"Hey! Air Groove-san! Wake up, stop sleeping already!"
Mizuno gently nudged Air Groove, trying to make her open her eyes and clearly see him again.
"..." Air Groove opened her eyes and stared blankly back at Mizuno.
"Trainer Mizuno, what's wrong?"
"Look..." Mizuno pointed helplessly to his right arm, tightly clutched by Air Groove. "You're hugging me..."
"Oh." Air Groove replied blandly, seemingly indifferent.
"Oh?" Mizuno scratched his head, increasingly unable to grasp what Air Groove was thinking.
Was something wrong with Air Groove's perception, or had Mizuno's own brain finally short-circuited?
Could the stamina potion's side effects include brain damage?!
"Luna..." Out of ideas, Mizuno desperately turned to Symboli Rudolf, who had been silently watching the two for quite a while.
"Luna, look at her..." Mizuno stared pitifully at Rudolf, like a child calling for an adult after being bullied.
"Hmm." Rudolf nodded, a slight smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, as if this was exactly the reaction she'd been waiting for.
Truthfully, Rudolf had long found Air Groove hugging Mizuno in her sleep deeply irritating. She'd refrained from speaking earlier only because Air Groove was unconscious from the potion's side effects, and it was best not to disturb her.
But now, Air Groove had clearly awakened, yet she was still clinging to her—to everyone's—Trainer Mizuno. Rudolf felt that no matter how tolerant she usually was, she couldn't hold back any longer.
Rudolf straightened herself seriously, her natural aura of authority radiating outward. Using the strict voice she typically reserved for scolding rule-breaking Uma in the student council, she commanded Air Groove firmly:
"Air Groove, you can't continue holding Trainer Mizuno like that."
"Huh? Why?" Air Groove blinked confusedly, not understanding why Rudolf would suddenly make such a request.
Because Rudolf was responsible for overseeing countless affairs at Tracen Academy, she'd long since grown accustomed to seeing trainers and Uma openly flirting. Normally, she chose to ignore such interactions.
After all, if Rudolf were to manage every little incident, she'd long since have gone mad, overwhelmed by endless issues and hundreds of reports of trainers getting assaulted by Uma every day.
Thus, Air Groove had assumed Rudolf would ignore her holding onto Trainer Mizuno as usual.
But now, to Air Groove's surprise, President Rudolf had actually intervened—and judging from her expression, she even appeared a little...
"President, is Trainer Mizuno someone important to you?" Air Groove bluntly asked.
The only reason she could imagine Rudolf getting upset was if Trainer Mizuno occupied an important place in Rudolf's heart.
"Eh?" Rudolf was caught off guard by Air Groove's straightforward question. Her dignified aura immediately deflated, like a furious tiger suddenly drenched by cold water, transforming instantly into a harmless little kitten.
"Ahem—of course not!" Rudolf coughed awkwardly, eyes darting away. "We're just ordinary friends..."
"..." Mizuno gave Rudolf a disdainful glance.
What utter nonsense. Clearly their relationship was more like bullying than friendship!
If Rudolf really saw him as just a friend, would she constantly force him to massage her feet, rub her shoulders, or knead her stomach every day?!
"But..." Air Groove remained confused. "If you and Trainer Mizuno are just friends, then why are you getting upset about me merely hugging his arm?"
"Um..." Rudolf hesitated, at a sudden loss for words, struggling to respond.
After a brief brainstorm, Rudolf finally grasped at a barely plausible excuse:
"I just feel that it's inappropriate for two individuals of opposite sexes, who aren't lovers, to hug each other and share a bed! It damages Tracen Academy's wholesome reputation!" Rudolf declared righteously. Latest content publıshed on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⟡𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
"..." Mizuno shot another disdainful look at Rudolf.
Because that was exactly what Mizuno himself had said to Rudolf in the past, and now she shamelessly used it to lecture Air Groove.
Luna! If you're going to lecture someone about rules, at least follow them yourself first!
"Hm? Opposite sexes?" Hearing Rudolf's explanation, Air Groove felt something was off.
"But Trainer Mizuno and I are both girls. It shouldn't be a problem for two girls to cuddle, right?"
"Girls?" Rudolf furrowed her brows, shooting Mizuno a suspicious look.
"Sora, are you a girl?"
"Y-yes...yes, I am…" Mizuno replied weakly.
Rudolf glanced at Air Groove, then back at Mizuno.
"You didn't use that excuse to do anything inappropriate to Air Groove, did you...?"
"No! Absolutely not!" Mizuno vehemently denied.
"..." Rudolf stared at Mizuno suspiciously for another few seconds before finally sighing, deciding to trust him.
Given Mizuno's usual behavior—panicking and desperately seeking escape routes whenever encountering Uma—Rudolf was quite sure he wouldn't dare attempt anything improper. Pretending to be a girl was probably just a means of hiding his true identity...
Still, Rudolf thought, she couldn't exactly reveal Mizuno's secret gender just to make Air Groove let go of him.
But if she admitted Mizuno was truly a "girl," Rudolf realized she couldn't think of any other reason to persuade Air Groove to release him...
Just as Rudolf hesitated, unsure of what to do, Mizuno suddenly found inspiration. Turning to Air Groove, he quickly said:
"Air Groove-san, did you forget? Even though I'm a girl, I identify internally as a male. So, from my perspective, this closeness is too much, so…"
"Could you please let go? Actually, I'm a bit gynophobic..." Mizuno even added a pleading tone, acting as though he truly had a severe allergy to girls.
"..." Air Groove locked eyes with Mizuno, clearly sensing the lie behind his words.
Yet she chose not to expose him. Instead, Air Groove obediently released her arms, complying with Mizuno's request.
"Fine..." Air Groove responded softly, her expression slightly disappointed. Reluctantly, she opened her arms, allowing Mizuno to extract his arm from her embrace.
"YA? DA? ZE?!" Immediately regaining freedom, Mizuno swiftly rolled off the bed with a practiced ease, as though he'd rehearsed the maneuver for the entire past hour.
But instead of immediately running away, Mizuno turned back around and cautiously asked Air Groove a question:
"Air Groove-san, now that you've seen the Cereus flower bloom, do you still want to catch that mysterious man?"
This was the critical issue, directly influencing Mizuno's future plans.
If Air Groove still felt affected by that mysterious man and wanted to catch him, Mizuno's attempt to solve her troubles by cultivating Cereus would've failed. He'd have to stay and keep working to uncover her true desires.
But if Air Groove had completely lost interest, Mizuno would finally have succeeded in resolving her heart's trouble, and he could freely escape.
"..." Air Groove pondered Mizuno's question carefully.
After a brief moment, she confirmed her true feelings and responded seriously:
"I'm no longer interested in that mysterious man. Compared to him, I now have someone else who's far more worthy of my attention and protection…"
"Great!" Hearing Air Groove's statement that she'd lost interest in the mysterious man (himself), Mizuno was ecstatic, not thinking too deeply about her other words.
As for whoever Air Groove now wanted to pay attention to or protect…
That had nothing to do with Mizuno. All he cared about now was escaping as quickly as possible, heading back safely to the boys' dormitory, and sleeping for ten days straight to recover from the severe exhaustion of the past weeks.
"In that case, since everything's fine now, I'll leave first~!" Mizuno cheerfully waved goodbye to the two Uma, behaving like an overworked prisoner finally set free after weeks of overtime.
Without waiting for their response, Mizuno swiftly dashed out of the tent and vanished.
"..." Rudolf was left speechless.
Mizuno really was Mizuno after all. If something concerned him, he'd pour his heart and soul into it—but if not, he'd immediately disappear without hesitation, eager to avoid involvement.
"Oh well..." Rudolf sighed helplessly.
Anyway, Trainer Mizuno could only go back to the boys' dormitory. She'd just have to catch him again later tonight…
"Eh? Wait…Air Groove?"
Just as Rudolf's mind wandered, she suddenly noticed that Air Groove, who should've still been on the bed, had also vanished completely from the tent…