The Werewolf Legend of the Harvest Festival

Days passed by, and soon Magnolia welcomed another Harvest Festival.

Eleven strolled down the street, enjoying the city's cheerful atmosphere, but that was all. The blissful state he felt last year was gone.

Even when he released his Spiritual Power to cover the entire Magnolia and received the mental fluctuations of the whole city, he did not generate the same "happy energy" as last year.

It was as if his soul had successfully upgraded and reached saturation, no longer needing this energy. Although this joyful atmosphere made Eleven feel comfortable and his Spiritual Power relaxed, it did not improve his strength.

Eleven was quite disappointed with this situation; he had thought he could reap the rewards of the annual Harvest Festival without lifting a finger.

There are indeed no shortcuts to improving one's strength; perhaps the previous situation was just an exception.

Eleven smacked his lips and quickly gave up. Since he couldn't have fun on the street, he might as well go home.

The orphanage remained the same, almost unchanged from three years ago. However, under Maria's direction, the ground in front of the gate had become much cleaner and would no longer become muddy after rain.

Eleven, who Great Demon King all day in the guild, immediately transforms into Maria's little angel the moment he returns to the orphanage, giving Maria a big, beaming hug.

Maria was happy to be close to the child, so she took the opportunity to hug Eleven and pat his head.

"You're thirteen years old and still acting like a spoiled child, aren't you ashamed?" A gruff voice interrupted the heartwarming scene.

Eleven turned around and saw a burly young man standing behind him, looking at him with a half-smile. Although the young man looked very tall, his face still had a childlike innocence, and he looked like he had just turned fifteen.

"Hey hey hey, Brother Gou, how are you?" Eleven lit up with a smile as he greeted the newcomer.

"What a load of rubbish! You think you're some kind of noble lord?" Brother Gou rolled his eyes at Eleven, who was still clinging to Maria.

The newcomer was none other than the Gouzi who led the beating up of Eleven back then. The dim-witted kid who used to drag Eleven along as his underling had now reached adulthood and become independent.

By the way, the Gouzi Boy" isn't called "Gouzi " anymore; he's an adult now and can't use such an inappropriate name anymore. So he named himself " Doug."

Although the meanings seem similar, it sounds much more sophisticated, and Doug said he was very satisfied with his taste in naming his child.

However, apart from Maria, who respected his new name, the other children in the orphanage completely ignored it and called him whatever they wanted. As a result, the boy's new name never got promoted, which frustrated him for a long time.

Eleven didn't mind being scolded by Brother Gou, and still had a smiling expression, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes when he looked at Dog Brother, because Brother Gou was already fifteen years old this year.

The orphanage can only house children until they are fifteen years old, after which they must fend for themselves and the orphanage will no longer provide any assistance.

This means that Brother Gou will be leaving the orphanage this year, perhaps in the days following the Harvest Festival.

This was the first time Eleven had experienced someone close to him leaving him. Although Brother Gou hadn't died, he was still very sad.

Eleven still has deep feelings for Brother Gou; he truly considers him like an older brother. Although Laxus is the same age as Brother Gou, Eleven only sees him as a partner, a rival, and a childish Brother Gou who's always eyeing his Demon King title.

Even though Brother Gou is no match for Laxus, in Eleven's mind he's still better than Laxus, though he doesn't know why he's better, he just has a kind of blind worship.

"Doug, did you go out again today?" Maria released Eleven and looked at Doug with some concern.

"Yes, there's still a lot to prepare. Thank you for your trouble."

Doug scratched his head sheepishly and quickly responded to Maria. Unlike Eleven, he wasn't shameless. Having grown up in an orphanage, he had never been able to adapt to Maria's gentle care and always felt somewhat lost.

Maria smiled but didn't say much. She had gradually gotten used to watching these children who had grown up under her nose leave the orphanage. Although she was very reluctant, she knew that providing too much help would only harm these children who would have to fend for themselves in the future.

Doug seemed busy too; he made an excuse and hurriedly ran off.

Watching the boy's departing figure, Maria and Eleven sighed simultaneously.

Maria saw Eleven sighing and groaning, patted his head affectionately, and said nothing, telling him he'd get used to it.

Eleven knew there was nothing he could do; people eventually have to be independent. One day he would leave the orphanage, and then he wouldn't want everyone to worry about him.

"By the way, Eleven has a favor to ask you!"

Just as Maria and Eleven were looking at each other in silence, Maria seemed to suddenly remember something, shouted, and instinctively slammed her fist into Eleven's head.

"Um, Maria, what's wrong?" Eleven clutched his head, looking at Maria with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Eleven!" Maria realized her hand had slipped and quickly reached out to rub Eleven's head, explaining as she did so, "Eleven, I need to ask you to investigate something. Something terrible has appeared at our orphanage."

"Something terrible?" Eleven turned serious.

"Hmm, it seems, it seems there are werewolves lurking around our orphanage!" Maria looked somewhat frightened, looking earnestly at Eleven.

"Huh? A werewolf? Really?" Eleven was also shocked! Another legendary species, just ran out like that, how could it be so casual?

Maria nodded seriously. "It should be true. Although I didn't see it myself, many children saw it. They saw a werewolf standing in the orphanage yard at night."

Is anyone injured?

"No, the children said the werewolf was just walking around in the yard, and no one dared to go out and make contact with it, so no one has been hurt yet."

Eleven was completely bewildered. He trusted Maria completely; if Maria said it existed, it must exist. But what was a notorious werewolf doing wandering around the orphanage? Were legendary monsters all so carefree?

Wait, legendary? On par with that unicorn...

When you think of an orphanage, the first thing that comes to mind is children, and when you think of children, you think of cute little girls...

Could it be...?