"What should I name you?"
"Hmm, from now on, your name will be Chopper. And I'll give you a nickname, too. You can be Jozu."
Mercer carried him by the scruff of his neck as he walked through the Snow Forest. The blue-nosed reindeer-man, Chopper, looked up at Mercer, his eyes full of confusion, fear, and delight.
"Chopper? Name?"
Hearing him, Mercer smiled and said,
"Just like my name is Mercer, that's your name."
"My name? Chopper? Nickname, Jozu. Hehehe."
Watching the little reindeer-man grin foolishly, eyes narrowed, Mercer felt a little helpless. Was he naturally airheaded, or just completely carefree?
Well, whatever. This was fine.
Since they'd met, and he was rather interesting and cute, Mercer decided to keep him.
He headed toward Drum Mountain.
Before long, Mercer reached the Black Skin Bamboo grove.
He set Chopper down and began looking for bamboo shoots, then dug them up.
When Chopper saw him, he started scraping away the snow, too. Before long, he came over holding a bamboo shoot like a prized treasure.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at Mercer. Then a "grrr" sounded from his stomach. Mercer glanced at his belly.
"You're a reindeer-man, so you can eat raw food, too. If you're hungry, have a shoot to tide you over."
Chopper's eyes lit up. He hugged the shoot and began munching on it, eating carefully without wasting a bit.
A good, sensible citizen.
Mercer smiled.
A moment later,
after digging up a whole lot of shoots, Mercer called out. Karasu soon flew over and brought Mercer, Chopper, and the pile of bamboo shoots into Castle Space.
Karasu flew on toward Drum Mountain, where he was training.
They put all the ingredients in the dining room on the top floor.
Top Floor. Lounge
Just then, footsteps