"...It's good that you're okay. Just be careful. Go back to sleep after you've finished drinking. Goodnight, little Makiya."
The old woman outside the door hesitated for a moment but chose to 'believe' Makiya's words. She turned around and slowly paced away.
She knew Makiya was lying. If it was just a stool falling over, it wouldn't have made that sound.
Makiya was clearly lying because he didn't want her to enter the room. Considering that Makiya had always been an obedient child, Mother Samantha decided to respect his privacy.
Maybe little Makiya had reached the age of being curious about his own body. Mother Samantha had raised so many children and had seen it all; she was long past being surprised.
Makiya breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the footsteps fade away. The room was filled with the smell of blood, which anyone would find abnormal. He wasn't afraid of his identity being exposed; he was mainly afraid of scaring the kind old lady to death.
The night was still long, so he had to clean the room quickly.
Ninja World Makiya, Soul Reaper Makiya, Ho-Oh Makiya, and Magic Emperor Makiya were all experts at playing with fire. Influenced by them, Wizard Makiya also had an extraordinary talent for fire. With a tap of his finger, his magic transformed into flames that enveloped the shattered heart.
Magical fire was different from ordinary fire. The heart quickly turned to ashes within the flames. Makiya opened the window to let the strange smell dissipate, then used the knowledge shared by Hacker Makiya to clean up the bloodstains. He carefully put the table and chairs back in place, working for a long time before the room was restored to its original state.
The night was as still as water. Makiya lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and covering his heart with his right hand. He quietly felt the different 'heartbeat,' with no sleepiness in his eyes.
Various insights from Magic Emperor Makiya kept surfacing in his mind. Due to the world's rules, many skills could not be used directly; Makiya needed to rediscover and familiarize himself with them.
But some of the underlying rules were universal. If the path of learning magic was compared to climbing a mountain, others would have different experiences based on their talent:
Some get lost in the vast woods, spinning in circles their entire lives despite their efforts; some can see the path up the mountain at a glance but are limited by their physical strength and cannot reach the peak; some have clear goals, excellent equipment, and ample energy, allowing them to continuously cross mountains and scale heights.
Makiya was different. He was wearing a mechanical exoskeleton with a drone guiding his way, putting him far ahead of everyone else from the start.
A ray of sunlight hit his face, and before he knew it, the day had dawned.
Despite not sleeping all night, Makiya didn't feel tired at all. He lay on the bed and gave a big stretch, then got dressed energetically and headed to the communal washroom to freshen up.
On the way, he happened to run into Mother Samantha.
"Oh? Little Makiya seems to have become even cuter!" Mother Samantha said with a smile.
"Mother Samantha!" Makiya said with a serious face: "I'm a boy, please use 'handsome' to describe me!"
This was a matter of principle. Makiya was very serious about it. He didn't want to become the Kun Kun type; his goals were Daniel Wu or Eddie Peng.
"But you really are cute. Alright, alright, go brush your teeth and wash your face. Breakfast is starting soon."
Makiya's protest was fruitless, as Mother Samantha stuck to her opinion.
Because the Dark Eye continuously pumped out life energy, Makiya's body was thoroughly nourished. Coupled with the fact that he was of Asian descent, his pores were much finer than the locals', and he had no body odor. In the eyes of the orphanage mothers, Makiya was even more delicate than a girl.
To this, Makiya believed it was because he was too young and his handsomeness was too subtle. He was only eleven years old now; how could anyone tell anything yet? His body hadn't fully developed. It would be fine when he grew up.
Daniel, the actor who played Harry Potter, was also very cute as a child, but didn't he turn into a square-faced, bearded strongman when he grew up?
Breakfast today was still bland. Makiya never expected the Great British Empire to produce any good food, and the mothers wouldn't allow children into the kitchen anyway.
It would be better once he moved out. With the school term approaching, Makiya planned to stay for one semester and then arrange to move out.
Before awakening his gold finger, he had been looking forward to being adopted by a good family. Asians didn't have it easy here in this era.
Now, he'd forget about it. He had many secrets, and researching magic required a quiet place, so he had to live alone.
"Little Makiya, I have some good news for you."
After breakfast, Mother Samantha suddenly approached Makiya with a mysterious look.
Seeing Makiya's bewildered expression, Mother Samantha stopped being cryptic and handed him a folder: "A kind person is willing to adopt you. Are you happy?!"
Makiya took the folder and scanned it, his face full of question marks: "???"
The prospective adopter was a priest whose clothes looked simple but were actually very expensive, and he had an elegant aura.
Only after Makiya refused repeatedly did the priest reluctantly leave the orphanage, muttering that Makiya's talent was excellent and that he would surely become the lead singer of a choir.
Samantha also felt it was a pity, but she respected Makiya's opinion and stood up to see the priest out.
Since school hadn't started yet, the orphanage children played in the yard after eating.
Orphans Makiya's age had to help the adults with chores. Girls helped with handicrafts like weaving or mending clothes, while boys did physical labor.
While Makiya was working, a child in the yard suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled hard, jumping and shouting excitedly: "Brother Yu, Brother Yu, look at the house over there!"
"Slow down, slow down, don't fall."
Makiya walked into the yard and looked in the direction the child was pointing, seeing countless birds circling over a house in the distance.
No, they weren't birds, they were owls!
They were Hogwarts' messengers!
In the wizarding world, owls possess significant intelligence. They serve as important couriers for wizards, delivering letters and packages, and are also considered family and companions.
They can link a recipient's name to the person themselves, tracking down the relevant wizard no matter where he or she is, always finding the location accurately and fulfilling their mission.
Makiya looked at the distant sky and fell into deep thought.
Over there... that should be Harry Potter's house. It looks like the owl letter-delivering incident from the beginning of the story.
Hogwarts keeps a large number of owls to deliver various notices, including admission letters. Since Harry's Uncle Vernon and his family, who raised him, were biased against wizards, they intercepted Harry's admission letters, leading to a mail bombardment of their home, with the entire room flooded with envelopes.
It's basically the wizarding version of a DDoS attack.
Makiya didn't need to worry about Harry; the young Savior would surely enter Hogwarts safely. The key issue revealed by the current event was: Hogwarts had started sending out admission letters long ago!
So here's the question:
Where is the owl delivering my letter?
It couldn't have been eaten, could it?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Makiya had been in the mysterious space sharing his strength for some time now. He must have been recorded by Hogwarts' Book of Admittance and Quill of Acceptance and been accepted.
When things are out of the ordinary, there must be a reason. Makiya gazed out for a while, then went back to work silently. In his spare time, he secretly practiced elemental magic, keeping a constant eye on the movements around the orphanage.
One morning, in Makiya's room.
Four elemental magic spheres—Light, Dark, Ice, and Fire—revolved slowly around his body. Suddenly, Makiya opened his eyes and walked quietly to the window.
He sensed two faint magical fluctuations to the left of the orphanage.
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