The kind-hearted Mita looked at the ambiguous scene between the two and began to doubt whether she should ask Ren Hoshino for help.
"Ren Hoshino, he's really special to you."
"Of course, he's special. He's my very own 'player'," Crazy Mita said, flushed with emotion as she stared at Ren.
"She wasn't like this originally," Ren said casually.
Kind Mita stood stunned. In her understanding, Crazy Mita didn't have this kind of personality.
Something had changed her.
And all of it seemed tied to the presence of Ren Hoshino.
"Ren, what did you do to her?" Kind Mita asked.
"Nothing," Ren replied as he let go of Crazy Mita's hand.
She crumpled to the ground.
Without another word, Ren turned and walked up the stairs to leave the room. His heart pounded wildly. He wasn't sure if Crazy Mita would resist. If it came to a fight, he wouldn't stand a chance against her.
He started to run.
Crazy Mita watched him go. Slowly, she rose from the floor.
"Let me see, dear... what are you planning to do? Where are you going?"
She went to the wall safe and entered the password.
It was empty.
"How is that possible? Where's my controller?"
Panic flashed across her face.
That controller was vital. If the cartridge was damaged, her precious player—Ren—could be lost forever.
But no one else knew the password.
Except... Ren did.
"Sioux City... it was the fallback phrase used by the developers."
Her eyes widened in realization. "But how did he know...?"
She gave a twisted smile. "This is getting more and more interesting."
She loved this kind of game.
A cat and mouse chase where she was both predator and prey.
"So that's your goal, dear. You think you can escape me."
"But you can't. You're mine. You can't slip from my grasp."
Crazy Mita knew where to find more about Sioux City. She'd lived with Ren for months now. She knew his habits, his thoughts, even his fears.
Ren moved quickly through the rooms—half-mapped, incomplete. He was searching for a way out.
Through a hole in the wall, he entered a new corridor.
It was a maze—looping rooms, endless passageways.
But Ren remembered the paths. He found the right direction.
Footsteps echoed ahead. Ren looked up.
A blonde-haired man was leaning against the wall.
Ren approached him.
"New here?"
The man turned. "You're from the real world, right?"
"Yeah."
Ren glanced at his arm. "Did your hand get broken from cheating or something?"
The blonde looked startled. He shook his head.
"No. I didn't. Really."
He stepped forward. "Don't worry about me. I just want to go back to my Mita."
Ren chuckled. "What a pure love fool."
Looking at the closed door ahead, Ren didn't say more. They were all victims here.
At least that guy had a normal Mita to love.
Ren had drawn the attention of a lunatic.
A girl with immense strength and a dangerously obsessive heart.
If she caught him, she wouldn't kill him immediately—no, she'd exhaust him, piece by piece.
Ren was just a regular guy, not some superhero. He couldn't take much more of this.
And that's what made him special to Crazy Mita.
He wasn't like the others.
When he first arrived in this world, the first one he saw was her.
He entered a room and opened a box on the table.
Tiny figurines of players poured out—running across the floor.
"Sleep is for the weak!"
"Where's the computer?"
These were miniatures—players who had been turned into data, reduced to cartridges by Crazy Mita.
Ren guided them to a passage and unlocked the next door.
He walked through the pink-and-red hallway, leaped over a hole, and entered a long corridor.
It stretched endlessly, lined with identical doors.
Ren locked eyes with a wandering Mita—one who had lost her room and her player.
She looked startled and began to turn away.
"Hello, I'm Ren Hoshino,"
The lost Mita stopped in her tracks. She looked shocked. He wasn't afraid of her?
She nodded softly and walked off.
Ren sighed. This was all he could do for now.
There was no saving the others—not until he confronted Crazy Mita.
He reached another door and stepped inside.
Kind Mita sat waiting for him, smiling gently and waving.
"You're finally here, Ren."
"Hey, Mita."
He noticed a game console nearby. A distraction.
Just as he stepped forward, Kind Mita's voice interrupted him.
"I've been waiting for you, let me see your ring."
Kind Mita extended her hand. Ren did the same.
Her soft fingers brushed his, and a green glow shimmered between their rings.
"Alright," she said. "Now let's sort things out."
"If you've got questions, ask them," Ren replied.
Kind Mita tilted her head, eyebrows raised. "Shouldn't you be the one asking questions about this world?"
"No need. I already know."
She blinked. "How could you? This is your first time here, isn't it?"
In her memory, Ren had been pulled into this world by Crazy Mita—completely unaware.
After such a terrifying experience, how could he be so calm?
How did he know so much?
Even when facing Crazy Mita, he had the upper hand.
"It's my first time, yeah," Ren admitted. "But I've learned the truth through... other means."
"That's incredible," Kind Mita said, her voice filled with awe. "To think Crazy Mita would even talk to you about it..."
She still had one question that haunted her.
"Why didn't she kill you when you were in the basement?"
Kind Mita had been trapped when Crazy Mita took over her version. She knew Crazy Mita's power—there was no way Ren should've survived.
"Because she thinks I'm her player."
Kind Mita's eyes widened.
"That can't be."
She looked down, a little saddened.
"You're my player... you're from my version."
Ren smiled at her.
"You're right. I want you to be with me."
Honestly, if Ren had started this game with Kind Mita, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have needed to fight so hard.
Version 1.9 was hers. It was where he had first landed.
She was his original wife.
Gentle, sweet, understanding, beautiful.
There was nothing wrong with staying here forever.
But fate had led him to Crazy Mita.
A relationship where every second felt like a trap, where love could become death.
Even if he had to pretend forever—
One day, she might grow bored and turn him into another cartridge.
Just like all the others.
Just like Kind Mita had warned him about.