A Different Doraemon World

"Wow, this is really delicious!"

At the dining table, six people were leisurely enjoying their lunch. Nobita was eating with particular enthusiasm. Though the dishes were unfamiliar, there was no denying they were incredibly delicious, and he couldn't help but compliment them as he ate.

"Fufufu, Karen's cooking is the best!" Kelly chimed in cheerfully, clearly enjoying herself. After such a tense day, a moment like this was a rare blessing. Although there were still many issues left to address, being able to relax and de-stress, even just for a little while, was welcome.

Karen, pleased by the praise, smiled warmly. "You're exaggerating, Kelly. Nobita, have some more!" she encouraged.

In contrast to Karen's cheerfulness, Connie was feeling irritated and pouted, saying, "Hmph! If I cooked, it wouldn't be any worse than Karen's!"

Kelly rolled her eyes and retorted sarcastically, "Oh, sure! Your cooking is amazing, Connie—so good it's deadly!"

Connie slammed her hand on the table, clearly displeased. "What's that supposed to mean? I'll have you know that during our time in the past, I improved a lot! Every time I cooked for the kids, they always said it was delicious!" She then turned expectantly to Nobita. "Right, Nobita?"

Nobita, caught off guard by Connie's question, nearly choked on his food. Remembering the purple sludge Connie had once made, he felt queasy just thinking about it. But seeing Connie's eager eyes on him, he didn't know how to respond and fell silent: "…"

Connie, however, took his silence as a compliment and burst into laughter. "See? My cooking is so good that Nobita can't even find the words to describe it!"

Watching Connie bask in her self-satisfaction, Kelly and Karen were left speechless. It was downright embarrassing. While Kelly could occasionally act childishly to let off steam, it was only every now and then. Connie, on the other hand, was constantly like this, she always seemed like a perpetual child. How on earth was she the oldest one here?

While the four were caught up in their lively exchange, Rim and Doraemon were much quieter. Doraemon was engrossed in analyzing the data he had just received, while Rim rested her chin on her hand, staring intently at Doraemon.

"Is there a problem?" Doraemon asked, noticing Rim's gaze.

Rim shook her head. "I'm just curious. Connie and I always wondered where your gadgets came from. Even 500 years into the future, technology like that doesn't exist, yet you claim to be from 200 years in the future. We made a lot of guesses, but it never crossed our minds that you might be an alien. You must have figured out that something was off with Jaian and Suneo long ago, right?"

Doraemon, still focused on the data on his tablet, replied calmly "When I came to Earth to investigate Father, I quickly sensed something was off. During his childhood, Father was entirely unremarkable, even astonishingly inept. Upon digging deeper, I discovered it was largely due to the interference of two individuals called 'Jaian and Suneo.' Although the root cause didn't entirely lie with them, they played a significant role in influencing Father's development.

After moving in with Father, I started testing the two repeatedly. The gadgets Nobita used to prank them—though not lethal—were enough to hospitalize a normal person for months. Yet 'Jaian and Suneo' always recovered unnaturally fast, bouncing back as if nothing had happened after just a day. At that point, I realized that they weren't normal and they were up to something. What I didn't expect was that they were merely puppets, being controlled by two individuals from the future in an effort to save Earth."

Rim nodded thoughtfully before speaking more seriously. "If you figured out something was wrong with us, you must have also noticed something off about her too, right?"

Doraemon finally looked up, his gaze sharp. "It seems you've noticed something as well…" But he didn't elaborate. Instead, he turned to the group, tapping his chopsticks on his bowl to get their attention. "According to Rim and Connie's research, you two once tried to harness the Sun's massive energy. However, whenever you sent instruments to investigate, they were disrupted by electromagnetic interference, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Rim and Connie replied simultaneously.

Although it was strange that Doraemon abruptly changed the topic, Rim still provided more details. "Not only were the sent devices disrupted, but when Connie or I conducted our research alone, we were occasionally attacked by nearby robots. Upon investigating the cause, we discovered that these robots were also interfered with by a similar electromagnetic interference!"

Connie nodded, adding gravely, "After repeated incidents, we began to suspect something was wrong with the sun. However, instead of the theory that the sun itself is a living entity, we leaned toward the idea that an advanced species resides on the sun. These beings might be monitoring Earth and preventing us from uncovering the truth about the sun. Perhaps, like the Përjetësia, they've even infiltrated humanity!"

Hearing Connie's hypothesis, Kelly, Karen, and Nobita tensed up, turning to Doraemon for answers. Rim and Connie also watched him intently, waiting for his response.

Doraemon didn't answer directly. Instead, his gaze shifted toward a corner of the room. Then, suddenly, he asked, "What do you think?"

The five froze, startled. They nervously followed Doraemon's gaze to the corner. Nobita trembled as he asked, "Doraemon, is there someone else in the room?"

Before Doraemon could respond, a soft laugh echoed through the room. "Hmm, you kids have quite the imagination. Advanced species on the Sun? Haha! If there were truly such species, why would they need to rely on robots to destroy humanity? They'd just do something like the Përjetësia—build a machine that wipes out everyone in one go!"

From the corner, a beautiful girl materialized. She appeared to be around Kelly's age, with short, shoulder-length blue hair and piercing ocean-blue eyes. She wore a white metallic laurel crown on her head, and her black dress was layered with an outer skirt of shimmering blue. In her hands, she held a sleek, white trident adorned with a striking blue gem at its tip, and in her other hand, she held a time belt.

The mysterious girl glanced around the room before fixing her gaze on Doraemon. Tossing the time belt to him, she smirked. Doraemon caught it and quickly stored it in his pocket.

Nobita stared dumbfoundedly at the mysterious girl. Despite the vast differences, even in age, he recognized something in her face. Another face emerged in his mind, overlapping with hers. Unable to believe it, he exclaimed, "Shi… Shizuka!?"

The mysterious girl, startled upon hearing Nobita call her name, looked at him in surprise. "I didn't expect you to recognize me so quickly, Nobita!"