After arriving at the convenience store, Nohara Shin Chan continued sorting through the memories in his mind.
In that other parallel world, he hadn't been the carefree Shin Chan at all—just an ordinary person, a little out of place because of his precocious and unrestrained personality.
After graduating from college and becoming an office worker, he had accidentally encountered Eriri, who was nearly starving on the streets. He adopted her and named her Xiao Li.
In that timeline, his relationship with Nanako Ohara had truly ended. The two of them were fifteen years apart.
After he graduated from college, Nanako went abroad, and they completely lost contact.
Things with Ai Saotome hadn't gone smoothly either. After separating in kindergarten, they didn't meet again until after college.
By then, Shin Chan was just an ordinary office worker. Even though they dated for a while, they eventually broke up due to opposition from the Saotome Family.
After all those twists and turns, only Xiao Li had remained by his side.
And his memories ended at the moment Xiao Li passed away.
A version of himself from a parallel world…
This system was seriously troublesome.
So the current situation was that Eriri had once been his pet dog?
But Eriri wasn't his type at all!
Still, the mission required him to help her resolve her troubles—and he was genuinely interested in the famous sword listed as the reward.
Forget it. I'll deal with it when I actually meet her.
Shin Chan stopped thinking about it for now and returned to his original plan. After buying snacks, he would go home and properly indulge himself.
"Eriri, what kind of nightmare did you have?"
Sensing that her daughter's emotions had finally stabilized, Sayuri Sawamura couldn't suppress her curiosity.
Eriri's expression turned subtle. She didn't know how to explain it.
Should she really say that her beautiful, adorable self had once been a man's pet dog in another world—and that she still missed being petted by him?
"It was just… a very strange nightmare," Eriri said vaguely. "I haven't had one in a long time, so it scared me."
Then, suddenly, a thought struck her.
Does a Nohara Shin Chan exist in this world too?
And if he did—how was he living now?
"Mom, can you help me with something?"
"Oh?"
Seeing Eriri suddenly become so serious, Sayuri instinctively straightened her posture as well.
"Tell me. What do you want Mom to help you with?"
"Can you help me find someone? His name is Nohara Shin Chan. He's from Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture."
Find someone?
Sayuri found it a little strange, but when she saw the seriousness and pleading in Eriri's eyes, she nodded.
"All right. I'll help you investigate. But why do you want to find him, Eriri? Have you… met a boy you like?"
"How could that be?!"
Eriri's face instantly turned bright red.
Yet an uncontrollable thought surfaced in her mind.
Dating my Master… wouldn't that be amazing?
"M-Mom, I'll leave this to you! I'm not feeling very well and want to sleep a little longer!"
With that, Eriri pushed Sayuri out of the room and shut the door.
Standing outside, Sayuri looked thoughtful.
Isn't Eriri a firm believer in childhood sweethearts?
But maybe this wasn't a bad thing. That child, Tomoya Aki, really was far too awful.
Shaking her head, Sayuri turned around, took out her phone, and instructed people from the family to investigate Nohara Shin Chan.
For the Sawamura family, finding someone was easy.
Shin Chan, now back home with a bag of snacks, had no idea that Eriri had already started taking action.
He happily watched TV while munching on potato chips.
Shiro seemed to have already learned how to use the elevator and remembered the floor number. The clever dog ran out to explore on his own.
Thinking about Shiro, Shin Chan suddenly felt a little strange.
Shiro is so smart… could he also be a reincarnator?
After a moment, Shin Chan shook his head.
Although Shiro was intelligent, he was still far from Xiao Li in that other timeline. Nohara Shiro was just a naturally clever dog.
"I see… I understand."
Holding the documents in her hand, Sayuri Sawamura felt a bit conflicted.
Back in elementary school, Eriri had been ostracized because of Tomoya Aki—and it turned out that this boy named Nohara Shin Chan, along with several other children, had helped her.
Why didn't she remember that?
Eriri had never mentioned it.
Are childhood sweethearts really no match for someone who suddenly falls from the sky?
This, of course, was the result of the world's correction.
According to the information, Nohara Shin Chan was just an ordinary boy. Eriri would soon be his senior, and before this, the two of them had had no contact at all.
If there was anything noteworthy, it was that Shin Chan seemed to have had a very close relationship with the Saotome Family's young lady back in kindergarten.
But that was many years ago. After so much time, the two hadn't contacted each other again—there shouldn't be anything left between them.
From the photos, Shin Chan was a sporty, handsome boy.
Does Eriri actually like this type?
Thinking of her daughter's former childhood sweetheart, Sayuri couldn't help but shake her head.
She and her husband had always hoped Eriri would grow up healthy and happy, so they'd never forced anything on her. But that boy, Tomoya Aki, was truly terrible.
Cowardly. Selfish. Completely unconcerned with other people's feelings.
A shut-in who only cared about himself.
Before, Eriri had stubbornly clung to the idea of her childhood sweetheart, so they hadn't interfered.
But things seemed different now.
With the documents in hand, Sayuri walked to Eriri's room and knocked on the door.
It was already evening. Eriri had stayed in her room all day—very unusual behavior.
Was she feeling unwell?
Inside, Eriri lay on her bed, repeatedly reliving the fragments of her life with Shin Chan.
Those fifteen years of memories were etched clearly into her mind—impossible to erase.
"Eriri, I found him."
Sayuri pushed the door open and walked in.
Seeing Eriri lying there, sometimes smiling and sometimes looking sad, she couldn't help worrying that her daughter might be emotionally unstable.
"What?!"
Hearing that Shin Chan had been found, Eriri immediately jumped up from the bed.
"Yes. This boy helped you back then. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Sayuri walked over and handed Eriri the documents and photos.
"Shin Chan… helped me?"
Eriri was stunned. Why didn't she remember any of this?
She quickly took the documents and began reading.
Shin Chan was actually one year younger than her.
He was about to enter Shuchiin Academy.
That meant he would be her junior.
And back in elementary school, he had helped her together with his group of friends.
When the system merged multiple parallel timelines, it had made adjustments.
Because Eriri received memories from another timeline, she hadn't received this part of her own past.
Thinking of Shin Chan, Eriri's mind involuntarily drifted to Tomoya Aki.
Now, all she felt toward him was disgust.