The Millennium Bug of the World (Continued)

"Clatter".

The stockings were thrown into the trash can, and Lin, who was tied up, stared without changing his expression at the green-haired little girl looking down at him.

"How should I put it?" Mobius paced back and forth in front of Lin, glancing at the communicator in his hand every now and then. "Kosma and Chrono have also been captured. You two really put on a good show tonight..."

Instead of using the mode of transportation that Vill-V had made for her, she gazed at Lin with the genuine demeanor of a young girl, her gradient-colored eyes reflecting Lin's appearance without a helmet.

"Just when I think I know you well enough, you manage to redefine my understanding."

A look of shame, anger, or disdain crossed Mobius's pretty face. She glanced at the trash can again, her teeth grinding together.

"How did you come up with the idea of wearing stockings as a disguise at the Moth of Fire headquarters? And, and you actually used... mine..."

As Mobius said, Lin was using her stockings, or more precisely, the stockings from before her figure shrank to its current state. Since they were no longer needed, Mobius had Lin dispose of the useless clothes. She never imagined that Lin would use them in this way.

"Tell me—" Mobius gritted his teeth, cupped Lin's face in his hands, and stared at him, saying each word clearly, "What were you doing so late at night? And why did you come to my room!"

Now that things have been exposed, Lin simply weighed the options for a few seconds and gave up the idea of struggling.

He took a deep breath and met Mobius's gaze.

"Hmm..."

Mobius took a step back, her skin crawling with goosebumps. The usually proud and arrogant girl actually avoided Lin's gaze.

Why is this guy's gaze suddenly so serious...?

A certain idea flashed through her mind, and although she quickly dismissed it, some things, once they appear, become deeply ingrained and are hard to ignore.

She swallowed hard, then glanced at Lin discreetly.

The unprecedented solemn gaze made her quickly look away again.

"Mobius".

When he heard Lin's calm voice say his name, Mobius was startled.

"Wh-what?" As soon as she finished speaking, Mobius wanted to slap herself twice. Her tone and words were very different from usual. Anyone who wasn't deaf could tell how excited she was.

"I..." Lin began slowly.

"Wait a minute." Mobius reached out and covered Lin's mouth. The touch made her pause, but she pretended to be fierce and asked, "What you're about to say isn't about work, is it?"

Unable to speak, Lin shook his head.

"Is it... a private matter between us?"

Lin nodded.

"Front-facing?"

This time, Lin paused for a moment before nodding.

Mobius patted her forehead; it was so hot it made her a little flustered.

Is it true or false...?

She began to seriously consider whether or not to let Lin tell her.

But as soon as this thought popped into her head, she quickly criticized it herself.

She is Mobius, what is there to worry about? Her ambitions are not confined to the weak human body. Even the body of Flame-Chaser is just a stepping stone for her to reach higher High Council.

How silly of her, she actually felt a little bit... hesitant about this.

After adjusting his mindset, Mobius once again looked at Lin with disdain, released his hand, and casually opened his shoulders, indicating that he could say whatever he wanted.

Come on, just say it.

"Mobius ..."

I don't care.

"I..."

"I wish you..."

... I wish you well?

"Happy holidays."

"..."

"..."

Under Mobius's dazed gaze, Lin moved his mouth, put a blow-up tongue toy in his mouth, and then blew it twice with a "puff" sound.

"Puff--"

"Smack!"

Mobius, his gaze icy, grabbed the toy that had sprung out and yanked it out of Lin's mouth.

Are you kidding me? Or is it April Fool's Day and you're celebrating it?

"No."

Upon hearing this, Mobius flew into a rage, tearing the toy to shreds. He pressed his forehead against Lin's unchanging face, veins bulging. "I don't remember what holiday it is today! You'd better explain what you've done, especially yours! Otherwise, I'll..."

"Today is Children's Day," Lin said casually. "Happy Children's Day to you."

"...ah?"

Lin then used his tongue to pull out a toy and put it in his mouth.

"Puff--"

The top of the toy bounced off Mobius's stunned face.

June 1st Special: Our Childhood

Mobius had never imagined that anyone would celebrate Children's Day with her.

She left childhood very early, and of course, no one would celebrate this so-called Children's Day for her back then. She herself scoffed at this so-called Children's Day, let alone her drug-addicted physiologist father.

After leaving "home", she devoted herself to research. At that time, she was no longer a child, both psychologically and physically.

Now that she's in her "middle age" phase, how can anyone celebrate Children's Day for her?

And he's at least five years younger than her?

That's a really bad joke.

The answer Mobius received was—you meet the standards of a child in appearance.

"You judge whether someone is a child based on their appearance?" Mobius was speechless at Lin's bizarre criteria. She rubbed her forehead. "I see... So tonight you're celebrating a special holiday for the children in headquarters. You came to me, Kosma went to Griseo, Chrono... wait, who did Chrono go to?"

Mobius suddenly noticed that one of the three people, Lin, seemed superfluous.

"Elysia".

"Why?"

"Because she knows our plans, she wants us to send someone to take care of the alternative children who are still '100% girl at heart'."

"..."

Mobius finally figured out what was going on in this farce.

Lin, Kosma, and Chrono were probably planning to celebrate the holiday for the children in headquarters... or more accurately, just for Griseo, since she was the only child in headquarters who fit the definition of a child in every way.

However, Elysia interfered, somehow finding out about Lin and the others' plans. Then, she put her mischievous spirit into action and successfully tricked Lin into coming to celebrate Children's Day with Mobius.

Even if he weren't here right now, Mobius could guess that Elysia must be rolling on the floor laughing.

"Okay, I've received your blessing. Now, immediately, get back to sleep... and throw away all my clothes, don't leave them behind!"

Mobius no longer wanted to argue; all she wanted now was a good night's sleep.

"But the celebration isn't over yet." Lin's innocent look almost made Mobius explode with rage.

She had seen that look in his eyes countless times. It seemed harmless, but it actually contained Lin's self-righteous malice. It was the feeling of being rebuffed by someone who used famous quotes to refute you when you were trying to reason with them.

The green-haired girl forcibly suppressed the urge to throw Lin out and snorted, "I don't need to celebrate."

"..."

Under her firm stance, she finally managed to kick Lin out of the lab. Mobius breathed a sigh of relief, glanced disapprovingly at the mountain of work piled on her desk, and then had no choice but to sigh and lie down on the sofa.

I'll sleep here for the night and continue working tomorrow.

This wasn't the first time; she often worked very late without finishing her work. Even with Klein's help, it was just a matter of two people working overtime instead of one.

Too much trouble to go back to my own room, so I slept in the lab.

Fortunately, Flame-Chaser don't actually need much sleep to recover their strength.

Mobius lay alone on the not-so-soft sofa, staring at the beaker under the cool-toned lamp.

... Suddenly, the room that had been occupied by two people became occupied by one, which made people feel inexplicably cold. Was it because the conversation between the two people was too lively, and now it was too quiet?

Stop thinking about these things. Tomorrow will be the same as always. That idiot won't change or run away. Even if you want to see him, you can just call him to the lab with a single communication.

... Who wants to see him?

Mobius grunted and ground his teeth, covering himself with his white coat and turning to face the inside of the sofa.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

She walked coldly to the laboratory door and pressed the open button.

"Puff--"

Lin blew on the extended inflatable tongue-rolling toy, and the end hit Mobius on the forehead with a "smack".

An eerie silence began as the toy retracted.

"..."

"Get in here."

"Since you said you wanted to celebrate the holiday for me, then I won't be polite."

After saying this in a cold tone and with a cold expression, Mobius threw a strip of cloth in front of Lin and told him to pick it up.

"Use this to cover your eyes, and then you are not allowed to take it off no matter what sounds you hear."

Lin glanced at the cloth strip in his hand, then at Mobius's delicate, frosty face, and did not act immediately, waiting for Mobius's explanation.

"Since they're children, it's okay for them to do whatever they want, right?"

Mobius suddenly laughed.

Her youthful and lovely face, more mature than before, was so captivating. Her aura, disproportionate to her petite frame, added a unique charm to her.

She smiled calmly.

This composure, to others, especially those at the Firemoth headquarters, was like a ferocious beast baring its fangs.

Lin silently covered his eyes.

He has no sense of touch, and since his most important sense of sight is covered, it's as if he can only use his hearing to judge what Mobius is doing.

"How could you possibly think of celebrating Children's Day? You, Kosma, and Chrono, two of you are idiots who can only tell lame jokes, and one of you is an idiot who can't even tell a lame joke, and you actually celebrate a holiday?"

Lin's ears twitched. He heard the sound of fabric rubbing together, and then he realized that he had fallen onto the sofa.

He could hear Mobius breathing right above his head, seemingly staring intently at him.

Immediately afterwards, some hard-to-determine friction sounds, buttons being undone, and skin colliding reached his ears, leaving him wondering what Mobius was doing.

"... Kosma brought it up first. He originally just wanted to discuss with me what to buy for Griseo."

"Huh~ So I'm just... incidental?"

Mobius's breathing suddenly became heavier, slightly more rapid than before.

"That's what I thought before I checked your file."

"... You investigated my file?"