"Paranormal Items"

Ah...

Welt remembered now. Dr. Einstein had indeed mentioned someone named "Tesla" yesterday.

...Was she a doctor with a terrible temper?

"I understand."

Welt could also tell that the lab did not seem particularly welcoming toward him. After all, he had apparently been forcibly shoved in here, so it was understandable that he was not well liked.

The one good thing was that this "ghost" senior in front of him seemed to think quite highly of him and was even willing to give him advice on such matters.

If he could avoid conflicts proactively, that would be for the best.

Outside is the university campus. Keep your eyes open, but it's fine to wander around most places. No one will care too much about your identity. If you run into trouble, just mention Lab 42.

This senior was really reliable...

Welt nodded, deeply moved, then watched the typewriter head upstairs.

As for the mushroom sandwich in his hand...

Welt took a small bite. The flavors of smoked meat and mushrooms exploded across his tongue.

"Chew, chew, chew..."

Being alive to eat something like this really is bliss.

Sure enough, Senior Liu Bai was a wonderful person.

"Dr. Tesla, wake up."

Tesla felt as though something had nudged her twice.

"Mmm~~"

Liu Bai stared, black lines forming across his forehead, as Tesla let out a soft murmur, rolled over, and curled herself into a ball.

There was absolutely no sign of her waking up.

Tesla's sleepiness was nothing like what one would expect from a scientist.

Liu Bai set the sausage-and-egg wrap he had prepared for Tesla aside and cleared his throat.

"Dr. Tesla, I'm taking this bag of mushrooms from your desk."

"Those are truffles... mmm... not mushrooms..."

Still asleep...

"Tsk, has that stopped working already?"

Liu Bai's mouth twitched.

"Dr. Tesla, Headquarters has ordered you transferred to the North American Branch."

"Hah—!"

Tesla shot upright so suddenly that she gave Liu Bai a fright.

"Tell them! I'm not going! I won't go even if they beat me to death!"

Tesla glared furiously at the empty air before her.

"...I was just joking."

"Ahem, what? So it was a joke." Tesla relaxed instead when she heard the voice from the air. "If I really got transferred there, then this time I'd actually burn down Universal Group."

...Someone was casually saying something only a terrorist would say.

"Aren't you and Edison a little too much like mortal enemies?"

"This isn't about whether we're enemies or not." Tesla curled her lip. "It's... forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just remember that Edison is plotting something against you."

After a year of working together, Tesla admitted that Edison had become much easier on the eyes. But that woman kept getting close to Liu Bai, intentionally or otherwise. She clearly wanted to steal her Spirit Simulator!

The two of them really were incompatible!

"What kind of tone is that? Are you trying to brush off a child?" Liu Bai was speechless. His knowledge base was on par with that of a top scientist now, okay?

Over the past year, Liu Bai's mechanics and engineering had both reached Level 8. He had also picked up Level 1 Philosophy from Schrödinger.

It had nothing to do with research ability. It was simply that Liu Bai sometimes could not wrap his head around what Schrödinger said, and after going around in circles long enough, he somehow gained a philosophy skill...

"Anyway! Don't let that woman Edison fool you!"

"Then what about Professor Planck and Miss Schrödinger?"

"..." Tesla blushed, though it was impossible to tell whether it was from anger or embarrassment. "You really are consumed by lust, aren't you—?!"

"I was only joking." Liu Bai held the sausage-and-egg wrap before Tesla. "Here, breakfast."

"Thanks."

Tesla was already very used to Liu Bai bringing her food. Just as she was about to take a bite, she suddenly remembered something.

"But if we're being serious, that old woman and the others... Edison included, they're all good people."

"Yeah, after all, we've lived together for a year." Liu Bai nodded in wholehearted agreement.

No one knew better than him whether they were good people.

"..." The wrap in her hand suddenly no longer smelled so good.

"Ahhhh—! Show yourself if you've got the guts! I'll strangle you to death today, you perverted ghost!!"

"Morning, Dr. Tesla."

Every morning when she woke up, Tesla could see Einstein leisurely eating breakfast on the sofa.

Now that was the schedule a scientist ought to have.

"Morning, Ein. Where's that test subject they sent over?"

Tesla looked around with a cold expression, but she could not find any stranger.

"His name is Welt now—Liu Bai gave him that name."

"Welt?" Tesla froze for a moment, then voiced the same thought Einstein had yesterday. "What a casual name."

"Dr. Einstein thought so too. Still, Welt is a member of Lab 42 now."

"Tsk, I get it."

The expression on Tesla's face softened.

"Where is he? Did he go out?"

"He went out to get familiar with the surroundings," Liu Bai answered.

"Is that so? He won't get lost, will he?" Tesla was not a bad person in the end.

"For now, Dr. Einstein believes Welt's intelligence is equivalent to that of a normal adult man."

In other words, he would not get lost.

"Then it's fine. Shall we continue the experiment?" Tesla tossed Welt to the back of her mind and asked about business.

They had no money, but there were still some experiments they could carry out without funding.

"Paused." Einstein spoke seriously. "We're entering vacation time now."

"Paranormal Item"

Halting the experiment involved many matters.

Funding was only a tiny part of it. Money was not the deciding factor in this project.

There were only two real factors—there were not enough people, and they had to be wary of Otto.

The lack of manpower was naturally because Planck and the others had left. She and Tesla could not possibly continue the experiments at their previous pace.

As for being wary of Otto... naturally, that was because of Welt, who had arrived yesterday.

Although Liu Bai had confirmed that Welt was not carrying any surveillance equipment, given the timing and Otto's baffling orders, no matter how one looked at it, this was not the right time to continue the research.

"You call it a vacation... but there's really nothing to do, is there?" Tesla looked displeased.

"Taking some time to rest properly is not a bad choice."

"Then I'll go back and catch up on sleep."

Tesla yawned.

This woman was far too sleepy.

"Mm, Dr. Tesla, just sleep without worrying." Einstein had long since grown accustomed to Tesla's ways. She then turned to Liu Bai and asked softly, "Liu Bai, how about taking a walk with me?"

"Ahem! I suddenly don't feel like sleeping anymore. Come to think of it, sleeping is simply a waste of vacation time."

Tesla, who had been about to head upstairs, paused and casually stepped back.

"I'll touch up my makeup. Then we can all head out together."

Tesla said this while her eyes darted around.

"Mm."

Einstein did not seem bothered by Tesla changing her mind at all.

Tesla then raced upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. In an incredibly short span of time, she transformed from a dispirited female doctor into a beautiful young woman.

...Why did Einstein not have that kind of contrast?

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Einstein's looks, but her messy natural curls really did detract from her appearance in other people's eyes.

"Let's go! Where does Ein want to go?"

"Dr. Einstein wants spaghetti."

Why did that answer feel like something he had heard a year ago?

And besides... hadn't she just finished breakfast?!

"Now that you mention it, I want cake too." Tesla nodded in wholehearted agreement.

"Eating this often will make you gain weight, especially a certain twin-tailed girl who had a high-calorie sausage-and-egg wrap for breakfast."

"Sweets are an exception." Tesla retorted with complete confidence.

"Yes, yes, a separate stomach, right?" Liu Bai did not even need Tesla to continue before supplying her excuse for her. "But come to think of it, doesn't the school cafeteria have those things?"

The moment Liu Bai finished speaking, Tesla and Einstein both looked toward where he was.

"...It tastes bad," Tesla said through gritted teeth.

"It isn't quite that bad. Dr. Einstein believes it should count as a British specialty."

Although Einstein said it was not bad, every word of that sentence implied that it was awful.

But after thinking about it, Liu Bai roughly understood.

Einstein came from Germany.

Tesla came from Serbia.

Germany was probably best known for its various sausages, stews, roasted meats, and sauerkraut—yes, Germany was the only European country where sauerkraut was popular.

Though it was like picking the best of the worst, it was still much better than Britain's most famous dish, fish and chips. Besides, British roast meat was not particularly refined either.

Tesla's native Serbia was even more a country where meat, eggs, and dairy were all common foods. There was a reason Serbians would become the fattest people in Europe in the future.

It was more normal for these two to be unable to stomach the cafeteria food at an aristocratic school.

Because things associated with aristocrats were generally rather "traditional," but traditional did not always mean good...

"Would Liu Bai like to visit the cafeteria? There are some foods Dr. Einstein dislikes, but there should still be some that suit your taste."

"Since you put it that way, forget it." Liu Bai felt it was best not to look too deeply into the school cafeteria's food. "Find me something I can possess, so I don't have to float around."

"A fountain pen." Einstein took out the fountain pen she carried.

After a year of experiments, they had more or less figured out Liu Bai's possession ability.