me certainly did, so I presume they have no need for weapons. If things go well I am sure that they will begin a weapon line and I know that there are talks for a sword that can store and fire off various kinds magic but that is it."
"I see well please inform me if that goes for sale as it sounds interesting." Erza said as she approached the counter where her soon to be purchases were. "But that is it for me, just this stuff and all the food."
"Of course, can I help the rest of you?" Grey asked as she moved to the counter.
"Broke." Both Wendy and Lucy said as the white cat nodded as well to indicate that she was also broke.
"We just came to check the place out." Lucy said. "We saw the brooms and got curious especially when we learned that the Black Bulls had appeared while we were gone."
"Do you sell raw fish?" The blue cat asked.
"Happy." The white cat said aghast showing Grey that the blue one was called Happy which meant that the white one was likely called Carla based off Nero's reports.
"Er no we don't, it's a health hazard I believe." Grey said confused by that before looking to Natsu. "And you sir?"
"Nah I'm good just came to ask about the devices and see about the brooms but if it is a vehicle then no go for me." Natsu said.
"Very good, let me just ring you up ma'am." Grey said as she got behind the counter and totted up the price of the plushies, communication device, and Charmy's food and it wasn't cheap. "That comes to 1,257,583 jewel."
"Here you go." Erza said plunking a bag of coins down on the table that she'd materialized out of nowhere though if Grey recalled correctly this woman had some sort of spatial magic that allowed her to store things so that could easily explain it. "That should cover it and then some, I'd like any left over to be put on an account if you can manage that as I am sure I will be back if the cakes are as good as you say or if you ever start making weapons as I am always in the market for new weapons and armor."
"Of course, I'll set it all up for you." Grey said her eyes wide at that as she took the bag and began to pull out the sweets and cakes for Erza. "Give me a moment."
It took that as she laid out all the sweets and placed cards with what was what with them for Erza who had gone out to get some bags and began to put them away in the bags, some of which were specially designed for food storage. Grey was shocked by all this but let it happen as she counted the bag to find that it contained exactly 1.5 million jewel, so she made a note and set up an account for one Erza Scarlett that had a little under 250,000 jewel credit in it while Erza worked.
When it was done Erza thanked Grey and with the others helping her left the store. Grey stood there smiling as they left before she returned to the back room once they were clear of the store. Only once she was comfortably in the dark and on her own did she let the transformation fall and slid down the wall to sit in a seated position hugging her knees and shaking from all the human interactions she'd just had.
It had been far too much for her to handle but she could if she was transformed, and she'd learned a fair bit about the Fairy Tail wizards she'd met. When she was recovered she'd fill out a report for the Captain on them as it would be useful for the others going forward. That would take a while though as Grey recovered from meeting Team Natsu.
"My this is delicious." Erza said enjoying one of the normal cakes as they walked, Gray having run away from Juvia before they got out of the store as he'd realized the situation that he was in, so they had to find them as well. "Better than a lot I've had but hard to say if it is the best, just very unique."
"Still, that was a bit of bust." Carla said as she walked next to them. "Just devices and merch, nothing big. We didn't learn anything about the Black Bulls other than that they can make unique devices and that the women there have little to know shame."
"I wouldn't say that." Erza said as she ate. "We did just interact with one of their Guild, that says a lot about them."
"She was just an employee though." Happy said confused. "A nice helpful one but that was it."
"For once I'm agreeing with the cat." Lucy said. "She was helpful but that was it."
"Natsu?" Erza asked. "You sensed it as well."
"She smelt off." Natsu said. "As if she was using magic the entire time."
"Huh?" Wendy asked. "I didn't notice."
"My nose is better and I'm telling you something was off about her." Natsu said. "But I don't know what. It was kinda like Mira but not at the same time. It was really hard to tell so I just ignored it while we were int there."
"I agree, I am almost certain that who we just met was using Transformation Magic." Erza said. "And some really strong stuff as well because I don't think that was just a covering or illusion, that was a full, deep, transformation. I got a sense of her magic, and yes she is a magic user she was lying about that, is really strange. Not powerful per se though easily Guild level but there's something off about it. as Natsu said, it's Mira's in a way but different as well."
"What do you mean?" Carla asked.
"I'd say that we just met a Transformation Magic user who's level of skill is likely unmatched." Erza admitted. "It's not takeover magic like what Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman use, just Transformation Magic but it's got an unnatural feel to it as if it is violating nature in a way. I'm not actually sure the woman herself knows it but I can't shake this feeling that we met someone who's magic classification can't be normally assessed for some reason. That is why I am sure she's not just some manager, she's got to be a Black Bull."
"What I don't get is why she'd be running the store." Natsu said. "I mean we got Max who does that but that was at the old Guild Hall, and he'd taken some classes before running it. This makes no sense to me."
"Same but it does mean one thing." Erza said as they began to head back. "Whoever these Black Bulls are, we should not take them lightly if they're willing to pull something like that. For a Guild to suddenly appear and become established enough to have a chain of stores and a decent reputation is not common. It shows their potential and if that is an example of an average member then I'd say they could one day rival the top Guilds. We should be wary of them as we return to the top."
The others just nodded at that as they thought back on the exchange and what they'd seen in the store though with all of the merch from that Vanessa woman she was the only one they could recall an appearance for. Regardless, there was certainly a lot to process but it was just one thing on the list of things to deal with now that they were back.
Most of all though they needed to start doing jobs to make money and rebuild their reputation and that would start right away. Fairy Tail was back at full strength and soon all would learn about it.
Well, there it is, the first chapter told mainly from Fairy Tail's perspective and a little interaction between the main characters of Fairy Tail and a Black Bull even if they didn't know it. Still, they've got some sense about the Black Bulls as a Guild though no clue on power, yet which won't be seen for a while, and we won't be seeing things from Fairy Tail's perspective for a few more chapters at least as next up is a two chapter arc based off an anime only episode and then the time skip to the Grand Magic Games at last. The events of Key of the Starry Sky will not appear in this story or even be considered having occurred as, despite claims, there is still a debate on its canon status based off my research on it though of all the anime only arcs it is the closest to true canon. To avoid bogging down this story and dragging it out as I know many want the games to begin I will be avoiding it and the Eclipse arc when the time comes. The only other thing to mention is that the sensation that Fairy Tail has about Grey (thank god that both spellings of Grey/Gray are used so they can be distinguished between) is a reference to how her attribute is actually Transmutation not Transformation and that she's an arcane stage mage because of it though she doesn't know yet as that occurs during Dante's attack. I know that alchemy exists in Fairy Tail but it different from magic in Earth Land and has yet to be encountered by the main group so they still don't really understand that kind of magic. Anyway, that is all that I have for y'all so I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog