Five days had passed since Mizuno registered his three Uma Musume into their respective G2 races.
Under continuous rainbow-colored friendship training these past days, the girls' abilities had further improved, raising their odds of winning the upcoming competitions by another margin.
And now, only two days remained until Urara's race.
Due to her inherent lack of talent, Urara's abilities still couldn't match prodigies like Tokai Teio. Despite identical training intensity, the gap between them continued widening, leaving Urara trailing far behind during every friendly match.
Yet, while Urara was weak compared to Teio and the others, to ordinary Uma Musume she was a genuine little monster—someone who evolved within mere months from perpetual dead-last to a maiden-race winner.
Though still weak, she was already far stronger than before meeting Mizuno.
Besides, Urara herself never seemed concerned about winning or losing. To her, running itself was pure joy; placing first was great, but not necessary. Bringing happiness to herself and others was what mattered most.
That relieved Mizuno slightly.
Truth be told, letting Urara compete in a G2 race was still a bit forced—he couldn't guarantee her victory with absolute certainty. If anything, losing was more likely.
But if Urara wanted to run, Mizuno would never refuse. He'd simply give it his all to help achieve her dream of coming in first.
Today was no different. Mizuno, enduring another night of sleep-deprived debuffs, executed individual training plans for each of his Uma Musume, finally making it to the end-of-day break…
...
Evening fell, darkness gently draping over Tracen Academy like a veil, clouding everyone's vision.
Urara, Rice Shower, and Daiwa Scarlet, chatting happily, escorted Mizuno all the way to Team TAC's training room.
"You girls go wash up first. I'll grab some files from the training room and wait for you there afterward," Mizuno instructed.
"Okay~ Trainer-san, don't forget to rest properly. Getting sick from exhaustion isn't good!"
"See you soon, Onii-sama~"
"Ganbatte~ Bye-bye~"
"Yeah, see you later..." Mizuno waved goodbye to Urara and the others.
He then took out the key, inserted it into the door, intending to briefly rest inside the training room while the girls went back to change.
Click.
Mizuno unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Inside, the windowless training room was even darker than outside, making it impossible to see clearly. Silence filled the room, broken only by an untimely bubbling sound from the water dispenser in the corner, further enhancing the eerie atmosphere.
In the center, near the table, sat a tall, shadowy figure with horse ears, a pair of faintly glowing pink eyes staring directly at Mizuno. The shadow silently radiated a dangerous aura, like an evil spirit from a horror film awaiting prey.
But Mizuno didn't notice at all, casually reaching out to press the switch next to the door, turning on the lights.
Pa! The harsh white fluorescent light flickered sharply, illuminating everything instantly.
"?!" Only now did Mizuno notice the ash-gray-haired Uma Musume sitting cross-legged at the table, quietly sizing him up from the doorway.
Tall, refined, with perfectly delicate features and neatly-cut bangs beneath her small cylindrical cap, she sat elegantly—like some noble young lady, a picture-perfect beauty who instantly drew attention.
Mizuno was all too familiar with that classic face.
"Broshi?" Mizuno immediately recognized the Uma Musume as his good brother who'd mysteriously vanished for three entire weeks—Gold Ship.
Ever since defeating Misfortune's clone at the back-mountain warehouse that day, Gold Ship had completely vanished—ignoring Mizuno's calls and messages, making him worry greatly that something terrible had happened.
Seeing Gold Ship again filled Mizuno's heart with joy, and he nearly rushed forward immediately to give his good bro a huge embrace.
However… right now, something seemed slightly off about Gold Ship.
Through the Intent Glasses, the heart above her head radiated a bizarre, multicolored shade of pitch-black.
[Gold Ship]: Black Heart, 95/100.
And Mizuno's peripheral vision caught something else: Gold Ship was holding in her hand a burlap sack, big enough to easily contain a grown man.
Gold Ship said nothing, just silently staring at Mizuno with blazing intensity, the hand gripping the sack twitching slightly.
"Broshi?" A huge question mark appeared over Mizuno's head.
Although Mizuno clearly saw that ominous black heart above her head, his first instinct—out of deep trust in his good brother—was to assume he was simply seeing things, or that fatigue from recent sleep deprivation was causing his brain to malfunction, mistakenly turning white into black.
Because how could the real Broshi ever harbor malice toward him?
Yet, even after rubbing his eyes, Gold Ship's heart remained stubbornly black—unchanged, and perhaps even darker now.
Still, Mizuno refused to believe his good bro would hurt him.
"These glasses are lying to me!" Mizuno instantly blamed everything on Agnes Tachyon's Intent Glasses.
He'd long suspected these glasses had been tampered with. Otherwise, how could Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka—given their intimate nightly harassment—still display innocent white triangles? Clearly impossible!
"Damn you, Agnes Tachyon—you set me up!"
Frustrated, Mizuno took off the Intent Glasses, tossed them onto the nearby table, then wheeled himself confidently toward Gold Ship.
"Whoa, Broshi, it's really you! Man, I've missed—"
Gold Ship stayed silent, simply watching Mizuno draw closer. Her dangerous aura grew heavier.
But Mizuno paid it no mind, eagerly wheeling himself within arm's reach, asking excitedly:
"Broshi, where have you been these weeks? I missed you so damn much!"
Mizuno's sincerity overflowed, voice trembling emotionally, almost on the verge of tears.
In the past, he thought sharing a bed with Broshi was unbearable. But after experiencing these recent nights with other Uma Musume, Mizuno realized Broshi's short rounds of "Uma Pyoi" games were actually merciful compared to the girls' endless, all-night torture!
Come back to me, Broshi! My proudest belief!As long as you return, I'm even willing to play an entire night of Uma Pyoi games with you!
However, Gold Ship's next words stunned Mizuno completely:
"I've been digging a basement for you. Today I'm here specifically to bring you there..." Gold Ship shook the sack meaningfully, her serious expression clearly not joking.
Mizuno froze momentarily, then laughed dismissively.
"Hehehe, come on, Broshi, you're joking again~" Mizuno casually waved off her statement, fully disbelieving.
Broshi digging a basement for him? Impossible, no matter how you looked at it!
Gold Ship, seeing Mizuno's reaction, fell silent. She bit her lip, pupils trembling slightly, fists clenched tightly—clearly undergoing an intense internal struggle.
Several seconds passed before she finally resolved herself, slowly rising from her chair to loom over Mizuno.
"I'm sorry..." Gold Ship whispered mysteriously. She suddenly raised the burlap sack, and without hesitation, swiftly pulled it down over Mizuno's head…
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T/N: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT