Inside the mall, Cecilia treated Sirin like a living doll, dressing her in one pretty outfit after another.
At first, Sirin's expression was hesitant and conflicted.
Soon it settled into a blank mask, before softening into a faint trace of longing.
And finally—her delicate little face lit up with an eager smile.
"This dress really suits Sirin," Cecilia said warmly.
"I think this one's even better," Kiana chimed in, holding up another outfit.
The two of them stood in front of Sirin, each holding a dress, comparing and debating with childlike excitement.
"This one's the best☆"
"No, this one☆"
"Hmm, but this one's nice too☆"
The purple-haired girl in the middle carried herself with a proud, queenly air—but her lively expression betrayed the playful joy of a tsundere princess.
If in another timeline her real mother were still alive, perhaps this kind of genuine smile would have been a permanent fixture on her face.
Now, with her hair styled into twin ponytails by Cecilia, she stepped out of the fitting room.
A black blazer rested neatly over a gradient dress shifting from black to blue, the hem fluttering around her pale, slender legs.
On her exquisite face bloomed a satisfied, almost smug little smile, and her steps were light as she showed herself off.
Judging from the "Winter Princess," it was clear Cecilia had exceptional fashion sense.
Her taste in coordination was sharp and elegant—enough to even impress Nagami, whose eyes lit up despite himself.
"M-Mom… do I look good in this?"
The word slipped out before Sirin realized, and she quickly swallowed the last syllable.
But the yearning shining in her golden eyes didn't fade in the slightest.
"Of course! My daughter is beautiful—she'd look good in anything."
Cecilia gently patted her head, and Sirin's face softened into the contented smile of a pampered kitten.
Nagami lingered behind them, silently taking in Sirin's expressions—every flicker, every shift.
He was already planning: once they returned to the future, he'd recreate them all as photos.
Whenever she got too tsundere again, he'd just wave those photos in her face.
Let's see if she could keep up her pride then.
The risk? She might get flustered and lash out at him. But honestly, that too would be amusing. Either way, he'd win.
"In that case," Cecilia concluded, "let's just buy them all."
———————————————————————
By evening, the sun had dipped low beneath the horizon.
A sea of stars clustered around the round, luminous moon, like daughters throwing themselves into their mother's embrace.
The Ferris wheel.
Sirin sat inside, holding a plush puppy against her chest.
Her lashes drooped, casting faint shadows on her soft cheeks.
Somewhere along the way, Cecilia and Kiana had vanished, leaving only Nagami to take her hand and guide her into the cabin.
As the wheel slowly rose, the glowing city spread out below them—a glittering lake of lights, neon shining so brightly it turned night into day.
"Did you have fun today?" Nagami asked.
He still held her delicate hand as he sat close beside her, his gaze steady on her golden eyes, hazy with confusion.
"…Why are you doing all this?" Sirin lifted her head.
Her expression was misted with doubt.
She had wanted to destroy the world, to annihilate humanity itself.
That desire had been pure retaliation against the cruelty she'd suffered—pain and hatred not easily erased.
But Nagami had blocked the abyss from swallowing her whole.
Because of him, her hatred hadn't been warped into absolute despair by the power of the Herrscher.
Now… she couldn't help but question.
If "God" truly loved her, why hadn't they come to save her from the very beginning?
"From where I stand," Nagami said, his usual careless tone giving way to rare seriousness, "even if this is just a dream, I want you to be happy in it."
He smiled faintly. "Judging from your face, though… you still don't quite believe me when I said I'd be your future boyfriend, huh?"
"…"
As the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin had never believed such words.
Yet right now, she felt herself wavering.
"…It's just a dream. Nothing more."
Warmth spread from her hand to her mind as she gazed at the boy's face, so close.
Her eyes fluttered shut, but in her chest a heavy, bittersweet ache surged.
It wasn't that she'd never wished for something different.
She too longed for someone she could hold onto—for a gentle mother, for a sister who teased but cared.
But the experiments, the screams of despair, the abyss of darkness, the cold eyes of humans who treated her as nothing but an object… had crushed it all.
'Is it too late?'
Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps… there was still time.
But in the end, a dream is still just a dream.
When she woke…
"Dreams, you know," Nagami said softly—this time without using the Herrscher of Knowledge's power, speaking only from the heart—"dreams can come true. If you want them to… every day in the future could be like today. I promise."
Sirin's eyes flew open.
She stared at the boy before her—fear, hesitation, vulnerability trembling in her gaze.
Expressions that should never have belonged to the Herrscher of the Void.
"Schicksal, Honkai, the gods… they stole everything from you."
Nagami let out a deep breath, releasing Sirin's hand only to interlock their fingers tightly and raise them between their faces.
"I'll take it all back with you—tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a million times over!"
The girl's slender shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
"I'll take you and your mother into the future," Nagami said softly as he brushed away a crystalline tear rolling down Sirin's cheek, ruffling her hair with a gentle touch. "All a queen should have in her life is happiness and beauty. Isn't that enough?"
Something deep inside Sirin cracked and shattered.
She clutched desperately at Nagami's shirt, pressing her forehead against his chest.
"If you dare deceive me… your death will be miserable!" Her voice was low, every word heavy as though it carried years of suppressed emotion.
"How could I ever lie to the Queen of the Void?" Nagami's tone was soft, his arms wrapping gently around her trembling figure.
"Hmph! I'll bet you wouldn't dare!" Sirin raised her head with a mix of pride and shy delight, tugging at his collar before climbing onto the seat to stand over him, looking down arrogantly.
"Since you're so… loyal, I suppose I'll grant you a little re—reward!"
A flush spread across her cheeks, golden eyes filled with pride yet tinged with awkwardness.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in the most delicate of kisses—barely more than a brush, light and fleeting.
She had no experience whatsoever.
Her hands, clumsily holding his face, grew stiff, her breath uneven, uncertain.
So cute… like a flustered little pufferfish.
Nagami only froze for a split second before counterattacking, deepening the kiss.
"Mmph—!" Sirin's muffled protest faded as the Ferris wheel reached its highest point.
Against the glow of the moonlight, their silhouettes blurred together in an embrace.
"Do you really need to stand that far away from me?"
At the front door, Nagami shot a dead-fish-eyed glance at the purple-haired "pufferfish princess" who was stubbornly keeping a full meter of distance.
His voice carried a trace of exasperation.
"Y-you… y-you're the one who… who leaned in and—!" Sirin snapped back, trying to mask her embarrassment with a strong front, though the pale moonlight betrayed the blush burning across her cheeks.
"Alright, enough sulking. Now's not the time to be shy—there's still a surprise waiting for you."
Slipping behind her, Nagami placed both hands on her shoulders and guided her toward the door.
"A… surprise? What kind of surprise?"
"You'll see once you open it~" he said with a teasing smirk.
"…Hmph."
After a brief hesitation, Sirin gripped the handle and pushed the door open.
The room inside was pitch dark, bathed only in the silver of moonlight.
Confused, she glanced back at Nagami, who simply shrugged with exaggerated innocence.
Taking a cautious step forward—
"Happy Birthday!"
"Happy Birthday~!"
With the pop of party crackers, the room suddenly lit up.
Cecilia and Kiana stood smiling warmly, a massive cream cake on the table and colorful streamers adorning the walls.
On the banner, bold letters read:
[Happy 16th Birthday to Our Little Angel, Sirin!]
"You… you all…"
Sirin froze, her shock leaving her expression blank before it melted into pure astonishment.
Something welled up inside her—something unfamiliar, overwhelming, flooding every corner of her heart.
"Come on, Sirin! Let's cut the cake! I'm starving!"
Kiana grabbed her hand and pulled her to the seat of honor.
Cecilia gently placed a crown-like birthday tiara on Sirin's head and winked mysteriously.
"And don't forget, Mama still has a special gift for you later~"
"First, make a wish!" Nagami handed her the knife, smiling as he stood at her side.
"Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~"
All three sang in unison.
Sirin lowered her head, hiding her face in the shadows so they couldn't see the tears glimmering in her golden eyes.
"Don't forget to make a wish," Cecilia whispered softly, tapping her forehead with a smile tender as water.
Sirin bit her lip, saying nothing, and closed her eyes under their watchful gazes.
A wish…?
Bathed in moonlight, she looked almost ethereal, wrapped in a dreamlike veil.
'I wish…'
When she finally opened her eyes, she blew out the candles and cut the cake.
"Yay~ wish made! Time for cake!"
"Wait, Kiana! The first slice goes to Sirin, no stealing!" Cecilia scolded gently, feeding the first piece to Sirin herself.
Sirin hesitated, then obediently opened her mouth.
The soft sweetness melted on her tongue, awakening a distant memory—her mother, once upon a time, giving her the same taste.
The exact same sweetness. The same warmth.
The tears she had been holding back finally fell.
Biting the fork softly between trembling lips, Sirin lowered her head.
Cecilia pulled her into a tender embrace.
Later, after the cake was gone, Cecilia carried Sirin back to her room.
That night, Sirin slept more soundly than she ever had in her life, wrapped in her mother's arms.
"…Mama…"
Even in her dreams, a single tear slipped down her cheek.
The next morning, warm sunlight poured through the window—then, like mist, the entire dream dissolved into blinding white.