Okabe Rintaro couldn't help but sigh again.
"Why send a text? You're right in front of me."
Kiryu Moeka started typing on the keyboard again, pat-pat-pat.
But Okabe Rintaro didn't pull out his phone this time; instead, he said with a displeased expression, "I won't read it. Just say it directly."
"I can show you, but you came so early..."
"Oh, right, your real purpose is to interview me, isn't it?" he demanded.
Kiryu Moeka: "..."
"Why aren't you speaking?"
"...I see, that's what it is." He showed an expression of sudden realization: "You've been scared by my, the insane mad scientist Hououin Kyouma's, evil aura!"
"Hmph hahahahahahaha--"
Laughing like that, he spread his arms.
"..." Kiryu Moeka turned her head away and whispered intermittently, "Sending texts is easier, so, IBN5100, I'd like you to let me see it."
"Alright," Okabe Rintaro stopped his wild laughter and said, "But you can only look, and then leave after you've seen it!"
"Is that okay?"
Kiryu Moeka nodded gently: "Mm."
[So... was that just Brooch dreaming?]
[Not necessarily]
[An allusion? A metaphor? Using a dream to hint at future plot?]
[If you don't understand, just ignore it. Let's look at the shining masseuse instead.]
[Severe phone addiction]
[Moeka really looks disgusted, but she has to approach Brooch for the IBN5100.]
[I have a strange premonition. Is this really something you can just show to anyone?]
...
Circling the IBN5100, Kiryu Moeka checked it from left to right, walking back and forth.
Seeing this, Okabe Rintaro couldn't help but think.
"Is this person just a simple vintage computer enthusiast?"
"Tututuru--" His phone suddenly vibrated again.
'Can I take some photos?'
It was Moeka's text message.
"Ahem." Okabe Rintaro cleared his throat twice, then said in a deep voice, "You're not allowed to photograph my face. If you do, I'll have to silence you."
Before his words had fully fallen, the sound of a camera shutter came from Kiryu Moeka's side, one after another.
Click, click, she took photo after photo on her phone.
Then, she sent another new text message.
"I'd like to borrow it, if that's possible. If you could help me move it..." Okabe Rintaro stopped halfway through reading: "Why are you assuming I'll lend it to you?!"
"And if you really want to borrow it, turn around and say so directly."
Moeka, who had been standing with her back to Okabe Rintaro since the beginning, slowly turned around and said in an incredibly faint voice, "Can I borrow it?"
"Unfortunately, no," Okabe Rintaro refused without hesitation: "Ultimately, I've only borrowed it temporarily. Once I'm done with it, I have to return it to its original owner."
"Who is the original owner?" Kiryu Moeka's expressionless face quietly asked.
"Yanagibayashi Shrine," Okabe Rintaro said.
Suddenly, Hashida Itaru's greeting came from the doorway:
"Guten Morgen (Good morning)"
Walking into the Laboratory, he immediately saw Kiryu Moeka's presence.
"I remember, you're yesterday's Kiryu-shi?"
Looking at him, Okabe Rintaro's face couldn't help but show a smile: "I didn't introduce him yesterday."
"My most loyal right arm, Super Hacker, Tonz."
"I told you it's Super Hacker." Correcting him as always, Hashida Itaru didn't pay attention to Kiryu Moeka's presence and casually said, "Ah, right, right, never mind that, I want to slightly improve the Phone Microwave."
"It requires very complicated steps now, doesn't it?"
"To send D-mail to the past..." Okabe Rintaro was still nodding, but when he heard him say this, his face suddenly changed.
Sure enough, accompanied by a vibration, the Kiryu Moeka in front of him sent another text message.
'Sending texts to the past'
'What does that mean?'
"Guh-woo..." A sound escaped Okabe Rintaro's teeth. He waved his hand as if nothing was wrong, saying, "Nothing, you misheard."
"It's not about sending texts to the past, but 'Xian-GuoQu-F-DXin'."
"This is an ancient Sumerian phrase, now lost, meaning 'Did you eat breakfast?'..."
While Okabe Rintaro was trying his best to make things up, there was new movement at the doorway again.
"tuturu, Good morning, Okabe."
It was Mayuri.
"Let Mayushii warm up the fried chicken before the Time Machine experiment, okay?" she said.
Makise Kurisu, who followed her in, also completely ignored the situation inside the Laboratory and casually called out:
"Okabe, I thought of something about the Time Machine."
...Okabe Rintaro's expression collapsed.
[That's why I said not to do unnecessary things!]
[Things are getting complicated.]
[Okabe is being stabbed in the back repeatedly. You should have stopped them from talking in the first place.]
[Is 'Time Machine' something you can just casually talk about???]
[Everyone is too lax!]
[Your attempt to bluff your way through was great, but I'm sorry, no one's supporting you.]
[Brooch actually has no sense of caution at all. How could he so easily sell out Yanagibayashi Shrine? Are you worthy of Little Miss Minami?]
[If you thought she wasn't a normal vintage computer enthusiast from the start, why would you let her in so casually?]
He sighed, turned around, and put his phone to his ear.
"It's me. Things have gotten complicated."
"No, it's not like that. Information about Unit 8 has been leaked to a third party."
"Yes, I know. I will take measures."
"What's going on?" Makise Kurisu hadn't understood the situation yet.
"Are we being ignored?" Hashida Itaru also didn't understand.
Okabe Rintaro's monologue continued: "Depending on the situation, I'll have to prevent information leakage, even if it means silencing them."
"The Organization must never know about this..."
"Dudu, dudu, dudu..."
He was muttering to himself, but Kiryu Moeka was still persistently sending text messages.
"Don't send texts when someone else is on the phone!" Okabe Rintaro scolded, very displeased.
Moeka whispered, "Could it be..."
Okabe Rintaro: "?"
He looked at his phone.
'Could you be FB?'
The camera scrolled word by word over the text message.
"F... B?"
He looked up and met Kiryu Moeka's eyes.
The usual suspenseful background music started playing.
"I understand." Okabe Rintaro narrowed his eyes: "In that case, I'll tell you everything."
Upon hearing this, Kiryu Moeka visibly showed joy.
"Since you've learned this secret, there's nothing I can do." Okabe Rintaro smiled, then suddenly widened his eyes:
"Kiryu Moeka! From today onwards, you are Labmem NO.005!"
He forcefully pointed his index finger at Moeka, a smirk on his lips.
And Moeka, who was being pointed at, blinked, her emotions unreadable on her face.