Published: January 22, 2026
“Caroline—uh, do you have any problem with being called by a nickname?”
I asked Caroline.
“Hmm, not really, why?”
“Caroline is a bit long, right? I think it’s a lovely name, but explorers sometimes call people with long names by nicknames.”
Even in the first squad, they call Wilkes “Will” and Lucrecia “Lucre” as nicknames.
“I see. I’m not particular about my name, so it’s totally fine. Just give me a nice nickname!”
She agreed in a lighthearted tone.
(Since it’s Caroline, maybe Caro? Hmm, that’s a bit obvious... How about—)
“How about Carol?”
“Oh, Carol! That’s crisp and nice! Then from today on, my name is Carol!”
“…No, I meant just the nickname. Your name remains Caroline.”
She seemed to like it. That’s good.
“Mr. Orun! If that’s the case, please give me a nickname too!”
Logan’s eyes sparkled like a puppy’s as he looked up at me with innocent, pleading eyes.
“Logan’s name isn’t that long anyway.”
“Please, I beg you!”
He persisted even when I said it wasn’t necessary.
Does he really want one that badly?
“…Then how about Log?”
“Log… The name Mr. Orun gave me…!”
He murmured it with a deeply moved expression.
No, I mean, it’s just a nickname; your real name hasn’t changed...
Well, if it makes him that happy, I don’t mind.
Sophia was watching us enviously during this exchange.
She must feel lonely being the only one left out.
“How about Sophie for Sophia?”
I said it suddenly, and Sophia looked a bit blank.
“I tried giving you a nickname, but it might be too simple. Did you not like it?”
“N-no, not at all! I’m really happy! Sophie, huh… ehehe…”
Sophia’s expression was full of happiness.
I’m glad she liked it.
“In that case, Mr. Orun, I want to use a different way to call you…”
Log made a suggestion.
“No, I’m fine as I am. It’s a short name, so there’s no need to shorten it.”
If I shorten my name, would it be Or or Run? Somehow, I don’t like that...
“No, I don’t want to call you by a nickname—I want to call you master!”
He proposed with earnest eyes.
…Looks like he’s serious.
Still, is this really the same Logan? His personality has changed so much...
“Ah! Logan—no, Log, that’s unfair! I want to call you master too!”
“If you want to call me that, I don’t mind… Sophie, will you call me that too?”
When I asked Sophie,
“N-no, I, um, prefer to keep calling you Mr. Orun.”
She looked down, blushing deeply, and spoke in a barely audible voice.
“That’s perfectly fine.”
And so, the nicknames for each member of the tenth squad were decided.
Next up is the party name, right?
It’s not urgent, but we’ll have to decide it eventually.
Judging by how things are going, it looks like I’ll be the one to decide, so I’ll start thinking about it now.
Thank you for reading until the end.
Sorry this chapter is short.
There was no good breaking point, so it ended up brief.
Since it’s short, I plan to post another chapter today.
The posting time is scheduled for 9 PM.
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