Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
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This was a distant future.
An era when the ancient times had drawn to a close and humans were vying for dominion over the world—a short tale from just before the hero destined to shape the world's fate would arrive.
Da-da-da-da.
"Big sis!"
"Oh my?"
The girl, sprinting at a speed no ordinary child could match, threw herself straight into the arms of the woman before her.
The sudden charge from the unprepared child would have been hard for even an adult man to withstand, yet the woman accepted her effortlessly, as smoothly as flowing water.
"Honestly now. Did you finish all your homework today?"
"Of course! I finished it ages ago! I just came because I had a question."
"What question?"
"Why do we have to attach His name to the end of ours?"
Why can't we just live with our own names?
The child, who had recently received His name as a gift and now had extra words tacked onto hers like some noble, pouted her lips slightly.
Now, whenever she introduced herself to anyone, she'd have to rattle off the full thing.
Honestly, it was inconvenient. For a kid who just wanted to say her own name, it was only natural to feel some resentment.
In response to the child's grumbling question, the woman smiled gently and replied.
"It's to show that He protects us and to let everyone know we're His shrine maidens."
"Is that such a big deal?"
Did this little one truly understand?
The significance of that name.
Like nobles with appended titles? Of course.
With that name, they now held a position that even most nobles could only sneer at enviously.
"You saw the emperor of the empire bow his head to me last time, right?"
"Ah! That gold-bearded old man!"
"Don't talk about him like that."
Treating the empire's emperor so casually.
If anyone overheard, it might land them a treason charge on the spot—but they remained utterly unfazed.
Why? Because they had every right to be.
"But our little shrine maiden's position is a bit ambiguous."
"I heard my predecessor messed up big time?"
Could it really be brushed off as just a "mishap"?
It had been a perilously dangerous moment that could have ended the world if things went wrong.
"Don't worry! I'll win it back!"
"Ho ho. I hope you do."
Though the chances of that were exceedingly slim.
Ignoring the woman's quiet mutter, the child scanned her surroundings as if searching for something, then cautiously asked.
"Where's the god today? She promised to play with me."
"Sorry, not today. We have a very important guest."
So give up for today.
At those words, the child scowled fiercely, instantly piercing through who the visitor must be.
"That tiger lady! Last time too—why does she come so often?!"
"Hey now. Call her Lady Cheong."
This one wasn't even comparable to the emperor.
So the woman corrected the girl with a serious expression, unlike before.
"She's His precious friend. Mind your words."
"We're precious too!"
"Hmm. Our position is a bit different. We're the ones serving Him, while Lady Cheong stands on equal footing, so she takes priority..."
Takes priority.
At those words, the child scrunched up her face and shouted.
"But last time, the god said I was her favorite in the whole world!"
"I heard that racket from way over there, so I came to check—and sure enough, it was you two."
There was no warning whatsoever.
A mysterious woman appeared out of nowhere, as if she'd been there from the start.
Before they even noticed her, she slipped behind the child and whispered in her ear.
"Rawr."
"Kyaa!"
"Iruha El Grace greets the Ruler of the West..."
"Enough. I've heard all the formalities I can stomach on the way here."
She hadn't come here to listen to that.
Her eyes, clear as jewels holding the sky, gleamed as she looked down at the little child.
Yes, the reason she'd come was precisely because of those words that had just slipped from the child's mouth.
"More importantly, little shrine maiden. Repeat what you said earlier."
That El guy. Who did he say he liked most?
A meeting to decide on names.
Honestly, I hadn't expected much.
One was a snake calling a spirit "hosuni," another was a snake (me) with naming sense bad enough to inspire that, and the last was a tiger who could barely speak properly.
-Hmm! How about Cosmo?
"Shaa."
'Whose name is that for?'
-...Yours?
"Shaa."
'Hmm... candidate for now.'
But what can I say.
This meeting wasn't as disastrous as I'd feared?
I'd thought it'd devolve into chaos with weird names flying everywhere, but surprisingly, it proceeded smoothly.
A few odd ones popped up now and then, but as time passed, more normal ones emerged—ones that made me think, Hey, that's not bad.
Whoosh.
With a gesture from Silpi, a clear turquoise wind gathered visibly in the air, forming letters.
Having done this countless times now, she smoothly created a new space and displayed the wind letters.
The letters were the latest name candidate.
'...It's amazing, though.'
Not that writing existed in this era—that wasn't surprising.
Even in ancient times, civilization wasn't nonexistent.
What amazed me was that I could read the letters Silpi made without any issue.
'Did I get the ability when I came here?'
Well, thinking about it, it wasn't that strange.
The game never had issues with the protagonist reading or writing.
Probably everyone from the gallery, including me, got the same perk.
-Huh? Oh, do you not know how to read?
As I stared blankly at the name candidates filling the cave, Silpi flew over, scratching her head.
She must've assumed beasts like us couldn't read.
It'd never occurred to her that a mere beast could grasp civilization and letters—unless it was a spirit beast.
"Shaaa."
'I know roughly.'
So I shook my head, denying her assumption.
She'd already sensed I wasn't an ordinary snake anyway.
-...Are you really a snake? Or maybe a spirit beast or a dragon polymorphed into one?
"Shaaa."
'Wish I were.'
Spirit beast was my immediate goal right in front of me. Dragon, regrettably, was a vastly different path I could never reach.
Dragon was a position even a mere beast like me could dream of via ascension systems, but without being born one, it was impossible.
'Plus, dragons' fates are largely dictated by their innate attribute.'
For example, their breath or magic.
Red dragons wield the classic fire-attribute breath we're familiar with and excel in flame magic.
Blue dragons use water-attribute breath infused with cold and master water or ice magic accordingly.
The various other dragons each have their fixed paths.
But the dragon I aimed to become was different.
A dragon that cultivates the Five Elements through training and possesses a Yeouiju can't wield magic like dragons, but it commands weather and performs miracles.
Of course, becoming one is no easy feat.
There were probably hordes of others besides me gunning for it.
-What're you thinking so hard about?
'Ah.'
I'd let my thoughts wander off track without realizing.
Right, we were in the middle of naming.
Dragon stuff could wait—it was still far off.
-Anyway, these have the best ring and are easy to say, right?
With that, Silpi brought several names before us.
Indeed. After such a long meeting with tons of candidates...
Even after whittling them down, there were still plenty left.
"Shaa."
'You sure I can pick?'
"Mya."
-She wants you to choose, actually.
Name. I rolled my eyes to glance at the guy.
Still didn't look like a tiger—more like a cat.
Impeccably clean pure-white fur without a speck of dust despite all the rolling around, and eyes sparkling clear as sky-filled jewels.
"Shaaa."
'Cheong.'
-Cheong? That's not even on the list?
Of course not.
Most candidates were three or four syllables long.
But that's why this single syllable felt more meaningful.
"Shaa."
'Cheong-ah.'
"Myung?"
"Shaaa."
'How's that for your name?'
Cheong. A single syllable that might seem perfunctory at first glance.
What would he think?
Would he smack my head like before?
"......"
Whoosh.
But he just stared at my face quietly, then turned away without a word and resumed rolling on the floor.
-What, you like it? You really want that name?
Reading the positive reaction in his actions, Silpi clutched her head and muttered to herself.
-Cheong-ah. Cheong-ah. Hmm... Doesn't sound bad, but it feels unfamiliar. Doesn't roll off the tongue easily.
Tok.
-Oh? Right, we've got Cheong's name, so now it's your turn.
I poked Silpi, and she quickly caught on, bringing over candidates for me.
-Honestly, after that last one, do we even need these?
Maybe because I hadn't picked from the list?
I shook my head at Silpi, who muttered in a quieter voice.
That had just been a sudden flash of inspiration.
Unless there was a special reason, I'd choose from these.
'Hmm. Lots of good ones.'
Honestly, Silpi's final selections all looked solid no matter which I picked.
Maybe that's why.
They were all so good that picking one was tough.
"Myaang."
Tok.
Cheong, having stopped rolling and come over, poked at one specific name.
As if to say that's the one he liked.
-What? Cheong picked it for you?
"Mya."
Since I'd named him Cheong, now he was naming me in return.
Paying back what he received.
I checked the name Cheong had chosen.
All the candidates appealed to me anyway. Having someone pick for me wasn't bad.
-What, you like it too? Gonna go with that one?
Nod.
Good. Honestly, it felt like a name that fit perfectly into this world.
-El Grace... We can just call you El!
The name Cheong picked was El Grace.
Too long for the full name, so we agreed to shorten it to the first syllable: El.