CH 31

"Oh my god! Charles!"

"Big brother!"

"Oh my!"

The three girls were about to call the boys since the food was ready and was just in time to see the kid fall on his face. Strangely, his body didn't fall hard and looked more like he was laid down by a pair of hands or maybe a few dozen strings?

"Is he ok, Zel?"

Emilia had seen the bottle on the ground and understood easily but she wasn't quite sure of everything so she had to ask.

"Zel! What did you do?"

Tina on the other hand was very angry at Zel who seemed to not care about the little boy who's passed out right now. It was him that was supervising him at the time, a fucking adult.

"Don't worry, he's fine."

"Does he look fine to you!?"

Zel's nonchalant response only worsened Tina's mood. She was about to pick up his collar when she saw Emilia got to him first.

Emilia was now holding Zel's face to see if his face was hiding something, but he only winked at her while a blue glow passed in a blink in his other eye.

All the while Tina was lashing out with her words. She had never seen Zel do anything like this and felt like maybe she was wrong after all this time, but it was somehow stopped when she heard a tiny voice that giggled cutely.

"Poke. Poke. Hehe." Tina watched the little Tina who was lying on her side on the ground beside Charles while poking her big brother's cheeks.

She had a look at Charles' face and saw that it was full of bliss and his youthful mouth was even drooling. It twitched a little when little Tina pokes it and he gives out a weird noise when her finger pushes it to try and close his mouth.

"Big sister! I think brother just fell asleep!" Little Tina looked in their direction while still poking her big brother's cheeks.

"Zel won't hurt them Tina, don't worry. If he didn't care about them then he wouldn't have done what he did." Emilia also added to the discussion as she was able to get a clearer idea of what happened.

"Fine, he's ok but why is he passed out?" Tina was convinced a little but was angrier when she heard Zel's next words.

"I gave him something to refresh his mind and body, It's nothing serious."

"You drugged a kid!?"

"Emilia's already had one, ask her if it's a drug."

Tina was looking at the rather flushed Emilia whose mind looked back towards those memories. After all, the impact of that day still made her think this was all to good to be real.

"It's something like that I think?"

"Emilia!" Tina couldn't help but look at her best friend in a different light. She was now using drugs? And she was even supporting the use of it towards little children? How much has this man corrupted her?

"Don't worry though, if you take a rest afterwards then your body would feel like it's brand new! I've never had a better sleep!"

"..."

Emilia went closer to Tina until her mouth was only a few millimeters away then hid their conversation with one hand.

"My boobs and butt even grew bigger afterwards. Zel was very certain about that."

The Tina who was all angry a while ago suddenly looked at the bottle on the ground beside Charles. Her eyes bringing with it a focused light but when the bottle was suddenly picked up by a pair of small hands, she finally came to.

The bottle was now hidden behind a serious looking tiny Tina and her posture was basically yelling 'back off'. This made Tina feel frustrated that something that precious was out of reach and felt like she was forgetting something.

'Hmmm…'

Her eyes darted around, from the little boy drooling on the ground, the little girl guarding a bottle and finally to the couple who were holding hands while the man was coaxing the girl. A thoughtful look on her face while a smile threatened to emerge.

"Since that's finished, let's place Charles into his room first. We have to talk to mom and dad anyway."

"Yeah, we have to talk abou-"

"Kyaaa." Tina's scream not only startled the couple but even made the tiny Tina drop the bottle. She hurriedly took the bottle back but a few drops fell on her hand and she had a taste.

'So yummy!'

Though this went unnoticed by the others as they were now talking about something else entirely.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" The confused Emilia was still not able to understand the scene that's playing itself in Tina's mind.

"I get it, I get it. I'll keep it a secret for now. Does anyone else know?" A very excited and jealous look plastered on Tina's face. She gave a knowing look afterwards when she saw the two give her a questioning look.

"Know what?"

"Uhuh, I'll keep it safely locked away until you guys announce it yourselves. I promise."

The two were too tired to question the girl's words and didn't try to refute them. The important thing to do now was to get that little boy on a bed and get the papers done to finalize the adoption.

"You two go back first, me and tiny Tina are going to get Charles properly cared for."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help big brother!"

Zel carried Charles on his back while looking at the scene he left behind. Having a feeling that he was forgetting something. But it was probably nothing.

Just as he placed the young boy on his bed, a small bottle was placed on the boy's desk. A familiar, empty bottle. Placed there by the little girl.

"Tina! Did you… did you drink what was inside?"

"Tehee. Maybe?" Tina placed a finger below her chin, looking up at her big brother. She learned from a show she watched that it looked cute. She wondered if it would work for her big brother Zel.

Zel was now feeling confused by the situation at hand. Never had there ever been a dream where little Tina was able to get the system. She only got her skills after he accepted her into the follower system so this was a totally unexpected result.

"Did you drink your brother's bottle?" Zel deeply emphasized again. Zel had a delirious expression while trying to connect the dots as this was something he didn't see coming.

"Yeah! It was all blue and stuff. It was delicious!"

'No shit it was delicious! That was a 500 Exp mana potion! It was a miracle that you didn't blow up!' Zel's eye twitched at the word 'delicious'. Little Tina's satisfied face all but made him relax.

Zel was now worried and disappointed at the same time. Worried that there might be a problem about Tina that he didn't know of because everything today seemed to be so new. Even if the bottle was only half filled, that was still 50 points of mana!

"Do you feel anything? Describe your body for me." Zel knelt close to the little girl and spread out his mana threads to see if there was any change in the density of mana in the surroundings. Feeling nothing out of the sorts, he tried to focus his attention on the little girl's body which only made her smile while reaching out for a hug.

"Ummm... I feel like my tummy is full and that I feel happy! My body? It's small and fast! But I'll be like big sister Emilia when I grow up! I'll be big and beautiful!"

"..." Little Tina let go of Zel's face that seemed to be asking for more details. His face was scanning her closely, but he wasn't saying anything.

"I'll be cute?" Tina inquired, her little head tilting to the side.

"..."

"Does big brother want Tina to be something else?" Little Tina was now thinking hard about what to say because Zel's face didn't change at all.

"No, Tina is the best. Take a rest and watch your brother for me, ok?"

Zel realized that it was not a bad thing to find out about Tina being able to handle mana as well. It was never something he did before because she was too young after all. The youngest ranker had been Charles and he was 3 years older than his little sister.

"Of course! Tina will protect big brother!"

"Good, Tina is a little hero!"

"No, big brother! Big brother is the real hero!"

Tina was now holding her hands beside her waist while pulling off a pose. Her cute nose was red from the feeling of responsibility being granted to her. She gave Zel a smile that seemed so familiar yet foreign as it was being done by a little girl.

'Is that a Hom*lander pose?'

Flashbacks to Zel's favorite show to watch was now going over his head but he quickly put it off to watch Tina to search for any signs of something going wrong. But it seems he was worried for nothing as Tina was just kneeling at the side of Charles' bed while poking his little cheeks that closed and opened while he snored.

"Hehe."

Tina seemed to be having fun, so he left the room and went to meet the much angrier Tina and the others. He knew that she would be worried as she was the first to call him out when they saw Charles' unconscious body.

The two girls were now sitting side by side while another couple were sitting in front of them. A handsome man whose black hair had a few strands of white was scanning a document while a youthful woman with blonde hair was reading another.

The two were Emilia's parents, Elyse Lane Halsey and James Halsey. Their current life was one of financial freedom as their hotel business has finally become independent. Making them money without having to be there themselves. This was after years of tears and blood so no one could ever take that away from them. This however had a price, which was the fact that they were now too old to have children because having one at this age would cause a lot of problems.

First was that even though the blonde beauty looked young, her actual body age was nearing 45! If she were to have more children now, she would be pregnant at 44, giving birth at 45 and that was if no problems occur.

The second was that having to care for a baby was always the thing that made them the most tired. Having the baby Emilia crying and pooping all day was once Lane's regular nightmare where she had to sleep only a couple hours a day! Skipping all that would make it easier for them to accept parenthood again.

The last was that they didn't want to leave behind a child for their daughter to help raise. Honestly speaking, they knew that they had a few decades if they were lucky and a couple if they were being realistic. This means their child would not be able to grow up with them by their side, which was something they didn't want to burden the child.

Now, however, they were presented with an opportunity to skip past all that. A way for them to have children while ensuring that it was the best for all parties that is involved: Adoption.

Zel had used his connections to the police to figure out how the children could be given to him for protection and turns out that the problem was solved before he even asked.

The child protection policy of Cina is loose at best, while utterly disgusting if you try to decipher it closely. As the land of Cina is vast and wide, a lot of people lived there. Having families along the way, the population had exploded since their lifestyles were moving along just fine.

It would have been perfect if not for the fact that not all people are smart and not everyone is lucky. Most families can go on with their lives just fine, but some have to stop even before the whole family comes together, such was the case with most orphans.

One-night stands, prostitution, unregulated sex and a lack of guidance have made couples get pregnant and have no clue what to do with it. There are many cases where a single parent would raise the child but with the hopeful side of things come the most hateful. Children that are abandoned.

Not all orphans are unwanted though, some are just unfortunate. A single incident that would cause children to lose their parents, tragedies like this happen occasionally. Such was the case with Charles and Tina.

Their parents were police officers, partners in fact. Their adult life was selflessly sacrificed for the sake of keeping the peace. Their days were filled with investigations while their nights were spent alongside their family, with Charles and Tina coming along the way and increasing the family of two to a home of four.

It was still a fresh memory to Charles what happened that night. He was even dreaming about it right now. While he was coming to the first floor due to having heard of a loud noise, a hand from the shadows reached out to pull him back.

"Charlie, son! Go to Tina's room and you stay there, ok?"

"Yawn. Okay." The sleepless Charles went inside his little sister's room where a baby was sleeping on a pink crib about twice his height.

If he tiptoes hard enough, he could even see the profile of her face. A calm and peaceful smile rested on Charles' little baby sister. He walked towards the couch where a pair of pillows rested. This was where his mommy and daddy used to sit whenever they were cradling the baby. Right now, he was going to use it to sleep.

"Ahhh!!" Right as he was dozing off while hugging a pillow, a cry of pain was heard downstairs.

His body jolted awake while his little sister began crying. He held on to the crib and pushed it and pulled back. The thing was now rocking about while he tried to copy his father who always sang while he did this.

"Ruraby baby lallada, baby is sleeping lalalala." As he watched the baby cry and weep even though his father was able to calm her down when he did this, he began to panic while his eyes started to water.

He then stopped singing and rocking the chair while heading towards the couch. He took the two pillows and used them as a stepping stone so he could reach the top of the crib and climbed into it. Carrying his little sister in his similarly small hands, he cradled her while singing the song again. This time though, he only used 'lalala' for every lyric while just following the tune of the song.

"Yawn." The little Charles had forgotten how long he had done so but the baby was now asleep in his arms. He held her close to him and gave her forehead a peck because that's what mommy does to him and it feels nice. He took a spot on the crib and dozed off himself.

"Waaah-" The crying sound lasted just enough for the real Charles to jolt awake. He looked at the Tina in the floor who was surprised at his sudden movement as she wiped away the pain on her butt.

"Ouch!"

"Ahh! I'm sorry, Tina!"

Charles looked around and saw that he was back in his room. He looked for Zel but saw that only the now standing Tina in the room.

"Are you ok, big brother?" Right now, she was looking at him weirdly, like she was examining him.

"Umm, yeah. Why?" Charles rubbed his head that felt like it was splitting but the pain went away quickly. It was replaced by a clearness that he had never experienced before, like he was free from something.

"You fell asleep in the backyard. Big brother had to carry you back here."

"I did?" Charles had no memory of him passi-.

'No, there was something.' He wasn't quite sure if he was hearing correctly then, but the last thing he remembered was a woman's voice telling him something. Something he can't quite recall.

"Welcome to the system Ranker? Big brother, what's a system?" A confused Tina looked quizzically at her brother.