"Chu, chu... mua..."
The sound of gurgling water echoed within Miluo's small room.
The light from the ceiling cut across the air, passing through the room to land on the sheet music upon the desk.
Pitch-black notes blended with the radiance, as warm yellow light penetrated every gap in the notation, melting into it.
"Woo..." A moment later, Miluo wiped her small mouth with satisfaction, narrowing her eyes as she smiled innocently at Alain.
"This way, we've done it one more time, right?"
"..." Alain's gaze drifted to the side, landing on Miluo's slender shadow on the wall, and he nodded weakly. "...Yeah."
He finally understood. Although Alain regarded Miluo as his 'warm little jacket'—a cherished daughter figure—Miluo herself didn't think that way at all.
Her essence was that of a Big Bad Wolf.
And only in front of this girl would Alain behave like a harmless little sheep.
At her mercy...
Fortunately, she still had a cute side: she had no experience with that sort of thing. This allowed Alain to muddle his way through every time.
He breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze returning to fall upon the girl's face.
"?" Noticing Alain looking at her, Miluo tilted her head slightly.
Alain watched a bead of sweat flow down, sliding past the corner of Miluo's eye, across her cheek, and finally hanging precariously from her chin. In a trance, he seemed to hear a tick, as it fell to the floor and splashed into a tiny fragment of water.
"It was hard on you, wasn't it?" He stroked the child's head with heartache.
At home, Miluo had always been the apple of his eye; he let her do whatever she wanted.
And the girl was very well-behaved, playing out her innocent little willfulness within the limits of his tolerance.
Miluo, under the guidance of Misha and Millie, was both intelligent and understanding—a good child.
Yet such a girl, within the Dream World, had lost the protective wings of Alain, Misha, and Millie, becoming a fledgling eagle spreading its wings in the idol domain.
She flew alone, flying through clear skies, flying through dark clouds, flying through heavy rain, and finally, she flew to stand before him.
"It wasn't hard." The girl accepted his touch, narrowing her eyes in happiness. "Didn't Sir Knight still come to save me?"
"I would definitely come. No matter where you are or what danger you encounter, I will be there whenever you call."
Alain smiled. But his heart tightened at Miluo's strong image.
It was like watching his own 'daughter' grow from frail to determined; this was something every old father felt conflicted about.
He hoped Miluo could stand as resolutely as a wind-resistant paulownia tree, even in the face of fierce gales; yet he also hoped Miluo could be like his treasure, forever protected in his embrace.
This complex emotion became even more tangled after seeing that the girl, despite having turned into an NPC for a long time, had not shed a single drop of weak tears.
Thinking this, longing for this, Alain inadvertently hugged Miluo.
"Sir Knight?" She looked at the young man's face in confusion. In the past, she was always the one to initiate; she didn't expect... that this time, Alain would take the initiative.
In a flash of thought, Miluo felt the large hand gently stroking the back of her head.
"Can you tell me about it?" Alain's chin rested softly on her head. "The feeling of becoming like that."
"..."
When the topic was broached, the girl wanted to be a bit stronger.
But that hand on the back of her head scraped away her toughness, layer by layer.
Beneath the toughness was Miluo's nostalgia for that gentle sanctuary...
Unexpectedly, she began to pour out her heart.
"It was... very uncomfortable. Miluo felt like she was a marionette."
Her cheek rested against Alain's chest. "Hands, feet, face—these things didn't seem to be mine. Movements, expressions, even just a smile, were all... stolen away by those invisible threads."
Thump, thump, thump...
Beside Miluo's ear was the young man's solid and powerful heartbeat. Like a beating war drum, encouraging her to continue pouring it out...
"I became no longer me. I could only allow myself to pose in those robot-like movements. And everyone off-stage was looking at a 'me' like that. Miluo... could feel that everyone's smiles weren't real smiles either."
"Did it hurt?" Alain hugged her tighter.
"It hurt a lot." Miluo also hugged him tighter. "It hurt so much that... I don't want to try it again for even a single second."
She turned her face sideways, burying her cheek into Alain's embrace.
The girl's trembling shoulders did not reflect the glint of tears that were gradually wetting Alain's chest.
He gently patted Miluo's back, speaking no more, but comforting her with his actions.
Within those gentle, water-like movements...
His gaze grew increasingly resolute.
He would absolutely never let this kind of thing happen again.
No matter what Yang Wanhua wanted to do: Invade the Game World? Turn Mitas into NPCs? Or other things Alain didn't know about...
He absolutely would not let Yang Wanhua succeed.
Alain would use his own hands to tear apart every conspiracy Yang Wanhua directed at Mita!
No matter what kind of virus it is... just bring it on.
Looking at her gradually subsiding timidity, Alain thought this to himself.
A moment later, when Alain and Miluo came out of the room, Miffy had already been standing outside the Clubhouse for a long time.
"Done with your business?" The pajama-clad girl sized up the redness under Miluo's eyes thoughtfully. "That was pretty intense, huh? Don't you know how to be a little gentler?"
On second thought... she said to Miluo, "Do you want to call the police?"
Miffy pointed to Millie's figure, who was still removing obstacles.
"She's right over there."
"N-No need! Sir Knight and I were both willing!" Miluo shielded Alain like a calf protecting its mother, explaining hurriedly.
Listening to the noise of the two beside his ears, Alain gave a knowing smile, and at the same time, made up his mind.
He took out his phone and opened the email app.
To defeat Yang Wanhua, Monika—this spy lurking within the enemy forces—was indispensable.
The current Alain knew very little about Yang Wanhua's information, and Monika couldn't tell him too much due to permission issues.
But Alain currently had a relatively clear target pointing directly at Yang Wanhua: Residence No. 6 at Yalin Villa.
Alain clicked on his chat with her. His latest message remained at: [By the way, regarding the cooperation...]
Essentially, Alain had sent that to temporarily stall Monika's footsteps, lest she slip away again.
Unsurprisingly, Monika had replied afterward: [?]
Still a simple question mark. From this point of view, she was certainly crisp and decisive.
Alain simply greeted her: [Sorry, was busy just now.]
Beep~ She replied instantly.
[What were you busy with just now?] [Why suddenly so busy?] [Could it be...]
Sure enough, Monika's paranoia flared up; she thought Alain was making a move on her panties.
Alain slandered internally: It seems I've left an indelible impression on her.
[Was keeping Miluo company just now.]
[Called the police.] Her reply.
[???] Whether it was the Alain in the conversation or the Alain in reality, both had heads full of question marks.
No, he should cut to the chase.
[Regarding the cooperation matter, how have you considered it?]
[Not yet. Isn't the deadline tomorrow?]
Looking at this message, Alain lamented that she was still dragging her feet. He still needed to push her a bit.
[Then, we shouldn't be in a cooperative relationship right now, correct?]
The speed of Monika's reply slowed down by a few seconds on her end. Belatedly, she sent over: [?] A simple yet profoundly meaningful question mark.
Alain broke into a treacherous smile; he thought of something interesting.
[Where are you right now?]
[What for?] Just from this email, Alain could sense her hesitation.
But it wasn't enough.
[Actually, I have some interest in your other panties as well.]
[Go die.]
[Don't say such ugly words. How about we two have a face-to-face talk right now?]
[Talk?]
Alain could almost see her sneer.
She continued to send: [You like my underwear that much? I'll wash a pair clean and send it to you?]
Monika's joke seemed like a clumsy excuse to regain the initiative.
[No, I like the ones you've worn, unwashed, just taken off, and are about to be laundered.]
Looking at this paragraph, Alain, who considered himself a gentleman, felt it was too hardcore.
But... this was a key link for the cooperation, and he had no choice but to sacrifice himself.
All of this was for Mita, for everyone, for the Game World!
That's right. Thinking of it this way made it feel a bit better.
[...] She sent over a string of ellipses.
Alain's fingertips tapped against the back of his phone; he faintly felt she hadn't finished speaking.
The next moment, a new email from her proved Alain's guess to be true:
[Let's cooperate.]
Heh, nailed it. Alain whispered inwardly. A new email arrived again.
[But please do not think I am forced by your coercion and bribery. It is only because I have carefully considered the feasibility of cooperation between us. Indeed, my current situation is a bit awkward, but your situation is even worse. So Alain, do not mistake our positions. You are the party who urgently needs to cooperate with me.]
Alain looked at this long string of words, not knowing where to start his roast.
This woman's personality was as troublesome as ever. Wouldn't it be fine if she just frankly confirmed the cooperative relationship?
Alain roasted her in his heart but didn't have time to care. He followed her words and continued,
[That's right, I absolutely need your help, Monika. I simply can't do without you, just like the West losing Jerusalem, a computer without a CPU, an R18 game without a patch, and Alain without Monika.]
Her reply was also crisp and decisive:
[Mn. Although your description is a bit strange, as long as you understand.]
Alain sighed. Finally... they could enter the main topic.
Since the cooperation matter was settled, and he had said such a pile of "heartfelt" flattery...
Then it shouldn't be excessive for him to receive a little remuneration, right?
Alain faced the phone keyboard and carefully typed out those paragraphs of words:
[I want to know the specific location of the residence 'Yalin Villa No. 6'. Can you tell me? Almighty Miss Monika.]
Watching the email on Monika's side, which seemed to have fallen into stagnation with no reply for a long time, Alain pondered...
Would things really go as smoothly as he expected?
___
🔥 New stories are available now! 🔥
We're handing out that '25% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 180 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan