"Wait... don't go!"
Listening to Ifrit's anxious voice behind her, Mobius, who was about to leave, curled her lips slightly, a trace of success flashing in her gradient vertical pupils.
She then slowly turned her head and spoke to the person behind her.
"Hmm? You can actually speak~ Are you that eager to be my little white mouse?"
"I... I'm not called a white mouse, I have my own name... I'm Ifrit!"
After hearing what Mobius said, Ifrit corrected her, sounding a little unhappy.
Before, she couldn't speak, so she couldn't correct it and had to accept the name someone had given her. But now, things were different—she could speak, and she didn't want to be called a "white mouse" anymore.
"Oh, you don't like that name? That's really difficult~ After all, I like it very much~" Mobius spoke, turning around and spreading her hands with a "difficult" expression.
"Hmm..."
Ifrit was obviously intimidated by Mobius's feigned distress, and a trace of hesitation slowly flashed across her eyes, as if she were weighing the situation.
"... Then... I've told you my name, what's yours?"
After a moment of hesitation, Ifrit temporarily stopped insisting that Mobius change her name for her and instead asked for her name.
"Me? Hehe~"
Hearing this, Mobius chuckled, then stroked the corners of her lips before continuing: "You can call me [Ouroboros], or [Infinity]~"
"Hmm! Those don't sound like names at all, it's unfair..."
After hearing the two names Mobius offered, Ifrit puffed up her cheeks unhappily, clearly dissatisfied.
Although her knowledge was limited, she could tell that the names the "little girl" in front of her gave were more like titles than actual names.
Seeing the angry Ifrit in front of her, the smile in Mobius's eyes grew even stronger.
She then controlled the machine beneath her, took a step forward, looked directly into Ifrit's eyes, and said meaningfully with a smile:
"Hehe~ This is fair, after all, I didn't ask for your name. You offered it yourself, didn't you? Little white mouse~ Revealing your cards too early puts you at a disadvantage."
"Hmph..."
This time, Ifrit didn't want to look at the person in front of her at all. With a light snort, she turned her face away again.
"Hehe~ Are you upset? Well, it's getting late. Since you chose to let me stay, cooperate with me for some sampling."
At this point, Mobius paused for a moment before continuing to "tempt".
"If you always behave well, I might tell you my name when you get better~"
To be honest, Mobius's patience with children was wearing thin. If Ifrit didn't agree to the experiment and treatment after asking her to stay, she planned to abandon the "gentle" approach altogether.
After all, the mission didn't specify what the treatment and stabilization process should entail...
And Mobius's personality and patience did not allow her to endlessly indulge a child for the sake of a mission.
"Then... if I cooperate obediently, will you come over and spend more time with me?"
After hearing Mobius's tempting words, Ifrit was stunned for a moment, then carefully asked, a little hope in her eyes.
"Little white mouse, you have no room to negotiate."
Facing Ifrit's hope, Mobius replied mercilessly.
But after saying this, she slowly lowered her eyes and added, "But... I will come over regularly to check on you."
"...!"
After hearing the first part of Mobius's sentence, Ifrit felt a little disappointed, but after hearing the second part, her mood lifted like a roller coaster.
Then, before Ifrit could ask more, Mobius spoke again.
"I will come as needed before you stabilize, and after you stabilize, this will be on a fixed schedule~"
"Yeah!"
This time, Ifrit was satisfied. She nodded enthusiastically and held Mobius's hand, which signaled her complete agreement.
"I will cooperate with you... Snake."
"?"
After hearing Ifrit's new name for her, Mobius's expression froze. A big question mark slowly formed over her head.
"Little white mouse, don't call me with such a childish name~"
"Snake!"
"💢"
——————————————————
Finally, amid the constant tug-of-war over her name, Mobius still managed to complete the inspection and collection of Ifrit's various data.
However, in the end, she failed to successfully correct the name a certain brat had given her.
To exaggerate a little, not only did she fail, but she was also worn out to the point of losing her temper.
To be honest, later on, Mobius began to reconsider the wisdom of choosing this method...
If it weren't for the fact that she still didn't know enough about this world and there were many uncertainties, she would have tied the person up and forcibly treated her.
Why make things so troublesome...
"Heh~ Remember what I just told you, don't tell others about my affairs~ Otherwise, I don't know what those people will do to you, and I won't come again."
Just as she was about to leave, Mobius turned her head again, staring at Ifrit with her gradient eyes, and reminded her once more, word by word.
Although she had taken measures to prevent Ifrit from affecting her even if she did let the cat out of the bag, to minimize trouble, Mobius still patiently reminded her again.
After all, she had a lot on her plate right now, and without a suitable assistant around, she didn't have the time to deal with such unimportant troubles.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down, Snake, I promise!" After hearing what Mobius said, Ifrit nodded seriously and agreed.
"I hope so~"
After her words fell, Mobius retracted her gaze, and then, under Ifrit's watchful eyes, she sank into the black mud on the floor and disappeared from the room.
With Mobius's departure, the room returned to silence.
"..."
Ifrit listened to the "silence" around her, stared at the unchanged, empty room for a while, then slowly lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
At that moment, if it weren't for the sweet candy in her mouth, Charmander might have believed that everything she had just experienced was just a dream or another illusion.