[Stop peeking into my thoughts! Otherwise, even if you’re a child, I’ll still get angry!]
[Don’t worry, my ability has limits too. I can only hear thoughts within a hundred meters. Right now, I’m merely using conversational telepathy. If you pay close attention, you can sever the connection from your side, but you haven’t learned that technique yet, Erza, so you can’t refuse me.]
[…I see. Then I’ll learn it as soon as possible! Wait, the guild members aren’t listening right now, are they?!]
[No, this is our private conversation. Don’t be angry, Sister.]
[Fine. Actually, I’m not that angry, but I really do have a lot of secrets I can’t let others know. Aibo, you’ll respect that, right?]
[Of course. I won’t tell anyone your secrets, Erza.]
[I mean you’re not allowed to pry into my secrets!!]
Erza was furious.
She realized that even after putting on thick armor, she still didn’t feel the slightest bit safe.
How could there be such an outrageous magic in this world!
[Erza～]
[What is it!]
[You don’t want everyone in the guild hearing your thoughts again in the future, do you?]
[…Ugh! Wh-what are you planning?]
[I want you to promise me one thing, Erza～]
[…Fine, as long as it’s not too much…]
[Erza, you’re on guard against this world and you don’t trust anyone. I’m guessing you probably lived in a hostile environment before, or experienced betrayal by someone close to you, which is why you’ve become so sensitive.]
Erza buried her head in her knees and hugged herself tightly.
Scenes from the past surfaced before her eyes, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
[Aibo, are you really… just a child?]
Yesterday, Erza had actually “inquired” about some things regarding Aibo—a six-year-old genius mage who had joined the guild less than three months ago, could use many kinds of magic, and, like her former self, had no surname…
But now it seemed this “genius” was far too terrifying.
Erza was currently some distance from the guild, so Aibo couldn’t hear her thoughts, but he could guess what she was thinking.
People in the guild often complained about how monstrous he was, saying he didn’t seem like a child.
Aibo didn’t care at all—he even scoffed at it.
All you do is let your imagination run wild all day.
Have you ever been a child prodigy?
Do you think it’s easy pretending to be a kid every day?
Can’t you cut me some slack?
[I’ve only ever been six years old in this life, so of course I’m a child～]
But Aibo’s next words made Erza suddenly lift her head:
[I was captured by the Dark Mage Cult before too. If a certain perverted old man in the guild hadn’t saved me, I probably would’ve ended up like you, Sister. No—maybe I would’ve just died, haha.]
Erza’s heart clenched.
In an instant, she imagined all sorts of things and felt guilty for doubting a child’s “maturity.”
[My luck was a little better, but I can understand how you feel, Erza. That feeling… of losing everything, of having your heart in chaos and not knowing what to do.]
Even across the distance, she could feel the sorrow on the other end of the link, and Erza’s heart ached even more.
Had this child gone through that kind of pain too?
Then Aibo was much stronger than she was…
The tenderest part of Erza’s heart was fiercely stirred.
[Aibo… I… I’m sorry…]
[Why are you apologizing, Sister? Past pain isn’t worth remembering. People should always look forward.]
Actually, what Aibo was recalling was what had happened when he first awakened his memories.
Although he didn’t know exactly what Erza had gone through, her current feeling of being isolated and helpless must have been extremely similar to his own back then.
So Aibo was confident he could help her break free of it:
[When you feel lost, just give yourself a new goal. Once you have a new destination, you can temporarily forget your troubles and keep moving forward. So tell me—what does Erza want most right now?]
That’s right.
Fear and hesitation couldn’t solve anything.
Even a child could understand that.
If there was no answer, then she would go find one herself.
But before that, she needed enough strength!
The confusion in Erza’s heart gradually dispersed, and her eyes became determined:
[I want to become stronger! Aibo, I want to become stronger than anyone, and then…]
(And then return to that place once more, and settle things once and for all.)
Back at the guild, Aibo stretched and gave Cana an OK sign.
With that, the task the guild master had assigned was basically complete.
It hadn’t been that hard after all.
He hadn’t expected to have the potential to be such an understanding little brother.
But Aibo didn’t end this “counseling” just yet, and continued talking with Erza:
[Hehe, looks like you already have your answer, Erza. But that goal might not be so easy to achieve.]
[Don’t underestimate me, Aibo. I’ll prove it to you!]
[No, no. What I mean is, the strongest person in this guild in the future—will definitely be me, Aibo!]
“…Pfft, hahahaha!”
She didn’t know why, but just imagining that line coming from little Aibo’s mouth made the child seem inexplicably adorable.
[Were you just laughing at me, Erza?]
[No, no. I can feel your resolve, Aibo. Let’s become stronger together!]
[Hmph, hmph. Erza, you can try trusting me a little more, you know. Well, since we’re having such a good time talking, I’ll tell you a secret about myself!]
[Huh?! Wh-what?](Expectant)
[Actually, I’m—a Family! Hero!]
Erza was stunned:
[Family… Hero?]
[That’s right. We’re comrades in the same guild, aren’t we? A guild is family! When family needs help, I’ll appear at their side anytime! I heard Erza’s cry for help, so I came to help you. That’s how it is today, and that’s how it’ll be from now on. So—]
“So, Erza, can you promise me one thing?”
Erza turned and looked up, only then realizing that Aibo had come to the riverbank at some point and was standing above her, smiling:
“One day, when you’ve decided to make Fairy Tail your home; one day, when you’re willing to become family with me—family who can entrust ourselves to each other… When that time comes, will you tell me about your past, Sister?”
Erza felt her vision blur.
In that moment, what she remembered was not the pain she had endured in the Tower of Paradise, but memories from even earlier…
She had been abandoned in Rosemary Village, taken in by the church, with no surname and no idea who her parents were.
For no reason at all, she had simply been abandoned.
She had once dreamed of having a family.
In the Tower of Paradise, she had even thought she had grasped that illusion—but in the end… the person who had given her the surname “Scarlet” abandoned her once again.
‘I betrayed my comrades for freedom’… ‘I only bring misfortune to others’… ‘I am someone who isn’t needed’… ‘Is this really the freedom I wanted’…
Thoughts like these echoed over and over in her mind on the road to Magnolia.
Erza had asked herself countless times: ‘Is there really any meaning in living like this?’
But now, a child younger than her, who also had no surname, had come before her.
He had seen through her fragile armor at a glance, yet he didn’t press her about her miserable past.
Instead, he showed her a path forward.
Then he reached out and invited her… invited her to become his[family].
“Family… Can someone like me… really have a family?”
Looking at the girl before him, her eyes blurred with tears, Aibo knew exactly what she needed most in that moment.
So Aibo stepped forward and hugged her, answering calmly:
“Of course. From today onward, we’re family.”
“Welcome to Fairy Tail, Erza.”