"Gah! Broshi, don't touch that!"
Seeing his chastity genuinely about to vanish, Mizuno immediately panicked.
Though he still didn't want Gold Ship dragged into this mess, if he refused now, he'd be the one dragged into his bro's mess instead!
Besides, Fortune was still asleep anyway. No matter whether Mizuno agreed or not, Broshi couldn't immediately become Fortune's servant right now.
Thus, after carefully weighing the pros and cons for precisely 0.01 seconds, Mizuno finally chose to feign surrender.
"Broshi! It's my fault!" Mizuno grabbed desperately at his waistband, pleading tearfully, "Anything is negotiable! I'll give you the servant qualification or whatever you want! So, Broshi, please, don't take it that far!"
"Hah?" Gold Ship's hand, still tugging at his pants, froze instantly. She gave Mizuno a disappointed look.
"I thought you'd tough it out like a real man, even if you got Uma Pyoi'd. Didn't expect you'd cave so quickly..."
"What man willingly toughs it out when their bro tries to Uma Pyoi them?!" Mizuno retorted, agitated.
"Huh?" Gold Ship's expression turned distinctly displeased. "So, you still see me as a guy even now?"
Mizuno blinked innocently. "You're not?"
"..." Gold Ship fell into an awkward silence, glaring at Mizuno for a while before abruptly reaching down to remove her own panties.
"No-no-no! Broshi! It was just a joke! Don't be impulsive!" Mizuno shouted in panic, quickly covering his eyes. "Broshi, you've always been a super cute, sweet-smelling, adorable girl in my eyes! I've always thought you're extremely feminine!"
"Really?" Gold Ship asked skeptically.
"Mhm." Mizuno nodded earnestly.
"Then why won't you look at me now?" Gold Ship pressed further.
"Because you're too beautiful! I don't dare to look!" Mizuno covered his face even tighter, answering seriously, "As an innocent virgin who's never even dated, if I accidentally glimpse your sexy body, I'll blush from embarrassment!"
"..." Gold Ship wasn't fully convinced, her brows knitting suspiciously.
She yanked away Mizuno's hands covering his face and immediately noticed that not only was Mizuno not blushing, but his gaze was nervously darting everywhere.
"You bastard! For the sake of your chastity, you'll even say something that embarrassing?!"
"Broshi...I'm not lying to you..." Though Mizuno still couldn't meet Gold Ship's gaze directly, a faint flush finally appeared on his normally emotionless, handsome face. "If I see a naked girl, I really would feel shy..."
"Gulp~"
Seeing Mizuno's bashful expression beneath her, Gold Ship felt her heart struck violently. A bittersweet sensation surged through her abdomen, and she instinctively swallowed.
"Mizuno-dono maybe you should tough it out a little first. Let me finish doing you before you surrender."
"Gah! Absolutely not!" Mizuno yelped in horror, quickly grabbing onto his pants again. "Let's hurry and talk about the Fortune servant thing!"
"Fine..." Gold Ship was clearly displeased at being stopped at this critical moment, but she gritted her teeth, rubbing her lower belly and barely suppressing the primal impulse she'd felt.
"So, you're willing to hand over the Goddess of Fortune?"
"Uh...before that, can I ask you one question first?" Mizuno held up one finger.
"Go ahead," Gold Ship raised an elegant eyebrow.
"If I hand Fortune over, will you let me out of here?"
"No..." Gold Ship firmly shook her head, then quickly leaned down and stole another kiss from him.
"The outside world is too dangerous for you. A fragile human like you should stay safely underground… muah~"
"But I'll allow you to remotely contact Tokai Teio and the others. You can give them training plans or whatever—but absolutely no chatting about non-training topics… muah~"
"As for the servant duties, leave it all to me. Just obediently wait here each day until I return… muah~"
"I won't let you out until I deem it safe out there... muah~"
"Is that so..." Mizuno frowned deeply.
Who knew Broshi's possessiveness had quietly evolved to such a terrifying level? Even if he agreed, he clearly couldn't leave this place anytime soon.
Just when exactly did Broshi turn this yandere?
Was it when they faced Misfortune directly in the warehouse, and she saw his Uma Mint Complete Form, awakening some deep desire within her?
Or had the seed of possessiveness already been planted when she first saw his face and declared she'd protect him personally?
But now wasn't the time to ponder this. Rice Shower and the others were still waiting for him. He needed to find a way out of Broshi's grasp quickly and escape!
"Muah~" While Mizuno was lost in thought, another gentle kiss stole more saliva from his lips.
"..." Mizuno blinked, twitching his lips at Gold Ship, who was still pecking him like a chick at grains of rice, unable to resist complaining:
"Broshi, why are you still kissing me?!"
"It's because you smell so good!" Gold Ship cried out in shameful frustration, pressing her lips together as her face blushed crimson. "You should feel lucky it's me holding you down and not other Uma Musume! If President Rudolf or someone else were here, kissing wouldn't be all they'd do!"
"Then…thanks?"
"No need for thanks—muah~"
"Stop kissing!" Mizuno couldn't take it anymore, raising his hand to cover his mouth. But Gold Ship immediately pried his hand away, baring her sharp teeth.
"You might escape execution, but punishment is unavoidable! Since I can't Uma Pyoi you, I have to kiss you instead!"
"What, would you rather I Uma Pyoi you?" she threatened.
"No-no-no!" Mizuno flinched, shaking his head wildly.
"That's what I thought~" Gold Ship sneered, leaning down and taking another playful bite before sitting up satisfied.
"So, when will you hand over the Goddess of Fortune?"
"I'd gladly hand her over right now, but..." Mizuno wiped drool from his lips awkwardly. "Unfortunately, Fortune is still asleep. Even if I really, really, really wanted to give her to you now, I'd still have to wait until she wakes up to get her consent..."
"You're lying again?! Time for punishment!" Gold Ship instantly flared up, reaching again for Mizuno's pants, determined to start a passionate session of punishment.
"Gah! Broshi, I'm not lying this time!" Mizuno desperately insisted, panicking as his rare truth was mistaken for deceit. "She's been asleep for nearly a month for special reasons—I can't wake her up either! I'm frustrated too!"
"Broshi, I swear—I'm definitely not lying! Look into my eyes if you don't believe me!"
"Our wavelengths match perfectly, so if you look into my eyes, you should easily be able to tell if I'm lying or not! If I am lying, you can Uma Pyoi me however you want!"
Mizuno pointed pitifully to his innocent, pleading eyes, sincerity practically radiating from them.
"Oh?" Gold Ship narrowed her eyes suspiciously, carefully examining Mizuno's gaze.
After a long, careful inspection, she couldn't find the slightest hint of trickery.
"Seems like you're really…" Gold Ship said, surprised.
"See? I wasn't lying, right~" Mizuno inwardly rejoiced at Gold Ship's hesitation.
This was a classic lying trick: not every statement needed to be true; just mixing one truth into a pile of lies and letting the other person verify that single truth could significantly boost credibility.
It was like selling a box of apples—if nine out of ten were rotten, but you cleverly ensured the customer only checked the one good apple, they'd likely buy the whole box.
Although Mizuno deeply disliked using this tactic on his closest bro—and he knew he'd face a terrible fate if exposed—this was the only way to stop Broshi from making a grave mistake.
His plan of feigning submission and stabilizing Broshi's emotions had succeeded. Next, he only had to spend some time calmly bringing his blackened bro back to the good side.
With their long history of deep friendship, Mizuno believed turning her back into an ally again would be easy.
"Hehe~"
Imagining himself soon escaping this basement, returning to Rice Shower and the others, Mizuno couldn't help smiling smugly.
Yet, just as Mizuno was feeling proud of his own cunning, a familiar, yawning voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
[Fortune]:Aaaah! I slept sooo well!
[Fortune]:Hi~ Good morning, Mizuno-dono~
[Mizuno]:?
This damned girl—her timing was impeccable!