"Did you eat everything?"
"Yes. It was...delicious!" Alain managed, the words a slight strain. He tried to push himself up, grab the plate, and head for the sink.
"Ugh..."
But the sink felt miles away, a shimmering boundary. He managed to set the plate down, but on the way back to the table, the world tilted. Stability, a concept he'd always taken for granted, evaporated.
His vision fractured into a mess of garbled code and static, and a notification popped up: [Error occurred! Attempting to fix. Progress 1%]
Mita, her face etched with worry, rushed to his side, gripping his hand. "What is it? Alain, what do you see?"
"...Code...static...all jumbled up."
Mita's expression shifted, as if she understood something unspoken. She gently helped him to his feet, her hand still clasped in his, and led him towards the door.
"It happens sometimes," she said, her voice low. "This world isn't perfect, you know."
Her words barely registered. The lingering effects of the "love" were still clouding his mind.
"..."
His dizzy brain seemed to only process the floor, his gaze locked on their joined hands, on the gentle sway of her skirt as she walked. And above that… the curve of her hips, hinting at hidden depths.
The house, the receding walls, the details he'd missed while playing the game – they all faded into the background. He'd mostly seen her face in the game, never really seeing her. Now, he noticed. Mita was… surprisingly curvaceous. Fertile, a traitorous part of his brain supplied. He imagined her easily bearing many children. Eight, even.
The thought was so sudden, so intrusive, that he didn't even register his hand moving until it was too late.
Squeeze~
Thumb and forefinger, a clumsy, disrespectful pinch. At the curve of her hip, at the source of that imagined future, that secret place. The sudden dizziness vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp wave of mortification. This… this was far worse.
"Kya!"
Mita's startled cry confirmed the awful reality. Ignoring his lingering weakness, Alain looked up, meeting a pair of eyes that were both mysterious and, understandably, angry. He'd always scoffed at the overly dramatic descriptions in novels, but now he understood. Only those words could capture the storm brewing in her dark blue eyes: three parts shock, three parts fury, three parts bewilderment… and one part… reluctant acceptance?
"You… you… what are you even saying? Idiot!"
His involuntary words seemed to ignite something in Mita's already complex gaze. A few scattered sparks flickered within their depths. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, a touch as delicate as the rustle of a crumpled piece of paper.
"You're having problems, and this is what you're thinking about? I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose. Hmph..."
"...Sorry." Alain pressed his free hand to his chest, feeling the frantic beat of his heart. Was it the lingering "love sauce," or something else entirely? He couldn't decipher the enigmatic girl before him.
Yes, enigmatic. That was the word for Mita. He couldn't reconcile the playful, possibly-drugging Mita with the Mita holding his hand, radiating an almost overwhelming gentleness. Was it all an act? It seemed impossible…
Lost in his confused thoughts, he suddenly realized the garbled code in his vision had cleared, and the weakness had drained from his limbs.
"?"
He checked the system panel. The Security Guard had completed its error processing, the "100%" bar a reassuring sight. And the progress bar for defeating the virus had jumped to 15%. It seemed the Security Guard was indeed using "teasing Mita" as its metric for success.
They'd reached the bathroom. Mita turned to him, raised a hand, and snapped her fingers at the mirror. With a sharp click, the previously blank surface now reflected both their faces.
"Here. Take these."
She held out her palm, where two pills had mysteriously appeared. "These will fix everything."
Mita offered the pills, then gently positioned him directly in front of the mirror, her hands on his shoulders, a gesture that was both caring and strangely restrictive, as if preventing him from collapsing.
"?"
He tried to shift, to shrug her hands off, but they were like weights, holding him immobile. He wasn't a weakling. Without access to expensive healthcare, he'd always taken care of his body, exercising regularly. He had the strength of an average adult male. But that strength was nothing against Mita's hold.
"Take them," Mita urged again. He saw her reflection, her dark blue hair framing a face that was, disturbingly, back to normal. As if his earlier transgression had never happened.
He had no choice. Refusal might provoke her. Security Shield could block the first attack, maybe… but what about the second? The third? These unknown pills were a different threat. To maximize his chances, he had to gamble that [Security Shield] could counteract their effects.
But he wouldn't make it easy.
"No…" he managed to force out, the word a strained whisper. Instantly, Mita's reflection darkened. The air grew thick, heavy with a suffocating stillness. "I want you… to feed me."
"...Eh?"
The sudden shift caught Mita off guard. Alain pressed his advantage, repeating, his voice slightly stronger, "I want you to feed me."
"...Alright, alright, you big baby. But I don't mind a little spoiling." The tension broke, deflating like a pricked balloon. Mita brought the pills to his lips, their images reflected in the mirror.
"Eat!"
Alain nodded, his gaze fixed on the pills in her pale hand, a sense of impending doom washing over him. He leaned forward, pecking at them like a chick taking grain.
Chomp.
His lips and nose brushed against her hand in the process. The progress bar ticked upwards again, reaching 20%.
"Ah…" Mita instinctively drew her hand back, a slight pout forming on her lips. "Don't be naughty. Wait for the medicine to work!"
Then, she reached out and covered his eyes, plunging him into darkness.
_____
Hey there! I'm Wallnut-chan! 🌸 I'm translating this fanfic and restoring some +18 scenes that were cut from the original work—since explicit content isn't allowed in China. I went through everything carefully and reinserted the scenes while staying true to the story! Hope you enjoy it!
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