Some time had passed since the crisis broke out at the Mobius Research Institute.
———
[In the chat group]
[Elysia: I once got extremely angry. I was furious for a bit.]
[Stelle: Kicking you is basically like kicking cotton?]
[Asta: Pinching you is basically like pinching a soft persimmon?]
[Elysia: Waaaaah...]
[Levi: Elysia just cares too much about what other people think.]
[Levi: Learn from me.]
[Elysia: No thanks. I think being cotton (a soft persimmon) is pretty nice.]
]At least I'm not a pervert. I'm still within the range of normal people.]
[Kiana: Actually...]
[Lumine: You're already a pervert.]
"What?!" Elysia's eyes widened. "When did that happen?"
[Lumine: You forgot? A while ago, when you drove a truck in the group chat and ran over a bunch of people.]
[Lumine: From that day on, you became Levi No. 2.]
[Levi: Hey, hey, hey! Why am I No. 2 Levi!]
[Asta: I want to ask that too.]
[Stelle: Isn't it obvious? Let me give you a formula.]
[Stelle: Levi = pervert.]
[Asta: I see]
Thinking about it carefully, this formula actually made quite a lot of sense.
[Levi: Makes sense my a*s!]
[Levi: I demand that all of you who have tarnished my reputation be taken to the Interstellar Court!]
[Bronya: (Ding, you lost the case.)]
[Levi: What?!]
[Elysia: I'm dying of laughter... Cough, cough, anyway, @Kiana, I got your revenge!]
[Kiana: What revenge?]
After looking at the photo Elysia sent, Kiana thought carefully for a while before remembering who the other person was.
[Kiana: Oh, oh, you're so cruel.]
[Elysia: ...]
[Kiana: No, what I mean is, thank you for being so cruel.]
[Levi: Are you planning to take all the credit for yourself?]
[Elysia: In other words, you're admitting that you were the one who made him fake his death?]
[Levi: Ahem, ahem, that's not what happened.]
[Elysia: Then there's nothing wrong with me saying it was my credit, right?]
[Levi: No problem, no problem.]
[Bronya: You lost.]
[Levi: Still working overtime?]
[Bronya: ...]
One sentence broke her defenses completely.
At the card house, Levi snorted, "Lost? That's because I was in a good mood!"
She still hadn't gotten away with secretly tricking me into participating in the laxative experiment.
"Hmph."
Elysia wriggled her cute little nose.
After leaving the Mobius Research Institute, she went straight back to the dormitory.
And the first thing she did after returning was walk into the bathroom and place the basket containing the clothes she had changed out of on top of the washing machine.
She put them into the washing machine one by one.
Looking at the clothes that were completely clean, without even a trace of water on them, Elysia was expressionless.
"What a dishonest man."
———
[On The Other Side]
At the research institute, upon learning that a Chiyou had appeared, Ato immediately got out of bed and rushed over here.
When he arrived and saw that Blanca was safe and sound, his heart immediately relaxed.
Then, he straightened his messy clothes and walked over to Blanca as if nothing had happened.
Seeing the shadow in front of her, Blanca merely looked up at Ato, then lowered her head again and continued handling her work.
"Weren't you sleeping?"
"Uh, couldn't sleep, so I, uh, got up and, uh, took a walk."
Blanca didn't respond for a moment. The rustling sound of writing continued as she put the organized documents to one side and looked at the somewhat awkward man in front of her.
"Find a better excuse next time."
Messy hair, sleepy eyes... No matter how she looked at him, it didn't look like he had simply been unable to sleep.
As Blanca was preparing to go back and rest, she suddenly remembered Mobius's request that she find a few more test subjects.
'Since the volunteer Elysia brought didn't have any reaction after eating it...'
Maybe, just as the Doctor had said, the ingredients inside really were harmless to humans.
After thinking it over again and again, Blanca finally spoke and told Ato about the matter.
There was no hint of a request in her words. She left the choice entirely up to Ato.
But after hearing it, less than a second later, Ato patted his chest and promised that he would definitely arrive on time tomorrow.
Then he ran off excitedly, leaving Blanca completely stunned.
She even wondered whether he had actually heard what she had said.
———
As time passed, the lights along the road went out, and darkness completely swallowed the world.
Ring! Ring!
"Hello?"
"Where did you run off to? Why aren't you back yet?"
"At the card house. Listen for yourself."
The sound of shuffling cards rang out.
The other side was silent for a moment. "You little brat! You played cards without me!"
"This was a spur-of-the-moment decision." Levi kindly asked, "Are you coming over now?"
"I'm not coming!"
'Why would you play cards in the middle of the night! I still have to go to! Work! tomorrow!'
The call was hung up, and Levi continued playing cards.
———
[The Next Day]
Flame-Chasers warrior Ato demonstrated his sense of punctuality by squatting in front of the research institute's entrance early in the morning.
He arrived even earlier than the people who came to clean.
Looking at his dark eye circles, Blanca had good reason to suspect that he hadn't slept all night.
"Let's begin."
"Why don't you go get some more sleep? I'm really not in a hurry."
"No need."
"..."
Watching him sway from side to side as he walked, Blanca sighed and offered her knee for him to rest on.
She didn't want an accident to happen during the experiment because he hadn't gotten enough rest.
Mm, she was mainly worried about the experiment.
Mobius walked in with a steamed bun in her mouth. Normally, she lived in the laboratory.
But because of what happened last night, the laboratory needed to be cleaned and couldn't accommodate anyone for the time being, so she had been forced to go back and stay elsewhere for one night.
On the way here, she had also bought breakfast.
When she saw that Blanca was already at the research institute, she suddenly remembered. Shouldn't she have bought two portions?
"No need, Doctor. I've already eaten."
"That's good."
She nodded slightly and glanced at the man lying on her knee, the Flame-Chasers warrior Ato.
Mobius originally didn't know him, but during this period, he had been coming here from time to time to look for Blanca, prompting Mobius to investigate his identity thoroughly.
She had originally wanted to find an excuse to send him in, but Blanca stopped her.
Now Ato's matter had become Blanca's personal business. As long as it didn't have any effect on the research institute, she couldn't be bothered to care.
———
[Several Hours Later]
After finishing his nap, Ato got up and saw the red marks on Blanca's leg, revealing an embarrassed and shy expression.
Blanca, however, acted as if she didn't care.
She handed him the white pills she had given Levi the previous night, except that compared to the amount Levi had taken last night, the number had doubled.
Ato swallowed the two white pills.
Just like Levi, he was asked to sit opposite Blanca and describe any sensations he experienced.
At first, Ato still seemed a little embarrassed.
But soon, he was overcome by another emotion.
'Uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable.'
"Reporting, I need to use the bathroom."
Seeing Ato's ashen face, Blanca froze. This wasn't right...
"Reporting!"
He spoke again, bringing Blanca back to her senses. She hurriedly pointed toward the bathroom.
Watching him hurry toward the bathroom at full speed with his legs clamped together, squirming as he went, Blanca fell into deep thought.
'Could it be a problem with the quantity?'
After thinking for a moment, Blanca picked up a white pill and tentatively placed it against her lips.
"..."