"So..." Although Sogo Doma had no idea what Shizuka Hiratsuka and the others were thinking, his explanation remained flawless. "That's why I said your body is full of old injuries. Everyone ate the same thing, yet only you..."
Before he could finish, Shizuka Hiratsuka froze. "Huh?"
"Onii-chan..." Umaru Doma was the same. "Wasn't this medicinal meal specifically meant to treat old injuries?"
"Of course not..." Sogo Doma said in apparent astonishment. "Why would you think that? Those ramen noodles could only nourish the body, at most..."
"..." Shizuka Hiratsuka froze again. "Just nourishment?"
"Just nourishment! Though..." Sogo Doma said firmly, "perhaps your body's instincts know better than you how to cherish themselves. Even though it was only a nourishing medicinal meal..."
Before he could finish, Shizuka Hiratsuka said in astonishment, "Huh? Instincts?"
"What?" Sogo Doma went on. "You don't believe me? Do you know the difference between a king and a mount? Not some brain teaser about two legs and four legs, but why, under the same conditions, some people become kings while others become mounts..."
"What?"
"The answer is instinct..." Ignoring her astonishment, Sogo Doma continued, "When you recklessly corrode yourself with cigarettes and alcohol, your body is wailing, and your instincts are roaring. But they exist only in the deepest layers of your subconscious, unable to exert any useful influence on you. It was only because you absorbed enough nutrients today...
...that the instincts at the deepest level of your subconscious were able to take effect. They greedily absorbed those nutrients and used them to repair the old injuries inside your body..."
"Chotto matte, isn't that a split personality?"
"Wrong..." Sogo Doma shot her a glance. "It's humanity's survival instinct!"
"Survival instinct?"
"Survival instinct..." Sogo Doma affirmed. "Like how your head hurts after a hangover—that's your body reminding