Bella crossed her arms with a serious expression. Leon frowned in annoyance.

“Hah! Then what can you do?” he snapped. “You can’t live here forever. People won’t pity you. Once you become useless, they’ll throw you out like trash.”

Well… he’s not completely wrong, Bella thought sadly. I understand that feeling too well.

“But we still can’t steal! It’s wrong!” Bella argued stubbornly. She turned away for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“You said we have to protect our own, right?”

She looked back at him and smiled brightly, like warm sunshine in spring.

“We can survive without becoming bad kids. We can prove to the world how capable we are. So…”

Bella reached out her hand toward him.

“Let’s live honestly from now on.”

Leon froze in shock.

Yes! Bella cheered inside her head. I stopped a kid from taking his first step into darkness!

Leon stared at her hand with a strange look.

“I never planned to get another pet,” he muttered.

W-What?! A pet?!

“What are you talking about?!” Bella shouted, her face turning red. “Who’s a pet?!”

“You,” Leon answered calmly.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?! Why would I be your pet?!”

“Because I have to feed you now, along with this bird,” he explained seriously. “If I feed you, then you’re my pet.”

Bella stared at him in disbelief.

No way. How am I supposed to raise this kid properly with that mindset?!

She grabbed his hand firmly.

“No. I’m not your pet. We’re friends.”

“Friends?” Leon repeated slowly, like the word was unfamiliar.

“Yes! Friends help each other. Friends stay together no matter what.”

I seriously need to teach this kid basic human manners, Bella thought tiredly.

“Fine,” Leon grumbled. “We’re ‘friends.’ But I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, right!” Bella straightened proudly. “My name is Bella, and I’m seven years old. I ran away from the house where I worked because they were horrible people. What about you?”

“It’s Leon.”

Bella waited for more, but he said nothing else.

“That’s it? What about your family?”

“I don’t remember anything.”

Bella frowned. “Then how do you remember your name?”

“I don’t know! Stop asking questions.”

Holding his head with irritation, Leon turned around and walked away.

That’s strange, Bella thought while watching him leave. Does he really not have any family? No wonder he acts so wild. But I’ll make sure he grows up properly!

.

.

.

Later That Night…

Soon, both of their stomachs started growling loudly.

“So how are we supposed to get food?” Leon asked.

“By working, obviously.”

I know child labor is terrible, Bella sighed internally, but in a fantasy world like this, we don’t have many choices.

“Come on,” Bella said firmly. “Let’s find a job.”

But reality was cruel.

They spent hours asking shop owners and tavern workers for jobs, but everyone rejected them. Nobody wanted to hire two dirty children.

“So what now, Miss Honest?” Leon teased while leaning against a wall.

“I… I’ll sing!”

“What?”

“Yeah! It’s the only thing left.”

Without hesitation, Bella walked into the middle of the busy town square. She placed a hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and began singing with all her heart.

“CAAAW—!!”

Instead of a beautiful singing voice, an awful crow like scream came out.

The people around her froze in horror.

Leon immediately burst into laughter, holding his stomach.

Bella’s face became bright red with embarrassment. She quickly grabbed Leon’s wrist and dragged him away from the crowd.

“Hahaha! Oh my god!”

“Can you STOP laughing?!” Bella shouted angrily.

“But your voice… it was incredible,” Leon wheezed while trying to breathe.

“At least I tried! Unlike you, who only laughs at other people!”

“Please. I can do much better than that.”

With a confident smirk, Leon walked back toward the crowded street.

He stood in the middle of the road and slowly raised his hand.

As his fingers moved through the air, a glowing blue light appeared from his palm. Sparkling magic filled the night sky like beautiful stars.

It looked like a piece of the northern lights had fallen onto the earth.

The busy crowd instantly stopped moving. Everyone stared at the breathtaking blue lights around the young boy.

Bella’s pink eyes reflected the glowing magic. She looked completely amazed.

Wow… It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

But then, fear suddenly filled her chest.

Wait… this isn’t normal. Ordinary people can’t do this.

The warmth of the street disappeared. Bella felt cold fear spreading through her body.

She slowly stepped backward, her voice shaking.

“Magic…”