It was unclear how long he'd been unconscious before Mizuno finally woke up.
"…" Opening his eyes, Mizuno noticed the oppressive weight of Air Groove sitting atop him was gone, replaced instead by a blanket covering his body, along with a familiar tent ceiling.
"So it was just a nightmare..." Mizuno exhaled in relief, lingering fear still evident in his voice.
For a moment, he'd genuinely believed he'd been called an "idiot" repeatedly by Air Groove, but fortunately, it had all just been a bad dream.
Yet just as Mizuno was preparing to get out of bed, he suddenly noticed his left arm felt oddly heavy, pinned down by something, rendering him immobile.
"Hm? Why's my arm so heavy...?"
He turned his head to investigate and found a large lump under the blanket beside him. Judging by the shape, it had to be an Uma Musume.
"Is it President Rudolf?" Mizuno guessed.
After all, the only one who would sleep on the same bed as him would be Symboli Rudolf, right?
With that thought, Mizuno reached out with his right hand, slowly lifting the blanket.
However, the Uma Musume who appeared from beneath the covers wasn't Symboli Rudolf as he'd expected. Read full story at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱
Though she was indeed a member of Tracen's student council, and even carried the title of president, she was only vice-president...
"Air Groove?!" Upon clearly seeing the face of the Uma next to him, Mizuno instantly broke out into a cold sweat.
Why was Air Groove sleeping next to him?! And worse—why was she clinging onto his arm so intimately?!
Mizuno quickly checked his clothing, afraid he might've been subjected to Uma-pyoi without his knowledge.
Thankfully, there were no signs his clothes had been removed, and Air Groove beside him was also fully clothed, indicating that nothing inappropriate had occurred between them.
"What exactly happened...?" Mizuno tried to calm himself down, pressing a palm to his forehead to help him recall.
He remembered spending the entire night with Air Groove cultivating the sunflower, finally succeeding just as dawn arrived and the flower bloomed precisely at sunrise.
However, at the same moment, Air Groove had seen through Mizuno's lie about being able to hear the plants' voices, after which she spent a long time calling him "idiot" repeatedly. Even when he begged Rudolf for help, Rudolf had ignored him, and under the combined pressure of exhaustion and despair, Mizuno eventually fainted...
When he finally woke again, he'd inexplicably found himself in this tent, in this bed…
"So it wasn't a nightmare—it really happened..." Mizuno stared helplessly at Air Groove, who was still clinging onto his arm, feeling a sudden headache come on.
He tried to pry her hands away to get out of bed, but Air Groove was gripping him too tightly. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't free himself—instead, his efforts only managed to wake her up.
"Mmm…?" Air Groove slowly opened her eyes, still dazed from sleep, vaguely aware that someone was trying to peel her hands away.
Just moments ago, she'd been enjoying a wonderful dream: she had finally captured the hateful mysterious man, imprisoned him deep in a dark basement, and was gleefully punishing him with all sorts of tools.
Yet somehow, that mysterious man had suddenly escaped her restraints, turning tail and running, trying desperately to escape her grasp.
Naturally, Air Groove wouldn't allow such a thing and immediately chased after him. But as she pursued him down a narrow passage, a blinding white light had abruptly appeared, forcing her to close her eyes.
When she opened them again, she found Mizuno frantically pulling at her hands, looking desperate to get away.
"You…you're awake now..." Seeing Air Groove staring at him in confusion, Mizuno's heart jumped violently, nervously swallowing hard.
"What are you doing?" Air Groove's elegant brows furrowed slightly.
"Ah…" Mizuno hastily withdrew his hand, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I wanted to get up, but my arm was held tightly, so…"
"Oh!" Only then did Air Groove realize she'd been gripping Mizuno's arm. A faint blush immediately appeared on her cheeks as she hurriedly released her grip.
"Ahem…" Air Groove had just attempted to use a cough to mask her embarrassment when she noticed something even more awkward—
She and Mizuno were lying in the same bed.
"Eh?" Air Groove froze in shock, unable to comprehend how she'd ended up sleeping together with Mizuno.
"Um…" Mizuno saw Air Groove's embarrassment and quickly rolled off the bed, squatting beside it cautiously. He gently explained to Air Groove:
"It was probably President Rudolf and the others who moved us to the bed. I'll go ask them right away..."
After finishing his words, Mizuno jumped to his feet and immediately headed straight for the tent entrance without even looking back, swiftly fleeing the scene.
"I…see..." Air Groove sat up, watching Mizuno's retreating back. Her shame didn't vanish with his explanation; instead, it intensified.
Because while sleeping in the same bed as Trainer Mizuno might've indeed been President Rudolf and Tokai Teio's doing…
Holding onto Trainer Mizuno's arm so intimately was definitely something she'd done herself, and had nothing to do with them...
"Guh—!" Feeling her cheeks burn intensely, Air Groove lay back down, hugging the blanket tightly against her chest, exactly as she'd previously hugged Mizuno's arm...
Meanwhile, outside the tent.
Symboli Rudolf and Tokai Teio sat next to the sunflower, chatting casually to pass the time.
At that moment, Mizuno burst out from the tent in a frantic rush, panicked as if fleeing something horrifying. He was so flustered he could barely walk properly.
"Trainer!" Spotting Mizuno, Tokai Teio excitedly jumped to her feet, sprinting toward him.
"Trainer, you're finally awake~!" Teio immediately threw herself into Mizuno's chest, energetically rubbing her face against him, determined to repay all the affection she'd missed out on earlier—double-fold.
In sharp contrast to Teio's excitement, Symboli Rudolf remained calm and composed.
"Good morning, Mizuno…no, actually, good afternoon." Rudolf held a steaming cup of tea, gracefully sipping it before smiling warmly in greeting.
"Huh? It's already afternoon?!" Mizuno pulled out his phone, discovering it was already past 5 p.m.
He'd passed out around 5 or 6 a.m., meaning he'd been unconscious for nearly twelve hours!
"Luna, were you the one who moved me and Air Groove onto the bed?" Mizuno asked directly.
"Yes," Rudolf nodded calmly.
"Then why put us on the same bed? You should know that Air Groove and I...it's best not to get so close..." Mizuno scratched his face awkwardly.
If he got too close to Air Groove, risking discovery of his true identity, he'd be doomed.
"Hehe…" Rudolf took another elegant sip of tea, shaking her head helplessly.
She'd certainly wanted to separate Mizuno and Air Groove, placing them on different beds…
But the problem was, even while asleep, Air Groove had held onto Mizuno so tightly—as if gripping onto the most important thing in her life…
They simply couldn't be separated...