Your Name

"My name?" Hearing this, Hat Mita seemed puzzled for a couple of seconds. Then, pointing two index fingers at her own cheeks as if introducing herself, she said, "My name is Mita~ I already have a name!"

"Oh? And what are your thoughts on the bunch of girls in the game world who share the exact same name as you?"

As Alain spoke, his gaze drifted towards the wall. Behind it was precisely where Misha was hard at work.

"...There's one right over there who used to be called Mita too."

"Yeah! I got such a shock when I first met her! After all, how could someone look so much like me!" She seemed to recall something, patting her ample chest with lingering apprehension.

"But! Even though our names are the same and we look similar, I still think I'm cuter!"

The girl's triumphant look made Alain smile, and he grew curious about how she had reached such a conclusion.

"Why?"

"Do you even need to ask why?" She raised her hand, pointing two fingers towards her hat.

"First, I have this cool hat. Second—" she showed off her gloves, "—I have this awesome pair of gloves! And finally—"

Her fingers tapped her cheeks, sinking slightly into them. A charming smile played on her lips.

"It's because I possess a sense of humor that Best Friend lacks!"

"Mm. I think you have a pretty accurate understanding of your own appeal," Alain nodded.

Their 'cute points' were fundamentally different. To him, Misha represented something akin to camaraderie warped intensely through a series of battles, the distortion deepening over time. As for the girl before him... Alain felt that after just a short time together, their friendship was bordering on brotherhood. After all, he and Hat Mita seemed to have an endless supply of common topics. They'd barely finish one before drifting onto another, perpetually.

Alain then changed tack, "However—in my opinion, there are still many areas where your appeal could use some supplementing."

"Oho~ Aren't you bold, Bro! Care to give me an example?" Hat Mita was curious about his view of her.

"Sure. I can list at least three points."

Alain nodded. "First, you have these hands, fair and tender like eggsh— Mmphh mmmph mmmph."

"Waah waah waah! Don't say any more! I don't even want to hear the first point, it's too embarrassing!"

The girl's panicked gloves immediately clamped over Alain's mouth.

At that moment, Alain regretted giving the gloves back earlier. Otherwise... he might have gotten a taste.

Unwashed hands, definitely super salty. Intense.

"Your breath is super hot! You're definitely thinking weird things!" Her face paled.

"And, for me, it must be something really rude!"

"Well, it's alright..."

Alain's eyes darted away as he gently pulled the hatted girl's hands away from his mouth.

He realized she had managed to divert the topic again. It could almost be considered Hat Mita's passive skill.

No wonder Misha had been so insistent on him playing with her, even tolerating his occasional occupational hazard talk about 'harem-building'. Although, it certainly was fun.

Watching Hat Mita, who's bursting with energy every single moment, Alain thought.

"Back to the topic. To allow you to move around in the real world, we need to come up with a name."

"Me, me! Teacher Alain, I thought of one!"

Hat Mita, who had sat down on the sofa at some point, shot her hand high in the air like a top student.

"Alright. Student Hat, please speak."

"I want to be called Artoria!"

"..."

"Rejected."

"Ehhh...? Why not? It's such a cool name!"

"Next. If it's still no good, I'll think of one for you." Worried she'd come up with something else bizarre, Alain quickly added a constraint.

"It has to start with 'Mi'."

"Okay... In other words, this is my last chance?"

Her expression instantly turned into that of a warrior about to charge into danger, her eyes filled with surging battle intent.

Then, her eyes, burning with fiery passion, looked towards Alain as if she had reached a conclusion:

"I want to be called... Michelangelo."

"...Alright, you can stop thinking. I'll come up with the name." Alain felt like such an idiot.

"Ehhh— Why?!"

"Your name..." He felt his own naming sense was decent enough. Misha hadn't disliked her name initially and had long since adapted to it. As for the Hat Mita before him...

He observed the girl from head to toe. Although on the surface, she and Alain shared a 'similar stink' and called each other 'bro'...

In reality, her inherent girlishness was practically overflowing, reaching his lips and nose.

Her slender neck was as delicate and graceful as a newly bloomed lily; her ample curves were barely concealed by the red knit sweater, trembling slightly with her swaying movements.

"Let's call you [Millie]."

"..."

The hatted girl stared at him, slightly dazed for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.

"Bro. You're surprisingly serious about this kind of thing. I thought you'd give me some weird name, and we'd have to banter a bit before reaching a final decision."

As she spoke, her gaze drifted towards the bedroom door. "How nice, just like Best Friend, very efficient. You two really suit each other, a Mita and her exclusive player indeed."

"...What are you thinking about now?"

"Tch~ Bro, you'll never figure out what I'm thinking. Because—" she tapped her cheek, her eyes crinkling with a deep smile, "I'm a tsundere~"

"..." Alain's non-reply was something of an answer itself, and it seemed to hurt Hat Mita's feelings a little.

"Answer me, Bro! Why are you dodging at a time like this!"

The girl grabbed Alain's shoulders and started shaking him back and forth.

"Ahem... Let's get back on topic. Do you like the name Millie?"

"Tch, changing the subject is my specialty. Of course, I like the name Bro gave me! But..." Millie's eyes narrowed.

"Now that you have me, Millie, you wouldn't bring in a Miro later too, would you?"

"!"

A tremor ran through Alain's body for a split second.

"Yahoo~ Got it! Looks like you have some grand ambitions, Bro!" Millie patted his shoulder heavily.

Alain didn't dare make a sound.

Having been seen through, he now profoundly understood just how sharp Misha meant when she said, "This one's brain works really well."

"Grand ambition... not really. Let's just call it a small ambition," Alain said sheepishly, a rare occurrence, which only earned him more teasing from Millie.

"How small is this 'small ambition'?"

"About as small as Xiao Lei. Never mind, let's not talk about this." Alain conceded defeat, actively changing the subject. "Let's check on how Misha's doing first."

Victorious, Millie released Alain's shoulders and spread her hands. "Fine by me."

_____

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