The group’s next destination was the chemistry lab at school.
“Kusuri met Rentaro here and became his girlfriend, aye!” With a cheeky grin, Kusuri dove into the lab, only to reemerge within seconds with a test tube. “Okay, medicine time!”
“What, right now?!” Rentaro’s eyes bulged.
“We play with drugs allllllll the time, aye! Fun times!”
Rentaro gulped audibly at the sight of Kusuri’s ecstatic expression. “Uh, if you’re playing with drugs, then, um…has this school’s morals fallen to the wayside?”
“Yakuzen Kusuri’s drugs are legal, for the moment,” Nano said.
“The law just hasn’t caught up yet, is all,” Kurumi remarked.
Their comments only raised further questions, as far as Rentaro was concerned.
“Rentaro might remember something if he takes medicine!” said Kusuri. “Look at this: Human Magnet Medicine!”
“Watch out, Noble Prize committee!”
Kusuri giggled at Rentaro’s reaction. “Rentaro said same thing back then.”
“I think pretty much anyone would react that way after seeing it for the first time.”
“Also, be prepared for three days and three nights of excruciating constipation after drinking it.”
“Those are some crazy side effects!”
“At least it’s not life-threatening,” said Hakari. “In that sense, I suppose it’s not a bad trade-off…”
“Her medicines can kill you?!” Rentaro asked incredulously.
“In gacha terms, it’s about as frequent as a Super Rare pull.”
“That’s not actually unheard of!”
“Don’t be shy.” Kusuri pushed a test tube against his cheek. “Drink up!”
“Everything I just heard makes it really hard to agree to this!”
Rentaro eventually seemed to resign himself upon facing Kusuri’s dogged insistence. After taking a deep breath, he swallowed the contents of the test tube in one gulp. Nearby metallic objects and magnets instantly started sticking to his body.
“Whoa… This is neat…!”
“Before, Kusuri drank the opposite version of what you took and got stuck to your body. Kusuri fell in love at first sight and wanted an excuse to get clingy. But now…”
Without putting any liquid into her mouth, Kusuri hugged Rentaro tightly and looked up at his face.
“Even without medicine, Kusuri can stick to you, aye! Because Kusuri is Rentaro’s girlfriend!”
“Ngh!”
Rentaro and Hahari both clutched their chests at the sight of Kusuri’s sweet and angelic smile. Something translucent appeared to escape their bodies.
‹Their souls.› ‹Are departing!›
“I shall stop them.”
Mei crammed the escaping soul-like objects back into their respective bodies. His lucidity apparently restored, Rentaro pressed a hand against his head.
“Urgh…!”
“Does Rentaro remember something?!” Kusuri asked eagerly.
“Ah, no… A scene kinda popped into my head, but…it was totally ridiculous. I think it was just my imagination or something…”
“Everything gets ridiculous when Kusuri-senpai’s involved,” said Kurumi.
Rentaro hesitated slightly at those words, then opened his mouth once more. “So, um, I saw myself in this situation…and I sensed this trickling…kind of like urination…”
“That actually happened, aye! Kusuri remembers it! Let’s replicate it right here and now! Don’t worry, Kusuri is wearing diapers, of course!”
Just as Kusuri casually attempted to soil herself, Rentaro spoke up hastily. “Just because you’re in diapers doesn’t mean that’s okay! I’m worrying up a storm over here!”
Mercifully, Kusuri had just recently been to the toilet, so Rentaro was able to persuade her to hold it in.
“By the way, Kusuri-senpai, don’t you have a medicine that can cure amnesia?” asked Hakari.
“Kusuri wouldn’t have such a convenient medicine lying around.”
“Have you been going through this book with your eyes closed?” Karane demanded.
Something about the girls’ conversation appeared to tug at Rentaro’s memory. “Is ‘senpai’ a nickname for this girl?”
‹Nay, in truth.› ‹She is a senior student.›
“So, uh, does that mean she skipped grades or something?” Rentaro wore a confused look.
“You’ll understand after a close-up demonstration, aye!”
Kusuri glugged down the Medicine-Reversing Medicine.
“Whoa…”
Kusuri’s body promptly began to grow larger. Rentaro rubbed his eyes in disbelief at what was happening right in front of him. This did nothing to change reality, of course.
“This is Kusuri’s actual body, aye.”
“The heck?!”
“It would be best to simply accept this as fact,” Nano said.
Rentaro blinked and turned to Shizuka. “Are you also—?!”
“Think about it logically,” Kusuri cut in. “What’s the likelihood that there’s more than one person like Kusuri in this school?”
“Logically, there shouldn’t be a single person like you on the planet,” Kurumi pointed out.
Hahari appeared to consider this. “If my company could mass-produce Kusuri-chan’s medicine, then the world would become a paradise of itty-bitty youngsters, wouldn’t it?”
“I shall contact the laboratory,” Mei said.
“Don’t!” Karane yelled.
While the conversation veered off track, Kusuri slid on a pair of glasses and tied up her hair. “They mentioned amnesia-curing medicine.” She turned to face Rentaro. “It may not be right this minute, but Kusuri will definitely learn to make it. So don’t you worry, Rentaro.”
She smiled, looking like quite the dependable senpai indeed. At the sight of this mature Kusuri, Rentaro’s heart pounded hard.
“Thank you so much.” He gave her a small smile. “Okay, let’s make it a competition! What will get my memories back first? Your medicine or my efforts?”
Even as he accepted Kusuri’s idea, his eyes never lost their resolve.