Chapter 48: Processing the Spoils

At his doorstep, Daichi stopped in his tracks. His arms were still wrapped in bandages—it'd be awkward to face his foster parents like this.

"Dekisugi, help me remove these bandages," he said.

But Dekisugi immediately refused. "No way. Your arms are in no shape for that—they need proper healing."

This kid really was stubborn. Daichi had no choice but to explain. "Don't worry. The whole point of going to the hospital was to get the bones set properly. Without that, my magic would've healed them wrong. Now that they're aligned, I can heal them just fine with magic."

Dekisugi weighed the pros and cons, then finally agreed and started removing the wrappings.

While working, he asked, "I was with you most of the adventure. When did you even get hurt? And why didn't any of us notice? How were you able to eat and act so normally with injuries like that?"

He finished unwrapping one arm, revealing the splints and bone-growth medicine left by the doctor.

"Oh, that? I got hurt when I used too much strength to slam Doraemon down. The force exceeded my bones' tolerance and they snapped. As for acting normal during dinner? I temporarily fused the bones using magic. If you hadn't hugged me back then, I wouldn't have needed a hospital visit this bad."

Daichi explained all this in his usual expressionless tone.

Dekisugi paused, but then continued removing the remaining bandages.

Soon all four layers were off. Daichi first used a trace amount of magic to stabilize the fractures, then chanted a Tier-2 healing spell.

Due to his depleted mental reserves, his mana had recovered less than 10% during their walk home.

The spell nearly drained him again, flirting with magical exhaustion.

Still, healing went smoother than expected. One cast was enough for his bones to begin fusing at the fracture points.

The damage improved from multiple fractures to multiple hairline cracks—not perfect, but at least the bones wouldn't snap from normal movement.

He sent Dekisugi to toss the bandages into the recycling bin. It was already 5:00 PM, the clouds overhead tinged orange by the setting sun, casting long shadows behind the two boys.

They returned home together. In the kitchen, Daichi's foster mother was busy preparing dinner.

"Mom, no need to make me dinner tonight!" Daichi called out.

His arms still weren't fully healed, and eating right now would be more of a chore than a comfort.

"Alright, I understand. But try to come home for meals when you can, okay?" she replied.

Daichi gave a short reply and went upstairs to rest.

The aftermath of his depleted mental energy was fatigue—but he couldn't sleep yet.

Tonight, Dekisugi would use the Anywhere Door to visit his past self. Daichi needed to stop him from saying things like "don't let him go on dangerous missions" or "watch him carefully."

Night fell silently.

After meditating, Daichi recovered about 20% of his spiritual energy and over 30% of his mana.

He stood and used two healing spells to finish repairing his arms.

Three hours for just a 20% recovery—that was painfully slow.

His current mental energy was around 40%. Not great, but enough to function.

Dekisugi was sitting at the desk, lost in thought.

Daichi joined him and began carefully removing the golden threads from the magic cloak.

Magic metals had a distinct texture and hardness when infused with mana. He could easily distinguish them from mundane gold.

In no time, the once-glorious cloak was tattered beyond recognition.

Dekisugi watched him in confusion. "Why are you tearing that apart? It looked perfectly fine before."

But he didn't press further. Daichi always had his reasons.

As Daichi finished separating the seventh thread, a door suddenly opened in the room.

It was the Anywhere Door—past Doraemon and the others had come to check if their counterparts were really there.

Sure enough, they were. Through the door came the sound of waves and a deep blue sky. On the other side stood Past Daichi, Dekisugi, and Doraemon.

Dekisugi quickly warned his past self, "Listen—make sure to keep an eye on Daichi. Don't let him—mmph!"

Before he could finish, Daichi covered his mouth. Any more and they'd risk altering history.

Since the sentence had already started, not saying anything would seem suspicious. Daichi quickly added, "Don't worry. I just did something high-risk for a high reward. He's just worried about me getting hurt."

"But it's all good now—I made it back safe and sound, and I gained a lot from it. You can go on your adventure with peace of mind."

Hearing that, the group on the other side relaxed and closed the door.

Daichi finally let Dekisugi go.

The boy immediately asked, "Why'd you stop me?"

Daichi glanced at him coolly. "Trying to rewrite history, are you?"

Dekisugi was caught off guard.

"We were almost in outer space. If I hadn't broken through the barrier, we'd never have survived. John's plan would've succeeded. Earth would be gone."

"You still think it's a good idea to tell them? If you do, feel free to borrow the Anywhere Door and stop me from breaking the barrier."

Dekisugi fell silent for a long time before muttering, "Sorry… I didn't think that far ahead."

Daichi sighed in relief—he had been genuinely worried Dekisugi might actually go try that.

"I'm not blaming you. It's just… You're usually so rational. What happened today?"

Dekisugi turned away, closing his eyes. "I just don't want you to get hurt. And I hate that you keep secrets from me. By the way—why were you covered in blood the last time you came back?"

Daichi returned to dismantling the cloak. "I had a mishap while training. But I was fine by the time I got back—just forgot to clean up."

Dekisugi scratched his head, then glanced at the tattered cloak. "Why are you wrecking it like that? It looked fine before. And where'd you get it—don't tell me you stole it?"

Daichi's hands paused for a beat. This kid really asked that? Can't he just pretend not to know I swiped it from the island?

Also… does it count as stealing if it's from a magical relic?

"I did take it from the island. They had no idea how to use it anyway. Better I let it shine in my hands."

Dekisugi just stared at him.

Daichi got self-conscious. "Fine, fine. I stole it, okay? What now, gonna make me return it? Not happening!"

Dekisugi backed away slightly, folding his arms. "This is the first time I've seen someone so proud of stealing. Even putting that aside—you said you want it to shine, but it looks worse than ever. At least before, it was intact."

Daichi was about to retort but looked at the shredded fabric in his hand and hesitated.

He changed tactics. "Okay, watch this."

He held up a small tear in the cloak and infused it with mana. The surrounding magical glyphs glowed faintly, and to their amazement, the fabric began repairing itself.

Threads extended from the frayed edges and reconnected, shrinking the hole from three centimeters to less than two.

Daichi, too, was entranced. It was the first time he'd seen something heal like a living creature—visually mesmerizing.

He glanced at Dekisugi's stunned expression and felt smug. Take that for doubting me!

Still, he explained, "This cloak is made of magic metal. It was damaged during a war, and someone patched it with regular gold thread, ruining its properties. I'm removing that junk so it can recover."

"Magic metal heals with mana. I'm not destroying it—I'm giving it new life."

Wait a minute.

He realized something important.

These threads are gold… I can sell them! That solves my money problem!

He stared at the discarded golden strands with fiery intent.

Dekisugi touched the cloak, still skeptical. It felt like normal fabric.

The world of mages really is bizarre. There must be so much out there humans haven't discovered. I want to see more of it…

(End of Chapter)