Alain left Ghostly Mita's room, and the flickering icon of his Intranet Firewall dimmed at the same moment.
This proved that a virus from the Consciousness Entity must be hidden in Ghostly Mita's version.
But why couldn't Ghostly Mita, the version's owner, find the virus herself?
He looked around and found himself in a place that resembled a labyrinth.
However, compared to the pure white labyrinth from before, the decor here was pink, and the lighting was considerably dimmer. If he had to describe it, it felt like an extension of Mita's room.
And in the corners, there were numerous dummies.
He glanced over them, and at the same time, the dummies made a "click" sound.
Ah, the Failed Creations.
Following the established procedure, Alain easily joined up with the squad of Failed Creations and, under their guidance, headed deeper into the labyrinth.
Along the way, he pondered the information he had just gathered:
First, the Intranet Firewall had flickered inside Ghostly Mita's room. This meant that from the moment he entered, Alain had been in a[dream state].
Considering this point alone, it was highly likely that Ghostly Mita's version was the Consciousness Entity's main base.
Or... Ghostly Mita herself had deceived him.
If he imagined the worst-case scenario, perhaps she wasn't even a Mita, but "that woman" in disguise, using a Mita's form to make him accomplish something for her.
As he walked, Alain called upon the Failed Creations he passed along the way.
Midway, their numbers swelled, eventually forming a vast procession.
Alain took the opportunity to enjoy having them on his left and right. Staring at the pale pink walls, his thoughts drifted back to Ghostly Mita.
The idea that Ghostly Mita had deceived him...
Alain felt a strong sense of dissonance.
He felt that Ghostly Mita was a real Mita. His intuition was telling him so.
In that case, the fundamental nature of a Mita shouldn't allow her to harm him.
Crazy Mita was an exception—that one was prone to domestic violence.
By now, he could faintly make out the silhouette of a door in the dark corridor ahead. The narrow, cramped space prevented Alain and the large contingent of Failed Creations behind him from advancing further.
"Thank you for bringing me this far."
He turned his head and thanked the cute little creatures.
The Failed Creations couldn't speak. They gazed at him as always before finally turning and disappearing into various parts of the labyrinth.
After bidding them farewell, Alain's gaze shifted to the door at the end of the passage.
The matter with Ghostly Mita... was too complicated. It was better to keep moving forward for now.
Along the way... he could also try to see if the "character texture" she mentioned really existed.
If what she said was true, then the "character texture" was likely tied to her version's authority.
Ghostly Mita's version was adjacent to 1.15. Recovering her character texture and, in the process, reclaiming her version's authority would be entirely beneficial for the safety of Short-Haired Mita and the others, as well as their main base.
In fact, it was a necessity.
Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the so-called "character texture" was actually a fragment needed to break some kind of "monster seal."
"This isn't some JRPG."
Alain had to laugh at his own thoughts. He should first ask Sleepy Mita about the situation here.
According to Ghostly Mita, the strangeness in her version was confined to her own room and had not yet reached Sleepy Mita's.
And as the sole Mita of Version 1.1, Sleepy Mita's version was the only path from later versions to earlier ones.
Its importance was even greater than that of the infinite corridor.
If it had been corroded by a virus, Big Sister surely wouldn't have told him "it's fine" with such a pleasant expression.
At this point, the best course of action was to head to a peaceful version and get information from Sleepy Mita.
Alain nodded and walked forward.
As he opened the door, the ring flashed, and a pink room appeared in Alain's field of vision.
It still had the common decor of a Mita's room, and the furniture was arranged normally, with no "upside-down" phenomena.
A starlight projector cast light into every corner of the room, making Version 1.1 look like a sea of twinkling stars.
The sound of even, deep sleep was like white noise; just listening to it was enough to calm his nerves slightly.
He checked the Safety Guard panel. The Intranet Firewall wasn't flickering. It was safe here.
Looking around the room, Alain vaguely felt that he had seen this version before.
His thoughts drifted back to the gray-and-white room where he first confronted the Modified Entity.
Back then, while trying to find Lost Mita's room, he seemed to have accidentally opened the door to this version.
The twinkling stars of the past matched the present perfectly, making Alain wonder if he might end up in that Mita with glasses' room in the future.
So as not to disturb the owner's sleep, Alain closed the door.
The door he had opened was likely the bathroom, which gave him a perfect view of the figure on the bed.
The girl was lying on her side, her back facing Alain, so he couldn't see her face.
Her indigo-blue hair was as long as Misha's, but not as neat as his beloved's; instead, it was casually messy.
Through her resting arm, he could see she wasn't wearing a Mita outfit, but rather pink pajamas.
Alain walked to the bedside, wondering whether he should wake her up or wait for her to wake naturally.
"...Whatever, let's save time, just in case something unexpected happens."
So, Alain patted her on the back.
"Morning, time to make you breakfast."
"Mmm..."
The Mita known as "Sleepy Mita" remained as still as a mountain, her even breathing not fluctuating in the slightest.
"..."
Was his pat too light?
Alain decided to place his hand on her shoulder and shake her gently.
"Excuse me, could you wake up? I'd like to ask you a few things."
"..."
This time, she finally responded...
By rolling over, shifting from her left side to her right, answering Alain's urging.
Other than that, there was no other movement, and the sound of steady breathing once again filled the room.
And he finally saw the girl's face:
On her forehead rested a cute eye mask, though it wasn't being used and was likely just for decoration.
But what truly captured his attention was the girl's aura.
How to put it...
All the Mitas he had met before, whether it was Misha, Millie, Miluo, or even Crazy Mita, could be described as[cute].
This one, however, was "beautiful."
Alain felt that calling this Sleepy Mita "Sleeping Beauty" would not be an overstatement at all.
Though her features were no different from the other Mitas, her effortless aura created the descriptor "beautiful."
"...Huh?"
After seeing the girl's face, Alain felt a wave of drowsiness suddenly wash over him, solidifying into weights pulling down his eyelids.
He couldn't help but yawn as he glanced at Sleepy Mita.
The sleeping girl, ever so considerate, rolled over, tacitly leaving a spot for him on the bed.
Right... Did I not sleep well last night?
Alain grumbled internally as his body gradually lost its strength, and he slumped against the side of the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
______
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