"Hehe~" Tokai Teio nuzzled against Mizuno affectionately, her ears twitching with delight.

Each time she rubbed against him, Mizuno felt his remaining lifespan shrink by another notch.

He could only pin his hopes on his personal bodyguard who had been with him since last night—Gold Ship.

Ship-bro! Save me!

"…" But Gold Ship made no move. Instead she looked at Mizuno, pointed to her eyes, her brows dancing, signaling him to enter a private chat channel.

Mizuno gave a slight nod, turned his face toward her, and lifted his hood just enough to reveal his eyes.

As soon as their gazes met, their wavelengths aligned, and a consciousness-only chat room exclusive to Mizuno and Gold Ship was created.

[Ding! Gold Ship has joined the chat]

[Ding! Mizuno has joined the chat]

The moment Mizuno entered, he typed out:

[Mizuno]: Ship-bro! Save me!

[Gold Ship]: …

[Gold Ship]: Sorry, Mizuno-dono, I can't.

[Mizuno]: ?

[Mizuno]: What, you're betraying me?!

[Gold Ship]: Not that.

[Gold Ship]: From my observation of Teio, she's the kind of girl who gets jealous very easily—or more precisely, someone with extremely strong possessiveness.

[Gold Ship]: If I forcibly pull you away from her now, it might trigger some hidden trait, which would only harm you instead.

[Gold Ship]: Blocking is worse than diverting, so my advice is: delay.

[Mizuno]: Delay? As in I know I'm doomed but I'll stall anyway?

[Gold Ship]: Of course not.

[Gold Ship]: I mean delay until other Uma Musume arrive. Then I'll pull you out. With so many eyes watching, Teio won't feel like someone is trying to steal what's hers.

[Mizuno]: Makes sense…

[Mizuno]: So what do I do now?

[Gold Ship]: You need to…

But before Mizuno could receive her next message, Teio leaned closer.

Mizuno quickly pulled his hood down again.

[Mizuno has left the chat]

"Trainer Mizuno what were you and Gold Ship-san doing just now?" Teio asked curiously.

"N-n-nothing…" Mizuno shook his head in a panic.

"But it looked like you showed Gold Ship-san your face! That's so unfair! I'm your trainee and I haven't even seen it yet!"

"I only showed my eyes… Besides, Urara and Rice Shower haven't seen either…" Mizuno explained.

"That's still unfair! I want to see too~"

"Ah, this…"

"Guuh…" Teio puffed her cheeks angrily.

Mizuno turned to Gold Ship, only to see her raising her brows and flashing a signal.

[Gold Ship]: Blocking is worse than diverting! Blocking is worse than diverting!

[Mizuno]: …

So he sighed, shook his head, and said:

"After you get married, then."

"Married?" Teio tilted her head.

"Yes. After you get married, I'll let you see."

As long as she married someone else and placed her heart with them, with an Uma Musume's purity and devotion, Mizuno wouldn't have to fear being Uma Pyoi'd by Teio anymore.

"Marriage…" Teio seemed to recall something. Her face turned bright red and she hugged Mizuno's arm even tighter.

[Mizuno]: "?"

Why did she cling harder the moment he mentioned marriage?

Wait—don't tell me the person she's imagining marrying is me?!

Crap! I've just dug myself another grave! I'm even closer to the Monarch's Basement!

Ship-bro!

Mizuno looked to Gold Ship for help again.

Sigh…

Gold Ship pressed her forehead and sent him a signal with her eyes.

[Gold Ship]: Watch me.

She quietly slipped away, hiding in the nearby bushes. Soon after, a toy spaceship flew out from there.

The little spaceship floated above Mizuno and Teio, emitting a mechanical voice:

"Testing, testing, can you hear me?"

"…" Mizuno stared, speechless.

Wasn't this the toy spaceship he himself had made for Gold Ship? It came with an audio module—whatever was spoken into the remote could be broadcast through it.

But Teio had never seen it before, so she gazed up in wide-eyed curiosity.

"May I ask who you are?" she asked politely.

"I am an alien from outer space. My name is… uh…" The spaceship paused, then said:

"Zetton."

"Hm?"

"Zetton (confirmed)." The spaceship repeated.

"Hello, Zetton. May I ask, what are you doing on Earth?"

"I am here to invade Earth. But since Team TAC is a major obstacle to my conquest, today I've come to eliminate Team TAC's captain!"

"Pssh—" The spaceship suddenly sprayed a jet of water, hitting Mizuno.

"Urgh! I'm dead…" Mizuno instantly understood, clutched his chest, and collapsed to the ground.

"Trainer Mizunor?!"

It all happened so quickly—before Teio could even react, Mizuno had already fallen.

Worried, Teio wanted to check his condition, but the spaceship announced:

"Haha! He's been struck by my Gene Spray. If you touch him again, his body will explode completely!"

"No way!" Teio's hand, about to touch him, froze and pulled back.

She dared not touch Mizuno now. What if, just like the spaceship said, her touch accidentally triggered his explosion…?

"Damn it!"

She turned, intending to catch the spaceship and force out the cure—but it was already gone without a trace. Clearly, it had fled long ago.

"Trainer Mizuno…" Teio wanted to touch him, but didn't dare. And she was afraid that if she left to get help, Mizuno might be ambushed again while she was gone. So all she could do was sit by his "unconscious" body, anxious and helpless.

"Just now Trainer Mizuno invited me to be his trainee… it was supposed to be something so happy… why did this have to happen now…"

Teio sank into grief, wishing someone could help her.

At that moment, Gold Ship strolled casually out of the bushes, returning to the scene.

"Gold Ship-san!" Teio's eyes lit up as if she had seen a savior.

Gold Ship might usually be unreliable, but she knew many strange things—surely she could save Trainer Mizuno!

So Teio hurriedly explained everything that had just happened.

"Oh? Let me take a look."

Gold Ship pretended to examine him carefully, then declared with a straight face:

"No problem. The effects of that Gene Spray are only temporary. As long as we don't touch Trainer Mizuno, he'll wake up on his own soon."

"Really?"

"Really." Gold Ship nodded.

"Thank goodness…" Teio finally exhaled, then sat quietly nearby, keeping watch over Mizuno.

Until Trainer Mizuno woke up, she would protect him with her life!

Although she couldn't snuggle and cling to him now, which left her a bit frustrated…

She promised herself—when Mizuno recovered, she would take back double of what she was owed!

"Hehe~" Teio smiled with blissful happiness.

Lying on the ground, feigning death, Mizuno suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Hiss… Why did it feel like Ship-bro's plan… wasn't actually that effective after all…