In a bright room, a sweet-looking goddess sat gracefully in a lavish chair. On the table before her were two steaming cups of black tea, seemingly prepared in anticipation of a certain guest.

Mizuno Sora stood at the doorway, puzzled about where he was.

"Please, have a seat." Noticing Mizuno's arrival, the goddess greeted him with a polite smile, gesturing gently toward the seat across from her.

Mizuno hesitated briefly, approached cautiously, and took the offered seat.

For a long moment, they simply stared at each other in silence, neither speaking first. Eventually, Mizuno broke the quiet.

"May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Luck. Of course, you could also call me the system, but personally, I'd prefer you call me Luck."

Mizuno's mouth twitched slightly, but otherwise remained calm. Silence fell again between them.

"Aren't you going to come over here and punch me?" Luck finally asked, unable to resist any longer.

"Why would I punch you?"

"Well, I've been trolling and giving you all kinds of annoying tasks this entire time. Aren't you even a little angry?"

"Hmm... I guess I am a little annoyed..." Mizuno scratched his head.

But attacking someone required the confidence to win. Mizuno was smart enough to realize that if this goddess dared to reveal herself openly, she had nothing to fear from him. If he tried anything aggressive, he'd probably regret it deeply.

Besides, had she really been deliberately sabotaging him?

"I have a question," Mizuno said cautiously.

"What is it?"

"Can you lie?"

Luck chuckled lightly at the question. "Of course I can lie. When exactly did you start thinking I couldn't?"

Mizuno: "…"

Well, considering how she had repeatedly evaded answering important questions like a Trisolaran from The Three-Body Problem, he'd naturally assumed she couldn't lie.

"Hehe." Luck seemed to read his thoughts and continued with amusement:

"Misfortune likes JOJO and frequently quotes it. But I prefer The Three-Body Problem, so I deliberately acted like I couldn't lie."

"Although, technically, I never directly lied to you~" Luck playfully stuck out her tongue.

Mizuno: "…"

"Oh, by the way!" Luck suddenly remembered something interesting and asked eagerly:

"I'm curious—which do you prefer, JOJO or The Three-Body Problem?"

"Well, um…" Mizuno thought carefully before answering:

"I love them both."

Luck blinked, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"What's so funny?" Mizuno asked, confused.

"I'm just happy I got such an amusing host. Hahaha!"

"Got?" Mizuno picked up on the strange phrasing.

"Exactly! You're the S-grade host I spent almost all my luck energy summoning through a gacha draw."

Mizuno: "???"

Wait, what?! I'm the legendary figure?!

"Mind if I explain your current situation?" Luck asked with a gentle smile.

"Please," Mizuno nodded, still bewildered and in need of answers.

Luck cleared her throat gently.

"You must have noticed by now how rampant Misfortune has become, casually harming Uma Musume as if the Three Goddesses of this world didn't exist."

"Yes," Mizuno agreed. Ever since hearing Misfortune's desire for Rice Shower to perish on the racetrack, he'd suspected the Three Goddesses were no longer protecting the Uma Musume.

"What's causing that?" he asked seriously.

"The reason is simple… Misfortune has imprisoned the Three Goddesses."

"The Three Goddesses are imprisoned?!" Mizuno was shocked. Weren't the Three Goddesses supposed to be incredibly powerful? How could they have been captured?

Luck saw his confusion and continued her explanation:

"The Three Goddesses specialize in blessing and protecting the Uma Musume from harm, but they're powerless to oppose Misfortune."

"Only one deity can fight Misfortune—me, Luck."

"In the past, Misfortune and I balanced each other. But as society developed and human desires grew endlessly, the balance collapsed. Misfortune energy became easier to generate, while Luck energy became harder. That's why Misfortune now utterly dominates me."

"Recently, Misfortune imprisoned the Three Goddesses, and I was helpless to stop her…"

Luck sighed softly.

"Without the Three Goddesses, Misfortune became bold enough to directly harm Uma Musume. Once she gathers enough power, she'll rule this world entirely."

"But I can't defeat Misfortune alone."

"So, I needed a powerful ally who was perfectly compatible with me." Luck looked meaningfully at Mizuno.

"You mean… me?" Mizuno pointed at himself doubtfully.

"Yes~" Luck nodded cheerfully.

"I used nearly all my luck energy to summon someone from another world whose compatibility matched mine perfectly—a legendary S-grade individual. And that's you."

"But then I realized you had the infamous 'Uma-nip' physique. To avoid you being instantly torn apart by Uma Musume, I had to spend even more energy stealing the [Doctor's Outfit] from another universe…"

"That really drained my power~ Oysters~" Luck collapsed dramatically onto the table, looking exhausted.

"You've noticed your [Doctor's Outfit] requires my energy to maintain, right?" Luck asked expectantly.

"Yes," Mizuno confirmed.

He'd figured it out a while ago. When the system had recommended the book [From Getting Started as a Trainer! (Basement Ending)], it had said:

[You must invest your own time and effort to understand this. Nothing in this world is free.]

Though seemingly meaningless, it had actually been Luck's subtle hint that everything she provided came at a cost.

"As expected from my perfectly compatible legendary host!" Luck praised happily.

"Everything I've provided you uses luck energy, with the stolen [Doctor's Outfit] consuming the most."

"Making S-grade honey drinks, refusing to give ingredients if lower-quality drinks aren't consumed personally, assigning missions to help Tokai Teio, Rice Shower, or Urara, and building friendships—each task generates luck energy, allowing the [Doctor's Outfit] to stay active."

"Nothing is free; everything costs energy."

That explained why this system wasn't as conveniently powerful as in the novels he'd read. It was because Luck was struggling too, and needed Mizuno's help gathering enough luck energy, spending most of it on maintaining the [Doctor's Outfit].

"Then, those troublesome tasks you gave me—what were they really for?" Mizuno asked.

Luck calmly explained:

"All an act for Misfortune to see."

"Think about it: If Misfortune realized I'd summoned a powerful ally to fight her, what would she do?"

"She'd immediately find me and beat me senseless!" Luck shivered in fear.

"So I pretended to be only interested in amusement. Misfortune lowered her guard, letting me secretly gather energy through seemingly ridiculous tasks."

"Of course, there's another reason too."

"What is it?" Mizuno asked.

"Your innate S-grade ability!" Luck pointed directly at him.

"What S-grade ability?" Mizuno asked in surprise. He wasn't aware he had one.

"[Last-Stand Specialist]. It means you always perform miracles when pushed to the brink."

Mizuno: "…"

What kind of messed-up power is that?!

"That's why we're perfectly compatible," Luck nodded confidently. "Your [Last-Stand] ability paired with my Luck makes us practically unbeatable."

"Besides, you're clever enough to act along with me," Luck smiled sweetly.

"It's lucky I summoned you! If I'd gotten some kindhearted, overly naive protagonist instead, this world would be doomed!"

"Fortunately, I boosted my luck during the summon, ensuring I wouldn't get someone who'd end up in the basement on day one, hehe~"

Mizuno: "??"

Hold on—could the goddess of luck actually rig her own luck?!

Still, she was right. Mizuno had suspected early on that this troublesome system might secretly be on his side. After all, while it gave him ridiculous tasks, it always ensured he could ultimately succeed, protecting him from the beginning with the [Doctor's Outfit]. It seemed Luck had been his hidden ally all along.

"Well, can I stop calling you 'Onii-sama' now?" Mizuno asked lightly.

"Of course!" Luck replied excitedly.

"From now on, call me your musume! I'll obediently do whatever you ask!"

Mizuno: "???"

Why did the hierarchy suddenly flip? Was Luck always this eccentric?

"We severely weakened Misfortune together. She won't trouble the real world for a long while," Luck happily reported.

"Really?" Mizuno asked, pleased but puzzled. He couldn't recall fighting Misfortune. He'd simply eaten Rice Shower's chocolate and appeared here.

"I spiked that chocolate on purpose—hundreds of times stronger than normal," Luck admitted mischievously.

Mizuno: "???"

"Sorry! I'll slap myself to make amends!" Luck began slapping her own cheeks.

Seeing her seriousness, Mizuno quickly stopped her.

"Luck-sensei, please don't."

Well, at least the outcome was positive. Mizuno decided to forgive her, if only slightly.

"Did I do anything problematic while drunk?" Mizuno cautiously asked.

Luck smiled awkwardly.

"It's probably better you don't know."

"?"

"All I'll say is—you rivaled Fujimoto Tatsuki in insanity."

"??"

Didn't that mean he'd acted like a complete maniac?!

"Don't worry! With our combined abilities, we'll definitely overcome the consequences," Luck reassured.

"So it's definitely trouble…" Mizuno sighed deeply.

Returning to business, Mizuno asked seriously, "What's our next step?"

"Gather more energy," Luck answered firmly.

"Luck energy alone won't suffice. We need 'Hope' energy from your Uma Musume winning races."

Mizuno suddenly understood the real purpose behind his tasks and nodded determinedly.

"How long until Misfortune returns?"

"Three months," Luck held up three fingers gravely. "Within that time, you must secure at least one [G1] victory."

A monumental challenge, but Mizuno accepted it silently.

"How can we truly rescue the Three Goddesses?"

Luck's eyes shone with determination.

"There's only one path: Fill this entire world with the light of hope."

"So—"

"Lead the Star of Hope, Haru Urara, to victory in the [Arima Kinen]!"