Shizuka's request wasn't too outrageous, but its content nearly made my jaw drop.
She just wanted to add one more person to this camping trip.
But that already went against the original plot arrangement.
What was going on? Wasn't this movie supposed to be just the five saviors?
How did it end up with an extra one?
What surprised me even more was that the person joining was Saotome Seiko?
What was happening? Why would Saotome Seiko join this adventure?
Damn, this time was different from before; the danger level was higher than previous adventures!
Especially since this adventure was underwater—if we're not careful, someone could really die.
I was a bit worried, but I couldn't stop it. After all, she had the right to join group activities, so what reason did I have to object?
But thinking about it, the plot had been chaotic for so long already, so one more thing didn't matter.
I was curious to see what consequences adding one more to the five-person group would bring.
If it really goes wrong, I could just use the time machine to rewind.
So, I just let things unfold.
…
The next day, everyone arrived at my house with their backpacks.
Saotome Seiko was still in her white shirt and blue skirt, looking sweet and cute.
"I'm sorry for joining your group this time and disturbing you!" Seiko bowed and said apologetically.
"It's fine!" Everyone had already heard from Shizuka that she'd invited Seiko.
"We're glad you could come!"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
Suneo and Gian chimed in one after another.
"No problem, I can handle one more!" Doraemon patted his chest confidently.
"That's good!" Seiko finally smiled again.
"Nobita-kun, long time no see!" Seiko greeted me.
"Long time no see!" Last time I said I'd teach her cat's cradle, but it was just polite talk, and I didn't follow up. Who knew we'd team up again?
But after greeting me, Seiko didn't say anything more.
"Alright, it's getting late; we should head out!" Doraemon clapped his little round hands and said with a smile.
Then he opened the Anywhere Door standing in my room.
On the other side of the door was the surging sea.
The blue sea stretched to the distant horizon, seemingly endless.
Only the seagulls occasionally cried in the sky, adding life to this vast place.
We stepped through the Anywhere Door one by one, our feet going from tatami mats to soft sand.
A breeze from the sea blew away some of the late summer heat, refreshing us.
"Is this one of Doraemon's gadgets? It's amazing!" Seiko had heard Shizuka explain before leaving, but she was still surprised. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it made it real.
"The sea is beautiful! But where we're going next is the ocean floor, not the surface!" Doraemon said with a laugh.
"The ocean floor?"
We all exclaimed in surprise!
"Yeah! Gian, didn't you say you wanted to climb mountains? There are mountains underwater too!" Doraemon said like it was a big surprise.
"My best buddy!" Gian happily hugged Doraemon, his excited snot even getting on him.
"No, no! Let go!" Doraemon got the same treatment Suneo had before.
After the fuss, Doraemon finally pushed Gian away.
"Alright, alright, time to get ready to go!" Doraemon said quickly.
"So where's the submarine?" Suneo asked, puzzled.
Doraemon then pulled out six bicycles from his pocket.
"Here, this will do!" Doraemon said.
"Bicycles?" We were all shocked!
"No, no, these are Underwater Bicycles!" Doraemon began to explain.
"Underwater Bicycles allow people to ride in water. They use buoyancy so you won't fall easily, even if you can't ride a bike."
"Put on the special helmets, and you can breathe underwater, without worrying about pressure or temperature!"
"Awesome!" Suneo and Gian got excited and were about to jump on the bikes and rush into the sea.
"Wait! There's one more step!" Doraemon stopped them.
Then he pulled out something like a gun from his pocket.
"The Adaptation Light!"
"In the future, humans go to all kinds of planets—ones hot enough to melt iron, freezing ones that freeze your breath, planets with crushing gravity, even pitch-black dark ones, and so on."
"But shine this Adaptation Light on you, and you can live anywhere."
Doraemon explained while gathering us and shining the lamp on everyone.
"But don't we have the underwater helmets? Isn't this redundant?" Seiko asked, confused.
Doraemon patiently explained, "The helmets only provide breathing and pressure resistance, but they're not comprehensive."
"First, you can't see in the deep sea—it's pitch black, and we might miss dangers. Plus, we're camping; how can we have fun if we can't see?"
"And we can't wear the helmets all the time—like for eating or bathing, what then?"
"Most importantly, I want to give you an extra layer of protection in case a helmet falls off and something happens. With double safeguards, I can relax."
Doraemon shared his thoughts with us.
"Doraemon, you're so thoughtful!" Seiko didn't hold back her praise.
"Oh, not really!" Doraemon waved his little round hand embarrassedly at the compliment.
Hearing this, I realized the original underwater off-road vehicle from the plot probably wouldn't appear.
It must be because adding Seiko made too many people for that buggy to fit.
But it's good it didn't show up—that cowardly, perverted off-road vehicle.
It even dared to covet my Shizuka? Unbelievable, trying to flirt with her right in front of me? It was asking for it; I wanted to dismantle it.
While I was bitterly thinking this in my head, I stared straight at Shizuka, making her shy.
"Nobita, what's wrong?" Shizuka asked softly.
"Nothing!" I snapped back to reality.
"You were staring ahead; I thought you had some worry!" Shizuka said.
"No, Shizuka, have you gotten prettier?" I held her small hand and said.
It felt a bit cheesy and cliché, but it worked great.
"Y-You, not here!" Shizuka blushed to her ears.
"Then, where can I?" Seeing her so shy, I couldn't help teasing more.
"Back home, we'll talk back home!" Shizuka couldn't handle my slowly approaching body.
Maybe after this adventure ends, there'll be more fun? I couldn't help fantasizing.