The people at the orphanage gathered around the trickster and her shadow spirit in awe, joining her in petting the beast.
While the children played with the spirit, Conrad asked her about the skill she used to summon it.
Morgana explained that some mages could become a sub-class called summoner. However, that didn't mean that other mages couldn't learn a few summoning skills.
Since she was a trickster and thus able to learn abilities from any class, she revealed she actually had two summoning skills, although she was still too low level to summon her second spirit.
"What's his name!?" asked Selene as she petted the shadow beast with the other orphans.
"Uhhh, Shadow?" said Morgana with uncertainty, as she had never thought of a name for the spirit.
"Shadow! So cute!" exclaimed Selene as she kept petting the beast, which seemed to enjoy the girl's soft pats.
While the other children played with the beast and the adventurers prepared themselves to continue their travels that had been interrupted by The Roaches, Tilly asked Morgana and Selene to follow her inside as she had one thing she wanted to give them.
Inside a small office, Tilly pulled out a document that radiated light, similar to the one that the adventurers guild used for registering parties.
Passing the document to Morgana, she noticed it was an adoption certificate to make Selene her official daughter.
The little girl sat beside the trickster, confused at what was happening and why her mother went silent after reading the shiny paper.
"I…" Morgana tried saying something, but the words didn't reach her tongue.
"Lady Morgana, I believe you'll make the best choice. But, I ask that you follow your heart and not your mind in this matter…" Tilly said, her eyes showing compassion.
The trickster read the document stating that the girl's full name would become "Selene Morgana."
"Wait… Why would her name be like that?" Morgana asked.
"Sorry, I guess I should have made that clear before. I just couldn't find the best moment to tell you. You see, I know that 'Ren' is your name…" said the old caretaker with a slight smile, surprising the trickster.
Morgana knew that Tilly could use "appraisal" since she felt her using it when they first met. However, only people who were "players" were the ones able to see her name as "Ren Morgana."
Whenever someone born in Aegis used their "appraisal" skill on her, all they would see as her name was "Morgana."
"Tilly, were you a player?" the trickster asked.
The old caretaker shook her head. "My parents were…" she responded.
Morgana looked surprised at the information, explaining to Tilly that she wasn't aware that the descendants of players could see her full name.
"Mom's name is Ren?" asked Selene with an innocent tone.
Morgana looked the girl in the eyes without saying a word. Her expression was solemn as she brought the girl closer for an embrace, then showed the shiny paper to her.
"Selene. I told you before I wasn't your real mother and that you could call me that, remember?" Morgana asked with a soft tone.
"Y-yes." the girl said as she looked down.
"Well, this paper would make me your real mother."
Selene's eyes sparkled as she returned her gaze to the trickster.
"But, what if someday we find your real mother? The one who gave birth to you?" Morgana asked.
However, the girl had no clue what that even meant. "Birth?" she asked.
Morgana sighed heavily. "Are you really okay with being my daughter?" she asked.
Before responding, the girl hugged the trickster tightly and looked at her face. "Yes!" she exclaimed.
Placing the paper on the table, Tilly brought out a small and thin pin to draw a drop of blood from their fingers.
Seeing that her mother didn't bat an eye when the pin went through her skin, Selene tried to act the same way, letting out an adorable and quick screech when the needle pierced her finger.
Once the drops had been placed on the paper, its glow turned even brighter for a moment before subsiding.
"It's done," Tilly said.
Morgana, wanting to confirm her words, used appraisal on the girl and saw that her name had changed from just "Selene" to "Selene Morgana."
The two shared another hug before the trickster packed the document inside her item box and told the girl to get ready as they were going to go for a walk later.
After Selene left the room, Tilly told Morgana that there was a very low chance her birth parents were alive.
Since neonites were extinct, only "players" formed part of this race, which meant that Selene's real parents must have been players.
However, after 120 years, only the "players" that had the passive skill of "Immortality" were still alive.
The skill of "Immortality" was a skill that could be gained after completing a solo-challenge which was considered one of the hardest in the times when Aegis was a game.
Completing the challenge would grant the player the passive skill. However, it only made the user immortal to aging, meaning they could still get killed.
Considering that Aegis was just a game back then, being impervious to aging seemed useless to the players, so only a few completed the challenge.
It was simply too hard for the reward it gave in the end. Nonetheless, if they had known that it would become a real passive skill for them in the future, way more people would have completed the challenge.
Selene was only six years old, so if her parents were indeed players, then it could mean that they were immortals who were killed by someone.
The other option could be that neonite players had children, and those reproduced in the span of 100 years, leading the girl to somehow end up without a name in Kartan.
Both Morgana and Tilly racked their brains as they thought of the possibilities. Tilly wasn't a player back then, but her parents were, and she seemed to understand everything from a player's perspective.
Tilly snapped her fingers. "I do remember hearing about more neonites making it to Kartan, but that was only because they were being sold for slavery…"
"Hmmm, it would be strange for a player to allow themselves to get captured, especially nowadays since all the players that are left are immortals…" the trickster elaborated.
Being an immortal didn't necessarily mean they were the strongest, but it meant that they were powerful enough to complete the solo-challenge, so there was no chance that a player that strong would get captured and enslaved by a gang in Kartan.
Finally, they concluded that if neonites were being enslaved, then they were not players and most likely their descendants.
"I'll look into this a bit more," Morgana said.
"I will too. If I find or hear anything, I will let you know." Tilly said before asking the trickster another question.
"How long were you planning to stay in Kartan?" she asked.
"Well, the original plan was to go through the city and leave as soon as possible. But right now, I have one more thing I want to take care of…" the trickster said, her eyes cold and intimidating.