Chapter 39: Let me explain.
Because of the system—or rather, the little stone, the protective charm—Morofushi Sora'aki's sleep quality has always been very good.
Mentally, his physical condition is such that hospital examinations would reveal absolutely no problems; under the care of his parents, he doesn't even have anemia. However, he might develop cavities due to excessive sugar consumption, which is something to be mindful of.
But the problem now lies in his mental state; Morofushi Sora'aki feels somewhat exhausted. His daily life isn't a big deal, and alternating between attending school at both places doesn't put too much pressure on him.
Academic performance was the least of his worries. Socially, he had Hagiwara Kenji next door, and in Rouman Academy, there was Nozaki, who was even more eccentric than him. His dear classmate behind him could attract the hatred of most of the class, but Nozaki himself was completely oblivious to it.
The problem lies solely in his uncontrollable memories, specifically in the information that Furuya Rei handed over to Morofushi Hiromitsu, which briefly described the cases of more than ten patients from different countries.
Hypermnesia causes them various problems, the most important of which is the uncontrollability of memories, making it impossible for them to control sad and painful memories. Even embarrassing little things that normal people can easily forget will be vividly remembered by them, causing a negative impact on their mental health.
It's not that there aren't any good things in their lives, but that's just how humans are. Except for naturally optimistic people, if ten good things and one bad thing happen in a day, they will often remember the bad thing the most.
People with hypermnesia are just ordinary people; their ability to cope with mental stress is no better than that of others.
Nine and a half out of ten people with hypermnesia have psychological problems, the most common being depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Morofushi Sora'aki was already in the best condition.
After dinner, the family held a small meeting. Since Morofushi Taka'aki was in Nagano, he could only participate via hands-free phone.
In order not to overlook the presence of Morofushi Taka'aki, Morofushi Sora'aki even took Morofushi Taka'aki's solo university graduation photo from the cabinet and placed it, frame and all, on the empty seat reserved for his brother.
Morofushi Hiromitsu hesitated to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
"…Hypermnesia?" Mother Morofushi looked at the text on the document, closed her eyes, and looked at her youngest son with concern: "Sora'aki, what is the earliest memory you can recall now?"
"Mom was sleeping in the hospital bed, and Dad tried to pick me up, but almost dropped me?" Morofushi Sora'aki said.
The rest of the Morofushi family: "..."
Mother Morofushi: "Darling, we might need to talk about this tonight."
Father Morofushi: "..."
Father Morofushi: "..."
Father Morofushi: "I have reason to suspect you did this on purpose, Lucky."
Morofushi Sora'aki blinked, but did not respond to the question. Instead, he said, "My father was wearing a blue shirt at the time, but I couldn't see the pattern on it clearly."
It's normal for babies to have poor eyesight and not be able to see clearly at first.
However, the fact that he could remember to this extent proves the terrifying nature of Morofushi Sora'aki's memory.
At least until today, no one would ask Morofushi Sora'aki whether he remembered anything after his birth. Everyone assumed he couldn't remember, so naturally no one would ask.
Furthermore, due to the unique nature of Morofushi Sora'aki, no one would joke with him, and Morofushi Sora'aki would never point out that he actually remembers things that happened when he was a child in order to refute him.
In addition, Morofushi Sora'aki himself was also a man of few words—before he met Hagiwara Kenji.
Therefore, everyone knew he had a good memory, but no one expected it to be this good.
Morofushi Taka'aki's voice came from the other end of the phone, with a slight electric current: "Sora'aki, how are you feeling? Is it causing you any problems?"
"It's alright." Morofushi Sora'aki replied obediently, "It's just that I'm easily distracted, and my memories can easily lead me astray."
This is evident in their daily lives, but they haven't thought much about it and have never considered that it might be caused by memory problems.
"…Let's go to the hospital for another check-up tomorrow?" Mother Morofushi said gently.
Morofushi Sora'aki did not refuse.
However, even if they were to undergo examinations, aside from being diagnosed with hypermnesia, they would have no way to treat this condition with current technology.
After reviewing the cases of other patients, they were even relieved that Morofushi Sora'aki's emotional perception was not as good as they had previously worried about.
"Currently, there is no treatment available. The only thing we can do is have a psychiatrist help the patient alleviate their mental stress." Morofushi Hiromitsu took a few days off to deal with this matter, so he doesn't need to go to work for the next couple of days.
Morofushi Taka'aki also planned to take leave to come back, but Morofushi Hiromitsu was already there, and in addition, he had a lot of work to do in Nagano recently, so he couldn't leave. In the end, he had to give up for the time being.
It's only because nothing has happened yet. If something really did happen, Morofushi Taka'aki wouldn't be able to stay and work there with peace of mind.
And how should I put it, there's also a sense of relief that my younger brother has grown up?
"Experts in this field suggest that patients with hypermnesia should ideally be in a relatively simple environment, as the memory problems caused by hypermnesia are more emotional."
"Memory can be processed slowly and can be buffered by rest, but once emotions become uncontrollable, mental state will deteriorate."
Schools are like miniature societies, and they are indeed simpler than real society, but only in comparison.
At the second meeting of the Morofushi family, Father Morofushi suggested, "How about letting Sora'aki take another break from school?"
These past two days, Morofushi Sora'aki's mental state has been noticeably low; he seems to think it would be better for him to be at home with his mother.
Mother Morofushi is a staunch supporter of the idea that "as long as the child is happy", but of course, she doesn't neglect her child's education because of this.
Morofushi Sora'aki already had a wealth of experience with taking breaks from school, so it wouldn't be surprising if he took another break.
The concern about Morofushi Sora'aki being unable to integrate into society is that going to school might cause him harm, but compared to that, it would be better for him to stay home and study on his own.
After all, hypermnesia is a "symptom", not a minor problem that can be ignored.
For the time being, Morofushi Sora'aki didn't really want to go to school; he just wanted to be with his mother.
His parents can help him with the school procedures here, but on the other side... ah, speaking of which, hasn't he been ignoring his two best friends for several days?
Thanks to the system's automatic time difference control service, in fact, when we first met (to be precise, it was the second time I met Matsuda Jinpei), Morofushi Sora'aki was older than Hagiwara Kenji and the others. However, as the time difference between the two sides slowly corrected, their ages were unknowingly stuck at 16 years old.
In addition, Morofushi Sora'aki was a slow-growing man and his age was never mentioned at first. Coupled with his birthday in October, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei always thought that Morofushi Sora'aki was actually younger than them.
Another issue is that attending a Rouman Academy in this world would affect the time he spends with his mother. However, going to the other world wouldn't affect the time he spends with his mother during the day.
Therefore, taking a break from school in another world is actually unnecessary.
Morofushi Sora'aki hesitated, then decided to explain the situation to his two friends.
•••••
Another world—for ease of remembering, Morofushi Sora'aki decided to call this world the "Good Friends World".
In the hotel, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji, who hadn't slept well all night, opened their eyes at dawn. Thanks to the physical condition of teenagers, even though they hadn't slept all night, they didn't have any dark circles under their eyes, only a little tired on their faces.
This fatigue mostly disappeared after they washed their faces with cold water.
"Speaking of which, it's so early. Has Sora'aki-chan woken up yet?" Hagiwara Kenji asked before knocking on the door.
"If even outsiders like us can't sleep well, do you think he himself can sleep well?" Matsuda Jinpei said.
Hagiwara Kenji hesitated again: "What if Sora'aki-chan finally falls asleep, and we wake him up?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "Are you going to knock or not? If not, let me do it."
Hagiwara Kenji gave up on reasoning with Matsuda Jinpei, so he knocked on the door, which was quickly opened.
Morofushi Sora'aki was dressed exactly the same as last night, but his mental state was noticeably better.
He began by saying, "I talked with my mom, dad, and brother."
Just as Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei were about to speak: ...Huh?
"They suggested I drop out of school and go home." Morofushi Sora'aki said. "Do you want me to stay?"
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji: ...?!?!
Hagiwara Kenji immediately made a stop gesture: "Wait! I feel like we skipped some important plot points. When did you contact me? Last night? You don't have a cell phone... oh, you can use a landline, but why did it suddenly jump to the point of dropping out of school!"
"Because my parents are worried about me?" Morofushi Sora'aki tilted his head.
Matsuda Jinpei: Actually, I think what Hagi really wants to ask is, "So you really do have parents?"
"Because my mental state isn't very good, they're a little worried." Morofushi Sora'aki sat down on the edge of the bed, and Hagiwara Kenji noticed that the bed in the single room was spotless, without a trace of anyone sitting or lying down on it.
Matsuda Jinpei paused for a moment: "...How did they know you were in a bad mental state?"
This isn't just skipping a plot point; it's skipping an entire chapter!
"Could you explain it from beginning to end?" Matsuda Jinpei said, rubbing his forehead. "Could you please take care of our brains, which haven't slept all night and are temporarily malfunctioning?"
Morofushi Sora'aki thought for a moment: "Hmm... Mom and Dad want me to rest well, but being with you won't affect me...?"
"So, to put it simply, if you want me to stay and play with you, I won't drop out of school."
Now that you mention it... "Because you are also very important, although you can't compare to Mom."
"...While I'm touched by your confession, you haven't explained anything at all, you idiot!!"