From the moment the master returned, Jax started doing jobs once again. He was still doing his best to improve and develop his magical power. As such, beginning from April until July, Jax completed an extreme amount of S-rank jobs released by the kingdoms. Either taking down dangerous beasts, rescuing nobles or escorting the royal family, he did all kinds of jobs for the country.
However, in the middle of July, as Jax was leaving for another mission, he met a poor girl begging for food from a merchant who merely kicked her aside.
Seeing this, Jax couldn't help but go forwards and help the girl. He had a lot of money and often gave some to orphanages in the past six months. Gradually, it became customary for him to help children who hadn't had his chance to be rescued by other people. So, seeing this, he went ahead to help the girl.
Walking to her side, Jax helped the girl get up. Giving her a quick look, he couldn't help but frown. She wore a dirty, patched dress and didn't have any shoes. Her messy light blue hair covered her face as she didn't look up as she was slightly trembling under Jax's touch. As he felt her hand as he lifted her, Jax could tell that she hadn't eaten for a long time as he couldn't see any muscles on the girl.
Turning towards the merchant and buying two pieces of bread, he took the girl's hand and walked to a small bench not far from him.
Taking one of the two loaves of bread he had just bought, he gave it to her. "Here, eat this." He said in a gentle voice.
Seeing the girl start to eat, Jax smiled slightly and sat silently next to her as she ate rapidly.
"So, can you tell me your name?" Asked Jax as he looked at the girl who was looking at the second piece of bread in his hand.
"I'm Sorano." Said the girl in a small voice as she kept staring at the food in front of her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jax." He answered while handing out the food in his hand.
"Do you have any family with you?" He asked again as he tried to understand her situation. He could feel some magical power in her. So, if she didn't have anywhere to go, he would bring her back to Fairy Tail.
"I'm looking for my sister. She is called Yukino. You wouldn't know her would you?" Asked the girl as she took a moment to answer in between two mouthfuls of food.
"No, I never heard of someone of that name." Answered Jax as he shook his head.
"I see. I don't think she is in this town so. I'll leave soon and look somewhere else." Added the girl with a faint sight.
"Well, before that, let me help you out a bit." Smiled Jax as he took her hand.
The two spent the afternoon together as Jax helped her buy new clothes and had her take a bath in the public bath while he waited at the exterior. He could tell that the girl went through a lot, and he helped her on a whim. Anyway, he had time to waste before starting his next mission.
In this way, the two spent a week together. They spoke a lot together and they learned a lot about each other. Jax had to wait for the client to arrive while Sorano was looking for her sister. He used this time to bring her back to her feet and help her take a few pounds, not to be only bones.
A week later, the two of them parted ways as Sorano left for another city while Jax's mission client had arrived in town. However, before they did, Sorano gave Jax one of the few pictures she had of her sister, asking him to look for her during his travels while she promised to keep a look at the golden celestial spirit keys, something he was searching for.
---
At the beginning of August X777, while Jax returned from a job, he met a woman on the road. However, that typical encounter that shouldn't have been spectacular was broken when the woman called out to him.
"Are you Jax from Fairy Tail?" Asked the woman as she called with a hopeful tone.
"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?" Asked Jax as he turned and stared at the women who didn't release strong magical power. He was quite surprised that she had managed to recognize him.
"My name is Grammi, and I just came back from the Alvarez empire. I heard that you were strong. I want to request you to bring back my daughter, her name is Brandish U, and she is ten years old. The Alvarez empire wants to train her to become one of their members, and she was forcefully taken away from me. I know that you are collecting celestial keys, and I would pay you with the Aquarius key." Said the woman in one go as she showed the golden celestial key to Jax. She wasn't scared that he would steal it since she had a contract with the spirit, and Jax wouldn't be able to make use of it even if he got it.
As Jax was planning on rejecting since the Alvarez empire was an enemy of the entire continent, and it was equally dangerous to go over there, Jax threw his rejection out the window the moment he saw the key.
"Sure, I'll go and bring her back. Do you have a picture or something so that I can identify her?" Asked Jax as he kept looking at the key intently.
"Yes, here." Nodded the woman as she showed the picture to Jax. She was surprised that he would quickly agree the moment he saw the key. However, it didn't matter as she only wanted to get her daughter back.
"Alright, where do I meet you when I found your daughter?" Asked Jax as he looked at the woman.
"I'll wait for you here if it takes less than a month." Answered the greened-haired mother.
"Alright, I'll be back as soon as possible." Nodded Jax as he made his way towards the Alvarez empire. Of course, he didn't forget to contact the master to inform him of the job he received.
---
In this way, two weeks rapidly passed, Jax entered and searched for his mission's target. He didn't bother wondering whether the girl he was planning on saving was the women's daughter. After all, no one would offer a golden celestial spirit key for the kidnapping of someone.
Finally, after searching for a long time, he found the girl in the Alvarez empire center. At that time, she was alone, learning how to control her magical power.
Confirming that there wasn't anyone near her, Jax appeared next to Brandish U, a girl a bit younger than himself.
"Who are you?" Asked the girl as Jax could see her getting on her guard.
"Pardon me, are you Brandish U? Do you know someone called Grammi?" Asked Jax as he stayed far from the girl to let her calm down.
"Yes, I am, and she is my mother." Answered the girl as she frowned, wondering how he could know them both.
"I see. I was asked by your mother to come and bring you back to her. She said something about the Alvarez empire taking you forcefully from her." Added Jax as he once again confirmed that his surroundings were clear.
"Impossible, my mother is dead." Said the girl a bit louder while some tears flew down from her eyes.
Frowning, Jax used his nature magic to create a lifelike statue of the women who gave him the mission. "Is this your mother?" He asked while sending the figure towards the girl with air magic.
Catching the piece of wood sent by the boy in front of her, Brandish looked carefully and slowly nodded after seeing that the statue was a perfect replica of her mother. "Yes, she is my mother." She answered as she looked at Jax with teared-filled eyes.
"In that case, your mother is still alive since I saw her two weeks ago, and she sent me here to get you. She is paying me with the celestial key of Aquarius." Jax added as he tried to make her believe him.
"She's paying you with the Aquarius key?" Repeated the girl while her eyes gradually became larger. "Alright, can you bring me to her?" Asked the girl as she immediately got up from her chair and came closer to Jax. Her eyes were filled with enthusiasm as she learned that her mother was still alive, contrary to what the Alvarez empire told her.
"Yes, let's go right now. It's better to leave while no one noticed us, or it would get complicated." Answered Jax as he took her with his air magic and used light magic to hide their bodies by reflecting the light. He was quite shocked at the speed she believed him. However, comsidering the few proofs he had and she seemed like the kind of person who would trust anyone easily, she followed him without complaining.
In this way, three days later, they both arrived back at Fiore, and Jax managed to complete the mission, granting him his first golden celestial spirit key.
"Thank you for the help, Jax." Said Brandish U as she saw Jax ready to leave.
"No problem. Also, since you have such powerful magic, if you want to continue training it, feel free to come and join the Fairy Tail guild in Magnolia. It is the guild I am in." Smiled Jax as he petted Brandish's green hair with his hand while looking at her mother, who gave him the job.
"If you don't have any place to go and Brandish wants to come, feel free to come to Fairy Tail as well. I heard from the master that we are always looking for new workers in the guild."
"Thank you. I don't know for Brandish, but now I have to go and see my previous employer and explain to her why I don't have the key anymore." Answered Grammi with a weak smile on her face.
"I see. In that case, I hope you have a good day." Smiled Jax as he slightly bowed his head as he turned around and flew in the direction of Magnolia.
--- Author note
I'll be honest here; these chapters completely bore me. So, I'll speed up the pace by doing skips since nothing happens and only summarize everything that happened.