Ramen or Girlfriend?

"All units, attention. The first half of the academic conference has concluded. It's now tea break time. Do not let Dr. Mobius out of your sight."

Himeko's voice came through the comms.

The conference hall was massive, large enough to hold ten thousand people. Hundreds of grand doors lined its walls, now opening one after another.

Countless scholars poured out like a tide. They came in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of skin tones, hair colors, and builds.

Michael's eyes darted across the crowd, mistaking several people for Mobius. But it didn't matter. Other members of the Fifth Squad, disguised as scholars, were inside the hall, constantly reporting Mobius's location through the comms.

"All units, Dr. Mobius is accompanied by a high school student with blue-violet hair."

"All units, Dr. Mobius is heading towards Gate 13."

"Squad Leaders, a stampede occurred at Gate 13. Dr. Mobius is rerouting to Gate 15."

"Understood."

Michael and Elysia immediately moved towards Gate 15. As they arrived, the doors were just opening.

Spotting Mobius, they quickly pushed through the crowd, flanking her and the girl beside her.

Mei pushed up her glasses, studying the two figures who had suddenly appeared, while being swept along by the crowd.

Mobius chuckled. "Don't worry, they're just 'security.'"

Michael, walking in front, snorted softly but didn't say anything more.

Since their brief conversation that day, they hadn't spoken properly.

Mei blinked, not quite understanding the strange interaction between them.

Elysia, however, sensed that they had argued about something. But it didn't seem like their relationship had soured—just two stubborn people unwilling to back down.

Michael led the way, guiding them away from the crowd and into the secluded Tea Room 0. Unlike the other tea rooms, which were hundreds of square meters in size, like small lecture halls, Tea Room 0 was rather simple—about the size of a karaoke booth.

It was specifically for Mobius. Fire Moth didn't want her interacting too much with outsiders, and a small room like this ensured she would only bring one or two people inside.

But after Mobius and Mei entered the tea room, Michael didn't leave. Instead, he closed the door from the inside.

Mobius glanced at him, scoffed, and turned to Elysia. "So, you're not even giving me the freedom to talk now?"

"Don't say that!" Elysia suppressed a smile. "After all, our mission is to keep you in sight… Mobius, don't mind the little things! We won't say a word. You can pretend we're not even here! Right, Michael?"

"Michael?"

Mei pushed up her glasses and blinked, trying to hide her nervousness and embarrassment. For some reason, the silver-haired boy, who seemed about the same age as her and Kevin, had been frowning at her since they entered the tea room.

There was nothing negative in his gaze, just curiosity and scrutiny. But it still made Mei uncomfortable.

She knew who the Mobius who had invited her for a private chat was. In fact, as a renowned scholar, Dr. Mobius's presence at the conference had caused quite a stir.

But Mei hadn't paid attention to the flattery. Instead, she had sought out Mei, who was sitting inconspicuously in a corner…

Mei was excited, but also nervous. She didn't know Michael and Elysia, but judging by their casual manner with Mobius, they were clearly important figures.

Being stared at by three important people made Mei feel uneasy. She involuntarily pressed her knees together, her hands clenched into fists on her lap, trembling slightly.

What she didn't know was that a lack of honorifics didn't always signify equality. Sometimes, it simply meant a lack of manners…

"Hmm… Mei really is just a naive little girl right now… I wonder if the prince is here? He wouldn't be slurping ramen outside, would he?"

Michael's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in his side. He turned to see Elysia, cheeks puffed out, pouting at him.

"Uh? What's wrong?"

"Pfft!" Mobius couldn't help but laugh but quickly covered her mouth, resuming her composed posture.

"Huh? Oh! Let's go, give Dr. Mobius some privacy." Michael poked Elysia's cheek without hesitation, giving Mobius a provocative look before leaving the tea room. He knew what they were going to talk about and had no desire to eavesdrop.

Unfortunately, duty called. He and Elysia still had to stand guard outside the door like a pair of gatekeepers.

"Standing guard… so boring…"

The hallway was crowded. Not everyone had gone for tea. For these scholars, encountering an interesting topic could lead to impromptu debates between complete strangers.

Elysia chuckled at the sight. Michael glanced at her, and coincidentally, she glanced back at him. Their eyes met briefly, then quickly darted away, as if afraid of being noticed.

"Huh?"

Elysia saw Michael's entire body tremble. His eyes lit up, and his cheeks and earlobes flushed an unnatural red. He seemed captivated by something.

Elysia followed his gaze and spotted a boy in a turtleneck T-shirt, completely out of place among the formally dressed scholars.

He was holding an unopened cup of instant ramen, looking around on tiptoe as if searching for something.

"Hmm~ A handsome boy, just a little less so than Michael… Wait, Michael's expression… No way!"

"Sorry, Elysia, I'm ditching my post!"

Completely oblivious to Elysia's reaction, Michael didn't even look back, simply leaving those words behind as he hurried towards the boy.

Elysia's jaw dropped, watching Michael disappear into the crowd, speechless.

"I'm… I'm risking my life playing along with you, and you treat me like air! You're ditching me to hit on a guy?!"

But her doubts were quickly dispelled.

"Excuse me, sir, this is a private gathering for accredited scholars today. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed."

Michael flashed his ID at Kevin. Before Kevin could even read it, Michael grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.

"Hey! Wait, I'm just not wearing formal attire. How do you know I'm not a scholar?!"

Michael paused, then asked, "A needle falls from a height of 2000 meters above ARC City. Ignoring air resistance, how long does it take to reach the ground?"

Kevin frowned, thinking for a moment before answering, "20 seconds!"

Michael looked at him as if he were an idiot. "ARC City's latitude is 39°56′N. I asked you this question specifically because the gravitational acceleration at that latitude is approximately 9.8 m/s². You dare to just round it up to 10?! And you call yourself a scholar!"

"Ah… hahaha, so that's how it is… Wait! Who says I can't… I… I… I study chemistry!"

"Then… what type of reaction is the first step in wet copper refining, where copper oxide reacts with sulfuric acid to produce soluble copper sulfate?"

"… Displacement reaction?"

"Wrong! The first step is a double displacement reaction. The displacement reaction is the second step!"

"Then… then I can still be a biologist, right?"

"Then explain the principle behind seedless watermelons."

"Sterilization?"

"Heh…" Michael scoffed. "I think you're a physiologist… Don't move! Come with me!"

"Hey! I'm not a bad guy! I'm just looking for my girlfriend!"

"Really? Your girlfriend?" Michael turned back, winking.

"Uh… yes." Kevin answered hesitantly.

"Then, ramen or your girlfriend? Choose."

"Ramen!" Kevin answered without hesitation, then froze, finally realizing something was amiss. "Wait, who are you?!"

"Shush! No talking, let's slurp some… beef… ramen!"