Shorekeeper Butterfly

Wuling instinctively opened his eyes a little, his gaze completely drawn to the blue butterfly.

She was so beautiful.

For some reason, that was Wuling's first thought the moment he saw her.

She was pure and gentle, with an air of tranquility. Somehow, his mind, which had been in turmoil all morning, instantly settled down, and even the tedium of listening to the lesson was swept away.

[Well? Well? Pretty, isn't she?]

Abu immediately grew proud and began chattering away.

[This is your exclusive nurturing spirit. She's bound to you alone, can't be replaced, and can't be unbound. Her nurturing level is very low right now, and her abilities haven't been unlocked, but her potential is incredible.]

[More importantly, she only recognizes you.]

Abu didn't say that part aloud.

Wuling quietly watched the blue butterfly flutter about, then turned his gaze to the detailed information on the panel.

[Name: None]

[Nurturing level: 1/100 (newborn stage)]

[Affection: 100/100 (life and death together)]

[Unlocked abilities: None]

Wuling was a little puzzled when he saw the name field.

[What does this name field mean?]

[Oh, that? It means exactly what it says. She doesn't have a name yet, so you need to give her one.]

Abu explained from the side.

[Well? What are you going to name her?]

A name, huh...

Wuling propped his chin on his hand and thought for a moment. He really didn't have much experience with this. Before, when he named the cats and dogs around his home, he'd just called them Big Orange or Big Yellow.

But he couldn't call her something like that now. She was his, after all, and calling her Little Blue would be a bit too perfunctory.

But in that case, what should he call her?

Wuling watched the butterfly land on his fingertip, his thoughts drifting.

Shorekeeper.

For some reason, that name came to mind.

But looking at the butterfly before him, he couldn't see how she had anything to do with a person. Although she might evolve into a person someday, she was still a butterfly now.

Hmm, why not call her Shorekeeper Butterfly?

If she really did transform into a person someday, he could call her Shorekeeper then.

It goes pretty well with my screen name, too. I really am a naming genius.

[Let's call her Shorekeeper Butterfly.]

Wuling made up his mind in his consciousness. With a thought, he entered the name into the system panel's name field.

The pale blue panel flashed faintly, and the spot that had displayed "None" immediately updated to [Name: Shorekeeper Butterfly].

Almost the instant her name was decided, Shorekeeper Butterfly, perched on his fingertip, gently fluttered her wings, and the flowing blue light grew noticeably brighter.

An extremely gentle mental resonance quietly spread out, as if responding to the name he'd given her.

[Oh! Shorekeeper Butterfly!]

Abu bobbed back and forth nearby, studying the panel with interest.

[That name has a nice atmosphere to it. It sounds like there's a story behind it.]

[See? I told you I hadn't forgotten everything.]

Wuling didn't reply. His gaze rested quietly on the spirit butterfly on his fingertip.

Shorekeeper... guarding that shore.

That blue shoal, that shore whose location he didn't know.

For some reason, he thought of that place.

It was as if the name had been destined to belong to her from the very beginning.

[So how do I raise her nurturing level next?]

Wuling came back to his senses and asked the most practical question.

[Easy.]

Abu wobbled his round little body.

[You can feed her something, or interact with her more. For example, let her stay by your side and feel your mental fluctuations more often. You can also occasionally give her little gifts that suit her tastes. Her nurturing level will slowly rise.]

[But her nurturing level is only one right now, and she's still in the newborn stage. She can't do much for the time being, just keep you company and help calm your mind a little.]

Shorekeeper Butterfly seemed to understand the conversation. She fluttered her wings, slowly rose from his fingertip, circled his shoulder twice, and finally settled quietly on it.

...Why does this feel like a galgame? It's like affection wearing a nurturing-level disguise.

Wuling tilted his head slightly, feeling the tranquility on his shoulder. His heart was peaceful for once.

He quietly put away the system panel. Shorekeeper Butterfly remained still on his shoulder, a faint mental warmth flowing steadily from her.

[By the way, Abu, do you know about what happened last night? About that dream...]

[Ahaha, I'm feeling a little sleepy now. I'm going back to sleep first. We'll talk next time.]

Abu turned back into a streak of light and darted into Wuling's right hand, looking rather like he was fleeing, without giving him the slightest chance to ask another question.

Wuling looked at the empty space before him, and a knowing smile instantly flickered in his eyes.

That panicked evasion was practically an admission of guilt.

Just as I thought.

Whenever he brought up last night's dream, Abu instinctively avoided the subject.

That guy definitely knew something, but he just wouldn't tell him.

But the more Abu tried to cover it up, the more it showed that the secret hidden in that dream was of great importance, perhaps even involving something the system itself didn't dare mention lightly.

[You sure ran off fast.]

Wuling snorted softly to himself and didn't force Abu to come back.

He knew perfectly well that, given Abu's personality, no matter how much he pressed him about something he didn't want to discuss, Abu would only laugh it off and give him the runaround. He wouldn't get a word of truth out of him. Rather than waste his effort, he might as well let things take their course.

After all, according to what Abu had said before, the two of them were deeply bound. If there really were any danger, Abu would surely have told him long ago. But Abu hadn't said anything, which proved that the dream probably wasn't dangerous.

He'd only been worried about whether it would have some effect on him. But since there wasn't any danger, it didn't matter.

With that thought, Wuling tilted his head slightly and looked at his shoulder.

To an ordinary person's naked eye, there was nothing there. Only he could clearly see Shorekeeper Butterfly, her light flowing gracefully, resting quietly on his shoulder.

Remembering what Abu had said earlier, Wuling suddenly grew curious and extended the pencil in his hand toward her.

To his surprise, however, the instant the pencil touched Shorekeeper Butterfly, it suddenly turned into countless blue points of light that sank into her body.

The nurturing level on the system screen also rose from one to two.

*?*

Wait, seriously? It went up just like that? And where's my pencil? How did it disappear?

Thinking carefully about what Abu said earlier, could she have taken the pencil as a gift from me? That seems to be the only explanation.

One pencil raised it by one point, so would giving her a hundred pencils fill it up straight away?

But based on his experience with games, the experience needed for each level should increase as he progressed, so that idea probably wouldn't work.

At least he now knew what to do from here on.

Wuling placed his hand on Shorekeeper Butterfly's wings and gently rubbed them.

The nurturing level on the system screen jumped from two to three.

Wuling: ...

It can't be increasing by percentage points, can it?