Rumble, rumble...
Alain silently watched Mina's back as she rummaged through a large pile of junk in the basent.
The young girl showed no elegance whatsoever; her clean little skirt was covered in dust as she stepped over a piece of debris. Then, she spotted the familiar corner of a machine—
"Ah, found it!" She tugged at the thing with zero ladylike grace, and with a heave, dragged a table along with a pile of instrunts out of the mountain of junk.
Rumble...
The mountain collapsed.
"Cough, cough..." Mina coughed twice, choked by the dust from the collapse. She clicked the switch of the teleporter, and the lights of the machine and the battery lit up.
"Look, it works!"
"..." Alain rubbed his temples. He had long heard that girls often display a completely different persona in front of their lovers compared to how they usually present themselves.
In Alain's impression, when Mina wasn't being yandere, she actually possessed a teeny-weeny bit of "ladylike elegance."
But once they were in the basent—a place with a slight "scientific research atmosphere"—Mina beca carefree and careless about her deanor.
It seems I gave her the Marriage Voucher too early.
Swish—
At that mont, a gleaming saw blade suddenly pressed against Alain's neck. The icy serrations made him shiver.
Facing him was Mina's confused expression. "I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a little urge to threaten you. Hmm..."
She twirled a strand of hair in distress, ultimately deciding to spare Alain's life. "I'll let it slide this ti."
Alain lanted that this woman was entirely too sharp... his days ahead would likely be difficult.
"Alright, let confirm sothing with you first." He looked at Mina solemnly, and she t his gaze.
"First, you must be ntally prepared. Because I don't know if a Mita can travel to the Core."
"Rest assured on that point," the young girl explained. "Mid-teleportation, if the Core detects that I am a Mita, at most I'll just be sent back. On the other hand..."
She looked worried. "You would have to go to the Core alone."
"...Mn, I'm prepared for that, too." He exhaled a turbid breath.
Alain had co to Version 1.9 primarily to reconcile with Mina.
Added to that was the danger of the Core... even though Mina was skilled, Alain couldn't help but worry about her safety.
If she can avoid going... it's best she doesn't go.
"Forget it... no need to overthink it." Alain was halfway through speaking when Mina took over—
"'When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten'—doesn't your country have a saying like that?"
The two exchanged a knowing smile.
Alain inwardly remarked that this was the Mita who had excellent compatibility with him.
"Alright, enough chitchat..." Alain stepped onto the teleporter's disc, and Mina gingerly stepped up as well.
Alain pulled her into his embrace to protect her, then began operating the teleporter following Mina's instructions.
After checking the battery and various paraters, he finally set the destination to Version 0...
Alain looked at Mina, and she returned a solemn gaze.
"It's going to be very dangerous from here on out." His thumb rested on the bright red button.
Mina smiled. "But, if you are here... what does it matter if we die together?"
"That joke isn't funny at all." Alain knew that the possibility Mina spoke of was definitely not zero.
He had been to the Core once before long ago. It was dangerous enough that the Security Guard passionately acknowledged the risk, to the extent that it was even willing to open a backdoor for Short-Haired Mita's interception...
That the most rule-abiding electronic program opened a backdoor was enough to show just how terrible the Core was.
But he had to go.
Click!
Alain pressed the button, and the teleporter emitted a brilliant light.
The light flooded their vision, drowning out the room of Version 1.9 until not a speck of tender pink could be seen.
A faint sense of weightlessness wrapped around them, making them feel as if they were inside an indistinct swaddling cloth.
Alain looked at the white light, his gaze growing increasingly firm.
This trip to the Core was not only to understand the situation there but also to figure out if the Core's underlying code could be copied for the Dream World.
At the sa ti, he wanted to find a way within the Core to allow the Failed Works to beco Mitas.
In addition... he had learned from Misha that Core Mita had ntioned the term "Cartridge" to her.
Both Monika and Core Mita had asked him to visit the Core, and Yang Wanhua's certain plan was nearing completion...
Alain needed to figure out not only how much ti he had left but also attempt to destroy her plan.
At this mont, their sense of weightlessness reached its peak. Even Alain, a "veteran of teleportation," felt a bit dizzy and couldn't help but hold Mina tighter.
"Eek~ Darling, no touching~" Despite what she said, she snuggled even closer.
This caused Alain's tension to vanish instantly.
He finally understood just how important the ability Miluo had described as the most inconspicuous—"the ability to encourage the Knight Lord"—truly was.
anwhile, the gradient of weightlessness finally began to weaken. Alain understood that this trend was a precursor to being very close to the Core.
Sure enough, the Security Assistant's pop-up window jumped out the next second.
[WARNING! Large amount of— ahead]
As he checked the system pop-up, he could even sense a faint trace of gloomy energy through the white light.
This was an inexplicable intuition developed from his long battles with viruses: Alain could feel that the surrounding environnt was extrely dangerous, as if beasts were spying on him.
"At least thirty of them." Mina's expression was grim; her sensory abilities were naturally stronger than Alain's.
However, appearing alongside the Security Assistant's pop-up was a file in the bottom right corner of the system.
"Alain, the chr file is taking effect!" said 2D Mita.
Long before going to Version 1.9, as a precaution, Alain had 2D Mita prepare the `Monika.chr` file in advance for ergencies.
He had worried whether he wouldn't know how to use it when the ti ca, but now it seed Alain had worried for nothing:
Monika had evidently prepared a "foolproof" usage thod.
The `Monika.chr` pop-up covered the Security Assistant's window, displaying a "Enter Password" interface.
He looked up, noticing the white light drowning his vision receding like water, revealing the red and black colors of the Core.
Alain didn't stop to think; he typed 11 English letters and 1 space into the password box:
[Your Reality]
Click confirm—
The file's pop-up window vanished.
Alain was still wondering how this file was supposed to ensure his safety...
The next mont, his vision went black, as if a fragrant, soft hand had covered his eyes.
Listening closely, it seed soone whispered a sentence in his ear:
"You mustn't do anything strange with my body, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Alain's eyelids grew heavy; he lost all consciousness and fell into a dream...
____
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