A hand waving in front of my eyes pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Well? Convinced?"
I shrugged.
"Maybe…" I began uncertainly, but then shook my head, continuing loudly and clearly, "Yes."
She just shrugged at that and... and I started looking around again.
"What if I want to go back?" I finally asked, feeling curious.
"What, you want to leave already? Well… it wouldn't be hard to arrange, I think, but…"
She hesitated, clasping her hands together, which made me tear my gaze away from studying the photo frames and turn back to her.
"Could I ask you for something… it's a bit boring here, so… well, couldn't you… stay with me for a little while?" she asked, looking somewhat pitiful.
I actually felt sorry for her. Really, what must it be like, always being alone within four walls, unable to leave… I don't know, but it sounds sad. Like a bird in a cage.
So I nodded.
"Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The girl absolutely lit up, a smile blooming on her face again, and she even gave me a light hug.
Not expecting such a reaction, I felt flustered. It seemed she was genuinely happy I was here.
"Don't get the wrong idea, I was just asking out of curiosity. I'm not planning on going anywhere," I said, trying to hide my embarrassment.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh)))"
We started with a tour of the apartment, which looked somewhat different here than in the game.
This room, the bedroom, was simple: bed, window, shelves, a chair and desk with a computer near the bed, various photos in frames on the wall...
Apart from the futuristic device, everything else looked similar.
However, there were a couple of interesting details here. For example, a statuette standing on the shelf above the monitor – a small anime figure with short hair, a smirk that looked more like a malicious grin, and a very aggressive pose. I definitely didn't remember buying anything like that.
"Creepy statuette. You like this kind of stuff?" I asked her, feeling an unpleasant prickle in my chest. There was something sinister emanating from this figure.
"Creepy?" she looked at the figure with what seemed like tenderness.
"Yeah, it looks kind of badly painted and maybe evil or something."
"Well, it's definitely not repulsive…" she said, lowering her gaze as if I'd hit a nerve.
Seriously? Talk about oversensitive. I just commented on the figurine, why are you pouting?
I sighed.
"I didn't mean…" I was about to say I hadn't intended to offend her, but I was interrupted.
"And it's not evil, it's actually very cute…"
"Well… maybe."
Still, she's got some fire in her.
My gaze shifted lower, continuing to scan the room.
"And the computer… does it work too?" I asked, hoping to find some logic in all this somewhere.
"Of course, it works," she nodded, her usual smile returning to her face. "Everything here is just like in your world."
"Ha… well, in my world, I often get stuck staring at the screen, reading stuff…"
"Oh really? Interesting… tell me about yourself more often, okay?" she said with genuine curiosity, looking into my eyes.
I wonder, is she really curious?
The first place we went was the living room. The furniture in it was slightly different from what I'd seen available for purchase in the game menu. At the same time, it seemed familiar, yet somehow wrong. The room was bathed in a soft, artificial light coming from somewhere outside the windows, making everything look slightly washed out, like an old photograph.
I continued looking around, walking forward, trying not to miss a single detail. Mita, with the same mischief in her eyes, followed closely behind me, as if expecting me to be surprised by something else any second now.
"And you live here all the time?" I asked, walking and examining some pattern on the wall.
"Yup, but not alone anymore," she replied, winking at me.
Along one wall ran a long, low wooden shelf holding a large flat-screen TV. Below it were various devices, among which I only recognized a game console. It looked like some outdated model, but apparently still functional.
Against the wall was a small chest of drawers and a shelf adorned with portraits of Mita in photo frames.
In the corner of the room, a bookshelf was filled with books of the most varied content: science encyclopedias sat next to comedies, serious novels next to joke manuals like "How to Learn Thievery, Get on People's Nerves, and Keep Their Attention" and others. The selection of literature was strange and illogical, as if someone had randomly gathered all the books together.
"Mita, these books… where did they come from?" I asked, not remembering how they could have appeared here, especially some with questionable titles.
She walked around me and pulled out the one I was staring at with the most surprise.
"How to Seduce Any Male."
"This one?" she smiled sweetly, and then – poof!
The book vanished – just dissolved into a little cloud in her hand, as if it had never been there.
"W-what happened?" My eyes widened sharply, I rubbed them with my hand and looked forward again, as if that could change anything, only seeing that the girl's smile had become a tiny bit wider, but the book… it wasn't a rabbit out of a hat and showed no signs of reappearing!
"Simple – I'm God here!" she put her hands on her hips, as if saying, now's the time to praise me for the disappearing hocus-pocus.
"God? How's that?"
"Well, not God exactly… but I can create little things," she clapped her hands, and a handful of little red candies appeared in her palm. The girl clasped her hands together, then opened them, and where the candies had been, there was now a miniature colored figurine of Mita holding a game console. The figurine was exquisitely made, with attention to the smallest details.
"How lovely," I couldn't help myself and took the little thing in my hands, examining it from all sides.
My comment made her shift from foot to foot, betraying her joy at the praise. After all, she made it – and she really was a good sculptor… though there was no one to appreciate it… probably… right!
I felt the figurine – it felt like smooth, cool plastic.
"Are you sure you're not a magician?" I asked her, laughing nervously and trying to understand how this was even possible.
I didn't feel any such power within myself.
Or… what the hell, why not try?
"Alright then…" I said, putting the figurine back on the shelf, clasping my hands in a prayer-like gesture, and closing my eyes, concentrating on my wish.
Mita watched me attentively, leaning against the chest of drawers with her hands resting on it. She was curious about what I would do.
"Abracadabra, alakazam, I don't have a beard, but grant me a gold bar in my palms!" flashed through my mind, and the praying gesture changed into a requesting one, after which appeared on my palms... appeared… absolutely no-thing!
My expression immediately soured.
"Didn't work…"
"Ah-ha-ha-ha!" It seemed I had amused Mita.
She clutched her stomach and burst into peals of laughter.
I didn't even know whether to be happy or annoyed that I'd made a fool of myself, but apparently, she realized I was confused and quickly said…
"Sorry, but it doesn't quite work like that)"
"I don't know why I can do it, but I just feel that you can't – simple as that."
She took my hand.
"How about this, if you need anything, just ask me, okay?"
Looking at our joined hands, I smiled, remembering every time I'd entered the game – back then she asked me to do things, and now she was offering for me to ask her.
"Okay… deal."
Seems like, if you think about it, this place isn't so bad after all.