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Finally, the long-awaited naming of Cotton Puff had begun.

The members of the Count’s House sat around Tania and Cotton Puff, and everyone, including myself, had their heads bowed down, lost in thought.

“Well, if I name it, that’ll solve everything.”

“Just be quiet.”

“Chii….”

It seemed that Elvis’s nickname “Changsik” was so delightful that now they wanted to give Cotton Puff a name similarly cute. Cotton Puff also crumpled its face every time Tania spoke.

We were discussing this with the premise that everyone would reject Tania’s suggestions.

After pondering for a while, the first to break the silence was none other than Diolia.

“…How about Cotton?”

“Cotton, you mean?”

“Um. It fits given its appearance. Plus, it’s pretty fluffy when you stroke it, so I thought it would suit well.”

“…….”

Cotton. It had a feel similar to the current nickname of Cotton Puff. I felt somewhat sorry for Diolia, as she seemed to be earnestly giving it her best shot…

In the end, I couldn’t help but shake my head at her suggestion.

“That might be a bit difficult.”

“……?”

“The reason my spirit looks like cotton fluff is mostly because it’s still a low-level spirit, giving it that small, animal-like appearance.”

“If that’s the case—”

“Once it reaches the intermediate level, it’ll lose that cotton-looking appearance completely. Instead, it’ll probably transform into something like a young child, like Tania here.”

While Cotton Puff’s current form is cute… our spirit has potential beyond just remaining a low-level one, right? Sooner or later, it definitely needs to rise to intermediate level, or beyond, to take on demons.

Right now, Cotton Puff is like a tadpole. One day it will become a frog, with limbs growing out and all.

Giving it a name like Cotton, just because of its current appearance, wouldn’t really fit.

Moreover, spirits tend to gain a stronger conviction about their existence if their name has meanings related to their attributes. So, thinking of a name associated with wind would be much better.

With my simple explanation, Diolia and Shione nodded in agreement.

“I see. In that case, a different name would indeed be better. Then if it’s wind—”

“Wind… Wiiiind…”

As Shione and Diolia deepened their contemplation,

Suddenly, Shione looked down at Cotton Puff and murmured.

“…How about Delphin or Orna?”

“Delphin, and Orna, you say?”

“Yeah, that’s the name they call the flower known as Delphinium Ornatum in the Empire. One of its meanings is freedom, so I thought it might go well with the wind.”

Starting from there, Shione began explaining what she knew about this flower called Delphinium.

I wonder when she memorized all of this. To summarize her fluid explanation:

Depending on the color of the flower, the meaning changes, and the Delphinium’s meanings vary widely. Along with freedom, it signifies confidence and pride.

It had a pretty nice meaning.

—Hieee.

Cotton Puff seemed to like Shione’s suggestion, or perhaps it was surprised to receive such serious consideration after being called a moth all the time.

It made another strange noise.

“Ah.”

Buzzing.

Cotton Puff, nestled in Tania’s arms, flew up and approached Shione. For a moment, it floated calmly in front of her, making eye contact, then, as if to congratulate her, patted Shione’s bangs with its short little paw.

—Myaaa.

“Is it saying it liked the name?”

After Tania interpreted Cotton Puff’s words with the imprecise common tongue, Shione nodded absentmindedly and swiftly snatched Cotton Puff, who was messing with her bangs.

Under normal circumstances, the spirit would be flailing to escape once caught, but today it seemed to allow it, settling down in her hand while folding its wings against its back.

I watched Cotton Puff and said,

“So, then… Delphin?”

—…….

“Orna?”

—Myang!

It appeared Cotton Puff particularly liked the name Orna.

With a satisfied cry, I definitively named it.

“From now on… I’ll call you Orna instead of Cotton Puff.”

—Hie.

Thanks to Shione, who was holed up in her room memorizing flower meanings, I could give Cotton Puff a name it liked better than expected. Honestly, even though I had several options prepared, I don’t consider myself particularly skilled in naming… I couldn’t muster up the courage to say a name that was a bit better than Tania’s.

I began to channel the energy pooled in my heart to further stimulate the bond established with my spirit. As the contractor of the spirit, I issued the command.

Cotton Puff, who was in Shione’s arms, was drawn toward me, and soon, with the little spirit positioned in my hand, I whispered while sharing my mana.

“Orna.”

The imprint of the name. From now on, Cotton Puff would live as a spirit with its own name, Orna, no longer just a nameless low-level spirit.

With the bond becoming even more solid and feeling the energy of my little spirit, which was still small like a tiny creature, I briefly savored it.

“Ah, it’s growing!”

Just as Tania said. Cotton Puff suddenly began to suck in my mana and swell its size.

‘Is it really progressing to intermediate?’

In contrast to Diolia and Shione’s round eyes widening in surprise, I calmly observed Orna’s transformation.

After all, I had witnessed this change through Tania and Changsik twice already.

In Tania’s case, I had summoned a low-level spirit and named it right away. Given that both my skills and Tania’s lack of experience were underdeveloped, there hadn’t been much noticeable change.

However, with Changsik, naming it caused it to grow and immediately evolve into an intermediate spirit.

‘If this continues…’

It seemed possible for it to reach intermediate too.

The degree to which Cotton Puff’s size was swelling was impressive. What once fit neatly into one hand now required two hands to catch it comfortably.

As excitement began to sprout within me, at that moment—

—Fuaa.

As Orna sighed, its swelling body finally stopped changing.

“……”

Seriously? Just as I began to feel hopeful, Orna, sitting atop my palms, looked up at me.

—Myang!

It seemed to be saying, “I worked hard, so can I get some head pats now?”

I chuckled softly and set Orna down on the floor, giving it a hearty tousle on the head. As I stroked its fluffy fur, I aimed to sweep away my lingering regrets.

Meanwhile, Tania gently poked me with a subtle expression and conveyed a message.

—Park Shin-woo, you’re in big trouble?

‘…Me?’

—Changsik’s jealousy.

‘Ah.’

—You just contracted a new spirit, one that’s also related to the wind, plus you didn’t call him. And after giving it a name, look at this little one—he’s likely to level up to intermediate soon.

‘…….’

—You know well, right? Changsik gets rather jealous. If he’s sulking now, it could be a bit troublesome.

Since the high elf, Edelin, said she would help Changsik meet again soon…

‘Can you talk to him a bit?’

To be honest, sulking Changsik is somewhat scary.

He’d manipulate the winds around him, creating walls to keep anyone away. The swirling winds can get quite dangerous.

Thus, I tried giving Tania a “poor Changsik” look as I made my request.

—Hmph.

Tania smiled, clearly amused.

—I don’t wanna.

Sadly, my first spirit was a notorious prankster.

*

A few days passed.

I participated in discussions among the forest guardians and practiced coordination with them. I also helped Cotton Puff and Shione synchronize their actions, while researching how much of Tania’s power could be harnessed with minimal mana strain.

Moreover, in recent times, I found myself neglecting archery. Needing a bit of rehabilitation, I recalled my past experiences with both traditional and modern bows before becoming a hunter. Today, I regained the tautness of my bowstrings.

Finally, I was fully armed for battle after a long time since the siege on the castle walls.

The bow and sword were still proficient in my hands. However, for the arrows, I had specially crafted them from a unique wood grown in the Great Forest to better absorb the spirit’s energy, filling my quiver to the brim.

“Park Shin-woo, here.”

Tania brought over leather finger gloves.

I skillfully slipped them onto my right hand. These too were provided by the Arielte Family. With these, I could draw a strong bow multiple times without feeling the strain.

As I fidgeted with my bow and sharpened my senses, Tania stared at me intently.

“You’re starting to look more like yourself.”

Well, yes.

Tania knew me as the guy who used to shout curses while shooting arrows rather than the well-mannered attendant.

“So, are you confident? They say the eastern forest is pretty complex.”

“No need for such boasting,” I replied casually.

“Just do it as you did before.”

I only needed to act as I did in the past.

“I’ve faced jungles way too many times, after all.”

And that dense, confusing forest was precisely my favorite environment.

“I only have to worry about the team.”

My thoughts were more about others than myself.

I scanned my neatly organized quarters and checked my gear one more time before opening the door.

The hunt for the demons hiding in the eastern forest was about to begin.

 

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