As Trainer Mizuno pedaled his bicycle toward Tracen Academy, he constantly felt as though someone was following him.
But the visibility at night was too low, and coupled with his negligible presence, he had to keep a sharp eye on the road ahead to avoid getting hit by passing cars. He didn't have the extra attention to spare to pinpoint whoever might be following him.
Mizuno was probably just imagining things.
Given his near-invisible existence, hardly anyone in this world could successfully tail him.
Even if someone truly was following him, it wouldn't matter much. As soon as he returned to his team's training room and locked the door behind him, no stalker could do anything to him.
Of course, this assumed the stalker wasn't President Rudolf or Air Groove. As members of the Student Council holding significant authority within Tracen, they likely possessed master keys to every training room, rendering Mizuno's defenses useless against them.
...
After about an hour, Mizuno finally reached the academy gates.
It wasn't too late yet, so the main gates were still open, though a few Uma security personnel were already patrolling nearby. But to the practically invisible Mizuno, slipping past was child's play.
Just moments after Mizuno snuck in, two Uma also arrived at the entrance.
"President, Vice-President." The patrol security Uma respectfully greeted Rudolf and Air Groove.
"Mm..." Rudolf and Air Groove nodded in response.
Their gazes drifted beyond the guard and immediately spotted Mizuno skulking his way deeper into the academy grounds.
"Where is he going?" The two Uma were curious.
When they first saw Mizuno returning to Tracen, their initial assumption was that he'd be staying in the flowerbed tent everyone knew about.
But now, seeing the direction he was headed, it clearly wasn't toward the flowerbeds…
Driven by curiosity, the two Uma continued following him.
As powerful racehorses—especially Rudolf, who had excellent spatial awareness—they skillfully maintained just enough distance that Mizuno never noticed their presence, yet close enough to observe his movements clearly.
After following him for a short while, they were surprised to discover Mizuno had arrived at his team's training room.
They watched as he took a key from his pocket, entered the training room, and shut the door behind him with a decisive click, evidently locking it from the inside.
"So he had this option as well!" Rudolf and Air Groove exchanged a glance, neither having anticipated Mizuno would choose this spot.
The team's training room was indeed an excellent refuge from other Uma. Unfortunately for the Student Council President and Vice-President—who had access to spare keys for every training room—this security meant nothing. If they wanted to get inside, it would be as easy as entering their own homes…
"..." Rudolf and Air Groove stared at the locked training room door, knowing it offered no real barrier to them. Yet after some hesitation, they finally decided against disturbing Mizuno tonight.
The reason was simple: While trailing Mizuno, they'd received the summary report of the Fifth Uma Siege Incident.
In previous sieges, trainers had only a one-in-a-thousand chance of escaping their beloved Uma. Yet this time, the escape rate had miraculously jumped to an astounding 84 percent!
And such an enormous improvement was due not only to the officials' rapid response but also in large part thanks to Mizuno's efforts to stall for time.
Tonight, for the sake of protecting as many trainers as possible, Mizuno—a mere human—had single-handedly stalled hundreds of Uma.
Out of all trainers, Mizuno was the most aware of how terrifying the Uma could be and the least willing to directly face them. Yet despite that, he'd abandoned his greatest advantage of near-invisibility to openly appear in the sights of all the Uma.
Even though he'd pretended to be calm, his nerves must've nearly snapped several times tonight…
Thus, whether it was Rudolf, who longed to continue living with Mizuno as before, or Air Groove, who wanted to start enjoying more intimate time with him, neither wanted to put even the slightest bit of additional pressure on Mizuno tonight.
Simply knowing where Mizuno would be staying tonight was enough. After all, there'd be plenty of chances later—no harm in giving him a surprise visit tomorrow evening.
Thus, after staring wistfully at the training room for a little longer, Rudolf and Air Groove finally turned away, silently departing…
Inside the training room, Mizuno knew nothing of this. He was entirely focused on tidying up the space.
He spent some time clearing off the largest table, found a tablecloth to spread over its surface as padding, and thus quickly fashioned himself a makeshift bed.
Mizuno climbed onto the table, testing out the bed. Aside from lacking a pillow—making his head ache slightly from knocking against the tabletop—it was surprisingly comfortable.
Yet, as he lay there, he couldn't help but remember the last time he'd used this table—when everyone had placed dishes for Urara's celebration banquet right here. Lying on it now, Mizuno felt strangely like he had become a dish himself, waiting to be enjoyed by a crowd of hungry Uma…
Shaking his head vigorously, Mizuno chased this unsettling illusion out of his mind.
Probably just exhausted from stress, Mizuno thought as he stared blankly at the ceiling, shivering as he remembered being surrounded by hundreds of Uma earlier that evening.
If he'd made even one mistake, he probably would've been finished…
"Sleep, just sleep!" Mizuno forced his eyes shut, willing himself to stop thinking of terrifying scenarios. No point replaying what had already passed—he'd already escaped successfully anyway.
Rather than dwelling on tonight, he chose to anticipate tomorrow instead.
Thinking about seeing the adorable Urara and Rice Shower again tomorrow instantly filled Mizuno with renewed energy!
But speaking of his beloved little sister Rice Shower…
"..." Mizuno opened his eyes and turned his head toward the storage lockers.
One of them wasn't properly closed, its door slightly ajar, exposing what was inside.
Though Mizuno hadn't been to the training room in weeks, he vividly remembered this particular locker belonged to Rice Shower.
Earlier, while tidying up, he'd unintentionally glimpsed the locker's contents.
Inside Rice Shower's locker, besides her usual training clothes and shoes, hung a large adult-sized coat.
Mizuno immediately recognized it—it was originally his.
He clearly remembered the night he'd borrowed several hundred thousand yen from Rice Shower to buy Agnes Tachyon's potions. Because it was cold out, he'd draped this coat over Rice Shower to keep her warm.
Yet here it was now, neatly hanging in Rice Shower's locker.
But the coat itself wasn't what concerned him most.
Rather, beneath the hem of that coat, two strange objects had been partially hidden.
Looking closely, they appeared to be two small bottles of clear liquid, identical in appearance. Yet one had a label marked [A], and the other was marked [B].
Mizuno didn't know exactly what these were, but vaguely recalled seeing something similar at Agnes Tachyon's black market. He couldn't remember their exact effect—only that they weren't particularly "trainer-friendly."
Why would Rice Shower have potions from Tachyon's black market? Had she visited the black market herself? And more importantly, what did she intend to do with them?
"..." Mizuno shook his head, choosing to put aside his suspicions. Instead, he jumped off the table, quietly approached the locker, and gently closed it, deciding to help Rice Shower keep her little secret safe.
No matter how suspicious it looked, as Rice Shower's precious big brother, Mizuno was determined to trust her unconditionally.
After all, Rice Shower was so adorable, so pure, and kindhearted…
There was absolutely no way she would plot against her beloved Onii-sama…right?