"...Send a text message to the past?" Felis murmured, carefully chewing on those six words.
The ice in the glass melted, making a soft clinking sound.
Then, the sound of the opening theme song crackled to life.
[Alright, I now announce that the Labmem has a new member!]
[So you're going to drag all the characters who appeared before into the Laboratory to send a text message?]
[What about Brown? When will Brown send a text message?]
[Brown seems to be a single father. If he sends a text message and saves his wife... it's not impossible.]
[Don't forget Suzuha.]
[Suzuha should have her own Time Machine, right?]
[Wait, didn't we not confirm whether Rukako had a sex change last episode? Did that just get dropped? And what about Moeka?]
The bullet comments slowly drifted by. Soon, the opening theme ended, and then, the title of this episode surfaced.
[Constant State of Illusion]
"Tonz, that guy, actually leaked confidential information to an outsider..." Okabe Rintaro complained as he walked onto the rooftop, carrying a basket of dirty clothes.
But halfway through his complaints, he suddenly heard other voices on the rooftop.
"Why? Why would you think that? I just..."
Makise Kurisu, who was on the rooftop, argued emotionally, "No, I didn't mean that—"
"I just—"
At this point, Makise Kurisu, who had been facing away from him, turned around. The moment she saw Okabe Rintaro, her voice involuntarily stopped.
"—" Without continuing to speak to the person on the other end of the phone, Makise Kurisu stood still for a moment, then took off at a run, passing by Okabe Rintaro and leaving.
It was hard to say whether she stopped the call because she didn't want Okabe Rintaro to see a different side of her, or if the person on the other end of the phone had hung up because she couldn't explain herself clearly.
Well, no matter which it was, Okabe Rintaro wasn't very concerned.
After all, it was someone else's private matter; being too proactive in asking would inevitably be inappropriate.
He hung up the identical clean white coat. The white coat flapped loudly in the strong wind.
It wouldn't take long for it to dry, he thought.
[By the way, last episode was also 'Constant State', right?]
[So Felis didn't press for a D-mail? Unexpected.]
[Who is Assistant talking to?]
[I wanted to complain about this before, Brooch really bought a whole wardrobe of white coats, didn't he?]
[Do you have an opinion? Of course, you should buy several comfortable clothes to change into (emphatic)!]
Propping his head with one hand, Okabe Rintaro sat alone on the Laboratory's sofa. Although the TV in front of him was broadcasting news, his gaze wasn't actually focused on it.
"Clang—" The sound of the door being violently opened came.
Immediately after, Makise Kurisu walked out from outside the door.
She first walked directly to the TV, casually turned off the playing television, then turned to Okabe Rintaro, walking aggressively to the table, and slammed both hands down on it.
"W-what's wrong?" Okabe Rintaro was bewildered.
Usually, he was the one scaring Makise Kurisu like this; this time, it was the other way around.
"I didn't cry," Makise Kurisu just said very seriously:
"I didn't cry!"
"...You look like you've cried, though," Okabe Rintaro said, looking at her face. "Your eyes are still red."
"!" Makise Kurisu, whose red-rimmed eyes had been pointed out by him, took a sharp breath and quickly turned away.
Rubbing her eyes, she continued to insist, "N-no, it's because something got in my eye."
"Are you acting in an idol drama?" Okabe Rintaro retorted.
Listening to his emotionally flat words, Makise Kurisu clenched her fists tightly.
In the past, she might have yelled back, but now, she just gritted her teeth and said with a slight sob:
"Anyway, I didn't cry! So don't dig any deeper, understand?!"
"I never said I was going to dig deeper," Okabe Rintaro shrugged.
"...So annoying," Makise Kurisu walked a few steps to the side. After glancing around for a moment, she turned back and came to the sofa where Okabe Rintaro was.
She grabbed Mayuri's upa cushion with her backhand, hugged it, and then sat down heavily.
Her hair obscured her face, making her expression unreadable.
But the sound of her sobs couldn't be blocked. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and the more her tears flowed.
"Waaah, waah, waaaah..." Makise Kurisu pressed her face hard into the cushion, as if this could cut her off from the world.
"..." Okabe Rintaro sighed, and said softly:
"Christina."
"Don't talk to me," Makise Kurisu responded with a voice still filled with sobs.
Okabe Rintaro: "..."
"I'll only say this once," he suddenly spoke. "You are an important comrade."
"If you want to chat, I'm always available."
"..." Makise Kurisu finally lifted her head from the cushion: "Okabe..."
Her voice, still tearful, held an incredible touch of emotion.
Her stunned expression was full of surprise.
However, this emotion vanished in the next moment.
"Hoo hoo hoo hoo..." Because Okabe Rintaro, who had his back to her, suddenly started cackling, "Just as planned, she fell right into the trap with a splash."
Holding his phone to his ear, as always talking to a non-existent person, Okabe Rintaro burst into laughter:
"Ah, now I can order her around as I please, hahahaha—"
"...Hey," Makise Kurisu's moved expression turned cold, and her sobs unknowingly ceased. Her emotions, unexpectedly, were adjusted by his absurd behavior.
[Brooch, this guy, could it be... he's actually a tsundere?]
[Although he said comforting words, he turned his back and pretended to make a call because he was shy and tsundere?]
[Speaking of which, before, when Brooch was cornered and couldn't speak, he also liked to use this pretense of a call to cover up his embarrassment...]
[So touching, waah waah waah, but why is Assistant crying?]
[Because of the phone call, I guess. Although I don't know who called, it feels like the type who doesn't listen to reason.]
[So why did Assistant have to come over and say she didn't cry? Couldn't she have just pretended it didn't happen?]
[Guess what, if she didn't emphasize it, with Brooch's usual style, wouldn't he suddenly bring it up later to mock her?]
[Mayuri's upa cushion, stained with tears~]
[That's called making good use of something.]