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Chapter: 47
“Wouldn’t it be better to have a name if we’re going to live together from now on?”
Ariel spoke up, taking the suggestion a step further.
Carina responded lazily, seemingly annoyed by the enthusiasm.
“It already has a name.”
“Huh? It had a name? What is it?”
Carina answered proudly.
“Poop Puppy.”
“What kind of name is that?”
As Ariel protested, the little “Poop Puppy” sitting dazedly perked up, as if to support its owner, and barked a loud “Woof!”
Oh? So it doesn’t want to be called Poop Puppy?
Carina looked at it with amusement and scoffed.
“Then… does it have any other good names?”
The little dog straightened its chest and raised its tail proudly, as if asking them to recognize its wonderful name.
Ariel tilted her head curiously.
“A Brave Puppy? Or shorten it to Brave-Pup?”
“Arurururu—”
The little dog wrinkled its snout in dissatisfaction, clearly not pleased.
“Not okay? So it did have a name… what dog names are there? Happy? Choco? Poppy?”
Ariel listed off some common dog names, and the little dog drooped its tail and head, giving up in resignation.
Seeing this, Carina finally spoke.
“Doesn’t seem like any of those work. Just make a new one.”
“Shall we?”
The little dog also slumped down, resting its chin on the floor in resignation.
Watching this, Ariel clapped her hands together.
“How about Baekseol? Because it’s white.”
“White sugar?”
Carina’s gaze went to the round little head and bottom lying flat on the floor.
Ariel awkwardly clarified.
“No, I meant white snow.”
“White sugar or white snow, it’s the same.”
The little dog kept wrinkling its snout and growling, clearly unhappy with the proposed name.
Then Carina remembered something.
“Isn’t Baekseol a girl’s name?”
Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wasn’t it a girl?”
“Didn’t you see when we bathed it?”
“Ah… I thought it was a belly button.”
The little dog lifted its head quickly, growling, showing clear displeasure.
Ah, so it’s a boy and it’s offended.
Carina casually suggested,
“How about Kai?”
“Kai? Sky?”
In the old language of this land, Kai meant “sky.”
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
The little dog seemed to like this name much more, barking fiercely and spinning around.
Seeing the small, round dog bouncing energetically, Ariel smiled warmly, finding it adorable.
“Looks like it likes it?”
Ariel reached out to Kai, utterly charmed.
But Kai flinched back and bared his tiny teeth.
“Arururu—”
Ariel withdrew her hand with a disappointed sigh.
“Aww, Kai, you’re so mean. When will you let me touch you?”
Truly, a fussy little creature.
Even after living together for several weeks, Kai still didn’t allow anyone to touch him.
The only time was during bath time, when Carina had forcibly held him.
Seeing Kai’s reaction, Ariel looked at Carina, speaking softly.
“Why don’t you try petting him?”
“Why me?”
“Well, Kai only seems comfortable next to you. Maybe it won’t mind if you touch him.”
Carina glanced down at Kai, who still wrinkled his snout in displeasure.
Such a tiny thing, but with an attitude—who did he get that from?
Still… he was undeniably cute.
His fluffy white fur, his round face and bottom, the charmingly curled tail, jelly-like paw pads, and tiny black nose—it was all ridiculously adorable.
Carina continued staring at him, her face slowly turning red.
Kai, puzzled by her flushed expression, tilted his head.
“Well… maybe I’ll try petting him for a bit?”
Carina, having never properly touched Kai, cleared her throat and reached out.
Kai stiffened in surprise but didn’t run away.
Her fingers touched his soft, fluffy fur.
The ticklish sensation made Carina press her palm gently against him.
She could feel his small, warm body.
Though startled, Kai didn’t escape.
‘It feels better than I thought.’
Carefully stroking his fur, Kai seemed to enjoy it too, sitting calmly.
Watching this, Ariel laughed quietly.
“Do you know you two have the same expression right now?”
Carina frowned.
“Expression? What expression?”
“The ‘enjoying it but pretending not to’ expression.”
Carina glanced down at Kai and realized… oh, so that’s the expression.
Carina watched Denian swing the daggers in both hands, slicing through wooden pillars.
Where the blades struck, a white frost appeared.
Denian’s control of inner energy via Bingcheonsuramagong during the friendly duel exceeded expectations.
Not as unnaturally fast as Ariel in building inner energy, but his skillful use of his superb physical abilities to manipulate inner energy precisely left even her impressed.
A child who had only been cultivating for a few weeks shouldn’t be capable of such feats.
‘I can show the next step now.’
In the past, she would never have considered this.
To teach someone else the martial arts she had learned—
For a martial artist, their skills were their power, their wealth, and their body.
Teaching a disciple their secret techniques was akin to cutting away one’s own flesh and bone.
Back in the days of Heukcheon Biyeon, she couldn’t understand masters who had disciples.
“Why would anyone reveal techniques painstakingly cultivated with their own body and soul? For whose sake?”
Moreover, when she became the sect leader, she already had the strongest individuals who had mastered their own martial arts by her side.
Thus, there was no need to teach anyone else.
But now, here, her feelings were different.
Children who had shared life-and-death experiences with her multiple times.
Seeing these kids trust her—kids who were nothing compared to her in skill—stirred something inside her chest.
Was her heart weakened along with her body?
Whatever this feeling was, one thing was certain:
She couldn’t grow stronger alone.
Hadn’t she failed similarly in the past?
The demon sect, barely united under Heukcheon Biyeon and the Four Demon Generals, was defeated by the Martial Alliance.
They weren’t lacking in high-level fighters, but the difference was in unity and strength.
No matter how strong the leader, if the subordinates couldn’t follow, it was useless.
So Carina resolved: she wouldn’t become strong alone, but grow stronger alongside those she could trust.
The first targets were Denian and Ariel.
Though now competitors for the successor position, she felt she could trust them.
After sixty years, she had never felt such trust from anyone, yet strangely, she felt it for these children.
Carina slowly approached Denian, who was cutting the wooden pillars with his daggers.
Focused, Denian didn’t notice her at first, but when he finally did, he turned to face her.
Carina stood before him, her expression serious, and asked,
“Do you want to get stronger?”
Denian stiffened at the sudden question but nodded.
Seeing the resolute determination in his eyes, Carina smiled.
“I think it’s time I show you the next step.”
