Thus, after the battle with Charybdis, the Winter Great Tribe returned to their ruined fortress.
In the blink of an eye, they had lost their home, yet despair or emptiness was nowhere to be seen in their eyes.
They simply and silently began to rebuild from the ruins.
That was the life of the Nord tribe.
Meanwhile, Rudell and his companions…
“You know what you did wrong, right?”
“…”
“S-sorry…”
Rudell and Kurt were kneeling in front of Leje, who looked ready to eat them alive.
Such a menacing aura left them with no thought of excuses.
Kurt and Rudell couldn’t muster even a feeble resistance.
“Because of you, everyone almost died! Do you even realize that?”
“…”
Kurt couldn’t say a word in response to her scolding.
It was all true, after all; she wasn’t wrong.
“And Rudell! You’re just as guilty! You’re the leader—what are you doing hesitating!?”
“Umm…”
What had just happened was undeniably Rudell’s blunder.
His hesitation, fearing he couldn’t abandon Kurt, nearly cost someone their life.
If Eleor hadn’t awakened Thunder Fang into a Sacred Beast in time, they might not be here at all.
“A single moment of poor judgment can lead to annihilation! You know this!”
Right now, they weren’t just playing at being heroes.
With the weight of a single choice, everyone could die.
They bore the true mission of a hero.
“I’ll let it slide this time, but if it happens again, I’m not gonna hold back! Got it!?”
“Understood…”
“Got it.”
Nodding in response to Leje’s shouting, the two got up…
They approached the Sacred Beast, who had been resting on the ground, and Eleor, who was scratching its neck.
“Are we done with the talk?”
“Yes, and I apologize for what happened a bit earlier.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t mention it. You must have your own reasons, too.”
Seeing the three approaching, Eleor asked, and Rudell and Kurt bowed their heads as they spoke.
To their words, Eleor waved her hand dismissively.
“By the way, is it really a Sacred Beast?”
“Yes, it is a Sacred Beast.”
Eleor nodded in response to Leje’s question.
It was only natural for her to find it hard to believe.
This was because the existence of a Sacred Beast appeared only in very special cases, just like Heroes.
Moreover, the idea that a Monstrous Beast had become a Sacred Beast was something Rudell had never heard of.
“Th-This is amazing!! It’s my first time seeing a Sacred Beast in person…!! Um, could I draw a bit of its blood?!”
[Kiieeeeng…!!]
“Umm… would that really be okay…”
It seemed that Silphier’s instincts as a handler had kicked in, and with her eyes gleaming, she approached Thunder Fang.
Sensing something unusual, Thunder Fang, all curled up, glared at Eleor.
Sweating coldly, Eleor tried to stop her.
“What on earth happened? Transforming a Monstrous Beast into a Sacred Beast…”
“What do you think a Sacred Beast is, Rudellheit?”
“It’s an animal imbued with Divine Power, but…”
As he answered, Rudell trailed off.
If simply having Divine Power could create a Sacred Beast, then they wouldn’t be treated as something so special.
Why go through the trouble of raising an army when you could just call a random Priest and pour Divine Power onto a creature to make it a Sacred Beast?
For an ordinary creature to become a Sacred Beast, it needed to meet suitable conditions, just like selecting a Hero.
Naturally, such beings with suitable conditions were so rare that you could call them precious.
“In truth, it was close to a gamble.”
“A gamble?”
Rudell looked at her with a bewildered expression as she added to the conversation.
“This child’s body was severely eroded by the Divine Power of a Demon God and was almost at its limit. In that situation, to save this child, I had to pour almost all my Divine Power into it.”
“That means…”
“If I made a single mistake, it would have gone ‘boom!’ and resulted in a massive explosion.”
“…”
I wish she wouldn’t casually say such scary things.
With this thought, Rudell wore a look of disbelief.
“Well, the result is good, so isn’t that fine?”
“Excuse me, but haven’t you ever been told that sometimes you’re a bit spaced out?”
“Aha ha ha…”
Barely swallowing the words that were about to come out, Rudell let out an awkward laugh.
“By the way, I have something to ask your opinions on; is that alright?”
“Is it okay if I ask for your opinion on something?”
“Our opinion?”
“Yes, it’s very important.”
At her words, Rudell and the others looked puzzled.
Eleor nodded, and they all wore tense expressions.
What could be so important that it warranted such a statement?
Everyone held their breath and stared at her, while she cleared her throat and addressed Rudell and the group.
“I would like you to name this child.”
*
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Why are you all reacting like this? Did I ask something unreasonable?”
“N-no, not at all. I guess it’s just a bit anticlimactic…”
Seeing Eleor’s flustered expression, Rudell awkwardly waved his hands.
They could only show blank looks in response to her request.
They thought she was about to say something grand, but it was just naming a child…
“That sounds nice, but we can’t just call it Thunder Fang anymore.”
“I-I think it’s good too.”
“I don’t really care either way.”
As they each expressed their reactions, it seemed like Thunder Fang realized they were talking about him and lifted his head to look at them.
“Well then, please give me a good suggestion.”
“How about White Flash? I saw it move super fast earlier.”
“What about, uh, Doggo?”
“Thunder Fang. Can’t we just stick with the name we had?”
Despite everyone throwing out suggestions…
“How about it? Is there anything you like?”
[Growl…]
At Eleor’s question, Thunder Fang shook his head.
It was clear even to Rudell that none of the names had any sense of style whatsoever.
“That’s what he says.”
“Umm… I thought it was fine.”
“I-I also think it’s cute, don’t you?”
“Whatever you call it doesn’t matter to me…”
The discussion about naming Thunder Fang continued.
However, the names that came up only reminded everyone of their hopeless naming sense, and no solid answers emerged.
“So seriously!! Where did the name White Reaper even come from?!”
“Um, how about Cream instead since it’s white…”
“This is annoying. Can’t we just pick something at random?”
“Ugh!! If we’re going to bicker like this, let’s just settle it with a duel! That’d be way faster and simpler!”
“Decide! It’s much faster and simpler!”
“Good idea.”
“I-I’m not backing down either…!!”
The discussion to name the Sacred Beast suddenly threatened to turn into a Duel.
“A fight!? We want in!!”
“Someone bring snacks and drinks! We can’t be fighting on an empty stomach!!”
The surrounding Nord tribe members started gathering around the group, forgetting even to tidy up the ruins of the Fortress.
Then, it happened.
“Fenrir…”
At that moment, Rudell murmured the name that popped into his head while watching the chaos.
Fenrir.
It was the name of the Huge Wolf from the myths of a region in the world he originally lived in.
A being prophesied to slay the supreme deity by three goddesses who govern fate, bound and robbed of freedom just before the end of the world.
[Growl?]
“Do you like that name?”
At that moment, Thunder Fang, who had been lying down with a bored expression, lifted his head.
And just like that, it seemed some kind of communication passed between them, and Eleor said that while the three who were about to fight earlier lowered their weapons.
“Fenrir? Hmm… doesn’t sound bad.”
“It’s not cute, but… I think it’s okay.”
“It’s a name that carries strength. I think it’s good.”
“Huh? Suddenly?”
Rudell’s voice was flustered at the surprisingly cooling atmosphere.
No way, how can it cool down this quickly?
“Ugh, what a bummer.”
“We finally thought we could have a Festival…”
The Nord tribe members gathered around cast resentful glances at Rudell.
Of course, it was incredibly unfair from Rudell’s perspective.
“Then, let’s name this little one Fenrir. Is that alright, Fenrir?”
[AAOOOHHHHH—!!]
Seeing that, Eleor smiled and said.
In response to her question, Fenrir let out a loud howl into the air.
Thus, the name of the Sacred Beast was determined to be Fenrir.
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