"Trainer Mizuno, are you alright?"
Air Groove jogged up to Mizuno, carefully looking him over, her gaze finally stopping at his legs—specifically, at the spot where Symboli Rudolf's tail was still wrapped around him…
"Ah…ahem." Rudolf herself noticed it too and awkwardly yanked her tail back.
"I'm fine," Mizuno shook his head.
"As long as you're okay…" Air Groove let out a sigh of relief, but then another question popped into her head.
"Oh, right. Trainer Mizuno, why are you here in the secret boys' dormitory?" she asked.
"Uh…well…" Mizuno scratched his head. Unable to think of a decent excuse, he randomly answered:
"I came here on vacation…"
"..." Air Groove's face instantly twisted into a look that screamed, Are you kidding me?
"No, wait, that's not what I meant!" Mizuno realized immediately how absurd that sounded. Who the heck would take a vacation at the secret boys' dorm?
"What I mean is—" Mizuno racked his brain, desperately trying to come up with a better explanation.
But before Mizuno could find one, Air Groove suddenly interrupted:
"Trainer Mizuno… You wouldn't happen to actually be a boy, would you?"
"Gwah! Of course not!" Mizuno immediately shook his head, frantically denying. "Haven't I already told you? I might have a female body, but I have gender identity issues—I see myself as a guy, so…"
"So it's normal for me to stay at the boys' dorm," Mizuno rambled desperately.
"..." Air Groove stared right into Mizuno's eyes, clearly sensing the lie radiating from his gaze.
Did Trainer Mizuno…forget I can tell whether he's lying or not…?
"Idiot…" Air Groove turned her face away, muttering softly under her breath.
Mizuno: "?"
Hold on, how did this conversation suddenly turn into you calling me an idiot?!
"Hmph…" Air Groove crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and deliberately avoided making further eye contact with Mizuno.
But the truth was, she didn't actually mind Mizuno's lying.
Sure, Mizuno was a hopeless liar, with eight out of every ten things he said probably false. Calling him the number-one liar at Tracen Academy wouldn't even be exaggerating.
Yet Air Groove also knew that this habitual liar was actually, deep down, a hopelessly kind person. Not only would he never hurt others for his own gain, but he would willingly sacrifice himself just to help someone else.
Having been personally helped by Mizuno—and able to judge the truth of his words from his eyes—Air Groove understood this better than anyone.
Thus, in her eyes, Mizuno's lies weren't strictly "lies" anymore. Rather, they'd become something more like a tsundere façade he put up just to hide his real feelings…
"Ahem…" Air Groove quickly raised a hand to cover her face, concealing her slightly reddening cheeks from everyone.
This cute side of him hits me right in the heart…what should I do?
At first, Air Groove hadn't cared at all. But once she realized that Trainer Mizuno's actual gender was male—and remembered how she'd casually shared a bed with him, fully believing he was female…
"!" A sudden rush of embarrassment flooded through Air Groove, painting her face a bright, juicy red—like a ripe apple you'd want to bite into, wondering if juice would spill out.
Though, whether that juice would be tears from Air Groove being bitten, or tears caused by Air Groove's fist smashing into your face immediately afterward, was hard to say.
Yet, even though Air Groove's mind was currently consumed by embarrassment, her body seemed to have other ideas…
"?" Mizuno glanced downward, only to find his legs once again entangled by a tail.
But this time, the culprit wasn't Symboli Rudolf—it was…
"Air Groove?" Mizuno gaped.
Oi! If you want to call me names, fine, but why are you imitating Rudolf and wrapping your tail around my legs?!
...
Meanwhile, in one particular room inside the boys' dormitory…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Uma outside was ramming the door ferociously, the steel frame twisting horribly with every impact.
The veteran trainer cowered in a corner, trembling uncontrollably. Each slam was like thunder cracking directly against his skull, making his scalp numb!
Right now, all he could do was clasp his hands and desperately pray for official reinforcements to arrive quickly, or at least for the door—which he'd already repaired multiple times—to hold on a bit longer!
He wasn't asking for much. Was a single day of safety too much to ask?!
But even a brand-new door couldn't last three minutes against an Uma's assault, much less this battered old thing that'd already been breached multiple times…
So, inevitably, after holding off several previous Uma invasions, the door finally collapsed completely, unable to bear another round of battering stronger than tank shells.
CRASH!
The broken door was kicked violently off its hinges, flying across the room and embedding itself deep into the ceiling.
The hallway's harsh incandescent light flooded into the darkened room through the shattered doorway, illuminating the veteran trainer's horrified face.
Blinded momentarily, he squinted desperately at the Uma's silhouette in the doorway.
He still had a shred of hope. If the Uma outside wasn't the one assigned to him, she'd likely leave him alone, buying him precious seconds to pry the door out of the ceiling and barricade himself again…
But as his eyes adjusted and the Uma's face came into focus, all hope instantly vanished from his heart.
Because standing right there, with curly spiral hair, was none other than his own beloved Uma!
"Fufu~ Lucky!" the spiral-haired Uma's eyes lit up instantly upon seeing the trainer she'd just "pulled" from the blind box was actually her own. She licked her lips hungrily.
"My tasty trainer~ I'm gonna eat you up!"
"Gwah! So unlucky!" The veteran trainer scrambled desperately to get away, but before he'd even managed a few steps, she pounced and pinned him to the ground.
"Fufu Trainer, just surrender yourself to me"
"Noooo! Don't touch it!"
Ignoring her trainer's futile cries for mercy, the spiral-haired Uma gleefully shredded his clothes, exposing his bare skin beneath. She felt her Uma life had now reached the absolute peak of happiness.
"Haha! Hot dog time!"
But just as she was about to start enjoying herself, footsteps echoed loudly down the hallway.
"Tracen Security!"
A squad of Uma security personnel dressed in Tracen uniforms suddenly surged into the room, immediately restraining the spiral-haired Uma from both sides.
"?!" Eyes wide in shock and disbelief, the spiral-haired Uma stared at the security members around her.
She couldn't comprehend—why had the officials arrived so quickly?!
She hadn't even gotten to fully savor her delicious trainer yet!
"Noooo—!" Helplessly restrained by the security team, all the spiral-haired Uma could do was roar in frustration as she was dragged away.
The veteran trainer, watching his beloved Uma be forcibly taken out the door by official personnel, then glancing down fearfully at his own shredded clothes scattered across the floor, felt as if everything had been some twisted nightmare…
"I…I'm saved…?!"