Alain stared at the tightly shut door the Short-Haired Mita was pointing to. The door was unremarkable, silent and still.

"Inside here, there are over ten corrupted Failed Works in total," Prankster Mita explained at the right moment.

"But, if there are so many dangerous things in there, why can't I hear a single sound?" Alain was confused. His first battle with a Failed Work had been in Mini Mita's area in this very version. The individual combat strength of those things was extremely high, far beyond that of a Devourer or a Human-headed Spider. If they were to fight head-on, it shouldn't be this quiet. At the very least... there should be some kind of "protective shield" or something similar to make it look right.

The Short-Haired Mita leaned against the nearby wall as usual, playing with a strand of hair by her ear, her gaze lowered. "Most Failed Works are relatively docile in quiet, confined environments. The corrupted ones have high aggression, but as long as they don't see anyone, it's fine. So, if you just pick a dark room, there usually won't be any problems."

"I see..." Alain mused, temporarily putting his chainsaw into the Cloud Storage and taking out his greatsword, Cleanup Acceleration.

The Short-Haired Mita looked at his greatsword in surprise, then saw Alain walk toward the door, already posturing to open it.

"Please wait," she said, blocking the door.

"Hmm? Don't they need to be cleaned up?"

"No. Cleanup is necessary. But these miscellaneous tasks are for me to handle." She shook her head. "Your duty is to clean up the viruses from version 0.5 onwards. As for matters related to version 1.15, that is my job."

"Oh..." Alain still didn't put away his greatsword. But, hearing Big Sister say that... less trouble was better than more. Still, he was a little curious about what method the Short-Haired Mita would use to clean up a room full of Failed Works.

"Alright, you should be moving on now," the Short-Haired Mita said, walking to Alain's side. "You won't grow by staying in this comfort zone. You have to go out."

"Okay." Her lecture made Alain's head spin a little, but he agreed. "Well then, Big Sister, you be careful."

"...Mmm." Hearing the name "Big Sister," the Short-Haired Mita pouted her pink lips, as if wanting to ask something but stopping herself.

Afterward, the Short-Haired Mita said she had work to do and left the room, taking her "good little sister" with her. From the looks of it, Alain felt it was time for a lecture and a scolding.

With that, Alain had no reason to stay here any longer. He decided to head directly to the entrance of version 1.15 and begin his next mission. Along the way, he and Misa discussed their destination: first, they would head toward the Long Corridor where the Modified Entity was, and attempt to defeat it.

Alain also had a little selfish thought: it would be best to find Crazy Mita and go to the grey-white room where the Black Ball was together. That way, his own safety would be guaranteed, and he could also deliver the chainsaw into his bad woman's hands.

However, because no one knew what the Modified Entity had become, and because of his inexplicable worry for Big Sister, Alain decided to leave Misa temporarily in version 1.15, considering the dangers ahead and the instability of their "home base."

"Huh?! You're saying you want me to stay in version 1.15?" As expected, Misa protested. "My dear, do you think I'm weak? I can find a weapon and go with you!" When it came to the topic of "not being able to accompany him," Misa's gentle nature instantly hardened, taking a stance that she wouldn't agree no matter what.

Alain was helpless. Of course, he hoped Misa could go with him. Her battlefield observation skills were excellent; she could always find clues he missed or quickly figure out the mechanics and weaknesses of certain viruses. In terms of raw power, she could even fight head-on against a Failed Work, an enemy inherently stronger than a Mita.

"But, it's precisely because you're so important that I can't let you go with me."

Alain explained his reasoning to his beloved one more time, forcefully bringing the rational "leader" Misa back to the surface.

"Sigh... if you put it that way, what can I do?" The essence of a girl in love temporarily receded, and Misa seemed to revert to the Kind Mita from when they first met.

"While I'm gone, the Short-Haired Mita might also need your help," Alain said, a shadow of concern crossing his face. "I just have a feeling that Big Sister's 'cleanup' won't be as easy as it looks on the surface."

Cleaning up Failed Works was a piece of cake for Alain. Because he himself was, in a sense, the "Safety Guard," a killer of viruses. But for a normal Mita... like his good bro, for instance, it would be a formidable enemy. Even Misa, who had relatively high combat power, had struggled immensely in the supermarket last time, breaking two baseball bats just to repel a single Failed Work. So, did Big Sister have some hidden technique?

Alain racked his brain but couldn't come up with anything, so he let it go. Although he owed her a few big favors, since she had politely declined his help, there was no need for him to be pushy. He would repay the favor later. For now, it was better to focus on the bigger picture of the game world.

Just then, a door on the right opened with a click, and Prankster Mita, holding a gauntlet, caught up to them.

"Honestly, you two, walking so fast! You forgot to take your thing!"

The affectionate short-haired girl placed a brand-new Gauntlet of the Failed Work into Alain's hands. "Here, take it!"

"..." Alain accepted the rather precious gift with a solemn expression, without any pretense, and put it on his left hand. Now, left and right hands each had a gauntlet.

But he still looked at Prankster Mita with concern. "You stole this thing out again, won't Big Sister be angry?"

"Oh, she won't be angry," Prankster Mita said, waving her hand dismissively. "Things are made to be used. And besides, this time is completely different!"

"?" He looked puzzled. Misa, however, looked at his gauntlet and seemed to understand something.

"This gauntlet is a special parting gift from my sister to you!" she chirped. "She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry if her attitude wasn't very good."

"No, no, no... I haven't even had a chance to thank her yet, why is she apologizing?" Alain felt that Big Sister also had a bit of a tsundere tendency. So cute.

"By the way, are there a lot of these Gauntlets of the Failed Work? Are they standard issue?" If so, he could equip all the Mitas in the future "Core Support Battle," which would greatly increase their combat power. But that was just a thought. If it were truly standard issue, the two sisters would probably never take theirs off.

"...A lot? Who told you that? This thing is incredibly precious!" Prankster Mita held up a finger like a wagging schoolteacher's. "All the Gauntlets of the Failed Work in version 1.15 are now in your hands. You'd better use them sparingly!"

____

Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.

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