Shu sat in silence for a long time. He didn't know what he had been thinking. When he finally came back to his senses, Joyce had already placed the notebook, filled with drawings of various components, in front of him.
"We should prepare to leave," Joyce said, glancing at the clock on the wall.
She had somehow procured a large pile of scrap metal, along with a basic set of wrenches, files, and other hand tools.
After speaking, Joyce sat down in front of the scrap heap and began tinkering with it.
Shu didn't reply immediately. He also looked up at the time, then lowered his gaze to the notebook.
Joyce was right; it was getting late. Based on the time it took them to reach the border via the shortcut, Mei and Bronya should have reached the Mushroom Forest by now.
Before long, just as in the storybook, they would defeat Bella and rescue Kiana.
At that point, Shu, as the Demon Lord, had to be present.
The number of parts Joyce provided wasn't overwhelming, and her own efficiency was terrifyingly high.
About two hours later, a crude device assembled from scrap metal appeared in Sirin's room.
Joyce smoothed out her clothes, effortlessly got up from the floor, and incidentally pulled up Shu, whose back was about to break from sitting for so long.
"Your physical constitution really is a bit poor," Joyce remarked as she helped him up. "You should try to take care of your body."
Shu couldn't help but glance sideways at Joyce.
You think he doesn't want to? What do you think is the reason I'm not willing to switch jobs? Is it because my morals are high, or my ideals lofty?
It's clearly because Fire Moth has no future without me, okay?
These thoughts remained unspoken. Watching Joyce approach the machine that looked like it was about to fall apart into a pile of scrap again, Shu silently took a few steps back, positioning himself in the furthest corner of the room.
He didn't want two hours of effort to be wasted due to some accident.
As he was about to back into the corner, Shu felt his foot step on something. He looked down in surprise and saw a tattered, colorful storybook.
Shu quickly retracted his foot, bent down, picked up the picture book, and gently patted it.
"Hmm?" Just as Shu was about to instinctively blow on it, he saw the name on the cover.
Homu Brave (crossed out) Fights the Evil Dragon
The title on the cover had been heavily scribbled over with a red marker. A large red 'X' was drawn over the face of the Homu Hero in the center.
In a blank space on the cover, childish handwriting filled with emotion read:
["Fake! Liar! Homu Brave will never come! Thirteen years! I've waited a whole thirteen years! Homu Brave still hasn't come!"]
Shu suddenly froze, but not because of the words. He frowned, feeling a momentary surge of indignation welling up from somewhere deep inside.
Instinctively, he glanced back. Joyce happened to step back at that moment, seemingly contemplating how to adjust the machine.
Is it Joyce's emotion?
There was no one else around. Shu could only suspect Joyce.
The emotion vanished quickly, as fleeting as if it had been Shu's imagination.
Shu made a mental note, then opened the storybook to the first page.
His first reaction wasn't to the scribbles on the picture, but to the strange texture of the paper itself, as if it had been soaked in water.
The paper used for such picture books was inherently susceptible to water damage; now it was wrinkled like an old person's skin.
After a moment of silence, Shu firmly smoothed the page with his hand, managing to flatten it somewhat before carefully examining the contents.
The Homu Hero's face was still crossed out. The two red 'X's had the distinct look of a child's tantrum after a meltdown.
[Legend says—in the far north, beyond the snow-covered lands, lies the Great Homu Kingdom, the mushroom houses of the candy sprites, the mystical realm of the fairies...
And the protagonist of the story was born in the Great Homu Kingdom. His father, Papa Homu, and his mother, Mama Homu, gave him a great name—Homu (crossed out).]
[This name isn't great at all! No one will come... Homu won't come either!]
[No one! Only me... I'm the only one left...]
Shu's pupils constricted. He silently turned to the second page. The red handwriting was even messier, more frantic.
At the same time, Shu felt the emotions within him growing heavier.
[Everyone left... Only I am left... Aurora... Agatha...
We promised to be together... We promised to wait for the war to end together... To see the flowers together...
Why... Why am I the only one left?]
Third page...
[Grandpa John's people brought back a few new ones... I don't dare go... They all fall asleep in the end... I don't dare go... But they keep crying... So noisy... So noisy that...
I kind of want to cry too...]
Fourth page...
[Grandpa John gave me this book... He said... this was his favorite storybook... and the longest-running Homu Brave...
Grandpa John said he met the person who wrote this book... Grandpa John is very, very old... He said...
He would accompany Sirin until the very end...]
Fifth page... The story in the book was nearing its conclusion.
[Liar...
Today is November 19th, 2014... It's the end of Sirin's fourteenth year at the Tower of Babylon... Sirin is an adult now.
Grandpa John said, when people turn eighteen, they should grow up, they should face those difficult problems on their own...
I know... Everyone left, only I stayed here. This time it was Grandpa John...
Before he went into hibernation, he told me:
"Just one last step to get all the data... The rest just needs to be verified by the quantum computer. For this moment, we've worked for fourteen years...
"Sirin... everyone's lives are in your hands now. The quantum computer is estimated to need another fourteen years to get the answer. For these fourteen years... I'll have to rely on you..."
Fourteen years... I still have to wait fourteen years...
The past fourteen years were painful... because of the experiments, the records, having to go to that place I don't like...
The next fourteen years clearly won't have that kind of pain. I just need to wait another fourteen years like before...
But why... why can't I do it?
Everyone is about to be saved... Why can't I do it...]
The last page... It should have been a grand, happy ending, but everyone except the Homu Hero was colored black.
[Because... I don't want to grow up.]