"It's tasteless and awful."
Under Okabe Rintaro's utterly shocked expression, Makise Kurisu frowned.
"You zombie, if you're hungry, just say so. I can afford a few bananas," Okabe Rintaro said, hands on his hips, advising her in a deep voice.
"No need," Makise Kurisu refused, "Who would eat a pervert's banana?"
"Who are you calling a pervert?!" Okabe Rintaro exclaimed, flustered.
"Suddenly running over and poking and touching someone's body," she said, hinting at something.
Besides Okabe Rintaro, who else was a pervert who abruptly sexually harassed others?
Suddenly, Hashida Itaru held back the displeased Okabe Rintaro and called out, "Ms. Makise, Ms. Makise."
"Could you please say 'Who would eat a pervert's banana' again?" he asked with a full smile.
"Please try to make your expression as reluctant as possible."
As if talking about the most normal thing, Hashida Itaru requested with an unchanging expression.
"...Reluctant?" Makise Kurisu was stunned for a moment, but the next instant, her face flushed: "?!"
Evidently, her intelligent brain quickly understood the intent behind Hashida Itaru's words.
"Why are you blushing? Did you imagine something?" Okabe Rintaro began to mock her perfectly.
His nostrils flared, and with a change of tactics, the corners of his mouth curved upwards:
"Tell me, genius girl! What exactly did the genius imagine? Let me hear your brilliant insights!"
"...It seems both of you are perverts," Makise Kurisu bit her silver teeth, delivering her conclusion.
As if being praised, Hashida Itaru's chubby face reddened slightly, and he scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed.
"It's not that..."
"I wasn't praising you!"
"Rather, isn't the one who imagines perverts the real pervert?" Okabe Rintaro had no intention of stopping. The smile on his face became increasingly… 'lewd.' As if declaring victory, he unhesitatingly gave the girl before him a new title:
"Perverted genius girl!"
"Who's a pervert?!"
[wwwwww]
[Compared to a pervert's banana, I think 'loose inside' is more… you know.]
[She actually dared to take a bite, as expected of Makise Kurisu! She did what Okabe Rintaro didn't dare to do!]
[LOL, Okabe's expression, I can't take it anymore.]
[I'm putting a Mr. Braun here.]
[They got familiar too quickly.]
"Alright, seriously, the sexual harassment has reached a point where I could report you, but I'll let it go for now." Straightening up, Makise Kurisu dropped her playful attitude, composed herself, and said, "So you have to tell me, this banana, it's related to that microwave, isn't it?"
"For now?" Okabe Rintaro subtly noticed the issue with her wording.
But he quickly stopped focusing on the wording, because Makise Kurisu's hand pointed to the microwave behind him.
"This is top secret!" He swiftly jumped in front of the Phone Microwave, shielding it with his body:
"Future Gadget 8, the phone microwave (provisional), is our Laboratory's secret weapon!"
"?" Makise Kurisu tilted her head.
Because Okabe Rintaro, who had just been arguing with her, suddenly huddled with Hashida Itaru, 'whispering' and discussing right in front of her.
"But, perhaps Ms. Makise can explain this strange function?" Hashida Itaru voiced his thought.
They had studied for a long time but couldn't figure out why this situation occurred. Compared to the meager brains of two university students, Makise Kurisu, who had published papers in Science, was clearly more likely to understand it.
This was an obvious difference in facts.
"But, but…" Okabe Rintaro instinctively wanted to deny and refuse.
But Hashida Itaru asserted quite frankly:
"I'm telling you, the two of us will definitely not be able to figure it out."
Okabe Rintaro was momentarily speechless, as he indeed had no way to refute that statement.
"But, this thing is, after all, from the Future Gadget Laboratory…" He tried to struggle a bit more, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly had an idea.
Okabe Rintaro smiled.
"Heh heh hm hahahaha!" A burst of wild laughter erupted. Okabe Rintaro let go of Hashida Itaru, turned around, and pointed at Makise Kurisu: "You, your name is Christina, right?!"
"I never said that," Makise Kurisu denied.
But Okabe Rintaro completely ignored her denial, dramatically spreading his hands to reveal the previously shielded Phone Microwave.
"There are conditions to knowing the secret of the phone microwave (provisional)," he raised his index finger: "First, you must become a member of the Future Gadget Laboratory."
"Are you inviting me to become a member of your Laboratory?"
Makise Kurisu showed a thoughtful expression: "But I plan to return to America in mid-August."
"Doing it until then is fine," Okabe Rintaro nodded slightly, then raised a second finger: "And there's a second condition."
"What else?"
"You must drop all claims of responsibility for my sexual harassment of you." In a very serious tone, Okabe Rintaro uttered words that made one want to sigh.
As if he had Makise Kurisu cornered, Okabe Rintaro's expression once again became like when he mocked her with 'perverted genius girl'—a very vulgar smile hung on his face.
"That's how it is!"
Makise Kurisu was a bit speechless.
"Okabe is so petty, his tolerance is too small. It's truly admirable and fascinating," Although the last part sounded like a compliment, Hashida Itaru's expression clearly revealed that he was mocking him at this moment.
So, Okabe Rintaro also sharply turned his head:
"Shut up!"
[Laughing. Giving in so as not to be held responsible for sexual harassment, it's hilarious.]
[So why do that in the first place? There are plenty of ways to confirm if someone is truly alive, right?]
[Is he only just realizing now that if he doesn't do something, he'll be taken away by the police?]
[Okabe's expression… hard to describe.]
[Arrest him immediately!]
[Truly admirable and fascinating ]
[As long as you don't hold me responsible for sexual harassment, you can do whatever you want (not really)]
[So, that (provisional) hasn't been removed yet?]
[By the way, what month is it in the story now? Since she's returning home in mid-August, the plot must unfold within this period, right? She wouldn't just run back to America halfway through Time Machine research, would she?]
[The answer is late July, which means there's half a month left.]