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CHAPTER START---
---July X771…
Three loud knocks on Oberon's apartment door sound through the apartment, each slamming into his hungover senses like a crack of thunder. He instinctively pulls the thick blanket over his head and rolls over, ignoring the knocks.
Another set of knocks rattles the door, and Oberon groans before a golden glow shines through his thick blanket.
Virgo appears beside his bed, and without a word, walks out of his bedroom, stepping around the stacks of books littered through the bedroom and living room while walking to the front door.
She opens it and sees Alana in a colorful summer dress, holding a wicker basket in her arms. "Lady Alana, please, come in." She steps aside as Alana enters, locking the door behind them.
"Is he in the shower or something?" Alana asks while walking over to the couch, glaring at the piles of books everywhere. She looks to the kitchen, seeing books on the counters as well, and decides to set the basket on the floor while moving some Grimoires off the couch. "How does he live like this?"
Virgo sighs. "He's only ever here to sleep, so really it's more like a storehouse. He's asleep right now."
"Really? I know he likes to sleep in, but it's way past noon."
"Sir Oberon was up all night for a Job. He flew back to Magnolia early this morning, then trained for a few hours before bed."
"Yeah, I heard he was back, that's why I brought breakfast," Alana says before turning to look up at Virgo. "How much are you allowed to tell me?"
"What ever do you mean?"
"Is Oberon alright. Like, with all these constant Jobs. He's in this week's issue of Sorcerer Weekly, again. He's been arresting a lot of people with the Rune Knights."
"Sir Oberon is powerful. Although he has been a bit cranky with the constant assignments. They don't leave him much time to learn new Magics."
Alana nods and looks around the apartment, annoyed at the sight of so many books disorganized. "His books take up so much space. I'm surprised there is space for us in here."
"He is a very diligent Mage."
"Yeah, he's great at everything."
"He'll be up in a moment. I alerted him that you were visiting."
Alana and Virgo chat for a few minutes while clearing the couch of books, placing them aside by the time Oberon floats into the living room. Wearing only a pair of shorts, with his tired eyes barely open as he drops onto the opposite end of the couch, leaving the basket between himself and Alana.
"Since when do you get tired?" she asks as he wordlessly reaches into the basket, taking out some baked pastries. "Isn't having infinite energy your special trick?"
"Not infinite," he takes a bit of the warm breakfast pastry. "And I was up practicing Cosmic. It's hard. I got a book and even had Wakaba and Macao demonstrate their Unison Raid a few times for me, but…it's too much Magic Energy."
"Even for you?"
"Mhm." He takes another bite. "Shouldn't you be helping your grandma today?"
"My dad is doing inventory, so they don't need me. That's why I figured I'd bring you breakfast. But by the time I got to the guild, it was lunch time, and then they told me you weren't there, so I came here."
"They're still warm. Thanks."
"Yeah. I made them with extra cheese, just how you like it."
"Amazing as always. I'll probably have another Job tomorrow, so I'll get you something on the way back to Magnolia."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. I'm just happy to know you're alright. You're in Sorcerer Weekly again, so I was a bit worried."
"Yeah, I passed through Crocus a few days ago, and they ambushed me at the station."
"My grandma says Fairy Tail is the only reason Magnolia hasn't experienced any changes like most of the continent. She says all the evil people are causing problems everywhere else, is that true?"
"Not everywhere. Era, Crocus, and a few other places are fine. But yeah, only places with powerful Wizard Guilds, or in our case, a Wizard Saint, are left untouched. That's part of why I've had so many assignments. The Magic Council keeps sending Gildarts and me all over to support other Guilds or deal with solo tasks."
"Well, at least you're getting a lot of work then."
Oberon frowns while reaching into the basket and getting a juice box, taking a sip from it after finishing his pastry. "They aren't paying us for these assignments."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's part of why so many Wizard Guilds that aren't becoming Dark Guilds simply refuse to get involved. Like Phantom Lord or The Great Reef. If we had another Wizard Saint and their Guild, this would be a lot easier.
In exchange, they lowered the fees that come with having a Guild Charter and gave other perks to the participating Guilds. But that's also why Master Makarov is so hesitant to send people out on assignments they can't do easily.
The more time you take on an assignment from the Magic Council, the less time you have for Jobs that earn money. Normally, assignments from them would pay you, but they can't afford the amount on the continent right now. After all, every Dark Guild and Dark Wizard has to be dealt with.
But part of this is also helping Magnolia, since with my extension, the taxes are lowered on the city. So your family's businesses should do a bit better. That part should be permanent, but the assignment stuff will go back to normal once this initial wave of Dark Guilds and Wizards ends."
"When will that be?"
Oberon shrugs. "Hopefully soon, but I doubt it. There are a lot of people who don't like the new rules. I didn't think not killing and using Charm Magic would be such a deal-breaker for them."
"They sound awful."
"Some of them have better reasons. The list of laws changed is super long, so some people had their businesses destroyed overnight since certain Magic Items got outlawed. If you've spent your entire life making something, then some politicians made it illegal by signing a piece of paper, you'd be upset too."
"I guess so. This is all just too complicated."
"That's why I try not to think about it too much. I just go where Master Makarov needs me, and I help capture whoever the bad guys are," Oberon takes another pastry, continuing his breakfast.
After a few minutes of talking, Alana finally asks what's been on her mind since the door opened. "Why are there books everywhere? Didn't you get the apartment next door to store books? And what about all those Storage Cards you bought from grandma?"
Oberon continues eating and gestures to the ornate wooden box near the fireplace.
Alana gives him a curious look before hopping off the couch and walking over to it, bringing the briefcase-sized box to the couch with some effort. "What's in this?"
"Open it."
She sets it down between them and pops the locks open, carefully opening it to reveal rows of storage cards, each numbered. "Tell me this is a joke."
"What do you mean?"
"Did you seriously fill all of these with books?" She inspects a few of the cards, seeing the books within the pocket space. "How did you even do this? And why do you still have them? Isn't the point of Super Archive to store data?"
"Yeah, but I still like to keep the books. But I ran out of space in the other apartment, and the Fairy Tail library. Master Makarov said I couldn't keep any more of my personal books in the Guildhall, so…Storage Cards."
"Why not just sell them?"
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. Besides, I like reading physical books. It helps me relax, especially when they're about Magics or cool creatures. I got a new Magic Beastiary a few days ago. You should check it out."
Alana sighs. "Grandma always says everyone in Fairy Tail is weird, so I should be surprised since you're king of the weirdos."
"It's not that big a deal."
"I don't know…I think you have Macao and Wakaba beat for their vices. Hoarding is a pretty serious one."
"But this isn't unhealthy, it's educational. Besides, it's not like they cos—" Oberon cuts himself off, remembering that her grandmother sold him many of these books. Some of which cost more than the entire building they're in. "It's not that bad."
Before they could continue, a loud crack of thunder startles Alana, and a moment later, Laxus uses Lightning Transformation to move beneath the front door and appear in the living room.
"Wow," Laxus says as he looks around, taking in all the books.
"He has a problem," Alana sighs.
"Can we just go to the guildhall now. I don't need any more people judging me for my books."
"Nope," Laxus says. "I came to tell you to get on the next train to Margaret Town."
"Why? Is Lamia Scale requesting help? Did something happen to them?"
"No. But Blue Pegasus is already sending its main team there. From there, they'll grab you and Jura. Master Bob wants our Light Guild Alliance working more closely together, so we're conducting a joint assignment against a whole Dark Guild."
"I was really hoping to sleep all day," Oberon mutters. "Is anyone else going with me?"
Laxus gives him a confused look. "Why would we send anyone else? You're going."
CHAPTER END---
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