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WeD - V2C2 - Makia: Naming the Baby
🕑 Added 2023-01-20 12:45:25 +0000 UTCThe old woman grins, exposing her yellow teeth as she sits next to Giselle-san to peer more closely at her great-grandson and granddaughter-in-law.
“Greetings, Madam Egressa.”
“... Giselle, you have fulfilled your role as the daughter-in-law of the Medite family very well…”
A wrinkled hand, covered with many dark spots, stretches out to stroke the baby’s cheek. I guess even shady old women like her would find her own great-grandson cute?
“Oh my, oh my, this is some good poison. Urbanus, you were an absolute masterpiece of all times, but your son may yet surpass you.”
“It is the greatest honour a father could wish for.”
The old woman slants her gaze at me. Then, she flicks her index finger in my direction, “Crimson Witch, what would be a good name for this boy…”
“... Is it alright for me to name him? As a Naming Witch yourself, is it not better for a relative to name him?”
“I wish only for a better fate for the Clan of Medite… with the Crimson Witch before me, why would I not have the greatest witch of all times name him in place of me?”
“... ...”
Meanwhile, the sleeping baby had woken up.
Ah, he looks a lot like Medite-sensei.
Well, I have a feeling that this baby will grow up to be quite the shady child.
I touch the baby’s tiny hand. Well, there is certainly a fairly moderate amount of toxicity, but I can’t avoid the skin-on-skin contact if I want to come up with a name.
“... …”
What is the name that guides the fate of this baby?
I stare at the child, feeling the warmth of his life as he squeezes my fingers.
A fresh existence has been born into this world with no pre-written information.
What sort of fate will you follow from now on? What kind of fate has this soul been before this?
Though I cannot read it clearly, I can feel it. I am sure there is a name that will lead you to a better fate.
“... Medite… Snake… Urbanus… Gisele… Snake… Serpent’s Staff…”
As I feel my way through the words of fate connected to this child, I eventually arrive at an answer.
“... Serpent’s Staff… Snake… Acreos… This child’s name is Acreos Medite…”
Paaaaaa…
The name I bestow upon him materialises through my magic, forming the shape of a snake’s staff. The staff floats over the dazed baby and disappears into his chest.
Red, the Crimson’s Witch’s blessing. By bestowing a name upon him, this child has received a great deal of data from me.
With this bestowed name, the child will gain a proper position in this world, establishing his existence right away.
“Acreos… it’s a good name… It’s similar to mine.”
“If the child’s name is similar to their parents, they will receive some protection from their parents’ name. You are connected that way.”
“[1] Three syllables… it is said that three syllable names are the best for magicians, isn’t that so? Crimson Witch?”
“... Well, it does seem like there are many people with [1] three syllable names in the Medite family.”
“... …”
The old woman, Madame Egressa grins and widens her eye as she stares at the baby.
The freshly named Acreos yawned again, his eyes rolling around, staring at this and that.
“Oh my, oh my, his MP is higher than 7000, how promising. You’ve lucked out, Urbanus.”
“Hooohh. 7000 is definitely promising!!”
It’s rare for a regular mage to break past the 7000 mark. With proper education from the Medite clan, this child will grow up to become an excellent mage. Moreover, this child will be favoured by fate since I have bestowed a name to him.
That is the boon of receiving a name from the Crimson Witch. I wonder, what kind of fate would this child encounter?
“Acreos… A-chan!”
“Eh… You’re going to abbreviate it that way? That’s almost as common as Sir Raymond.”
“It’s far better than Aku-chan [1a] or calling him by his full name. While he’s still a baby, I’ll call him A-chan.”
The name that I have just bestowed to him has already been butchered to this point…
Well, since he’s cute, I suppose this is better. It will be difficult for him to live with such a formal name for a while.
“[2] As expected, having the Crimson Witch bestow a name for a member of our clan is a very good thing. Hee hee hee,” Madam Egressa suddenly hops out of her chair and stares at me with her one wide eye.
[3] With her staring at me like this, I finally say the words that had been pinging about in my mind. “Old lady, when I first went to that store before… did you know I was the Crimson Witch?”
“... ...”
The corners of Madam Egressa’s lips lift, and she narrows her single eye at me. “No, I did not know then.”
“... Is that so…”
[4] Then, just like that, she turns around and begins making her way towards the door with her cane.
“Grandmother, will you be staying tonight? Shall I light the incense in your room?”
“... Is Zantin here?”
“He should be in the butler’s room.”
“... ...”
She left the room after exchanging other family related talks with Medite-sensei. I must say, she is a witch with a rather powerful presence.
“That person… as expected, she is not an ordinary one, but…”
“You’ve bought something from Grandmother’s store, right? Well, Grandmother’s power is the real deal, so there is no need for you to worry.”
“... on the contrary…”
Just what kind of special effects do the flower brooches I gifted to my dear parents have, I wonder?
A-chan is crankily waving his little arms about, his body twisting agitatedly on the bed.
I have bestowed a lot of names to many babies in the past. However, this time, it feels special somehow.
I have also become this child’s godparent.
No matter how I look at him, I still feel that he’s the cutest thing ever.
“Uhm, Giselle-san… do you get the feeling that your own child is the cutest?”
[5] “... but, of course… it’s still rather strange to call myself a parent, especially since I feel that having a child is such a mysterious thing. Sorry, but it feels rather odd to say this to Crimson Witch-sama who has such a long memory…”
“... well, I never did have any children. [5] None within my memory anyway.”
[5] I have named a lot of babies, but have not interacted with them like this or form a connection beyond my status as a Naming Witch.
After watching A-chan a little longer, I poke his cheek.
The tender softness surprised me. Also, that little chin that sticks out just under his little lips is just irresistible.
“Isn’t he cute? Isn’t he cute? Aren’t you jealous?”
“Ahh, geez, sensei is being noisy.”
Medite-sensei has started whispering from behind me, practically harassing me.
Why is this fellow so annoying?
The fact that Giselle-san manages to not only stay married to this annoying guy, but also gave birth to his child is super amazing to me.
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“I have come to pick you up, Makia-sama.”
“... ...”
Twilight.
As soon as I left the Medite Mansion, a woman materialises in front of me in a flutter of black robes.
She is that Twilight girl with long jet-black hair and black eyes.
“... Lepis, are you always sneaking around?”
“So long as Makia-sama is there, there I am.”
“... …”
Lepis Twilight was one of the mages of Twilight Clan under Fresir’s protection. However, she remains in this country at the order of Princess Shatma. Somehow, she ended up as my escort (observer).
I think she is about two years older than the current me, but she feels older than her age. It must be her perpetually cool attitude.
Well, I can’t really comment about others since I started this life with two lifetimes worth of memories. “I wonder what today’s dinner will be.”
“... Makia-sama will know once you are at the Royal Palace dining table.”
“Woah… you really don’t get excited about anything.”
Her personality is the complete opposite of mine. Still, with how much she looks and feels like Tooru, it is very clear that she’s his descendant.
Because of this, I have always felt comfortable around her.
“Hey… I bestowed a name to Medite-sensei’s child today. My power as a Naming Witch hasn’t diminished. When I called for it, there was a response.”
“What is the bestowed name?”
“Acreos!! Acreos Medite… Good, right? They are calling him A-chan.”
“... The name is splendid, but the nickname is a little common, isn’t it?”
“That is why they choose to call him that way. A common name begets affection more easily, don’t you think so? As the godparent, I have the duty to watch over him…”
“… ...”
Lepis’ lips arch ever so slightly.
She rarely ever even smiles. However, this precious moment soon disappears under the expressionless iron mask that she usually wears.
Her cool, slitted eyes remind me of Tooru… or rather, of the old Black Demon King.
Although, I cannot say what the difference was.
It is now that time when purple streaks begin to invade into the orange sky.
I have some interest in the ‘my child’ part of the conversation.
My parents from Delia Fields love me very much and very obviously. It is thanks to them that I understand how important a child could be to their parents.
However, I have never experienced that kind of parental love for another.
“... …”
Yuri, whose own child was sacrificed for this country’s religion and Tooru, whose descendants exist until now.
These two have loved ones in the past, enough to have a child together.
I have never experienced any of these feelings.
I, the one they called the ‘Crimson Witch of the West’, never thought I had missed out on anything back then.
Somehow, the me now feels a little sad for that person.
[Gumihou: Erk, a lot of complex inner thoughts. Difficult to make it dramatic but not chuuni]
[1] The original was ‘five characters’ because:
エグレ―サ - Egressa
ウルバヌス - Urbanus
アクレオス - Acreos
…are all 5 katakana including Egressa’s ― however, it doesn’t work like that in the English language, so the best compromise is ‘three syllables’. Crossing my fingers, hoping this topic about 5 character names being special would not come up again.
[1a] ‘Aku-chan’ because ‘アク-ちゃん’
Why is ‘Aku-chan’ is better than ‘A-chan’?
Because ‘aku’ carries the meaning of ‘evil’ and ‘akuchi’ means ‘impure blood’. In short, too many bad juju is connected to ‘Aku-chan’.
A-chan is just cute and common.
[2] why とにかく...
The author sometimes drops these odd and very unnecessary expressions that just… throws the entire dialogue out of whack.
とにかく means ‘regardless’, ‘anyway’, ‘anyhow’, ‘regardless of’
But, there’s no reason to use it? Author-san?!?
[3] In place of the [2], add a transition paragraph to show Makia’s reaction to her sudden staring. The very mild and out of place Madam, when I went to that store before… just came out of the left field
[4] Add another transition paragraph. Makia can’t not have an opinion on how the conversation was cut off just like that.
[5] The conversation is very weird. I don’t know what Giselle is trying to imply or what Makia is trying to say. The dialogues appeared to be randomly chucked together.
Added other details to make some sense.
