"Huh?!"
Everyone in the room stared at Mizuno in shock after hearing his oath—his actions left them all rattled. But no one reacted more strongly than Gold Ship, the very person he'd sworn to.
"Y-you—you're joking, right?! Soul annihilation?! Are you even thinking straight?!" Gold Ship's voice shook with disbelief.
Her thoughts were a mess; she let go of Mizuno's waist and tried to retreat, needing space to calm down.
But now, the roles had reversed. Gold Ship wanted to run, but Mizuno wouldn't let her.
"Broshi! I'm perfectly clearheaded!"
Mizuno cupped Gold Ship's face, his gaze steady, raising his voice:
"Fortune, tell me now—how do I do the oath?!"
"…Fine."
Seeing Mizuno's anxious, determined look—like a groom who just had to carry his bride home—Fortune could only sigh, then fished out a palm-sized blue soul stone from who knows where and tossed it to Mizuno.
"This is a soul stone. Swear upon it, and your soul gets bound to it. If the stone is destroyed, or you break your promise, your soul will be shattered along with the stone…"
"Great!"
Mizuno accepted the stone, nodded with satisfaction, and didn't hesitate at all—he declared his oath:
"I swear right here: I will defeat Misfortune and return safely to Broshi's side. If I fail, may I suffer every torment under the sun—never to be reborn!"
As he finished, the blue stone glimmered faintly, as if it had accepted his vow.
Then Mizuno took Gold Ship's hand and pressed the soul stone into her palm.
"?!"
Gold Ship, handed this life-and-death stone, showed no joy—instead, her expression turned grave, horse ears twitching in irritation.
"Are you an idiot?!"
She grabbed Mizuno by the collar and snapped,
"What good is a curse like this?! I want you—not your corpse! If you can't win, you'll lose your life, and then this oath will crush your soul—how am I supposed to keep you with me then?!"
"Relax, Broshi."
Mizuno brushed her off with a confident smile. "I'll do my best to survive. I'm scared to death of dying, so I'll do everything I can to win. Just trust me."
"How can I trust you?!"
Gold Ship stared at the soul stone in her hand. She wanted to throw it away, but worried that might break it, so she could only hold it gingerly and thrust her palm at Fortune.
"I don't want this thing—take it back!"
But Fortune just shook her head, sighing.
"Sorry, can't be undone now…
"This soul stone's already accepted Mizuno-dono's oath, so his soul's bound to it.
If I tried to take it back, he'd probably—well, explode…"
"What?!"
Gold Ship recoiled, quickly tucking the stone to her chest.
She had seen that blue stone light up earlier, but thought she was imagining it—turns out, that was it binding his soul!
So he'd staked his very soul, just to prove he really wouldn't abandon her?!
Gold Ship looked at Mizuno again and found him just as fearless as ever, which only made her more exasperated.
"Are you crazy?!"
She couldn't free her hands while holding the stone, so she lifted her smooth, pale foot and planted it against Mizuno's chest, pushing him back.
"All this just to prove you're not lying, and you bet your soul on it—is that how a normal person thinks?"
Even as she pushed him away, showing clear resistance, Mizuno didn't let go. He grabbed her foot, smiling wryly.
"Maybe anyone who could be bros with you, Broshi, isn't exactly normal…"
Before Gold Ship could retort—who are you calling not normal—Mizuno gently set her foot aside, leaned back in, and put his hands on her shoulders.
"I really do like you, Broshi!" he declared, voice brimming with sincerity.
Gold Ship stared, momentarily stunned.
"It's not about lust, or wanting something from you—it's the kind of liking that comes from the soul!"
"It's because we're soulmates that I didn't want our relationship to rest on something as simple as the physical. That's why I always resisted Uma Pyoi with you before…"
"But now I get it!"
"It's all my fault—I've been focused on the wrong things…"
"I always thought, as long as we were bros, we didn't need to spell things out, and that telling you how I really felt would just be awkward. So I kept dodging your honest questions, ignoring your feelings…"
"But starting now—I won't run away anymore!"
Mizuno's resolve was clear as he stared into Gold Ship's trembling pink eyes.
"Since we're bros, we should be honest—sharing honor and disgrace alike! Not shutting you out like you're a stranger…"
"You cared so much about me, and I broke your heart…"
"I know that just apologizing won't fix what's between us. That's why I swore an oath—giving you my very soul!"
"To make up for what I did, I'll accept any punishment! Even if you Uma Pyoi me to death, I'll take it gladly!"
Mizuno closed his eyes and threw his head back, shouting himself hoarse to prove his resolve.
The raw emotion in his words stunned everyone.
His delivery wasn't exactly elegant—eyes squeezed shut, mouth open like some meme-worthy fool, completely lacking dignity—but that clumsy, unfiltered sincerity only made it more moving.
For a timid guy who'd always lied to save his own skin, to rip away all his masks and hand over his precious soul to make up for hurting someone—such determination couldn't help but touch the heart.
"Mizuno-dono…"
Gold Ship looked at Mizuno's abstract, eyes-closed pose, biting her lip.
For some reason, she felt a sweet spring begin to flow in the depths of her heart, washing away the cracks in her blackened affections, turning her heart pure white again.
The thread of connection between their souls, once severed by conflict, was rejoined by this honest approach…
So this is how it is…
Gold Ship gazed at the soul stone in her hands, memories flashing before her eyes.
She finally understood all those times Mizuno insisted, "You can't react to a bro!" or "Broshi's gender is Broshi!"—all those inexplicable views.
It wasn't that Mizuno failed to see her charm and saw her as just "one of the guys."
It was that he cared too much! That's why he couldn't make a move!
As they say, liking is reckless, but love is restraint.
Just as Mizuno loved his little sister Rice Shower, and would never overstep the line of a real brother for the sake of her future, he also loved his bro, Gold Ship—so when she tried to cross the line, he instinctively resisted.
Once she realized this, everything in Gold Ship's head suddenly became clear—the doubts that had always troubled her finally resolved.
Not attraction to the body, but love for the soul…
Gold Ship carefully pressed the soul stone to her chest. She could feel warmth radiating from it, soothing her heart after all the cold.
"Heh…"
Gold Ship looked up, unable to help laughing at Mizuno's weird, eyes-shut pose.
She understood everything now.
Because of love, he refused; because of love, now he accepted…
But no matter what happened, this guy would never abandon her!
So she didn't need to worry that, if he left her, she'd never see him again. He'd always come back—just like now, holding her in his arms…
"Whew…"
Gold Ship closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath, thoughts swirling.
When she opened her eyes again, all the deep obsession had faded, replaced by that same bright, mischievous gleam she always had.
"You just said, 'Even if Broshi Uma Pyoi'd me to death, I'd accept it'—so, does that mean you're willing to Uma Pyoi with me now?" Gold Ship pinched Mizuno's cheek playfully, horse ears flicking, tail swaying in delight—her entire presence was clearly different from just moments before.
But Mizuno's mind was still fixed on how to make up for breaking Gold Ship's heart, so he didn't notice her change. After a hard inner struggle, he nodded with conviction. "Yeah, if it's what Broshi wants…"
He'd made up his mind. For the sake of their friendship, he'd do anything to satisfy Broshi's needs—even the Uma Pyoi he feared most was fine, as long as she didn't actually Uma Pyoi him to death…
"You're sure?" Gold Ship arched an eyebrow, glancing toward Rice Shower, now surrounded by an aura of pitch-black jealousy a few meters away.
"You'd do Uma Pyoi with me in front of your precious little sister?"
"Uh…"
Mizuno hesitated, thought it over, and finally answered quietly,
"Broshi, how about we… find a more private place?"
"Onii-sama!"
Mizuno and Gold Ship's whispering didn't escape Rice Shower's big ears. She panicked, ran over, and hugged Mizuno tightly around the waist.
"Uma Pyoi is still way too soon for Onii-sama!" Rice Shower pressed her face against Mizuno's side and quickly shook her head at Gold Ship.
"Something that sacred should only be for husband and wife! Onii-sama isn't married yet, so Rice Shower absolutely won't allow him to Uma Pyoi with Gold Ship-san!"
"Is that so?" Gold Ship propped her chin on her hand, suddenly struck by an idea, and proposed to Mizuno:
"Then let's get married! If we become husband and wife now, we can Uma Pyoi right away~"
"Sure—wait, huh?!" Mizuno was dumbstruck.
It was already wild enough for a good bro to want to Uma Pyoi him, and now she wanted to marry him too?!
Never mind how bizarre it would be to become Broshi's spouse—if Mizuno dared agree to marry anyone, Mejiro McQueen would probably drag him off to the Mejiro family for a "talk," and just carrying it out would be a nightmare. Still, since he'd already promised to atone to Gold Ship, he should follow through—if he wasn't afraid of soul annihilation, what was a little thing like marriage with a good bro?
So after only a few seconds of hesitation, he found his answer.
"Broshi… I—"
Just as Mizuno was about to answer, Rice Shower beat him to it.
"No way!" Rice Shower darted in front of Mizuno, diving into his arms and shoving him several steps back, then turned, on guard, toward Gold Ship.
"A marriage without love won't be blessed! Rice Shower will never let Onii-sama fall into misfortune!"
"Muri muri muri muri!" Rice Shower shook her head like a rattling drum.
"…"
Gold Ship looked at Rice Shower protecting her "food" like a tiny hamster, and her smile only deepened.
"Don't get so worked up, Rice-san. I was just joking. I won't make a move on your Onii-sama—for now, at least…"
She even tossed Mizuno a wink, eyes sending a private message.
[Gold Ship]:Mizuno-dono, love ya~
[Mizuno]:?!
In that moment, Mizuno, finally sensing the bond, blurted out, "Broshi, you're back?"
"Yeah…" Gold Ship looked at the blue stone in her hand and smiled helplessly. "After making a mess, I finally came back…"
"Eh?" Rice Shower only just realized that Gold Ship no longer had any hostility toward Mizuno and had returned to their old, bro-like relationship.
"Broshi, welcome back!"
Mizuno spread his arms wide, wanting to hug Gold Ship in celebration.
But Gold Ship just scrunched her nose and lifted a foot to shoo him away.
"Shoo! Don't come near me! If you break this, I'll never forgive you!" Gold Ship tucked the blue stone into her arms protectively, refusing to let anyone—Mizuno included—touch it.
But just holding it felt too risky. Gold Ship still had no idea how tough this "soul-bound" stone was, and if she accidentally chipped it and her good bro dropped dead, that would be a disaster.
She turned and looked to Fortune, who'd been spectating all day.
If anyone could solve the riddle, it'd be the one who brought out the soul stone in the first place.
"Fortune-sama, do you have any good ideas for storing this thing?"
But Fortune just grinned, trying not to laugh.
"All right, all right. I'll stop messing around…" Fortune dropped the act and said seriously,
"This isn't actually a soul stone—it's just a blue pebble from my collection. The whole 'break your promise and your soul gets shattered' bit? That was a lie…"
"Huh?"
Everyone stared in disbelief.
They'd believed in the soul stone and thought Mizuno's vow to Gold Ship was priceless, genuinely moved by his sincerity—only to have Fortune tell them it was all fake?!
So what did Mizuno's big, heartfelt promise to a pebble count for? Was he just clowning around for nothing?
"Then why did it light up?" Gold Ship pointed at the blue pebble in disbelief.
It was the way it had glowed when Mizuno swore that made her believe it really did bind souls.
"Uh… just a little magic trick of mine, to make it look real…" Fortune shrugged.
"I'm not dumb enough to gamble my servant's soul for real—way too risky. If he lost, it wouldn't be worth it, so I just gave you a special-looking pebble…"
"That's not fair!" Mizuno scowled.
But his anger wasn't about being fooled, or looking like an idiot yelling out his promise—it was that he hadn't been able to use his real soul to prove his sincerity to Gold Ship!
What if Broshi found out the stone was fake, got insecure again, and blackened a second time?
So Mizuno stretched out his hand. "Fortune, give me a real soul stone—I'll swear to Broshi again!"
"No need!" Gold Ship cut him off with a shake of her head.
"This one's enough…" Gold Ship turned the blue pebble in her hand, lips curving up—not sad at all, but even happier than before.
So what if it wasn't real? Even if it was just an ordinary pebble with no soul-binding power, in that moment, everyone believed it was true, and Mizuno's willingness to throw everything away for her—that was real!
Compared to a real soul stone and a true oath, and all the worries about someone breaking the promise or accidentally smashing the stone, having a fake one from the start was better. At least she wouldn't have to be on edge all the time.
For Gold Ship, this blue pebble, now imbued with Mizuno's sincere feelings, was the most precious treasure she could ever hold—one that truly let her feel his soul.
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T/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HES SOOOOO