The day after Philip promised to help me recast Tsubaki's memories, I sat in the courtyard of Blue Finger and watched the water from the well flow backwards, if only time could flow backwards like the water of this great kingdom.

"Think about what to use as a reward and come back to me, there is only one chance, oh, if the answer does not satisfy me, I will not help you. "Philip's words yesterday echoed in my mind, I didn't tell Blue Finger about the little tanuki entering my dream mirror yesterday, everyone has their own secrets, and Philip is the same.

But... As Philip said, what can I exchange it for? What is as important as Tsubaki's memories?

"What do you think?" a shrill voice sat beside me, blocking out the sunlight above me.

"Nothing," I said, "just wondering, why would Philip hide?"

Bluefinger looked at me a little confused.

"Didn't you say that before it met you, it often hid from XC," I said, "I never figured it out, even if humans want to find it to relieve their worries, but for Philip, it may not be too bad, in other words, it should be a very powerful skill to help people solve their worries, even if it is not to help humans, it should be respected among youkai, but it has always been hiding from you, unwilling to go out." ”

"Where is there such a perfect ability," Lan Zhi's eyes seem to be able to see the past, "the stronger the ability, the more you give, you should have a deeper understanding of this than I do." ”

I didn't speak.

"Philip, he is just a little civet cat, he likes to sleep, he likes to eat chestnuts, he always has a little temper, and he bites at every turn. The corners of Lan Zhi's mouth kept turning up when he spoke, "But such a Philip has a capacity far beyond its capacity, and many times, it should be a burden rather than a luck to relieve its sorrows." ”

"Also, too many expectations and too many demands will weigh on it. ”

"Not only that," said Blue Finger, "there are gains and losses, and when Philip helps others to relieve their sorrows, his own life expectancy is also decreasing." It knows this itself, but it will still help the people it wants to help, and it keeps saying that it doesn't matter if it has a little less life, although the life span of the monster is very long, but it decreases again and again, and it will eventually be much shorter than the same monster. ”

"......" If Blue Finger didn't know that Philip could reforge the dream mirror as Philip said, then he probably didn't know either, relieving sorrow is also a kind of recasting memory, and what he didn't know was that the monster I wanted to find when I came to the kingdom of adults this time was Philip.

"Actually, I've been thinking a lot about what you just said. "Philip can't hide from me all the time, even if he doesn't say it, I can feel it, it's quietly helping me erase my sad memories, which means consuming my life little by little, but for me, memories, whether good or bad, are the most real and meaningful." ”

Yes, smart as blue fingers, how could he not be aware.

"However, I don't know how to get it out of here and start living a free life again. I can't say it, I can't do it, after all, Philip is my best friend, his time with me is my best memory, and he has to live that life of hiding from arrest when he leaves me. ”

"Well, let it stay. Stay with you forever. I said, "If you tell it what you think, I think Philip will understand, and if you don't take the initiative to say it, it won't know what you think." Rest assured, it believes in you. ”

I patted the giant's feet and stood up, I had already thought about the reward to be given to Philip.

"Hey, Philip, little Philip. "I gently poked the little civet cat with my finger until it slept until its snot was bubbling.

"Hmm... Don't make a fuss. Philip changed positions and clumped together.

"I figured it out. I whispered in its ear.

"Oh?" Philip lifted the eyelids of one eye, "so quickly figured it out, if I'm not satisfied, you won't have a chance." ”

"Well, I figured it out. I moved a stool and sat down.

"Okay, let's talk about it. The little tanuki rolled up and curled up its tail as a stool.

"Thank you for your willingness to help me, but this time, please don't consume your own life again. ”

“... Are you stupid?" a few seconds later, Philip squinted and said,

"Anyway... You're not the first guy to call me stupid. ”

"Who told you that reforging memories consumes lives?" said Philip, "Blue Fingers?"

I nodded.

"Mouthy," Philip muttered, "he just takes care of himself, and he cares so much about me." ”

"He knows you're quietly helping him reforge unpleasant memories. I said, "He, I don't want you to do that for him anymore." ”

“... Ever said you're nosy?" said Philopher.

"Yes," I replied, "but then again, a word from Blue Finger reminded me." ”

"What?"

"Memories, good or bad, are the most authentic to be meaningful. ”

“... So what?"

"If I fill in the void of Tsubaki's memories with my own memories, maybe she can rethink a lot of things, but in any case, these are not her real memories. I said, "I think that's what Blue Finger thinks too, and he wants to make the most vivid memories, especially after I met you." ”

This time it was Philip's turn and he didn't speak.

"So," I touched the tanuki's head with my fingers, "this time, I don't want you to spend your life trying to reforge memories, you just need to go into my dream mirror, help me find the fragments related to Tsubaki from my dream mirror, but have been forgotten by me, and tell me." ”

"What's the point?"

"Instead of passively helping her mend her memories, I can tell her about it, so that she can create new memories while reminding her of the past. I said, "The real is the best." ”

Blue Finger was very sad when I left the kingdom of adults.

"I've said I'm going to stay here for a while," the giant pouted, sullen.

"I promised, and I will do it. I said, "Only this time, I have to find my cat first, or she will be alone and overwhelmed if she loses her memory." ”

"Will you still come?" he asked me.

"Definitely. I said, "The next time I come, I hope Philip won't bite me again, hehe, feel free to write to me." ”

Philip's little head peeked out of his bluefinger pocket, and he looked at me, and without saying a word, he slipped back into his pocket.

Later, I received a letter from Blue Finger, and Philip no longer quietly helped him erase his bad memories, but still helped people who wanted to reforge their memories from time to time.

"But it's happy every time it helps someone, and that's fine. This is what the letter says at the end.

After leaving the kingdom of adults, I used the paper spirit to return to the gap in time, reopened Tsubaki's time archive, and found the closest one.

That's right, I'm going to find her, this white cat has been lost for too long, it's time to come back.

The holographic projection shows Tsubaki's appearance, although she has not changed into a human appearance, but she is much more energetic than the last time I saw her, and she is sitting on the steps, not knowing what she is thinking.

Restocking the portal symbol on the paper spirit, I came to the place shown on the holographic projection.

Tsubaki shouldn't have left yet, right?" I thought and pushed the door open.

Dusty counters and radios, old tables and chairs and warehouses, familiar smells, and sleeping white cats.

"Meow. "I guess I woke her up, and the white cat looked back at me.

Well, Tianbei groceries, I'm back.