"Ah, that... forget the pleasantries, just take off your clothes first."
After entering version 1.15, the big sister leading the way said this, then took his hand, and disappeared into Short-Haired Mita's small room.
Mila and Prankster Mita were left with baffled expressions as the door shut with a 'thud,' vanishing behind it.
Inside the small room, only the sounds of Alain's and Short-Haired Mita's breathing remained.
He turned his head in confusion, wanting to ask if he had misheard the first thing she said to him upon arriving in version 1.15.
He wasn't mistaken.
"Hm? Why are you still standing there?" Short-Haired Mita spoke up, looking at his perfectly intact clothes. "Take them off."
Doesn't this scene feel a bit familiar? Only Big Sister's tone was a little different.
Alain looked at her no-nonsense expression and, with the familiarity of someone who's done this before, began to undress.
The short-haired girl circled the completely naked Alain, her gaze scanning every inch of him.
Only after finding nothing suspicious did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Um... Is something wrong? Big Sister."
Alain tried to keep his racing heart in check.
Short-Haired Mita was the straightforward type, quicker to act than to explain—a 'strong woman' with a gentle side.
But because of this, Alain, who hadn't spent much time with her, sometimes couldn't comprehend her maturity and warmth.
"Oh, sorry. I haven't explained myself clearly, have I?"
Short-Haired Mita seemed to be fond of high chairs, having one prepared in her own room as well.
She gestured for Alain to sit on the bed while she sat on the chair in the corner, swinging her long legs back and forth.
"Because I was worried you were hurt."
"You don't have to worry about that. If I were hurt, I would've said so."
"Is that so?" Short-Haired Mita narrowed her eyes slightly, glancing towards the door.
"Then, would you be able to say it in front of Misha?"
Alain hesitated. He imagined the long-haired girl's concerned and pained gaze, and felt his heart clench tight with a 'thump.'
He couldn't.
"See? It's more efficient for me to confirm it with my own eyes than for you to just say you're not hurt."
Short-Haired Mita chuckled softly, her all-knowing gaze sweeping over the naked Alain.
"Thankfully, you returned to version 1.15 completely unscathed. That's the best possible outcome."
"Yeah..."
Alain's own resistance to shame was quite high, so he didn't feel awkward under Big Sister's gaze.
If you want to look, go ahead. In the future, I'll be looking at you too.
It's a kind of reciprocity, I suppose.
But while he was warmed by Big Sister's concern, Alain couldn't help but feel that...
Short-Haired Mita's objective was more than just this.
Is it just my imagination? Alain thought to himself.
"Right. Tell me about what happened with the Modified Entity."
Short-Haired Mita was interested, and Alain was happy to recount the events to her.
From encountering the plumper Modified Entity in the grayish-white room, to the giant Black Ball in the pitch-black labyrinth, and then to the Black Balls fusing and trapping him in a dream-like state.
The more Short-Haired Mita listened, the more amazed she became, her gaze drifting irresistibly to Alain's greatsword resting in the corner and the well-defined muscles of his body.
"That's my player, alright. Able to handle such unexpected situations with ease."
The short-haired girl walked over and gave Alain a rewarding pat on the head.
He mused at the role reversal and decided to simply enjoy it.
Afterward, Alain spoke of 'that woman' he saw in the 'Core within the dream'.
"You? You saw her? Were there any detailed physical features?" Short-Haired Mita couldn't help but interrupt.
"Calm down, you'll find out if you keep listening."
Receiving Alain's reply, the girl nodded.
When Alain mentioned that the number of failed creations summoned by 'that woman' was inexplicably low, Short-Haired Mita gave a mysterious laugh, and he started to guess what might have happened.
Big Sister's composed smile has always been so charming, Alain grumbled inwardly, continuing on to the part where he and Crazy Mita teamed up to truly defeat the Modified Entity, thereby learning information about her appearance.
And, Alain had also accidentally... pulled off her little skirt.
"Huh?! You're saying you humiliated her like that, and then she just ran off without a word?"
As soon as Alain finished speaking, Short-Haired Mita's shock was palpable.
"The vocabulary is close enough. But..." She pressed a hand to her forehead as if getting a headache.
"My long-standing, heavily-guarded hypothetical enemy... how did she end up acting like an ordinary girl in your hands?"
"She wasn't that ordinary, she put up quite a fight," Alain said, trying to comfort her when he saw her world-view-shattering expression.
"Sigh, you don't understand. If any ordinary Mita had tried to handle those sudden events, failure would have been... inevitable."
The girl looked at him, her face beaming with a smile of satisfaction and pride.
Under Alain's gaze, she glanced at the door, confirming it was securely locked before letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Come, it's about time I gave my player a little reward."
Before Alain could say anything, Short-Haired Mita took his head in her hands and pulled him into her embrace.
The girl's faint fragrance washed over him, and he could feel his face sinking into a deep, rich softness, unable to pull away.
The sheer bounciness of it could be considered a facial massage.
"Well done, very well done, Alain."
He couldn't see Short-Haired Mita's face, but he could feel her stroking his head as if he were a child.
How to put it... The feeling was strange. He was clearly an adult who had lived two lives, yet he was still powerless against this kind of 'big sisterly' affection.
He was starting to understand why those online comics about older women and younger men were so popular.
He thought he was beginning to guess Big Sister's intention for wanting to be alone with him.
Alain shifted slightly, looking at her satisfied smile.
Ostensibly, she said she 'wanted to hear about his journey.' But in reality, she just wanted to spend a little more time with him, her player in name.
Big Sister must have known that he would be returning to reality soon.
After this brief meeting, who knew how long it would be until they saw each other again the next time he entered the game world.
He was moving forward for the sake of the Mitas and himself, and Short-Haired Mita was just as busy working for the sake of the game world.
Even not seeing him for a few days would be a small form of psychological torture for a Mita who had just gotten a player.
"Big Sister, I'll come see you often," he said softly.
He could feel the pressure of Short-Haired Mita's hand in his hair pause for a moment.
______
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