"Tap, tap, tap, tap…"
Intermittent footsteps sounded, and Okabe Rintaro stiffly walked forward.
The woman named Makise Kurisu was undeniably real before his eyes, and the previous image of her lying in a pool of blood produced a strong sense of incongruity in his mind.
"Wait, Okabe?" Seeing his companion approach, Hashida Itaru couldn't help but speak up.
But Okabe Rintaro didn't stop; instead, he reached out as he got closer, a look of disbelief on his face:
"Why, what's going on?!"
His gaze swept from Makise Kurisu's black stockings upwards, and Okabe Rintaro quickly circled around her, instantly appearing behind her. Then, he grabbed a handful of her red hair.
"It's… it's real…" Confirming the texture of the hair in his hand, and under Makise Kurisu's utterly bewildered expression, he reached out again and poked Makise Kurisu's cheek.
Visibly, Makise Kurisu's cheek flushed red.
She instinctively pulled away, and Okabe Rintaro retreated in perfect sync, questioning her:
"Aren't you a ghost?"
The moment the question was uttered, Makise Kurisu finally snapped back to reality, issuing a warning with a serious expression:
"Do you want to be taken away by the police?"
"I just want to know the truth. I definitely saw that the one who was stabbed was…" Okabe Rintaro replied without hesitation, taking a step forward, and then, in front of everyone, pulled open Makise Kurisu's jacket.
Makise Kurisu's face turned crimson in that instant.
She forcefully pushed Okabe Rintaro away, scolding him:
"What truth? Are you an idiot? Do you want to die?"
Undoubtedly, Okabe Rintaro's behavior at this moment was tantamount to sexual harassment. A complete stranger suddenly appearing and inexplicably touching her while speaking incomprehensible words—it was no wonder Makise Kurisu reacted this way.
"I saw it clearly! You were stabbed!" Okabe Rintaro pointed at Makise Kurisu with an extremely agitated expression: "About 3 hours ago, at Dr. Nakabachi's press conference held at the Radio Kaikan Building…"
Makise Kurisu froze.
But at that moment, Hashida Itaru timely restrained him.
"Okabe, just tell us about your delusions. Didn't Dr. Nakabachi's press conference get canceled?"
He knew very well that he should restrain his friend at this moment—to prevent him from being taken away by the police on charges of indecency and as a lunatic.
So he used his sturdy physique to forcefully hug Okabe Rintaro.
"But!"
"—Miss Makise, it's almost time!"
Just then, a voice from afar, like a lifesaver, called Makise Kurisu away.
"Stop, are you trying to run away?!" But Okabe Rintaro seemed to have no intention of giving up.
"You are…" Makise Kurisu stopped.
With a solemn expression, beaded with a little sweat, Okabe Rintaro said seriously:
"What 'You are'? I am, Hououin! Kyouma!"
Then, the scene transitioned into the opening credits.
[Shy Makise Kurisu! Suki!]
[Wait, isn't this sexual harassment? This is definitely sexual harassment, right? If it were pursued, Okabe would surely be arrested.]
[Honestly, at first, I couldn't quite understand why Okabe would be so serious and agitated, not trying to inquire about the truth in a roundabout way. But thinking about it, if someone genuinely died right before your eyes and then came back to life, I might be just as agitated.]
[Wuwuwu, don't you dare lay a hand on my Makise Kurisu!]
[Arrest, arrest, arrest!]
[Mr. Braun: That Okabe fellow will be arrested for all sorts of things sooner or later.]
[—Don't make up non-existent lines!]
Before long, the opening credits were also nearing their end.
—[The Paranoid of Time Leaps]
As the episode title appeared, the story continued to unfold.
"Thank you all for coming to my lecture today."
"As I don't have much experience with this kind of public speaking, I might be a little unaccustomed. Please bear with me."
On the table was a paper report, with Makise Kurisu on the cover of SCICNCY magazine, printed on the first page of the report.
Okabe Rintaro sat at the back, while Makise Kurisu stood at the front, giving her speech.
[??? SCICNCY???]
[???????????]
[No, starting off this big? While I know anime settings can be exaggerated, isn't this a bit too much?]
[For those who don't know, this is basically the most cutting-edge magazine in the scientific research world. Publishing even one paper in it can make you boast for a lifetime, let alone appearing on the cover, and at this age.]
[Terrifying indeed.]
The bullet comments were filled with question marks at this moment; it wasn't that the audience was unknowledgeable, but rather that they had never seen a character with such a terrifying initial setting.
Everyone thought it was already excessive when a genius character was set as a master's or doctoral student, but steins;gate managed to go even further.
In the judge's panel on stage, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of Uncle Big Nose and Tang Sanshui, while Miss Qihai and Miss Dong Xuelian didn't find it strange at all. Though their understanding differed, they remained surprisingly quiet, calmly watching the story unfold.
"The lecturer is Makise Kurisu," Hashida Itaru exclaimed beside Okabe Rintaro.
Okabe Rintaro crossed his arms, muttering to himself: "So she's not a ghost after all?"
"You're still talking about that."
"This time, the organizers asked me to give a lecture on the topic of the Time Machine. Although it's different from the paper published in Science magazine, I'll do my best." Makise Kurisu's voice on stage echoed in the classroom, and Okabe Rintaro couldn't help but murmur:
"Time Machine?"
"From my personal point of view," Makise Kurisu stated the conclusion as a matter of course: "The Time Machine is a ridiculous and laughable thing."
The moment her words fell, Okabe Rintaro's expression changed.
His brows furrowed, and a gritting-teeth expression appeared on his face.
"Why can such a conclusion be drawn? Next, I will analyze it while…"
Finally, Okabe Rintaro's patience reached its limit. He suddenly stood up and shouted loudly:
"I object!"
"Eh?"
"A Time Machine cannot be built?" Okabe Rintaro forcefully stretched out his hand, once again pointing at Makise Kurisu: "Hmph, your conclusion is too premature!"
He shouted from below the stage without any sense of shame, while Hashida Itaru, who was with him, decisively lowered his head, tugging at his hat, and simultaneously praying in his heart that no one would recognize his connection to this guy.
"Okabe is acting up again," he muttered to himself.