"Where's Teio?"
Thanks to Symboli Rudolf's reminder, everyone finally realized—they were missing Tokai Teio.
"Rice-san, Teio wasn't with you?" Symboli Rudolf asked quickly.
In any classic "hero rescues the prince" tale, the room where Mizuno was held should be at the lowest level. Only by clearing all the trials set by Gold Ship could you reach the final room and save Mizuno. If a participant was eliminated, they should've come back the same way as Mejiro McQueen and the others.
But Rice Shower had already cleared all the trials and brought Mizuno back from the final room. If Teio hadn't been eliminated, where could she be?
"Um… I didn't pass all the trials. I found Onii-sama on the third floor. As for Teio-san… she's probably still going through the lower floors," Rice Shower answered.
"Still going?"
The girls only looked more confused.
What did she mean, "still going through the lower floors"? Wasn't the third floor the last room where Mizuno was held? Why would anyone keep going deeper?
"You might have misunderstood something…"
Gold Ship, seeing everyone's confusion, explained:
"This basement isn't just three floors deep—it's actually eighteen. I just hid his room inside the third-floor maze. If you didn't have a little bit of luck, you'd never find him."
She shot a glance at the Fortune sachet on Rice Shower's chest and smiled, then looked back at Symboli Rudolf.
"When Rice Shower broke into my room, Teio-san had just made it to the seventh floor. Since it's been about half an hour, she's probably on the tenth by now."
"President, if you trust me, I can go get her. I know this place better than anyone. It'd take me five minutes to bring her up." Gold Ship offered.
"You?"
Symboli Rudolf studied Gold Ship for a moment, then shook her head.
True, Gold Ship had dug this place herself and knew it better than anyone—but that was precisely the problem.
If they let her go, what if she made a run for it?
Even if Gold Ship had surrendered on her own, Symboli Rudolf still felt uneasy, like she was plotting something more dangerous.
Better to go herself and fetch her precious kouhai, rather than let the tiger return to the mountain.
"Everyone else head up. I'll find Teio myself…"
"Trainer-san must be exhausted after a week in this basement, but you don't need to worry anymore. We'll take good care of you. Take this chance to rest, and I'll check you over later."
"Air Groove, keep an eye on Gold Ship. Don't let her slip away."
With these quick instructions, Symboli Rudolf hurried down the tunnel alone, heading deeper underground.
She was the strongest Uma Musume in the group, and, having broken into plenty of other girls' basements before, she was no stranger to such layouts. Even without Gold Ship's guidance, she figured she could search the place top to bottom in five minutes and find Teio.
So, following the path, Symboli Rudolf worked her way down, taking three or four minutes to reach the tenth floor.
But Gold Ship had misjudged—Teio wasn't on the tenth floor, but even deeper.
So Symboli Rudolf kept going.
And the further she descended, the more impressed she became.
"No surprise there—Teio made it through so many trials?"
She glanced at the records Teio had left at each level and nodded, satisfied.
As a member of the noble Symboli family, Symboli Rudolf herself had practiced "bridal training," so Gold Ship's challenges were child's play to her—like make-believe. But for regular girls, they'd have been tough; most would've dropped out around the seventh or eighth floor.
But this kid Teio, so young and without any such education, had gotten this far. It showed both her natural talent and hard work—and just how suited she was to become a wife someday.
Given time, Teio might even surpass me…
With this thought, Symboli Rudolf pressed on, heading deeper.
At the eighteenth floor, she finally pushed open the door marked [Congratulations! You have cleared all stages], and there—inside a bare, unfinished room—she found Tokai Teio.
"Teio!"
Seeing Teio slumped against the wall, Symboli Rudolf finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
But Teio looked terrible—ears drooping, face clouded with sorrow, mumbling to herself: "Impossible," "Why," "He belongs only to me," "This place needs a new Basement King," and other such strange lines.
Watching her precious kouhai's dreams get crushed so cruelly, Symboli Rudolf hurried over and patted her on the head, asking in concern:
"Teio, are you all right?"
"Prez?"
Teio snapped back to herself, looking at Symboli Rudolf in disbelief.
"Prez, how are you here? Wasn't Gold Ship keeping you all out of the trials?"
She glanced nervously around the room, afraid Gold Ship had hidden a camera somewhere, and would see that Symboli Rudolf had broken the rules.
"If Gold Ship finds out you broke the rules, she'll go after Trainer right away!" Teio yelped.
Even now, she was still worried about Mizuno's safety.
"Teio, you don't have to worry about Trainer-san anymore…"
Symboli Rudolf patted her head and explained:
"Gold Ship's already turned herself in, and Trainer-san's been rescued by Rice-san."
She told Teio how Rice Shower had found the real room on the third floor, hoping it would comfort her.
But when Teio heard this, she didn't brighten at all—if anything, her mood grew gloomier.
"Rice Shower? Why her?!"
Teio suddenly remembered—when she and Rice Shower had left the third-floor maze, Rice Shower had said she wanted to stay behind for a bit…
Could it be that Rice Shower and Trainer were so close she could sense his presence—and that's how she knew where he was?
"Why…? I was the one most qualified…"
Teio's gaze went blank, and she muttered to herself. Deep in those sky-blue eyes, a new obsession took root—a look no different from the one Gold Ship had worn earlier.
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T/N: 2200 POWERSTONES IS FUCKING CRAZYYYYY YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY!!!!!!!! also teio >.> THANK U SO MUCH FOR THE POWERSTONES!!!