Sunlight, cicadas chirping, shade, a park.
Okabe Rintaro sat on the steps, his phone pressed to his ear as usual.
"It's me, the Organization seems to have already roped in that bald guy."
Okabe Rintaro's voice trembled, and he particularly emphasized the words 'bald guy'.
"I was obstructed."
"—Here." Suddenly, Mayuri handed him a bottle of dr. pepper from the side.
No longer talking to himself, Okabe Rintaro naturally put away his phone and took the soda.
"Okabe really likes drinking dr. pepper, doesn't he?"
Okabe Rintaro gulped it down his throat, then let out a long groan.
"Ah—"
"Because this is the wisdom drink of the chosen ones."
Mayuri didn't respond to his answer; she just quietly turned around and looked up into the distance.
"..."
The scene flashed back at this moment.
Under the continuous drizzle, the petite Mayuri, dressed as she is now, stood before a grave, holding a white round umbrella.
The cicadas still chirped, but unknowingly, Mayuri had already come under a tree, looking up at the cicadas on the tree.
"The cicadas chirping, it sounds so nice."
—"I don't know why, but the cicada's chirping in summer always gives me a sense of sorrow."
—"Mayuri with an umbrella in the rain, Mayuri standing in front of the tombstone, I have a premonition of a knife."
—"Although nothing was said, it's as if everything was said."
The audience below couldn't help but exclaim.
"...This plot, is it a bit peaceful?" Host Fang Yuan frowned.
Uncle Big Nose nodded: "Yes, after the unusual memory raised expectations, the plot quickly slowed down, introducing the landlord's character through a brief TV scene."
"Although I haven't seen what this part is for yet, my intuition tells me that the landlord is definitely a very important character."
"Who's discussing the landlord with you?" Regarding Uncle Big Nose's comment, Cowboy Hao had a different opinion: "Even if there's a point to analyze, it must be this memory, right?"
"Rain, a tombstone, a girl with an umbrella."
"Such a classic scene, why are you only thinking about your bald uncle?"
He scoffed at this.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit tense.
But the scene wouldn't stop because of this. Soon, as dazzling sunlight filled the screen, the scene returned to the Laboratory.
"Tonz, since the Organization has already sent Mr. Braun to obstruct us, there's no time to hesitate; we must execute that plan!"
"The plan, what is it?"
Although Okabe Rintaro spoke with great seriousness, Hashida Itaru had no idea what he was talking about again.
"The plan is the plan! What else is there besides putting Future Gadget No. 8 into practical use?" Okabe Rintaro quickly walked over to Hashida Itaru's side.
"Ah, the phone microwave (provisional)." Hashida Itaru finally realized what he was referring to. "By the way, what's the point of putting a microwave into practical use?"
But he was still a bit confused.
"Our friendship has lasted almost three and a half years, hasn't it?" Rather abruptly, Okabe Rintaro suddenly said.
Hashida Itaru, however, looked as if he was already used to this, and casually corrected him:
"We barely spoke in our second year of high school because we were in different classes. It's only been two years, hasn't it?"
"Don't mind these details, in short, we've been together for a long time." Okabe Rintaro said:
"You should be able to keep up with my thoughts by now, shouldn't you?"
"That, is, im, pos, si, ble." Hashida Itaru said word by word.
[LOL, three and a half years refers to the three years of high school, right?]
[Tonz is quite a remarkable person to be friends with Okabe.]
[I actually think Tonz is already very good at keeping up with Okabe's thoughts; a normal person wouldn't react that quickly to what he's thinking.]
[Mr. Braun is right, Mayuri really shouldn't continue to associate with this guy, it's better with me.]
[The one upstairs exposed himself, Mayuri is mine!]
For some reason, the bullet comments inexplicably veered into a wife-snatching battle again, but the story continued.
The screen slowly moved, showing the Laboratory's desktop.
Computer, case, keyboard, mouse, teacup, finished instant noodles, and... a microwave labeled 'NO.8'.
"By the way, do you want to try again? The preparations are already done." Skipping the topic of friendship and thoughts, Hashida Itaru reconnected to the previous topic.
So, Okabe Rintaro quickly shouted:
"Mayuri, bring a banana!"
"Eh—are we making gel-bananas again? That's such a waste." Mayuri was not very willing.
"If you're too stingy, you won't be able to defeat the Organization!"
Mayuri sighed: "It doesn't matter if we can't defeat them, I mean, Mayushii bought the banana."
Hashida Itaru was setting things up with a buzzing sound, and Okabe Rintaro nodded slightly:
"I know."
He said so, but he had no intention of giving up at all.
He took out his phone and pressed a button.
"This is RENG. phone microwave (provisional). You can set the time here. Please press # and then enter the number of seconds you want to heat for." A soft recorded voice came from Okabe Rintaro's phone. As he recited, he pressed the numbers.
"120#"
Enter was pressed, and then the microwave began to turn.
"This turntable is pretty, isn't it? Unlike normal ones, it spins in reverse, you know?"
The microwave buzzed, and Hashida Itaru said, as if introducing it.
"Reverse? Perhaps there might be some significant meaning in this." Okabe Rintaro's words became agitated on their own:
"Considering quantum mechanics, and adding Hund's Rule..."
"Impossible." Hashida Itaru denied it without hesitation.
And he quickly calmed down: "Impossible?"
"Impossible."
[Okabe, who appropriates Mayuri's banana, is scum.]
[If you're not stingy, then please pay for it yourself.]
[Mr. Braun's words are becoming more valuable! Seriously, Mayuri, don't associate with this guy anymore, he's only after your wallet!]
[This voice is so cute, did Mayuri record it?]
[Honestly, when I heard 'time setting,' I almost thought it was a Time Machine from the start, but I quickly realized it was just the microwave's heating time.]
[LOL, maybe it really is a Time Machine?]
[Impossible, impossible. If it's a Time Machine, it must be the one on the rooftop earlier, the one shown in the news. How could a microwave be a Time Machine?]
['Beware of the boomerang']
[Quantum mechanics and Hund's Rule... Excellent! The standard image of a chuunibyou: only remembering names, not content!]
[Unbearable]