Little Jiang Bai's Photos Exposed!

After saying that.

Without hesitation, Wendy unzipped her small backpack, quickly pulled out a whole stack of freshly washed and dried magical color photos, and slammed them onto the bar counter!

The photo at the very top is exceptionally clear and striking.

In the photo, Jiang Bai has shrunk to the size of a five or six-year-old child. His loose, oversized black robe trails on the ground, revealing a pair of chubby, pink little hands that are struggling to pull at the oversized collar.

That originally angular, handsome face with a nonchalant air of authority has been completely transformed in the photo into a fair-skinned, chubby, and adorable face with naturally round eyes.

The moment the photo landed on the wooden table at the bar, the entire guild hall, which had been in complete chaos, fell silent for half a second without warning.

Erza was carrying a large strawberry cake, paused at the table closest to the bar.

Erza put down her fork, walked to the bar, and casually picked up the top color photograph.

I looked down and stared intently.

Erza's originally serious and dignified face instantly melted away, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up as she uttered a heartfelt sigh.

"Oh my... isn't this Jiang Bai from when I was a kid? It really brings back so many memories."

Erza ran her slender fingers lightly along the edge of the photograph twice, then turned around and showed it to Mirajane was wiping stemmed glasses behind the bar.

"Mira, come and take a look. He looks exactly the same as when I first met him."

Mirajane, behind the bar, was originally sporting her signature business smile.

Mirajane froze on the spot when her gaze swept over the short-legged boy in the center of the photo, wrapped in a large black robe and struggling to pull at his collar with his two chubby little hands.

The glass slipped from her slender fingers and landed on the table with a clatter.

Mirajane slammed both hands on the bar counter, leaning half her body forward, her once gentle and clear blue-purple eyes suddenly bursting with dazzling light.

"Wait! Wendy!"

Mirajane's voice trembled slightly with barely suppressed urgency, his gaze fixed intently on the photograph.

"Where did this photo come from?!"

"This must be brand new photo paper, freshly developed! The magic developing solution hasn't even completely evaporated yet!"

As the guild's chief steward, Mirajane's familiarity with various magical materials far surpasses that of ordinary people, allowing her to discern the age of a photograph at a glance.

This is definitely not some old historical artifact dug out of some dusty drawer!

Wendy put her hands on her hips and tilted her head up proudly.

"Heh heh! This is the latest exclusive top-secret headline I personally captured in Sun Village!"

Under the astonished gazes of Mirajane and Erza, Wendy began to vividly recount the scene, pouring out her heart.

"We were investigating the Demon Ice in the village when suddenly a demon named Deliora, claiming to be created by the Book of Zeref, jumped out from the pile of rocks. He had a power switch-shaped mark on his forehead and unleashed a demonic curse called 'Curse of Regression'!"

"As a result, after that dark yellow light landed on Brother Jiang Bai, with a bang, Brother Jiang Bai instantly shrank into the appearance of a six or seven-year-old child!"

"Although Brother Jiang Bai said his power was weakened tenfold, his strength is still formidable. He even managed to break the curse in reverse, and transformed back to normal in less than half a minute!"

Wendy pointed at the photo, her little face beaming with pride.

"Luckily, I brought a portable magic camera with me. Before Brother Jiang Bai could come out of his special state, I snapped dozens of high-definition close-up shots from various angles!"

After hearing Wendy's account, the guild hall erupted in chaos.

"What?!"

"Jiang Bai was actually turned into a shrunken boy by the devil?!"

"Holy crap! Let me see this! This is some earth-shattering gossip that will go down in guild history!"

Whoosh!

The guild's rough-looking mages instantly swarmed in from all corners like sharks smelling blood.

Macao grabbed Wakaba's arm and pushed forward desperately. Natsu and Gray, who had just been fighting over lines, temporarily reached a truce and each craned their necks to peer out from behind the bar.

After all, Jiang Bai only shrunk for a short time and was surrounded by Lucy and Wendy, so they basically didn't see anything.

Dozens of large hands frantically scrambled to flip through the stack of photos on the table.

"Haha! That's amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

Macao was holding a candid photo of Jiang Bai's dark face as he slapped Lucy's paw away. The cigarette in his mouth almost fell onto his crotch. He was slapping his thigh and laughing uncontrollably.

"Good heavens! This kid usually acts all high and mighty in the guild, hands in his pockets, ignoring everyone. I've known him for almost ten years, and I never dreamed I'd see him looking so pathetic again!"

"Hey! Uncle, where did I get the short end of the stick?"

Chairman Makarov, sitting on a high stool, took a big gulp of ale, stroked his white mustache, and smiled so broadly that his face was covered in wrinkles that resembled a chrysanthemum.

"Hmm... I really miss it."

Makarov smacked his lips, his two short legs dangling leisurely in mid-air, and he initiated the elder statesman's memoir mode.

"I remember it very clearly. When Jiang Bai first joined the guild, he was only slightly taller than the bartender."

"He always has a chubby little face, and although he's more delicate and pretty than a little girl, he likes to imitate adults by putting his hands in his little robe and spending all his time in the top floor of the guild library reading ancient rune tomes."

"Back then, all the young ladies and wives in the guild would line up every day to try and coax him with malt candy and cream cakes, but he would coldly slap them all away with a ruthless little face. His little adult-like demeanor was just so endearing."

Wakaba exhaled a thick smoke ring and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"That's right, that's right! I remember it too! Back then, whenever Macao and I got drunk and wanted to rub his chubby cheeks, we'd inexplicably fall flat on our faces into a barrel of liquor. That kid definitely sabotaged it!"

Erza her arms over her breastplate, a gentle smile playing on her heroic brows, and nodded in strong agreement.

"That's true. Despite being so young, Jiang Bai already has that mature, old-fashioned personality."

As everyone pieced together memories of the past, the hall was filled with laughter and joy.

However, this is in stark contrast to the lively and nostalgic atmosphere surrounding it.

Mirajane, standing in the center of the bar, seemed completely shrouded in a thick layer of sorrow and gloom.

Clutching several photos tightly in both hands, Mirajane pressed them to her chest, and her once bright eyes instantly filled with large, crystal-clear tears of extreme grievance.