"Can I take Aria with me?"
After chatting a bit with Moen and Makarov, Totomaru looked toward Aria lying on the ground. The burly man was already barely breathing.
"This guy was about to let Jose Porla hunt you down, and you still want to take him with you?"
Moen looked at Totomaru, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
"We worked together once. At the very least, I want a clear conscience."
Totomaru let out a sigh. No matter what, he could not bring himself to abandon Aria here. Bringing Aria, Sol, and Gajeel back this could be considered the final thing he did for Phantom Lord.
After doing this, he could stand tall and say that he had absolutely not betrayed Phantom Lord. No one would be able to refute that.
"This guy…"
Looking at Aria, Moen narrowed his eyes, killing intent overflowing.
"You can take him with you, but what he did today will be reported to the Magic Council. The punishment he deserves, he won't be able to escape."
Before Moen could speak, Makarov opened his mouth first. Totomaru fell silent for a moment, then nodded resignedly.
Aria's final bout of madness truly went too far. They came here to challenge Moen, not to slaughter indiscriminately.
"Buzz!"
Moen removed the ice sealing Sol. This guy had been frozen badly, his body was extremely stiff, and he had temporarily lost the ability to move.
Four people in total, three adults and one child. Totomaru carried one under each arm. Gajeel had already awakened, saving him some trouble.
As for Gajeel's situation, Totomaru had no authority to decide. The child himself did not want to stay. The way Gajeel looked at Moen was as if he were staring at a devil—no matter what, he refused to remain in Fairy Tail.
"Look at how badly you scared him."
Makarov shook his head and complained. He had seen Moen's methods, this would likely leave a very deep psychological shadow on the child.
"Some people just need to be slapped hard a few times."
Moen spoke calmly. He did not feel there was anything wrong with what he had done. When friends come, there is good wine; when jackals come, there are hunting rifles. If you're not ruthless with enemies who come looking for trouble, how can that work?
Even if Gajeel was still a child, so what?
If one really had to say it, Moen himself was still a child as well!
Gajeel followed Totomaru away trembling, completely different from his arrogant and domineering manner when he first arrived. It was as if he had become a different person.
The Crimson Poison Needle Brand Personality Corrector truly lived up to its reputation.
This experience would definitely affect Gajeel's personality. It was just unclear whether the influence would be positive or negative.
But Moen felt that it should not be worse than the influence Phantom Lord would have had on him.
Totomaru left with the others, announcing the failure of Phantom Lord's challenge. The onlooking crowd cheered happily, and the citizens of Magnolia all felt a deep sense of pride.
The reporters were delighted as well, there was more news to write. The story between Moen, Jose Porla, and Phantom Lord was practically like a serialized drama, continuously providing them with material.
Of course, the sensation caused by Moen's new work The Great Detective Folmos was also not small. A large group of people were waiting to interview Moen.
But Moen had no time for them, he was busy doing missions.
"Juvia…"
Looking at the newcomer Juvia surrounded by several girls, Moen's expression was extremely complicated as he glanced at his mission panel. This was a mission triggered earlier when fighting the "Three Elements."
[Mission Name: "Defeat the Four Elements!"
Mission Content:
Those Phantom Lord bastards showed no martial virtue and launched a sneak attack. The "Four Elements" have arrived. Their strength is formidable, and their abilities are complex, causing no small amount of trouble for everyone. Defeat them single-handedly and let them witness the power of Fairy Tail!
Mission Progress:
Defeat the Four Elements.
"Four Elements of Air" Aria: 1/1 (Completed)
"Four Elements of Earth" Sol: 1/1 (Completed)
"Four Elements of Fire" Totomaru: 1/1 (Completed)
"Four Elements of Water" Juvia: 0/1 (Incomplete)
Mission Reward: Random Silver Saint Armor.]
Looking at the "Four Elements of Water" Juvia in the mission list, Moen did not hesitate at all and directly locked onto the target.
There was no need to think, this had to be the "Rain Girl" Juvia whom he had brought back to Fairy Tail. Her ability and name both matched.
Moreover, thinking about it carefully, the village chief had also said that he had issued a request to Phantom Lord. Their village was originally very close to Phantom Lord, so it was normal that Phantom Lord would accept the request.
'That is to say, if I hadn't been here, Juvia would have been taken away by Phantom Lord, turning the Three Elements into the Four Elements.'
This was actually very reasonable and did not feel like something the system made up randomly. Moen accepted this explanation. In any case, that would have been another timeline. Here, Juvia was already one of theirs.
Just earlier, Erza had stamped the Fairy Tail guild mark onto Juvia's left thigh. It was water-blue, almost the same color as her hair.
Juvia Lockser had now officially become a member of Fairy Tail.
"The problem is, how am I supposed to defeat her?"
Moen let out a sharp "tss," feeling a bit of toothache. If Juvia were an enemy, that would actually be easier to deal with. But Juvia was one of their own and he also knew that Juvia basically didn't know how to fight using magic at all. How was he supposed to defeat her under those circumstances?
"Alright, everything's registered. You all take Juvia to the dormitory. Let Granny Hilda help get her settled."
After completing the procedures, Aero smiled and spoke to Erza, Cana, Levy, Wendy, and the others, asking them to bring the newly arrived young lady to the dorms. The dormitory supervisor, Granny Hilda, would take care of the rest.
"Okay! Sister Aero!"
Erza responded immediately and took the lead. She looked at the somewhat timid Juvia and very straightforwardly grabbed the bag from Juvia's hands. Her movements were more like snatching it away, startling Juvia badly.
However, Juvia was extremely obedient. The moment Erza grabbed it, she immediately let go, showing no intention of resisting at all.
"Erza, be a little gentler!"
Cana and Levy complained from the side. Erza was always full of momentum—refreshingly straightforward, yes, but also very easy to scare people.
Especially timid girls. When Wendy first arrived, she was often frightened by Erza's brisk and forceful manner.
"Big Sister Juvia, what kind of magic do you use?"
Wendy stood beside Juvia and asked softly.
For some reason, Wendy seemed to find a sense of similarity in Juvia. Both of them seemed a bit timid. Juvia shrinking in on herself, looking nervous, was far too obvious. Wendy felt as if she were seeing her own self when she had just joined the guild.
"Brother Moen said it's water magic, but I don't know how to use it yet…"
Facing the curious, adorable little Wendy, Juvia gathered her courage and answered softly as well.
Wendy's obviously younger age greatly reduced Juvia's sense of wariness. This child was simply too lovable.
"Are you two talking to mosquitoes or something?"
Carla, listening from beside them, rolled her eyes repeatedly and couldn't help complaining. With Juvia arriving, Wendy had finally found a kindred spirit. The two of them huddled together whispering nonstop, just like two mosquitoes constantly buzzing.
"S-s-sorry!"
Carla's words immediately made Juvia apologize to her. Juvia kept sneaking glances at Carla, clearly extremely curious about this cat who walked upright and could talk.
"You don't really need to apologize. Honestly, you should try to be a bit more open, you know? Don't be like Wendy!"
Carla wiped her face, feeling utterly exhausted. She felt like she had just encountered a second Wendy. Could it be that if Wendy grew up a few more years, she would turn into this? Please, anything but that!
"W-woo… I'm sorry, Carla. I'll try my best."
Carla's words didn't just make Juvia lower her head further, they also made Wendy bow her head and apologize as well. She felt like she had let Carla down.
"…I really don't know what to do with you two."
Carla let out a long breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"Carla! Eat fish!"
However, before Carla's blood pressure could drop even a little, a blue cat holding a fish suddenly popped up right in front of her.
"Go away!"
Carla instantly bristled and shouted at the blue cat.
"Aye?"
Happy froze on the spot, completely dumbfounded.
"Carla's mouth is really sharp."
Moen walked over, picked Happy up, and placed him on his shoulder, then casually complained to the bristling Carla.
"He's just too annoying!"
Carla looked at Moen and pouted.
"Aye! Doesn't Carla like eating fish?!"
Standing on Moen's shoulder, Happy finally reacted. But he didn't think Carla was annoyed with him, he thought she simply didn't like fish, which made him feel a little dejected.
"Carla is a proper little lady. She likes drinking tea and eating cake. Of course a girl wouldn't like it if you brought over a raw fish."
Moen turned his head and smiled as he explained to Happy on his shoulder. Happy's expression was blank and confused. He had only learned to talk not long ago, asking him to understand things like this was indeed a bit difficult.
That said, this guy had only just learned how to speak and was already bringing fish to female cats. Even after being scolded, he showed no discouragement at all. He truly had the talent of a first-rate simp, walking down the wrong path at such a young age.
Moen complained internally a few times, then set Happy down, letting the kid dash off to look for Natsu.
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