Chapter 27

Ever since waking up in the morning, it had become a daily routine to give magic power to Otem, which I had buried in the garden.

I tend to stay up late working on magic circle development, but thanks to this, my daily rhythm has been gradually improving.

A tall, lanky body, an unremarkable appearance, and garish, crude color coordination.

And to top it off, a nose that stretches out.

It’s an interesting look, but by no means can it be called handsome.

However, when you give magic power to it every day, you start to develop an attachment.

After giving Otem magic power, I stroke its head.

Oh no, it’s starting to look cute.

Even with such a creepy and scary appearance, it’s starting to look cute.

"Maybe I should give it a name..."

In my previous life, I also used to grow strange plants.

Back then, I often gave names to the plants.

It was more fun that way.

I remember laughing out loud when Mitsuhide, the plant I was growing in the club, bloomed and withered in just three days, as its name suggested.

The junior who was in charge of taking care of it had tears in his eyes.

"Name, huh?"

Giselle tilts her head.

In this village, there isn’t much of a culture of giving names to plants or Otems.

Well, it wasn’t that common in my previous life either.

There was someone who used to greet an Otem named after his deceased wife when he woke up and went to bed, but that’s a bit different.

The tribal chief used to tell it as a beautiful story, but to be honest, it sounded like a ghost story to me.

I thought it was the beginning of a B-grade horror movie. I even wondered if, after the old man died, the Otem would start moving on its own and turn into a splatter film.

I thought Giselle must have been scared because she was crying, but apparently, she was moved to tears.

It’s a bit sad to feel the difference in values from my previous life.

No, I don’t want to be the kind of person who cries at such stories.

"Yeah, I want to name this Otem 'Giselle,' hoping it will grow beautiful leaves."

After I declared this, Giselle’s gaze shifted from me to the Otem.

Looking at the Otem, which was painted bright red, she silently opened and closed her mouth.

Then, she looked at its nose, turned her face back to me, and said,

"Um, I think that’s a bit too much..."

"No good, huh..."

"S-Sorry, brother... Sorry..."

After a moment, she apologized twice.

I thought about enduring it, but the atmosphere clearly indicated that she didn’t like it.

I see, that makes sense.

"Um, how about 'Shibby,' hoping it will grow plump?"

"If she finds out you suggested it, she’ll cry..."

Shibby often makes jokes about herself, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care.

By making jokes, she’s trying to show that she’s not hurt.

It’s a kind of bravado.

"Besides, Shibby once named a Simparrot Chimera."

"Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that Chimera recently. She was so happy about it. What happened to it?"

I remember saying something like that.

I remember the human Shibby had a complicated expression.

Honestly, I feel a bit regretful.

"No... Actually, it didn’t come back after I let it out for a walk the other day."

I had underestimated the Chimera Shibby.

I thought if I gave it food, it would definitely come back.

"Is that so..."

"Keep it from Father."

Releasing a Chimera is apparently a prohibited act in some places.

Basically, once you create one, you’re responsible for it until it dies.

There’s no such rule in this Maaren tribe’s village, but Father probably wouldn’t be happy.

I hope my Shibby (Chimera) hasn’t caused any trouble for others...

"Anyway, we need to give it another name."

"Yeah. And this lanky Otem doesn’t really fit the name Shibby."

I put my hand on my chin and thought.

Is there a name that suits this Otem?

Looking at this Otem, I feel a sense of nostalgia...

"Yama... san...?"

"Yama-san?"

Giselle repeats my mutter.

That’s right, this is Yama-san. My senior from my previous life, Yama-san.

A high nose, a lanky body, and skin that easily turns red.

He wasn’t particularly handsome, but there was something about him that made you want to look after him.

"Sniff..."

"Brother! What’s wrong, brother?!"

"Ah, the sunlight got in my eyes."

Tears welled up in my eyes from the nostalgia.

At that moment, I decided to call this Otem Yama-san.

"Anyway, the name of this Otem is Yama-san."

After wiping away my tears, I placed my hand on Yama-san’s head.

"O-Otem, and you’re using 'san'?"

"Yeah, I’m using 'san' even though it’s an Otem."

Giselle didn’t seem convinced, and I couldn’t explain the origin of the name well, but I had no intention of changing it.

I stroked Yama-san’s head.

"There, there. I’m counting on you, Yama-san. Grow delicious leaves and avenge the tribal chief."

"Why are you using polite language!?"

Oops, I accidentally used polite language, a habit from my club.

Actually, it feels like Yama-san now.

As I was stroking Yama-san’s head, Giselle’s face gradually turned red.

"Um, brother? Maybe... my name would be okay..."

"Hey, you’re Abel, right?"

Just as Giselle was speaking, a voice came from behind.

Turning around, I saw three men standing there.

I recognized them, but I couldn’t remember their names.

One of them had a bowl cut and a nasty look, and the other two, who seemed to be his lackeys, were a tall one and a short one.

They were probably two or three years older than me, and they must have already gone through the coming-of-age ceremony.

The bowl-cut guy was intimidating, but the two lackeys seemed nervous.

I wonder what they want.

"Yeah, that’s me. Who are you?"

They seem like troublemakers.

They don’t look like they’re bringing good news.

I’ll use polite language just in case.

"What? You don’t know me? Oh, you’re as clueless as the rumors say! Listen up, Abel. I’m Nozwell Kalko. You should know the name, right?"

Nozwell Kalko.

So, he’s from the family that makes incense leaves.