I'm the ghost here.
"...?"
Ω1 felt as though his brain had crashed.
Then, the sheet with three sentences written on it drifted down, revealing the blank paper behind it.
The mechanical arm moved again.
Heh heh heh.
Welt.
Ω1, who had just stood up, sat back down again.
Don't worry. Although I'm a ghost, I'm a good ghost.
Another sentence appeared on the paper.
Faced with the floating typewriter, Ω1 could only turn a pleading gaze toward Einstein, the scientist he considered a mad scientist.
However, she was eating a sandwich while flipping through a book, seemingly paying no attention to him at all.
Hey, hey, hey! That was a ghost!
Could she not be so calm?!
A good ghost... He could only trust that the other party was a good ghost.
Oh, right. Don't stay in the living room after eleven at night. They say the lab's living room is haunted, and if you're not careful, you'll get taken out.
You're obviously the ghost here!
Wait...
What time was it now?
Ω1 suddenly remembered that it had already been 10:57 when he was transferred here from outside...
Ω1's mouth twitched slightly... He couldn't possibly be this unlucky, could he?
What terrible timing. It was 11:05 now.
"Cough... The ghost you mentioned wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
Ω1 unconsciously used an honorific.
Heh heh heh... Take a guess?
I don't want to guess!
If he had known this lab was haunted, he would rather have taken a tranquilizer dart and escaped.
"Alright, that concludes the welcome ceremony." Einstein licked the salad dressing from her finger. "Mm... From now on, your room will be 105. Liu Bai, move upstairs."
Upstairs was where Einstein and Dr. Tesla lived. Though there were spare rooms, there was no way they would let Ω1 stay there.
What a shame. The ghost-tag portion is about to begin.
Not a shame at all! Rather, it was fortunate that the ghost-tag portion had not begun!
Seeing the disappointment practically leap off the paper, Ω1 felt nothing but relief.
Then, the typewriter's mechanical arm moved again.
My name is Liu Bai. I'm this lab's assistant, so I guess that makes me your senior. If you need anything, you can tell me.
Huh? This time, the words on the paper were unexpectedly normal.
For a moment, Ω1 could not figure out what sort of person this "ghost" who had scared him was.
"I'll go tidy up the room."
Liu Bai spoke to Einstein.
Come to think of it, there was quite a lot of miscellaneous stuff in his room, such as Edison's white shirt, Planck's white stockings, Schrödinger's cat-head hood, and so on.
Those people had left quite a few odds and ends in his room with excuses like "too much luggage" or "it won't fit." Clothes were only part of it.
"He went to tidy up the room."
Einstein looked at the door that had opened without wind and spoke to Ω1, who was still sitting on the floor.
"I-Is that so?"
Ω1 stood up somewhat awkwardly. "This welcome ceremony really was... uh, surprising."
Though for Ω1 himself, it had been completely terrifying.
"It seems you've pulled yourself together."
"How could I not pull myself together in front of a ghost?" Ω1 tugged at the corner of his mouth. Though he had been experimented on for the past three years, his will to survive remained strong.
"By the way, is Senior Liu Bai... really the lab's assistant?"
"That's right. He's Lab 42's assistant."
"Phew... So he isn't a ghost? He's wearing some kind of high-tech invisibility suit?"
"Believe in science."
Einstein's words made Ω1 breathe a sigh of relief.
"I knew there was no way this world could possibly..."
"He really is a ghost."
"..."
What kind of science was that supposed to be?!
In less than ten minutes after arriving at this lab, Ω1's emotional ups and downs had been greater than in an entire year.
Forcing down the urge to complain, Ω1 asked:
"Then... why did you say I should believe in science, Doctor?"
"Dr. Einstein meant that you should believe in science. With current scientific technology, invisibility suits are nearly impossible to create," Einstein explained expressionlessly.
Give back the relief I just felt--!
"Still, thanks to him, you can live here without worry." Einstein yawned, seemingly a little sleepy. "Since he showed you his identity, it means you are now a member of Lab 42."
"I-Is that so?"
So it seemed he was supposed to thank that guy?
"So that means I don't need to worry about being sliced up?"
"Whether someone gets sliced up isn't really up to us." Einstein shook her head. "What I mean by living without worry is that you don't have to worry about being targeted. You can treat this place as home--of course, if you tell anyone about this, that's another matter."
"...What happens if I tell someone?"
"Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla might further their studies in biology?"
Wasn't that just a euphemism for slicing him up?!
The scientist before him was absolutely serious--Ω1 realized this.
"Oh, right. What's your name?"
"Ω1. It's in my file."
"That can't really be considered a human name." Einstein scratched her head.
"Then I don't have a name."
"How about calling him Welt?" Liu Bai, who was carrying things, took the initiative to speak when he heard the topic.
"Welt?" Einstein scratched her head. "What a casual name."
Einstein immediately understood what Liu Bai meant.
Ω, in lowercase, was ω, which resembled a w. Then he had simply picked a word starting with w.
For example, world. In German, the word for world was spelled welt--Welt.
--That was how Einstein had come up with Welt's name in the original plot.
...That guy completely forgot that the name she had wanted to give Liu Bai a year ago was exactly this one.
"I think the name Weg is pretty good too."
Weg meant "road" or "leave" in German.
It was a good thing that the first word to pop into Einstein's mind in the original plot had been welt...
"What do you think?" Einstein looked at Ω1.
"...Uh, I think Welt is better."
Ω1 had been born in Berlin, Germany, so naturally he understood German.
Putting the words world and road together... He had no prejudice, but compared to the two, the meaning of world was definitely better, right?
...Could the latter have been her way of trying to drive him away?
Welt gratefully looked at the air carrying a huge pile of things.
Though he could not hear what the other party had said, the name Welt had probably been chosen by him.
To come up with such a reliable name... As expected of his senior, he really was dependable.
But... why were there stockings in that pile?
Welt shifted his gaze away as though he had noticed nothing.
"Mm, then your name from now on will be Welt."
Einstein remained expressionless. Though weg had been the first word that came to mind, she had not actually wanted to drive him away... probably.
"Welcome to Lab 42."
The Ghost Senior Is a Good Person!
Good morning, Welt.
The customized typewriter floating before him made Welt realize that what had happened yesterday was not a dream.
A ghost...
"Good morning, Senior Liu Bai."
Though the other party seemed to have the nasty habit of enjoying scaring people, he was now the only senior Welt could talk to, even if he could not see him.
Just as he thought that, something was suddenly stuffed into his hand.
Today's breakfast: mushroom sandwich. Remember, it's mushroom.
Why was he emphasizing that Welt should remember it was mushroom?
Welt was utterly baffled, but faced with this goodwill, he still obediently thanked Liu Bai.
However, he then looked strangely at the floating typewriter before him.
"...Senior, are you responsible for cooking every day?"
What are you thinking? I bought it outside. I just put a slice of mushroom inside.
Ah... In that instant, Welt felt that his ghost senior was not quite so frightening after all.
Still, that was quite a realistic answer.
I'm going to wake everyone up. As for you...
Go out and take a walk.
Take a walk?
Seemingly sensing Welt's confusion, the typewriter's mechanical arm moved again.
I mean, keep your head down for a while.
Not everyone has as good a temper as Ein.
Before you continue