— — — — — —
Inside the Tendo Civil Security Office
"Over ten thousand people were killed, and their bodies were hung up in public streets to be displayed. Too cruel. Too terrifying."
Kisara Tendo stared at the intel she'd collected, unable to hide the deep shock on her face. She murmured under her breath.
Ever since hearing that Kikunojo Tendo had been assassinated, she had been quietly gathering information about the Fairy Tail Guild.
Though, honestly, her intel skills weren't great. Most of what she found was shallow, surface-level rumors.
"Over ten thousand lives! What gives him the right to do that?!"
"All because those people wanted to kill him? What if he killed innocent bystanders? Does he not hesitate at all?!"
Rentaro Satomi couldn't stand Kazuma. It wasn't just that he opposed this kind of mass slaughter. It was also because Kazuma was the one who killed Kikunojo Tendo.
Rentaro hated Kikunojo, yes… but he still remembered the man once saved his life. In his heart, Kikunojo was still the person who had pulled him back from death.
"Rentaro, you don't need to avenge the Tendo family. They were our enemies. Don't forget what they did to us."
"And… I don't want to see your body. You can't beat that guild. You're not his match."
Kisara looked at him seriously as she spoke.
"Yes, Kisara. I won't be reckless."
Rentaro said the words, but that wasn't what he truly felt. Head lowered, his heart whispered an apology.
---
No matter what the outside world was saying, Kazuma and the others continued moving forward at their own pace.
"These girls are basically my little sisters. This one, ranked 100, is Ashley Springsteen. Her codename is Giga Hedgehog."
"This one is Irene Spencer, ranked 95. Codename: Meteorfall."
"And this is Faye Kronmiller, ranked 88. Codename: Fer-de-Lance."
Tina was introducing the other Cursed Children who came from the same organization as her. Since they joined after she did, they were considered Tina's little sisters.
"Wait, wait, Tina, small question: did you guys come up with these codenames yourselves?"
Enju suddenly raised her hand.
"No. The organization assigned them. And by the way, my codename was Silent Killer."
Tina had honestly expected everyone to get sad, or angry, or traumatized when she explained all this. She had even prepared herself to quietly endure their reactions.
Instead, everyone just went "Ohhh," and immediately started asking curious questions.
No crying, no drama. Just gossip mode.
"…These names are ugly. Whoever came up with them might be smart, but they have zero sense of aesthetic. If I ever get a codename, I'm not letting it sound that bad."
Kayo commented with her usual blank expression.
"Pretty bad naming, yeah. But it won't matter anymore. We won't be using codenames. We'll just call each other by our names."
"Then… what are the last two girls' names?" Kayano asked, looking at the remaining pair.
"My name is Louise. Louise Zelazny. Ranked 70. Codename: Blood Creek."
Louise introduced herself calmly.
"I'm Rita Salisbury. Rank 21. Codename: Pluto."
Rita said her name with no expression at all.
These girls were originally assigned to deal with Tina if she failed or defected.
But then Kazuma killed everyone involved — including Dr. Ayn, the top boss — that very same night.
Once the commander died, these kids no longer had orders, and they didn't even try to resist when they were taken in.
Then, after Tina explained — well, not explained, more like: "The organization's gone. We're joining a new one." — the girls thought about it for three seconds and went: "Okay."
And just like that, they joined Fairy Tail.
Even trained killer lolis are still… lolis. Kids raised like this have no real sense of personal will. If someone they trust says "This is what we do now," they just do it.
"Hold up, why do the last two have boss villain names? We went from insects and disasters to Blood Creek and Pluto. That jump is insane."
Midori finally said what everyone was thinking.
"Rank 21… there are, um… a ton of Cursed Children in the world, so Rita is super strong!" Enju tried counting on her fingers and gave up halfway, but her awe was very real.
"These girls might have even worse emotional damage than Tina. We should take good care of them. And help them learn how to live." Kayano said softly.
"Guild Master Onii-Chan, we don't have anything now."
"So from now on… we're counting on you to take care of us. You have to take responsibility."
Tina stepped forward, grabbing Kazuma's hand, looking up at him with big round eyes.
"…Why does that sound so wrong? You're the ones joining my guild, but now it feels like I kidnapped you."
"And okay, sure, technically the process looked like that, but it just sounds suspicious."
Kazuma stared at her. Seriously, the phrasing was dangerous. If outsiders overheard, they'd think he'd done something illegal to a bunch of lolis.
For a moment, he glanced around, half-expecting to see FBI
"Anyway. Once you join us, you're family. I'll protect you." He placed his hand gently on Tina's head.
"Let's make a promise." Tina lifted her small hand.
"Pinky swears are for little kids. Adults don't do that."
"But we do fist bumps."
Kazuma guided her hand into a fist, and they bumped knuckles.
"A promise made is a promise kept."
"Mm!"
Tina's smile bloomed like soft cream-colored light. Her big eyes shone, her face warm and bright enough to melt anyone.
"All right, that's that. Go play or do whatever. I've been up all night, I need sleep."
He yawned and turned to leave.
"Master Onii-Chan, there's a limited-edition Saint Seiya merch sale today! Can we go look?" Enju asked immediately.
"Yeah yeah, go ahead."
He waved a hand and disappeared into his room.
"…Just like that? He's letting us go out that easily?"
Tina blinked. Enju was already dragging her out the door.
Shouldn't they have been restricted?
She had spent so long carefully planning how to escape… and she could have just asked??
"But of course. This is our home, not a prison. We go out whenever we want. We just tell the Guild Master or Kayano first so nobody worries."
Kayo explained calmly.
Tina felt like her brain short-circuited.
So… she could have walked out anytime.
Okay. So maybe being a bit airheaded sometimes… keeps you alive.
"..." Rita and the others watched the group of lolis messing around, laughing and bumping into each other, and something about it felt… strange. Like they didn't belong here.
But one moment later, they were pulled right in.
"Hey, don't just sit there with that deadpan expression. Come on, smile a little. These are cat ears from our Onii-Chan."
"Here, try them on. They're super cute."
Kayano placed cat-ear headbands on all of them, then clapped her hands. "All right~ now, say meow?"
"…Meow? Meow?"
Rita stared blankly at Kayano, but still meowed without hesitation. The moment the sound left her mouth, she paused. That felt weird. She tilted her head, confused, and saw the same confusion on the others' faces.
This place was… completely different from the Institute. No drills, no strict schedule, no harsh commands dictating every moment.
And that Guild Master—he wasn't like the Doctor at all. He didn't order them around. He just said they could do whatever they wanted.
…What did they want to do?
For the first time, Rita and the others thought for themselves. They thought for a long time… and still didn't know.
But by then, Kayano had already dragged them outside.
They bought new clothes. Tried snacks. Played crane machines. Watched TV together. Bought plushies.
At night, they all sat together to eat. Then watched season one of their favourite Anime again. They stayed up late, laughing, then just fell asleep together in the living room.
"Good night."
Kayano hugged each of them one by one before going to look for Kazuma.
Rita had just laid down, overwhelmed, when she suddenly sat up with a jolt.
"Wait—why did we just play all day?! Where were today's orders?!"
"Rita…"
"Huh?"
Rita turned to see Enju mumbling in her sleep, clutching her blanket and drooling.
"Rita… Tina… sing theme song again… and don't steal my snacks…"
Dream talk.
"…What am I supposed to do now?"
Rita lay back down, pulled the blanket up, and stared at the ceiling for a long time before sleep finally came.
---
Meanwhile, in Kazuma's room.
"Onii-Chan… are you awake?"
"I was, but you clearly woke me up. What's wrong?"
"…Nothing. I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for not hurting Tina."
Kayano sat beside his bed, voice sincere.
"You don't have to thank me for that."
"No. You always teach us to never hesitate against enemies. And you always follow your own rules."
"But this time, you didn't hurt Tina. I know it was because of us. So I want to thank you."
Kazuma sighed lightly.
"Fine, then I'll accept your thanks. But it's not just because of you. I told you before—everyone in this guild is family."
"If someone tries to harm me, of course I'll kill them. But Tina wasn't an enemy. She just didn't know any better yet."
He sat up, ruffling Kayano's hair with a warm, easy smile.
"Do you know what Tina said? If she died, she told me to say she ran away from home. Just that one sentence. She really sees this guild as her home. So she's family too."
Kayano's eyes softened, filled with warmth. This was the family she always dreamed of.
Once, she was a cursed child, homeless and unwanted. Now she had a home. Sisters. And an older brother who protected her.
They could eat warm meals, wear clean clothes, have a place to sleep, watch TV, play games.
No one could hurt them anymore. And they could even dream about the future.
Kayano held him tightly, overwhelmed.
She found her family.
[Ding~]
["Black Bullet" world mission complete.]
[Reward: 100 points.]
[You may stay in this world for 3 more days before returning to the Fairy Tail world.]
[You may spend 10 points to extend your stay by 3 days.]
Kazuma heard the system notification in his mind, but ignored it. His focus was on the girl in his arms.
"Kayano. Remember what I told you at the beginning? I'll teach you how to survive. But I won't treat you like babies forever."
"You will have to live independently. And… the time is almost here. I'll be leaving soon."
"After I leave—"
"No!" Kayano clutched him tighter, terrified. "No, I don't want you to go! We're not ready! I'm not ready! Don't leave! Please."
"You're the big sister now. I'll even promote you to Onee-Sama."
"No I'm not! You said so yourself—I'll always be your little sister. I get to be selfish and clingy forever!"
She really was just a child right now—crying, clinging, unable to accept it.
"Kayano. Let me finish."
''..."
Kayano lowered her head, sobbing quietly.
"When I go, the house will be your responsibility for a while. Message me through the chat if anything happens. Keep doing missions. If enemies appear, deal with them without hesitation."
"If new children join, teach them the same way I taught you."
"And I'll come back every day to check on you. For you, it'll just be like I went to work in the morning and came home at night. I'll never be gone more than a day."
Kayano blinked, tears still falling… but slowly calming.
"S-So… it'll be like that?"
"Yes. Also, I'm not leaving today. I still have things to do. And I promised to take all of you on a trip first, remember?"
Her face flushed red, realizing how dramatic she had just been.
"…I… I understand."
.
.
.