"Yamerooo—!" Mizuno desperately tried to escape, but with his feeble human strength, he had no chance of breaking free from Air Groove's iron grip.
"Is it for Hayakawa-san? Or perhaps the Chairman?" Air Groove rapidly listed all official staff of Tracen Academy, but the answer she sensed from Mizuno's eyes was consistently negative…
"Not a staff member? Could it be an Uma then?" Air Groove guessed again.
This time, unexpectedly, the answer was yes!
"Someone from Tracen Academy?"
Yes.
"President Rudolf? Tokai Teio?" Air Groove began listing every Uma in the academy.
"No way!" Realizing Air Groove was getting dangerously close to the correct answer, Mizuno immediately shut his eyes tight, refusing to let her read any more of his thoughts.
But Mizuno only kept his eyes closed briefly before abandoning that plan completely.
Because right now there was still an important sunflower beside him to care for—if he closed his eyes and shut out the outside world, the experiment would fail instantly!
Between exposing his true intentions and ensuring the experiment succeeded, Mizuno prioritized success. He reopened his eyes, ready to face the terror head-on once again.
But Mizuno didn't just wait passively for Air Groove to finish reading his mind. Instead, he rolled his eyes chaotically, hoping Air Groove couldn't accurately capture his gaze.
Yet, what Mizuno didn't expect was that whether he closed his eyes or looked wildly around—it hardly mattered…
Because for the current Air Groove, as long as she knew roughly where Mizuno's eyes were and locked onto them, she could clearly sense his emotions.
Thus, it didn't matter if Mizuno kept his eyes shut or refused to look directly at her. Air Groove couldn't care less.
Right now, Mizuno beneath her was just a helpless, soft toy, entirely at her mercy—a toy she could interrogate until the truth finally emerged.
"Oguri Cap? Maruzensky?" Air Groove continued probing.
"Eh?! It's useless?!" Mizuno exclaimed in shock, never expecting Air Groove to see through him even without direct eye contact.
This time, he was truly doomed. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Air Groove found the correct answer!
"What now, what now?!" Mizuno's forehead streamed with sweat.
The only scenario Mizuno could envision to get Air Groove off him was if the sunflower beside them suddenly ran into trouble, requiring both their attention—buying him precious time…
But when Mizuno turned desperately toward the sunflower, deep disappointment struck him.
Because the sunflower right now showed no signs of wilting whatsoever. Instead, it was thriving splendidly—lush leaves and full branches—requiring absolutely no immediate care.
"Fuji Kiseki? Bamboo Memory? Narita Brian…" Air Groove kept naming Uma, one after another, yet none were correct.
As long as the sunflower remained trouble-free, she had plenty of time to keep trying names…
Thus, for a full hour, Air Groove continued relentlessly, practically mentioning every Uma at Tracen Academy, yet she still couldn't find the right answer.
Meanwhile, Mizuno spent the entire hour desperately glaring at the sunflower, hoping it would create some commotion—his only chance to escape Air Groove's interrogation.
But this sunflower seemed to hold a grudge against him, deliberately denying him mercy—refusing to shed even a single "tear" the entire hour! Instead, it seemed poised to bloom smoothly and calmly!
"Damn you! You were so troublesome before, why are you perfectly fine now?! Doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Mizuno cursed inwardly.
He'd personally nurtured this sunflower—wasn't he its nominal "father"?!
How could this sunflower simply watch its own "father" be pinned and interrogated by someone else without helping out?!
"…" Facing Mizuno's furious accusations, the sunflower naturally gave no response—after all, it was just a sunflower.
But if it could speak, it might have replied, If you're my father, then the one pinning you down is my mother, and those two sleeping over there are my aunties—so whose side should I even take?
"Strange…" Air Groove finally released Mizuno's head, rubbing her chin, lost in thought.
She'd already mentioned every single Uma at the academy, yet somehow Mizuno's gaze still indicated she hadn't gotten it right.
"Hehe~" Seeing Air Groove fail to find the correct answer, Mizuno couldn't suppress a victorious chuckle.
"Guh…" Watching Mizuno's smug expression, Air Groove's anger boiled. She was certain the correct Uma was indeed someone at Tracen Academy—just one she'd somehow overlooked due to some unknown reason…
"Who is it?" Air Groove agonized, utterly baffled.
Determined to pinpoint the answer, she decided to narrow things down further.
"Is she an upperclassman?"
Yes.
"Is she part of your team?"
No.
"A fellow trainer's team?"
No.
"An older trainer's team?"
Yes.
"Is she… part of my team?"
Yes.
"!" Air Groove's eyes brightened with excitement—this shrunk the possibilities drastically. Now all she had to do was list out her own team members, and the answer would inevitably emerge!
"Mr. C.B.? President Rudolf? Taiki Shuttle?" Air Groove listed her own teammates again.
But all answers were negative…
"Hehe~" Mizuno smothered another laugh. Air Groove's silly little brain just couldn't find the correct answer, after all. To think he'd been so worried before, fearing serious trouble once she learned the truth…
Turns out there had been nothing to fear at all!
Doo-doo-doo~
If Mizuno wasn't currently pinned to the ground, he might've stood up and done a mocking dance to taunt her.
"You little…" Air Groove's mouth twitched violently, horse ears folding completely backward in rage. A burning fire rose in her chest—she desperately wanted to vent it, perhaps by smashing this infuriating trainer's face flat.
Though she imagined such violence vividly, she'd never actually do it.
Yet no matter how hard Air Groove thought, she couldn't recall which Uma belonged to her team yet somehow remained unmentioned.
In sheer despair, Air Groove finally voiced a guess she herself considered utterly impossible.
"Don't tell me—it's me?" she joked bitterly.
Yes.
"…" Air Groove and Mizuno froze simultaneously, staring directly into each other's eyes. On the surface, silence ruled—but inside, their hearts raged violently like stormy seas!
"It's… me?" Air Groove looked at her own trembling hands, her mind going completely blank.
After the entire night, she finally found the answer she'd been seeking all along.
At that exact moment, the previously motionless sunflower beside them finally stirred.
As the first rays of morning sunlight spilled gently over the flowerbed, the sunflower bud atop its stem slowly unfurled, opening tenderly toward the distant, rising sun…