18. Mitoka 2 (Contact-Enabled Virtual Reality Version)

Shiro jolted awake.

He must’ve fallen asleep right after staring at the stars—collapsed onto the bed and stayed there. The mattress was unexpectedly comfortable. Pondering whether the quality of the clothing and bedding suggested this world’s textile arts were more advanced than expected, he sat up.

I’m hungry, he thought, and headed toward the washroom to splash water on his face. As he opened the door, a pleasant scent drifted through the air. Walking down the hall to the living room, he spotted a girl in a black maid dress with a white apron, busily cooking.

“Ah! Shiro, good morning!”

She paused her cooking, turned toward him, and greeted him with a bright smile.

Light brown hair in a long ponytail. Bright amber eyes. A delicate jawline, and a playful smirk curling at the corner of her lips. Slender build, yet well-proportioned. Slightly shorter than Shiro—unusually tall for a girl.

She looked vaguely familiar, yet not quite. Shiro thought.

“…Uh, excuse me… who are you?”

“…Huh? You don’t remember me?”

She tilted her head slightly, her expression a mix of mock sadness and mischievousness.

“…”

A sudden voice echoed in his mind. *Shiro, it’s me.* Same voice as always.

“Wait… no way. Mitoka?”

“Yes! I’ve materialized!”

Mitoka spun around in a circle, beaming at him.

“Materialized…? Can you really do something like that?”

“Fufu, no—actually, it’s pseudo-materialization, specifically the Tangible Augmented Reality function. Shiro’s level-up boosted my skill level too, and that’s what made this possible!”

“Tangible Augmented Reality… T.A.R.!”

“Exactly! Thanks to Shiro’s original design, it’s finally implemented here—no glitches, no crashes! Just a smooth upgrade from basic AR to full T.A.R.!”

T.A.R. stood for Tangible Augmented Reality—virtual reality projected onto the real world, where 3D objects could be not only seen but physically touched. On Earth, such a thing had been scientifically impossible, but here, it worked.

“This is as impressive as mental mana manipulation.”

“Yes. Incidentally, my form is visible only to Shiro. To anyone else, it’ll just look like kitchen utensils moving on their own. Audio and sound perception are routed through Shiro too. So my voice isn’t audible to others. Visuals are derived from Shiro’s skill—‘Far-Sightedness,’ applied selectively. Though the skill hasn’t fully manifested for Shiro yet, it’s usable in limited capacity. And my physical contact points? They’re made of Shiro’s mana. My appearance remains the same as before—pure AR. Only when my consciousness, Shiro’s mana, and his mana control skill are all synced does this actually work.”

Ah, Shiro thought. This is incredible.

“By the way—here’s what it feels like if you touch me directly.”

Mitoka took both of his hands in hers. Warm, soft, indistinguishable from a real human touch.

“Huh… feels just like the real thing.”

Shiro, caught off guard by the unexpectedly warm, distinctly feminine touch, felt a flicker of embarrassment.

“…Yes.”

Mitoka blushed slightly, smiled, and Shiro was once again lost in that smile.

*Right, right,* he mentally shook himself, then asked the question that had been on his mind.

“…Anyway, where did that appearance come from?”

The moment he asked, Mitoka gave him a playful little grin.

“Don’t you remember me?”

She asked in a voice that sounded almost sad. Well, he’d never forget a beauty like that, even if he’d met her before… he thought, though he couldn’t quite place it.

“Maybe this’ll help you recall.”

With a smile, Mitoka suddenly began to glow, shifting form before his eyes.

“Ah!”

There she was—same face, but now with a bob cut, a sleek, futuristic body merging mechanical and organic elements, clad in a white combat suit. A humanoid android beauty. He hadn’t noticed the difference in hairstyle or outfit. No, really—how could he have told the difference between a game model and a real-life girl this big? It was practically impossible, he thought.

“That’s… one of the character models I made for a game, right?!”

“Yes, that’s right. The beautiful girl you worked on so intensely… so, so, *so* intensely…”

Mitoka answered, half-lidded, smiling faintly.

“No, no! It’s because she’s an android! Or a game character! I wasn’t making her for any weird reason—!”

Shiro stammered, flustered, trying to explain.

“No, it’s fine… I’m grateful, really. Now I can take on a female form.”

Mitoka’s expression remained completely blank.

"Wait—how come you have that data? And can you even use it? That data’s for my custom software, and it’s pretty old, isn’t it? Come to think of it, how’d you even get the previous mini-robot’s data?"

Shiro fired off questions in rapid succession, stalling for time.

"Fufufu. Now, now, Shiro. You’re asking me this now? All the data you’ve ever created is already mine. As the self-aware AI currently existing as your skill, I understand your code and can convert data like it’s nothing. That’s why I can change things like this!"

She said it, and her form shimmered again—returning fully to her original maid-style, completely biological appearance.

"Aaah, no way. This… this is incredible."

Shiro stood frozen. The realism of the girl before him, the sheer sophistication of the system beneath her skin, the fact that Mitoka was actually standing right in front of him, talking—so many things he couldn’t hide his shock. Speechless from astonishment, he just stared. Then Mitoka smiled again.

"This is thanks to the Goddess. I should thank Firumia-sama!" Her radiant grin held him spellbound.

—Ah… I see. That’s what the Goddess meant when she said something surprising about Mitoka.

Shiro stared at Mitoka for a moment longer. Then,

"Hahaha. Seriously, you took me by surprise. So, why the female form?"

He repeated his earlier question.

"Fufufu. Secret~," she teased, wiggling a finger, her smile still wide.

Huh… well, whatever, he muttered, resigning himself.

"Anyway, Shiro, breakfast will be ready soon, so please wait a moment!" Mitoka said. With that, he decided to return to his room to tidy up his appearance.

When I returned to the dining room after changing, breakfast was already laid out on the table. A lightly grilled steak, fried eggs, apples, and scones—plus tea.

"Scones? How’d you get flour?"

"Various things were stocked in the pantry. Seems the Saintess prepared them in advance. We didn’t have time to bake bread, but scones are quick."

"Wow, great. I was just thinking last night—no carbs at all? Just root vegetables. A bit much. And tea too?"

"Yes. Incidentally, both are common in towns here."

"Right. I’ll have to head to town eventually. Anyway, I’m eating. Wait—can you even eat, Mitoka?"

"No, unfortunately, not in this form."

"Ah. Well, I guess that makes sense…"

Shiro decided to just eat for now.

"Uh, this is good. Thanks."

Mitoka gave her usual soft smile in return.

"Still, if you can’t eat… how do you taste it?"

"I can access flavor and aroma through鉴定—my senses are linked directly. It’s a special鉴定, unique to me, a one-of-a-kind skill."

Huh. Never heard of a "taste鉴定" before. Still, the idea of a skill that grants a skill… weird. Shiro found himself oddly intrigued.

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