Want to see me when you come out?
Shu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart... This pain wasn't an illusion; it was real, tangible agony, making Shu instinctively clutch his chest.
Just wanting to see me when the experiment was over, when leaving that place?
Was it really such a simple promise?
[Grandpa John said not to let others see my experiment, but what if I can't stop them?
He's not a bad person; he definitely wouldn't cause any damage.
Then... since he's definitely going, maybe he could... hehe, then let him come get me!
It was always Grandpa John who came to get me before. Today, let him come!
Good people... definitely wouldn't go back on their word, right?
Hehe... Big brother will get me, big brother will get me...]
A familiar childish voice echoed faintly by Shu's ear. Shu clutched his chest, his breathing somewhat labored as he looked at Sirin before him.
This ethereal quality of the voice... was this also the Key of Remembrance?
So this was Sirin's inner thoughts, recorded by the Key of Remembrance, at the moment she made the pinky swear with him?
This was a child's mind... Who would pick up the child, Daddy or Mommy?
Such a thing, which in an adult's eyes was something that could be changed at any time, decided arbitrarily—whoever was free, whoever wanted to go, it didn't matter who went—was of utmost importance to a child.
A promise, especially a formally made promise, was most important to children.
Because their anticipation was the purest. Often, the moment a promise was made, children would begin eagerly awaiting the moment it was fulfilled.
So when a child was promised a favorite doll if they got a perfect score.
Promised a robot model if they came first in a race.
Promised their long-awaited hamburger and fried chicken after finishing school.
Promised a mobile phone after their exams...
When children had fantasized for a long time, only to be brushed off by an adult with a casual, flippant excuse, the disappointment that surged in their hearts was greater than any grievance.
And when this grievance was no longer expressed... those who broke the promise would kindly call them "grown up."
So, for whom do children grow up?
That's why Sirin didn't want to grow up.
Shu looked at Sirin outside the bars. Tears slid down her cheeks, landing on the floor, blooming into less-than-brilliant tear-flowers.
"You said... it's not because someone is a Demon Lord that they do bad things..." Sirin's voice was so fragile, like a candle flickering in the wind, about to be extinguished into a wisp of white smoke.
"Good people don't lie... and they don't deceive..." she said, her eyes empty and lifeless.
So, those who lied were bad people... Even though Sirin didn't say the second half, Shu already understood her meaning.
So this was a child's "vista," using the simplest standards to define good and bad people. Their world was like the primordial chaos, with only yin and yang, black and white in opposition.
Those who lied, those who did bad things—they were bad people, utterly evil, unforgivable.
And those who did good deeds, who were honest—they were good people, trustworthy, dependable.
And Shu had failed to become a good person, so he received his punishment.
He became the Demon Lord.
Sirin left, leaving Shu alone, staring silently at the four dishes and soup before him, no longer steaming.
Could he have avoided this scene?
Absolutely. From those fragmented memories, it was clear that one of Sirin's experiments lasted only about two hours. Meaning, when they left, it was when Sirin was finishing her experiment.
If they had waited just a few more minutes, glanced at Sirin, said goodbye to Sirin, the promise would have been fulfilled.
Shu's gaze gradually fell to his own hands. Suddenly, Shu gave a bitter smile, then raised his hand to cover his face.
This is the world of adults...
The first priority in doing things was no longer how to achieve it, or whether it could be achieved, but the order of urgency and importance.
Because it was a dream, because it was the past, it wasn't valued, considered irrelevant. What mattered was leaving quickly.
But... Sirin...
Shu revealed a weary gaze from between his fingers.
"Growing up... is never a choice..."
...
On the night of the most brilliant fireworks, in the most luxurious palace, on the softest, most comfortable bed, a little girl cried for a very, very long time.
From that white-haired girl, she had received a book. Curiously, she opened it and saw a story.
In the book, there was a villain called "Collapse," who committed all sorts of evil, and everyone hated it.
She met the "protagonist of the story." His experiences were even more legendary and captivating than Homu Brave's.
He was like a protagonist who wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, using every means at his disposal to protect the people around him.
So she envied him. Once, she too had people like that to protect her... Daddy, Mommy... She wished she could be one of them too.
So she created the Demon Lord's Castle, putting what she believed to be her best self into it, hoping to gain his approval, hoping to become someone by his side.
When he placed his hand on her head and gently said, ["It's not because he is the Demon Lord that he did those things. It's because he did those things that he is the Demon Lord."], she was ecstatic.
She thought she had finally found a companion. She thought she had finally gained recognition.
It felt like she had a "home" again.
As long as she had a home, she wouldn't have to grow up.
So she joyfully made a pact with him. After all, nothing could be more steadfast than such a pact.
But he broke his promise... left without saying goodbye, just like those adults who had left her behind alone in the past...
So... he was like that too.
So... she was still all alone.
The little girl curled up on the bed, burying her face in a doll, trying hard not to let her sobs escape.
The soft, sack-like doll magnanimously absorbed all her tears. The little girl cried until she was exhausted. She looked up, and the sack-doll, as always, gave the little girl a mischievous smile.
It didn't say anything to comfort the sad little girl, only tried to infect her with its smile, then silently absorbed the tears and sorrow within itself.
If you can't see sadness, you won't be sad.
It silently stayed by the little girl's side, accompanying her into dreamland.
"Sweet dreams."
The sack-doll whispered softly to the already sleeping little girl, then raised its hand and gently touched the notebook clutched in the little girl's arms.