Hearing this, Byrne stopped his chopsticks and quickly scanned through Young Byrne's memories in his mind.
"Oh, yes. We agreed to meet at the vacant lot near Nobita's house at nine o'clock."
His mother nodded with a smile and placed a piece of grilled fish into his bowl. "It's only eight o'clock now. You should rest for a bit after eating; it'll still be in time if you leave in half an hour."
"Got it."
After breakfast, Byrne said goodbye to his mother and went upstairs to his room. Once there, he changed into clothes suitable for going out. He then sat at his desk, pondering how to bring up borrowing the Time Kerchief.
Should he just tell Nobita and Doraemon directly that he wanted to borrow it to restore some notebook fragments? That definitely wouldn't work. Aside from the fact that he couldn't explain where the fragments came from, he couldn't exactly say he was a traveler from another world who had come from Warhammer specifically to borrow a gadget to uncover the secrets of a family destroyed a century ago.
Who would believe that?
Furthermore, while Doraemon was generally easygoing, he was strict about the use of his gadgets—especially those involving time. He was always exceptionally cautious and wouldn't lend them out easily. Byrne had to come up with a reason that was logical and fit the persona of an elementary school student.
The best reason currently was to repair something broken, and that something couldn't be too ordinary.
"Got it."
Before long, Byrne thought of a very suitable item. He looked to the right side of his desk and pulled out a limited-edition comic book. Last week, Gian had forcibly borrowed this book. Although it had been returned, the cover was torn to shreds, the inner pages were crumpled, and several pages were completely ruined by ink stains.
When Gian first broke it, the original Young Byrne had been sad for days, but because he feared Gian, he hadn't dared to utter a single word of complaint. Using this as an excuse fit Young Byrne's character perfectly and was logical enough that it wouldn't arouse suspicion from Nobita or Doraemon.
When the time was right, Byrne tucked the comic book into his shirt, said goodbye to his mother, and headed out. The spring sun shone warmly on the streets, and a light breeze sent cherry blossom petals fluttering down. Following the route in his memory, Byrne walked for about ten minutes and reached the vacant lot near Nobita's house.
As he approached, he saw Nobita crouching on the ground with a stick, teasing some ants. Doraemon was sitting on a nearby concrete pipe, enjoying a dorayaki with great relish.
Seeing Byrne arrive, Doraemon raised his round head and waved a chubby paw in an enthusiastic greeting. "Byrne! You're here."
Nobita also stopped what he was doing and turned around with a simple, honest smile. "Byrne, come here quickly! Look at these ants; they're carrying breadcrumbs."
Byrne walked over quickly. He didn't mention the gadget immediately; instead, following Nobita's lead, he crouched down and pretended to observe the ants while rapidly organizing his words. He knew he couldn't be too eager; he needed to lay some groundwork first to avoid seeming abrupt.
After a while, Doraemon finished his dorayaki and wiped the corners of his mouth with his paw. He jumped down from the concrete pipe and walked over to ask, "Byrne, why do you look so gloomy today? Did something happen?"
Perfect timing.
Seeing Doraemon take the initiative, Byrne immediately put on a distressed expression. He pulled the damaged comic book from his shirt, held it out in front of them, and said aggrievedly, "Look, Gian ruined my limited-edition comic. The cover is torn, and the pages are filthy. I can't even read it anymore."
Nobita looked down and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, it's actually this comic! I've wanted it for so long but could never find it. Gian is really too much."
Byrne asked, "Nobita, did you want to read this too?"
Nobita nodded vigorously, his eyes full of regret. "Yeah, yeah! I've wanted to read this limited edition for ages, but the bookstore is always sold out. I didn't expect Gian to mess it up like this. What a waste." He reached out to touch the damaged cover, his tone full of sympathy. After all, to an elementary student, a limited-edition comic was a precious treasure.
Seeing Nobita's sadness, the expression on Doraemon's round face grew serious. He put his small hands on his hips and said huffily, "Gian is too bossy! He's always ruining other people's things. I'll have to teach him a lesson later!"
After venting, he turned to Byrne. "Don't be too sad. I have a way to restore this comic book."
Great, Doraemon, that's exactly what I was waiting for.
Byrne was delighted inwardly, but he still acted skeptical. "But this comic is so badly damaged, can it really be restored?"
"Of course!" With that, Doraemon reached into his four-dimensional pocket. "Let me see... a gadget for fixing things... found it! Here it is, the Time Kerchief!"
A moment later, Doraemon pulled out a square red cloth. It looked like an ordinary tablecloth, printed with numerous clock patterns. It had two sides: red on the front and black on the back. When the red side covered an object, it would show the object's future state; when the black side covered it, time would reverse, showing its past state.
After listening to Doraemon's explanation, Byrne asked, "How amazing! Doraemon, can I try it out?"
Doraemon handed it over readily, reminding him, "No problem! Just remember to use the back side. The front changes things to the future, and the back is for going back to the past."
Byrne took the Time Kerchief and grinned. "Don't worry, I won't get it wrong."
Warhammer World, Koror. 79 Wisteria Street, Black Rock City.
Byrne opened his eyes. He slowly sat up and looked around. The familiar bedroom furniture came into view, and the copper box sat quietly on the nightstand.
Previously, he had actively entered the White Mist Space and accidentally wandered into Doraemon's world. Although it was an accident, he had stumbled into a success—using Young Byrne's body, he had successfully gained access to the Time Kerchief.
He had stayed in Doraemon's world for nearly six hours before everything suddenly went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the Warhammer world. Before actively entering the White Mist Space, he had specifically checked the time. To his surprise, the time in the Warhammer world hadn't advanced at all, as if a pause button had been pressed.
Though he didn't understand why, the fact that time paused while his soul was away was a good thing. Byrne shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside for now. Since he had successfully returned, it was time to get down to business.
Based on past experience, he should now be able to manifest the Time Kerchief. Byrne closed his eyes again. This time, his attempt was effortless. In just a few seconds, he summoned the Time Kerchief.