The mental torment of Mizuno Sora continued.

Though Gold Ship kept trying to divert Tokai Teio's attention away from him, Teio had only just achieved her wish of becoming his trainee—she was deep in the "honeymoon period." How could she possibly be lured away by anything that wasn't Mizuno?

Gold Ship's temptations didn't pull Teio's eyes away. Instead, they only made her cling to him more tightly.

"Hehe~" Teio sat squarely on Mizuno's lap, nestling obediently into his arms, her ears quivering with pleasure and flicking against his face again and again.

Mizuno felt the burning heat radiating from the small body in his embrace, and the soft flicks brushing his cheek. He transformed into a wide-eyed, slack-jawed husk, screaming in anguish inside.

"HumhumhumaaAAAAHHHH—!"

Gold Ship, watching Mizuno's expression of agony, could only frown in helpless frustration.

"Mizuno-dono…"

It wasn't that she didn't want to help him escape this hell. She simply couldn't.

Because right now Teio was like a child with a new toy—if someone tried to yank it away, not only would it fail, it would trigger her rebelliousness, amplifying her possessiveness of Mizuno.

So, for the sake of Mizuno's safety now and in the future, Gold Ship couldn't act.

But she had noticed: Teio hadn't slept well the previous night. Maybe a nightmare had left her fatigued.

Even as she excitedly rubbed herself against Mizuno in his arms, her exhaustion was surging back. Bit by bit, drowsiness began to take her.

Gold Ship judged: as long as Mizuno held perfectly still, offering no more stimulation, Teio would succumb to sleep soon. Then Gold Ship could move her away.

Until then, all she could do was OMO from the sidelines.

Hold out, Mizuno-dono…

Half an hour later, just minutes from the appointed meeting time—

Urara, Rice Shower, and King Halo came chatting and laughing together, heading toward Team TAC's training room.

Yesterday Mizuno had told them: this morning, everyone should gather at the training room first, then go together to buy fresh ingredients, and at noon, host a party there to celebrate Urara's debut-race victory.

Everyone was excited—not just because the party was for team mascot Urara, but also because this was the first time they'd get to go out shopping with Trainer Mizuno!

After all, if it wasn't work, Mizuno never appeared around Uma Musume. No matter who invited him out, he always found an excuse to refuse.

But today—finally—they had the chance to stroll with him. Rice Shower and King Halo both looked forward to it eagerly.

Yet as they reached the training room, the sight before them made their hearts sink.

Because lying on the ground by the entrance was Trainer Mizuno—limp, unmoving, looking utterly squeezed dry.

And sitting beside him, chin propped in her hand with an exasperated look, was the one who usually played around with him most—Gold Ship.

"Trainer-san?"

"Onii-sama!"

"Mizuno-san?!"

The three hurried over, circling around Mizuno.

"Onii-sama? Onii-sama?" Rice Shower gently lifted his arm. His body flopped lifelessly—like a shell without a soul. No matter how she called, there was no response.

"Onii-sama, how did you become like this?!"

There had been one similar case before: when Teio and King Halo quarreled, the strain of being human had knocked Onii-sama unconscious under the double assault.

But today King Halo had come together with Rice Shower, and Teio didn't seem to be around. Neither had a chance to act.

So the only one present who might have bullied Onii-sama was…

"Gold Ship-san…" Rice Shower's entire aura grew frightening as she turned toward Gold Ship.

"Yikes! It wasn't me!" Gold Ship paled under her dangerous stare, waving her hands.

"Then why has Onii-sama become like this?" Rice pressed.

"…" Gold Ship's eyes flicked secretly toward the training room.

Inside, the real culprit—Tokai Teio—was fast asleep. But the door was shut; the others couldn't see.

Just minutes ago, after clinging and fussing over Mizuno for more than twenty minutes, Teio had finally succumbed to fatigue and dozed off.

Gold Ship had seized her chance. The rescue was perilous—Teio had kept clutching Mizuno even in sleep. Gold Ship had to pry her fingers loose carefully, nearly waking her several times.

But at last, she succeeded. She carried Teio to a chair inside the room, returned to the doorway, shut the door, and sat guard by the collapsed Mizuno.

The bodyguard mission—complete!

Still, she had no intention of telling the truth. Sure, she loved pranks, but never ones that truly hurt people.

If she exposed that Mizuno feared Teio… neither Mizuno nor the girls who liked him would feel good.

So Gold Ship said:

"Don't worry, Rice Shower-san. Mizuno-dono just ran out of Cute Energy."

"Cute Energy?" Rice tilted her head.

"Yes." Gold Ship nodded.

In reality, Mizuno had fainted because his terror of Teio had reached its limit. To wake him, his fear needed to be eased.

But to hide that truth, Gold Ship reframed it as Cute Energy depletion.

"Then what should we do?" Rice asked.

"It's simple. There's only one way to revive Mizuno-dono!" Gold Ship declared.

"What way?"

"Heh-heh." Gold Ship chuckled softly.

Although she hadn't been there the last time Mizuno collapsed from Teio, she had investigated the scene afterward.

Back then, his condition had been the same as now. He'd been revived because he received one crucial thing—something that made him forget his fear.

"Lap pillow! It was Rice Shower-san's lap pillow!" Gold Ship proclaimed.

"Eh?! L-l-lap pillow?!" Rice Shower squeaked like a startled rabbit, her little face turning scarlet.

The way to wake Onii-sama—was her lap pillow?!

"That's right." Gold Ship nodded, placing a hand on her slender legs.

"Rice Shower-san, for your Onii-sama's sake—give him a lap pillow!"