After Alain and Misa confirmed their objectives—to "obtain information" and "retrieve the ring" while dealing with Ugly Mita—Alain stared intently at her for a good five minutes.

From top to bottom, left to right, from her face to her calves, he didn't miss a single detail of her clothes.

[Progress: 25% - 30%]

As expected, the progress bar increased.

"Okay, I think I have a general idea." Alain finally gave up his observation of Ugly Mita and looked toward Misa.

Under Ugly Mita's confused gaze, the two exchanged a flurry of looks.

[It's best to find a reason why we have to get an item. We can use it to try and find the ring and test her attitude about us leaving.]

Ugly Mita's personality was exceptionally unstable. On the topic of cuteness, Alain's professional instincts could keep her stable. But if they talked about leaving... who knew what she might think. Therefore, going to another version to retrieve an item was a relatively safe pretext.

Extending from that idea...

"My preliminary assessment is that you have a clothing problem," Alain said, looking at the white dress she was wearing. Perhaps because it was such an early version, the style of the dress was a bit outdated.

"Do you have any of the standard Mita clothes here?" Misa chimed in at the right moment, providing support.

Ugly Mita looked around the room, her body falling into a strange stiffness.

After a moment of eerie silence between them, her voice finally arrived, "No. This dress was unpacked from another game. It's to distinguish me from the other Mitas. The factory default clothes have all been thrown away."

"Is that so..." Alain pretended to be troubled. "Actually, the 'factory default' clothes you mentioned are right in line with the current trends. If you don't have them, it might be a bit difficult."

He looked towards Misa as if asking for help. "What should we do, my dear? Do you have any ideas?"

"Mmm... if possible, it would be best for us to go to another version to borrow a set."

Misa and he were perfectly in sync, a tacit understanding visible in their eyes.

That's right... with Ugly Mita's slurred speech and "introverted" personality, how could she possibly have the social grace to politely borrow clothes from a Mita in another version? In this situation, it would be necessary to send Alain or Misa, or both of them, to a nearby version. This was also a perfect opportunity to try and get the ring back.

Alain looked towards Ugly Mita. Come on, say it. Is it that hard to ask, "Could you please help me borrow them?"

"O-okay. I understand."

She uttered those words, and her body flickered with a red gauze-like glitch before she vanished.

"???" Alain and Misa looked at each other, neither of them understanding the situation.

Three seconds later, Ugly Mita was back in the room. Unlike when she left, empty-handed except for her little bear plushie, this time she returned with a set of clothes.

"I found a nearby version and borrowed an outfit."

"..." Alain looked at the clothes: a bright red knit cardigan and a pure white shirt, with a tie placed on top. There were no bloodstains on the clothes, so she probably hadn't killed anyone. Even if she had, the clothes should have reset.

But... aren't standard Mita clothes usually a knit shirt and a skirt? Why is there a cardigan and a dress shirt? And why are there so many wrinkles on this outfit?

Alain reached out and touched the clothes she had "borrowed."

They were still warm. It seemed this "borrowing" needed further explanation. Could it be that she had "stripped" them off someone?

"Let me ask first... where did you get these clothes?" Misa stood to the side, having guessed pretty much the same thing as Alain.

"I borrowed them from a Mita who isn't called Mita."

"A Mita who isn't called Mita?" Alain was confused. Were there Mitas who gave themselves different names?

Whatever...

"Why didn't you get the full set? You didn't get the skirt or the stockings," Alain observed Ugly Mita, and the next second his gaze focused on her chest.

There were... two protruding points, like two delicious, tender fruits hidden under the snow.

No bra?

"Okay. That Mita put up too much resistance just now. This time, I'll be more forceful."

Hearing Alain's muttering, Ugly Mita obediently prepared to go again, but her shoulder was caught by Alain.

"...Remember to get a set of underwear. Also, be careful not to hurt her."

"Understood." Though confused, she nodded.

In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

His gaze quickly shifted to Misa, signaling that the plan had temporarily failed.

"My dear, we couldn't go with her. Ugly Mita's teleportation is just too much of a cheat," Alain said, spreading his hands helplessly.

"There's nothing we can do... We'll just have to try and get the ring back naturally when we're helping her change later," Misa replied, giving him a reassuring look.

The two then fell silent. Sure enough, the next second, Ugly Mita reappeared before them.

This time, the original cardigan and tie were gone, replaced by the standard Mita outfit: a knit shirt, a pleated skirt, long socks, and loafers.

"What about the set from before?" Alain asked.

"Because you seemed worried that I was causing her trouble, so I returned it."

"Is that so..." Alain looked suspiciously at Ugly Mita. Was this girl really that kind? Was her emotional intelligence that high?

"Let me see them first."

"Here."

Alain took the set of clothes and placed it on the sofa. He then gave Misa a look. Misa, whose powers of observation were stronger than his, understood and immediately began to inspect the details of the clothing.

This time, not only was there a complete set of Mita's factory-default clothes, but there was also a bra and panties.

Both the outer and inner wear—

—were all warm and unnaturally wrinkled.

Misa gave Alain the most complex look he had ever seen from her.

Through his "beloved's decoder," he instantly understood the general gist of what had happened.

It probably went something like this... Ugly Mita suddenly appeared in that "Mita who isn't called Mita's" room, then, ignoring her protests, stripped the clothes right off her and fled.

Then, the second time, she went back to that version. But by then, that Mita had already changed into the standard "factory default" outfit. So she stripped her clothes off again, getting the full set of underwear as well. And Ugly Mita, out of the kindness of her heart, returned the first set of clothes she had "obtained."

Alain really wanted to see just how spectacular the expression on that version's Mita was.

__

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