"Surprised...? Because I'm ugly?"
"No." Alain shook his head and walked fearlessly until he was standing in front of Ugly Mita.
With his height advantage, he looked down at the girl, his gaze falling on the little bear in her hands.
"Even observing you up close, I still think you're very cute."
"But... they all say I'm Ugly Mita."
"What they say has nothing to do with me."
Alain glanced back at Misa with a troubled expression.
The long-haired girl pointed to herself, then waved her hands, signaling that she wasn't the one who came up with the nickname.
Alain had his own theories about this: given Ugly Mita's inherent instability, combined with her immense power and her tendency to pull a knife at a moment's notice, it was understandable why the other Mitas kept their distance, even giving her a nickname.
[Progress: 5% -> 10%]
Ugly Mita herself seemed to be a rather naive type, easily accepting Alain's explanation.
"But... weren't you scared just now?"
Scared? What was she referring to?
Alain thought back for a moment and recalled the swear word he rarely uttered: Wò cáo.
This was... a bit tricky. But not without a solution.
"That word. True, sometimes it expresses surprise. But its real meaning is far more than just that."
The girl in the white dress tilted her head, clearly not understanding what Alain meant.
"Let me ask you first, do you really want to know what that phrase means?"
His gaze sharpened in an instant, so much so that Ugly Mita couldn't help but take a small step back.
"Alright, I get it... Just don't regret it." Alain glanced behind him, where Misa was looking over with curiosity. His beloved had no contact with profanity, which was understandable. He wasn't about to let this phrase taint her.
"My dear, you... stand back a bit. Don't listen."
"Ah? O-okay." Misa didn't understand, but she obediently moved a few steps away.
Alain turned his head back and gestured for Ugly Mita to come closer.
Confused, she tilted her head, exposing her ear.
He leaned in without hesitation, getting close to the girl's ear, and took a deep breath.
Ugly Mita was bewildered. Just as she was about to observe this strange player's actions, his words came first.
"Actually, the homophone for that phrase is..."
"Mm-hmm." She readily accepted the lesson in strange knowledge, but the more she listened, the more something felt off.
"Do you know what that means?"
"I don't understand." Ugly Mita felt that something was strange, but she wanted to keep listening.
"Alright, I'll explain it in detail. Wait, don't stab me with your knife."
"No, I need your promise."
The girl in white was silent for a moment, then nodded grimly. Only then did Alain relax and begin to explain in detail.
A whispering sound buzzed continuously in Ugly Mita's ear. Misa, watching from the side, noticed that the girl's expression was gradually becoming... strange. On the surface, she remained expressionless. However, her shoulders began to twitch, as if she were processing a massive amount of information. Misa couldn't help but wonder just how much meaning was packed into that single exclamation Alain had made.
"And then, I take that..." In contrast, Alain seemed to be getting more and more excited, his speaking speed increasing.
Ugly Mita already looked like she didn't want to listen anymore.
He made a rather descriptive hand gesture: like a gushing fountain. This seemed to be a tipping point—
It actually caused Ugly Mita, who had been in the position of the hunter, to give him an incredulous look before nimbly scrambling away from him, quickly retreating under the sofa. She poked just her head out to observe him from the darkness.
Her shoulders were trembling slightly, and her eyes held a look of fear and... a faint hint of curiosity and longing?
Misa found it hard to believe. Was this the same Ugly Mita who was about to pull out a knife just moments ago, the one known to be extremely aggressive? What on earth did Alain say to make her react ? Misa wanted to know even more now.
And Alain... was looking at the Safety Guard panel that had just popped up in front of him:
[Progress: 10% -> 25%]
[You have successfully obtained a chance to use Safety Protection in this mission.]
Another rare case of a direct 15% increase. This was enough to prove the "lethality" of his words to Ugly Mita. He couldn't help it. Ugly Mita was like a piece of uncarved jade, knowing nothing. Alain, then, was the craftsman, carving his own mark upon the jade: teaching her some common sense.
It was just a little bit of common knowledge about biology, expanded from that one swear word...
Let's tease her a bit more. This is also a little payback for scaring me earlier.
Alain feigned confusion and started to walk over. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"
"Don't come near me for now." She was crouched down, and seeing Alain approach, she buried her head between her thighs like an ostrich.
"What's wrong? Isn't that knowledge what you wanted to know?"
"...But, I didn't expect it to mean... that."
Ugly Mita stiffly raised her head, her gaze toward Alain filled with intense longing.
"I see now. Lady Mita was right. You are a special player."
"This Lady Mita you speak of, is it Crazy Mita?" Alain asked.
"Lady Mita is Lady Mita. She and Mita are the only true Mitas."
"...What do you mean?"
That phrase, "true Mitas"—Alain guessed that was the reason the Safety Guard had classified Crazy Mita and Ugly Mita as viruses.
"Lady Mita... won't let me say. She said she wants to tell you herself."
It seemed Crazy Mita was indeed the "Lady Mita" that Ugly Mita spoke of.
But... what does it mean that I'm special?
Alain considered himself to have normal tastes; he was just able to speak his praise more directly.
He posed this question to Ugly Mita, whose guard was now slightly lowered.
"Special... The way you treat Mita and Lady Mita is special."
She moved away from the sofa and stood before Alain.
"They—the others, the players—they all think I'm ugly. You and Lady Mita... you say I'm cute."
"Your Lady Mita and I are just telling the truth."
"...Thank you. But, this has always bothered me."
"I see..." Alain thought. Wasn't this an opportunity?
Perhaps he could openly get the ring back? He could use this chance to get closer to Ugly Mita and get clues about "Lady Mita" or the viruses. And then retrieve the ring. He needed to see if that "Lady Mita" was really his bad woman. And if so, why did Crazy Mita have Ugly Mita guard version 0.5 against the viruses?
Alain's gaze shifted to the door on the side. There were faint black stains on the frame, matching his memory of encountering the modified entity.
"Do you... want to become cuter?" Alain extended a hand to her. "To make that group who calls you ugly see you in a different light?"
Ugly Mita first glanced at Misa. The long-haired girl quickly waved her hands, distancing herself from the matter.
"I... I do," she said.
In her usually cold eyes, a rare, fiery look appeared.
Ugly Mita wanted to get rid of the "ugly" title. She also wanted to know more about this player who had earned the favor of Lady Mita.
She clutched her little bear and took Alain's hand.
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