Chapter 226: It’s Warm
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 226: It’s Warm
“Was naming someone always this difficult?”
“Of course. Do you have any idea how hard it is to decide on a name?”
A staggering number of candidates had already been tossed back and forth. At this rate, we could probably form ten soccer teams with the names we’d come up with.
“Sigh, there’s just nothing that feels right...”
“I know, right? It’s so hard!”
Ravi let out a long, dejected sigh, her face a picture of misery. Sitting beside her, Horus was mindlessly sipping on some juice Sera had made.
“Horus, come here for a second.”
“....”
She didn’t listen to anyone else, but Horus usually came when I called. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but I suspected it had something to do with the mana I’d injected into her while she was still an egg.
If you asked her who her daddy was, she’d point to me. She seemed to understand she didn't have a mother, so she wasn't the type to just imprint on the first person she saw. If she were, Iris would have ended up being her mom.
“What do you think? Any names you like so far?”
“....”
Horus simply shook her head. We’d gone through about a hundred names starting with ‘Ho’ by now.
Horu, Hora, Hore, Horis, Horas, Horian, Hose, Hoan, Horin, Hoel, Hosa, Hor, Horyu, Horal, Hosle, Hoes, Horam, Horim, Hoben, Horis, Hodin, Horgan, Horos, Hodel, Horins, Horan, Hohar, Hobi, Homar, Horiel, Hoset, Homl, Hobus, Horul, Hoen, Hodella, Horuen, Host, Horio, Hous, Hogar, Homir, Hosha, Hob, Hodeli, Hoerin, Horans, Hoello, Hoens, Horen, Horeo, Hoyrin, Horien, Hojes, Hokar, Hobl, Horel, Hodis, Hoiro, Hosuen, Loreal, Homus, Hotar, Hoyes, Horbin, Hotalo, Hoero, Horindo, Hople, Hokas, Hosiel, Horanel, Horabin, Horinsa, Hobiel, Hojar, Hosel, Hoar, Homare, Hobelin, Hoseri, Horuel, Horendo, Hokal, Hobins, Hoelan, Horma, Horia, Hobren, Homiel, Hokalu, Hoyuro, Jojaren, Hoper, Hoellos, and so on.
“Come to think of it, you haven't suggested a single one, Brother.”
“Me? Well, I don't exactly have a talent for naming things.”
I probably inherited that from my mother. I had zero creative flair when it came to names. I was better off just borrowing an existing name than trying to invent a new one.
“You might come up with something great! Just try one!”
“Hmm... it’s probably going to be terrible.”
Horus... Horus. ‘Ho’? What else was there?
“Ho Chi Minh? Ah, no, never mind.”
I couldn't think of anything else that started with ‘Ho.’
“Oh! Oh-oh?!”
“What is it, Ravi? Why the sudden outburst?”
“Horus just nodded!”
“Wait, what?”
Hundreds of candidates had been rejected, but this was the first time Horus had actually reacted positively to a name. Why, after all those decent options, did she have to pick Ho Chi Minh?
Please, don’t let it be this.
“Horus, uh... should we try a different one?”
“....”
No response. Did she seriously like that name?
“I mean, wouldn't something else be better? Like, uh...”
Dammit. I couldn't think of anything else. Everyone else just thought it was a name with a unique ring to it; they didn't know who the man was.
“Sigh... is there really nothing else?”
“By the way, why are you so obsessed with the syllable ‘Ho’?”
“Pardon?”
Father, who had been listening quietly from the side, suddenly spoke up.
“There’s no rule saying it has to include ‘Ho,’ is there? It’s not like the child is going to live as a Horus forever.”
“Hmm....”
Now that Father mentioned it, he was right. While she did hatch from a Horus egg brought from the 50th Floor, it wasn't like we were going to release her back there like some wildlife preserve once she grew up. Well, I couldn't say for sure what would happen in the future, but we certainly didn't have plans for that now.
Perhaps everyone had been too caught up in the fact that she was a Horus. A few names without ‘Ho’ had popped up at the very beginning, but as the list grew, it felt like we’d collectively decided it was a requirement.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“First, the child needs a surname. She should take her father’s.”
“Wow, how original.”
“...That is how names are made.”
I hadn't thought of that. A name consists of a surname and a given name. If that were the case, she’d have to take my surname, since I was the only one she recognized as a parent.
“So, it’s ‘Yoo’ then.”
“Was that your surname?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
I don't think I’d ever mentioned this to Tresha. My surname was ‘Yoo,’ and my given name was ‘Eon.’ Together, Yoo Eon meant ‘Will’ or ‘Testament,’ which made both the meaning and the pronunciation a bit strange, but regardless.
“Yoo... that opens up a lot of possibilities.”
“You’re right! I think that would sound much prettier for a girl’s name!”
Ravi and Theodora seemed to like the idea. We hadn't settled on a name yet, but moving away from ‘Ho’ felt liberating.
“Yoo, Yoo....”
Sera pondered for a long moment before clapping her hands with a bright smile, as if she’d hit upon something.
“Yura. How about Yura?”
“That sounds lovely, doesn't it?”
It was a feminine and quite nice name. I liked it. As long as it wasn't Ho Chi Minh, I was happy.
“How did you come up with that?”
“Oh, uh... well....”
Sera hesitated. The truth was she’d taken the ‘Yu’ from Yoo Eon’s surname and the ‘Ra’ from the end of her own name, but she didn't feel the need to broadcast that.
“I just... thought it sounded pretty....”
“Yura... it has a similar ring to Sera!”
“It’s similar to Dora, too.”
“I’m here too, Hero!”
Sola was buzzing around my head, chirping away. Come to think of it, there were a lot of names ending in ‘Ra’ at the inn.
“Ahem! My name is ‘Ra’vi, too, you know?!”
“I see.”
“What’s with that reaction...?”
“Yura. It’s a good name. What do you think?”
I leaned down and asked the little Horus sitting in my lap. I thought it was a perfectly fine name.
The little Horus sat there blankly for a while without responding. I set her down on the chair opposite me and poked her cheek, and she began to stare at me intently.
“Do you want to be Yura?”
“....”
Nod.
“We did it!”
“Finally...! From now on, your name is Yura!”
“Phew... it’s finally over.”
Everyone collapsed with a collective sigh of relief. It was already nearly 3:00 PM. We’d kept the inn doors locked because we couldn't exactly show the little Horus—no, Yura—to the public yet.
“Yura, do you like your name?”
“...Yes.”
“Gasp!! She answered!!”
“Well, she did speak this morning, too.”
The six-hour naming marathon was finally over. In the end, Sera’s suggestion was the winner.
“That’s good. Aven? You should stop by the Northwest sometime.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Bring Yura. We need to buy her some clothes and things, don't we?”
“Well, that’s true.”
I wondered if it was really okay to let Yura out into the world. Right now, she was just like any other young child, lacking physical strength and unable to control her mana properly.
However, being the offspring of a Horus, she possessed an incredible amount of latent mana within her.
“We’ll have to work on that. But the biggest problem right now is the wings.”
“Hmm, the wings.”
Indeed, Yura had wings on her back that looked exactly like a Horus’s. Because of them, she couldn't wear normal clothes, so we’d dressed her in a loose, backless nightgown for the time being.
“Yura, can you move your wings?”
Nod.
“Can you fly? Like Walter over there?”
“....”
Yura glanced at Walter, who was perched on Tresha’s head, then shook her head.
“So she can't fly yet.”
“Even normal birds can't fly right after they’re born. It’s probably still too difficult for Yura, isn't it?”
“I suppose so.”
I kept forgetting, but Yura had only been born this morning. She was a staggering seven hours old. She’d managed to knock over Auntie’s baby food within an hour of opening her eyes, but I guess that’s just how kids grow.
“Iris. What should we do about the wings?”
Apparently, even avian beastkin didn't have wings on their backs. They usually just had bird-like tail feathers or a few feathers near their ears.
Yura was clearly a different kind of creature altogether.
“She can just hide them.”
“I mean, if they were thin or small, maybe, but how is she supposed to hide wings that are bigger than her own body?”
“She can do it.”
Iris spoke with unearned confidence. Or maybe she knew something I didn't? Well, it couldn't hurt to ask Yura.
“Yura, can you hide your wings?”
“..?”
Yura tilted her head as if she didn't understand. Was she confused by the words, or was she asking why I was saying something so ridiculous?
“You know, make it so the wings aren't visible. See everyone else’s backs? Like that, with nothing there. Okay?”
“....”
Yura looked around for a moment, then walked over to Ravi—who probably looked the least intimidating—and stared intently at her back.
“Yeah, exactly. There should be nothing there.”
“W-Why is she looking at my back...?!”
“Maybe she likes you, Ravi.”
“Hehe. Y-You think so?!”
After staring at Ravi’s back for a long time, Yura looked up at the ceiling with a blank expression and began to strain.
“Oh, wait, is she going to the bathroom?”
“Ack! Take her quickly!”
She was clenching her fists and straining so hard that it clearly wasn't a minor matter. I hurried to pick her up and take her to the bathroom, but then...
Flash!
“Whoa, she actually did it!”
“Eek! Did she do it?! Is it poop?!”
“No, she hid her wings.”
“Oh my, she really did...?”
To our amazement, she had succeeded. The large wings were enveloped in a yellow light, and in an instant, they lost their physical form and vanished.
“It’s so smooth, like they were never there.”
Yura’s back, where the wings had been, was now white and smooth. Just moments ago, there had been large wings with brown feathers growing there.
“Good job, Yura! I’m so proud of you!”
I pulled Yura into a hug and patted her back. Just as children should be scolded when they do something wrong, they should be praised when they do something right.
Squeeze.
“Wait, why is she straining again?”
“Yu-Yoo Eon...! Your leg....”
“Oh boy.”
This time, it was the real deal.
“It’s nice and warm.”