The Book of Maiden Contract

No... no wonder!

Lin Luo secretly sighed, although Reimu concealed it well, but at the moment she turned around, Lin Luo still caught the fleeting touch of despair and sadness in her eyes.

It's not that Lin Luo has never seen this kind of look, or it can be said that he has seen it a lot... Once, when Misaka Mikoto wanted to save the Misaka sisters but was unable to save them, it was this kind of look. When her parents, she also showed such eyes. When Arturia faced Lily’s Knights of the Round Table, she still had such eyes. With such eyes.

He knows better than anyone what that look means, and what kind of cries and wailings are hidden in his heart under those eyes, he knows better than anyone else.

So in an instant, Lin Luo understood what kind of sad soul was hidden under Lingmeng's heartless mask, and how much he was missing under Lingmeng's attitude of "rejecting people thousands of miles away" Looking at that person, even knowing that it is doomed to be just an extravagant wish, I must still hope to meet again... the ancient priestess!

When he came to the corridor and sat cross-legged, Lin Luo slowly closed his eyes. He seemed to be able to see, in this small shrine, a witch holding the hand of a little girl, walking and laughing happily, and then Still in this shrine, the little girl sat alone in the corridor, looking at the opposite stone steps, shedding tears while waiting for the witch who was destined to never return, that desolation and loneliness.

Opening his eyes, Lin Luo had a wry smile on his face, but there was a hint of relief in that wry smile, "The burden on my shoulders is heavy again, but... there is one more reason for deciding to do it."

Reimu who walked into the kitchen did not come back, but left the shrine and drifted away, not knowing where she was going, Lin Luo did not stop her, nor did she catch up, because he knew that no matter what language was spoken to Reimu It doesn't make sense, there is absolutely no option for comfort among the things she needs!

"Father." The girl's crisp voice came from next to her ears. At this moment when Lin Luo was in a daze, at some point, Ming Meng had already opened the door of the cubicle, and looked here.

Lin Luo turned his head, smiled slightly, and waved to her, "Come here."

Ming Meng giggled and ran up immediately. When he reached Lin Luo, Lin Luo picked her up, put her on his lap, then put his arms around her body and asked, "Where did you go?" gone?"

"Playing in the house." Ming Meng replied with a smile.

"Have you had lunch yet?"

"Not hungry." Ming Meng shook her head, then raised her head and asked, "Where's father?"

"Well, I'm not hungry either." Lin Luo stroked her head with a big smile on her face. He is actually very distressed. Regarding the choice of the Great Barrier and the Miko, although he has already decided how to choose, he knows that the choice is not just the end, but the beginning, and even this beginning is likely to make everyone fall into absolute despair. Therefore, even though he had already made up his mind, he still couldn't let go of his hands and feet to do it.

He seemed to feel that he was standing on the cusp of the storm, and if he was a little careless, he would fall to pieces, and of course, including those who were connected with him, they would all fall down.

He knew that such a state of mind was bad, but he couldn't control it. He really couldn't calm himself down completely. Only at this moment, holding this little guy in his arms, he finally felt a moment of warmth and peace... Because when he was with Mingmeng, he didn't need to think too much.

"Hey, don't call me father anymore, call me dad." Lin Luo said.

"Why?" Ming Meng asked curiously.

"...I don't know, maybe I just want to change back to myself."

"Return to yourself?" Ming Meng tilted her head, her face full of bewilderment, "Isn't the current father a father?"

"Of course it doesn't mean that..." Lin Luo felt a little amused, but didn't know how to explain it, so he could only say, "When you call mom, do you call him Mrs. Mother?"

"No, just call me mom."

"That's fine, call me Dad from now on."

"Oh." Ming Meng nodded obediently, half understanding.

"Dad, Mom ran out by herself just now, what did she do?" After a while, Ming Meng asked again, children always had more topics to talk about.

"Probably for a walk."

"Aren't we going?"

"Well, let's not go, just stay here."

"Why? I feel that my mother is not in a good mood. If we go together, my mother will probably be happier."

"Well... How should I put it, everyone has their own secrets, and they also have a side that they don't want to be seen by anyone, even if they are the people closest to them, so we just need to wait here. "

"Why?" Ming Meng tilted her head and thought for a while, but still didn't understand.

Regarding Mingmeng's sudden transformation into a hundred thousand reasons, Lin Luo was very patient, touched her head and said with a smile: "You may not understand these things now, but you will gradually understand when you grow up."

"Oh." Ming Meng nodded, as if she had understood it, but it could be seen from her bright eyes that she didn't understand it at all.

Mingmeng is a very smart child. What she has learned through what she has seen and heard is something that many adults cannot understand, but she is only a two-year-old child after all. Even the smartest people in the world couldn't see through everything, let alone her.

Mingmeng didn't understand, so naturally she wouldn't go into a dead end. After a short silence, she quickly found another topic, and said to Lin Luo, "Thank you, Dad."

"Huh?" Lin Luo was confused by her this time, "Thank me for what?"

"Because Dad kept the promise, it's a real hero for Mom to wake up again." Ming Meng said innocently with her small face up, and then kissed Lin Luo on the cheek with a squeak.

"Well!"

Lin Luo was taken aback for a moment, it wasn't Ming Meng's sudden intimacy, but the word "hero".

When Lingmeng died suddenly, in order to comfort Mingmeng and to encourage himself, he did tell Mingming that he was a hero, so he would definitely be able to save Lingmeng, but... he knew that he was nothing. Heroes, all along have not been.

Back then, in the Forbidden World, in order to save the Misaka sisters, he fought with Accelerator. He became the hero in the hearts of the sisters after he won, but only he knew that he had no choice but to fight, because if he did not If he made a move, Meiqin would be in danger, and if something happened to Meiqin, he would not live long... To put it bluntly, everything he did was essentially for himself, although he did save many people.

Then there is the world of Xingyue, the world of weapon races, the world of magic teachers... He also saved many people and became a hero in many people's minds, but he knows that he is not a hero because... Some people don’t have any risks, they just do it casually, while others are involved in their own safety, if they don’t save them, they will also be in danger.

One is to rescue in a safe area, which is charity, and the other is to rescue in a dangerous area, which is self-protection... How can such behavior be considered a hero?

No matter how much he deceived himself and others, he could not conceal his ostentation and purpose.

Of course, in the fourth battle of gods, he sacrificed his life to save everyone, and at that moment he truly became the hero of everyone, but... sacrificing some people to save others is not saving at all Ah, even if the victim was himself!

He just allowed himself to be relieved, but left the sorrow to the living, such a selfish behavior...

Hero, I am far from worthy of such a title... Lin Luo laughed secretly at himself.

But Ming Meng said that he is a real hero.

Perhaps in Mingmeng's heart, the meaning of the word hero is very simple, just because she has achieved what she hoped but could not, but these innocent words also represent her deepest expectations.

"Mingmeng." Lin Luo spoke.

"Um?"

"What do you think a hero is?" Lin Luo asked

"He is the one who makes everyone happy." Ming Meng said without hesitation, looking at Lin Luo with the eyes of a hero, full of respect and admiration.

"Everyone can be happy... But what if this hero's actions put everyone in danger?"

"It doesn't matter, because if it is Dad, it will definitely succeed." Ming Meng's innocent tone is full of seriousness.

"Hehe." Lin Luo smiled, a little helplessly, but also a little free and easy. Mingmeng equates him with the hero, so that if such a big hat falls, he really has no way out.

If he continues to hesitate, then he has failed Ming Meng's expectations, and if he cannot become a hero, then he has betrayed Ming Meng's trust... This is unforgivable.

"I really convinced you!" Lin Luo laughed loudly, picked Ming Meng up and put it beside him, and he himself stood up from the corridor.

"Father?" Ming Meng tilted her head, unable to understand Lin Luo's sudden move.

"You wait here for mom to come back, I'll leave first." Lin Luo instructed her, and after speaking, he stepped forward.

"Where is Dad going?" Ming Meng stood on the spot and asked loudly.

Lin Luo kept walking forward, without looking back, without hesitation, with a confident and calm smile on his face, he slowly stretched out his right hand, pointed to the sky, and said in an extremely firm tone.

"Go...be a hero!"

(to be continued)