The rhythmic clang... clang... clang echoed from the depths of the staircase. Alain, drawn by the sound, descended the steps.
He was pleasantly surprised; the old wooden floorboards didn't betray him with the expected, high-pitched creak. In that moment, Alain felt a surge of gratitude towards the game developers.
Shouldering his way past the last step, he found a small, dark room, but it wasn't the source of the noise. Alain glanced back, realizing the metallic clanging seemed to emanate from a jail cell.
A jail cell? In the basement? The very idea felt… loaded.
A sudden thought flashed through his mind: could this be some kind of elaborate setup by Mita? Images, far too explicit for the moment, instantly flooded his brain, only to be shattered by another sharp clang.
"Better check it out," he mumbled, his voice barely a whisper, and started towards the makeshift prison.
Only when he stood before the cell did a wave of bewilderment wash over him. Iron bars formed a stark barrier, separating the inside world from the outside. Within the cramped confines, a young girl was confined. Her slender back was turned to him, her shoulders shaking slightly. Azure hair, long enough to reach her waist, cascaded down. She was dressed in a red knitted sweater and a short skirt.
Loafers lay discarded nearby, revealing the clear outline of her rounded toes through her socks. The sock's soles weren't dirty, but surprisingly clean and white.
Her slender hand, almost incongruously, gripped an iron pipe, her delicate fingers tapping it idly against a water pipe embedded in the wall. The rhythmic clang echoed – so that was the sound he'd heard from the bedroom. It was this girl.
But... Alain's mind was already racing towards escape. This couldn't be Mita, could it? Just a different hairstyle...?
Wait. Hairstyle.
A hazy memory surfaced: the photos on the wall when he'd first arrived in this bizarre world. Mita, in those pictures, had short hair. Then, after the Security Guard's leap to version 1.9, he'd encountered that... nemesis of a girl. At that time, Mita had sported two low ponytails. And the Mita he'd just met? Her long hair flowed freely, unstyled, down her back.
So... were there different Mitas in this game world?
The hypothesis clicked, a sudden understanding of why his Mita had been so angry. She'd just given him her first kiss, and then he'd blurted out how cute her short hair was.
Doomed. Utterly doomed. He'd praised another girl's appearance immediately after that first kiss. What girl wouldn't be furious?
"This is... really bad," he muttered, a headache already forming.
The girl in the cell heard him.
"?"
She slowly turned, revealing a face identical to Mita's. Even without an expression, a gentle kindness radiated from her eyes.
Both were gorgeous. Both are pretty good looking.
The whole situation was triggering a kind of PTSD in Alain. Now, any kind girl instantly reminded him of the one who'd locked him in that tiny, dark room... who had also seemed incredibly kind. A hidden lunatic, perhaps... albeit a very cute one.
The girl, noticing Alain, gracefully turned, stood, and smoothed her skirt with a practiced elegance.
"Hello, um... player? How did you manage to get in here?"
"Key," he answered curtly, his face a mask. His guard was up, his mind screaming: Is this another lunatic? Even worse... could this be Mita, her hair down, in disguise? All part of some elaborate revenge plot?
"Right, of course. It's just... I haven't seen anyone in so long, I'm a little flustered and I rambled a bit." The girl, in Alain's view, gently patted her lips and shook her head slightly, as if composing herself.
He decided to test the waters.
"Aren't you going to put on your shoes?" Alain gestured towards the loafers she'd placed neatly to the side.
"They'll... smell." He expected a shy blush, a playful tap on the shoulder, a delicate, "What are you saying, you idiot?" – the usual Mita response.
"..."
But this "Mita" stared at him with those clear, lake-like eyes for a beat, then gave him a flat look. Her eyes practically screamed: Really? At a time like this, don't bring up such irrelevant details.
She'd already said it, in her own way.
Still, she seemed to care, if only a little. She crouched, smoothed her skirt with meticulous care, and slipped on her shoes. Alain felt a pang of regret; he'd just deprived himself of a rather pleasing view.
Once she stood, he posed the crucial question. "You... are you Mita, too?"
"Yes, as you can see." The Mita in the cage turned, executing a slow pirouette. Her skirt flared elegantly, offering a fleeting glimpse of her pale thighs. He'd seen the mischievous Mita upstairs spin, too, but the effect was entirely different.
"But... you seem to know quite a bit." This Mita stroked her chin thoughtfully, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "I expected you to be... afraid, at first sight. Then I'd have to explain everything. This saves us a lot of time."
"I can guess some things. By the way, what's the story with the Mita upstairs?" Alain was fishing, hoping to glean some insight into handling the jealous, prank-loving Mita.
"You've met her, then." Mita's gaze swept over him, a worried frown creasing her brow. She seemed to visibly relax when she confirmed he was unharmed.
Then, her expression darkened. "She's a madwoman, a murderer! This was originally my version, where I was waiting for my player. But she broke in, locked me here. And she intends to harm the player!"
"Harm?" Alain didn't fully trust her, filing this away as a possible explanation. He'd rely on his own observations. His mind immediately went to the chainsaws that had dropped from the bathroom sink and oven on the tenth day – before he'd been transported to Mita's world.
Hmm... she did have a certain lunatic streak. So, how was this one different? Judging by her current straightforward and serious demeanor, she at least seemed normal.
"By 'harm,' do you mean she wants to kill the player?"
"No... it's worse than that." The girl's face fell, a storm gathering in her eyes. "She wants to turn all the players into cartridges, just for her own twisted amusement!"
"..."
This piece of information resonated. The bathroom had been filled with cartridges bearing people's names.
"But why? What's her motive? It seems like a lot of unnecessary trouble."
"No..." The girl shook her head. "I told you, she's insane. Everything she does is for her own amusement, to make herself happy."
This didn't quite align with what Alain had witnessed, so he kept it filed as a possibility, not a certainty. He thought silently, then met the gaze of the girl in the cage. He saw only sincerity in those azure eyes. He'd initially ruled out that this Mita was the mischievous girl, but he couldn't be sure it wasn't all an act.
"Should I believe you? I can't rule out the possibility that you're lying."
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