It was almost noon by the time the two arrived at their destination—a town about ten kilometers away from Sirin's original home.
Because they were planning to move and the journey was long, none of the three could carry heavy items, so they had simply let the villagers divide up all the various things from their original house.
They were also grateful for the villagers' care over the years. After all, there hadn't been anything particularly valuable among the household items.
At the entrance of the town, Shun and Sirin met up with Dalia. Since it was already close to noon, Dalia took out a few cans of meat and handed them to the two as today's lunch.
"Aunt Dalia, Sirin and I seemed to run into some soldiers on the road today. Did you hear any news in town?"
After all, Siberia right now was not peaceful. If there was going to be fighting between armies near where they lived, it was better to stay far away. The disasters brought by soldiers were no joke.
"Soldiers?" Dalia thought for a moment. Because her workplace was the food factory in this small town, if soldiers were stationed here, there would definitely be a lot more orders.
But everything had been normal these past few days, so the army Shun mentioned had most likely just been passing through.
"It probably won't affect us. After all, our factory hasn't suddenly received any new orders recently."
"I see. Then I can relax." Shun thought to himself that in the plot there was no mention of Sirin's family encountering disaster because of the military. Today was probably just a coincidence.
However, Sirin's mother—Aunt Dalia—had died from a serious illness in the original story, but she looked quite healthy right now and didn't seem like someone who would suddenly fall ill.
The capitalist boss at the factory where she worked could barely be considered a decent person. Not only did they get two rest days a week, but it was only a 13-hour workday, and the wages were relatively high.
However, the ruble was worthless right now, so Dalia usually exchanged her wages for the canned meat produced by the factory itself. At least she could eat with peace of mind knowing it was made by her own hands.
The apartment building Shun had recommended Dalia rent was a type of cheap social housing promoted during the Soviet era—"Khrushchevka."
Although these buildings, which had been very popular in the former Soviet Union, had now become the standard for slums, their low price and quality that didn't match their designed lifespan still made them the best choice for renting.
Of course, Shun chose the 60-square-meter three-bedroom layout among the main types. He and Sirin had been squeezing into one bed for so long.
Every night Sirin basically slept pressed on top of Shun, which had caused his sleep quality to remain poor. Now that he finally had the chance to sleep in his own room, of course he couldn't miss it.
The advantage of this kind of building was that everything was already planned out for you—you only needed to bring your bags and move in. Sirin's family was poor and had no personal belongings to dispose of, so naturally they felt no discomfort living there.
Sirin, on the other hand, was very happy because they finally had a new home. But the moment she thought about not sleeping with Shun anymore, she became unhappy again.
In the end, it was only after Shun personally stepped in that he managed to coax the sulking Sirin, who had locked herself in her room and refused to come out.
Shun wheeled himself to the door of Sirin's room. A light pull on the handle was enough to open it—after all, the concept of locking doors didn't exist yet in the current Sirin's mind.
Shun entered the room. Sure enough, Sirin had buried herself under the blanket and refused to come out.
"Sirin, it's me. Let's talk." Although he said this, Shun also sighed inwardly. Why did this feel so much like coaxing a daughter? He clearly wasn't even married yet.
When Sirin heard it was Shun, she emerged from under the blanket. Her purple ahoge drooped powerlessly on her head, symbolizing her owner's mood.
Shun slowly wheeled over to the side of Sirin's bed, then propped himself up, climbed onto the bed, and sat down beside her.
"Little Shun, am I very willful?" Sirin asked somewhat uneasily. She was clearly the big sister, yet she was always being coaxed by Little Shun. She actually knew this wasn't good, but she just couldn't help it.
"Not at all. I know what you're thinking. You just don't want to be separated from me, right?"
Sirin's current behavior was exactly like a child being told for the first time that they couldn't sleep with their parents anymore. Shun had experienced this when he was little too—it was very normal.
During this period, Sirin had basically never left his side. Now that she had developed a dependence on him, not wanting to leave him was perfectly normal.
"I actually know that just sleeping in separate rooms won't change anything, but I just want to be with Little Shun."
Sirin kept explaining to Shun, afraid that he would get angry because of it.
"Alright, alright. I'm not angry. I'm actually happy that Sirin likes me so much. But… there is one thing I still need to make clear."
Sirin, who had just started feeling happy after hearing Shun's words, became uneasy again.
"After all, we can't stay together forever, Sirin." The moment he thought about the Second Eruption, Shun's mood became extremely heavy. In the future, when the Second Eruption happened, Sirin—as the Second Herrscher—being subjugated was already a destined outcome.
But the current him absolutely did not want such an ending to occur. However, the future had already been anchored. The timeline he himself had anchored told him that he couldn't do anything.
Sirin, Cecilia, Snow Lotus Squad, and the people who died in the Second Eruption—not a single one had been changed.
If Shun were to sit back and watch Sirin's tragedy unfold, he couldn't do it. So the only thing that could possibly happen was that he would die before then.
"Why? Aren't we family? Shouldn't family stay together forever?" Sirin expressed that she really didn't understand. Was Little Shun going to leave her in the future?
But hadn't he said that in this world, he had no other family?
"We are family, but even family might leave you one day. There is no banquet that never ends. You never know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first. I can't possibly stay by your side for a lifetime."
"No!" With Sirin's strong denial, Shun was driven out of the room by her.
"Weren't you just saying we wouldn't separate? Now you're kicking me out?" Shun muttered to himself. Sure enough, a girl's heart was really hard to understand.
However, since he had nothing to do anyway, Shun simply sat down in front of Sirin's door. After all, it was the same wherever he was.
After driving Shun out, Sirin sat alone on the bed, thinking about what Shun had just said.
"One day, will both Little Shun and Mom leave me?" Sirin simply couldn't imagine that terrifying future happening. If it really turned out that way, she would definitely go crazy.
"No. We have to be family for a lifetime!"