Echo’s appearance was…… unusual, to say the least.

But with Seraphine’s status and position, concealing Echo’s origins would be simple enough. First, though, Echo needed to learn how to be human.

She stared at the cocoon-like bundle on her bed and sighed softly. Though Echo was half a head taller than her, her frame was slender and willowy—her clothes would have to suffice temporarily. After much deliberation, she settled on a blue-green dress for Echo instead of her usual crimson and gold as too jarring against Echo coloring.

“Do you know how to dress yourself?” she asked.

“Echo can study.” I replied.

Remembering System 05’s coaching, I added, “dy~dy~”

The pronunciation makes the corners of Echo’s lip look like she is laughing.

Seraphine tossed the dress over Echo’s head as she tried to sit up. “Stop laughing, you ridiculous thing.”

A pale arm emerged from beneath the fabric, projecting a small holographic display.

Inside the bubble, my spherical form stamped tiny matchstick feet in indignation.

To prove I wasn’t ridiculous, I accessed the relevant databases and managed to dress myself—without any external assistance—achieving my first independent clothing victory!

When I announced I was ready, Seraphine turned to find me properly dressed despite slightly mussed hair. The minor wrinkles had been smoothed away, presenting the appearance of a very neat and composed…… person.

“Not bad.” Seraphine said, her lips quirking upward. “Well done.”

I raised my hand, projecting a thumbs-up symbol in a small bubble.

Seraphine bit back laughter, walking over to take Echo’s hand and fold down four fingers, leaving only the thumb extended.

Human-form Echo: thumbs up.

Understanding dawned. I raised my other hand as well.

Human-form Echo: double thumbs up.

“Pfft!” Seraphine couldn’t contain her laughter this time, pushing both hands down. “Silly.”

Being human was complicated.

I hung my head in defeat.

“Fine. Since you became human in my presence, I suppose I bear some responsibility for your education. I’ll spend the next few days teaching you how to act like a person.” Seraphine took Echo’s hand, walking backward to guide Echo’s steps.

I watched my legs with fascination, taking careful steps.

Her palace was spacious with soft carpeting. After less than half a circuit, I’d adapted enough to release one of her hands and walk beside her instead of behind.

“Seraphine, thank you. Let’s walk together.” I said.

Wait, that wasn’t right.

“Let’s walk~walk~ together.”

Seraphine couldn’t understand why Echo kept doubling words. Maybe it was a side effect of humanization? “Speak properly.” she instructed.

Apparently, my cuteness protocols didn’t work on Seraphine because she was too intelligent and rational. I made a mental note while leading Seraphine in circles around the room, mentioning about the meeting back in the System Realm.

“Seraphine, my batch-siblings said that your handwriting looks a bit messy, and they recommended I take a surname to make it more formal.” I kept my voice carefully neutral.

Seraphine’s expression turned cold. “Who said it was messy?”

I raised my hand, projecting a small bubble containing a weeping silver orb wearing a tiny hat. This orb looked identical to my old form, but it definitely wasn’t me—when I cried, I was nowhere near that ugly!

A small flame shot from Seraphine’s fingertip, passing through the crying orb. I cooperatively made the holographic System 10 fly away, just like when System 8 had smacked it around.

Seraphine nodded in satisfaction.

But then……

“Those—family systems of yours.” Seraphine used this term, asking seemingly casually, “do they all think my handwriting is messy?”

I stared ahead without speaking.

I walked half a circle with the attitude of ‘I just became human and my hearing isn’t very good.’

Seraphine narrowed her eyes, grabbing Echo’s arm at the next turn and spinning Echo to face her. “Answer me!”

Suddenly, I realized how different being human was from being an orb. Now I had five senses—I could smell Seraphine’s fragrance, feel the warmth of her fingers, sense the strength in her grip.

And there was something cold brushing against the back of my neck.

Killing intent!

Under Seraphine’s piercing stare, I considered my options and decided to smile.

When in doubt, smile at Seraphine.

“……”

Seraphine was about to be amused to anger, but then she cleared her throat, extracting her fingers from Echo’s palm. She crossed her arms, trying to appear aloof while staring into Echo’s eyes.

I looked at my empty hand, then at her.

After a moment’s thought, I offered: “They didn’t say it was messy, just that adding a surname would make it more complete.”

“Hahaha!” I added.

Seraphine squinted, then suddenly reached out with both hands, pinching Echo’s cheeks and turning her head left and right. She gripped Echo’s chin to make her open her mouth, then even tugged on her ears.

I was forced to lower my head for her inspection.

“Is something wrong?” I asked earnestly.

If there was a defect, I’d need to report it to the Main System. Though they had a no-returns policy, factory repairs were still possible.

Seraphine rubbed Echo’s earlobes, which turned red under her touch, then cupped Echo’s face.

When I tried to turn my head, she held me still, my clear eyes darting to the side curiously.

“Nothing’s wrong. You’re definitely human.” she murmured, giving my ears another gentle squeeze. “No piercings. I could get you some later—no, you’re perfect as you are.”

Natural beauty needed no adornment.

Seraphine released her grip, letting her gaze linger on the breathtaking beauty before her—so perfect she needed no ornamentation. The corner of her lips curved upward as she crooked a finger. “Come here. Let me tie your hair. Leaving it loose like this—what does it look like?”

I was still catching my breath from the examination, copying her ear-touching motion out of curiosity. At her words, I nodded and followed her to the vanity, sitting down on the stool without needing direction.

A bit stiff.

I looked at Seraphine’s reflection in the mirror, speaking with perfect politeness: “Thank you, Seraphine. You may begin.”

Seraphine snorted, picking up a wooden comb and gathering a section of Echo’s hair.

The silver strands felt like moonlight made tangible—cool, smooth, almost liquid in texture. It was the kind of hair that begged to be touched, to be held and carefully examined. As she combed, she said, “Since your family thinks my handwriting is messy, let’s make it more formal with a proper surname.”

“I didn’t think your handwriting was messy.” I had always thought it was beautiful—after all, it was the name Seraphine had given her. As I spoke, I couldn’t help but want to look up at Seraphine.

“Don’t move.” Seraphine said.

I stopped moving and looked at Seraphine through the mirror instead.

“It doesn’t matter. At the time, I was acting on impulse and casually wrote your name in our script. It was indeed somewhat hasty.” Her voice carried new seriousness as she worked. “I don’t know how naming works in your world, but here, we have more than just given names. We have courtesy names, usually bestowed by elders when someone comes of age—these are used by close relations. We also have chosen names, which can be either self-selected or honorific titles.”

Seraphine retrieved a crimson ribbon embroidered with golden thread from her storage ring. The fabric was exquisite, with phoenix pairs stitched in gold along its length.

Seraphine planned to use this for Echo’s hair.

I wasn’t idle either, summoning multiple interface panels filled with historical documents about human naming conventions.

The dense text made Seraphine feel dizzy, and she huffed in annoyance. “Just listen to me!”

All the panels vanished instantly, and my reflection smiled at her.

Seraphine: “……”

“Tch.”

Look who finally learned.

Seraphine gathered Echo’s hair into a high ponytail, but didn’t let Echo stand yet. Instead, she rummaged through her storage ring and produced two jade bells, which she tied below the ribbon.

The jade bells rested against the golden-red ribbon, which contrasted beautifully with my silver hair and blue-green dress. When Echo walked, the bells would create a gentle chiming sound.

Satisfied, Seraphine rested her hands on Echo’s shoulders, and they looked at each other through the mirror as she continued their conversation.

“Besides formal names, children often receive nicknames. I’ve read in common novels that giving children crude names helps them thrive—things like ‘Little Doggie.’” She smiled with dangerous sweetness, fingers playing with the jade bells.

They chimed softly as my eyes widened in the mirror.

Please don’t give systems such names! Besides, I was a fully functional adult system, perfectly capable of self-maintenance!

“Since you chose to become human, you should name yourself. I won’t overstep my bounds.” Seraphine patted Echo’s head and stepped back, drawing out her words teasingly. “I can’t always be your elder, after all.”

I tilted my head and raised my voice: “You’re not my elder. If we’re ranking by age of creation, I’m the ancestor of all of you.”

Seraphine froze mid-step, her expression somewhere between horror and disbelief. She pointed at Echo. “Next time, save that kind of talk for people you dislike.”

“Oh, okay.” I filed away her advice, rising to follow her.

Tinkling all the way to Seraphine’s inner chamber, Seraphine lay down on the couch, propping her cheek with one hand and holding an unfinished novel with the other, glancing at Echo from the corner of her eye. Echo circled the soft couch and discovered that with her current size, there was no place for her to nestle.

A small thought-bubble appeared above Echo’s head—apparently, this looked quite odd on a human form, but Seraphine couldn’t help watching. Inside the bubble, Echo’s spherical self sighed dramatically.

My human form remained expressionless as I sat cross-legged on the carpet. I found this position comfortable and allowed me to meet Seraphine’s eyes while she reclined.

Seraphine pressed her lips together, feigning casual interest as she turned a page. “Stop grinning like an idiot. Think of a name worthy of yourself, or I’ll start calling you Little Doggie.”

I was horrified, my expression finally showing distress. What constituted a name “worthy of myself”?

Seraphine raised an eyebrow, thinking, ‘So she can make other expressions.’

I was thoroughly troubled.

Small interface panels began materializing around the room—“Women’s Naming Guide.” “Names That Match Your Personality.” “Surnames That Suit You.”

“Pfft…… ahem.” She wanted to laugh but restrained herself, turning to face the wall and flipping back to a page she’d already read three times.

“Names, names.” I muttered, studying naming guides and techniques. Gradually, I fell silent.

Seraphine glanced over curiously, wondering what Echo was doing, when her silver head suddenly popped up beside her. Seraphine stiffened.

I craned my neck to peek at her book. “Excuse me, Seraphine. You’ve been reading the same page this whole time.”

Mortified, Seraphine slammed the book shut and turned to face Echo.

Echo was very close—barely half a finger’s width away. Seraphine’s chest rose and fell rapidly, but she didn’t dare breathe deeply. Echo’s breath touched her face, creating a strange sensation.

“What now?” Seraphine asked, looking into Echo’s eyes.

I leaned down and nuzzled her cheek, just as I used to do as an orb.

The cool touch of skin against skin made Seraphine’s throat constrict. She pushed Echo away and sat up quickly.

“What are you doing?” she demanded. “Don’t think you’re still that little orb—you look like you want to climb on top of me!”

“I’m sorry, but I used to do this before.” I said.

You said yourself that was before! Look at yourself now! Seraphine stared at Echo’s beautiful face, then grabbed a nearby novel and whapped Echo with it.

“Mmph.” I peeled the novel off my face, closed it neatly, and placed it on my knees. As I flipped through it page by page—scanning the contents and noting character names—I said, “Seraphine, I won’t climb on you.”

I multitasked, addressing Seraphine while processing the book: “I’ve thought of three names. Please help me decide if they’re acceptable.”

“Three?” Seraphine asked. “Let’s hear them.”

I continued speed-reading, my expression neutral as I spoke: “First option: surname Xi, given name Lingren.”

Xi Lingren?

A display panel appeared between us showing the name as I’d conceived it, confirming her suspicions.

“Explain?” Seraphine said.

“Xi comes from ‘system,’ and this surname exists in the surname dictionary” I explained, though my expression showed slight concern. “But if other systems came to this world, they might guess my identity from the surname.”

Seraphine: “……I think you’re overthinking this.”

My worried expression cleared, eyes brightening. “You’re right! This is an advanced system mission world. My batch-siblings would need much longer to reach this level. I should be finished with my assignment by then!”

Echo’s words made Seraphine pause. She curved her lips slightly and said: “That should be the case.”

Seraphine changed the subject: “And Lingren? Do you think systems are superior to humans?”

As a modest system, I absolutely rejected such thinking. I pulled up reference materials and explained in my clear voice: “I chose ‘Ling’ because it means ‘zero’ in my programming language, and ‘Ren’ is short for ‘human.’” It reminds me that I’m nothing without humans.”

“……” She clapped slowly, expressionless. “Excellent.”

Very good.

Quite fascinating.

Seraphine: “Heh…….”

I was delighted, thinking she’d approved my name. I continued: “Full name Xi Lingren, courtesy name Echo, title Lingshan Sword Venerable.”

Seraphine raised one hand slowly: “Title what?”

“Lingshan Sword Venerable.”

“Lingshan what?”

“Sword Venerable.”

Fearing Seraphine might ask ‘what sword venerable,’ I clarified: “Lingshan Sword Venerable.”

“……”

Seraphine’s eye twitched. She stood abruptly, walked to the tea table, and poured herself a cup while thinking: This is a system, not a human. No wait—now it’s human, but with a system inside.

That’s still not right.

Seraphine spun around sharply, meeting Echo’s curious face as she leaned closer. She narrowed her eyes.

When she was an orb, she hadn’t shown much modesty either.

I clasped my hands behind my back, sniffing delicately. My beautiful face lit up with bright eyes as I said, “Seraphine, I can eat and drink now.”

Seraphine poured Echo a cup of tea, watching as she blinked those large eyes and happily lifted the cup.

“It’s hot.” I said in my cool voice.

“If it’s hot, put it down.” Seraphine’s voice became gentler.

My voice softened: “It’s fine. I’m still adapting to this body’s systems. I can handle a little heat.”

As you wish.

Seraphine sat down, leaning lazily against the table as they drank tea together.

The palace doors and windows stood open, allowing mountain breezes to carry wisps of cloud inside. Flowers in the windowsill vases bloomed fresh on old branches, their subtle fragrance carried by the wind to our table.

Having recovered from the “Sword Venerable” revelation, Seraphine nudged Echo’s hem with her toe. Echo smoothed down her dress and tilted her head curiously. Seraphine could practically see a question mark floating above Echo.

Come to think of it, if Echo hadn’t taught her to recognize symbols, she never would have known that a curved line with a dot could express confusion.

Seraphine wanted to sprout her own question mark. “Didn’t you say Echo sounded bad?”

I considered purchasing memory-enhancement items for Seraphine. “I think Echo sounds beautiful.”

“You’ll accomplish great things. I’ll follow and protect you. My name will spread alongside yours. Eventually, the world will know the name you gave me.”

I raised my teacup toward Seraphine, smiling. “That would be wonderful.”

“Come, let’s toast to that future.”

Seraphine bit her lip, forcing herself to look away from Echo’s bright eyes. Her gaze fell to the carpet’s golden peonies against crimson silk, and she exhaled slowly.

“Forget it. I appreciate your sentiment, but……” She sipped her tea, stealing a glance at Echo. Those earnest eyes never wavered, making her heart race.

Seraphine quickly looked toward the distant mountains outside.

Inspiration struck, and she smiled. “Xi Lingren is a name you worked hard to create. If you want to use it……”

She closed her eyes, gathering strength. “Then use it. As for courtesy names and titles…… those aren’t strictly necessary.”

Rising, she walked to her study and took up a brush.

I followed carefully, teacup in hand, standing close enough to watch.

Seraphine brush moved like a dancing dragon, first writing “Ling.” then “Shan.” She smiled: “If anyone asks, say you come from Lingshan. When you achieve fame, you’ll be known as the Lingshan Sword Venerable.”

Lingshan Sword Venerable.

I leaned closer, pressing against her side as I scanned the characters into my [Xi Lingren] profile files. I was a system with documentation now.

“Thank you, Seraphine!”

Even with countless databases available, when it came to being human, my host had far more experience. I should learn from her more often. The thought made me smile unconsciously.

Seraphine tilted her head to look at Echo, her own lips curving upward as she said warmly, “In private, I’ll still call you Echo.”

“That’s fine. You can call me whatever you want—ah!” I quickly corrected myself. “Except Little Doggie.”

Seraphine burst into laughter, reaching out to poke Echo’s cheek with one finger.

“Alright, little Echo.”

My eyes curved into crescents as I raised my teacup again: “Cheers!”