Family

"It was you! You're a mage, kid?"

The boss looked at Eleven, his eyes bloodshot. He was shaken, too. He hadn't expected one of the brats to be a mage. He had been far too careless.

"It's over."

Eleven was on the verge of breaking down, too. It wasn't because he was afraid of the boss's terrifying gaze; he hadn't paid it any attention.

"It's over. My psychic ability has been discovered again... They're going to send me back to the research institute..." From the depths of his memory, that woman's terrified expression surfaced before his eyes once more.

"No, don't..."

Eleven lay there, trembling all over with fear as he muttered under his breath.

The boss was rather pleased with himself. So what if the kid was a mage? He was just a brat, trembling in fear from a single look. With a few embellishments, the boss could brag about this for the rest of his life.

Even as he thought this, he didn't hesitate to act. The kid might be a brat, but a mage was trouble all the same. Better to finish him off. He pulled another dagger from somewhere and strode toward Eleven.

"Bastard! What are you doing?!"

Maria, who had just been cowering on the floor in terror, saw the man with the dagger turn his attention to a child. Somehow, she found the courage and strength to spring to her feet.

Thud.

Maria slammed into the boss so wildly that she knocked him to the floor.

"Fuck! You crazy woman, are you asking to die?"

The boss roared and kicked Maria in the stomach with a bang, sending her flying. He got to his feet and kicked her over and over, venting the savagery in his heart.

"Stop it, you bastard! Don't you dare bully Miss Maria!"

The first to react were the children who had just been gathered around Maria, led by Gouzi.

To these children, the nuns and priests at the orphanage were their only family. Even the most timid child couldn't bear to watch their parents being bullied.

Encouraged by the courage Maria had just shown, the children, their arms bound, sprang up one after another with loud cries and charged the bad man hurting her. Some were too clumsy to jump up, so they wriggled forward and opened their mouths wide to bite his feet.

The scene erupted into chaos. A mass of children piled onto the boss, pinning him beneath them. Seeing this, the other men hurried over to help, flustered and fumbling.

The children cried and shouted as they bit and rammed into the men, who yelled angrily but couldn't do anything about the slippery brats for the moment.

Eleven lay there, staring at the chaotic scene in a daze. Much of the fear in his heart had suddenly been swept away.

Why were they...

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, little Eleven~"

Maria had somehow shuffled over to Eleven. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were in disarray, and even the corner of her mouth was split and bleeding. Her usual dignified appearance was nowhere to be seen, but now her face was full of smiles. Facing Eleven, she gave him her brightest, warmest smile.

"I'll protect my children! There's nothing to be afraid of when we're all together!"

"Maria..."

"Hee-hee, we're family, aren't we?"

Family...

Looking at Maria's smile, Eleven felt a warm ray of sunshine reach straight into his empty heart, dispelling all the dark mist within it.

The terrified expression of the woman deep in his memory gradually grew blurry, replaced by Maria's warm smile before him, which took root in the softest place in his heart.

His psychic power fluctuated, sensing Maria's gentle feelings and the feelings of everyone at the orphanage as they acted without hesitation.

"So this is what family is?"

Tears were streaming down Eleven's face. He had lost count of how many times he had cried since being reborn. But he didn't hate crying. He felt that these scalding tears were proof that he, too, could have feelings.

"I'll protect my family too, even if... I have to go back to that place!"

Great waves of psychic power surged out, each vying to be first. Eleven's body floated into the air, and the ropes around him suddenly snapped apart.

His eyes flickered with a pale blue glow. Under Maria's astonished gaze, he slowly raised a little hand and waved it toward the group.

Almost at the same instant, all the burly men were flung away at once. Not a single child was caught up in it; the precision was perfect.

Boom!!!

The men were embedded in a neat row in the wall. Only the boss had it worse: he smashed straight through the wall and slid more than ten meters across the ground on his face before coming to a stop, his face a bloody mess.

What happened afterward was the city guards' job. Since none of the criminals were mages, no higher authorities were alerted.

After a round of questioning and investigation, Eleven and the others returned to the orphanage under the guards' admiring gazes.

Back at the orphanage, just as everyone was about to find their beds and go to sleep, Eleven seemed to remember something and made his way over to Gouzi's bed again.

"W-what do you want? Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're a mage!"

Startled by Eleven's sudden appearance, Gouzi spoke with a show of bravado.

Eleven stood in front of Gouzi, apparently thinking, making Gouzi a little uneasy.

"I'm sorry!"

Suddenly, Eleven bowed ninety degrees. His voice was loud and clear, and his manner was exceptionally sincere.

Eleven held the pose for three seconds, then turned and left.

"Huh?"

Eleven's action left Gouzi somewhat dumbfounded. He hurried after Eleven and pulled him to a stop.

"Wait, what was that supposed to mean? Why?"

Faced with Gouzi's questions, Eleven thought back hard and concluded that his entire apology had been perfect and by the book. Great job.

"Mm!"

So he gave Gouzi a firm nod and a thumbs-up 👍🏻.

"Ah~"

Gouzi slapped his forehead, finally realizing that the person in front of him might think a little differently. Come to think of it, what Eleven had said before might have been unintentional, and even though he was a mage, he hadn't used magic against Gouzi and the others back then. At that thought, Gouzi suddenly felt guilty.

"I... I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry I hit you before. We shouldn't have attacked you over one thing you said. I'm sorry."

Gouzi copied Eleven, bowing deeply at a ninety-degree angle and solemnly apologizing to him.

The dormitory fell silent for a moment. Everyone quietly watched Gouzi and Eleven.

Only then did Eleven realize: oh, so an apology required that much talking. He had to explain the reason clearly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry."

Eleven immediately apologized again, and the two of them bowed to each other face-to-face.

"Hahaha, you're really interesting. How about you become my little brother from now on? Brother Gou will have your back, and no one will dare bully you! Haha... ha... ah."

Gouzi straightened up, and seeing that the mood had improved, he immediately got carried away. He slapped Eleven hard on the shoulder and laughed. But when he saw Eleven's expressionless face that day, he immediately remembered that this guy was a mage! His smile gradually froze...

"Um... if you don't want to, pretend I didn't say anything. Haha... ha."

"Sure, Brother Gou."

Eleven had actually been thinking all along about what a little brother was. When he thought of the word "brother," a bright smile immediately appeared on his face.

"R-really?"

"Mm! From now on, I'm Brother Gou's little brother."

"Wahahaha, I'm so happy! Eleven, you're my number one little brother from now on! Hahaha, what are you guys sleeping for? Get up and celebrate!"

Gouzi seemed very excited. Like a madman, he pulled everyone around him out of bed, then dragged over the guys who had attacked Eleven earlier to apologize to him one by one. He jumped and hopped around, and the whole dormitory was as lively as a festival. Well... it was utter chaos...

Half an hour later, Maria stood at the dormitory door, looking at the mess inside and the children sprawled asleep together. She smoothed her hair and smiled from the heart.

For children, once the pain was gone, there was no hatred left. Eleven, even more so, didn't know what it meant to hold a grudge. Amid laughter and cheerful voices, the grievances surrounding little Eleven vanished just like that...