Rhode didn't explain for Lucy.
Because he really didn't know how to say it.
Should he tell Mr. Jude, 'hugging and cuddling are just a common thing; we've seen your daughter's naked body more than once'?
That would be outrageous.
So he chose to remain silent and gave the father and daughter space to talk slowly on their own.
More importantly, he needed to laugh with Mira for a while.
Rhode talked to Mira about Hayberion for a while. When Mebius wandered over halfway through, Rhode hurriedly called her over.
"First Generation, today when I used Fairy Radiance, did you feel anything amiss?"
Mebius tilted her head and thought for a bit: "You used it well, better than I expected in terms of power."
"That's the point!" Rhode exclaimed, "Why did it suddenly become so strong?"
Mebius' 'little wings' moved, showing an enlightened expression.
"Oh, are you trying to earn my praise?" She tried her best to make a mature smile, went on tiptoes, and tried to pat Rhode's head, "Rhode performed very well today~"
Rhode: "..."
This peculiar thought process, definitely deserving of our guild's First Generation President.
"I'm talking about the Magic Power being about the same as before, but the power is not normal."
Mebius thought seriously for a moment and said, "I thought you had mastered some technique, which made the gathered 'light' so strong... is it not?"
Rhode shook his head: "There's no special technique; this level of magic isn't something I can improve just because I want to.
"Being able to master some other Light Element magic during practice is already quite good... Speaking of, I had a similar feeling when I used Starlight Guardian before."
"Starlight?"
Rhode nodded: "Yeah, that move was inspired by Fairy Radiance. Originally, I wanted to try to guide some single light from sun, moon, and stars down separately for defense...
"But I found that sunlight is too aggressive, and guiding moonlight alone easily interferes with magic use. Only starlight is the most 'malleable', with relatively low difficulty in control, and can be both offensive and defensive.
"So in the end, I only researched starlight magic for defense, though there's a bit for attack magic too... Is it related to the starlight?"
Suddenly, a voice came: "Maybe so, because the King has said, 'May the starlight be your friend.'"
"Loki?" Rhode asked, "Where did you come from again?"
"Such an important event as the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, of course, I have to be present." Loki spread his hands, smiling, "I was going to fight for Lucy, but she didn't even summon me."
He casually teased Lucy and greeted the two beside him: "Good afternoon, President Mebius, and Mrs. Mirajane."
"Good afternoon~" Mira responded with a smile; today, Loki wasn't too annoying.
Mebius was still concerned about the magic: "What does that phrase mean?"
"'May the starlight be your friend'? That's the blessing the Star Spirit King gave to Rhode." Loki looked at Rhode, "Do you not know yourself? Didn't I tell you that day the Star Spirit King wanted me to deliver a thank you gift?"
Rhode was stunned for a moment: "That phrase is also part of the thank you gift?"
"Of course, what did you think it was?"
"..." Rhode paused, then replied, "I thought it was a friendly phrase—like saying the Star Spirit Realm would consider me a friend or something."
Loki laughed: "That kind of obvious thing, why would it need to be said explicitly?"
"Then why did you give a thumbs-up when I responded to that phrase?"
"You mean when you said, 'I also wish to be friends with the starlight'?" Loki imitated Rhode's tone from that time, capturing it perfectly.
After the imitation, he cheekily pushed up his glasses and said, "I also thought you were expressing friendliness, so I relayed it completely to the Star Spirit King."
You damn...
Rhode wanted to swear, thinking back to the scene at that time... embarrassing, it was so damn embarrassing!
Mira laughed happily; as long as it wasn't something serious, she never minded her husband's antics.
But after laughing, she remembered to ask, "What exactly is the effect of that blessing?"
"Probably makes it easier and more powerful to use magic related to starlight and Star Spirits," Loki said,
"The Star Spirit King decided to give you this gift after understanding our guild's Fairy Radiance, how is it, pretty brilliant, right?"
"Brilliant, very brilliant." Rhode smiled wryly.
Luckily, today, out of caution, he didn't add on a Crown of Embers, or Jura would suffer.
Overall, it's considered a good thing; Rhode reviewed the Starlight magic he knew, unintentionally becoming a bit stronger again.
He must practice these spells again when he has the time; he wouldn't want to be unaccustomed and not master the power when needed.
Loki messed around with everyone for a while and then took off; the girls in the guild were too familiar, not good targets, so he wanted to go out and enjoy the Royal Capital's splendor.
The other people scattered after two or three hours of revelry in the tavern.
Because of the matches tomorrow, enough rest time had to be ensured for the competitors.
Half-drunk and half-awake, Makarov showed no signs of regret while settling the bill, as given today's situation, 30 million was already within reach.
Teams A and B each returned to their designated inns.
Rhode watched them getting ready to take turns showering and said, "You guys rest; I need to head out for a bit."
Mira asked, "Is there something you haven't done?"
"Yes, remember the investigation task?" Rhode said, "I feel there's something odd about the hollow space beneath the arena, going to sneak over and check it out."
Laxus said, "We can go too."
"In this kind of matter, the fewer people the better." Rhode left a Flying Gate in the room and gave Warmth to Mira, "In case the organizers come up with something weird, contact me urgently, I'll come back immediately."
"Be careful." After all, it's related to Zeref; Mira still reminded him.
"Hmm." Rhode nodded, neither using the door nor the window, he pressed against the wall and went through directly.
——A Piercing Magic from the Ghosts of Twisted Jungle.
In the moment he passed through, Rhode was already shrouded by Alchemy Mist, concealing his presence.
A pair of wings appeared on his back, and it didn't take long to fly over the competition venue.
Below was still a bustling scene of construction, but the progress was alarmingly fast.
Less than half a day, there's only a well opening left of the big hole.
Rhode stared at those tools with strange appearances; it seems even the construction industry uses advanced Magic Tools now.
After a circle in the sky, he headed for a spot, drilling in according to the memory of the hollow space.
Inside was pitch dark, with sounds of construction from above. Rhode didn't light it up but went ahead blindly for a while.
Soon his foot stepped on something hard, feeling like tracks.
Rhode thought to himself: "Could this be a mine?"