Sunlight streamed through the curtains into the room, and Van slowly opened his eyes.
He pushed the window open, and the fresh sea breeze blew against his face, making Van feel incredibly relaxed.
From the corridor suddenly came Kiana's energetic voice, "Mei! How about we try that sea slide later? I heard it's super thrilling!"
"Sure~" Raiden Mei responded gently. "Oh, right, should we call everyone to join us?"
"Of course!" Kiana's voice got closer and closer. "I'll go knock on doors and gather everyone right now!"
Van chuckled and shook his head. 'This girl was always so full of energy.'
After washing up, he opened the door just in time to see Kiana pulling Raiden Mei along, knocking on each door one by one.
"Huh~ Van, you're awake~" Kiana's eyes lit up. She bounced over and grabbed his arm. "Come join us on the sea slide later, okay?"
"Sure." Van nodded, rubbing the arm she had grabbed. "You two go wake the others first. I'll head to the restaurant for some breakfast."
"Mhm, deal!"
Kiana let go of him, then dashed off with Raiden Mei to the next room.
By the time Van arrived at the restaurant, plenty of people were already seated.
Elysia was eating small cakes fed to her by Eden, Aponia and the sisters Rin and Sakura were quietly sipping tea together, and Kevin and Mei sat in a corner, whispering about something...
"Morning, everyone," Van greeted.
"Good morning, Van~" Elysia turned her head, a bit of cream still clinging to the corner of her lips. "Did you sleep well last night?"
Van was just about to answer, but his gaze involuntarily fell to that trace of cream at the corner of her mouth.
Before he realized it, his hand reached out, his fingertip gently brushing across her lip.
The motion was so natural that when he came back to his senses, his fingertip was already coated with that bit of sweet cream.
"Uh..."
Van awkwardly pulled his hand back, just about to look for a napkin, when Elysia suddenly blinked and darted her pink tongue to quickly lick the spot he had touched.
"Oh dear, did I get some on me?" She tilted her head, smiling sweetly. "Thank you, Van~"
Van cleared his throat, pretending to be calm as he walked toward the buffet area. "Don't mention it."
After picking up some fried eggs, toast, and milk, Van sat down across from them.
Elysia propped her chin in her hands, eyes sparkling as she stared at Van, her face full of joy.
She deliberately tapped her fingertip against the corner of her other lip. "Van~ do I have some over here too?"
Van almost choked on his milk. Eden, ever composed, slid a napkin over with a gentle smile. "Alright, Elysia, stop teasing."
"Fine, fine~" Elysia laughed as she took the napkin, her eyes still glinting with mischief.
A moment later, Elysia suddenly asked, "By the way, why haven't we seen our dear Dr. Mobius? Don't tell me she got too caught up in her research last night and is still sleeping in?"
At her teasing tone, Van's hand froze slightly.
Last night, Mobius had indeed come to see him. They'd talked about matters related to the illusion, but in the end...
Thinking of that, Van lifted his cup and took a casual sip to cover his reaction. "Maybe she's busy with an experiment."
Just as Elysia was about to tease further, Aponia spoke up calmly, "Early this morning, I saw Mobius leaving the hotel. But as for where she went, I do not know."
At that moment, the restaurant doors burst open, and Klein hurried inside.
From her dark under-eye circles and messy hair, it was obvious she had stayed up all night.
"Klein?" Van looked at her, speechless. "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"
Only then did Klein notice the others in the restaurant, and she abruptly stopped in her tracks.
"Ah, Mr. Van... everyone... good morning."
Van stood and walked over to her, handing her a cup of coffee. "What, did Mobius overwork you again?"
"No, no!" Klein quickly shook her head. "Actually, it was my idea to work overtime... because the doctor asked me to organize last night's illusion data, and it was really important..."
Seeing Klein's "addicted to work" expression, Van sighed helplessly.
"Still, you need to rest. Sit down, eat something first, then get back to it," he said, taking a sandwich from the table and placing it in her hands. "By the way, where's Mobius? Don't tell me she left all the work to you again?"
Klein accepted the sandwich, mumbling a quiet thanks before taking a bite. "Uh... actually, the doctor left early this morning... I think I heard her say she was going to have a 'good talk' with Miss Vill-V..."
The restaurant fell silent.
Van exchanged glances with the others, and in everyone's eyes was the same thought.
Vill-V was in trouble.
———
Meanwhile, in a dim room somewhere in the resort, Vill-V sat tied to a chair, a strip of cloth stuffed in her mouth.
She tilted her head, blinking playfully at Mobius, who stood a few feet away, and let out muffled "mmm mmm" sounds.
Mobius smiled slightly and walked over slowly. "Want to talk?"
When Vill-V nodded, Mobius pulled the cloth from her mouth.
"My dear Dr. Mobius~ isn't this welcome a little too passionate?"
"Considering what you've done, I'd say it's not nearly enough."
"What I've done... oh~ I see, you mean that illusion labyrinth? So, what did you think? Pretty realistic, right~ Too bad time was limited, or I could've made it even more perfect!"
"Oh, is that so? From the way you're talking, you sound rather proud of yourself~ Now, tell me, what exactly is your purpose..."
"What bad intentions could I possibly have~ It's just memory research. I only wanted to see how everyone reacted when facing their past memories and..."
Clang!
A cold flash of light swept through the room. A scalpel had somehow appeared in Mobius's hand.
The sharp metal gleamed dangerously in the dim light, tracing chilling arcs through the air.
As Vill-V fell silent, Mobius said softly, "Go on, I'm listening."
"Uh... actually... that labyrinth may have looked scary, but I swear it wasn't dangerous at all..." Vill-V rattled off quickly. "And I only wanted to help everyone recover more memories..."
"Threatening people with bombs is your idea of helping?" Mobius sneered.
"That wasn't my idea! It was Helix's improvisation!" Vill-V blurted, desperate. "I swear, the only part I handled was the illusion labyrinth!"
Mobius narrowed her eyes, the scalpel now lightly pressing against Vill-V's cheek. "Do you know what I hate the most?"
"Being schemed against?"
"Wrong." Mobius leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper in her ear. "It's someone thinking they can lay a hand on my little mouse."
Looking at the deceptively calm smile on Mobius's face, Vill-V swallowed hard. "Well... actually, I have some information to share with you..."
"Oh? Go on."
"I found something interesting in the illusion data..." Vill-V said cautiously. "Something about Van's soul state..."
At that, Mobius's eyes instantly sharpened. "Keep talking."
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