A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

After descending the stairs, what appeared before Kato Megumi's eyes was a basement completely different from the apartment above, filled with many metal mechanical parts and a large metal workbench, resembling some kind of workshop.

On the left side of the stairs, there was a cell. Behind the sturdy metal bars, a girl dressed similarly to Hat Mita, but without a hat or gloves, and with long, straight hair, was squatting there, repeatedly striking the water pipe in the corner of the cell with an iron rod. The sound of metal clashing was what she was making.

Kato Megumi walked slowly to the cell door, observed quietly for a while, and seeing that the other party did not seem to pose any threat, she turned her head and exchanged a glance with Asagiri, who was standing not far away. After receiving Asagiri's approval, she canceled her talent effect and spoke softly.

"that……"

"what!"

As soon as Kato Megumi opened her mouth, the long-haired girl seemed to be startled, her body trembled, and she sat down directly on the cold ground.

When she turned around and saw Kato Megumi standing outside the cell, she calmed down. A barely perceptible hint of embarrassment flashed across her face. She quickly stood up, straightened the hem of her skirt, coughed twice, and spoke casually.

"Hello...you're a player...wait, no? A girl?"

The moment Mita saw that Kato Megumi was a girl, the same look of astonishment that Hat Mita had shown when she first met Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko appeared on her face. It was as if she had never expected that a woman other than "Mita" would appear in this world constructed with the setting of a dating sim.

"who are you?"

Kato Megumi didn't say much and went straight to the point.

"I am Mita."

Although long-haired Mita was puzzled by the presence of Kato Megumi, a girl, she did not show any hostility. She gave this answer first, and then, before Kato Megumi could ask again, she quickly inquired.

"When you came down, did you see a girl named Mita who looks just like me and has pigtails? That girl is dangerous, you'd better hide!"

Upon hearing the other person bring up Mita, who had twin ponytails, Kato Megumi's eyes flickered, but she maintained a calm expression and asked in a flat tone.

"Do you know that Mita? Have you seen her? How do you know she's dangerous?"

Faced with Kato Megumi's question, this time the long-haired Mita did not answer directly. Instead, she stared at Kato Megumi with suspicion, took a step back, and seemed a little nervous.

"I can answer your questions, but... who are you? Why are you here?"

Seeing this, Kato Megumi sighed slightly, as if talking to herself.

"Sigh, as expected, I'm not good at dealing with NPCs in dungeons. Leader, it's your turn to step in."

The long-haired Mita looked puzzled: "Leader is..."

Before she could finish speaking, Kato Megumi stepped aside, while Asagiri walked to the cell door.

"You're... a player!?"

The moment Mita saw Asagiri, the doubt and wariness on her long-haired face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of genuine joy and excitement. She quickly rushed to the cell door and gripped the iron bars with both hands.

"I've finally been waiting for you!"

Seeing this, Kato Megumi's expression became somewhat complicated.

Does this game have a hidden charm attribute?

Why was Miss Mita so wary and distrustful of me when we were talking just now, but as soon as Chaowu passed by, before she even opened her mouth, Miss Mita showed an expression as if she had seen a savior?

Asagiri is handsome, but not so handsome as to have such an overpowered effect, right?

Is this a diplomat or a male succubus from Tokyo?

"Mr. Player, I've finally waited for you! Please, you must..."

"Stop for a moment."

Asagiri interrupted long-haired Mita, speaking in a flat tone.

"Judging from your expression, you seem to know what happened here and what the twin-tailed Mita is all about. Before making a request to me, shouldn't you explain the current situation to me first?"

Upon hearing this, long-haired Mita was taken aback for a moment, then quickly apologized.

"Oh, right, I'm so sorry, I was so excited to see you that I forgot for a moment."

Immediately afterward, long-haired Mita composed herself before slowly speaking.

"Due to time constraints, I will try to use the most concise method to explain. If you have any questions, you can ask me after I finish explaining."

"This is a world built on a male-oriented dating sim called 'Mita'. Although it is built on the basis of a game, it is not a game, but a real world."

"Mita comes in many versions, with different appearances, personalities, preferences, and interests. But since it's a dating sim where you play the role of an NPC, it's natural that all Mitas have one thing in common: they want to make their players happy and want to spend time with them."

At this point, long-haired Mita paused for a moment, then changed the subject.

"However... this game called 'Mita' has never been released for some reason, so you are the first player to enter this game... no, to enter this world."

"Among all the 'Mitas,' there is one Mita who is different. She is the one with twin ponytails. I call her... Crazy Mita."

"Her programming seems to have some kind of problem, causing her personality to be extremely twisted and crazy. She harbors an extremely strong hatred for any 'Mita' other than herself, and will attack anyone she sees. To date, countless Mitas have died at her hands. However, it is important to emphasize that we, as programs, do not actually die. Even if we are killed, we will be resurrected in our own room, but we will return to our initial factory settings, which means we will lose our memories."

"I don't know what Crazy Meta wants to do. All I know is that she harbors an insane and irreconcilable hatred for the other 'Metas' and even for this world itself, which was created based on the game. That's why I'm locked up here by her."

Upon hearing this, Kato Megumi, who was standing nearby, noticed something amiss and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Why doesn't Crazy Mita just kill you, but instead locks you up here? Is there something special about you?"

"Yes."

Long-haired Mita nodded and slowly began to speak with a serious expression.

“I know the route to the ‘core’ of this game. Once we reach the ‘core,’ we can completely destroy Crazy Mita. But at the same time, if she goes to the ‘core,’ she might become the ruler of this game world in some way. I don’t even dare to imagine what she will do then, or what fate will befall Mita and the others, including me.”

"That's why she can't kill me directly. Otherwise, once the memories in my mind are reset, she won't be able to get the information on the way to the 'core.' As for me... whether I die or not, I don't care, since we won't really die. But I hope to completely eliminate Crazy Mita and let this world return to normal, so I must wait."

"And now..."

Long-haired Mita looked directly at Asagiri's face, pursed her lips, and spoke softly.

"Player Utsunomiya Asagiri, I've finally waited for you. Can I ask you to help me save this world and the 'Mita' who lives in this world?"

98

Chapter 98 The route to the core.

Upon hearing what the long-haired Mita said, Asagiri did not give a direct answer, but instead looked at Kato Megumi beside her.

"What do you think? Can we trust her? This... kind Mita?"

"Um……"

After thinking about it seriously for a while, Kato Megumi finally looked up and replied.

"Now it seems that there is no better way than to believe her for the time being. Although the possibility of her staging the whole thing cannot be ruled out, the story she told is logically sound, and the fact that she is locked up here adds some credibility to it."

"Yes, I agree with you."

Hearing that Asagiri and Kato Megumi chose to believe in her for the time being, kind-hearted Mita breathed a sigh of relief, but then her face showed worry and tension again.

"By the way, have you guys encountered Crazy Mita? Never fight her head-on. That girl is terrifyingly strong, unlike us. She has a lot of weapons in her inventory, even firearms, and her strength is also terrifying. I saw it with my own eyes; she tore a Mita's body in half with her bare hands. That's definitely not something a human could defeat..."

Just as Kind Mita was halfway through her sentence, she saw Asagiri take two steps forward, grab an iron railing with each hand, and then, to Kind Mita's incredulous gaze, she managed to bend the iron railing, which was as thick as a mineral water bottle, with her bare hands.

"Come out."

Seeing the gap created by the bent iron fence, kind-hearted Mita parted her lips slightly, looked up at Asagiri with an incredulous expression.

"Mr. Player, how could you..."

"It's not that difficult."

Asagiri waved her hand and said in a calm tone.

"This fence is made of pure iron, which is much less hard than steel, so it's quite easy to bend."

Seeing his matter-of-fact expression, kind-hearted Mita glanced at Kato Megumi standing beside her, who was not surprised at all and had the same calm expression. Mita herself was completely bewildered.

Is this right?

Looking at the calm expressions of the male player and the girl next to him, one might easily mistake them for people who think that bending iron fences with bare hands is a normal thing.

It's important to know that, according to the game's mechanics, Mita is much stronger than an average adult male, and Kind Mita is no exception. However, she simply cannot do such a thing, otherwise she would have escaped from this cell long ago.

Are these two people in front of me really human?

"It seems you guys aren't ordinary people either."

Kind-hearted Mita emerged from the gap in the cell, calmed herself down, and then looked at Asagiri's face, speaking softly.

"However, even so, we cannot let our guard down. Crazy Mita is not only terrifyingly strong, but she is also an extremely cunning, ruthless, and unscrupulous person. We'd better avoid her."

"Do not worry."

Asagiri smiled and said something that Mita couldn't quite understand, something that seemed to contain some deeper meaning.

"The so-called Mad Metta will not show up until we reach the 'core'."

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri looked at Kato Megumi.

"Go and call them all down."

"it is good."

……

When Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Mita the Hat arrived at the basement, Mita the Kind and Mita the Hat looked at each other without saying a word.

"Huh? Another me? This is the first time I've ever seen another Mita."

Hat Mita swayed slightly, looked Kind Mita up and down, then looked at Asagiri and asked with a smile.

"But Mr. Player definitely prefers me, right? The reason is that I have this cool hat~ and these exquisite gloves~"

Faced with Hat Mita's boasting, Kind Mita could only shake her head helplessly. Her personality was obviously more serious and earnest than the other's. At this moment, she did not compare with Hat Mita in terms of appearance, but seemed to be thinking.

“It’s not surprising that there are two Mitas… But it’s very unusual that I know the player’s name and you know the player’s name. According to the program, a player should only be bound to one Mita, and vice versa. So why is it that even though the player’s spawn point is in your place, I have his name and appearance in my mind? Is there a bug in the system? Never mind, now is not the time to think about these things.”

Kind-hearted Mita didn't continue pondering the question, but instead looked up at Asagiri Path.

"There are two paths to the core. One is the fastest route, which involves traversing many dangerous areas. The other is much safer, but it will take a lot of time. Which one should we choose?"

"Article 1."

Asagiri made her choice without hesitation and spoke with a smile.

"Let's get going, don't keep her waiting."

"she?"

Kind-hearted Mita didn't quite understand who "she" Asagiri was referring to, but simply nodded.

"Well then, let's follow your choice, Mr. Player. Please come with me."

As she spoke, Kind Mita led the way, bringing everyone to a door deep in the basement. After opening it, they arrived at a very spacious, brightly colored, but somewhat intricately laid-out area with doors everywhere, resembling an apartment corridor.

"Ms. Kind Mita, may I ask you a question?"

Upon hearing Kato Megumi's words, the kind-hearted Mita, who was leading the way, immediately replied.

"No need to be so polite, just ask whatever you want."

"Since you knew the route to the core area, why didn't you go there to stop Crazy Mita before?"

"I tried."

Kind-hearted Mita sighed softly, her tone complicated.

"However, as 'Mita' who was restricted by the factory settings, I did not have the authority to enter that place. When I went there, I took the most dangerous route, but in the end, it was all for nothing. After finding a safe route to return, I was caught by Crazy Mita and locked in that underground prison."

After saying this, Kind Mita stopped in front of a door in the corridor, looking nervous, and even her breathing became rapid.

"Are you ready? Once you enter this corridor, you'll be trapped in a strange loop. After a few loops, the monsters will appear and hunt us down. Last time, I kept running away and unknowingly broke free from that loop. But the world is ever-changing. I wonder what will happen this time..."

"Let's go."

"it is good."

After receiving Asagiri's consent, kind-hearted Mita, though her eyes were trembling, mustered her courage and slowly turned the doorknob.

What appeared before everyone was a cozy pink corridor.

"Huh? This is..."

As they stepped into the corridor, Kotoko Iwanaga frowned slightly and whispered a reminder.

"There's a strange aura here. It's faint, but it's definitely there. Be careful."

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's reminder, Asuna Yuuki, who had already donned the "Crimson Cloak" and held the Exorcist's Sword in her hand, nodded and called out to Kind Mita.

“Kind Miss Mita, let me go first from here.”