But he didn’t want to honestly voice that doubt to Mirha, who was far kinder to him than he deserved.

She was too good, too genuinely, unbelievably good, that she would willingly grieve even for a child like him.

“Is there a name you’d like to be called? I think you can register under whatever name you like in the order’s roster. Feel free to say whatever comes to mind.”

“A name, I get to choose it myself?”

“Of course. It’s your name.”

My name. A name that belongs only to me, pointing to no one but me. Something strange tickled the boy’s chest. It was a sensation so unfamiliar, so warm and soft. Like a mirage that might scatter at any moment.

“……Then, would it be all right if I went by the name Rain?”

“Rain?”

“Yes. It came from the book Taniel read to me earlier.”

Rain was a supporting character in a well-known fairy tale of the holy nation. A forest spirit who helped the hero set off on a journey to save the one they loved, a guardian of treasure.

The boy glanced shyly at Taniel, and Taniel’s face broke into a pleased expression. Knowing her junior listened to the fairy tale she read with such deep feeling, she felt a quiet, unexpected pride.

“You liked that name?”

“Yes, the sound of it is pretty.”

The boy answered honestly, then flushed red with embarrassment. What if they laughed at him for reaching for a name too good for someone like him? What if they mocked him, saying what use is a pretty name on someone as plain as you?

“You’re right, Rain is a pretty name. Clean and soft, and not hard to pronounce either.”

Every worry was needless. The boy’s savior was, as always, gentle. Mirha looked down at the child and smiled warmly.

“From now on, you are Rain.”

“……Rain.”

“That’s right, Rain. Do you like it?”

“Yes, Dame Mirha. I like it.”

So much that all of it felt like a dream. So much that he feared he might snap awake at any moment and face the cold reality waiting for him. As blissful as it was, it made him uneasy, and he couldn’t be certain when the sweet dream might plunge into a nightmare.

If this day truly was nothing more than a dream, the boy silently vowed that the moment he woke from it, he would rather die.

Yes, dying would be better. Whether he died or killed, it would be better to just break everything apart.

In the boy’s barren life, the only beings that held meaning and warmth were kind Mirha and her bright, shining apprentice. They alone made up his world.

So if it was a world without them, he wanted it all to shatter. A world without meaning or warmth wasn’t worth the effort of keeping intact.

“Rain. Rain.”

The boy rolled his new name endlessly in his mouth. He let the rounded syllables soak the tip of his tongue and tried to fit himself into this new identity. Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain……

“Let’s go back now, Rain.”

Mirha said. The boy, Rain, felt his chest swell. Mirha said let’s go back. Back to where they had always been, back home.

Just a few days ago, he was a nameless commodity. But now he was a boy named Rain, with a knight’s dream and sacred power. The world changed completely.

Mirha held Rain and set off for the Moonlight Night Palace. To Mirha’s home, to the place that would now become Rain’s home too.

* * *

Taniel was genuinely glad that Rain possessed sacred power. She felt like she could jump up and down with joy.

She grew up showered with love from her parents, her nanny, her relatives, and her teacher, but there was a particular longing that only children her own age could fill.

Regrettably, the Santir branch of the Elapha Order currently had no apprentice knights around Taniel’s age.

Most of the seniors were nearly of age and awaiting their formal knighting, and the rest were young children of five or six who only recently began their training.

Eleven-year-old Taniel wanted a companion closer to her own age, someone she could truly relate to.

The boy her teacher brought along looked, judging by his size alone, to be only about seven or eight, but he was still clearly closer to her age than the others.

On the way back from the temple to the Moonlight Night Palace, Taniel tried not to let her joy show too openly. As a member of the order, she couldn’t go around skipping and bouncing about without dignity.

But once she returned to the lodgings with her teacher and her new junior, Taniel let herself be as openly delighted as she pleased, with no one else’s eyes to worry about.

The moment the door to the lodgings closed and Mirha carefully set Rain down, Taniel grabbed Rain’s hand. A rosy, peach-colored flush burst across his cheeks.

“Congratulations, Rain! I’m so glad you were born with sacred power. Now you can join the order and train with me!”

“Yes, Taniel. Thank you for the congratulations.”

“Just call me Senior from now on! You’re going to be my junior from here on out.”

“Yes, Senior Taniel.”

“By the way, Rain, are you feeling unwell? Do you have a fever?”

“P, Pardon?”

“Your face is so red. Are you sick because the tension finally wore off?”

Before he knew it, Taniel wore a worried look as she reached out one hand and lightly pressed it to Rain’s forehead. Her other hand still held his.

Rain froze. Taniel leaned in close, peering at him with anxious concern, and her face was too near. A ticklish warmth spread where their soft skin touched.

“I, I’m fine. I’m not sick.”

Rain mumbled pitifully and gave Taniel a gentle nudge back. Mirha, watching from the side, calmly pointed out:

“Taniel, when you’re talking to someone, you need to keep a proper distance. You got too close and flustered Rain.”

“Oh, I see. Sorry, Rain.”

“No, it’s all right.”

Taniel quickly stepped back, and Rain felt a pang of disappointment. He didn’t want her to move away. He didn’t want to lose even that small bit of warmth.

“And congratulations on getting a new name too. It really is a pretty name.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

“But what if you remember your real name later? Then you’d have two names.”

“It’s fine. Even if I do remember my original name someday, I still want to keep being called Rain.”

The timid, withdrawn boy was, for once, firm. Every word he said was completely sincere.

He wasn’t even sure he ever had a name to begin with. Would parents who sold their young child off at a slave auction have ever given him a name with any love in it?

Even if they did, it didn’t matter. He had no use for any name tied to that muddy, wretched past.

His name was Rain from now on, and it always would be.

“All right, we’ll do it your way. Congratulations again, Rain. On earning the right to become a knight, and on getting such a pretty name.”

Taniel said with a smile. Her manner was so consistently warm that Rain felt tears threatening to rise.

“Thank you, Senior.”

He mumbled now, his throat tight. Their eyes met, and Taniel smiled that same soft, unguarded smile as before. Heat rushed to Rain’s cheeks, and Taniel’s expression shifted into concern.

“But Rain, I really think you might be sick. Your face is so red?”

“……I’m not, Senior. I’m fine.”

Rain quickly bowed his head. His heart beat fast.

Mirha, watching the two children, spoke up.

“Taniel, Rain, would you like to go look around the city together? Rain, this is your first time in the capital. If you’re going to receive your knighting at the Santir branch, it’ll be good to get familiar with the area ahead of time.”

“Yes, Dame Mirha.”

“Yes, Teacher! I’d love that.”

Taniel’s eyes sparkled. A trip into the city with her newly arrived little-brother-like companion and her beloved teacher, the lively eleven-year-old girl felt her heart flutter already.

“Good, then let’s go together. I was thinking we’d take a look at the main landmarks in the city, then have dinner out before heading back. We’re already dressed for going out, so there’s no need to change.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Then let’s head out right away.”

Taniel hopped to the entrance like a rabbit. While Taniel struggled to pull her boots back on, Mirha gently fastened Rain’s cloak with a careful hand.

“This city will become your home from now on. A knight’s role is to protect the people and territory of the nation they belong to, and especially to maintain the peace of their own city. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Dame Mirha.”

“And from now on, call me Teacher. You haven’t been formally entered into the apprentice knight roster yet, but I’ll be teaching you going forward.”

“……Yes, Teacher.”

Is it really all right for someone like me to call you by the same title as Senior Taniel? Rain wanted to ask. But the guardian’s gaze toward him was warm, and the boy drew courage from that warmth.