"...How could it be?"

Alice almost suspected that she was hallucinating.

Originally, she thought that Shuo En was forced to do something she didn't want to do because of her brother's order.

However, the reality is more cruel than imagined.

It turned out that she had understood it wrong from beginning to end.

Tails was no less shocked than Alice.

Now, Alice's new friend is no longer just a pawn behind the scenes, but the real mastermind of the entire incident.

Their previous guesses were all shattered by Zhuo En's words.

"You have misunderstood my brother. He just wanted to help me, so he got involved in this matter."

Zhuo En's voice was calm, and there was no sadness on his face, "I can also assure you that this matter will pass soon and will not affect more people... I say this with confidence.

"

When the graduate heard what Zhuo En said, he bit his lower lip hard, his eyebrows trembled slightly, his blood-stained hands clenched into fists, and he whispered with a painful expression: "Ah Zhun..."

Stretching out an index finger and placing it on his pale lips, Zhuo En looked at his brother and said, "Shh-brother, it's okay."

Such a soft tone, like coaxing a child to sleep.

When Zhuo En finished saying these words, the graduate lying on the ground seemed to be under a spell. The pain on his face disappeared, and sleepiness swept over him like a tide. In everyone's sight, he closed his eyes,

Soon fell into sleep.

"Mind control?"

When Tai Tai saw this, he showed a vigilant expression and stared closely at the girl standing in the white sarcophagus.

Only wizards with very powerful mental powers can control others through specific gestures or words.

This is not an ability that a little girl should have.

"This is my innate strength." Zhuo En pointed to his white chin and replied softly, "I was not my brother's sister, and I don't know who my parents are. I used to... be a mushroom

.”

Mushrooms? Aren’t mushrooms an edible food? Is Shuen a mushroom fairy?

Alice's head was filled with countless question marks.

"Originally, it was not called Mushroom. It was a nickname for orphans in the magical world. Like the world of Dumb Chicken, the magical world also has orphanages, but this orphanage is called the 'Magic Orphanage'."

Wade knew that his master didn't know much about the magical world, so he took the initiative to explain.

"They are the abandoned children of their parents. They have no background and their status is very low. People who laugh at them call them mushrooms. Over time, mushrooms have become the common name for orphans in the magical world."

Through her communication with Wade, Alice understood another meaning of mushrooms in the magical world.

Xu En could feel that the way Alice looked at her was different, not distant, but close.

"I am also an orphan, and we have the same life experience." The blond little wizard spoke in a very relaxed tone, and he did not seem to feel sad about his life experience, let alone feel inferior about it.

"So, you and that graduate are just brothers and sisters in a legal sense?" Taili pointed at the young wizard who had fallen asleep on the ground, blinked his black and white eyes, and asked curiously.

The girl with long curly hair nodded slightly, "He adopted me when I was very young."

While speaking, Zhuo En lowered his rose-like beautiful eyes and turned to look at the only window in the room.

The glass on the window was broken, and there were still small and sharp fragments on the edge of the window frame. The fragments reflected the afternoon sunlight, and were crystal clear like crystal...

"My brother was born in a poor family. After he was admitted to Credo College, his parents were seriously injured due to a sudden natural disaster and died soon. My brother didn't even have time to see them for the last time."

Zhuo En's voice was very soft, and his thoughts seemed to drift to distant memories with the spring breeze blowing outside the window.

"Later, my brother became a mushroom. He studied very hard and wanted to become a powerful magician and fulfill his parents' long-cherished wish."

When he said this, Zhuo En paused slightly, and there seemed to be a little nostalgia in his voice.

"After class, he would also go to Credo's Magic Orphanage, bring delicious food to the mushrooms there, and teach them simple magic."

Taiwei and Alice listened quietly without interrupting Xu En's memories. The giant black and white tiger next to him seemed to understand the story. He slightly raised his claws holding the graduate's body and raised a pair of tiger ears to listen.

story.

"I am that mushroom in the Orphanage. The children are afraid of me because of my abilities. No one wants to be my friend."

Zhuo En seemed a little tired. She sat on the edge of the sarcophagus and rested for a while.

"When I am sad, only my brother is willing to comfort me. I am born different from others, and the older I get, the worse my health becomes. But I can bring good luck to others... but no one believes it."

Zhuo En lowered her head and stared at the bloodless palm, as if watching her life and destiny.

"When I was four years old, I could no longer walk normally. I lay in bed every day, watching other mushrooms laughing and playing...but these had nothing to do with me. I looked forward to my brother coming to the Magic Orphanage every day - that was

The only thing that makes me happy."

Speaking of this, Zhuo En's voice rose slightly,

"But my condition continued to worsen, and every minute became like a long day. The magic doctor who treated me shook his head and sighed more and more, until one day, he gave up treating me.

.”

"Because they spent too many gold coins, the Magic Orphanage couldn't bear the burden, so they planned to abandon me. This is the second abandonment I have experienced after being abandoned by my parents."

"My brother heard about the outcome of the treatment of me in the Magic Orphanage. In a rage, he turned the nose of the director of the Magic Orphanage into a frog's nose. My brother hugged me, who couldn't walk, and slammed the door out."

"From now on, we are brothers and sisters who depend on each other for life."

"My brother tidied and cleaned the giant's room in Credo, so he could earn some gold coins. He did very well in the study of magic traps and was able to get a scholarship. He invited many magic doctors to treat me."

"Looking through healing books and learning healing magic that I am not good at, just to extend my life. My brother is getting thinner day by day, and although my condition has been relieved, it is only temporary."

"This disease cannot be cured at all. My brother gave me a family, and I am very grateful to him. However, I cannot let him tire himself out for me anymore."

"Two months ago, the magic doctor who treated me said that it was a medical miracle that I could survive until now. On that night, I told my brother... I wanted to realize my last wish in life."

"I will put on my favorite red hood to help those who have no friends like me and give them lucky blessings. As long as they are willing to shake my hand, they can get my magic power and lucky blessings."

"I want to use my last time to do something that can make those lonely people feel warm."

"I don't want them to be treated indifferently by people like me, living in a world without friends and being everyone's background. Until I met you, Alice.

I saw you standing together with the person wearing a red hood. She was holding your sleeve as you walked her back to the dormitory. I suddenly thought, could I, who was also wearing a red hood, become your friend?

That’s why I follow you, want to shake your hand, and want to use my luck and magic to exchange our friendship. I don’t know how to make friends, but I want to try again.”

I want to give you my topaz, but I have never had the chance to go further." Alice stretched out her hand and gently rubbed the blue gemstone around her neck with her thumb.

"Why did your brother use the Shadow Arrow to hurt you that day?"

Zhuo En looked away from the window. Her dark brown hair fell from her shoulders. She turned her head and looked at the little blond wizard with her rose eyes.

"Because the Zhuo En you saw is just my shadow, a part of my consciousness. It is not me. My real body has never left this home. I used my own ability to divide it into half.

Awareness, to do what I want to do.”

"It's just that there is a time limit. If the stipulated time is exceeded, then I will lose half of my memory and intelligence. That night, because I met you and wanted to be friends with you, I didn't want to leave.

, and also forgot the prescribed time.”

"My brother came out to look for me, found me, and used a special shadow arrow to bring the shadow of my consciousness back here. He was very angry and didn't want me to continue to realize my wish, but I still want to be alive

When the time comes, I will see you one last time..."

"I also want to use my own strength in exchange for friendship with you. If you ask me to run, I will run and run home. You caught up with me and you broke through so many magic traps for me."

"Except for my brother, no one has ever been willing to do so much for me. Even if you don't regard me as a friend, I am still willing to give you my most cherished gem...as a gift."

Alice's heart suddenly swelled, as if it was filled with a lot of things. She held the sapphire tightly and wanted to speak, but found that nothing could be said. Her throat seemed to be stuck with fish bones.

Uncomfortable.

"I have the ability to bring luck to others, and I can also use this ability to make everyone forget the story of the Red Hood. So, you two don't have to worry anymore..."

Suppressing the ups and downs of emotions in his heart, the blond little wizard interrupted Zhuo En's words: "Your brother... is included?"

Zhuo En was stunned for a moment, lowered his eyelashes, and said softly "Hmm".

She had already thought about it, instead of letting her brother live in the pain of losing his family, it would be better for him to forget her, so that he would not be so sad.

She once held her brother's hand. With her lucky blessing, her brother would... definitely live a good life in the future.

"What about me? Do you also want me to... forget you forever?"

The hands hanging by her sides were clenched into fists, and Alice's voice trembled slightly. She stepped in front of the curly-haired girl and looked at her without blinking, waiting for Shuo En's answer.

This girl who had always been calm seemed a little at a loss after Alice took the initiative to close the distance.

"...We are already friends, and our wishes have been fulfilled. If my existence makes you feel sad, then you might as well forget all this-"

Angry emotions surged in her heart. Alice took a deep breath, stared at those rose-like eyes, and lowered her voice: "This is not fair to you, En."

She paused and said in a commanding tone:

"You stand up!"

Tails, who understood the whole truth, was so moved that his eye circles turned red and he almost cried.
To be continued...