Chapter 288: Crown of the Mundane and Divine 『 Part Two 』
〜DanMachi World〜
"D-Drugging someone the very first time you meet!?"
Although the Anti-Truth Serum posed no physical harm, doing such a thing upon your first meeting with a favored assistant was surely beyond the pale, wasn't it!? Or was she simply unable to keep pace with the cerebral circuitry of a genius?
Hestia launched herself onto Bell's back, pressing her weight against him as she solemnly and repeatedly emphasized:
"That sort of beautiful older woman is the most dangerous kind! Bell-kun, you absolutely must take this as a warning! You must never eat anything given to you by strange women! Never eat anything given to you by strange women!"
Feeling the heavy, oppressive weight on his back, Bell blushed and shuffled a step away from the Goddess.
"G-Goddess, please rest assured, I wouldn't just casually eat things given to me by others anyway…"
"Don't think I'm nagging you, Bell-kun."
Hestia adopted the tone of someone who had seen it all.
"That Miss Ruan Mei looks so gentle, but her methods are even bolder than Madam Herta's… You really can't judge a book by its cover. Even people as familiar as Kafka and Himeko wouldn't do something like that to Stelle, would they?"
"Speaking of which, Bell-kun, do you think that Miss Ruan Mei is good-looking? How does she compare to me—"
Before the final syllable could leave her lips, Hestia realized that Bell-kun's gaze was already firmly locked onto the Light Screen. It went without saying whose figure his eyes were tracing.
"—B-Bell-kun!"
Hestia instantly erupted with jealousy, her dissatisfied whines echoing through the entire church basement. She threw herself onto Bell, clamping her hands tightly over his eyes.
"W-What's so good about looking at that kind of woman? No matter how long you stare at her, she won't respond to you! You should focus more on the person right in front of you!"
—
「 "Consider it a layer of protection—protection for my research, and protection for your personal safety. Once these troubles are resolved, I will give you the antidote." Ruan Mei smiled softly. "In return for serving as my assistant, I can offer you a reward. Anything you desire, I can fulfill."
She raised her eyes, the depths holding a specific kind of seriousness unique to researchers; she did not appear to be joking.
Stelle placed a hand on her hip, her chest heaving slightly with suppressed anger.
"…I'm still upset."
Yet Ruan Mei's expression remained like an ancient, windless lake, undisturbed by even the slightest ripple. She simply and calmly raised the stakes: "I can give you more rewards." 」
「 ..... 」
〜Chainsaw Man World〜
"Oi, oi, Power! Did you hear that?"
Denji sprang up from the sofa, pointing excitedly at Ruan Mei on the Light Screen.
"She said 'any request can be fulfilled,' so doesn't that mean I could ask her to be my girlfriend?"
"Hah!? Denji, are you an idiot?"
Power was in the middle of stealing Hayakawa Aki's hamburger steak. Hearing this, she looked ready to stuff the remaining two slices of stolen bread into Denji's mouth.
"What exactly is good about that woman? One look and you can tell she's the type who'd trick you into a lab and slice you up like ham!"
"But, she speaks so nicely, and she's really pretty! She can even make pastries! If she were my girlfriend, maybe I could eat snacks made by her own hands every day after work!"
"Even if you made that kind of request, she wouldn't treat you seriously as a boyfriend at all, would she?"
Power shrugged her shoulders, lowering her voice with mock seriousness.
"Even if she reluctantly agreed, who's to say her condition for kissing you wouldn't be making you accompany her for a live vivisection experiment… and then modifying you into a bug! Doesn't she want to become a Star God? Maybe you'd just be a stepping stone on her path to godhood~"
—
「 Ruan Mei indicated that she had previously borrowed another Genius's creation, the [Phase Flame], from Herta, hoping to glean some inspiration from the research results of other members.
She did indeed find inspiration, conducting a series of life-form cultivation experiments on the Space Station. Her original hypothesis was to cultivate a brand-new life form that was born a "Genius," even going so far as to preemptively name them after Genius Society Member # 8, La… However, the results deviated; the creations possessed consciousness, but had no relation to genius.
Now, under her neglectful care, several of these "little life forms" had escaped and were currently hiding within the Space Station. She wanted to request that Stelle retrieve them and find a place to contain them.
However, she specifically did not want Herta or Asta involved in this matter. The more people who knew, the more troublesome things would become, so she wished to entrust this solely to Stelle.
Stelle arrived at the Department of Ecology and, after asking around, confirmed that the Space Station had recently turned into a chaotic mess. Not only were there VIPs to receive, but little monsters had popped up out of nowhere.
Following the tips from the Department of Ecology staff, Stelle arrived at the Storage Zone, where quite a few people had gathered, all discussing the newcomer, Ruan Mei.
The people here held Ruan Mei in high esteem, though they had some minor complaints about her taking over the place as soon as she arrived—something Madam Herta had completely allowed to happen…
"Madam Herta just indulges Ruan Mei." Stelle intended to comment, but what actually came out of her mouth was: "Never fear, the Galactic Baseballer is here!"
Under the bewildered gaze of the nearby staff member, Stelle awkwardly curled her toes in her boots, slinking away from the crowd's discussion in embarrassment.
She realized that any sentence involving the two words 'Ruan Mei' would automatically transform into a different utterance. After testing this on two more people, Stelle became even more convinced of this theory. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Mob Psycho 100 World〜
Reigen Arataka stroked his chin, his eyes fixed on Stelle's hesitant appearance on the Light Screen. Suddenly, he spoke up:
"Mob, doesn't this look a lot like that scene when the Heliobus possessed someone?"
Kageyama Shigeo paused in his wiping of the table.
"Master, do you mean Phantylia?"
"Look—"
Reigen gestured with his fingers.
"That 'Anti-Truth Serum' is like a sealing technique. Anything involving the name Ruan Mei is forbidden. But the Heliobus's control was compulsory—"
He grabbed two chopsticks and crossed them against each other.
"When 'cannot say' meets 'must say,' what happens?"
Mob thought about it seriously. He suddenly noticed the exposed electrical wires on the wall behind his master, and a lightbulb went on in his head.
"Would it be… like a short circuit? Fainting?"
"Bingo!"
Reigen snapped his fingers.
"I believe it would definitely generate a repulsive force. Either they wouldn't be able to handle it under the serum's effects and faint, or the serum's potency would be forcibly diluted and neutralized by the Heliobus. It's even possible that the personality could be torn apart…"
—