The background music changed to a cheerful, comedic tune.
Looking at Okabe Rintaro, who inexplicably seemed taller after standing up, Makise Kurisu subconsciously crossed her arms and asked, "What do you want?"
"What did you just say?" Okabe Rintaro demanded.
"I, I said you lack a broad perspective. Isn't that a fact?" Makise Kurisu whispered.
"Bang--"
Okabe Rintaro's large hand suddenly slammed onto the table, scattering the cards that hadn't been put away. Makise Kurisu jumped in fright, tightly closed her eyes, and hunched her body.
"Before that, you said Okabe, didn't you?" Okabe Rintaro's voice was heavy. His gaze was fixed on Makise Kurisu, looking full of imposing presence.
"So what?" Makise Kurisu's tone quickened. Her movements became a little cautious, and obvious timidity appeared on her. As she spoke, her small hand subtly shielded her face: "I am indeed younger than you."
"But for impolite people--"
"--No! Wrong!" Okabe Rintaro slammed the table again. His gaping maw opened, and his splashing saliva was shown in a close-up.
He suddenly leaned forward, scaring Makise Kurisu into tightly closing her eyes, her hands chaotically attempting to block any potential violence from the man in front of her.
But the violence she imagined didn't come. Okabe Rintaro's hand rested on the table, and he said very seriously, "My name is Hououin! How many times do I have to tell you, Christina!"
With that, he straightened up, put his hands into his white coat, and turned to the side, striking a pretentious pose.
... Makise Kurisu paused, her hand guarding her face dropping a bit: "...?"
"From now on, you will call me Hououin." Okabe Rintaro reprimanded her with extreme arrogance, then completely turned his back, and in a seemingly profound tone, said in a low voice, "Or rather--call me Kyouma."
...
Makise Kurisu lowered her head, gripping her white coat tightly with both hands.
She bit her lower lip, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Hmm? Are you crying?" As if hearing a faint sob, Okabe Rintaro turned his head.
"I'm not crying!" Makise Kurisu took a deep breath and shouted with a choked voice, "Feeling scared after being threatened by a man with a terrifying expression, and then shedding tears of fear out of relief... How could such a thing happen!"
... Okabe Rintaro, as if he didn't understand, asked, "Tonz, why is Assistant crying?"
Tinkering with parts with a creaking sound, Hashida Itaru casually said,
"She just said it all, didn't she?"
[Assistant's crying face, I love it]
[Okabe Rintaro, you did well, you did too well!]
[Your psychology is too twisted, isn't it? At this time, shouldn't you stand with Assistant and fiercely attack this guy, Okabe Rintaro?]
[That's right! Down with Okabe Rintaro! Down with Okabe Rintaro!]
[Don't call him Okabe anymore, call him Kyouma, understand? You should call him Hououin Kyouma!]
[Kyouma Kyouma Kyouma Brooch]
[Okabe... no, Brooch is really hard to describe]
[Alright, alright, I'll call you Brooch, I'll call you Brooch]
[If it weren't for his blank face, I'd even suspect Brooch wasn't content with just scaring Assistant into tears, but also deliberately repeated to mock her]
[You think too highly of Brooch's intelligence]
[Tonz's expression is also really speechless]
The time on the clock reached past two, nearing three, but the Laboratory was still lit.
Okabe Rintaro sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV, a warm cup of instant noodles beside him. The TV screen showed the figure of Mr. Alpaca.
Makise Kurisu sat in a corner of the sofa, hugging her black-stockinged legs, her eyes closed.
"Here, here, oh, hey, mm, like this, and then..."
Hashida Itaru was still muttering to himself, tinkering with parts.
The sand in the hourglass had long since run out.
"Assistant, yo." Okabe Rintaro suddenly called out, reaching for the instant noodles.
"I'm not Assistant, but speak." Makise Kurisu said in a low voice.
"How about you go back to the hotel tonight? It's very close, isn't it?" Out of concern for a woman staying alone in the Laboratory, Okabe Rintaro thought it over and still offered the advice.
Makise Kurisu shook her head:
"Thanks for your concern. If it's still not working by morning, I'll go back."
"Are you really okay not contacting your family?"
She opened her eyes, but as she spoke, she closed them again:
"My mom is in America. My dad and I haven't seen each other for seven years, and there's no need to specifically visit him."
"A dissolute genius perverted girl, huh?" Okabe Rintaro gave her a new nickname in his usual tone.
Makise Kurisu opened her eyes again, gently glaring at Okabe:
"Don't give me strange titles."
However, perhaps because it was late, or perhaps because she was gradually getting used to Okabe Rintaro's habits, her rebuttal this time was rather weak.
Okabe Rintaro: "..."
"It's here." Hashida Itaru suddenly made a sound:
"--It's here!"
As his voice fell, both of them couldn't help but look over.
On the computer screen, a window with green text lit up.
"Did it succeed?!" Okabe Rintaro confirmed repeatedly.
"Mission complete Second!" Hashida Itaru announced with a laugh.
"So what's the result?" Makise Kurisu couldn't help but ask.
"We haven't seen anything yet, project z just appeared." Hashida Itaru said, clicking on the pop-up window.
As he acted, a new screen popped up, as if an account and password had been entered.
"Does this say 1973?" Looking at the content on the screen, Okabe Rintaro couldn't help but ask.
"Yes." Makise Kurisu nodded.
Okabe Rintaro: "When was SERN founded?"
Makise Kurisu: "1954."
Okabe Rintaro: "When was the IBN5100 manufactured?"
Hashida Itaru: "1975."
"For this project, SERN installed a special programming language on the IBN5100!" Okabe Rintaro excitedly voiced his conjecture.
"There's a limit to making things up." Makise Kurisu shook her head.
"But it's possible!"
"All these things, won't they be clear if we just look at these reports?" Makise Kurisu insisted, "It definitely has nothing to do with a conspiracy, it's just some research reports on elementary particles or something from that time."
"Ah! JPGE format?! Don't be ridiculous, how can this be copied!" Faced with the displayed report content, Hashida Itaru cursed angrily.
"It's not French." Makise Kurisu looked at the screen and tried to translate: "...Space-time dominion and historical destruction based on this technology."