2. A New Family
"Huh? Where's mom?"
"She went out to buy clothes for Louis near the station. It seems Emma's clothes are still a bit small for him."
While Emma was playing outside with Max, Emily went out, and only Thomas and Louis remained in the room.
Louis had only changed his jacket and seemed to be drinking tea.
Young Emma, upon hearing that Louis didn’t have parents, came to check on him, worried about him.
"Hey, do you like dogs?"
"Well..."
"How about cats?"
"Emma, it looks like Louis is tired right now, so let him rest, okay?"
Thomas gently spoke up to stop Emma from bombarding Louis with questions, but Emma continued talking to Louis.
"If you don’t have a dad or mom... why don’t you come back to our house in London with me?"
"...Huh?"
"There aren’t any dogs, but we have cats. The cat didn’t have a home either, so we took it in. You can come too, Louis."
"Emma, it's not the same as welcoming a cat into the house."
Louis looked surprised for a moment, but seemed to be deep in thought. Thomas, who had planned to discuss Louis with the police once he calmed down, hadn’t even considered the idea of taking Louis in. However, after hearing Emma’s suggestion, Louis spoke up on his own.
"...I want to go. To the house in London. I don’t have parents, nor a home. I have some money. Even if it’s just for a while, if it’s not too much trouble..."
Thomas was taken aback. A boy who looked just a little older than Emma was speaking so seriously and politely, asking to live together. Whether to adopt him or not was a separate matter, but letting him stay for a while was no problem at all. This little boy had no family or home... or rather, he had likely lost them very recently.
"I understand. Then, how about we go back to the house in London tomorrow? Once we’re back, Louis, you can tell me more about yourself. Take your time, it’s okay."
"Thank you very much."
Louis, with a somewhat sad look on his face, and Thomas, who was worried about him. Beside them, Emma was beaming with happiness.
"Once we get to London, we’ll play a lot together!"
For Emma, who had wanted a sibling, Louis was already part of her new family.
And so, starting tomorrow, life with Louis in London would begin. At this point, Emma still didn’t know that Louis was a wizard.
