“What?”
Luke exclaimed in a flustered voice.
It was about the marriage of Yerna and Dayton.
It was sudden, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t understand.
From the beginning, Dayton had thought about marrying Yerna and had wanted to, so it was a good thing for that young man.
It was something he had expected already.
It was bound to happen someday, and he could somewhat accept it.
But what was really confusing Luke was none other than ‘the issue of names’.
“Lispind,” “Genepper.”
Those were Yerna and Dayton’s surnames.
Typically, when adopting, a child follows the parents’ surname, so the name would change as well.
Luke already knew this, but to think that the time had come to discuss such a topic?
His name would change.
The name Luke Irushi would change.
That meant everything would finally change.
“I am Luke Irushi. I don’t want to change my name…”
“Do you not want to become family with your sister?”
“No, that’s not it…”
As Luke stammered, Yerna asked with a puzzled expression.
“Is there a reason you don’t want to change that name?”
“Of course, because I am Luke Irushi.”
“But that name is an old name, isn’t it? You’re not the Luke Irushi from 5000 years ago… I don’t think you need to be so attached to it.”
Luke paused for a moment.
Well, as she said, he wasn’t the Luke Irushi from 5000 years ago.
He had simply defined himself that way; he didn’t know what name he had before regaining this memory.
According to Py’s assertion, ‘Ere’ was the most likely name, and according to Sigarmata’s assertion, he was ‘Parvati,’ although no one mentioned it, some claimed there was also a fiend named ‘Levi.’
But proving that he was Luke Irushi was wholly tied to his memory.
Aside from not questioning the fact that he was Luke Irushi, it was clear that he wasn’t the Luke Irushi from 5000 years ago.
What he had learned was unavoidable.
“Can you give me a moment to think…”
“…Sure, of course.”
“Thank you.”
After saying that, Luke walked into his room like he was in a daze.
Was changing his name really that difficult?
It was strange; for Luke, the name Luke Irushi was ultimately a mask and a shield he had created to endure a terrible experiment, wasn’t it?
There probably weren’t many good memories associated with his name…
But should he have approached this topic more slowly with a child?
Yerna realized that raising a child was not easy, even in these small ways.
——
Luke lay on the bed, blankly staring at the ceiling.
A mobile he had previously hung was slowly spinning above.
He would touch it once or twice before bed and watch it sway and spin, finding it made it easier to sleep.
Watching its shapes represented by marine creatures like whales, fish, squids, and octopuses stirred something instinctive within him.
His instincts as a cat were calling to him.
To touch it.
But this time, Luke wasn’t thinking of fulfilling that impulse; he just stared up.
That sensation wasn’t that of ‘Luke Irushi,’ but of a feeling he had.
He could no longer be the actual Luke Irushi.
This body, memory, and even soul was not the complete Luke Irushi.
His character was simply a shell.
His essence was just an unnamed chimera.
Yet, despite that, he didn’t want to give up the name Luke Irushi.
The memories of his parents from childhood were still vivid.
“Now, now, because you’re a boy, you will be called Luke Irushi from now on.”
In that hazy vision, the gentle voice he first heard unmistakably belonged to Vina Irushi, his mother.
That’s how his name came to be.
Hearing that first name, the countless memories and experiences he built up as Luke Irushi became many bricks forming his self-identity, and finally, all the events and thoughts he experienced became additional bricks, constructing a sort of fortress.
The result that encompassed all that life was the name ‘Luke Irushi.’
Thus, in the end, changing his name was akin to severing his connection to all those memories and the present; for a mage, a name is indeed tantamount to self (ego).
So, Luke didn’t want to change his surname.
In his later years, he had cast off that family name and hadn’t cared much about it, but that was merely because his life as a mage mattered more; he harbored no ill feelings toward his family.
The emotions tied to the name Irushi were, rather, closer to the positive.
Luke shook his head and thought like this.
Yeah, he really didn’t want to change names.
No matter how much he mulled it over, it remained the same.
After concluding, Luke opened the bedroom door and found Yerna standing awkwardly right in front of it.
Sensing something was off with her strange posture, Luke tilted his head in question.
“Why are you standing there like that?”
“Oh, um, it’s nothing! Did you decide? What surname will you choose?”
“Um, yeah. I decided.”
“Really? Is Lispind preferable?”
Yerna looked at Luke with an expression brimming with expectation.
But Luke responded with a grin.
“Still, I don’t want to choose Lispind or Genepper. I’m fine as I am.”
“…Why?”
“Because it’s a precious name given to me by my parents.”
Luke answered with a slightly wistful expression.
“Though I haven’t really cared much about family names, the name Irushi holds precious memories for me. I don’t want to erase even that trace.”
“…I see. Okay, I understand.”
Yerna nodded, blaming herself for her shortsightedness.
In truth, the moment Luke went into the room, she slightly opened the door to peek at what Luke was doing.
She had been anxious, wondering if she had done something wrong while he lay there, staring blankly at the mobile, but thankfully, Luke now seemed quite stable.
It appeared Luke didn’t want to give up the name given by his late parents.
Well, that makes sense.
No matter how much parents might not care for their family legacy, children can hardly forget the parents who brought them into this world.
Hadn’t she herself felt a deep longing for a father she had never even met?
Looking at all this, she could see that, despite finding nothing through her investigations, Luke’s name wasn’t something he had created on his own but rather given to him by his parents.
Or perhaps, even if it wasn’t his true name, he held such a deep attachment to it.
That’s why Luke could withstand his past so strongly and calmly.
Yerna soon knelt before Luke, eye level with him, and asked.
“However, you don’t mind becoming family with your sister, right? Is your sister troubling you?”
Luke smiled at Yerna like a child and responded.
“Of course not! I don’t want to be out of family.”
“Really? That’s a relief…”
Yerna sighed, seemingly reassured, and grasped Luke’s hand.
“So, you don’t dislike the idea of becoming family with your sister?”
“Of course not! I’m rather grateful that you’re willing to take in a child like me. You’ve taken such warm care of a clueless orphan like me.”
“Don’t say that. You’re no longer an orphan!”
“…That’s true.”
Luke chuckled softly.
It wasn’t that he had inherently disliked home life, but he hadn’t paid it much mind.
He had merely thought of his status and prestige as tools he could use.
Thus, the fact that he had formed a family now, purely to be with someone, was genuinely a first for him.
“Still, the transition from sister to mother is still a bit hard for me to say.”
“Hahaha! That’s true! It hasn’t been long since you started calling me sister.”
As they laughed together, Pyris came running in, poking her head in.
“So, are we all family now?”
“That’s right! How do you feel about the name, Pyris?”
“I’m not changing it! Pyris is Pyris!”
“I figured as much.”
Yerna ruffled Pyris’s hair and nodded.
Well, as for that, isn’t there some flexibility if they look for it?
So, for now, I decided not to overthink it.
As Luke watched this truly harmonious family scene, he thought inwardly.
‘By the way, family… That feels kind of strange. Surely it’s much better than having no parents… But, well, it’s a change of status.’
Transitioning from an orphan with no ties to becoming an adopted child in a family.
It was indeed the most notable upgrade in status.
Children without parents 5000 years ago were often left with only two choices: slavery or death.
Going from an orphanage to being adopted was truly difficult, except for kids who were quite attractive or exceptionally skilled.
Of course, now such things were abolished, so being an orphan did not mean they would face harsh treatment, though it was a fact that they would still encounter minor disadvantages.
For example, without the guardian’s permission or agreement, various awards or competition participation, or other financial activities were restricted, and orphans had no one suitable to serve as their guardian, thus lacking any means to navigate those situations.
As much as the world had improved, it was still difficult for a young child to live independently.
“So, we won’t be separated even after three years.”
“Yes!”
Yerna nodded in response to Luke’s comment and asked.
“Do you have something you want to do now that you have a family?”
“Um…”
Luke contemplated briefly.
What could he do with a family?
Several thoughts crossed his mind, but the one that stood out the most was indeed an amusement park.
Typically, it was a place one went to with parents or family, which was why Luke had never been able to go there.
Gerard Collson, the mage in charge of the power plant, had once likened the size of the power plant to that of an amusement park, but he couldn’t understand it at all.
Naturally, curiosity arose.
“I want to visit an amusement park. I’ve heard that you can’t go there without parents…”
Yerna looked at Luke’s child-like wish with a slightly blank expression, not having anticipated it at all.
Pyris, on the other hand, looked between Luke and Yerna with a puzzled expression and asked.
“Amusement park? What’s that? Is it food? Is it delicious?”
“Well, an amusement park is a place… From the name, it seems like a place to play, but… Um, I haven’t searched it up, so I don’t really know.”
“…”
Watching that pitiful sight, Yerna finally made a resolution.
She would definitely take these children to an amusement park.
