"Huh?!" Crazy Mita clearly hadn't anticipated Alain using this kind of reason as the signal for a counterattack. No! This is obviously just a prelude to him either stalling for time or trying to get close again!
Although Darling looked just as handsome with that cold expression, she hadn't come here for sweet talk! ...Though, a little more sweet talk wouldn't be so bad either. She did love hearing it. That intensely possessive side of Alain... she really just wanted to crush it sometimes.
"Darling, saying I didn't look at you first when I came in... isn't that stretching things a bit? You certainly have high expectations for me." She tightened her grip on the baseball bat, her gaze fixed on the hat-wearing Doll sheltered behind Alain.
"That doesn't prove anything. If anything, it just shows how dedicated I am to furthering your goals. After all," she added sweetly, "this is all for our future together, isn't it?"
"But didn't you say, when we were alone? That you only had eyes for me? And yet—" Alain turned his head, glancing towards Millie, making sure he was in Crazy Mita's blind spot before giving the hat-wearing girl an apologetic look. The girl nodded knowingly, seemingly unfazed, and returned to her own calm, deep thought.
"Your first glance wasn't for me, yet you saw someone else. To me—" Alain turned back to face Crazy Mita, his expression hard. "—that constitutes infidelity."
"Eh..." Misha watched awkwardly from the side, while mentally taking notes: Alain is quite possessive, prone to jumping to conclusions.
Alain had a feeling he was going to have a lot of explaining to do later...
"B-but!" Crazy Mita stammered, wanting to defend herself, pointing at Millie. "My target in coming here was her in the first place! Mmph—!"
Oops. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake and clapped a hand over it.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Alain's already icy expression grew even darker, like storm clouds gathering overhead.
"What exactly did you mean by that?" Alain demanded.
"I... I..." The girl wished her hands could turn into adhesive tape to seal her own mouth shut.
"Are you saying," Alain's voice dropped dangerously low, "that you went behind my back—to specifically seek out this woman?!" He whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at the utterly baffled hat-wearing girl.
Under the intensity of his aura, tears almost welled up in Millie's eyes. No matter how many apologetic glances Alain tried to send her way, they didn't seem to be helping much.
"I... I didn't..." Millie stammered, clutching her skirt hem, unable to meet Alain's gaze for a moment. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she mustered her courage. "It's not my fault! It was all her!!!" Her thick-gloved hand shot out, index finger pointing straight at Crazy Mita.
"I didn't know anything! She barged in here on her own! Before that, Crazy Mita was right outside my door, making... making eyes at me!"
Good job, Cappie! Alain wanted to shout aloud right then. He'd almost forgotten – Millie was quite the drama queen. She had once played along perfectly with him through an entire elaborate charade involving a 'delicate younger brother driving a big truck.'
Millie continued her dramatic outpouring. "I knew it... Being overly attentive for no reason is always suspicious! If you hadn't arrived this time... who knows... she might have succeeded in her wicked plans! Boo hoo..." The hat-wearing girl covered her face, feigning tears, which only served to infuriate Crazy Mita further.
"Huh?! I'm telling you, Doll, don't spout such nonsense..." Seeing herself being slandered, Honey's expression instantly fell. She turned to Alain, her eyes frantic, her lips moving in a rushed, blind explanation. "Alain, listen to me! It's not what you think...!" Well, indeed... she had almost succeeded. But 'succeeded' in this case meant succeeding in 'snipping' the target via physical means. She wanted to explain it was merely observation of a 'future corpse' and routine 'trash' disposal, but Alain didn't give her the chance.
He swiftly seized the thread Millie had thrown him. "So, you even went right up to her door? Does that mean... you sought her out deliberately?"
Under Crazy Mita's shocked gaze, Alain even let his greatsword fall to the ground with a clang and walked straight up to her. He grabbed her shoulders, his eyes dark and cold.
"I didn't... I wouldn't..." Honey was so flustered she dropped her baseball bat, letting it clang onto the floor. She hastily grabbed the front of Alain's shirt.
"I just... I just didn't want you to use the teleporter, that's all! And, I also wanted to spend a little more tender time with you... If you reached the core, we wouldn't be able to be like this, all relaxed and easy... Eek!"
Alain made a motion as if to raise his hand. A faint crackle of lightning seemed to gather in his palm. Seeing this, the low-ponytail girl instinctively threw her arms over her head, squeezed her eyes shut, and turned her face away, bracing for the blow.
But the next second, the hand didn't strike. Instead, it gently cupped her face, as soft as a misty rain. Crazy Mita opened her eyes to see Alain looking down at her with 'helpless' eyes.
Alain looked down, his gaze gentle as water upon the girl's face. The intense aura from seconds before vanished like a mirage. His fingertip moved towards her neck, lightly touching one specific spot – precisely the 'brand' he had marked on her earlier.
"Promise me," he whispered, leaning close to her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "Don't let the mark I placed on you become a joke, okay? You have to remember what you promised me."
"I... I haven't forgotten," she murmured, the captivating whisper in her ear overriding any lingering fear from his earlier questioning. "I am your property. I'll always belong only to you. You... you possess ownership over me."
Misha watched from the side, feeling... she didn't know why... a sourness coiling in her chest. Like biting into an incredibly tart citrus fruit that made her wince. Even if this was all for the sake of getting home safely, watching her beloved 'sacrifice' himself like this... it felt like... like she was being cheated on somehow... If this were a workplace drama, she'd be the ordinary employee, Crazy Mita would be the demanding boss, and Alain... Alain would be the 'wife' willingly sacrificing himself to the boss for the sake of Misha's career prospects. And she, Misha, was witnessing it all firsthand with her own eyes... Sniffle... I want to cry... But there was nothing she could do. After all, this was all for the sake of her 'husband's' career goal: getting home.
"Anyway," Alain said, embracing her, then deliberately lowering his voice near her ear again. "I plan to let this incident go. Turn over a new leaf." He held her tighter. "But there won't be a next time. Remember our promise. You belong to me. When you see people, your first glance is only for me. And you are forbidden from speaking to other players."
"..." A sweet smile spread across her face as she melted into the gentle warmth of Alain's embrace. "Don't worry," she purred. "If I encounter any other players, I'll kill them immediately. I won't give you any cause for concern."
...Alain suddenly felt maybe he'd said the wrong thing. He had a feeling he might need to go burn some incense for protection when he got back to reality.
Then, Crazy Mita felt him tugging at the bandage on her thigh.
"What is it? Dar...ling?" Her face flushed an even deeper shade of red.
"The words on your thigh," Alain murmured. "Don't wash them off. Keep them there always." Alain felt that line of text suited Honey perfectly. Besides, it wasn't like he had some kind of weird marking fetish or anything.
"Alright," Alain said, pulling back slightly. "I think I need some time to cool down today. Let me be alone for a bit."
"Mm..." she hummed softly. "Well then, I'll be eagerly awaiting our next meeting, Darling~" With a final giggle, she slipped out of Alain's embrace and turned to leave the bedroom.
As she reached the door, her peripheral vision caught something across the room. Her shoulders instantly stiffened.
There, resting quietly in the corner, was the teleporter. And on its screen:
[Teleportation Complete. Battery Recharge Progress: 2%]
___
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