The day was still young and while threats were made, faces were punched and dates were set. Moby made his way to the guild with the current thought in mind.
‘If I reach level 5, I should be able to take on Ottar with Torrent active, that is.’ the thought of smashing the giant’s face into the ground fueled him also a need for revenge.
“Eh, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” he shrugged, entering the Guild.
Quickly looking around, he saw no sign of Rose anywhere. ‘was my confession too much?’ He thought and shrugged it off.
He called over a free advisor, a pink-haired one, and honestly; he was too lazy to remember her name.
...
[Back rooms of Orario guild]
Rose was still in the middle of processing everything, slowly digesting everything he’d said to her.
“Because I like you.”
His words rang around in her mind. His feelings touched a part of her deep down.
“Oh well, I guess I’m cursed to die a gruesome death. Good thing I’ll be with you till then,” when he gave his stupid grin.
“Well, then I guess I should say it, too. I love... that I like you.”
She hung her head for a moment, her ears falling flat. She was always to reject confession because whenever she accepted she was as happy as one can be, but it only made her hurt more when they die and it left her alone to mourn.
Therefore, she rarely shows herself to guide any more adventurers until they met.
“No, I can’t accept anything,” she tried to push herself with the thoughts that it would be for the best. It was the right decision to be alone. Right?
“I need some air,” she left the room not as exhausted as she wanted as the same words she hadn’t heard in a while replayed in her mind, bringing a small smile to her face but she shook them off immediately.
‘Good thing I won’t see him anymore today or I might’ve actually,’ her thoughts crashed when she stepped out the door, seeing him talking with another guild advisor.
Instantly the boy turned to her with a smile and waved her hand calling her over, she was at a loss for a moment she wanted another advisor for him but she didn’t want to believe it was so easy for him to change after his display.
So she walked toward them with an open mind, wanting to know the facts rather than jumping to a conclusion.
“Hey Rose, I was hoping for your help. I’m trying to change my name. My current one has little meaning to me anymore.” He chuckled.
“Oh, I wasn’t- Nevermind, did you tell him about the process?” she asked the pink-haired girl.
“I was just about to,” she said.
“It’s a simple process, but it’ll cost you around a hundred thousand Valis,” Rose answered.
“Alright then, let’s do it,” he smiled, clapping his hands.
“I’ll get the paperwork and your guild register,” the pink-haired girl stood up and left with a cheerful beat.
Both stood in silence for a while, making brief eye contact. “Her name is Misha. She’s a friendly guide if you want to work with another.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I still want you,” he said indifferently. “Oh yeah, I also got fully healed too,” he smiled, lifting his shirt.
Rose let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding, happy that he recovered and more that he wanted her. But again, the self-doubt crept in and she was ready to open her mouth.
“I don’t know why you want me to be under someone else, so I have to ask Rose. You know you deserve to be happy, right?”
He could only assume the reason for pushing him away was because she didn’t want to suffer heartbreak, but it also meant she felt something and was afraid to open her heart, only to lose it later.
‘Do I truly deserve this affection if I open myself? What’s the guarantee that you won’t die the following day?’ she said nothing but stared at him.
As if reading her mind, Moby shrugged. “I can’t guarantee anything. No one can, but you just have to hope, that’s all. It is a leap of faith.”
He borrowed the inspirational words which lit up a new light in Rose’s eyes and just in time as Misha came back with the documents needed, which weren’t much needed.
“Okay, so we just have to answer a few questions and you can live your new life.”
The questions were simple: age, race, sex, and place of birth, some he left vague or empty.
“And now here is your signature and your name.” She handed him the feather.
“Enki Flamel,” he said, writing it down.
He spent his free time thinking of a meaningful name, one that embodied who he is and what he aspired to be a name that embodied him taking inspiration from his past.
“Enki” is derived from the Sumerian God of water, intelligence, crafts, creation, fertility, magic and mischief. The last he didn’t fully embody, but the rest he felt was right. And “Flamel” from the alchemist on earth who developed a reputation to have created and discovered the philosopher’s stone and achieved immortality.
With that Moby, Tick was no more and Enki Flamel was born.
Misha clapped and took the papers to the back. Leaving Rose and Enki, she stood up and beckoned him to come with her.
With no other plans, Enki nodded and went with her to the back. They entered the same room there were in earlier. Walking in, Rose closed the door with her back facing him.
“Do you mean it?” She asked.
“Everything I’ve said yes.”
“I just don’t know If I can take any more heartbreak and deaths on my shoulders, Enki,” she called his name.
Being the first to call him his new name, he smiled unknowingly. She turned around with her head down and, to his surprise, slowly moved in for a hug once he returned with the same affection. She stood at 5.9’ to 6’, able to place her head in the crook of his neck.
“Just one more leap. I’m sorry it’s been three-four years since I’ve ever held someone. Can we stay like this for a while?” she said, her voice muffled.
Enki smiled and squeezed tighter to say yes. The little sway of her red tail made him all the happier.
“Please don’t die and be careful. I don’t think I’ll recover If I have to go through this again, alright?” she sniffed a little, letting go and turning back to her usual self but with a more welcoming smile.
“I promise.”
Her ears perked up, and she smiled before taking a step and pulling his face in with hers, their lips locked together in a tender kiss, no tongue or anything, just a sweet kiss that separated when they ran out of air.
“I forgot to congratulate you on becoming level 2.” She blushed, her tail swaying back and forth.
“I wish you congratulated me sooner,” he grinned and pulled her back in for another tender kiss, this time pulling her closer, relishing the feeling of her pressing up against him.
Rose also wanted to keep this going, choosing to restrain herself, left Enki with a quick peck on the cheek, quietly walking away as her tail waved back and forth.
“... Holyshit.”
much much better name thank god you changed it
Yeah, would've been better if he could done it earlier though. I was wondering why he kept getting called that in earlier chapters, but I figured it might've been a MC from a different book from the author.