Daichi Yayahara quickly tidied up the house, just enough to make it look like someone had cleaned. Then he grabbed the keys, put on his shoes, locked the door, and cast a Wind Step spell on himself as he sprinted toward Nobita's house.
It wasn't far, but it was in the opposite direction of the riverside baseball field, so it took a bit of extra time.
Soon, he saw that familiar house—yellow walls and a red roof.
The front door was out of the question; according to what he remembered, Nobita's mom was a full-time housewife, and she was definitely home right now. That left only one option: go in from above.
He cast Wind Step and Mighty Strength again, this time doubling the magical output—normally, he used just the minimum required magic, but by pushing more power into it, he could amplify the spell's effects.
With a running start, he jumped—nearly four meters—landing on the eaves. Unfortunately, his landing was… awkward. His legs ended up straddling the central beam of the roof.
He had to sit there for a moment to recover before cat-walking carefully toward Nobita's window, silently swearing that he really needed to start learning parkour or martial arts.
Peeking inside, his first impression of Nobita's room was: messy. Chaotic. Gross. Which also told him something else—Doraemon wasn't here yet.
Because when Doraemon was home and Nobita was out, the room was always clean. Either Doraemon cleaned it himself, or he forced Nobita to do it before letting him leave the house.
Sigh… Doraemon really loves Nobita. He always puts up with his nonsense and does everything he can to protect him in times of danger. Too bad that idiot doesn't always appreciate it…
Daichi had always wanted to punch Nobita while watching the anime—every time he borrowed a gadget and went off causing trouble. And every time, it was Doraemon who cleaned up the mess afterward.
He checked the drawer—still full of Nobita's junk. The closet didn't have the usual bedding either. Clearly, Doraemon hadn't arrived yet.
Makes sense. It's only the beginning of fourth grade. There's still a little while until the plot kicks off. Anyway, I'd better go check out Dekisugi's baseball game before I'm late.
With that, he jumped back down from the window. Thanks to Wind Step, he landed without injury, and then took off toward the riverside.
About ten minutes later, he slowed as the baseball field came into view.
Technically, he should've walked here. He couldn't be seen panting like he'd just run a marathon.
After all, his roommate was a genius whose intelligence could rival a certain child detective—not quite a death-magnet, but sharp enough to notice oddities.
Ten minutes later, Daichi appeared among the small crowd watching the game. He spotted Dekisugi, who nodded in acknowledgment.
It was the other team's turn at bat. Gian was pitching. He threw a fastball. The batter wasn't quick enough to react and struck out.
The umpire called it—three strikes. Out.
Now it was time to switch sides. Dekisugi stepped up to the plate with the bat in hand. Pressure was high—their team was behind. Whether they could catch up came down to the last two players.
Dekisugi gripped the bat, eyes locked on the pitcher.
The opposing pitcher, clearly aware of Dekisugi's skill, took a deep breath and hurled a fastball with all his might—nearly matching Gian's power.
But Dekisugi was ready. His whole body was tense, waiting for the perfect moment.
Now! His eyes sharpened. A sudden surge of intensity flashed through them. He swung.
Crack—home run!
Their team erupted. Everyone dashed across the bases. They scored! Now they were only two points behind.
"Nice one!" Daichi couldn't help but cheer from the sidelines.
Another switch. Suneo was pitching now. Unlike Gian, he didn't have much strength, so his throws lacked speed. But…
"Hmph, this guy's pitch really matches his personality," Daichi muttered.
Using his Detection Spell, Daichi sensed the spin and angle of the ball—it was far from ordinary.
Sure enough, just as the batter relaxed, thinking he'd hit a homer, the ball curved mid-air and veered off its original path.
Startled, the batter swung awkwardly. The ball hit near the handle of the bat.
Anyone who knows baseball knows the sweet spot is about a third of the way from the bat's tip. Hitting it near the handle means poor force transfer—the ball doesn't fly far.
Sure enough, Suneo quickly grabbed the ball, tagged out the runner, and the next few batters didn't fare much better.
The opposing team didn't score that round. Now it all came down to this final inning. If their team could score more than the other, they'd win.
Surprisingly, the last pitcher on the other team wasn't very skilled. His pitches lacked any tricks, and the first two batters on Dekisugi's team managed to score.
If the final batter could land just one more run, they'd win the game!
Daichi was on edge. This wasn't just any match—it was a friendly game between Class 2 and Class 3, with Class 3 playing host.
According to their agreement, ties didn't count. If the score was even, the home team won.
That meant they had to score more to win. And there were stakes: if Class 2 lost, they had to give up snacks for a week. If Class 3 lost, it would be two weeks.
Daichi stared at the final batter, full of anticipation. But as the boy stepped forward, his smile froze.
He knew—this was over.
Yellow long-sleeved shirt. Navy blue shorts. Thick round glasses.
It was Nobita.
He stood nervously at the plate, hands trembling. Gian shouted from behind, "Nobita! If you score, we win! If you mess up… you're dead meat!" He cracked his knuckles ominously.
Yeah… this one's done. Not even Dekisugi can carry him. And seriously, Gian? You knew Nobita sucks at baseball—why'd you bring him? And now you're jinxing him too! I had a little hope until you said that!
Daichi covered his eyes. The tragedy was too much to watch. Meanwhile, the chants from Class 3's supporters grated on his ears.
As expected—three strikes. Out. Game over.
The cheers from Class 3 thundered across the field, audible even from afar.
In contrast, Class 2 surrounded Nobita—not just the baseball players, but other classmates as well.
If this had been a win, they'd be tossing him in the air in celebration. But they had lost. Badly. The mood was so heavy you could cut it with a knife. Nobita didn't even dare lift his head.
At Gian's command, everyone swarmed in and gave Nobita a good beating. Meanwhile, Daichi walked toward Dekisugi.
Dekisugi didn't seem too emotional. He just stared quietly at Nobita getting pummeled.
Daichi figured he was probably feeling a bit of pity. He himself didn't enjoy watching it, but he wasn't about to step in either. Losing a game they could've tied—because of Nobita—meant he was the one most to blame. Trying to break it up would be suicidal.
Daichi patted Dekisugi on the shoulder. "It's fine. I'll share half my snacks with you next week."
"Huh? You keep snacks?" Dekisugi looked confused, then realization dawned. "Oh! I forgot to tell you—this match involved the whole class. If we won, we'd get two weeks of snacks. But if we lost, we all had to give up a week's worth. Sorry, I forgot to mention it…"
He scratched his head sheepishly.
Daichi's smile froze. No wonder so many classmates were here—and why they were all ganging up on Nobita.
"I see…"
He rolled up his sleeves. "Everyone move aside! I'm gonna kill this idiot myself—don't try to stop me!"
(End of Chapter)