Mercurius

December 3, X784

A week passed since the team that went to apprehend Doryu returned. By now, they had all recovered from their wounds. Meliodas sat at the bar and watched as a seemingly steady stream of mages went back and forth from the job board and back out of the guild again. During this week, Meliodas himself had gone on a few missions for extra pocket money. Today he decided on taking it easy as he drank at the bar.

"Meliodas!" Makarov's voice shouted from the entrance of the guild.

"Hey Master!" Meliodas greeted.

"Welcome back from your meeting!" Mirajane greeted.

Makarov approached Meliodas and Mirajane at the bar and took a seat next to Meliodas. As Mirajane poured Makarov a drink, he stared at Meliodas.

"What's wrong?" Meliodas asked. Makarov sighed and took a sip of his drink before answering.

"Meliodas, you never cease to surprise me. At the council meeting today, they went over their findings with the Weapon of Ultimate Darkness, Sacrifar." Makarov said. "Your actions did get us on an at least tolerable standing with the council, but…" Makarov stopped and took another sip of his drink.

"It really surprised me when Jura himself requested that you be made one of the Ten Wizard Saints." Makarov said.

"That's impressive!" Mirajane complimented.

"Well I did tell him before we parted ways that I wouldn't mind. And becoming a Wizard Saint should help me solve my problem with the information they possess, right?" Meliodas responded.

"I suppose...although I'm sure you know about how the council would feel about having two Fairy Tail members as Saints…" Makarov said.

"Well, apart from Jura's recommendation, your actions on this mission not only got the attention of the council, but also the Royal Family, specifically the Royal Army." Makarov continued. "They're requesting you to serve as a mentor over the weekend to show the soldiers how to fight using a sword. They'll pay you good money for it."

"Really, how much?" Meliodas asked.

"Five Million Jewels." Makarov said. Meliodas nearly spit out his drink at the number.

"Well, well, well. That's more than most S class missions. Sounds like a good deal to me!" Meliodas said enthusiastically. "Do I have to go by myself?"

"Well they didn't request you go alone specifically. Did you plan on bringing others along?" Makarov asked.

"There's a couple of people I want to bring. Swordsmen, actually." Meliodas said with a grin.

---

December 4, X784

Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily sat together on a train on the way to Crocus that morning. Pantherlily looked out the window as Meliodas briefed Erza on what they were doing.

"Meliodas, if you don't mind, I would also like to learn swordsmanship from you directly." Erza said. "My swordsmanship wasn't enough to fight against Doryu…"

"Same here." Lily added in. "I couldn't help Gajeel against Aifread…"

"I don't mind." Meliodas replied. "Besides, after that close call, I need to start actively training again since my power isn't returning at the pace that I would like it to. You guys would make great sparring partners."

"That would be much appreciated. Thank you Meliodas." Erza said.

"Oh right that reminds me!" Meliodas interjected. "On the way back, we can stop by Musica's. Maybe he will craft you guys new swords." Meliodas said.

"I remember you mentioning getting me a new sword last week. A sword that can match my changing size would be nice…" Lily mused.

"I don't quite have an idea for a sword I want, but getting one refined by him would be just as good. I finally get to meet the Legendary Blacksmith!" Erza commented, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

---

Several hours later, the group arrived at Crocus. They got off the train and headed straight towards the main palace.

"This place is massive. It might even be bigger than Edolas' capitol." Lily commented as he looked up at the large looming castle.

"Apparently the palace is called "Mercurius." Meliodas said as he read a brochure he picked up on the walk there.

The group walked up to the front of the palace at a large stone gate. There were multiple guards stationed at the front of the gate as well as high on the walls. Above the walls, Meliodas could see the palace building which was elevated above the rest of the city. One of the guards approached the group.

"State your names and business." One of the guards said.

"Erza Scarlet."

"Pantherlily."

"Meliodas. We're from Fairy Tail. We received a request to come here and mentor the royal army over the weekend." Meliodas said. Out of his requip inventory, he pulled out a piece of paper with the request on it. The guard took the paper and scanned over it before handing it back.

"Very well you may proceed." The guard said. He turned around and faced one of the other guards on the wall, making a gesture with his hand. The guard nodded and disappeared for a moment. Suddenly there was a rumbling as the gate began to open.

Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily walked through the gate, leading to a large stairway that led to the upper section of the castle in the courtyard area. The group walked through the courtyard before arriving at the entrance into the main palace. It was segmented into many rectangles by smooth stone pathways. In the rectangles were many statues and intricately cut bushes, with many of them looking like dragons. In the middle of the courtyard was a massive fountain in the shape of a dragon's head. Around the fountain, were an assortment of brightly colored flowers.

A guard blocked their path and looked at the Fairy Tail group. Meliodas flashed the request paper at the guard. The guard skimmed over the paper before returning it to Meliodas.

"Hmm...I see. If you're going to be doing the training, then it will be down that way at the royal barracks." The guard said, pointing at a large white building at the edge of the courtyard.

The group walked towards the building. Upon getting closer, they realized just how massive the building actually was, with multiple stories and large windows that scaled all the way to the top. As they entered the main lobby of the building, they were greeted by a man Meliodas was somewhat familiar with. The man's eyes widened upon seeing Meliodas.

"Yo!" Meliodas greeted with a wave. 'I think I remember seeing him when I had to go see the King.' Meliodas thought.

The man gawked at Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily before regaining his composure. 'Those three...The Blond Demon, Titania, and a cat…'

"I welcome you Fairy Tail, to Mercurius. I am Arcadios, Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron." Arcadios said. "You three must be Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily. We've been informed of your arrival ahead of time."

"So where are the people we're training, Chief?" Meliodas asked.

"Over here." Arcadios said, gesturing to the group to follow him. The Fairy Tail group followed Arcadios into a hallway leading to a set of doors. As they walked through the doors, they entered a massive hall with dozens of soldiers practicing their techniques on the various equipment scattered across.

"This is our training hall. Lately, our physical performance numbers have grown lower due to complacency. In addition, the incident with the escape of the Princess a few months ago made us reevaluate our policies and we realized how weak our army is." Arcadios explained.

"I see where you're going with this, but what reason did you have for going out of your way to hire a mage guild to help train your soldiers?" Erza asked.

"All I requested was that the Royal Family help me with my problem in getting my soldiers stronger. This method was their decision." Arcadios answered.

"That reminds me, how is Hisui doing?" Meliodas asked.

"I suspect she's the main reason for Fairy Tail being here. She did enjoy being in the company of your guild very much, despite the short time she was actually there." Arcadios answered. "I believe she will be coming to spectate the training later, but there are no guarantees with that due to her busy schedule. However the Minister of Defense will most certainly be spectating."

"Then we'll do our best to train these soldiers." Pantherlily added. Arcadios looked surprised at the talking cat.

"That reminds me, do any of you have any experience with training and teaching others?" Arcadios asked.

"I've trained fellow guild members before." Erza answered.

"I was previously the Royal Army Captain of the 1st Magic War Division in Edolas." Pantherlily answered. Arcadios raised an eyebrow at Pantherlily, surprised at his answer. 'A Royal Army Captain? This cat? But what even is Edolas?'

"It's a long story. I'm not from here." Pantherlily explained. "And I didn't always look like this."

Pantherlily's body suddenly began to grow, his short stature becoming taller and more muscular than even Arcadios.

"I-I see. That's quite the form." Arcadios commented. He glanced over at Meliodas, wondering what experience he would have.

"I'm in a similar situation with Pantherlily where I'm not from around here initially. But I did train the Holy Knights of both the kingdoms of Danafor and Liones." Meliodas said. Arcadios could not hide the visible surprise on his face. 'Danafor? Liones? Holy Knights? I've never heard of those. They don't appear to be lying to me so they must have come from some foreign land.' Arcadios furrowed his brow as he looked at Meliodas. 'He looks youthful, but his physical appearance most likely doesn't match his actual age, considering all of the things the council has said about him.'

"Well with all of that experience, teaching my soldiers should be easy." Arcadios said, regaining his composure. He cleared his throat before shouting loudly.

"SQUADRON!"

"YES SIR!" The soldiers in the room yelled as they immediately stopped what they were doing and faced Arcadios.

"These three Fairy Tail mages will be training you. They may be mages, but they are all very skilled in swordsmanship and fighting. I expect you to treat them with the same respect as you would treat me. I will be at a Chief's meeting with the other squadrons for the next couple of hours. That is all." Arcadios said.

"Yes sir!" The soldiers responded.

Arcadios turned to the Fairy Tail group and nodded at them before walking out of the hall. Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily looked at the soldiers as the soldiers gawked awkwardly at them.

"So these are the guys that are going to train us this weekend?" One of the soldiers said silently.

"That cat looks scary." Another soldier said, commenting on Lily still in his battle form.

"H-hey isn't that Titania?! I can't believe she's here!" Another soldier said.

"T-the one in the middle. Isn't he the Blond Demon?! I saw his poster before! He's a lot less scary in person."

Erza, Meliodas, and Pantherlily looked at each other and sighed.

"I don't think these guys have a lot of real battle experience." Meliodas commented as he glanced back at them, sizing them up.

"I suppose we'll just have to train them like new recruits." Pantherlily suggested.

"Leave it to me. I'll break them and build them back up. And I know just how to do it." Erza said with a determined gaze. Both Meliodas and Pantherlily took a step back as Erza stepped forward. She glared at the soldiers with a fierce gaze, with a few of the soldiers standing closer to her taking a step back.

"Quite the aura she gives off." Pantherlily mentioned. Meliodas nodded his head in approval.

"Listen up Cherry Blossom Squadron! As of today, I will be your new instructor! I hear from Arcadios that you've all been slacking on your training. I will not allow for such behavior. You are all a part of the royal army so there is no room for mediocrity. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Erza yelled, her voice echoing loudly throughout the training hall. The soldiers froze in place, dumbfounded and unable to respond.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Erza yelled. The soldiers immediately snapped out of their daze and got into the position of attention.

"AYE SIR!"