As Daichi Yayahara stepped inside the house, Dekisugi's parents had yet to return. Without hesitation, he went straight up to the second floor and into Dekisugi's room.
The moment he opened the door, Dekisugi, who had been reading, immediately turned his head. He was about to greet him, but Dekisugi suddenly rushed over, worry etched all over his face, and grabbed Daichi's shirt.
Just as Daichi opened his mouth to speak, Dekisugi beat him to it. "What happened?! You're hurt—why is there so much blood?!"
Crap… this is bad!
Daichi smacked his own forehead. He'd completely forgotten. During his breakthrough, the damage to his spiritual sea had caused him to vomit blood, and the nosebleed from brain strain… he hadn't cleaned it up at all. His clothes were still soaked in blood. There was no way to talk his way out of this.
Seeing Daichi silent, Dekisugi assumed he was afraid to speak after being bullied. Without another word, he grabbed his hand and tried to drag him out the door.
"No matter what, you're going to the hospital. You can't leave this untreated."
Given Daichi's current strength, even without any magical boost, there was no way Dekisugi could physically pull him. But Daichi didn't resist—he didn't want Dekisugi to worry more than he already did. As he allowed himself to be dragged along, he racked his brain for a solution.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Daichi silently mouthed an apology and whispered a twenty-character chant. With the last of his magic, he cast a Level Two spell—Sleep.
Dekisugi, mid-stride, suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. A moment later, he lost consciousness.
Daichi gently carried him to the bathroom, washed him up, and then changed him into pajamas. Afterward, he placed him back in bed.
He was already feeling exhausted, but he wasn't done yet. He tidied the scattered books on the desk and returned them to their original spots on the shelf. He also packed up today's homework.
Thankfully, they'd both already finished their assignments that afternoon, so there wasn't much to worry about.
Daichi then folded Dekisugi's clothes and put them away properly. After organizing his own schoolwork as well, he finally let out a long breath of relief.
He heard the sound of the front door opening downstairs. Dekisugi's parents were back. Thankfully, they usually didn't meddle too much in their children's affairs, so Daichi wasn't too concerned.
Using some recovered magic, he washed up, cleaned the bloodstains from his clothes with a cleansing spell, and then changed into his pajamas.
Soon, fatigue set in. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he was lying in bed, it hit him all at once. Moments later, he drifted off to sleep.
—
The next morning, Daichi woke up like clockwork.
After changing and folding his pajamas into the closet, Dekisugi stirred and sat up as well—likely because he'd fallen asleep early the night before.
He rubbed his head, still a little groggy, but snapped alert the moment he saw Daichi. "Are you okay?! I remember last night, you, you…"
He was about to bring up the image of Daichi returning covered in blood—but now, seeing him clean, dressed, and uninjured, Dekisugi began to doubt his famously sharp memory.
Daichi knew it was time for an Oscar-worthy performance. He furrowed his brow in mock thought. "Last night? Oh yeah, you went to bed early. I didn't get home until almost 9. You'd already washed up and fallen asleep. I just cleaned up, too, and went straight to bed. Why? Did something happen?"
"Ah… I see…" Dekisugi scratched his head, looking upward in thought. But he couldn't recall anything clearly.
He looked around at the neatly organized room and his packed schoolbag—everything seemed in order.
"Maybe I just had a weird dream. Don't mind it."
With that, he went to change his clothes.
Whew, Daichi exhaled inwardly. Dodged that one. Next time, I'd better clean up before coming home. Can't go around making kids worry about me…
—
The rest of the morning followed the usual routine. Nobita showed up late, as always, and got sent to the hallway to stand. Gian and Suneo mocked him mercilessly.
Nobita had no comeback—he just stood there, head hanging low.
Shizuka, unable to bear it, stepped out and scolded Gian and Suneo. They didn't take it seriously.
A girl from another class happened to walk by and muttered, "Wow, I already thought he was pathetic—but now he even needs a girl to defend him. How embarrassing."
After the scolding, Gian invited Nobita to play baseball. Nobita tried to decline, claiming he had plans at home.
Gian just laughed, slung an arm around his shoulders, and said, "Come on, Nobita. I'm asking you real nicely. You know… because we're such good friends." He tightened his grip until Nobita couldn't breathe. Helpless, Nobita agreed.
Second period began. Nobita returned to class, gearing up for his nap technique—but before he could start, the teacher walked in.
"Everyone, pop quiz in Japanese! Let's take this seriously."
Test papers were handed out.
The room instantly tensed. No one had studied—this was a surprise test. Only two people were completely calm: Dekisugi, the genius… and Daichi, the cheater.
Since he hadn't been here long, Daichi wasn't fluent in Japanese yet. He had to rely on certain methods.
As for Nobita, he was slumped over his desk like a lifeless fish.
—
In the afternoon, the last class of the day, the teacher returned the graded tests.
Nobita? A zero. Predictably.
Daichi and Dekisugi? Full marks. The class was stunned.
The teacher beamed. "You should all learn from Yayahara and Dekisugi."
Daichi suppressed a twitch. Careful now, almost got inspired to actually study. That teacher praise is addictive… but I'm too old for this.
—
Walking home, Daichi glanced sideways at Dekisugi. What drives a kid to study into the night every single day, without fail?
Back home, they dropped their bags and started on homework.
Daichi couldn't help but marvel. I've never had such good study habits in my life.
He glanced at the page—one hundred math problems? Pfft. Ten minutes later, he was done.
Same with Japanese. (He'd been reading so much at home, he was starting to get the hang of it.)
In half an hour, he'd finished everything.
If Dekisugi weren't nearby, he might've even used Levitation to finish all the pages simultaneously.
Phew.
He put his pen down and reached for a book, but then remembered—Gian had dragged Nobita off to play baseball today.
It's been a while since I went outside. Might as well go check it out.
He stood up.
Dekisugi noticed. "Going out? Something wrong?"
Since his reincarnation, Daichi had gotten a little introverted and rarely went out unprompted.
"Oh, nothing. Just felt like getting some exercise. Staying in and reading all day probably isn't healthy."
"I see." Dekisugi paused, then said, "I'll come with you."
He closed his book and stood up.
Daichi blinked. Dekisugi rarely went out for no reason.
"You finished your homework?"
Dekisugi nodded and pointed to his desk. "Just finished."
What the hell?! Daichi screamed internally. I'm a college graduate! Why is my homework speed the same as a ten-year-old?! Mom, I'm being humiliated again…
Outwardly, his face remained calm—thanks to lingering nerve damage from frostbite.
"Alright then," he said coolly. "Let's go."
"Mm." Dekisugi nodded.
The two walked together toward the local field.
At that very moment, Gian and Nobita were playing catch—and, well, "catch" was generous. Gian threw. Nobita fumbled. Repeat.
Suneo and Jaiko watched gleefully from the sidelines.
This had been going on for over ten minutes.
Soon enough, the figures of Daichi and Dekisugi appeared at the edge of the clearing.
(End of Chapter)