Everyone's names

Chapter 10

Naoya hurried along the headquarter’s halls, trying to reach the main entrance as fast as possible. His morning has been quite hectic so far, starting with being woken up by the fairy shouting in his mind, hurriedly dressing up and getting lost within the building, asking several knights he met along the way for directions.

It was a brand new day for him, and the start of his new life in Valebryn. Following the Sentinel’s plans, Naoya and his companions, Cipher Unit, decided to work on his citizenship first, in order to make his residency in Valebryn official, as well as introduce him to the city. All of them joined except for Greta, who was busy with her check-up and training.

They agreed to meet up at the headquarters entrance at eight in the morning. It was now half-past eight, and Naoya was losing his breath as he ran towards the knights, his fairy flying behind him. Lance wore a stylish coat and pants, looking like he was going on a date instead of an official assignment, while Astrea wore a blue dress and her beret. Simple and cute.

“Well, good morning, sleepyhead. Did you have some nice happy dreams?” Lance says as Naoya stops in front of them, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

“Sorry, hah… got lost… I got lost somewhere… phew. This place is confusing.”

“Well, at least you were here before Halo Unit. Would’ve made for a bad first impression.”

“Oh, that’s a relief, then.”

Lance’s watch rings at that moment, and he answers the call.

“Is this Cipher Unit?” A gentle male voice speaks.

“Yes, this is Lance from Cipher Unit.”

“Oh, perfect, this is Captain Eiren from Halo Unit. I’m sorry, I just saw the directive from Sir Valiansteel and Captain Bellan’s message an hour ago, and unfortunately, all of my teammates are already going about their own business today. So for now I’ll be meeting you guys in a bit, okay?” the guy explains.

“Oh, that’s alright. When can we expect you?” Lance asks.

“Right about now, actually,” the person replies.

A bright light suddenly manifests near the group, where a male elf appears. He was carrying a thick, open brown book, glancing down to avoid their stares and nervously trying to fix his hair as he approached. He looked younger than Naoya and wore robes that had the signature blue and yellow colors of the Knights’ uniforms.

“Good morning, Cipher Unit. I’m Captain Eiren of Halo Unit, strategist and utility mage on my team,” Eiren says as he shakes everyone’s hands. “And you must be Naoya, right?”

“Yes, sir. I’m Shiranui Naoya. I’m a… well, I’m a traveler from another world, and future Knight, so I look forward to working with you,” Naoya says as he shakes the elf’s hand.

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too,” the captain shyly replies.

“Good morning, Sir Eiren. Lance Speardagger of Cipher Unit. Melee combat specialist and team vanguard. One of our teammates, Greta, is also busy today, so don’t worry about missing teammates.”

“Astrea Arcan. Cipher Unit. Magic specialist. Artillery,” the two knights introduce themselves with simple handshakes.

“It’s great to meet you all. It would’ve been better if my teammates were here as well. I already relayed Sir Valiansteel’s directive to them, but like I mentioned earlier, they’re all scattered around the city right now, doing who knows what. They aren’t really the easiest to handle, haha…” The elf says, his small laugh sounding very defeated.

“No problem, sir, we’re all pretty weird as well in our unit, hahaha,” Lance awkwardly laughs at his attempt to lighten the mood, then quickly clears his throat. “Since this is all of us, let’s head to the Tree now,” Lance says as he leads the group out of the building and into the busy streets of Valebryn.

What? We’re going to a tree? Fairy asks Naoya, who was also confused.

Two horses wearing sophisticated magical gear waited for them outside. Naoya felt excited when he realized he was riding a horse for the first time, and a magical one at that. Lance helped him learn the basics and taught him some do’s and don’ts while riding. He got on the back with Lance in front of him, Astrea rode the other horse, and Captain Eiren simply opened his book and started hovering. With everyone ready, the horses started running. Naoya was happy at first, but then felt nervous when the horses gradually went faster and rose high into the air.

They were now running alongside buildings, high above other people, leaving glowing horseshoe prints behind them as if they were still running on the ground. The chilly wind rushed past them as Naoya looked around the cityscape to distract himself from their great height.

Valebryn looked like a typical fantasy kingdom he saw in some animes he watched, except its architecture looked more modern and less medieval than those fictional cities. The buildings were all built with painted concrete; wood that came in a vast array of colors; and different shades of glass. Each structure had its own unique design and personality, as well as magical contraptions that Naoya had no clue about their purposes. A few other vehicles and mounts flew around the city as well; some were horses like them, but there were also people on floating carriages, broomsticks, and some used what could only be described as a backpack propeller.

“Naoya, look in front of us,” Lance says, snapping Naoya out of his awe-struck look around the city. He leans to the side and sees a massive grey castle in the distance, standing in the middle of the city, surrounded by towers, intricate buildings and foliage everywhere.

“That’s the Silver Crown Palace, the residence of the royal family of Valebryn.”

“Ohhh, so royalty actually exists in this world. Can we meet them?”

“I don’t think so, no. Unless we get assigned to be their guards or something like that. Or if we do something really heroic,” Lance replies.

After a while, they land outside a large, brown building, which was built around a massive oak tree. Naoya was amazed at its size, which was bigger than any tree he’s ever seen. After feeding the horses some fruit and giving them water, they took off to pick up their next clients, and the group enter the building.

From inside, the tree loomed even larger above them. Countless beautiful leaves grew on countless sturdy branches. Several employees stationed themselves around the tree, helping customers process their citizenship, and aside from a few other offices off to the sides of the building, not much else was inside, allowing the large tree to stand in all its glory at the center.

“Canopy of Names. Also called ‘Tree’. It records people,” Astrea says to Naoya, seeing his curiosity.

“More specifically, it records the names of people who wish to live in the kingdom, granting them protection while within its walls. Once the tree recognizes you, it will grow a new leaf from one of its branches with your name on it, marking your official residence in Valebryn,” Captain Eiren explains.

“Wow. If only citizenship back in my world were this cool. We just had to sit down in boring offices and process documents,” Naoya replies.

“Well, we still have boring offices and documents here, you just don’t see it, hahaha,” the Captain laughs in an exhausted tone

They helped Naoya process the application, with a special privilege of skipping the line because of the Prime Sentinel’s influence. The process was simpler than Naoya thought, filling up a few documents about his personal information, and once that was done, the assistant led him to the tree for the next step. He follows their instructions and touches its thick, sturdy trunk, closing his eyes as he does so. Then, the voice of a gentle old man speaks in his head.

“Who do we have here? Oh, I see… you’re quite the interesting soul, aren’t you?”

Ummm, yes. I’m a traveler from another world. I woke up here after dying.

“Yes, that is one interesting thing about you. So, what is your purpose here? Why do you want to stay in Valebryn?”

I want to live here to learn more about magic and join the Aetheryn Order in the future, to help protect the city.

“Hmmm… quite a noble purpose. If that is the path you wish to choose now, then all is well. Have my protection, child, and live your days without fear,” the voice says, before all was silent again.

Naoya opens his eyes, and a faint, warm yellow glow sweeps all over him.

“Congratulations on your citizenship! Here’s a complimentary coupon you can use to avail any product or service in the city once, for free!” The assistant exclaims, handing him a small, golden ticket.

“Oh nice! Thank you very much,” Naoya bows to the assistant before joining his companions. “Look, guys, I can get anything for free!”

“Oooh nice, I remember when I got mine when I was younger. Most parents keep their children’s coupons until they grow up so you know, they don’t use them on stupid things,” Lance explains.

“Have you used your coupon yet?” Naoya asks them.

“I haven’t,” Astrea answers.

“I used mine to buy this spellbook. The best use I can think for it,” says Captain Eiren, holding out his book for everyone to see.

“I did, but … I guess I should’ve let my parents keep it longer,” Lance bashfully replies.

Everyone asks him what he bought with it, but he wouldn’t budge. Naoya looks back at the massive tree, admiring its size. He suddenly realizes something that he has forgotten and looks over at the pink creature beside him.

“Wait a minute, guys. Since we’re at the Canopy of Names, I just realized… Fairy still doesn’t have a name.”

“Wait, what? After all this time, you still don’t know their name?” Lance asks in disbelief.

“I was waiting for them to tell me their name, but I guess I forgot about it. I just got used to calling them Fairy, I guess.”

“Then let’s give them a name now,” Captain Eiren says. “I’m not good at naming, but since they’re a fairy, how about ummm… Airy? Right? Since they’re…”

Captain Eiren stops himself and turns around.

“Oooh, what about something badass like ‘Ashvex’ or ‘Luminox’?” Lance suggests.

All of them look at him with raised eyebrows.

I don’t think I look the part for those names.

“Yeah, I don’t think they look the part for that name,” Naoya comments, holding his hand out below the fairy.

“Paper art. What’s that called?” Astrea asks, pointing at the flower.

“Oh, it’s called an ‘origami’. It’s a traditional paper art from my country.”

Astrea’s eyes widen. “That’s it. Perfect name. ‘Ori’. Short, simple, cute.”

Oh, I like how it sounds. I’ll use that then. I’m Ori!

As soon as they announce their name, a yellow glow washes over the fairy, similar to the one that happened to Naoya earlier.

What was that?

“I think that’s the tree’s blessing— wait… whose voice was that?” Lance froze, taken aback by what he heard.

“You heard them too?” Naoya asks him.

“It seems the name gave them the ability to talk to others. Most familiars gain abilities when they’re first named, so it checks out,” Captain Eiren explains.

Wow, I can talk to people now! Thank you, Astrea!

“No problems. We talk now. Let’s be friends,” she replies with a smile.

They finally leave the building, deciding where they should have lunch. As they discuss their choices, Lance’s watch, Astrea’s beret, and Captain Eiren’s book blink with a red light, accompanied by a short, high-pitched ring. They answer the call, and a female voice unfamiliar to Naoya speaks from the other line.

“Attention to all available Knights. Several Noctis operatives have been discovered within the city and are now fleeing towards the East Gate. Anyone near the Canopy and other landmarks along the way, subdue and capture the operatives. Alive, if possible. But no worries if they’d rather die. The Sheriff will handle them.”

The lady announces to the group with a serious but confident voice. Before they could discuss with each other, an explosion erupted from a nearby rooftop. They see a person fly out of the smoke and onto the next rooftop, causing another explosion as they land.