In the end, Hops did not go register a change of surname. It was not because a man bearing the surname Rabbit would be too strange, but because he was somewhat reluctant to part with the name Wilde.
Though that name had brought him mostly gloomy, melancholy memories, there were still some that were beautiful, some that were warm.
His father, who had stood before him like a great tree, sheltering him from wind and rain.
His father, who often criticized him, yet had firmly and sternly stopped the clan from laying hands on him.
His father, who would always wear a gentle smile before the somewhat faded portrait when he took him to pay respects to his mother.
His father, who on the night before seeing him off, had rambled on about the past—about meeting his mother, marrying her, about his birth, about his mother's death, about all the trivial matters over the years—until all those memories finally turned into a sigh, and he left in silence.
If there was anything in the Wilde Family that he could not bear to let go of, it was those beautiful, warm memories.
Ruby did not have such delicate thoughts. His life had not been as complicated as Hops's. After some deliberation, he decided to use "Silver Ore" as his surname—that is, "silver mine."
"Why not use 'Mithril'?" Dudu asked curiously. "Isn't mithril more high-end than a silver mine?"
"I'd like to use 'Orichalcum' too... but do I look like I'm worthy of that rank?" Ruby said with a chuckle. "I'm just a nobody. If I use too grand a surname, I'm afraid it'll only bring trouble."
And so the matter was settled.
Interestingly, Fela, the cook who was Hops's friend but did not get along with Ruby, had no need to