Chapter 17: How to Give a New Name

After that, we didn’t just buy clothes—we stocked up on daily necessities too, so by the time we got home, the sun had already set, and everything was pitch dark outside.

We had dinner in the living room, and just as I finally started to relax a little—

Mom was sitting across from Mikoto Hikari again, wearing the same serious expression she had yesterday.

“So, about your family registry, Hikari-kun… It looks like we might be able to take care of it surprisingly easily.”

“…Really!?”

I hadn’t expected this to be resolved so quickly.

Hikari must have felt the same way—her crimson eyes went wide with surprise.

Then Mom took out a few envelopes. They were the ones I saw her with earlier this morning.

She began laying out the documents from the envelopes across the table we’d just eaten at—lining them up in a row.

All of them were written in English, and I had absolutely no idea what any of them said.

“These are kind of like foreign family registry documents.”

“R-Right…”

Even with that explanation, I didn’t really get it.

Seeing our confusion, Mom broke it down for us.

“With this, we can fabricate the identity of a ‘foreign student named Hikari’—an entirely made-up person. Under that setup, we can get her registered in Japan within a week. Luckily, I asked someone your father’s close to this morning, and they gladly agreed to help.”

…My dad works as an independent trader. He flies all over the world, collecting all sorts of suspicious goods.

To be honest, I’ve never really understood what’s so great about the stuff he brings back. In fact, some of it’s so creepy I don’t even want to look at it—but apparently, among collectors, he’s built a solid reputation, and he once boasted about how many connections he had.

Looks like he’s putting those connections to use this time.

But that raised one question for me.

“…Wait a sec, Mom. Why go through all the trouble of involving another country?”

Sure, Hikari’s appearance now was far from typical for a Japanese person—in fact, calling her a foreigner might seem more natural.

But still, why take such a roundabout approach?

If we had the kind of pull to fake an entire identity, wouldn’t it be way easier to just rewrite the record to say the silver-haired girl is ‘Mikoto Hikari’?

That’s how it seemed to me, but Mom slowly shook her head.

“It’s hard to feel this living in Japan, but not many countries, even developed ones, keep strict family registry systems. That’s why forging a registry via another country is much easier. Of course, I did try the direct method you mentioned, Yousuke, but… they said it would take over a year, no matter what. I’m sorry, Hikari-kun—I couldn’t be more help.”

“No, not at all! You’ve already done so much for me, Yoko-san…! If I start being greedy on top of that, I’m afraid I’ll get punished!”

Hikari responded with a bright, cheerful tone, even though Mom sounded apologetic.

I could see Mom’s expression soften with relief at that.

“…But Hikari, are you really okay with this?”

…I felt bad ruining the mood, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking quietly.

I’d learned something while Hikari had been missing—something about the law. If someone’s whereabouts can’t be confirmed for seven years, they’re legally considered deceased.

So if Hikari continues living as a different person, then in six more years, the boy who had been my best friend will officially be declared dead.

He’d lose his legal connection to his real parents too.

Even though Hikari was undeniably sitting right next to me right now.

I knew this was her issue to deal with, but I couldn’t help voicing the weirdness I felt.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! No matter what name I have, no matter what I look like, I’m still me! And besides, six years will fly by before we know it.”

Hikari replied nonchalantly, pounding her chest with a thump as if it was nothing.

“Thanks to Yousuke, I still have my keepsake close to me. And also…”

“And also…?”

“Hey, Yoko-san. When creating a new family registry, I get to choose the name myself, right?”

“Yes, that was the plan… Have you already decided on one?”

Hikari gave a small nod and smoothly wrote something on the edge of a sheet of paper.

The characters were unfamiliar—definitely not English.

Even Mom tilted her head, unsure how to read it.

“…How do you pronounce this?”

“It’s Mikoto Ardigan. Back when I was first summoned to the other world and had no one to rely on, someone stepped in to support me. Officially, I was adopted by that person. …So even if I’m no longer ‘Mikoto Hikari,’ I can still use a name I’m comfortable with. Pretty clever, right?”

Tracing the letters she’d just written with her finger, Hikari wore a fond, nostalgic expression—as though she were treasuring a memory from long ago.

Somehow, it left a small knot in my chest.

But I didn’t get much time to dwell on it.

Because Mom, without missing a beat, completely changed the topic.

“Well then, next up is school. You want to attend, don’t you, Hikari-kun?”

“Yeah! I want to go to the same school as Yousuke!”

…What was all that fuss last night even about?

I couldn’t help feeling a little puzzled by the sudden shift in attitude, but it was definitely a welcome change—so I decided not to nitpick.

Besides, I had a clarification to make first.

“Uh… So, the school I’m going to right now isn’t South High, it’s North High. You okay with that?”

North High is the school with the lowest academic ranking and the furthest commute from our house.

It’s also the complete opposite of South High—Hikari’s preferred school from a year ago.

I couldn’t help wondering if going there would stir up complicated feelings for her.

“It’s totally fine! If I’m with you, Yousuke, I’ll enjoy any school! Besides, I’m a whole year behind in studies, right? Even if I did get into South High, I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

“…Well, if you say so.”

But Hikari laughed off my concern like it was no big deal.

Thanks to that, the mood felt just a little lighter.

Still, there was one more thing I needed to say… but I hesitated, unable to bring it up.

That’s when Mom clapped her hands sharply and turned all eyes to her.

“Well then, shall we say we’ve settled everything for now?”

…I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Because whenever Mom said something like that, it usually meant something outrageous was coming.

And my hunch proved right—

“Alright, for the next two weeks—until summer break ends—you’re both grounded. During that time, Yousuke will finish all his summer homework, and Hikari-kun will catch up on a full year’s worth of studies. Sound good?”

She declared it with a beaming smile.