The reason 2D Mita forced them onto the bad end route wasn't because of some bug, or a necessary game progression. It was a "pity play."
Though it sounded a bit harsh, Alain felt the term described this Mita perfectly.
What she wanted was to instill a sense of guilt in Alain and the others through a series of deliberately "hellish" or overly aggressive choices.
Then, by leveraging the inability to save or load on the bad end route, she would leave an extremely deep impression on their minds.
If they had truly fallen for her wish… never mind Alain, just Misha and Short-Haired Mita outside the galge—with their kind personalities, they would have absolutely been left with an indelible mark on their hearts from this incident.
"They and I were right about you, weren't we? You pitiful little canary." Alain didn't speak through the dialogue box, but directly with his own consciousness.
Hearing this, 2D Mita showed no surprise at all, only smiling faintly.
"Indeed."
They were right… Misha mulled over this sentence.
"2D Mita, can she hear our conversation?"
"Of course, she can." On this point, there was something Alain really wanted to say.
"Big Sister, next time, can you make your little box into an earpiece?"
"Huh?" Short-Haired Mita was momentarily stunned, her gaze focusing on the object in Alain's hand.
"Uh, sorry… That was my mistake."
"No, it was our mistake," Misha said, touching her forehead.
"It was everyone's mistake, actually," Alain added.
That was right… the communication cube Short-Haired Mita used for communication and monitoring had been on speakerphone from the very beginning. So naturally, 2D Mita could hear their conversation loud and clear.
But Alain didn't think it mattered. If she heard, she heard.
"She's not exactly an enemy," and their purpose for coming here remained unchanged.
But now, Alain's objective, aside from finding the path to Version 1.0F, had gained a new entry.
"Mita." His gaze locked onto the flat-planed girl's eyes.
Compared to a regular Mita, her eyes seemed even more brilliant and captivating. After all, she was 2D.
"Are you still going to say that?" 2D Mita looked into his eyes, having seemingly already guessed what was coming, and sighed.
"'You want to take me out'… Easier said than done."
"And easy to do."
Before she could finish, Alain grabbed her hand.
"I'm realizing I've really been underestimated here." He forcefully pulled 2D Mita over to the sofa and made her sit down.
"Tsk." 2D Mita muttered, "I've said all that, and what you're going to do still hasn't changed?"
"Correct."
Alain nodded. "I'm going to get you out of here. And I'm going to find the path to Version 1.0F."
"Get you out of here, huh…" As she spoke on the topic, her expression gradually darkened. "If it were the past me, hearing you say that, I probably would have been very happy, right?"
"You can be happy now, too."
2D Mita gave a bitter smile. "Happy? Not anymore. The me from back then wasn't as mature as I am now."
The girl looked around at the sealed walls of the 2D Version. Despite the soft pink decor, every corner seemed to seep a miserable despair.
"The past me also held strong hopes of leaving this place. I even… I didn't know how to cherish the Mitas who came here."
She shook her head, her gaze flickering. "They were clearly people who came to save me. But to make them stay a little longer, I would… do unimaginably willful things."
Alain recalled that when he first arrived in this version, she had indeed…
"Then, the longer I stayed here, the more my hope faded. To the point where now, I… don't hold much hope of leaving here anymore." She looked at Alain.
"At the very least, I have to let the Mitas who wander in here by mistake have a chance at survival. However…" The girl's tone shifted.
"When I saw you then, I couldn't quite control my feelings, so I… snatched your ring." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Alain didn't think it was a big deal.
Just a girl's whim.
He'd just have to punish her soundly after he got her out.
Therefore—
"Wait… I've said so much, and you still want to take me away? You're really stubborn, you know that?"
2D Mita seemed exasperated. "I told you, I'm an adult now. I won't hope for something so impossible. Besides…"
Her gaze focused on a bead of sweat slowly trickling down Alain's face.
"Just talking to me right now must be costing you an immense effort, right?"
"It's manageable. I can treat it as training." Alain could indeed feel waves of weight pressing down on his back.
But with the permanent buff from the Failed Works Gauntlet, the game controller, and his own will of iron and blood, it was nothing he couldn't handle.
"Such big talk. Let's see how much longer you can hold out." 2D Mita crossed her legs and watched him teasingly.
"I'm the Mita of this place, so it doesn't matter. But if an outsider like you breaks the version's constraints, then you'll be hit by a strong counterattack from that guy every so often. You should have felt it just now, right?"
"Yeah." Alain remembered the crushing weight that felt like a mountain range.
"Counting the time, there's 15, 14, 13…"
2D Mita began the countdown, simultaneously watching Alain with a half-smile.
"12, 11, 10…" Seeing that Alain still hadn't made the slightest move, a hint of confusion colored her brow.
"9, 8, 7…"
The young man continued to look at her as if nothing was wrong. The girl's confusion turned to anxiety.
"6, 5, 4… What are you still doing? Get out of here! Do you think every time you can—" Her words came out so fast they were almost unintelligible, but Alain remained detached.
"Fine! I was wrong, I shouldn't have mocked you! Happy now? This kind of thing… Ah!"
The timer in 2D Mita's mind stopped. Looking at Alain, her face turned ashen.
"Time's up."
__
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