After leaving Tachyon's lab, Mizuno and the others returned to the team's training room. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝓷𝓮𝓽
Mizuno watched as a depressed King Halo headed back toward the classroom building. Then, turning around to re-enter the training room, he spotted President Rudolf and Air Groove calmly seated on chairs inside. Unable to hold back any longer, he voiced the question that had plagued him this entire morning but had lacked the opportunity to ask:
"Why were you two in my training room?"
"Because we had a key."
"I know very well the Student Council has spare keys…" Mizuno folded his arms, shaking his head with a grave expression. "I'm asking why you two came here in the first place?!"
Rudolf and Air Groove exchanged a brief glance, then replied together:
"Play with me?" Mizuno narrowed his eyes skeptically.
Recalling how Rudolf had messaged him late last night, wondering where he'd gone, Mizuno figured they must have entered the training room around that time. When they'd discovered he wasn't sleeping here, they'd texted him to confirm his whereabouts.
"Oh, enough about these trivial things…" Rudolf rose from her seat, circled behind Mizuno, and casually closed the training room door.
"You've been walking around all morning; you must be thirsty, right? Here, have some water." Smiling sweetly, Rudolf produced a clear, unlabeled bottle and smoothly offered it to Mizuno.
"..." Mizuno eyed the water suspiciously, not moving.
"Drink up. What's the matter?" Rudolf tilted her head, nudging the bottle even closer.
"..." Mizuno's lips twitched as he pointed at the prominent "A" label still attached.
"You didn't even remove the tag and still expect me to drink this?!"
He recognized it instantly as Want-a-Hug Potion. After all, he'd already drunk one bottle before, clearly marked as Bottle A.
"Oh, sorry…" Rudolf awkwardly retracted the potion, peeled off the "A" sticker, and handed it back again, completely straight-faced.
What's the point of peeling it off now?! You're obviously still trying to trick me into drinking Want-a-Hug Potion!
"President, please stop bullying Trainer Mizuno…"
Air Groove stepped forward, gently pulling Mizuno behind her, shielding him from Rudolf's advances. She said seriously:
"Trainer Mizuno was already forced to hold King Halo-san for an entire day and night. He must be exhausted—can we not torment him further today?"
"Exactly!" Mizuno peeked out from behind Air Groove, vigorously nodding his agreement.
"Sigh… Fine…" Under the joint pressure from Mizuno and Air Groove, Rudolf sighed helplessly, finally giving up on forcibly feeding Mizuno the potion.
"Thanks." Mizuno sincerely thanked Air Groove.
If Air Groove hadn't stepped in, he likely would have already been force-fed, just as Rudolf used to do whenever they lived together.
"Don't mention it. It's my duty, after all." Air Groove smiled kindly, then picked up a cup of steaming black tea from the nearby table, offering it to Mizuno.
"Here. I just brewed this tea."
"..." Mizuno stared suspiciously at the tea in Air Groove's hands, immediately asking:
"What water did you use to brew this?"
"From the water dispenser, obviously," Air Groove replied calmly.
"But hasn't the dispenser been empty for a while now?" Mizuno pointed directly to the corner, where the water jug atop the dispenser stood completely empty.
In fact, it had been empty at least since two nights ago. Yesterday morning, King Halo had become so thirsty she'd mistakenly drunk Bottle B, left behind by Rice Shower on the table.
So, if there had been no water, what exactly had Air Groove used to brew her tea?
"Ah… well…" Air Groove's eyes nervously shifted away.
Following her gaze, Mizuno spotted an empty bottle of Want-a-Hug Potion A lying conveniently beneath the table…
"!" Mizuno's eyes widened in horror.
Air Groove usually seemed honest enough, and she'd just helped him, so he'd lowered his guard. Yet even she had tried tricking him into drinking such a potion?!
"Tsk…" Rudolf clicked her tongue bitterly behind them, evidently disappointed that Air Groove's subtle plot had failed so spectacularly.
Originally, if either Rudolf or Air Groove successfully tricked Mizuno into drinking Potion A, both girls, having already taken Potion B, would have benefitted simultaneously.
They could have even tested whom Mizuno would choose first if forced to hug two Uma simultaneously. After all, the first one hugged would clearly hold a higher position in Mizuno's heart!
Unfortunately, this amusing experiment was ruined before it even started…
Because Mizuno was simply too cautious, refusing to drink anything given to him by an Uma! It seemed impossible to trick him gently.
If softness failed, it was time to use force!
Thus, Rudolf decisively dragged a large bookshelf over, placing it firmly against the training room's only exit. Turning dramatically back toward Mizuno, she boldly declared:
"From now on, this officially becomes a room you cannot leave without drinking that potion!"
"Hah?!" Mizuno stared in disbelief.
He'd always known Rudolf was domineering, but he'd never imagined she'd go this far. A room you couldn't leave without drinking? What a pretty way of putting it—why not just call it a room you couldn't leave without Uma Pyoi?!
Dammit! They'd gone too far this time! Did they really think he had no backbone whatsoever—that he'd simply roll over and beg at the slightest threat from Uma?!
Indignantly, Mizuno plopped onto a chair behind him, aggressively pointing toward Rudolf and Air Groove, declaring fearlessly:
"I, Mizuno, would rather starve! I'd rather get Uma Pyoi'd to death by you both! I'll never drink a single drop you offer!"
"Really?" Rudolf raised an eyebrow, calmly producing her notebook again.
"Let me see how many Uma Pyoi sessions you owe me already. Might as well settle it all today…"
"Cough cough!" Mizuno erupted into a fit of coughing, hurriedly grabbing the suspicious tea Air Groove had left on the table. His defiant attitude vanished instantly.
"Um… maybe we should discuss the potion thing after all…"
"Heh heh~" A gentle, bell-like laughter rang out.
But the laughter didn't belong to Rudolf; instead, it was Air Groove.
Because she'd finally understood what President Rudolf had told her before—the harsher you treated Trainer Mizuno, the quicker he'd cave in obediently…
Clearly terrified to his core, yet always pretending to be brave, Mizuno would inevitably crumble under the slightest pressure, instantly revealing his true self…
How can he be this adorable?! Air Groove felt as if she'd awakened some strange new attribute deep inside her.
She wanted nothing more than to pin him down beneath her, press herself against his chest, and savor his desperate struggle, watching as his fierce resistance gradually weakened, until he completely surrendered to her mercy. How delightful that would be!
"Trainer Mizuno…" Air Groove restrained the growing heat in her stomach, pulled up a chair beside Mizuno, and calmly sat down. Removing her shoes, she stretched out her slender, stocking-covered feet toward him.
"Could you please give me a foot massage?"
Mizuno glanced uncertainly at Air Groove's delicate feet, then back at her playful expression, cautiously asking:
"If I do this, will you let me go?"
"Hehe, I'll consider it."
Damn it! Mizuno stared at Air Groove, clearly seeing Rudolf's influence reflected in her now.
This was the classic case of bad company corrupting good character—Air Groove had completely been led astray by Rudolf!
"Mizuno, over here too."
The chief instigator, Rudolf, didn't stay idle either. Sliding a chair beside Mizuno, she kicked off her shoes, even removing her own white stockings, fully exposing her smooth, bare feet before him.
"If you do well enough, maybe you won't even need to drink that potion~"
"Hahaha, so we're playing this game now?" Mizuno laughed outwardly, cursing furiously inwardly.
He knew that even if he massaged their feet obediently, these two Uma would probably never actually let him go. Eventually, they'd still force him to drink that damned potion. Yet Mizuno couldn't afford to gamble—to refuse and hope they'd suddenly respect his resilience and set him free was ludicrously unrealistic.
After all, if a tiny kitten arched its back and hissed threateningly, would anyone truly fear it? Would they admire its fierce spirit?
Thus, Mizuno endured, helplessly surrendering to massage their feet.
Yet deep down, he secretly plotted—he absolutely must find a perfect plan to escape these Uma's iron grasp once and for all!