You... who exactly are you?
Alain raised his greatsword, the blade tip gently pressing against the girl's neck, illuminating her listless face.
Alain frowned slightly. Even facing death, "Cute Mita" showed no trace of fear...
A word involuntarily floated into his mind: clone.
Or perhaps, a replica.
"Who am I? Isn't it obvious?" She raised her hands, extending her fingertips to poke both sides of her cheeks, revealing an adorably itchy smile.
"I'm Monika~"
...
She admitted it, so she wasn't Monika. Besides, in Alain's eyes, Monika's persona wasn't this type at all.
"You're not Monika."
"I am Monika." The two stared at each other, her dark pupils reflecting his unwavering blue ones.
Alain understood she had no intention of explaining.
If that was the case, he already had some guesses in mind.
Holding on like this wasn't a solution.
Alain felt he needed to figure out where the real Cute Mita was first.
Not just for Cool Mita, but for himself as well.
Alain wanted to know what extremely important information Cute Mita had claimed to hear.
Why was this information so crucial that it could reclaim their versions, even challenge Monika?
Perhaps it related to the Core's situation, or even the entire game world?
Too many questions, too little information.
The key was finding Cute Mita.
And the necessary step... was dealing with this cryptic girl before him.
"How is Cute Mita now?" He stared into the girl's eyes, trying to discern something.
The blue eyes showed no change, not even a flicker of emotion.
"How? What else could it be? You really asked a silly question."
The girl sighed helplessly. "Since I'm impersonating her, the real one must be—"
Her words cut off abruptly into silence.
Alain's ears caught the word "dead," putting him on edge. But her sudden pause stirred doubt.
What was this? What was Cute Mita's actual status? Or...
Was this blue girl's clone unstable, glitching out?
"Sigh..." Under Alain's gaze, her heavy words resumed.
"It seems she's really in your chapter."
"Cute Mita isn't dead."
She looked disappointed, making Alain want to punch her.
"Hmph... Can't even do things cleanly, have to make me finish it off. Don't you think that's excessive?" Her round cheeks puffed up slightly.
"And it's pointless mercy, after doing something so—outrageous."
"Right? Player."
"No." He ignored her baffling complaint.
He pressed the greatsword's edge closer to her fragile neck. "Just tell me where Cute Mita is now. No need for the nonsense."
"Don't rush, I'm not refusing to tell you."
She gave Alain a flirtatious glance, observing his serious eyes as her own scanned him up and down...
"Hehe..." A mischievous smile, as if she'd thought of a fun prank.
"Player, shall we play an interesting game?"
"...?"
Mita's smile would normally feel like a spring breeze to Alain.
But now... he only felt a chill seeping through every seam of his clothes, into his pores, straight to his organs.
"I think... we'd better not play." He forced a smile. "I'm in a hurry."
"Dull... Can't you think of me a little? Giving it directly would be no fun, right?"
Her fingertip twirled her hair into a loop.
Ignoring whether Alain agreed, Cute Mita sniffed twice.
"Cough cough... Alright, let me explain the rules first!" The girl pulled a coin and a pen from her pocket.
She turned slightly, slipping past Alain's greatsword to stand behind him. She crouched and drew a neat straight line on the ground with chalk.
"Here is your starting point."
She stood, raising her small hand and smiling toward the distant, thinner fog.
"And the entrance to [The Forgotten Jigsaw Puzzle]... no, the [button] in the sci-fi version, is your finish line.
Your goal is to reach the button within the time limit and press it—that's your big win~ The door is already open for you.
'How about it? Simple conditions, right? Ah...'
As her voice fell, the young man's greatsword returned to her neck.
'You talk too much. Why should I follow your rules? Where is Cute Mita?'
'Mm Looks like I didn't explain clearly'
Unfazed, she chuckled twice. She took out a stopwatch and pressed it lightly.
Tick. The stopwatch stopped at "300" before rapidly counting down.
'Press the button within five minutes, or else...'
The girl's smile grew brighter, curving into a crescent moon.
'Five minutes later, the iron pole with the button will [fall]. Its landing spot... naturally right above the sleeping beauty below—the real Cute Mita. Then... whoosh!'
She dramatically spread her hands, a flash of blood-red light in her eyes. 'The iron pole will pierce her head.'
'?!'
Alain's eyes widened. If her words were true...
He eyed the fog boundary. From here to the sci-fi version's exit, the Forgotten Place's entrance—at least over a kilometer away.
Five minutes... one kilometer. With his infinite stamina, time enough.
'Ah, by the way, your time is running out.'
She glanced at the stopwatch in her palm, smiling indifferently. 'In four minutes thirty seconds, the world will have one more cor—oh, he's gone.'
As the girl's ears caught the urgent 'whoosh whoosh whoosh' of footsteps, she watched the young man's departing back.
'Mm~ Was five minutes too short?' She pondered for two seconds, wondering if she was too quirky.
If Cute Mita really died, the player would be furious...
...
'Isn't that fun?'
She curved into a smile, fog enveloping the girl's lips, her enigmatic grin shrouded...
'I'll add some more fuel to the fire for you.'
With that, she followed Alain's footsteps, slipping away lightly.
Tap, tap, tap...
Soon, the slender figure vanished into the fog.
___
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