A place to live

"Ugh, my head hurts so much..."

The next morning, Eleven discovered that he had been sleeping under the table. He struggled to get up, feeling unwell, and his hazy Memories began to return.

He remembered... he seemed to have tried to get Cana drunk yesterday.

Then, seeing how happily Cana was drinking, and not wanting to lose face, he reluctantly joined Cana in drinking as well.

I have absolutely no recollection of what happened after that.

Eleven clutched his forehead, his head throbbing, and looked around, trying to retrieve his lost Memories.

I remember Cana, she seems to be...

Thinking of Cana, Eleven instinctively looked in the direction of Cana voice, only to be stunned and sobered up instantly.

"Kana... Cana! What are you doing?"

Thirteen-year-old Cana sat on the table, holding a wine barrel larger than herself and gulping it down. Around her were countless unscrupulous middle-aged men who had already been drunk. Some of the stronger drinkers, such as Makarov Gildarts, sang drinking games to entertain her, acting like her lackeys.

What the heck? When did Cana become a middle-aged boss?

Cana, who was drinking over there, heard Eleven's voice, put down her beer barrel, turned around, and saw Eleven's jaw drop in astonishment. She immediately smiled sweetly.

"Hahaha, Eleven, you look so stupid! Have you lost your mind? Hahaha!" He finished speaking and then let out a burp with a flushed face.

"Uh..." Eleven opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

Seeing that Eleven couldn't utter a word for a while, Cana stopped paying attention to him and turned back to drinking with the president and the others, hugging the barrels of liquor. It's really hard to imagine how such a small body could hold so much alcohol.

Eleven watched Cana skillfully playing drinking games with Gildarts, a strange pain shot through his chest. He felt as if his beloved little darling was drifting further and further away.

Why did I make Cana drink?

Cana! I'm so sorry!

Eleven knelt on the ground, slamming his fists into the earth, tears of regret streaming down his face.

Drinking alcohol doesn't seem like such a serious problem!

After kneeling on the ground and acting out a tragic role for half a day, Eleven finally gradually sobered up from his drunken stupor and realized that it didn't seem like such a big deal after all!

Who says girls can't drink heavily? Who says drinking and bragging is a male prerogative? (I'm so angry and cold!)

Anyway, Cana was drinking with Gildarts, so let's just say they were having a father-daughter bonding session, which is a good thing! Hmm, I seem to have unintentionally done another good deed, I'm so great!

Eleven stood up again and regained his confident and composed demeanor. Instead of feeling disappointed, he was inexplicably a little smug. His emotions fluctuated so rapidly that even he couldn't keep up.

Eleven glanced at Cana and the others, who were still having a great time drinking, then turned and walked out of the guild. He'd been inexplicably drunk by Cana yesterday, and hadn't even reported the good news of his successful S-Class advancement to Maria —it was really inexcusable.

However, Eleven's first stop was not the orphanage, but the girls' dormitory.

Of course, Eleven wasn't going to spy on anyone or look for anyone; he was looking for a place to stay—no, wait! Actually, he didn't know where the boys' dormitory was, only the way to the girls' dormitory, so he planned to go to the girls' dormitory to ask for directions.

Eleven is already 15 years old, the age to leave the orphanage. He and Maria have made a promise that once he becomes S-Class, it will be time to move out of the orphanage. So Eleven plans to arrange his future food, clothing, and shelter before returning to the orphanage, not wanting Maria to worry about him in the end.

"What? Our guild doesn't have a boys' dormitory?" Eleven looked at Erza in surprise at the entrance of the girls' dormitory.

Erza shrugged and continued explaining, "There used to be one, but I heard it was burned down because Natsu and Gray were fighting! Later, it seems that since not many people lived there, the guild master decided not to rebuild it."

Eleven:(ㅍ_ㅍ)

Damn it, those two brats!

"But if we don't build dormitories, where do Natsu and Gray live now? I remember they used to live in dormitories, right?" Although Eleven was angry, he couldn't help but worry about the two boys.

Erza, as expected of the guild's junior manager, seemed to know everything and was very willing to answer the questions of the ignorant Eleven: "Gray went to the city to find someone to share a room with, while Natsu went to live in the forest with Happy. It seems that the two of them found an abandoned hut there and moved in."

Eleven:(ㅍ_ㅍ)

He was at a loss for words. It really sounded like something Natsu would do—just casually moving into an abandoned cabin in the forest. Most people couldn't do that.

After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Erza, Eleven walked towards the orphanage with a melancholy expression. He still hadn't solved anything. But it was getting late, so he decided to head back and figure something out later. After all, he was S-Class Mage; surely he wouldn't be stumped by a place to stay.

"Maria! I'm back!" Eleven grinned again as he entered the orphanage.

No matter what difficulties or dangers he faced outside, Eleven always returned to the orphanage with a smile on his face, never bringing his negative emotions home.

"Oh, Eleven, welcome home." Maria came out of the inner room with a smile, wiping the water off her hands and clothes as she walked, clearly having just finished washing clothes and cooking.

"Maria, I've successfully advanced to S-Class Mage!" Eleven couldn't wait to take two steps forward and show off to Maria, acting like a child who hadn't grown up yet.

"Yes, yes, I knew it! Our Eleven is the best!" Maria excitedly grabbed Eleven's arm, happy for him.

In fact, Maria already knew about Elvin's successful advancement long before Eleven return, almost simultaneously with the information from the older guys in the guild. Don't be fooled by the orphanage's lack of resources; it's teeming with idle, restless kids. All sorts of strange rumors circulate daily, and if Maria wanted to, she could easily be Magnolia's biggest intelligence source. Something like Eleven becoming S-Class was hardly a secret; it was spread back to the orphanage in no time by those freeloading brats in the guild.