It wasn't until Mobius left the Rhine Lab office building and stepped outside, receiving "strange" looks from others, that she realized her attire was inappropriate.
After her confrontation with Ho'olheyak, she hadn't thought much about it and simply walked out wearing her lab coat. It was fine within the confines of Rhine Lab, but it was a bit too conspicuous out in public.
However, Mobius didn't plan to go back and change. She merely tucked away the work badge on her chest. After all, she had already left, and she had never been someone who cared much about others' opinions or comments.
Without any hesitation, she set off to find a suitable place to summon Sakura, maintaining a calm expression.
Since what she was about to do could be considered a great thing, Mobius didn't intend to make it public. If possible, she preferred no one to know about the relationship between her and Sakura, as it might interfere with their subsequent plans...
...
Finally, after wandering around for a while, Mobius found a secluded spot and quietly summoned Sakura.
"..."
The two of them then calmly exchanged looks without speaking, passing each other as if they were strangers.
Unlike others, it was more natural for them to communicate directly in their minds after leaving, rather than pretending familiarity. Moreover, they didn't really need to communicate; they were already in sync.
Sakura understood Mobius's thoughts and plans, so there was no need for much discussion.
...
After completing the primary task of this trip, Mobius turned her attention to other matters, like shopping.
In addition to the instant noodles she had purchased last time, she needed to buy some of her "necessities" this time—specifically, bubble wrap.
Additionally... if she had some free time, Mobius wouldn't mind stopping by the candy store to pick up a few things to "entice" her little white mouse.
After all, the box of candy she had bought on a whim last night had already been mostly consumed by Ifrit...
To be honest, this sudden consumption made Mobius, who normally didn't pay much attention to Ifrit's situation, start to worry about her teeth.
Of course, she only thought about it in passing. After all, she wasn't the little white mouse's guardian.
In her opinion, small issues like teeth should be left to Saria and the others to handle. Mobius just needed to keep supplying the candy and keep Ifrit appeased.
"..."
With these thoughts in mind, Mobius continued strolling around the city, searching for what she wanted to buy.
But unfortunately, after looking around for a while, Mobius realized that items like bubble wrap, which are often used for packaging, were hardly ever sold in physical stores...
This discovery caused Mobius' improved mood to become a little irritable again.
You see, squeezing bubble wrap was one of the few ways Mobius had to relieve stress. The thought of not having any bubble wrap to pinch when she hit a bottleneck in her experiments made her feel a bit on edge.
"Really... it would be nice if Klein were here."
Mobius stopped and looked at the bustling street in front of her, sighing softly.
Though she knew she wasn't the "Mobius" from her memories and didn't have a Klein of her own, she still longed for the interactions from those memories.
After all, if she had a helper like Klein by her side now, many things would be much easier, and there would be other ways to relieve stress.
For example, she could ask Klein to feed small animals and live-stream it for her, or have her help draw small animals on a coordinate system using functions.
Of course, Mobius wasn't one to complain. Even though there might be no immediate solution, what she wanted and needed to do would naturally be achieved in her own way.
While she couldn't create a real Klein—after all, she wasn't a god—the idea of an ELF Klein wasn't out of the question...
"Oh, are you lost? Do you need help from a colleague?"
As Mobius sighed and was momentarily distracted, a lively voice sounded from behind her, successfully interrupting her thoughts.
"Huh?"
Mobius snapped out of her reverie and instinctively turned to look behind her. There she saw a smiling, mischievous, and cute elf girl.
With just one glance, Mobius recognized the elf lady standing before her—Muelsyse, one of the Founders of Rhine Lab and the current director of the Ecological Department.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Muelsyse, the director of the Ecological Department at Rhine Lab Sciences. Although we're not in the same department, I suppose we're colleagues."
Muelsyse paused slightly, glancing at the work badge partially visible in Mobius's pocket, and then continued.
"I've noticed you've been here for a while. Do you need help? I'm very familiar with this area."
"I don't need any help. Don't trouble yourself." Mobius wasn't interested in Muelsyse's enthusiasm and responded calmly.
As for Muelsyse knowing she was a researcher at Rhine Lab Sciences, Mobius wasn't surprised at all.
After all, she hadn't tried to hide anything since leaving the Rhine Lab Sciences office building.
Moreover, seeing Muelsyse, a lively elf, Mobius was reminded of another pointy-eared individual she despised.
"Really? That's a shame. I thought you might be trying to buy something but couldn't find it."
After hearing Mobius's refusal, Muelsyse lightly shrugged, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes as she spoke with a touch of dejection.
"Hehe~ I'm just a small researcher, so there's no need to trouble you, Director Muelsyse." As she said this, Mobius narrowed her snake-like pupils slightly and prepared to leave.
Although she hadn't been able to buy the necessity of bubble wrap, there was still a "non-essential" item she needed to purchase.
"Hey, don't leave so quickly. Even if you don't need my help, we could still become friends. I don't even know your name yet."
Watching Mobius about to walk away, the dejection on Muelsyse's face instantly disappeared, and she hurriedly called after her.
To be honest, regardless of whether she could help or not, Muelsyse didn't want Mobius to leave. She didn't want Mobius to leave her side at all.
As for the reason... it was because the area around Mobius was just too "clean"!
In Miss Elf's opinion, this level of cleanliness was even better than some laboratories!