After enduring Tazuna's physical contact the whole way—which could fairly be called sexual harassment—as well as the sharp gazes of the two dorm leaders behind him, which felt like needles pricking his back, Mizuno crossed mountains and rivers and finally returned to Tracen Academy.
Mizuno stood before the school gate, looking at the familiar scenery in front of him, and the huge stone that had been hanging over his heart finally dropped.
"I'm back. I always come back!" Mizuno took a refreshing breath of Tracen's sweet air, his exhausted body filling with energy again now that he had returned home.
No matter what crisis happened or how many hardships he suffered, in the end, he could always return safely to this place he both loved and hated.
Although the matter was not completely resolved yet, and Hishi Amazon still needed to ask the people who knew him what they thought of him in order to verify whether he was a good person, Mizuno felt the ending was already set in stone.
After all, Mizuno believed his reputation in the academy should be pretty good. He had never done anything to harm others, so there should not be some strange person suddenly jumping out to bad-mouth him.
Mm... probably...
Still, Mizuno had always had an ominous premonition. He could faintly sense that the atmosphere inside the academy had undergone some subtle change.
And after he stepped through the school gate, that feeling became even more obvious.
He had clearly only been kidnapped for three days, yet the academy's scenery was already different from the Tracen in his memory.
First and foremost were the large numbers of Tracen security personnel appearing everywhere, patrolling the academy in wave after wave. This made Mizuno, who was used to sneaking around, feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Originally, the academy's security personnel never patrolled during the day. Even at night, most of them sat in the security booth drinking tea and watching shows, casually filtering out the screams of trainers coming from the Umamusume dormitories. They could sit there peacefully all day and still receive a handsome salary. What a carefree life.
One could say that working security at Tracen was the easiest, most leisurely job in the world. After all, no thief was stupid enough to steal from a place where a whole crowd of Umamusume gathered.
If the thief could retreat successfully, that would be one thing, but if they failed, it would not be a matter solved by a few broken bones. The security personnel would not even need to lift a finger before the thief was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.
So during the day at the academy, you basically never saw security guards. And if you did see them—especially a lot of them—then you had to consider whether something important had happened at Tracen.
Second were the complicated, solemn expressions on the faces of the academy's Umamusume students.
In the past, whenever Mizuno saw Umamusume students around campus, their faces were basically full of happiness and joy. Either they were satisfied after sweating through a day of training, or they were looking forward to going on a date with their own trainer after school. It was rare for them to look gloomy on such a large scale.
But now, everywhere he looked, most of the Umamusume had dark expressions, as if something had happened at the academy and their moods had sunk along with it.
Could Misfortune have come out?! Mizuno furrowed his brows. His first reaction was that this was the work of that stupid evil god.
Although last time, he and Misfortune's clone had blown themselves up together, and the equally damaged Misfortune should not have been able to make a comeback this quickly, Mizuno had always been unafraid to speculate about anyone who might screw him over with the worst possible malice.
What if Misfortune really had come out?
Was he supposed to do the same as before and blow himself up with that evil god again, at the cost of damaging his own soul?
"No..." Fear immediately rose in Mizuno's heart.
The feeling of his body and soul being burned at the same time had been far too disgusting and painful. No matter what, he did not want to experience it again.
And yet, even though Mizuno was terrified to death inside, his legs moved forward on their own, carrying him in the direction of Tracen's central plaza.
But Mizuno had only taken a few steps when Hishi Amazon, who had been staring at him from behind the whole time, pressed a hand onto his shoulder.
"Where are you going?!"
"Mm?" Mizuno stopped and turned back to look at Amazon, asking in confusion, "Aren't we going back into the academy to ask other people what they think of me? Then of course we're going in."
"..." Amazon stared at Mizuno for a while, then glanced a few times at the security guards patrolling nearby. Her expression looked a little awkward, and she did not know how to explain it to him.
Although Mizuno did not know, Hishi Amazon, who returned to Tracen once every day, knew perfectly well.
These security guards patrolling all over the academy were actually there because President Rudolf had ordered them to search for her and Fuji Kiseki.
And the worry on those young girls' faces was also because they were hesitating over whether they should carry out President Rudolf's orders.
"Hishi Amazon and Fuji Kiseki, two dorm leaders, dared to abduct an important academy trainer in front of the Student Council. Their attitude was arrogant, and the impact was severe. If anyone discovers these two, please notify the Student Council immediately."
Although this was an order issued by the Student Council, and everyone in the academy had to obey it, there were still some Umamusume who had been looked after by the two dorm leaders in daily life, so they were not very willing to help the Student Council capture Hishi Amazon and Fuji Kiseki.
"HishiAma-neesan must have had her reasons for taking him away!"
So every time Hishi Amazon secretly slipped back into the academy, those young girls would even tip her off.
"HishiAma-neesan, why are you back again?!"
"Hurry and go! The Student Council is after you! Don't let them find you!"
"Neesan, just do what you want to do!"
"Mm... Should we capture our dear trainer too...?"
Every time she saw these juniors covering for her, Hishi Amazon felt awful inside.
She was clearly the Miho Dormitory dorm leader, someone who was supposed to become a role model for her juniors. Yet now she had become a negative example instead.
This image of being officially wanted and leading her juniors astray did not match the kind of hero she wanted to become at all...
Before, Hishi Amazon had still been able to convince herself that kidnapping Mizuno, this scumbag, was the right thing to do. Not being understood by the public was simply the fate of every hero on the road to growth.
But now, the situation had changed.
If she really had misunderstood Mizuno, then everything she had done was completely the behavior of a villain...
"Guh..." Amazon's heart was filled with worry, and the strength in her hand unconsciously increased.
"That hurts!" Mizuno's shoulder was squeezed painfully, and he could not help crying out.
"Ah! Sorry..."
"Mm?!" Just then, an Umamusume security officer patrolling nearby sharply caught the sound. Her Umamusume ears, poking out from the top of her security cap, twitched, and she suddenly noticed Mizuno's group entering the academy.
"Wait, aren't those the two students President Rudolf ordered us to find?"
The Umamusume security officer cried out in surprise. Seeing that Hishi Amazon and Fuji Kiseki looked exactly like the two Umamusume on the wanted notice, she hurriedly pulled her phone from her pocket and sent out the news.
"President Rudolf, I found them!"
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T/N: I ALWAYS COME BACK
T/N2: hmmmmmm if ur looking for updates on the basement dnd thing idkkkk this one guy lets call him LOSER, already got put in a coma smh it hasnt even been the first month yet!!!!!!!!!! he's the brother of cafe... and OUGH HE JUST WANTS TO FUCK HIS SISTER!!!!!!!!!! SLIME HIM OUT MISFORTUNE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!! then theres all this buncha things like idk apparently theres revival machines? is this basement still...... i know it was like merged with a buncha of other things hmmm i guess slacking did have that revival machi- oh is that a spoiler for slacking... idk anyway! yah
BASEMENT AUTHOR PLEASE UPDATEEEEEEEE