Alain didn't pay much attention to the two remaining spiders. At this level, Pocket Mita could probably handle them herself if she put in a little effort.
"Might as well see it through to the end." Manipulating the controller, Alain started testing the two skills he had just become aware of.
First, the Parry.
Facing the human-headed spider, he pressed the controller's back button. On the screen, Pocket Mita didn't react at all.
Just as I thought... it can only be used once.
Having confirmed this, Alain pressed X, dodging to the side. He timed the dodge pretty well, but it didn't trigger the "Perfect Dodge" effect.
So... does it have a cooldown, or is it just once per battle? I wonder if I can still use it in the actual game.
If I can... maybe during the perfect dodge window when fighting the 'bad woman', I could totally take advantage... Kissing, hugging, squeezing...
No! Stop! This is a legitimate combat skill. Alain felt his thoughts were becoming far too inappropriate.
He focused on the screen before him. Capitalizing on the enemy's brief stun after its attack, Alain pressed the attack button, bringing the large mallet down and smashing the spider into corrupted data.
Now, only one human-headed spider remained in the room.
The spider seemed somewhat scared, quickly scrambling towards the door.
Ah, it's going to get away... Alain felt a twinge of helplessness. But this also led him to a conclusion: the human-headed spiders had indeed leaked from version 1.3B into other versions.
But then—without any input from him—Pocket Mita suddenly hurled her mallet. The sturdy hammer flew straight and struck the last human-headed spider squarely. The final spider was annihilated.
All the "outsiders" within the room had now been reduced to piles of corrupted data.
"Hmm... She acted on her own? This kid really holds a grudge."
Alain mused that even though Pocket Mita was very likely the 'bad woman's' tool for spying on him, she was still undeniably cute.
Well... gotta save her some face. Alain moved the joystick, guiding Pocket Mita over to where the hammer had landed. Sure enough, she obediently picked it up. Then, using the controller, he directed her to the side of the bed, where Pocket Mita hid the large mallet back underneath.
She stood up, the constant smile on her face unchanged.
Just as Alain was wondering how he should tease or interact with her next, a pink dialogue box popped up.
[Hello, dear player. Could you please help me tidy up the room?]
"..."
Such a formal, standard response.
This clearly indicated that Pocket Mita herself was giving him a quest. He closed the dialogue box and, leaning towards the microphone, tried speaking to Mita directly, "Can you be my lollipop?"
No dialogue box appeared this time, but her tiny body did visibly stiffen for a second.
Thinking about it, usually around now, it would be the 'bad woman' barking orders at him. Having only Pocket Mita here felt rather strange and novel.
Setting down the controller, he used the mouse to click on each pile of black, corrupted data, clearing them away. The small room was soon clean and tidy again.
[Thank you! Dear player]
After this dialogue box appeared, there was no further activity.
"Even after all this, she still won't yield." Alain sighed helplessly. With Pocket Mita on the other side of the screen, there really wasn't much he could do to interact with her directly.
Putting the mouse down, Alain mulled over the information he'd gathered from helping Pocket Mita fight off the intruders.
First, the urgency of needing to reach the 'core' was clearer than ever. Those viruses had invaded right onto his computer screen, putting his 'future lollipop' in serious jeopardy.
Second, there was the problem concerning version 1.3B. These human-headed spiders had managed to spread past version 1.75, appearing in the 'hat's room' (Millie's space) and even here with Pocket Mita. This proved that version 1.5, the stage before 1.3B, was likely just as dangerous, if not more so.
Finally, there was the matter of Pocket Mita herself.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Alain caught a faint sound through his headphones, almost as quiet as a mosquito's buzz. It sounded like... mwah?
He turned his head back towards the screen. Pocket Mita stood exactly as before, smiling placidly.
So cute, I just wanna squish her cheeks, hug her, lift her high up.
Make her into a cup.
He immediately regretted the thought. Sinful, truly sinful... Little Alain must have taken control for a second there.
Alain scanned the screen again—top, bottom, left, right—trying to pinpoint the source of the "mwah" sound. He finally found it. Not far from where Pocket Mita stood, right on the screen directly in front of her, was a tiny, translucent lip print. Alain instinctively reached out a finger to wipe it away, but it felt like touching a solid barrier—the dimensional wall—it wouldn't smudge or disappear.
"Haha..." He chuckled softly. Alain had once left his mark on the 'bad woman'; now, Pocket Mita had left her own mark on him.
"But... is this supposed to be my reward from you?"
Well, if that's the case... He decided to let her off the hook for tonight. He had briefly considered striking some kind of seductive 'male model' pose to try and break her composure, but now... forget it.
Alain spoke into the microphone, "I have a feeling we'll definitely meet properly in the game someday."
He didn't expect a reply, but surprisingly, a dialogue box popped up:
[Player, please come play the game more often! Mita will miss you]
After that, no matter how much Alain clicked on her or tried initiating conversation, she remained unresponsive.
He sighed wistfully, "Now that's what I call tsundere." Leaning back towards the mic, he said, "Alright. Goodnight then, my lollipop."
"!"
Mita's ever-so-slight swaying paused for a single second before resuming its normal rhythm.
She probably needs some rest too, Alain thought privately. He stood up, and his eyes immediately landed on the small skirt lying on the sofa.
Picking it up, he rubbed the fabric between his fingers, feeling the warmth that still lingered faintly. Alain suddenly remembered the other pressing task he hadn't completed:
Apologizing to Millie...
Right on cue, the sound of a door opening came from the bathroom. Alain turned his head to see Millie cautiously peeking out at him from behind the edge of the door.
He was just about to start his apology when Millie spoke first. Her eyes swept over Alain, who looked like he'd just finished some intense, demanding activity. She seemed to understand that he was probably 'done'.
"Th-That... are you finished? Can I have my skirt back, please? I need to wash it."
"...Yeah, sure."
Walking over to the bathroom door, he handed the skirt, along with the game controller he'd retrieved from it, back to Millie.
The moment she took the skirt, her eyes darted over the fabric, anxiously checking if anything... untoward... had gotten onto it.
"..."
Seeing it was clean, she visibly relaxed, letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Looks like... you managed to show some restraint after all. You didn't get anything on it. Otherwise..." She turned her face away slightly, looking towards the doorframe, the tips of her ears glowing bright red. "I wouldn't even know how to wash that kind of stuff out."
"I wanted to say, sor—" Alain began, but Millie cut him off again.
"You don't need to apologize. Also... about that..." Millie hesitated, seemingly embarrassed, before forcing the words out through clenched teeth, "You were... pretty efficient, huh."
Finally, she shot him a sharp, retaliatory glare. With a distinct thump, she slammed the bathroom door shut.
The sounds of clothes being washed started up inside.
Leaving Alain standing alone in the hallway, utterly dumbfounded.
______
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