Tokai Teio had originally thought today would just be another sorrowful day without a single glimpse of Mizuno.

But the moment she stepped into the garden, amidst the jumble of grasses and blossoms, she suddenly caught a whiff of a scent she'd been yearning for day and night.

That unique fragrance—part sticky-sweet honey from the S-Grade Honey Drink, part her own scent she had deliberately rubbed onto him before—its owner was unmistakable…

"Trainer!"

Teio's eyes lit up, ears and tail shooting straight up with excitement.

Her hands curled like cat paws, her supple body leaning forward, nose twitching lightly—her whole being slipping into hunting mode.

Because Mizuno needed absolute focus for his experiments, he had made a month-long training plan for the Uma beforehand, then entrusted their care to his friend Kiryuin Aoi during that time. After that, he cut off all contact with the team.

It had already been about three days since Mizuno last appeared.

Before this, even if Trainer-san couldn't come to campus in person, at least Teio could still see him through video calls, still chat with him across a screen.

But now—now she couldn't reach him at all. It was hard not to suspect Trainer-san might actually be suffering from some terminal illness, his body growing weaker and weaker, until he could no longer show himself to anyone…

Though Teio had asked President Rudolf, and received the calm assurance that Trainer-san simply had other matters to take care of and would return after finishing them, Teio couldn't stop worrying—couldn't shake the fear that she might never see him again.

Thankfully, today she had run into Matikanefukukitaru.

Matikanefukukitaru, an Uma at Tracen Academy who loved and excelled at fortune-telling, was always seen with her maneki-neko backpack and a crystal ball in hand. Her divinations were famously accurate. For example, if a Trainer had gone into hiding and couldn't be found, just ask her and she could usually divine their location. Naturally, that made her popular among the Uma.

But her fortune-telling depended on luck itself. If she foresaw bad fortune, she would refuse to open shop until her own luck turned around again.

For quite a while, no matter how she divined, Tracen's fortune had been marked as "Great Misfortune." Only recently had it shifted, from "Great Misfortune" to "Moderate Misfortune." So, though still hesitant, she had finally resumed fortune-telling for others.

And on this day, at her long-awaited return, she just so happened to encounter Teio—desperate to find her Trainer.

"Looking for your Trainer? Don't worry, I've done this plenty of times before. I'll definitely help you find him."

Inside the dim fortune-telling tent, Matikanefukukitaru spoke with solemn conviction, then closed her eyes, placed both hands upon the crystal ball, and began.

Teio stared, face brimming with expectation, as strange light began to flicker inside the crystal. Her throat tightened; she swallowed nervously.

After about three minutes, Matikanefukukitaru finally opened her eyes, her face heavy.

"Teio-san, your fortune right now is… Minor Misfortune. That means the chances of finding your Trainer in the next few days are rather slim…"

"Is that so…" The tiny flame of hope Teio had managed to kindle sputtered at once. Her head drooped, ears falling, disappointment written all over her.

She had thought that with the help of such a wondrous fortune-teller, she would surely be able to find Trainer-san…

But the result was still impossible?

Her eyes welled up. A pitiful sight, like an abandoned child.

Just then, Matikanefukukitaru's tone shifted.

"But—"

"But what!?" Teio jolted, snapping her head up, ears perking once again, her gaze locked desperately on Matikanefukukitaru as though she'd just glimpsed a ray of light in endless darkness.

"Guh!" Matikanefukukitaru flinched at the intensity of that stare, but quickly steadied herself.

She was used to this. Whenever an Uma wanted to recover her missing Trainer, emotions always ran hot. She had even seen Uma show up with a sack in hand, ready to storm off and abduct their Trainers the moment she revealed a location.

"Teio-san, the key to finding your Trainer lies in… flowers." As Matikanefukukitaru spoke, a sunflower slowly materialized inside her crystal ball.

"Flowers?" Teio blinked at the glowing sunflower, baffled.

What did flowers have to do with finding Trainer-san?

Seeing her confusion, Matikanefukukitaru elaborated:

"In other words, try searching places connected with flowers—like a flower shop. That's where you'll have a better chance of running into him."

"Really!?" Teio slapped the table and shot to her feet, her tail whirling with excitement.

"I only said the odds are higher there than anywhere else, not a hundred percent—"

But before she could finish, Teio had already bolted, vanishing hundreds of meters away in an instant. It didn't take a fortune-teller to know exactly where she was going.

"Wait—ahhh…" Matikanefukukitaru pressed her forehead, sighing.

Truth be told, with Teio's Minor Misfortune, the odds of actually finding her Trainer were very, very slim. Even with the hint of "flowers," the chance of success was close to zero.

And even if, against all odds, she stumbled upon him—what happened afterward might well turn out not to her liking…

"I hope Teio-san succeeds…" Matikanefukukitaru prayed silently in her heart.

"Next." She straightened her clothes, then called out.

"Um… excuse me…"

From outside the tent, a timid Uma with black hair and a blue-rose hat poked her head in.

"I want a reading… to find my Onii-sama…"

...

At first, Teio dutifully followed Matikanefukukitaru's instructions, scouring every flower shop outside the academy.

She spent an entire day searching—but not a single trace of Mizuno.

Disheartened, she returned to Tracen Academy, intending to at least check the school flowerbeds—just in case.

And there, the saying came true: worn-out shoes searching with no result, only to find it without effort.

She caught that unmistakable scent of Mizuno.

Teio tracked it eagerly, until at the deepest part of the garden she finally found him—her longed-for Trainer.

There Mizuno stood among a patch of sunflowers in varying stages of decay, pen and notebook in hand, inspecting blossoms and jotting notes, lost in his research.

But none of that mattered. To Teio, the only thing that mattered was: Trainer was here!

"Trainer!"

She cried out, then launched herself forward, crashing into him and knocking him to the ground.

Clinging like a facehugger, her limbs wrapped tight around his head, while her belly pressed firmly against his face.

"What the—?!" Mizuno was stunned, pen and paper flying out of his hands.

He had only heard a sharp cry. Curious, he'd turned his head—only for a dark shape to slam into his face, just like some horror-movie parasite. And no matter how he pulled, it wouldn't come off!

There are facehuggers in this world?!

"No… wait!" Mizuno forced himself to calm down, reaching out to feel the "creature" stuck to his head.

It had four limbs, clothing—clearly a human, not some monster.

Light weight, like a child. Faint honey scent.

Most telling of all… there was a tail coiled tightly around his arm.

A familiar figure surfaced in his mind.

Petite frame, addicted to honey drinks, tail swishing behind her…

"Hhh…" The instant her face fully formed in his mind, a chill shot up Mizuno's spine straight to his brain.

This was bad! Whatever she was—she might actually be more terrifying than a facehugger!