The neighboring room the two of them entered had walls covered in electronic equipment that blinked and displayed numbers one after another. Amid the steady electronic beeps, a large glass case stood at the back, holding a fragment of the meteorite.
"Let us summarize the current results for now," Stella said.
August shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah… I know."
He spoke lightly while operating his terminal to compile the data.
That was when it happened.
'What… is this…?'
A low, clear woman's voice echoed.
"…? Stella, did you say something?"
"…N-no."
Stella shook her head. There was no one else in the room besides her and August. Yet she had clearly heard a woman's voice, and a chill ran down her spine.
'What… are you two?'
The moment the voice sounded again, the numbers on the monitors all spiked at once. The previously regular waveforms swung wildly up and down.
"What are these readings…!"
August's eyes widened in shock at the unprecedented fluctuations. Then a sharp cracking sound rang through the room.
A crack had appeared in the glass surrounding the meteorite fragment.
Both of them instinctively looked over.
Beyond the crack, inside the glass case, something like white mist was swaying.
'What… am I…?'
The voice came from the speaker attached to the monitor.
"…Is that this thing's voice…?"
"No way…"
"But this is the only thing showing any major change."
Stella shivered slightly. The fact that she was conversing with an unknown being filled her with skin-prickling tension. The mist was trying to take form but still wavered unsteadily.
'This place… is unknown… I understand… nothing…'
The voice carried confusion and fear.
"I see," August said, arms crossed as he calmly observed the situation. "It probably has not grasped the situation yet either. It just woke up and is feeling lost."
'…Woke… up…? I…'
"My voice seems to reach it too. Looks like we can actually talk."
Stella held her breath and looked at August.
"August… is this really okay…?"
"I do not know. But if my guess is right, it is a good thing you are here."
"What do you mean…?"
"My guess is that this thing is like a newborn child. When I checked alone earlier, none of the readings showed any anomalies."
August pointed at the screen and continued in a serious tone.
"Even right after we entered the room, the values were normal. That means the anomaly occurred just now."
"…So that would mean…"
"Exactly. We are witnessing the moment of its birth."
Stella caught her breath. The white mist swaying beyond the glass could barely even hold its shape.
"It is only natural that it cannot understand the situation. Its sense of self has only just awakened."
August calmly summarized the situation.
"That is why what it needs now is recording and observation… and someone to ease its anxiety."
He glanced at Stella.
"I am a researcher, so my job is to analyze its nature and gather data. Emotional interaction is your specialty, right?"
Stella's expression shifted to one of understanding.
"So that is what you mean."
"You are used to dealing with children. Even though it is an unknown being, what this one needs right now is a sense of security. I am counting on you."
Stella took a short breath and nodded.
She had worked with all kinds of children at the orphanage. She had soothed sobbing children and held the hands of those who had lost hope.
If that was the case, then there was something she could do for this being too.
With a firm nod, Stella stepped forward and smiled gently.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Stella. This is August. …What is your name?"
The white mist trembled softly.
'I… do not know… I… am nothing…'
The voice was filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"I see. Then would it be all right if we gave you a name?"
When Stella asked, the white mist showed its approval. Stella turned to August.
"…August, you should be the one to name it."
"Huh? Why me?"
August blinked. Stella spoke quietly.
"A name is 'the first gift a parent gives to a child.' …So you should be the one to choose it. Whatever the circumstances, this child was born from your research."
"…All right. Then… let me see…"
He thought for a moment before speaking.
"I will borrow the name of the fairy queen from the old stories. Titania. From today on, you are Titania."
The white mist reacted with a twitch, and a soft wave of emotion came through.
'…Titania…? That is… me…?'
Stella could not help but smile wryly.
"You really do like that sort of thing. You even named energy 'magic power.'"
"It is fine, is it not? It is easy to say and easy to understand. Besides, it has a nice ring to it, right?"
There was even a hint of pride in August's voice.
◇
A few days later.
The atmosphere in the laboratory was completely different from that day. The being that had been white mist now understood human language and could converse freely.
When Stella finished her work and opened the laboratory door, a clear voice reached her. A new speaker had been installed beside Titania, and she spoke through it.
'Master, Stella has arrived.'
"…Eh?"
Stella stopped in her tracks. She thought she had misheard, but the voice had clearly said it.
"J-just now… what did you say?"
'…?'
"You called August 'Master'…?"
'Ah. August told me to call him that.'
August, who had been operating a terminal at his desk, looked up with an awkward expression.
"…Ah… well…"
"August!"
Stella's voice sharpened.
"Since when have you been making her call you that…!"
"Hey, I did not force her. I just said it as a joke at first, and she seemed to like it. She has been calling me Master ever since."
'I quite like it.'
"You like it…!"
Stella's protest went unheard as Titania innocently swayed her mist.
"Well, if she does not mind, is it not fine?"
"It is not fine!"
'Stella, I really do not mind. No one forced me, so please be at ease.'
"…!"
Stella pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
August glanced at her and grinned.
"Speaking of which, about her first-person pronoun. 'I' sounds plain and boring."
'Is that so? Then what would be good?'
"Hey, wait! Not again!"
'It is fine. It sounds interesting.'
And so August's naming suggestion session began.
"How about 'me'? Or 'we' has a dignified feel."
'…It does not fit.'
"Then 'I'? No, 'this one'?"
'…That also feels off.'
"Hmm… none of them work…"
August scratched his head, then looked at Stella beside him and grinned.
"Right. How about 'we'?"
"!?"
Stella's face instantly turned bright red.
"N-no! That is…!"
'We…? It has a nice ring. I like it.'
"Titania! Anything but that!"
Stella desperately tried to stop her, but her desperation only made Titania more interested.
'Why are you opposing it so strongly?'
"B-because that is…"
"…Stella used to call herself that when she was a child."
"August…!"
'I see. Then it is decided. From now on, I will refer to myself as "we."'
Titania declared it happily. Stella covered her reddened face with both hands.
Meanwhile, August could not hold back his amused laughter.