[Stop peeking into my thoughts!
If you keep doing it, I really will get angry, even if you’re just a kid!] [Don’t worry.
My ability has limits too.
I can only hear thoughts within about a hundred meters.] [What I’m using now is just Telepathy Magic for conversation.] [If you concentrate carefully, you can actually sever the connection from your side.] [But you haven’t learned how to do that yet, Big Sis Erza, so right now you can’t refuse me~] […I see.
Then I’ll learn as soon as possible!] [Wait!
Nobody else in the guild is listening right now, are they?!] [Nope.
This is our private conversation now, so don’t be mad anymore.] [Fine.
I’m not actually that angry.] [But I really do have a lot of secrets that nobody else can know.
You’ll respect that, right, Aito?] [Of course.
I won’t tell anyone Big Sis Erza’s secrets.] [I mean you’re not allowed to dig into my secrets either!!] Erza was furious.
Even wrapped in thick armor, she still couldn’t feel the slightest sense of security.
‘How can such a shameless kind of magic even exist?!’ [Big Sis Erza~] [What?!] [You wouldn’t want everyone in the guild hearing your thoughts again, would you?] […] [Ugh!
W-What do you want?!] [I want you to promise me one thing~] […Fine.
As long as it isn’t unreasonable.] [Big Sis Erza, you’re wary of this entire world, and you don’t trust anyone.] [My guess is that you either lived somewhere filled with hostility, or someone close to you betrayed you.] [That’s probably why you’re so sensitive to everything now.] Erza buried her face against her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
Memories of the past flooded back.
Her body began trembling uncontrollably.
[Aito…
are you really just a child?] Erza had already asked around about Aito yesterday.
A six-year-old genius Mage.
He had joined Fairy Tail less than three months ago, yet already knew many types of magic.
And just like Erza once had, he’d originally possessed no surname.
But now…
This “genius” seemed almost frightening.
Erza was far enough from the guild that Aito could no longer hear her ordinary thoughts.
Still, he could roughly guess what she was thinking.
People in Fairy Tail constantly complained that he was too abnormal and didn’t act like a child.
Aito couldn’t care less.
If anything, he scoffed at them.
‘All you people do is overthink everything.’ ‘Have any of you ever been a child prodigy?
Do you know how exhausting it is for me to act like a little kid every day?
Show me some consideration!’ [I’ve only been alive for six years in this life.
Of course I’m a kid~] But Aito’s next words made Erza suddenly raise her head.
[I was captured by a black-magic cult once too.] [If some perverted old guy from the guild hadn’t saved me, I probably would’ve gone through something similar to you.] [Actually…
maybe I would’ve just died there.
Haha.] [You…
too…?] Erza’s heart tightened.
Her imagination immediately filled in everything he hadn’t said.
And suddenly, she felt guilty for ever questioning why this child seemed so mature.
[I was a little luckier than you.] [But I think I can understand how you feel, Big Sis Erza.] [That feeling of losing everything…] [Your thoughts becoming a complete mess, not knowing where to go or what you’re supposed to do next.] Even across the distant mental connection, Erza could sense the sadness behind his words.
Her heart ached even more.
‘This child went through that kind of pain too?’ ‘Then Aito is much stronger than I am…’ The softest part of Erza’s heart was struck hard.
[Aito…
I…] [I’m sorry…] [Why are you apologizing, Big Sis?] [The pain of the past isn’t something worth clinging to forever.] [People should keep looking forward.] What Aito himself remembered was the period immediately after recovering the memories of his previous life.
He didn’t know exactly what Erza had experienced.
But her current feeling of being completely alone was probably very similar to what he’d felt back then.
That was why Aito was confident he could help her move forward.
[When you’re lost, all you need is a new goal.] [Once you have another destination ahead of you, you can temporarily put your troubles aside and keep moving.] [So tell me, Big Sis Erza.] [What do you want most right now?] ‘That’s right.’ Fear and confusion couldn’t solve anything.
Even a child could understand something that simple.
‘If I don’t have an answer, then I’ll find one myself.’ ‘And until then…
I need enough strength.’ The confusion in Erza’s eyes gradually faded.
Determination took its place.
[I want to become stronger!] [Aito, I’m going to become stronger than anyone else!
And then…] (Then I’ll return to that place one day…
and settle everything.) Back at the guild, Aito stretched lazily and gave Cana an OK sign.
Makarov’s assignment was officially complete.
‘That wasn’t very hard.’ ‘I didn’t know I had talent for being the understanding little brother.’ Still, Aito didn’t end his little “counseling session.” He continued chatting with Erza.
[Hehe.
Looks like you’ve found your answer, Big Sis Erza.] [But that goal might be pretty difficult.] [Don’t underestimate me, Aito!
I’ll prove I can do it!] [No, no, that’s not what I meant.] [What I’m saying is…] [The strongest person in this guild in the future will definitely be me, Aito!] “…Pfft!” “Hahahaha!” Sitting beside the river, Erza suddenly burst out laughing.
She raised a hand and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
For some reason, imagining those boastful words coming from tiny little Aito made him seem ridiculously cute.
[You were laughing at me just now, weren’t you, Big Sis Erza?] [No, no!
I’ve received your determination loud and clear.] [Let’s both become stronger!] [Hmph.
Big Sis Erza, you can try trusting me a little more.] [Fine.
Since we’re getting along so well, I’ll tell you one of my secrets!] [Huh?!
W-What is it?] Erza immediately became curious.
Aito suppressed his embarrassment and continued fully committing to his role as a child.
[Actually, I am—] [THE FAMILY HERO!] Erza froze.
[Family…
Hero?] [Exactly!] [We’re guildmates, right?] [A guild is family!
And whenever my family needs help, I’ll appear beside them whenever they need me!] [I heard Big Sis Erza calling for help, so I came to help you.] [That’s true today, and it’ll still be true in the future.] [So—] “Big Sis Erza, can you promise me something?” Erza turned around and looked up.
At some point, Aito had arrived at the riverbank.
He stood above her with a cheerful smile.
“Someday, when you’ve decided that Fairy Tail really is your home…” “And someday, when you’re willing to consider me family—someone you can truly trust and rely on…” Aito held out his hand.
“When that day comes, will you tell me about your past?” Erza’s vision gradually blurred.
But what surfaced in her mind wasn’t the suffering she’d endured in the Tower of Heaven.
It was something even older.
She had been abandoned in Rosemary Village.
The church had taken her in.
She had no surname.
She didn’t know who her parents were.
For no reason she could understand, she’d simply been discarded.
Once, Erza had dreamed of having a family.
At the Tower of Heaven, she’d even believed for a brief moment that she’d finally grasped that illusion.
And then…
The person who had given her the surname “Scarlet” abandoned her too.
‘I betrayed my companions for freedom.’ ‘I only bring misfortune to everyone around me.’ ‘Nobody needs me.’ ‘Is this really the freedom I wanted?’ Those thoughts had repeated endlessly throughout her journey to Magnolia.
Again and again, Erza had asked herself— ‘Does someone like me even have a reason to keep living?’ But now, standing before her was a child who had once been just like her.
Someone who’d also had no surname.
Someone even younger than she was.
He’d seen through the fragile armor surrounding her heart almost immediately.
Yet he hadn’t forced her to reveal the miserable details of her past.
Instead, he’d shown her a direction she could move toward.
And now…
He was holding out his hand.
Inviting her to become his— Family.
“Family…” Erza’s voice trembled.
“Can someone like me really…
have a family too?” Looking at the tearful girl before him, Aito knew exactly what she needed most right now.
So he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.
His answer was calm and simple.
“Of course.” “Starting today, we’re family.” Aito smiled.
“Welcome to Fairy Tail, Big Sis Erza.” …
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