"Version 1.3. The Mitas in that version, I remember them being rather... childlike." Misha found the word a bit difficult to say, settling on a more neutral term.
Then, the long-haired girl's gaze fell upon Alain.
"Darling, are you unhappy?"
"!"
She saw right through me... Alain grumbled internally.
His 'study materials' had always featured a balanced mix, giving equal attention to all types. There were the bigger ones, naturally, but the petite ones were absolutely indispensable.
You could say his 'study materials' were Alain's pride, one of his main sources of mental and physical diversion during his long hours in the rented apartment.
Still, what puzzled Alain was why a dating sim would feature petite types in the first place.
This game, Mita, was certainly pretty bold. Alain gave it a thumbs up for that.
"Hold on, do you know something?" Alain's eyes narrowed as he looked at Misha.
Based on what Misha had said earlier, she knew the contents of his study materials, which made him suspicious.
Darling… did she dare to secretly snoop through my computer? Misha, sleeping in the living room—where the computer was kept—had the perfect opportunity.
"Hmph hmph, who knows? Whistles innocently…"
Misha whistled awkwardly, trying to change the subject.
Unexpectedly, the hat popped up.
"Yahoo~! Are we gonna fight? Are we gonna fight! Should I mediate?"
"Cappie, quiet down, we're talking about serious matters," Misha reprimanded her, causing the hat girl to pout.
"Tch~ Talking about petite types is serious business now?"
…
Alain felt like he had a lot to retort. Seriously, the hat seemed to know everything.
"But we're not just going to the regular version 1.3, are we? It's version 1.3B, right?" he asked, voicing his doubt. "Does the 'B' stand for Beta, like a test version?"
"Sorry, I don't know much about that aspect either. But the Mitas in that version definitely won't be too different." Misha looked at him thoughtfully. "They'll still be the petite types you like, darling~"
"?"
"Please drop the subject."
Alain knew his darling was probably feeling jealous again. "Anyway, I'll leave the plan to you."
"Alright. Alain, give me the ring first."
Misha took the ring Alain handed over, sat back down at the vanity table, and began adjusting it.
"It's quite troublesome that the teleportation machine isn't usable. From now on, we'll have to rely on this ring to travel to other versions."
A green light glowed at the girl's fingertips, and a small, round orb appeared above the ring. She tapped the orb.
"I plan to set the route in advance. Starting from Cappie's room—version 1.75—we'll pass through version 1.5, which is the version you first arrived in."
"After that, it's version 1.3B. We need to try and investigate, and resolve the anomaly with the human-headed spiders there. This part is highly dangerous. Though, Alain, you might be a little happy about it?" Misha glanced back and teased, "After all, they're the petite types~"
"After all, they're the petite types!" the energetic hat chimed in agreement.
"Please stop saying that…" Alain felt like his brain was being washed by the phrase 'petite types'.
The girl continued explaining, "And after 1.3B is version 1.15, the one mentioned by that short-haired Mita. There, we might find the truth about the core."
"Yay! Is the dating game turning into a mystery game? Cool~" Cool Mita remained perpetually vibrant, bringing a faint smile to Alain's face.
"But before that—" Misha's tone shifted, her unfriendly gaze landing on Cool Mita.
Finally, her eyes met Alain's. "You keep Cappie company for a while. Just wait for me for about ten minutes."
"Eh…? Ten minutes? Bestie, can you manage that?" As the girl spoke up, Alain silently pressed down on her hat, guiding her away from Misha.
"Whoa~ Bro, you're so forward! But please don't press my hat if you can help it, okay?"
"You should just hang out with me for a bit," Alain said, reading the true meaning in Misha's eyes:
[This girl is too noisy, I can't stand it, get her away from me, quick!]
Alain shot back a look: [So, I can start my harem then?]
Misha: [You?!]
She fell silent for two seconds, then conceded: [I just want some quiet to adjust the ring. Do whatever you want with the harem stuff. Just get her away!]
Cool Mita interjected with a glance mid-exchange: [I ate three buckets of socks today]
Alain: …
…
Misha: [Take. Her. Away. Now!]
Alain: [Okay.]
Alain guided Cool Mita by her head out of the bedroom and into the living room.
As soon as they entered the living room, the "knocking sound" Cool Mita had mentioned started up at the front door.
The thought that it was human-headed spiders sent a shiver down Alain's spine.
But the lively girl effectively eased his apprehension.
"Bro, stop messing with my hat! If you wrinkle it, you'll have to offer yourself in return and become my player!"
"I'd be delighted."
"Just kidding~ I wouldn't steal my bestie's player."
Letting go of her hat, Alain breathed a sigh of relief. Looking over, he saw the girl adjusting the angle of her hat with her oversized gloves, which looked rather inconvenient. Alain sighed helplessly, put down the greatsword he was holding, and walked over to help her adjust it carefully.
"Thank you~" she beamed charmingly.
"You're welcome." Looking at the navy-blue devil-horn hat, he couldn't help but feel curious. "Why do you always wear the hat and gloves? Can you not take them off?"
In Alain's mind, perhaps the original Cool Mita, as a "game character," didn't have the function to remove her own "moe points."
But the current her possessed the same "virus" essence as Misha and the 'bad woman'.
"…"
Hearing the question, the girl looked stunned for a moment. Soon, her expression changed to a smile. "What are you talking about? What Mita would give up her own moe points? Besides…"
Just as Alain finished adjusting her hat, Cool Mita took two steps back, striking a pose far too mature for her appearance.
"Rather than wanting me to take off my hat, you actually want to see me take off something else, right?" she finished, sticking out her pink tongue with a mischievous grin.
"Yes."
Alain's occupational hazard wasn't about to coddle her; it kicked in right on cue.
"Eh?!" Her cheeks flushed red, and she instinctively covered her collar, curling up her smooth legs. "No, no, no… why is the plot developing differently than I imagined?"
"What kind of development were you hoping for?"
"It should be you, saying innocently, 'H-How could we? We just met!' or something like that. Then, I'm supposed to act like a big sister and tease you a bit!"
"…"
Alain realized that although Cool Mita occasionally made lewd remarks, she was essentially the same as Misha: zero experience.
Perhaps Cool Mita just had more theoretical knowledge. Colloquially known as… having read a lot of those books.
_____
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