Ten minutes later, the school bus safely arrived at the boys' secret dormitory.

After politely saying goodbye to Kaneshiro Takeru, Mizuno Sora went straight back to his own room.

But when Mizuno used his key to unlock the door, switched on the light, and brightened the pitch-dark room, what he saw before him made him jump in fright.

Because sitting on the sofa, chin propped up, watching him with a gaze full of meaning, was a very familiar gray-haired Uma Musume.

"Ship-bro?" Mizuno rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Sitting there on the sofa was none other than Gold Ship, who hadn't shown up the whole afternoon.

But why was Gold Ship in his room? Could it be that he was seeing things?

So Mizuno turned off the light. Then on again.

But the Gold Ship on the sofa didn't vanish—on the contrary, her position had shifted closer, from five meters away to four.

"So weird..."

Off. On.

This time, Gold Ship had silently closed the distance to three meters.

"Haha, so it's a ghost, huh. I won't disturb you then, I'll just leave." Mizuno turned to open the door, ready to escape from this "haunted" room.

But the door that opened easily just a moment ago now felt like it had been sealed with cement, immovable no matter how he yanked.

"A real ghost?!"

When Mizuno turned his head again, Gold Ship was already right in front of his face.

"Yo, Mizuno-dono, good evening." Gold Ship greeted him first.

"!" Mizuno's scalp prickled instantly, his back pressed tightly against the stubborn door, his brain went blank.

It's over! He'd really run into a ghost story!

But fortunately, Mizuno was long used to being scared half to death by Uma Musume even more terrifying than ghosts. Fear, to him, was as habitual as eating. So he calmed down quickly, carefully studying the Gold Ship before him.

She was breathing. She had warmth. Didn't seem like a ghost.

It's really Gold Ship!

"Ship-bro, how did you come here? You know the location of the boys' secret dorm?!" Mizuno asked, bewildered.

The dorm's location, aside from crucial staff like the driver uncle, was forbidden knowledge. Even the Trainers living here wouldn't tell, in case one of them was caught by an Uma Musume and forced to spill, endangering everyone.

But Gold Ship not only knew the location—she had bypassed security and infiltrated his room?!

"Of course I know this place." Gold Ship lifted her head proudly.

"For me, finding it was easy. And getting past security, slipping in perfectly, was nothing."

"Mizuno-dono, I came here because there's something important that needs to be settled with you."

"What is it?"

The corners of Gold Ship's mouth curled upward in a smile: "A few hours ago, I saw your face under that hood, and I just couldn't stand it anymore. So now I'm here to Uma Pyoi you."

Mizuno blinked, then also smiled:

"Heh-shoo-shoo, Ship-bro, you Uma Musume sure love your jokes. It's late, hurry back to bed."

As for Gold Ship claiming she saw his face and now wanted to Uma Pyoi him—Mizuno didn't believe a word.

After all, he had only shown his face once today, when getting parts with Hayakawa-san. But Gold Ship had bailed on him then, wasn't even there. How could she have seen it?

So obviously Gold Ship was just joking around again.

"Mizuno-dono, look at this." But to his surprise, Gold Ship pulled out a video camera and played a clip for him.

The timestamp was this evening. Location: a remote warehouse. The camera angle from the rooftop. And the content—Mizuno without his hood, hugging Tazuna for a whole hour.

Oh. So Ship-bro really had seen his Uma Mint face…

"Hmhmm." Gold Ship narrowed her eyes, staring at him.

"All right, Mizuno-dono, you can start begging for mercy now."

"Heh." Mizuno gave a short, scornful laugh, shaking his head with arrogant defiance, as though her threat meant nothing.

But the very next second, he dropped to his knees, smoothly kowtowing to Gold Ship.

"Ship-bro, please be gentle."

Seeing him so obedient, Gold Ship nodded with satisfaction and ordered:

"Come on, stick your butt up."

"Understood." Mizuno turned around and raised his rear.

"Heh heh, here I come." Gold Ship rubbed her hands together like a fly, charging up.

"Mm." Mizuno closed his eyes.

Smack!

Gold Ship extended a hand and gave his butt a light pat.

"Okay, I'm done." Gold Ship exhaled in satisfaction.

"That's it?" Mizuno turned his head, disappointed. "That didn't even last five seconds…"

Gold Ship raised a brow: "What, Mizuno-dono, you really want me to Uma Pyoi you?"

"No no no!" Mizuno waved frantically. He definitely didn't want to be actually Uma Pyoi-ed.

The two looked at each other, fell silent for a moment—then burst into laughter together.

"Hahahaha—"

Their wavelengths matched perfectly. Mizuno had already realized long ago that Gold Ship bore him no malice.

Because the way she looked at him lacked the hunger other Uma Musume had when gazing at their Trainers.

If she really intended to Uma Pyoi him, Mizuno wouldn't have played along—he'd have been yelling for the dorm supervisor uncle to come save him already.

"Master, do you know what my first impression was when I saw your true face?"

"What?"

"Disappointment." Gold Ship spread her hands.

"I thought you were some alien with four arms, and I was all ready to capture you and study you. But in the end, you're just a ridiculously good-looking human. Boring."

"Uh…" Mizuno could only sweatdrop.

Other Uma Musume who saw his face couldn't help but want to pounce on him. But Gold Ship… felt disappointed.

As expected of an alien oddball horse—her thought process was totally unlike normal Uma Musume.

Leaning back leisurely on the sofa, Gold Ship continued:

"After the disappointment, another strange feeling came."

"Neither wanting to Uma Pyoi you, nor hating you."

"Not wanting to get close, but also not wanting to be far away."

"In short, it's very complicated."

Gold Ship scratched her head in frustration, looking at Mizuno.

"If I had to put it into words, it'd be something like this…"

"Even though I'm different from ordinary Earth Uma Musume—I'm an alien Uma Musume—your constitution seems to have special effect on Uma Musume. So it affects me too. But since it was only your face I saw, and my resistance is high, I can endure it."

"But other Uma Musume… that's another story. If they see your true appearance, there's a high chance they'll just abduct you outright. Use you up completely."

"And you're just a fragile human. Faced with Uma Musume whose physical abilities are several times yours, you'd have no way to fight back."

"I don't want to lose a friend who's on the same wavelength as me. So…"

Gold Ship placed a hand on Mizuno's shoulder, smiling.

"I want to stay by your side. To protect your safety."