"You're the Mysterious Gentleman?"
Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka stared at Mizuno, disbelief written all over their faces.
The elusive Mysterious Gentleman they'd been chasing was actually this oddly dressed, suspicious person right beside them?!
"Hahaha! That's impossible—I-I-I'm definitely n-n-not the Mysterious Gentleman!" Mizuno rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, tripping over his words.
His fluster only deepened the two Uma Musume's suspicions.
Staaaaare— Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka inspected Mizuno's face, peering into the shadowed space between his collar and hood, desperate to catch even a glimpse of his true identity.
Gulp… Realizing his cover was about to be blown, Mizuno puffed out his chest and jabbed an accusing finger at Misfortune.
"H-H-Hey! I'm warning you—stop spreading lies! Believe it or not, I'll sue you for slander! Slander!"
"Slander?" Misfortune chuckled slyly.
"It's easy to prove—just have them strip off your clothes."
"Ah, well, that's…" Mizuno's bravado collapsed. If he were exposed here, his life would be over…
"Oh, that makes sense!" Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka brightened, their gazes locking onto Mizuno's peculiar outfit.
They'd always found his attire suspicious—covered head to toe, not a scrap of skin showing. It was like he feared revealing the smallest detail about himself.
They'd never seriously suspected him before—Mizuno came recommended by Agnes Tachyon and Tanino Gimlet, whom they trusted—so they'd written him off as a friend with questionable fashion sense.
But now, put together—never showing his face + gender-ambiguous voice + no distinct scent—all the clues pointed straight at him.
Staaaaaare— They locked onto Mizuno again, growing more convinced.
Forcibly stripping someone wasn't exactly polite, but they needed to confirm whether this suspicious fellow was the Mysterious Gentleman.
If he wasn't, they'd apologize properly.
If he was, they'd hit the jackpot.
"Sorry, but could you please show us your face?"
"Gah!" Seeing them fall for Misfortune's bait and move toward him, Mizuno panicked, clutched his chest, and cried, "Don't listen to villains!"
Though he acted righteously, Mizuno quietly took a few backward steps.
"Exactly!" Gold Ship slammed forward to shield him, retreating slowly at his side. "I've seen his face—he's definitely not the Mysterious Gentleman!"
"If you aren't, showing your face shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Yeah! One quick peek—just a look…"
Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka closed in from both sides, gradually surrounding Mizuno.
Gulp… Mizuno looked at the two Uma Musume preparing to strip him, then at Misfortune, who was breaking free of the seal. His eyes sharpened.
Time for that tactic.
Mizuno pressed his hand to Gold Ship's shoulder and squeezed.
Feeling that familiar, just-right pressure, Gold Ship glanced up and instantly understood. She nodded: "Understood…"
"All right!" Mizuno bristled with confidence as Gold Ship accepted his signal.
He straightened, raised both hands to the sky, and shouted dramatically:
"Broshi!"
Gold Ship dropped to her knees, palms to the earth, and answered with gusto:
"Mizuno-dono!"
They struck the ridiculous pose they'd secretly practiced countless times and bellowed:
"Ultra Fusion!"
In Mizuno's imagination, they merged like yin and yang, black and white forming a majestic Ultra Warrior—
FLASH!
A blinding light burst between them, briefly robbing everyone of sight.
When the glare faded, Mizuno and Gold Ship had vanished, replaced—ideally—by a grand black-and-white hero.
Of course, that was just chuuni fantasy.
In reality, after the slogan, Gold Ship produced a flashbang from her pocket and hurled it forward.
FLASH—! A searing burst of light blinded Daiwa Scarlet, Vodka, and even Misfortune.
While everyone was stunned, Gold Ship scooped Mizuno up and—
"Time to run!"—bolted for the mountain at top speed.
By the time sight returned, Gold Ship had already carried Mizuno dozens of meters away.
"Huh?" Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka stared after them, baffled.
"Wha—?" Misfortune froze, her half-emerged form awkwardly stuck halfway out of the ground.
No one expected the grand show to be nothing more than a diversion for escape.
"Get back here!" Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka weren't about to let the chance to unmask the Mysterious Gentleman slip away, so they gave chase.
Because Gold Ship was carrying Mizuno, her pace slowed; Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka, unburdened, steadily closed the distance.
At this rate, Mizuno would soon be cornered and forced to strip—
"Heheh~" Misfortune laughed, delighted—her tease had worked exactly as planned.
Her aim had been to expose Mizuno, placing him in a ridiculous bind where two eager Uma Musume would pester him endlessly, all for her amusement before she fully broke free and captured him.
And indeed, Mizuno couldn't explain himself and ran away. Seeing him chased by two girls filled Misfortune with pure joy.
Especially his earlier behavior—it fit her favorite trope: the protagonist who bolts when faced with an unbeatable enemy.
"Heheh~" She imagined how she'd toy with him once freed, turning him into her servant to spread misfortune across the Uma Musume world, and laughed maniacally.
Her laughter cut off when she realized something crucial.
"Wait… hold on!" Misfortune stared at the shrinking fugitives, and the truth clicked into place.
Fortune's servant—he was running away, yes, but he was also taking those two Uma Musume with him.
"Eh?!!!" Misfortune's eyes went wide as she watched Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka tailing Mizuno farther and pieced it together:
"He… used my teasing against me—to lure those two innocent Uma Musume safely away?!" she gasped.
Earlier, Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka hadn't fled because they believed the Mysterious Gentleman wouldn't abandon the fight. They'd stubbornly stayed, risking unnecessary harm. Mizuno couldn't let that happen.
So when Misfortune exposed him as the Mysterious Gentleman for sport, their attention pivoted entirely to him.
Mizuno leaned into the suspicion, acted suspicious, and—just when they moved to force him—he ran.
Since the suspected Mysterious Gentleman fled, curiosity made the girls follow.
So his apparent cowardice was actually a calculated retreat to draw Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka safely away from Misfortune—who he could not defeat yet.
This wasn't a shameful escape. It was a strategic withdrawal to protect others.
"Hehe~ You truly are fascinating…" Realizing this, Misfortune clenched her fists, burning with fresh determination as she stared after Mizuno.
"I will steal you from Fortune, make you my servant—and then uma-pyoi you into oblivion!"