In a void of pitch-black nothingness, the unconscious Mizuno Sora slowly stirred.

He lifted heavy eyelids and found himself imprisoned inside a transparent crystal. A dozen black chains coiled around his body, binding him so tightly he couldn't move.

Darkness gnawed at him. His muscles ached, his head swam. Even breathing—the simplest act—felt like blades scraping his throat.

Coldness. Emptiness. Fear. All kinds of negative emotions surrounded him, forcing his newly awakened self to shut his eyes in despair once more.

Just when Mizuno thought he would be trapped here forever, suffering endlessly, never escaping—

Suddenly, a miracle occurred.

A golden ray of light pierced through the dark, falling upon Mizuno's face.

"What's this?" Mizuno cracked his eyes open.

He saw: a seam ripped open in the walls of darkness. From that seam, the light poured in.

The gap widened, breaking through the dark space's walls. More and more light streamed inside, forming a shining road between the source and Mizuno.

Then—poking her head through the opening—a chibi Rice Shower, no taller than one meter, smiled sweetly at him.

"Rice Shower?"

But to his shock, it wasn't just one.

Two, three, five, seven… hundreds, thousands of little Rice Showers poured through the gap, flooding into the darkness!

They ran toward him, calling in chorus:

"Onii-sama! Onii-sama!"

Beneath the dazzling glow and their angelic smiles, Mizuno felt a warm breath flow into him, circulating through his body, dissolving all pain.

The chains around him shattered into fragments. The hard crystal holding him became fragile—so weak he could break it with the touch of a fingertip.

"Onii-sama! Onii-sama!" The smiles of the tiny Rice Showers banished every shadow, and brightened Mizuno's heart.

Looking at them, Mizuno shed tears of emotion, slowly reaching his hand forward.

"This… this is the true light!"

Outside—the training room entrance.

At that moment, Mizuno's head rested on Rice Shower's lap, his crown pressed against her stomach.

The sticky warmth of their closeness made her cheeks burn, her heart race wildly, and even left her belly tingling with a strange sourness.

"Will this… really work…?" Rice Shower asked softly.

She had obeyed Gold Ship's suggestion and offered her lap pillow to the unconscious Mizuno, to "restore his Cute Energy."

But Rice Shower was still deeply insecure. She feared she wasn't cute at all—that even if she gave him a lap pillow, Onii-sama wouldn't feel happy…

"Relax." Gold Ship read her worry. "Rice Shower-san is very cute. As long as it's your lap pillow, Mizuno-dono will absolutely wake up."

"That's right, that's right! Rice Shower is super cute~ Trainer-san really likes Rice Shower!" Urara laughed brightly.

"Rice Shower-san, don't doubt yourself. Your cuteness is acknowledged by me—the one and only first-rate King Halo." King Halo added encouragement.

"Uuh… thank you…" Rice Shower hid her red face in her hands, peeking between her fingers at Mizuno resting on her lap, steam puffing from the top of her head.

Being called cute to her face—it was shameful, but also blissful…

"…" At that moment, Mizuno's body twitched.

"Onii-sama?"

The girls gasped. The lifeless aura surrounding Mizuno was gone. Vitality flowed back into him!

"Hoh—just as expected." Gold Ship narrowed her eyes.

"Yay~ Trainer-san's recovering! Rice Shower, you're amazing!" Urara cheered.

"Uuh… Onii-sama…" Rice Shower looked at him in her lap, crying with joy.

Her lap pillow really did help him… she was so happy~

But another worry rose in her chest.

"Then why hasn't Onii-sama woken up yet?"

After all, Mizuno had only twitched once. Nothing more. He hadn't actually regained consciousness.

"No rush. It won't be that quick." Gold Ship shook her head.

Mizuno had just endured half an hour clutched by his most feared Uma Musume. His fear had piled up enormously. Even with his beloved Rice Shower's lap pillow, it wouldn't vanish in an instant.

So Gold Ship swapped her wording: "Mizuno-dono's Cute Energy still isn't enough. It needs a little more time."

"I… I see…" Rice Shower felt uneasy.

Though she was happy to give him a lap pillow, though being like this with Onii-sama was wonderful—

The longer it went on, the more she felt a strange emotion stirring inside. It made her restless and itchy, the same as when Onii-sama had stroked her horse ears and tail last time.

Rice Shower thought—if Onii-sama didn't wake soon, she would turn bad first…

"Onii-sama…" She rubbed her thighs together unconsciously.

"Hmm?" Gold Ship, sharp-eyed, noticed her unease and frowned.

Looks like Mizuno's fear can't be dispelled by lap pillow alone. If it drags on, Rice Shower won't be able to endure—and then she'll become another fear for him later…

So Gold Ship thought for a moment, then turned toward Urara.

"Urara-san, you hold Mizuno-dono's hand too. That way, he'll gain even more Cute Energy and wake faster."

"Okay~!" Urara agreed without hesitation, taking Mizuno's left hand.

The moment she touched him, Mizuno's inner world filled with countless tiny Uraras.

"Trainer-san~" They beamed, running alongside the chibi Rice Showers.

"Hehe~" In reality, flowers sprouted above Mizuno's head.

[Ding! Feeling the touch of the angel, Urara, recovery speed increased by 100%!]

The girls could sense it—Mizuno's body was brimming with even more life!

"Eh? You can do that too?" King Halo blinked in disbelief—then suddenly got an idea.

As a first-rate Uma Musume, and the one Mizuno most wished to win over as a lover—if she held his hand, wouldn't he awaken even faster?

"Ohohohoh~ Witness the power of a first-rate King Halo!" With confidence, she grasped Mizuno's right hand.

In his inner world, a flood of tiny King Halos appeared.

They were cute, sure. But Mizuno, seeing them, remembered how he'd spent whole nights firing off sugar-coated shells of praise about how first-rate she was…

"Oysters…" His face instantly sagged into the look of one utterly drained. Luckily, his hood still hid it from King Halo's sight.

[Ding! Feeling the touch of King Halo, recovery speed decreased by 20%…]