"You mean to say, the viruses at the Core are all being commanded... no, controlled by a woman?"

For a rare moment, Alain was utterly dumbfounded. From what he had seen, even if the viruses had a simple consciousness, they were still mindless, capable only of "eating." But thinking back, the Devourer had, at that time, precisely targeted the "Long Corridor," a version transit point, as if someone were controlling it.

The Modified Entity had created doors to invade other versions. And after he had heavily injured it, it had given him a complex look.

As for the Parasite—that was the virus with the highest invasion progress he had seen to date. Version 1.3B had been half-consumed, and its giant spider legs had even reached his bad woman's territory... All of this... was it all planned and purposeful? Were their targets the most strategically significant areas of the game? So, you know when the virus...

"Alright. This topic has deviated a bit from what we were discussing today."

The Short-Haired Mita's words pulled him from the vortex of his thoughts. Her gaze was focused on Alain.

"Player... may I call you that?"

"If you'd like, Sister, you can just call him brother-in-law~" Prankster Mita's teasing earned her a light smack on the head from her big sister.

"Be serious. Player, could I ask you to help us?" The Short-Haired Mita walked directly in front of Alain. Her shorter stature forced her to look up to meet his eyes. Her beauty was disarming, and Alain used it to clear the distracting thoughts from his mind.

"Tell me what you need. I'll do my best."

"Mm. This is also... a very difficult mission." She took a light breath and continued, "Could I ask you... to continue onward to the Core?"

"Of course. I was already planning on going there."

"I mean, not by relying on the ring's version-saving function," she said, shaking her head, her shoulders slumping slightly, clearly aware she was asking for something difficult. "But rather, its 'guidance' function."

"Travel to the Core sequentially?" Alain understood what she meant.

"Yes. I hope that along the way, you can eradicate the viruses that are deeply rooted after version 0.5." The Short-Haired Mita took a deep breath and closed her eyes, preparing herself for Alain to rebuke her. "And if possible, unite any Mitas with combat capabilities. In the near future, we will—"

"Together, launch a full-scale assault on the Core!" Prankster Mita blurted out, finishing the sentence.

That sentence struck a perfect chord with Alain's particular tastes. Mitas were his romance. And fighting on a "battlefield"... was that not also a form of romance? The fact that these two things could be combined... Mita-Man wholeheartedly approved. Besides, he was also curious about the new Mitas he would meet in the future.

Seeing Alain's face suddenly go blank, the Short-Haired Mita thought he was going to refuse. She wasn't annoyed. "I'm sorry, is it too difficult? You don't have to accept just because of the atmosphere. You can take some time to reconsider."

"I accept. But I must have your assistance, Big Sister."

Alain looked at her with his most serious gaze.

"?!?!"

Before the older sister could even process the situation, her little sister was already at her side, patting her shoulder urgently. "Sister, accept! This is your chance!"

"Huh? A chance? What chance?"

"Haven't you always wanted a player? And I want a brother-in-law! Now it's perfect, brother-in-law and brother-in-law can be one and the—mmph mmph mmph..."

Before Prankster Mita could finish, her mouth was covered. She was met with the sight of the Short-Haired Mita, her face beet red.

"You idiot! Don't say it out loud! And when did I ever say I wanted a player?!"

"Buh oo id in oor reams!" came the muffled reply, which Alain could just make out as "You said it in your dreams."

His mysterious gaze shifted to the Short-Haired Mita.

"A-ahem! In any case," she said, flustered, "since you've accepted my proposal, I will certainly help you." The Big Sister, her face flushed, extended her hand to Alain.

Alain firmly shook it.

"You mentioned the virus invasion began in its early stages... when did the virus first appear in the game?" He had asked Millie this question before, but his good bro's sense of time wasn't very strong. All she knew was that the Human-headed Spider Wasps, the Devourer, and the Modified Entity all appeared around the same time. She didn't know the exact date.

The Short-Haired Mita pondered for a moment. "I've only seen her once, back when the virus invasion was just beginning. I sensed something was wrong and went to the outskirts of the Core to check, hoping to use the Core's main tower and antivirus programs. But..."

As she spoke, Alain could almost see a scene of red-lit mechanical architecture and a Core Mita shrouded in shadow. And that woman. She sat on the "throne" that originally belonged to Core Mita, looking down from on high at the viruses swarming below.

"...That's roughly how it was. Afterward, I retreated back to version 1.15 amidst the virus offensive. Since then, I haven't had a single chance to get close to the Core."

Seeing her big sister getting discouraged, Prankster Mita quickly gave Alain a signal.

"It's okay, Big Sister did her best."

"...Mm, thank you." The Short-Haired Mita gave him a complex look, then changed the subject. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Yes," Alain said. "You just mentioned the early stages of the virus invasion... when did it begin?"

A silent atmosphere filled the space between the four of them. Alain and Misa exchanged a look, seeing the discouragement in each other's eyes.

"It was probably... around January 16th. At that point in time."

A vast, dark cloud settled over his heart. A roar was trying to break free. January 16th. That was the exact day he entered the game. No... to be more precise, it was the day he was dragged into the game world by his bad woman. The time the viruses appeared, and the time he entered "Mita," were exactly the same.

Was there a connection? A coincidence—it was possible, but not likely. It was all too much of a coincidence. Plus, the Short-Haired Mita had said before that there was a woman at the Core controlling the viruses. Perhaps she would know something? Did he still need to go to the Core...? For now, everything he had done was still on the right path. That, at least, was a good thing.

The current situation was that the area around the Core was completely swamped with viruses; there was no safe path. What other way was there to safely reach the Core? Or perhaps...

_____

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