"Then I'll be your guide later, Mayushii is especially good at this," Mayuri boasted with an angelic smile, "Miss Kurisu was also given a tour by me."
Looking at Mayuri, Moeka's almost perpetually unchanging expression finally showed a slight shift, her tightly closed lips parting into a small curve, with an unreadable emotion in her eyes.
"Where should I show you first?"
[Mayuri, an angel]
[Without Mayuri, this Laboratory would have fallen apart long ago!]
[Though I still want to complain, what do you need a guide for in a tiny place like this Laboratory?]
[The one who should be complained about more is Moeka, right? What kind of thing is it to just take it because there was no reply? Although I know it's for comedic effect, it's honestly a bit infuriating. What if no one noticed and she actually took it?]
[It would become The Legend of the Silent Thief: My Phone Addiction Led Me to Steal an Old Computer]
[What a trashy title]
Makise Kurisu, Hashida Itaru, and Okabe Rintaro gathered around the computer, the screen displaying the target they had chosen after much thought.
"I see, buying lotto 6," Hashida Itaru said, enlightened.
Gulping down the rest of his mixed vegetable and fruit juice, Okabe Rintaro tucked one hand into his white coat and held the empty bottle in the other, stating his idea in a seemingly very proper pose:
"Send a winning number, announced every Thursday, to the past."
"Are you really going to do this?" Makise Kurisu turned her head to confirm.
"Is there any better way?" Okabe Rintaro retorted, raising his voice.
Seeing his attitude, Makise Kurisu's cheeks puffed out.
"Which winning number should we choose?" Hashida Itaru said, flipping through past numbers, "By the way, the first prize is…"
"?! Two hundred million?!"
"Eh?" Okabe Rintaro was startled by the number.
Makise Kurisu was also startled by the number.
"Two, two hundred million?!"
Okabe Rintaro no longer bothered to act like a mad scientist; he quickly turned around, extended his hand, and exclaimed, "Wait, Tonz, two hundred million is a bit…"
"Hmm?" Hashida Itaru and Makise Kurisu both turned to look at him.
Okabe Rintaro's expression was strained as he lightly raised his index finger, stammering an explanation: "The first prize is… too eye-catching. Besides, I… am still being pursued by the Organization."
"You're scared," Makise Kurisu pointed out his current state.
Okabe Rintaro had no mind to argue with Makise Kurisu anymore; he asked in a trembling voice, "What about the second prize?"
"Eh, twenty-three million," Hashida Itaru said, glancing downwards.
"Third prize!" Okabe Rintaro shouted.
"Seven hundred thousand."
"Th-that's it!!!" Okabe Rintaro forcefully extended his index finger, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Okabe is truly a coward," Makise Kurisu shook her head.
This time, Okabe Rintaro had the presence of mind to retort to her: "Are those words coming from someone who worries about time paradoxes?! Rich Kid 17!"
While the three of them argued about the lottery, Moeka and Mayuri behind them were in a completely different atmosphere.
"Look, this is the upa cushion," Mayuri brought out a cushion and introduced it to Moeka, "When you're tired or feeling down, just hug it."
As she spoke, she hugged the cushion in her hands tightly.
Kiryu Moeka: "…"
"And this is the refrigerator," she took small steps forward and opened the refrigerator, "Today inside there's~"
"That…" Moeka uncharacteristically spoke out.
Mayuri: "Hmm?"
Kiryu Moeka raised her phone, and the camera flash lit up.
"Click."
"Click."
"Click."
Mayuri introducing the refrigerator.
Mayuri introducing the TV.
The kettle, the unfinished juicy fried chicken.
A whole bunch of photos, meaningful and meaningless, were taken.
"Hey, Flashy Acupuncturist," Okabe Rintaro suddenly called out, handing over his phone, "I'm giving you your first mission as a Laboratory member."
"Ah, my first job," Mayuri smiled.
"Come up with the content for the D-mail," Okabe Rintaro stated the mission requirement, "A message that will make the completely ignorant me from a week ago buy lotto 6 after reading it."
[The art styles on both sides are completely different]
[Okabe Rintaro, full of ambition but as timid as a mouse, and Mayuri, an angel who dreams of achieving world peace with a Time Machine, why are these two childhood friends?]
[Although the initial reason was timidity, choosing the later prize does indeed increase the probability of actually getting it. If they chose the first prize, it would definitely fail.]
[Surely no reborn person these days would try to get rich using the lottery, right?]
[Stocks are much more reliable than this stuff]
[Although, Mr. Hououin doesn't have start-up capital]
[With D-mail, even if you put in one yuan, you could turn it into hundreds of thousands. Still too young.]
[Even so, the numbers are indeed very large]
[Alright, I'll buy a scratch-off ticket]
[Even so, even if I received the message, I would actually think it was a scam message]
[It doesn't hurt to try, right?]
[But only six full-width characters can be sent at a time]
Makise Kurisu had her head down, fiddling with the Phone Microwave.
"Seven days is 168 hours, let's set it to 170 seconds," she said, then adjusted the countdown to 170.
Okabe Rintaro nodded, looking at his phone: "Hmm."
On his phone was the message content edited by Moeka.
'021219343537'
'Buy lotto 6 with the numbers above'
'You'll definitely win!'
"That should be about it," he shrugged.
Even if he had to write it himself, he couldn't think of a better option.
"Alright, preparations complete," Makise Kurisu straightened up.
"Hmph hmph," Okabe Rintaro couldn't help but laugh again, raising a hand to cover his face, "The moment to open steins;gate has finally arrived."
"That again?" Makise Kurisu sighed, "You really don't get tired of it, do you?"
"Grumble," Okabe Rintaro retorted in displeasure, "You're the one who shouldn't always pour cold water on everything."
"—Click," Suddenly, a shutter sound came from nearby.
"?"
"?"
"I think you two are very happy," Moeka explained softly.
Okabe Rintaro: "Huh?"
"N-no, we're not happy at all!" Makise Kurisu denied in a very characteristic tone.
Hearing this, Hashida Itaru quietly complained from the side:
"Speaking of which, this Assistant is really a tsundere…"
"Who's a tsundere?!"