The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 4: Iban

The maids left in a hurry and the doors shut behind us, leaving behind a waft of fresh air that was soon overtaken by the stagnate air of the archmage's room. I was about to ask him to open a window when he spoke up first: "What is your name?" I looked up at him as he gestured for me to follow him towards his desk, where he cleared off a chair and motioned for me to sit down in it as he sat behind the desk. The cat followed behind me and hopped up into my lap as soon as I sat down, finding a place to curl up and lay down to rest, its tail tip flicking in content.

I looked down at the cat, then back up to the man. His face was passive as he watched me in annoyance, waiting for my answer. "The cat can't speak. And as far as I know, it doesn't have a name." The archmage's face quickly turned to one of anger as he looked at me like I was an idiot. His neon green cat eyes squint in frustration.

"Not the cat's name. Yours, boy." He spat out boy as if it was an insult, not evening trying to hide his annoyance. I frowned at his response and tilted my head to the right in confusion. My right hand came up to brush the cat from head to tail, and I could feel it let out a noise similar to that of a laugh as I stroked its soft fur.

"How was I supposed to know? You seem to silently speak with the cat often." He glared at me behind hooded lids and clicked his tongue in irritation; but, otherwise, stayed silent as he crossed his arms across his chest. I glanced away from his figure and opened my mouth, preparing to give him a name when I realized, I didn't have one. I had been with my mother for five years, but not once did she ever call out to claim me with a title. She had always gestured towards me, rather than calling me by a name.

I frowned at the thought, unsure of what to do in this situation. Due to my... estranged relationship with my family, I never really realized it wasn't common to not have a mother who called you by your name. I only learned as I grew up, but obviously, that didn't matter now.

Regardless, I was now without a name in this life. In all honesty, I didn't have any particular attachment to the name given to me in my previous life, but it would be easiest for me to remember a name I was already familiar with rather than a name that I was just given. Would it be alright to call myself something from my past life?

"I don't have one," I admitted, "my mother never gave one to me I guess." This didn't necessarily cause anything to change on the archmage's face, but I could feel his body softening slightly at my words. His gaze moved to mine and held it as he pondered over something.

"And your mother?" he asked, after a long beat of silence. I looked down at the cat, whose eyes were closed in content as I stroked its fur.

"She killed herself two years ago." Looking back at his face, I could finally see a look other than anger or disdain. Granted, he looked like he was indifferent about the situation, but it still was something new. Whatever face he gave me I didn't really care. It wouldn't be any different than what I've already experienced.

It was another long beat of silence before he took a deep breath: "Then, do you want to choose a name for yourself?" He asked, his tone no longer filled with hostility, but just a normal voice that didn't give anything away.

It doesn't really matter. I thought, looking over the archmage's right shoulder towards the window that overlooked woods that seemed to span for miles. I was already used to the derogatory names that I was called in the past life. So much so that it felt like my name had changed to them. Would it be fine to just be called the name that I barely used in my past life?

"Alan's fine," I murmured. The archmage nodded and waved his left hand in the air absentmindedly, creating a string of numbers that floated beside his head.