After eating dinner, I put the kids to sleep, needing to use a bit of force since they still wanted to play, reminding me once again that I did not miss dealing with children.
'Haa, so annoying.' Closing the door behind me, I rubbed my face, leaving the bedroom as I headed to Minerva's room; opening the door to her room, she rolled onto her side, looking at me. "Cooper?" Tilting her head in confusion, I flipped the switch, turning the lights off while I crawled into bed beside her.
Wrapping an arm around her, allowing me to use my magic on her, I got comfortable before closing my eyes. "Good night." "Um, C-Cooper, w-why are you sleeping with me?" "So I can use my magic on you through the night. Now stop talking and go to sleep." Fluffing the pillow a little more, I brushed aside a piece of hair before drifting to sleep.
"D-Doesn't he know what it means for a man and a woman to sleep together?"
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Opening my eyes, staring at the ceiling, I groaned while sitting upright, stretching in the process, only to see Minerva's feet, causing me to tilt my head; grabbing the covers, I pried the blankets off, spotting her lying upside down. "How did she even get like that?"
Although I was confused, the fact that I was holding her ankle meant I must've been in contact with her all night, which was good; her injuries should've healed a little. "I don't understand how people can sleep crazy like that."
Shrugging my shoulders, I left the room, entering the bathroom to take a shower; I didn't need Macao or Wakaba commenting that I stink. When I finished washing myself, I put my clothes on, and, considering I could hear something break, the other five kids must've been awake.
'Wow, that's surprising, I would've thought they'd broken everything by now.' Exiting the bathroom and stepping into the hallway, I went to wake Minerva. "Hey, time to take up." Shaking her, she finally woke up, still drowsy as she looked at me with half-lidded eyes.
"H-Huh?" "Wake up." Flicking her forehead, the sharp pain knocking the drowsiness out of her, she winced and grabbed her. "T-That hurt Cooper." "C'mon, we're about to leave; I want to go home as quickly as possible."
Leaving the room, I headed to the living room, where I intended to sit down and wait, but the cushions had been used to create a mini-fort. 'I just want to sit down, man.' Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I folded my arms and leaned against the wall, waiting for Minerva.
About ten minutes later, Minerva exits the bathroom with a satisfied expression, prompting me to kick the cushion fort apart, revealing the five trouble-makers. "Wow, you too, Rufus?" Looking at Rufus with a raised eyebrow, he awkwardly coughed and averted his gaze, though I didn't give him much attention, not caring too much about his antics.
"Alright, c'mon, we're leaving." "Awe. I liked this place, though." "It's nice." "Yeah, it's awesome!" "There are a lot of books to read." "Many rooms to hide in."
Hearing their complaints, I nodded to myself before raising my fist, solving their problems in a civilized manner. "Either you follow, or you taste my fist again." Narrowing my eyes at them, from Rufus to Orga, they all instantly quieted and nervously gulped before nodding. "Good."
Lowering my fist, I grabbed Minerva and lifted her onto my shoulders before heading to the entrance, the five following behind me. "I-I can walk, Cooper." "Do you think you're exempt from punishment?" Glancing at Minerva, she opened her mouth only to end up closing it, remaining silent.
Taking the stairs to the lobby, I made a pit stop by the reception desk. "Hey, tell whoever is in charge to send a bill to Fairy Tail; I don't have enough cash on deck to pay it." After leaving behind a little note to the confused receptionist, I regrouped with the others and left the Inn.
"Where are we heading, Cooper?" Rufus, the ever-curious and eager to learn amongst the bunch, picked up his pace, walking side-by-side with me. "Magnolia." "Magnolia? If I'm not mistaken, isn't that where Fiore's number one guild is? Fairy Tail?" "Oh, Fairy Tail!? Isn't Natsu, 'The Salamander', in Fairy Tail!?" "I've heard 'Blacksteel' Gajeel has also joined Fairy Tail." "Haha, isn't the Guild Master one of the ten Wizard Saints? He must be strong!"
Given Sting and Rogue's excitement, they must've been fans of the two dragon slayers, which made sense considering they were also both dragon slayers. "Did you guys not notice the emblem on my back? It's the Fairy Tail symbol." "We thought it was a weird tattoo." "Yes. We'd never seen a guild emblem so big." "I suppose that's fair."
With me leading them, they pestered me with questions about Fairy Tail, but considering it was of my family, I didn't mind it one bit; however, eventually, we arrived at the train station. While walking up to the train schedule, I was hit with a stroke of luck: a train leaving for Magnolia was today's.
"Fuck yes." Smirking, I quickly got in line to buy tickets.
"7 tickets for today's train to Magnolia." As I leaned against the wall, observing the old woman on the other side, who, for her age, was admittedly smoking, she hesitantly handed me seven tickets. "Are you sure? The train is about to leave, and they probably won't allow last-minute passengers." "Thanks, but we're getting on if I've got to stop the train."
Paying the seven-hundred jewels, I grabbed the tickets and approached the train. "Looks like we won't be able to get on." Remarked Rufus as he glanced at an employee stopping someone from approaching the train, I just continued onwards.
"Sir, the train is about to leave; it's not accepting any more passengers." "Then it ain't leaving." "Sir. Sir!" Pushing aside the employee, I stood on the edge and grabbed a train car just as the train let out a horn, signalling the start of its engine; however, the train didn't move.
"Oi, here are our tickets." Handing the tickets to him, he stared at me for a few seconds before slowly nodding. "Y-Yes. Y-You're all free to get on." Unlocking the door, the five funneled into the car while I entered right after, and the train immediately moved when I did. "I stand corrected." As we found a room to sit in, I set Minerva down beside before looking at Rufus.
"With enough strength, you can do whatever you want." "I understand, but did you not beat up the Guild Master for that same philosophy?" As Rufus furrowed his brows, I proudly smirked in response. "Yes, but when did I ever disagree with that philosophy? I was stronger than him, so I could do whatever I wanted." "I-I see."
Nodding in satisfaction, I folded my arms and closed my eyes; now that we were on the train, the only thing we needed to do was wait. "I'm bored." "Yeah, this is boring; isn't there anything fun to do, Cooper?" Glancing at Dobengal and Sting, I internally sighed. 'So it begins.'
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Stepping off the train, stretching, promptly picked Minerva up and placed her on my shoulders; she was still injured, and I didn't want her walking yet. "Cooper, I-I can walk." "Wow, so feisty, Minerva, even while injured, you're itching for a beating." "N-Nevermind." "Follow me, you punks; I need to drop you guys off at Gramps before I go crazy."
Leaving the train station, we headed to Fairy Tail, walking along the streets of Magnolia. "Whoa, Magnolia is so pretty." "Duh, it's home to Fairy Tail, the greatest guild in Fiore, and Magnolia is one of the best cities to live in because of its wealth." While they observed Magnolia in fascination, I stopped by my favorite food stall, buying everyone a kebab, and ten for me.
"Fufu, are these Fairy Tails' recruits, Cooper?" Finishing one kebab, I glanced at the older lady before shrugging my shoulders. "Possibly, don't know yet." "You say that, but they'll join; who wouldn't join Fairy Tail?" "Heh, touché." Smirking, I bid her farewell and walked away, prompting them to follow.
"Ugh, why do you get 10, Cooper?" "Tch, because I'm a grown ass man, Orga. I also paid for them." "Tsk. Greedy." While Orga folded his arms and complained under his breath, we approached Fairy Tail after a few more minutes.
"So this is Fairy Tail?" "Yep." "Incredible. Sabertooth can't compare." Smirking in pride at Minerva's praise, I laughed. "Haha, of course it can't; I wrecked it!"
Stepping up to the front doors, I set Minerva down beside me and raised my foot, kicking them open and breaking them off their hinges, prompting everyone to shift their attention to me. "Hehe, I'm back you–" As I wasn't expecting it, I didn't have time to react to the body of Gajeel being flung into me. "Fire Dragon roar!"
'Dammit! My intro was ruined!'