After hearing Gold Ship's promise, Mizuno nodded, deeply moved. "Good! I trust you, Broshi!"
The promise was a little strange—especially since Gold Ship herself seemed exempt from the "no other Uma Musume" clause—but Mizuno still believed with absolute certainty that she was trustworthy. No matter what happened, Broshi would never Uma Pyoi him.
"Oh right, Broshi, the door's locked. What do we do?" Mizuno asked, glancing nervously at the door the administrator Uma Musume had locked earlier.
"Oh, that? I can't do anything about it…" Gold Ship shrugged, glancing toward the door with mild annoyance.
"The Academy assigns special administrator ladies to escort trainers into these 'Couple Rooms.' They lock the doors from the outside so trainers can't escape, and only unlock them after three hours."
"Of course, we could smash through the walls. With my Uma Musume strength, I could break us out in no time…"
"But there's really no need. In three hours, the administrator will come knock, and after that, she checks hourly. If we respond, she'll let us out."
"So instead of destroying school property and getting us both in trouble, we might as well just wait here obediently," Gold Ship explained.
"I see…" Mizuno gave a wry smile.
He hadn't expected the Academy to be this thorough. No wonder the carpet was scattered with those tiny umbrellas—it was obviously designed to keep trainers and their Uma locked in together for a while, to prevent… well, incidents.
"Broshi, did you bring your phone?" Mizuno asked suddenly.
"Nope." Gold Ship shook her head, casually swinging her long, shapely legs at the edge of the bed.
"This special training base has signal jammers. Phones here only work for photos or offline games—no calls, no internet—so I didn't bother bringing mine. It's still charging on my nightstand. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how we're supposed to kill three hours without a phone…" Mizuno sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"What about yours, Mizuno-dono?"
"I broke it. Been saving up for a new one."
"Oh." Gold Ship stopped swinging her feet. Her eyes fell on one of the umbrellas on the carpet. She leaned down, picked it up, and held it out between two fingers.
"How about… blowing balloons?"
"Gah! Who'd blow that?!" Mizuno recoiled, waving frantically.
"Then what should we play?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm… Then let's keep playing the Uma Pyoi game!" Gold Ship said brightly, tearing open the wrapper and scooting closer to him.
"Come here, Mizuno-dono—let me put this on you~~"
"Gwah! Yamero!" Mizuno yelped, throwing up his hands in defense.
"Let's stop with the Uma Pyoi game for now, okay? We already played that twice earlier—I'm kinda bored…"
"Fine…" Gold Ship sighed, tossing the item aside, her enthusiasm deflating.
"So boring~" She flopped back onto the heart-shaped bed, stretching lazily. The thin nightgown clung to her curves, leaving little to the imagination.
"Uh… Broshi…" Mizuno awkwardly scratched his cheek, turning away.
"Could you maybe put something else on? That outfit's… kind of too revealing. I don't even know where to look."
"Oh?" Gold Ship's ears twitched. She rolled onto her side, resting a hand over her chest, giving him a teasing stare.
"Could it be… Mizuno-dono's having those kinds of thoughts about me?"
"Definitely not!" Mizuno shook his head so hard it nearly rattled.
Honestly, he never saw Gold Ship as a girl—only as a bro with slightly exaggerated pectoral muscles. Even when she acted flirty or wore something risqué, she was still just Broshi to him: goofy, ridiculous, and completely beyond such thoughts.
Anyone who got turned on by Broshi deserved eternal ridicule.
"Wait—hold on!" Mizuno suddenly sat upright, an idea flashing through his mind.
Speaking of lust reminded him—there were only six days left until the medicine's effects kicked in!
"Broshi, I need your help with training!" he said seriously, crossing his arms.
"Training?" Gold Ship raised an eyebrow, smirking. "The kind I'm thinking of?"
"What kind?" Mizuno asked blankly.
"You know, this kind." Gold Ship made an "O" with one hand and slid her other index finger into it.
"Gwah! Absolutely not!" Mizuno barked, exasperated.
When did Broshi start cracking dirty jokes?!
"It's a different kind of training…"
He quickly explained the situation with Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka—but carefully left out the part about Agnes Tachyon drugging him, not wanting to worry her.
"So, Mizuno-dono, you're asking me to teach you how to embody both the gentlemanly and chivalrous spirits at once?" Gold Ship asked, crossing her legs neatly.
"Exactly." Mizuno nodded earnestly.
Agnes Tachyon and the others had tasked him with fulfilling both Scarlet and Vodka's ideals—meaning he had to be both the perfect gentleman and the noble knight at the same time.
But cowardly, indecisive Mizuno had no idea how to do that.
He needed someone who truly embodied both traits—and among all the Uma Musume he knew, Gold Ship was the obvious choice.
After all, Broshi could be brave yet graceful, abstract yet clever, mischievous yet kind. To Mizuno, she was the perfect mix of gallantry and heart—a bro he could always rely on.
"But Mizuno-dono… aren't you already the perfect combination of gentleman and knight?" Gold Ship remarked, tone dry.
"Huh? No way…" Mizuno scratched his head, baffled by her praise.
Ridiculous! If he counted as that, then everyone else in the world must be saints.
"Anyway, it's really important to me! So please, Broshi—teach me!" he said, bowing deeply.
"Ah…" Gold Ship frowned slightly, watching him.
Her Mizuno-dono was smart. Quick to learn, quick to teach. Even without revealing his Uma Mint traits, his calm, gentle nature drew people in naturally.
So why was he always so humble—so hard on himself?
And there was another thing he didn't realize…
"Why bother learning? Can't I just pretend to be the mysterious gentleman for you?" Gold Ship suggested.
"…" Mizuno froze for several seconds, processing the obvious answer.
"Oh right!" He suddenly slapped his forehead.
He had Broshi! Why do it himself when she could just take the role? That would solve everything safely and easily!
"You're a genius, Broshi!" he cried, hugging her tight.
If they weren't opposite genders, he might've kissed her out of gratitude.
"Alright, alright—enough hugging. You do realize this could get dangerous…" Gold Ship patted his back, urging him to let go.
"Sorry, got carried away…" Mizuno said, stepping back.
"Careful next time, or I might really Uma Pyoi you~"
Her tone was casual, her smile relaxed—so Mizuno assumed she was joking.
"It's fine if Broshi wants to Uma Pyoi me~" he teased, shielding his chest playfully.
"Hehe…" Gold Ship narrowed her eyes, unreadable.
"Anyway, we've still got about two hours and fifty minutes until the administrator comes back. What now?" She slumped onto the [Yes] pillow at the head of the bed.
"I don't know…" Mizuno admitted, staring at the pink ceiling blankly.
They were like two friends who'd made plans to hang out but forgot to plan anything, left awkwardly doing nothing.
"How about we take a nap?" Gold Ship suggested suddenly.
"You fell asleep pretty fast when I rubbed your face earlier, Mizuno-dono. You're clearly tired—so just rest~"
She scooted over, patting the empty spot beside her invitingly.
"Staying up late isn't good for you—come sleep, Mizuno-dono!"
"!"
That familiar gesture—Mizuno instantly remembered how Broshi used to call him to bed every night.
He'd missed this so much.
If only she were wearing her usual pajamas instead of that revealing nightgown, it'd be perfect.
"Alright, coming now," Mizuno said, rolling obediently into place beside her.
Gold Ship tucked him in warmly, patting his chest.
"Good night, Mizuno-dono."
"Good night, Broshi."
As Mizuno drifted into deep sleep, he faintly felt Broshi's arms wrap gently around him.
Sleeping beside his bro—there was no comfort greater than that.