Realization.

"How's school, Ken-chan?" Ruri asked Ken with anticipation.

"It was alright, and I even made some friends." Ken smiled.

"Oh! My child is growing up so quickly." Ruri said with teary eyes.

Seriously, there's no need to be so emotional. I shook my head.

Time passed, and my father returned home.

"Ken, how was school?"

His father asked during dinner.

"Oh, Ken made a lot of friends today!"

Before I could respond to my father's question, my mother beat me to it.

"Oh, really? That's great. Ken-chan is a smart boy; it's no wonder he will have many friends on his first day." Hiro said cheerfully.

"That's natural. His intelligence is inherited from me." Ruri nodded proudly.

"Do you really want to start this now?" Hiro glared at his wife.

"I'm not starting anything, I'm just stating facts here." Ruri didn't back down and continued eating as usual.

"You know, I was quite smart when I was a child..." Hiro didn't back down either and began sharing his childhood stories.

"Hohoho, really? You're making up your own story again. When I was the same age as Ken-chan, I could already cook rice and do everything. I even helped my parents and did jobs to earn money..." Ruri glared at her husband and continued her flashback story.

Meanwhile, Ken wasn't bothered by his parents' banter.

I don't even know if most of their stories are made up or not. My mother was already supporting the family as a child, while my father retorted saying he was a genius child in his town. I don't even know why they're having a competition; maybe they want to impress me, their child, in some way.

...

It was already night, but I couldn't really sleep. After finding out that the world I'm currently in is actually the world of Doraemon, I couldn't sleep due to nervousness and excitement. I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to time travel with Doraemon.

And thinking about the time he helped Nobita when he was being taken advantage of by Takeshi, something suddenly dawned on me.

"You'll be taken advantage of if you continue to be pushed around by others, especially by that Gorilla."

I still remember that sentence I told Nobita.

What if, because of my intervention, Nobita suddenly develops a backbone, and as a result, he won't be bullied anymore and won't become a failure.

And that means... Doraemon might not return to the 21st century to help Nobita in his predicaments.

...

.

.

.

Realizing this only now, I feel like smacking my head.

Seriously... I'm such an idiot, right?

So, should I help Nobita develop a backbone or not?

Even if Doraemon doesn't return to the 21st century, I'm sure that many time travelers would come back to the past, just like in the cartoon. Some of them could be extremely dangerous. They might not seem like much in the cartoon, but without Doraemon, even aliens could pose a threat.

This world is extremely dangerous, hidden technologies abound, some potentially lurking to cause trouble. Super villains at Marvel Comics levels might be plotting something, and aliens could be harboring thoughts about this world.

I'm not entirely sure, but what if this world is just one of many timelines? If there are accidents in this timeline, the people from the future might not intervene.

Thinking about all of this, my initially relaxed mind, which had accepted being in the world of Doraemon, now becomes anxious once again...

I shouldn't help Nobita... Sorry, Nobita. For the sake of humanity, I won't help you. With Doraemon by our side, we'll have a chance to face most challenges from those hidden entities.

I can have fun and maybe even help Nobita if the pace of this world follows the plot of the light-hearted Doraemon cartoon. But I know that I'm really living in the 3D real world. Those light things from the Doraemon cartoon might not be so light after all; they can be very dark and real, not to be taken lightly. This is real life, where any possibility can happen—for better or worse. And surely, the world I'm currently living in won't be as light as the cartoon depicted.

---

The sun shone through my window, filling my room with light.

My mother woke me up, and I began to prepare for school.

After having breakfast, I walked out of the house and headed to school.

Upon entering the school, I recognized many familiar faces.

Seeing the cartoon characters I used to watch on TV in person gave me an indescribable feeling.

I took my seat. Before the class started and while the teacher hadn't yet arrived, Nobita and Shizuka greeted me.

I returned their smiles and secretly gazed thoughtfully at Nobita. Having made up my mind the night before, I decided not to intervene and help him, even though it might be uncomfortable.

Nobita would have to figure things out for himself, but I knew he probably wouldn't muster the courage.

That's the whole point. Doraemon would come back in time to help him.

At this point, I couldn't help but wonder why the Time Patrol in Doraemon allowed Doraemon to come to the past and let the cat robot mess around with history using his gadgets. But that's a thought for another time.

"Here, would you two like some cookies?" Shizuka brought out her snacks and shared them with Nobita and me.

"Wow! Thanks, Shizuka-chan!" Nobita took a bite and exclaimed, "These taste amazing!"

"Really? Thank you, I made those cookies." Shizuka smiled gracefully.

"They're really good." I nodded as I sampled one. Though in my opinion, they were just regular cookies, maybe slightly sweeter and a bit overcooked. I didn't want to hurt a child's feelings by saying that.

As I munched on the cookie, I sensed a glare from someone.

Indeed, it was Takeshi. He still couldn't get over my interference from the previous day.

"Hello, it looks like the three of you have already become friends. Mind if I join?" A cute boy with slightly large eyes approached Nobita, Shizuka, and me.

I glanced at the newcomer and sure enough, it was the smarty boy, Dekisugi.