Arriving at the convenience store, Shin-chan was also sorting through the memories in his mind.
In that alternate timeline, he wasn't the carefree Shin-chan, just an ordinary person, and because of his precocious and unrestrained personality, he was a bit out of place.
When he graduated from university and became a salaryman, he happened to come across Eriri, who was almost starving on the streets, and took her in, giving her the name "Kei".
In that timeline, he and Nanako truly had a 15-year age gap. When he graduated from college, Nanako went abroad, and the two of them lost contact.
His relationship with Ai Suotome also didn't go smoothly. The two hadn't seen each other since kindergarten. When they met again, it was after graduating from university and starting work. Shin-chan was just an ordinary salaryman. They dated for a while, but due to the Suotome family's opposition, they broke up.
After many twists and turns, the only one who stayed by his side was Eriri, and his memories ended the moment Eriri passed away.
'Shin-chan from an alternate timeline, huh? This system is really troublesome.'
So the current situation is, Eriri is his pet dog? But Eriri is totally not his type.
This is kind of troublesome. The mission says to help her resolve her troubles. So what are Eriri's troubles? He was still quite interested in the reward, a famous sword named Shin-chan.
'Forget it, let's wait until we meet Eriri before thinking about it.'
Shin-chan decided not to think about it for now and continued with his original plan, to buy some snacks and indulge himself a bit after getting home.
———
"Eriri, did you have a nightmare?"
Feeling her daughter's emotions settle down in her arms, Sayuri's curiosity exploded. She really wanted to know what kind of dream her daughter had.
"..."
Eriri's expression was subtle, not sure how to speak.
Should she say that your cute and pretty daughter, in another world, was a man's pet dog, loyal to him to the core, and even now still misses his touch?
"It was just a weird nightmare. I haven't had a nightmare in a long time, so it really scared me."
Suddenly, Eriri thought of something. 'In this world, could there also be a Nohara Shinnosuke? How is he living?'
"Mom, can I ask you a favor?"
"Ah?"
Looking at Eriri suddenly becoming extremely serious, Sayuri felt a bit unaccustomed, but she also turned serious.
"Go ahead, what does Eriri want Mom to help with?"
"Can you help me find someone? His name is Nohara Shinnosuke, from Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture."
'Find someone? Nohara Shinnosuke?' Sayuri found it a little strange, but seeing Eriri's serious and pleading eyes, she nodded.
"Okay, I'll help you investigate. But why do you want to find him? Did you fall for some boy?"
"No way!" Eriri's face instantly turned red, but she couldn't help thinking in her head. 'Falling in love with Master or something… that would be amazing, wouldn't it?'
"Mom, I'm leaving this to you. I'm not feeling well. I want to sleep a little more!"
After saying that, she pushed Sayuri out of the room.
Standing at the door of Eriri's room, Sayuri seemed to have seen through everything.
'Isn't Eriri a firm childhood-friend supporter? But this is good too, that Aki Tomoya boy was really terrible.'
Thinking of this, Sayuri shook her head and turned to make a phone call, instructing someone in the family to investigate and search for a boy named Nohara Shinnosuke.
For the Sawamura family, finding someone like this was quite easy.
———
Shin-chan, having bought a bag of snacks, still didn't know that Eriri had already started to take action. Holding a bag of potato chips, he comfortably started watching TV.
The little dog, Kuro, seemed to have figured out how to use the elevator and even remembered the floor of the house. The dog ran outside to play.
Thinking of Kuro, Shin-chan suddenly felt something strange. 'Kuro is so smart… could he have reincarnated too?'
He thought about it for a bit and then shook his head. Though Kuro is smart, he's still far from Eriri in that other world. Most likely, Kuro is just a naturally clever little dog.
———
"Hmm, I see."
Sawamura Sayuri held the information in her hands, feeling something strange.
Back when Eriri was in elementary school, because of some reasons involving Aki Tomoya, she was ostracized by other classmates and was helped by this boy named Shinnosuke and several other children.
'Why does she remember this? Eriri never mentioned it before. Are childhood friends truly never a match for someone who falls from the sky?'
Of course, this was the corrected result of the world's adjustment.
Looking at the data, this Shinnosuke was just an ordinary boy. Eriri would soon become his upperclassman, and they hadn't interacted before.
If there was anything special, it was that this boy Shinnosuke seemed to have had a good relationship with the Suotome family's eldest daughter.
But that was during kindergarten. So many years have passed, and they hadn't interacted since. There shouldn't be any real connection left.
'Judging from the photos and information, this boy was a sporty and handsome type. Does Eriri actually like this type?'
Thinking of her daughter's childhood friend, Sayuri couldn't help shaking her head.
She and her husband always hoped Eriri could grow up healthily, so they never gave her much pressure. But that Aki Tomoya boy… he really was too terrible.
Cowardly, selfish, indifferent to other people's feelings, just a self-centered otaku.
Back then, Eriri seemed very fixated on the childhood friend, so they didn't interfere and let Eriri choose her own path.
Holding the documents, she walked to Eriri's room and knocked on the door. It was already nighttime. Eriri had been acting strange today, staying in her room all day. 'Is she feeling unwell?'
Eriri lay in bed, constantly recalling every detail of her life with Shin-chan. Those fifteen years of memories were vivid in her mind, completely impossible to erase or forget.
"Eriri, I found him."
Sayuri knocked and pushed open the door, seeing Eriri lying on the bed, sometimes smiling, sometimes sad, and began to wonder if her daughter had some psychological problem.
"What?!" Hearing that Sayuri had found Shin-chan, Eriri jumped up from the bed.
"Yeah, this boy Shinnosuke once helped you. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Sayuri walked up to Eriri and handed her the documents and photo.
"Shin-chan helped me?"
Eriri was very confused. Why didn't she remember? She took the information from Sayuri and looked through it.
Shin-chan was actually a year younger than her. And he was about to attend Sobu Academy. He would be her junior. Also, back in elementary school, Shin-chan and a few of his friends helped her.
When the system integrated multiple alternate timelines, it made some corrections. Because Eriri gained memories from the alternate timeline, she ended up not receiving these current-world memories.
Thinking of Shin-chan, Eriri couldn't help thinking of her old childhood friend, Aki Tomoya.
Now, Eriri only felt disgust toward him.
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