Twitch…

“Ah…..”

Aestrea stood in front of the receptionist’s desk, staring at the stack of papers before him. His fingers twitched slightly as he held the quill, hesitating to sign the last document.

This was ridiculous.

Completely insane.

He had just fought this girl.

Just nearly killed her.

And now, here he was, about to officially adopt her like she was some lost kitten he found in an alley. Lumi had somehow convinced him—no, forced him—into this madness.

He sighed and finally put the pen to the paper, scribbling his signature with the grace of a man accepting his fate.

The receptionist, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a gentle smile, took the document from him, scanning it over before nodding in approval.

Then, she looked at the girl standing beside him.

“Well then,” she said in a warm voice, almost teasing. “Congratulations on having your first daughter, Mr. Moon.”

Aestrea’s face went completely lifeless.

His brain short-circuited.

He had never felt so much regret in his entire life.

Meanwhile, the girl—his new daughter—clutched the sleeve of his coat tightly.

Her hands were trembling slightly, and her lips parted as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if she should.

Then, hesitantly, in the softest, most uncertain voice—

“…Dad…?”

Aestrea felt an instant migraine.

His temples throbbed.

His body physically recoiled as if the word had physically punched him.

No.

No, no, no.

Absolutely not.

“Don’t,” he said immediately, his voice cold.

The girl flinched.

Her grip loosened slightly, and for a second, she looked like she might cry again.

“Not yet,” Aestrea muttered, rubbing his forehead.

“Just… give me time.”

She didn’t say anything after that, but she still held onto his coat.

He sighed.

‘Lumi, you little devil, I hope you’re happy.’

<Hehe!>

Grabbing the girl’s hand, Aestrea led her back to the black market, where he brought her to his room, in Yara’s residence.

It only took a few minutes to get there.

And Yara wasn’t home.

Aestrea pushed open the door to his room, stepping inside with the girl following closely behind.

The girl stood awkwardly near the entrance, looking around like she wasn’t sure where she was allowed to step.

“Just sit anywhere,” Aestrea said, waving a hand lazily.

She nodded and cautiously sat on the edge of the bed, keeping her back straight and hands on her lap like she was a guest.

Aestrea sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

This was exhausting.

And then—

SPLAT!

A green, jelly-like blob suddenly launched itself onto his face.

“MASTER~!”

Aestrea staggered back slightly as Lumi clung to his head like an overexcited child.

The girl yelped, eyes wide with terror as she scrambled back on the bed.

“W-WHAT IS THAT!?”

Lumi peeled herself off Aestrea’s face and turned toward the girl, bouncing slightly in excitement. “Oooohhh~! So you’re the new little sister~?”

“…Little… sister…?” The girl looked confused, her eyes darting between Lumi and Aestrea.

Aestrea groaned lightly.

“Lumi, you’re scaring her.”

Lumi ignored him, bouncing closer to the girl, her slimy body jiggling as she tilted her head cutely.

“Hi~! I’m Lumi! I’m Master’s partner and his first companion! But since he adopted you, that means you’re my little sister now, right~?”

The girl still looked overwhelmed, staring at Lumi like she wasn’t sure if she should be scared or fascinated.

“I-I’ve never seen a slime that can talk…” she muttered.

“What?!” Lumi gasped dramatically.

“You’ve been missing out, then! I’m one-of-a-kind, super cute, and—”

Aestrea picked her up by the top of her head and tossed her onto the bed.

“Enough.”

Lumi just giggled as she bounced onto the mattress.

Aestrea turned back to the girl, sighing deeply. “That’s Lumi. She’s an annoying little thing that follows me around.”

‘And also the one that wanted me to adopt you…’ he added inwardly.

“Hey!” Lumi pouted.

The girl blinked slowly, still processing. “…So, she’s not dangerous?”

“Oh, I’m very dangerous,” Lumi said proudly. “But only when Master says so~!”

The girl didn’t seem reassured.

Aestrea pinched the bridge of his nose. “Forget it. More importantly, we need to take care of the contract.”

“Here it is, Master~” Lumi jumped towards him, giving him a piece of parchment.

Taking the paper, he slowly channeled a bit of mana into the paper, and then, a strange glowing symbol started forming on it.

He looked at the girl who was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands fidgeting in her lap, and then explained what that paper was.

“This is a Family Brand contract,” Aestrea explained. “It binds two people as family. Once signed, it prevents betrayal, meaning you won’t be able to attack me, and I won’t be able to harm you either.”

She looked up at him, wide-eyed.

“So… it’s a protection spell?”

“More like a leash,” Aestrea muttered.

She hesitated for a long moment, then finally spoke. “And… you’re sure you want to do this? Even though I tried to kill you?”

Aestrea exhaled slowly.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t sure.”

Her hands clenched into fists.

She looked down at the table, her hair covering her eyes.

“…Okay,” she whispered.

Aestrea pricked his finger and pressed it to the paper, his blood soaking into the parchment and causing the symbols to glow brighter.

He passed the small dagger to her.

She took it hesitantly, then pricked her own finger, letting a single drop of blood fall onto the contract.

The moment her blood touched the parchment, the symbols flared with light. The contract lifted into the air, glowing with golden energy before it slowly faded and disappeared.

A warm sensation spread through Aestrea’s body. It wasn’t overwhelming, just a soft, comforting presence—like something deep inside him recognized her now.

The girl let out a quiet gasp, clutching her chest as she felt it too.

Then, silence.

Sitting on a chair close to his desk, Aestrea leaned back.

“It’s done.”

The girl stared at her hands as if expecting something to change physically. When nothing happened, she looked back up at him.

“…So that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“…I really can’t hurt you now?”

“Nope.”

She let out a small, breathy laugh.

“…That’s kinda amazing.”

“Woohoo~! Welcome to the family!” Lumi suddenly jumped onto the bed.

The girl flinched but didn’t pull away when Lumi clung to her arm.

Aestrea watched her carefully.

“…You never told me your name.”

She hesitated, then lowered her gaze. “…I was never given one.”

“WHAT?!” Lumi gasped.

Aestrea sighed again.

This just kept getting worse and worse.

“Well,” he muttered, “I guess that means I have to name you too.”

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. “Y-you’re going to name me?”

He stared at her, then glanced at Lumi. The slime was already bouncing excitedly, probably thinking up stupid names.

Aestrea sighed.

“Yeah. Can’t have my… daughter walking around without a name.”

She stiffened.

A beat of silence passed.

Then—

“…Dad…”

Aestrea’s headache immediately returned.

“Hehe~! Master, you really are a dad now!” Lumi just giggled.

“Shut. Up.”

But then, Aestrea frowned.

“Come to think about it… how come they didn’t ask for your name when registering me as your parent…?”

Now that he thought about it, the whole process had gone way too smoothly.

The receptionist never asked for her name, never even checked if she had one.

They just accepted everything and handed over the documents like it was completely normal.

The girl tilted her head slightly, looking just as confused.

“I… I don’t know,” she mumbled.

Aestrea sighed, rubbing his temples. Something about this whole thing felt off, but he didn’t have the energy to dig into it right now.

Then, he suddenly remembered—

“Wait.”

They also gave her an Awakener ID.

That meant she must have something registered under her name. Even if she didn’t have one before, the system had to put something in there, right?

“Give me your Awakener ID,” Aestrea said, holding out his hand.

The girl blinked, then hesitated before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a thin, metal-like card. She carefully placed it in his palm.

Aestrea flipped it over and looked at the text displayed on its surface.

His eyes narrowed.

There, right where the name should have been, were the words:

[Insert the new name.]

“…Ah.”

Now everything made sense.

She wasn’t ignored. She wasn’t forgotten. The system itself had left her name blank, waiting for someone—her guardian—to give her one.

Aestrea exhaled through his nose, tapping the card against the table a few times as he thought.

So, she really didn’t have a name.

Not just in her own memory, but officially.

Lumi, sitting on the desk, peeked over his shoulder. “Oooooh~! That means you really have to name her, Master!”

Aestrea shot Lumi a look but didn’t argue. He glanced back at the girl, who was staring at the card with an unreadable expression.

Naming her…

He wasn’t the type to care about sentimental things like this, but…

A name was still important.

It was what defined a person.

Aestrea closed his eyes for a second, thinking.

Then, he slowly exhaled and looked at the girl again.

“Chaerin,” he finally said.

The girl flinched slightly, eyes widening.

“That’s… your name now.” Aestrea placed the Awakener ID on the desk and tapped it twice.

The system recognized his command, and the letters on the card changed, glowing softly as they rearranged themselves.

[Name: Chaerin Moon]

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

The girl—no, Chaerin—stared at the card, her hands trembling slightly as she reached out and picked it up.

She ran her fingers over the newly written name, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Lumi wiggled excitedly. “Chaerin~! That’s such a cute name! Master, I didn’t know you had a good sense for names~!”

“I was the one that gave you that name.”

Aestrea retorted while keeping his eyes on Chaerin.

She was still staring at the ID, her fingers gripping it tightly.

“…Chaerin,” she whispered, almost testing how it felt on her tongue.

Aestrea leaned back in his chair. “If you don’t like it, I can change it—”

“I like it!”

Aestrea blinked.

Chaerin clutched the ID close to her chest, her face slightly red as she lowered her head.

“I… I really like it,” she said softly.

“OH MY GOSH, SHE’S BLUSHIN—” Lumi gasped dramatically.

Aestrea flicked Lumi on the forehead.

“Shut up.”

Lumi pouted but didn’t say anything else.

Meanwhile, Chaerin sat there, looking down at her new name over and over again, as if she still couldn’t believe it was real.

Aestrea watched her quietly, then sighed and leaned his cheek against his hand.

This was exhausting.

The room was completely quiet after that.

Chaerin had calmed down, still holding her ID but no longer shaking. Lumi had finally stopped teasing, and Aestrea… was just trying to process everything.

He had fought this girl.

He had nearly killed this girl.

And now, he was responsible for her.

For her name.

For her future.

The weight of that realization settled deep into his bones, but strangely, it didn’t feel as suffocating as he expected.

It was… annoying, sure.

But not unbearable.

Across from him, Chaerin carefully put the ID back in her pocket. Then, she glanced up at him, hesitant.

“…Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Don’t mention it,” Aestrea sighed, looking away.

Chaerin smiled softly in a shy manner.

Lumi grinned.

Aestrea felt his headache return.

Now, the whole party seemed to be completed.

A slime, a high elf, and finally, a modified human of some sort.

‘And… I still need to introduce her to Alaine. Thinking about it, isn’t she kind of late? She told me that she was simply going to get groceries…’

Aestrea thought inwardly.

Then, looking at the energetic Lumy, the shy Chaerin, and the mature Alaine that would be joining them soon…

Aestrea couldn’t help but sigh for the 27th time today.

This was going to be a long journey.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep