After joining the Schicksal organization—or perhaps even earlier, since coming to Nagazora—Klein finally had some spare time to focus on things beyond work, no longer constantly ruled by the fear inside her.
During this period, she formed a friendship with Fuxi and Nuwa, fellow researchers at Dr. Mobius's lab, and got to know the Schicksal members living next door.
Of course, the most important thing was that she discovered another side of Dr. Mobius, who had all sorts of notorious rumors circulating about her within Fire Moth.
For instance, a big part of Dr. Mobius's poor reputation was related to her lack of social skills and her dislike for participating in group activities.
Without much communication, misunderstandings naturally piled up.
Yet, Dr. Mobius didn't seem to resist Schicksal's events much. She hadn't refused the previous dinner gathering or this current trip.
Then there was the way Dr. Mobius, when busy, would often just grab a chocolate energy bar or some high-calorie junk food near the lab to keep going, sometimes even working on an empty stomach, showing little regard for her own health.
It hadn't been long since Klein started working with her, and she'd already lost count of how many times she'd thrown away the junk food Dr. Mobius secretly asked Fuxi and Nuwa to buy.
Though, she did quite like the milk tea Dr. Mobius had them buy.
Besides, whenever Klein was at her busiest, Dr. Mobius loved calling her over—either to livestream feeding cats, dogs, or rabbits for her to watch, or to have Klein join her in using functions to draw little animals on a coordinate plane.
Each of these things completely overturned Klein's understanding of Dr. Mobius, leaving her utterly helpless.
And now, Dr. Mobius had escalated things.
Just yesterday, she'd used drinking as an excuse to do that, and now she was 'pressing' her like this...
Klein knew perfectly well that if she wasn't willing, she could simply apply to Durandal to transfer and work under Vill-V instead.
But... did she really not want to?
Recalling last night's kiss, Klein hesitated.
"Doctor, can't we just treat all of that as a dream? Once we wake up, everyone forgets about it. Wouldn't that be better?"
Klein pressed her lips together and spoke softly.
"Klein~"
Mobius smiled, actively rubbing her cheek against Klein's palm.
"If I hadn't run into Elysia and Durandal like that yesterday, and if I hadn't used the alcohol to muster courage and try it out with you last night... maybe I'd never have noticed this special feeling."
"What about you? I think... you might be the same as me, right?"
Klein: "..."
It was true. If not for that kiss yesterday, she might have thought Dr. Mobius just liked teasing her, finding amusement in seeing her flustered.
But after that kiss, everything changed.
Klein lowered her gaze slightly, lost in thought.
Just then, Elysia suddenly stopped hiding. She stood at the doorway, greeting them with a wave. "Huh? Mobius, Klein, you're here too! Good morning~"
"Good morning."
Klein quickly pulled her hand back from Mobius's grip.
Mobius, meanwhile, shot a somewhat unfriendly look at Elysia. "Tsk, what are you two doing here?"
Elysia replied with a smile, "We're here for the same reason you are, right? Durandal~"
As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Durandal's elbow.
Durandal didn't quite understand why Elysia chose to step out now, but she knew better than to undermine her girlfriend—she had enough sense for that.
So, Durandal nodded. "That's right. I'm here to make breakfast for Elysia."
Alright then...
Elysia sighed softly.
Her earlier remark had been a hint that she'd overheard Mobius and Klein's conversation.
But with Durandal's reply, the meaning shifted entirely.
Sure enough, Mobius's expression changed from unfriendly to suspicious.
Clearly, she couldn't tell whether the two had just arrived or had been there for a while.
"In that case, we'll leave the kitchen to you."
Mobius reached out again, took Klein's hand, and moved aside to make space for Elysia and Durandal.
But she didn't leave immediately, intending to watch from the sidelines.
After all, it wasn't every day you got to see the leader of Schicksal personally cook.
After a brief hesitation, Elysia also decided to stay and observe Durandal's performance.
If things went south, she could always step in to save the day.
And so, Durandal walked up to the fridge.
Opening it, she looked inside and took out two eggs, two cartons of fresh milk, two packs of udon noodles, and an apple.
Watching from nearby, Elysia let out a slight sigh of relief—the ingredient choices seemed normal enough.
But before she could fully relax, she saw Durandal tear open the milk carton, apparently about to pour it into the pot.
Elysia: ?
She hurried over to stop her. "Durandal, that milk is already pasteurized. It doesn't need reheating. Plus, it's hard to control the temperature—overheating it will ruin the nutrients."
Hearing this, Durandal paused.
A bit sheepishly, she said, "Oh right, I forgot about that! I was thinking that using milk as the broth would make the udon really nutritious, with a rich, creamy flavor."
Durandal's words immediately startled the other three in the kitchen.
"Durandal, you're not joking, are you?"
Elysia was still trying to confirm.
Durandal didn't understand why Elysia was looking at her like that. After a moment's thought, she nodded.
"Of course not. But it's fine. Even if we have to cook the udon in plain water, we still have the apple! If we add the apple in—"
Before she could finish, Elysia had already rolled up her sleeves and nudged her aside.
She finally understood: with Durandal's way of thinking, whatever she made probably wouldn't be poisonous, but it would definitely challenge the limits of human endurance—a true 'dark cuisine.'
"I'll make breakfast instead."
Elysia felt mentally exhausted.
And here she'd thought she'd get to eat a meal made by Durandal.
Who would've guessed that Durandal, young as she was, had such a talent for creating culinary disasters?
She'd have to work on correcting that mindset later.
You can't just throw every nutritious thing together!
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