In the end, Mizuno still went ahead and hired Gold Ship as his temporary bodyguard.

Because if he suddenly went back on his word now, she'd definitely notice he was afraid of something—and that might expose his most dangerous secret: that he was the mysterious man.

Besides, Mizuno figured, Gold Ship had just helped him get rid of Hayakawa-san's scent from his body—that alone proved she was a trustworthy bro. Even if she ever did find out his true identity, she probably wouldn't sell him out.

So Mizuno decided to trust her, willing to entrust both his chastity and his life's safety to her protection.

Of course, the UFO toy he'd promised her as a down payment couldn't be made yet—yesterday's special parts were meant for building a treadmill, not toys—so that down payment would have to be put on hold until the next time he got supplies.

"Alright, time to get to work." Mizuno didn't want to waste time. He pulled a pile of carefully prepared materials from his backpack, sorting them neatly on the ground.

Then he sat cross-legged and began assembling the parts, aiming to have the treadmill finished before the afternoon training session.

"Woah…" Gold Ship was long past being surprised by Mizuno's ability to pull items from his four-dimensional pocket or his knack for strange skills.

Sure, she really wanted to stuff him in a sack, strip off his clothes, and confirm whether he was actually an alien—

—but she'd agreed to be Mizuno-dono's bodyguard, so she couldn't break her promise by becoming the danger before any danger actually showed up.

And besides, abducting Mizuno-dono right now wouldn't benefit her—the toy she wanted still had to be made by him.

If she was going to strip him, she'd at least wait until she got her UFO first.

And then, she'd only take one look. No more than that.

"Hehe~" Gold Ship stared at Mizuno with a sly smile.

"Ship-bro?" Mizuno felt a chill down his spine and turned to see her watching him.

But he didn't think much of it—assuming she was just curious about what he was doing.

"Ship-bro, want to help make the treadmill?" he asked.

One more pair of hands meant faster progress.

"Sure." Gold Ship thought it sounded fun, so she agreed.

She hadn't read the book dozens of times like Mizuno had and didn't know the exact steps, so she could only assist—passing parts, holding supports, and so on.

Though she occasionally slacked off to make other things with the spare parts, she was still helping overall—and their progress sped up by about twenty percent.

...

Before long, afternoon came.

The TAC Team members arrived at the training grounds as usual.

But today, when they reached the meeting spot, they were greeted by a scene that made them want to sprout question marks.

Mizuno was on a strange treadmill, running like his life depended on it—legs pumping at full force—yet staying in place.

Behind him, Gold Ship stood on the grass holding a stick, shouting arrogantly:

"Trainer, don't run! I'm gonna strip you and utterly humiliate you!"

"Help!" Mizuno's whole body tensed at her words, and his pace quickened.

"If you don't run faster, I'll pounce on you!"

"Yamero!"

With Gold Ship's constant provocation, Mizuno ran faster and faster! The treadmill display showed 8 m/s!

It might not be much for an Uma Musume, but for a human it was nearly the limit!

And he was still accelerating!

"Ohoho darling here I come~" Gold Ship cooed excitedly, lightly poking Mizuno's butt with the stick.

"Uwah!" He jolted, breaking through his limit—speed shooting up to 9 m/s!

To bystanders, the whole thing looked like an old-time slave driver chasing someone with hot coals to make them run.

"Uh…" King Halo and Mejiro McQueen tilted their heads, trying to make sense of it.

Was this… some kind of new game between Mizuno-dono and Gold Ship?

Urara, Rice Shower, and Tokai Teio didn't hesitate—they rushed forward.

"Stop! Don't bully Trainer-san / Onii-sama / Mizuno-san!"

The three stood in front of him, glaring at Gold Ship.

"Staaare—" A dangerous aura filled the air, and the icy looks made her shiver.

"Kidding! I was kidding!" Gold Ship broke into a cold sweat, tossing away the stick and raising both hands in surrender.

But to say she was scared of all three wasn't quite right—there was really only one.

Urara was a little angel—even angry, she was adorable. It didn't inspire fear—if anything, it made you want to squish her puffed cheeks.

Teio was fine too—she looked more jealous than truly angry.

Rice Shower, though—was terrifying.

Her eyes burned with killing intent, her whole body shrouded in black aura—as if warning Gold Ship that if she bullied Onii-sama again, she'd be stabbed tonight for real…

Gold Ship might be a troublemaker, but her emotional intelligence was higher than most—she could read people's moods and tell if someone was truly mad.

And Rice Shower was truly mad.

Normally timid, afraid to even meet others' eyes—yet when Mizuno-san was threatened, she could glare with that much danger in her gaze!

Rice Shower's feelings for Mizuno-san… definitely went far beyond ordinary "like."

Mizuno-san, what exactly have you done to her?

If she decides to jump you, I can't stop her!

"Sorry!" Gold Ship dropped straight into a dogeza, ears pressed to the ground in apology.

"Haa… haa…" With her threat gone, Mizuno lost his running drive, his speed slowly dropping.

Sweat streamed down his face, breath ragged, legs wobbly—looking seconds away from collapse.

"Onii-sama, are you alright?" Rice Shower hurried to support him.

"Haa… I'm fine…" He waved a hand.

"But Gold Ship-san, she—"

"It was my idea to have her push me like that," Mizuno explained quickly to avoid misunderstanding.

"Actually, this was an experiment."

"Experiment?" they echoed in confusion.

"That's right." Mizuno nodded.

In truth, he'd asked Gold Ship to threaten him from behind—hoping that certain stimuli could push his potential and make him run faster.

He could have gone even faster earlier—if they'd kept it up, he might have reached the human limit of 10 m/s!

Unfortunately, before that could happen, Rice Shower and the others had interrupted.

Catching his breath, Mizuno pointed proudly at the treadmill beside him.

"Let me present… our team's exclusive training equipment!"

"I call it—the Burn-the-Boats Treadmill!"