With a clang, Mayuri, dressed as a maid, opened the cabinet door, took off her headpiece, and put it inside.
"Good work, meow~" Felis walked over from the side, making Mayuri stop what she was doing:
"Ah, Felis-chan."
"Are you going to Kyouma's place later, meow?" Felis asked, her hands behind her back.
Mayuri nodded, taking off her golden wig as she said:
"Yeah, he told me to 'buy lunch and bring it over'."
"..." Felis pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Hey, Mayushii, have you seen it, meow?"
"The Time Machine."
"Hmm? Time..." Mayuri, back to her usual self, thought for a bit and said: "Ah, the Phone Microwave, Mr.?"
"The Phone Microwave?"
"It goes 'zap-zap' like lightning." Mayuri took a few steps forward, flailing her arms, then hugged herself and described: "And it also goes 'bzz-bzz' like this."
"It's a bit scary," she said.
Mayuri's actions made Felis involuntarily take a few steps back. When Mayuri finished speaking, Felis blinked, deliberated for a moment, and then finally spoke:
"That's amazing, meow, just like the Time Machine in the movies, meow!"
Her words were very excited, and the emotional value she gave was very full.
"Mm." Mayuri nodded gently, her hands clasped in front of her chest: "But Mayushii doesn't really want him to do these things."
"Why, meow?"
"I just feel like Okabe will gradually drift away from me," Mayuri said softly.
[...As expected of the woman full of lies, as Brooch says. Felis's performance completely exposed Mayuri's true feelings.]
[Elaborate on 'exposed'.]
[It's probably also because the people in the Laboratory really don't have any intention of hiding anything. They basically tell you everything if you just ask.]
[Honestly, it's a miracle that only they know about it so far. Normally, even if the authorities didn't come knocking, others should know, right?]
[2010, hmm, not too early, not too late. They really wouldn't care if you're researching a Time Machine.]
[Is Mayuri's consciousness awakening? Is she starting to feel that if he keeps researching the Time Machine, Assistant will steal her home?]
[Childhood friend can't beat the newcomer. I'm firmly on Assistant's side.]
[Childhood friend will crush the newcomer. I'm firmly on the tuturu side.]
[I feel like a harem is better. If you have a Time Machine, why not just rule the world and start a huge harem? Brooch even said he wants to reconstruct the world's structure, starting with changing the monogamy system (laughs).]
"Now then, let's hold a Round Table Conference!"
In the Laboratory upstairs at the Braun Tube Workshop, Okabe Rintaro was, as usual, making a noisy racket today.
"Okabe, Okabe."
"...What is it?" Hashida Itaru's call made Okabe Rintaro's eyebrow twitch. This guy had no awareness that they were about to hold a meeting!
Lively music started, and an atmosphere with a strong daily feel enveloped the Laboratory. Hashida Itaru said:
"Don't you think it's strange? Mayushii said she wouldn't wear a cosplay outfit."
In front of him, Mayuri was dressed in an outfit different from her usual one.
"This isn't cosplay, it's a school uniform," Okabe Rintaro sighed.
That's right, it was a school uniform.
A rare school uniform.
"Because I have school today," Mayuri said, as she divided the prepared lunch onto plates, then handed one to Hashida Itaru.
Taking the plate, Hashida Itaru couldn't help but snort: "School uniform, wow, extremely well done."
"Saying 'well done' in that context is usually sexual harassment," Makise Kurisu couldn't help but retort from the side.
"Here, Okabe's portion." Mayuri handed another plate of divided rice balls to Okabe Rintaro.
"Alright." Okabe Rintaro was about to accept it, but then suddenly realized something was wrong: "No! Didn't we say we were holding a Round Table Conference!"
Okabe Rintaro didn't take the plate, but Mayuri didn't get angry. She just placed it on the table and mumbled:
"Okabe was the one who told me to 'buy lunch and bring it over'."
"Don't mind him, it's nothing important anyway," Makise Kurisu said from the side.
"You should say that after you've heard today's agenda!" Okabe Rintaro retorted loudly, directly stating the topic he wanted to discuss at the meeting:
—"To put it bluntly! It's physically traveling through time!"
"..."
The music stopped.
In its place, the chirping of birds could be heard.
Calm gazes rested on Okabe Rintaro for a moment, then Makise Kurisu turned her head:
"Mayuri, is there any barley tea left in the fridge?"
"Just a moment, please." Mayuri got up.
"So well done..." Hashida Itaru's gaze followed Mayuri.
Seeing that everyone completely disregarded his words, Okabe Rintaro's expression couldn't help but twist:
"Ku-gu-woo-woo..."
With a sullen face, he abruptly turned around, his back to Makise Kurisu, pulled out his phone, and once again began his monologue: "It's me. The Organization seems to have started sowing discord among the Laboratory members."
"They're completely ignoring what I, Hououin Kyouma, am saying!"
"Hasn't it always been like that?" Hashida Itaru retorted.
[Woohoo, Mayuri's sailor uniform~]
[So Mayuri still goes to school? I thought she, like Tonz and Brooch, these two university students, just idled away their days at the Laboratory.]
[A current high school student???]
[No, wait, if I think about it, this guy Brooch is making a high school student work every day to support himself???]
[The more I think about it, the more I feel like he's a bit too much of a jerk.]
[Well, if I say it's because he's Mr. Hououin, will you understand?]
[I don't really get it, why are you slandering Brooch so much?]
[Because he made my Assistant cry. Although he just acted a little more human and redeemed himself slightly, he's inherently tsundere and pulls back, so I've decided not to forgive him for now.]
[Hououin Kyouma says he has no opinion.]
[Anyway, no one really listens to him anyway.]
"Then why?! Are you so splendidly ignoring my grand topic!" Okabe Rintaro couldn't help but turn back and demand.
Pouring the barley tea Mayuri brought into a cup with a rustle, Makise Kurisu sighed:
"Because it's clearly impossible."
"Messages have already been sent, and the possibility is still—" Okabe Rintaro still couldn't help but say, but Makise Kurisu flatly denied it:
"None."
"The maximum that can be sent is only 36 bytes + α, six full-width characters multiplied by 3 lines, any more than that won't work." Makise Kurisu smiled and pointed at Okabe Rintaro: "If you want to try, try it yourself, then?"
"As long as you're not afraid of turning into Gel Okabe," she said.