Despite having her head held down, the little girl was just as happy: "Big brother, it's me, don't you remember? I'm Jimmy!"
Elfman suddenly hooked his arm around Rhode's neck, speaking with an unfriendly tone: "Who is this, 'big brother'?"
Unexpectedly, Jimmy looked at Elfman and was even more delighted: "Muscle big brother!"
"Muscle…" Elfman was a bit confused, "What?"
Rhode elbowed Elfman: "She said muscle big brother."
"Don't you remember?" Jimmy realized maybe too much time had passed and started counting on her fingers to give hints, "About 7 years ago, Galanotos Snow Mountain, the clumsy siblings, and Laban…"
Elfman suddenly realized: "Ah! You're the little girl who ran up the snow mountain to gather herbs!"
Rhode also struggled a lot to finally see a bit of familiarity on her face, was she even ten back then? Couldn't recognize her at all now.
This time when Jimmy rushed over, Rhode didn't stop her and, together with Elfman, gave her a hug: "The little girl with a runny nose has grown up so much."
Jimmy stomped her foot, blushing: "I didn't have a runny nose, it was just too cold on the snow mountain!"
This statement seemed a bit contradictory, but Rhode didn't expose her, just laughed: "By chance, Mr. Calute came by our guild this morning."
"Dad?" Jimmy was stunned for a moment, "Is this near Magnolia?"
Elfman asked, puzzled: "You don't even know where you are?"
"Because, because I was near my home when I got ambushed…" Jimmy was a bit embarrassed, "Seems like I was saved by big brother again this time."
Rhode pointed at Gajeel: "Though I rescued you, the one who undid the magic is lying over there."
"Ah!" Jimmy suddenly remembered she just attacked a fierce-looking person.
She picked up her Candy Cane Magic Staff, intending to dispel the magic, when she noticed Gajeel's face again.
She halted her movements, shuffled over to Rhode and whispered: "Is he really not a member of Raven's Tail?"
Rhode thought for a moment: "If you really want to say, I guess he counts."
Jimmy immediately pointed her staff at Gajeel's head: "I knew he was a bad guy!"
Gajeel's expression crumbled and he fiercely shouted towards Jimmy and Rhode: "Who are you calling a bad guy!? And you, jerk, that's enough!"
Rhode patted Jimmy's head covered in a fluffy hat: "Seeing him so lively, no need to dispel anything for him."
Gajeel glared at Rhode, then took a deep breath, and several iron spikes sprouted from his shoulders and arms.
The crystal binding him cracked in lines and then shattered.
Gajeel jumped up and pointed at Rhode: "Bastard, come and duel with me!"
"Alright." Rhode, holding a golden Magic Ball in his left hand, beckoned at Gajeel with his right.
Gajeel, as if possessed by Natsu, charged angrily: "Iron Dragon Staff!"
Rhode reached out and grabbed the tip of the Iron Rod. Gajeel tried hard to extend it but couldn't make Rhode move an inch, only causing his own feet to dig deeper into the ground.
"Watch your head."
Rhode reminded him, and as Gajeel looked up, he saw a small mountain crashing down.
With a thud, Gajeel fell to the ground, only his limbs were twitching outside.
Marcus complained: "What the heck, it ended too quickly!"
The others jeered: "Yeah, we hadn't even started our bets yet!"
Li Li shook his head: "Gajeel, looks like our training needs to continue."
"Alright, back to the guild everyone!" Rhode called out, then suddenly remembered something and took out a Great Saber from his change space and tossed it to Li Li, "A gift for you, consider it an apology. Gajeel is in your hands."
"A sword?" Li Li transformed into a muscle leopard form and precisely grabbed the hilt.
As soon as he got the sword in his hand, he felt a sense of familiarity: "Can it change size? This suits me perfectly, thanks!"
The group of people exuberantly returned to the guild, and Jimmy now realized that Gajeel probably just looked fierce.
She asked worriedly: "Is it okay to use that kind of magic?"
"It's fine, he's just an iron lump, very durable." Rhode handed the strange creature in his hand to the President for research, introducing Mira to Jimmy, "This is my fiancée Mirajane, also Elfman's—'muscle big brother's' sister."
"Miss Mirajane!" Jimmy exclaimed happily, "You're even more beautiful in person than in magazines! I've always wanted to be as pretty as you!"
"Thank you, Jimmy is very cute too," Mira smiled, "Your dad mentioned this morning that you've joined Rays of the Rising Sun?"
"Yes!" Jimmy nodded, proudly extending a hand, "This is our guild's emblem!"
The emblem of Rays of the Rising Sun is somewhat special, several blue-green zigzag lines represent water ripples, with a red sun just rising above the sea.
Other guilds often use solid colors, and each member can choose their own color. But their emblem is multicolored with a fixed color scheme that cannot be changed.
From the name to the guild emblem, everything reveals the uniqueness of the New School Mage Guild, indicating that they don't play by the rules.
The first time everyone saw this kind of emblem, they were curious for a moment.
Fairy Tail is very accepting of things with personality, and some people were already thinking about getting themselves an iridescent emblem.
Anyway, there are no strict rules about these things.
Rhode said: "I heard you had good results in this year's Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, and your guild president is also very strong."
"Yes, everyone is amazing, but unfortunately, I'm still a newbie and didn't get a chance to participate." Jimmy was a bit regretful, "Next year, I will definitely work hard! By the way, will big brother participate next year?"
"Maybe?" Rhode wasn't sure; he thought he might be bullying if he went, but he'd see how things were then.
He heard the competition prize was quite high, so if the guild's finances and reputation were still an issue by then, it wouldn't hurt to show off a bit.
While talking, they quickly returned to the guild.
Makarov was a bit interested in Rhode's magic: "How does this look so much like a Fairy's Ball?"
"Hmm, it's like a super, super, super simplified version of a Fairy's Ball. It doesn't qualify as an Absolute Defense and doesn't have the effect of freezing time and space, just a pretty good Defense Magic."
"Feels like a Demon, and seems to have a hint of Zeref's aura; if not handled properly, it might be dangerous." Makarov returned the item to Rhode, planning to ask Ivan about it.
"Mr. Ivan… doesn't seem to know the true nature of this thing either." Rhode tapped the Magic Ball, the little thing inside acting fearlessly.
Too arrogant, it made one want to hit it with Fairy Radiance.
Rhode thought for a moment and then said: "Maybe I'll show it to Mira later."