May 14th, X524 (1:30PM)
Iceflask City

'What's wrong with Juvia? Juvia feels bad since..' the water maiden sighed silently, 'Natsu's look was so strange. Juvia hopes Natsu won't stupid things. Gajeel-senpai and Rogue-senpai are with Natsu, but their thinkings are too straightforward. Natsu can fool Gajeel-senpai and Rogue-senpai so easily. Why did Gajeel-senpai and Rogue-senpai bring Natsu to Fairy Tail? But, they are with Levy-san, so Natsu doesn't have a chance to fool her. Also, Natsu won't do something that could harm Sabertooth.' Little did she know, the topic was about Natsu Dragneel, the infamous spoiled heir of Lord Dragneel.. a kid who always picked a fight with others.. who never cared about his duties or etiquette.. who didn't care about what others thought.

"Juvia... Juvia are you okay?" Seeing her expressionless, Gray could tell that his teammate was lost in thought.

"Amm," she replied in a reflex answer as soon as she heard his voice. Right, they were walking back to Mayor's house after escorting Oracion Seis Cobra. She was lost in thought for so long that she forgot her plan to visit Iceflask magic shop.

"Juvia is lost in thoughts. Juvia apologizes to Gray-sama. Does Gray-sama say something earlier?"

"I heard that there is a magic shop nearby. I plan to go there. What about you?" It wasn't an invitation. His words rather told her that it was okay not to accompany him, that she could go wherever she wanted. He asked for her concern because she was his comrade.

     Gray was neither a flexible nor talkative person like Lyon. In public eyes, Gray Fullbuster was as cold as ice. But, when teaming up with Juvia, his cold attitude was forced to disappear. He was always the one who initiated the talk first to avoid the deadly silence between them. Juvia was someone who talked less and liked to listen more... maybe it was because of the way she spoke. However, he couldn't deny that Juvia was a strong and suitable teammate.

      The water maiden answered without hesitation, "Juvia will go with Gray-sama. Juvia needs a suitable spell book for her new water spell.'

• • • • •

       It took ten minutes of walking to reach their destination. "Let's go," Gray said, as he pushed the door, and let Juvia enter first. Compared to Magnolia magic shops, this shop was rather small, but it still displayed good weapons on the wall and a considerable number of books on the shelves. They walked towards the counter. Asking someone for the guide was better than finding it randomly without a clue.

"Welcome sir, welcome miss," a middle-aged man with short brown hair smiled, and greeted them. He was well-built man, wearing long-sleeved black cloth,  "I'm Drew, the owner in charge of this shop. May I ask what you need?"

      Gray looked at him, "I want suitable equipment for my ice magic. Do you have any suggestions, sir?"

     The man raised an eyebrow, curiously looking at the handsome young man in front of him. Normally, the mages who visited hiis small shop asked for the spell books, not equipment.

"Juvia needs a new water spell for strong water attacks," she needed a new spell as strong as Water Slicer, Water Cyclone, or Water Nebula. Her new self-created spells were not powerful enough for the offense.

"Sir, Miss, please forgive my intrusion. May I ask if you two are from Magnolia?"

"Yes, we are," Gray replied, not showing his annoyance.

       The owner smiled satisfyingly, "Iceflask City is very far from the capital. Mages here learn magic to protect the cities, and to go missions for our income. Goods from my shop aren't as good as those from Magnolia but I do have some top-tier accessories that were left by the ancestors of Iceflask. Please wait a moment, sir." He walked to the wall behind the counter and turned the candle holder. The wall behind him opened, showing a narrow dark passage. He entered the secret passage.

      Time seemed so long, Juvia was now near the bookshelves, searching for the water spell book. Gray was just randomly looking at the magic weapons. Ten minutes later, the shopkeeper exited the narrow passage, carrying two small boxes in his hands. He put a silver box in front of Gray, called Juvia, and gave her a brown box.

"What's it?" Gray asked curiously. He reached out to open the small box, wondering what was the item inside the box which gave him an aura of coldness. As soon as he opened the box, the temperature inside the room dropped obviously. The raven-haired guy saw an ice crystal that was sculptured into a snowflake in a hexagon pattern. He picked it up to check it closely.

"Sir, this item is named Snowflake Ice Crystal. It is a top-tier item, said to have a very powerful ice offense. I can assure that Sir won't be disappointed by buying it."

      The ice mage nodded, thinking the same way, if this small item could send out the chill aura, then imagine its abrupt power in battles, "I'll take it," he put the crystal back into the box.

      Mr. Drew silently praised the kid in front of him, 'he agrees to buy without asking the price, seems like he is a rich kid.'

      Gray turned to look at Juvia, "Juvia, what about you?"

"May Juvia ask what is this necklace for?" Inside the small box, was a cerulean raindrop necklace. The blue pendant was so vivid and crystal clear, like a dazzling blue sea, the blue brilliance of this pendant could capture someone's heart easily. The pendent was attached to a silver chain.

"Waterdrop Pendant... it's a magic accessory for water mages. It has two specialties. First, this item holds a spell called water body, and second, this pendant can activate a protective water shield, to protect its owner when it comes to danger."

"Sounds interesting. What is Water Body?" Gray asked.

"Water Body is a water magic spell, the caster can turn her physical body into water, so the opponents physical attacks became useless. Water Body is also for agility."

      Juvia, after being silent for a few moments,  spoke, "Juvia thought Water Body can be learnt from the book only."

"Miss Juvia is right. Water Body is not designed for offense, but you can still cast your attack spells while you are in water body. Another point is... this waterdrop pendant's water body spell is not like the spell from the book. I mean, you can only cast water body once a day. If Miss Juvia doesn't like it, I will show you some water magic spell books."

'Who in the world doesn't like a powerful item like this? A rare water spell, and also an auto-activated protective spell?' Gray thought.

"Juvia'd like to take the pendant," the blue-haired girl smiled.

"Show her the water spell books too, Sir." Gray looked at Juvia, "We still have time, so you should take a look at them, Juvia."

     The water maiden nodded. If a good water spell book was here, it would be a waste if she skipped it. As for money, she didn't need to worry. King Eucliffe gave them much Jewels, her master Lord Redfox also gave her money, and her Gajeel-senpai and Rogue-senpai also gave her some amounts of their savings. She refused to the money given by her two senpai, but, in the end, she couldn't resist these two stubborn dragon slayers. Plus, she had been going for dark guild hunt missions with her group from where she received the rewards.

"Miss Juvia, there are six water spell books on the third row of the second shelf." Juvia nodded, "Thanks."

      Gray, putting one hand on the counter board, smirked, "Boss Drew, you do have some rare magic items. Why don't you display them in the shop?"

     The brown-haired man smiled, "Human greed is too dangerous. This shop is running from generation to generation. My ancestors told me to stay low-key and wait for the mages who really need these rare items."

     Gray nodded, "How much is my snowflake ice crystal?"

"20000 Jewels," the man replied. Seeing that the black-haired young man didn't move, he explained immediately, "I can guarantee that I don't raise the price. As this shop's owner, I'm happy that magic items meet their owners. What I say is a fixed price, Sir."

"Here, 20000 Jewels," The black-haired guy handed the money to the elder, even though he thought the price was a bit higher, "Sir, do you have a complete set of female armor and sword?" he asked.

"May I ask, for offense or dense?"

      Gray thought for a while, "Offense, I guess."

"I have one in my storage," the latter smiled, "please wait for a while," he went to the secret room again.

       The young man opened the silver box and took out a piece of paper that he didn't read earlier. After reading how to use the ice crystal, he was stunned for a while, 'Well, it's worth 20000 Jewels haha.'

      The bluenette walked towards the counter slowly and put two thin books on the board.

"Juvia, what are the spell books you chose?"

"Water Vortex, and Water Sea Serpent," Juvia replied, "Juvia wanted both books because water spell books are hard to find." Indeed, in a place like Magnolia, spell books are hard to find, especially the elemental spell books.

"I guess Water Sea Serpent is similar to Lyon's ice-made animal spell, isn't it?"

"Juvia thinks so. Water Sea Serpent is very complicated. Juvia saves it for the future."
He nodded, agreeing with what she said.

"Is the armor set for Erza-san?" She asked curiously.

"Our beloved captain's birthday is in next month. So, Lyon and I decided to give Erza a set of armor and blades as a birthday present. Titania has been receiving swords as birthday gifts since her eighth birthday. She had hundreds of swords.. and then she broke two-third of total swords, haha. Aunt Irene personally hired her close friend, a famous blacksmith, so that he could repair those broken swords that Erza retrieved after the battles.

     Juvia chuckled, "Isn't Gray-sama exaggerating? Erza-san is not that bad."

"Erza's another nickname is 'Lady of Destruction'. If she fights wearing her normal attire, not only her oppoents but also her swords are over. Swords that cost 4000-5000 are all under her mercy.That is why we decided to give her a set amor this year. We have been saving money for the set."

"What about last year?"

"Ohh, we bought her a dozen of strewberry cakes."

     Meanwhile, Boss Drew came out of the secret passage with a rectangular box... a very large box. He put that box on the counter, and opened it, "Is this close to your liking, Sir?"

     The Fairy Tail mages looked inside the box. The pink armor was folded neatly, and two pink furry hair ornaments were placed on the folded armor. A pair of boots were folded in half and placed next to the armor. There were a pair of coral-colored beautiful swords were placed along the axis of the box. Each metal blade had a gray shade of edges, and the large handguards featured two pairs of seraph wings and a spherical gray jewel in enter.

"It is Armadura Fairy Armor," the owner explained, "Stories of a fairy wearing this pink armor and fighting countless invading enemies... These stories are all based on this Armadura Fairy Armor."

"I'm sorry sir, but I've never heard of this story."

"It still remains as a legend," Boss Drew laughed, "After all, this armor is about one-fifty years old."

"WHAT?"

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama should take this Armadura Fairy Armor," the water maiden said softly, "Erza-san needs a new armor, doesn't she?"

"But, this is too old. I mean... I'm afraid it will be broken after two or three battles... You know, Titania is Titania," Quality came first. This over-one-hundred-year-old sword was made in an era where only two or three well-known swordsmiths existed. Surely, the seller didn't mention who made this set. So, he assumed that this armor and blades were made by someone who wasn't famous in history.

"Gray-sama is worrying too much. If it is Gray-sama and Lyon-sama's gift, then Erza-san will like it. Moreover, a complete set of armor is rare, isn't it?" She didn't know much about swords, but she felt that the armor in the box was also powerful.

     Gray nodded. Juvia smiled at the salesman, "Juvia wants to ask how much the Water Pendant and two water spell books are."

"Waterdrop Pendant costs 16000 Jewels," the man smiled, "3500 Jewels for each spell book."

"Thanks," Juvia handed 23000 the cash of money to him.

"Okay, I'll take it," the ice magic user said, "How much is this?

      The man grinned, and closed the box, "40000 Jewels," he replied in delight.

     Gray raised his eyebrows again, feeling the set was way too expensive.

"I don't lie, Sir. I'm saying an exact fixed price. I can guarantee that you won't regret buying it."

"Okok. I know you don't dare to lie to us, Boss man. We just bought the items worth 43000 money, right? Any discount?"

"Right right. My bad, sir," Mr. Drew laughed, "the armor set costs 40000. I can't give you a discount, it's the shop rules. But-" Gray frowned at him.

     The brown-haired man ran towards the near shelf and took a small sheathed dagger. After returning to his spot behind the counter, the man smiled, "Please take this dagger as a present, Sir," He put it on the armor.

     Both the sheath and dagger were silver-colored. The sheath had beautifully carved silver flowers on the body, and a black shade in lining of the sheath. The handle was also silver-colored, and a blue crystal as a pommel. The Crossguard of the dagger was simple, as it had black shades crossguard. At first look, one could tell this dagger was not for a guy.

     Gray sighed, accepting that this shop owner won't give him a bargain. He paid the money and carried two boxes and a dagger.
After saying farewell to the shopkeeper, they exited the shop.

"Let Juvia carry the small box, Gray-sama," Juvia politely requested, knowing that her fellow ice mage won't let her carry the heavy box.

"Then, I'll trouble you, Juvia," Gray gave her the small box, "Oh, here," he also handed the dagger as well, "It'll be better if you use this dagger for self-defense."

      Juvia froze for a second, before smiling, "Juvia thanks Gray-sama."

"You're welcome," Gray replied softly, "Let's go," he walked first. He sighed secretly, after realizing that his heartbeat seemed skipping half a beat after seeing her smile.

• • • • •

     Little do they know, the man inside the magic shop stood behind the door, watching them til they were out of his sight. He laughed, finding amused that the black-haired kid didn't know about the swords but he still asked for the swords without fearing that he was fooled by others.

      If they didn't want to buy Fairy Armor, he would surely tell them about the legend behind it, and persuaded them to buy it. However, they did buy without further asking, so he could only let the future owner of Armadura Fairy Armor explain them in the future. He was the owner of a small magic shop, but he never sold the goods at unreasonable price. He imagined the cold black-haired guy's facial expression the moment he heard that Armadura Fairy Armor Set ranked ninth in Armor rank in the history of Armor Weapons. He laughed.

^_^