"Sister, why are you so…?"
Rin looked at Sakura, who had returned from outside, with confusion. She rarely saw her calm and gentle sister show an expression bordering on panic.
Since Sakura returned from a business trip some time ago, Rin felt her sister was going out more frequently. Each time she left, she would be gone for a long time, and when she returned, her face was always etched with deep fatigue.
Whenever Rin asked Sakura about her work, she would evade the question with various excuses.
This once made Rin suspect that there was something wrong with Sakura's work, but only after Sakura repeatedly reassured her did Rin reluctantly believe her.
"Rin, pack your things. We need to leave here." Sakura said to Rin while buckling her father's heirloom katana onto her waist.
She wasn't joking at all.
"What happened? Sister, is it related to your work?"
Rin couldn't help but ask Sakura. She could see that Sakura's movements paused after she asked the question, a clear sign that she had hit the mark.
Sakura's rigid arms relaxed: "...Rin, I'm sorry. I can't tell you."
"Sister, it's okay! Haven't we always gotten through things together..."
"It's not like that." Sakura looked bitterly at her sensible younger sister. She was aloof toward others, but only with her sole family member could she be her most genuine and vulnerable self. "Rin, I don't know where to begin. If I could, I would want you to never know..."
"Beep—"
The sound of the communicator made Sakura's body flinch. She gave Rin a complex look, picked up the communicator, and walked outside to answer.
"...Yes, I will execute the mission to subjugate the Sixth Herrscher after completing the evacuation."
"Huff, huff…"
The boy exerted himself, blowing air into the balloon. In the season that hadn't fully warmed up, his cheeks were flushed, and his inflated cheeks made him look even more like a balloon, which many onlookers found endearing.
Does he have enough lung capacity and strength?
But their worries were clearly unnecessary. The boy easily inflated a balloon until it was plump, handed it to his father, and watched him tie the balloon to other long, strip-shaped balloons to form a strange little dog.
"Thank you for your patronage. Hope to see you next time~"
The father rubbed his cracked hands, showing a kind smile, and waved to the family of three who were walking away with the balloon.
After finishing his morning work, the father patted the boy's head with his large hand: "Alright, time for a break, Xiaoming."
"Yay! I want chocolate!"
"Sure! Let's go get some chocolate."
The father and son found a place to rest. The father put his tools aside, bought the boy some inexpensive chocolate, and, smoking a cigarette, watched the boy happily eating the chocolate, his eyes curved into crescents of happiness.
The boy licked the remnants off his fingers, his eyes curiously observing the people coming and going in the amusement park: "There are so many people today, Dad."
"Yes, it's the season for outings and fun. We need to work hard too." The father's wrinkled face seemed to smooth out with delight at the sight of the large number of tourists. The more people, the better the business. He hadn't had much education, but he understood this much. "If we make a little more money, we won't have anything to worry about."
Their family had no debt. They were poor, but they managed to get by—a seemingly carefree family.
"Oh, right, I also need to buy sleeping pills for your mother. Xiaoming, watch the stuff here for a bit. I'll be right back."
"Okay, sure!"
Xiaoming sat bored in the chair. The amusement park was interesting. All children his age were excited when they came here, wanting to play every ride several times.
But he had seen this scenery too many times. He had seen the true appearance of the amusement park in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the novelty had worn off.
If there was anything else that caught his attention, it was the people who occasionally came to the amusement park dressed as animated characters to perform. Each time was different, and Xiaoming was most interested in these big brothers and sisters.
"I finished the chocolate... Has Dad still not come back?" Xiaoming complained. The restless nature of a child couldn't be suppressed, making him amuse himself by bouncing up and down in the chair.
Strange, why does it seem like there are fewer people?
The previously crowded walkway, where people bumped shoulders, was now slightly wider. Some people hurried past him.
He caught a glimpse of a particularly noticeable figure out of the corner of his eye.
A man with only one leg, his entire face wrapped in black cloth, hobbled with a cane toward Xiaoming's direction down the walkway.
"So cool." Xiaoming thought the attire was very interesting at first glance. So, he jumped off the chair and ran up to the man. "Hello, Big Brother... Big Sister? What character are you playing? You look amazing!"
"Playing…" The man's deep, muffled voice convinced Xiaoming he was a man.
"Yes, I know you have your leg bent and covered with an outer shell! I've seen people dress up as disabled like that before! But Big Brother, your costume is so realistic~"
"...Have you been here the whole time?"
"Yes. My dad said he was going to buy sleeping pills and told me to watch the stuff here for a bit. What about you, Big Brother? Are you here to perform? Or just to play?"
COSPLAYers naturally have differences. Some are there to perform, others are just to dress up as a different person for others to see. The former is more common, but Xiaoming has seen the latter too.
The man was silent for a moment, then said to Xiaoming: "Have you seen a very beautiful, short-haired sister with blue lining in her hair walk past here?"
"No."
Xiaoming shook his head honestly.
If a beautiful sister had really passed by, he would definitely remember, because his favorite thing to do was to look for interesting people coming and going.
"Big Brother, you still haven't said. Are you here to play?"
"...That sister and I made an appointment to play hide-and-seek here, to look for her throughout the entire amusement park. So everyone else has to leave."
"Huh? Are you that amazing, Big Brother? I've never seen anyone who can ask everyone to leave the whole amusement park."
No wonder he saw so many people hurrying away.
"So you should leave quickly too. Go outside. In a little while, some big brothers dressed as police officers will pick you up and take you to your dad. Your dad has already left ahead of time."
"No way! Dad never leaves without saying a word!" the boy suddenly shouted loudly.
"...It's true. Your dad is waiting for you at home and bought you a lot of chocolate. He will come back for these things tomorrow."
"R-really!" As soon as he heard about his favorite chocolate, the boy no longer doubted him.
"Yes."
"Alright, Big Brother, I'll go now! I hope you and that sister have a lot of fun playing!"
Lin straightened up. Watching the boy walk away, he limped toward the increasingly quiet amusement park.
"This is—sizzle—headquarters—sizzle—subjugating the Sixth Herrscher—sizzle—"
The sun disappeared.
Lin felt death lingering.
No one could have anticipated the sudden and illogical birth of the Sixth Herrscher until the situation reached this point.
Like a giant sword, it pierced the heart of the Fire Moth.