"So, the payment you want… is just rubbing our feet?" Daiwa Scarlet's cheeks glowed pink as she bit her lip, voice tinged with irritation. Yet her smooth, silk-clad foot didn't pull back—it lingered right where Mizuno had massaged, toes curling slightly, as if secretly wishing for more.
"Uh…" Mizuno turned away awkwardly.
He'd wanted to tickle them—a harmless, perverted little prank—but somewhere along the way, instinct had taken over and he'd started massaging instead.
Still, seeing Daiwa Scarlet's flustered face, Mizuno realized this accident might have worked out. Foot massages as payment? That definitely counted as pervy behavior. If she was blushing, it meant his act was working!
Determined to stay in character, Mizuno straightened his back, meeting her gaze head-on.
"What, I can't? I love rubbing Uma Musume feet. Massaging pretty girls gives me… immense pleasure."
"Uu…" Daiwa Scarlet froze, clearly not expecting him to admit it so brazenly. She'd assumed it was some weird joke, not a serious "payment."
After a short pause, she shyly lifted her other foot, wiggling it in front of him. "Then… would you like to continue?"
"Huh?" Mizuno's brain stalled.
Wait—she knew he was acting like a pervert, and she was offering him her other foot?
Was she so terrified she'd given up resisting?
"What's wrong? Not going to massage it?" Daiwa Scarlet leaned forward, blinking up at him, face flushed to the tips of her ears.
"Yes! Of course I'll massage it!" Mizuno blurted out, forcing an evil grin. "Massaging pretty girls' feet is my favorite thing! Kekeke—!"
He grabbed her foot again, lightly running a thumb across her sole.
"Eek~" Daiwa Scarlet shivered, her body tensing, but she clenched her jaw and didn't pull away.
Weird, Mizuno thought. She clearly wanted to resist—her body said as much—but she wasn't fighting back. Was she scared? Or… did she actually trust that he wouldn't hurt her?
Trying to gauge her reaction, Mizuno turned to Vodka.
"Eh?" Caught staring, Vodka hurriedly dropped her hands from her face, puffing her cheeks in embarrassment. Then, as if to save face, she crossed her arms, chin raised in defiant tsundere fashion.
"Hmph~ Since you said it's your payment, I'll let you massage it… It's not like I want you to or anything," she mumbled, turning her face away as she shyly extended a foot toward him.
"Uh…" Mizuno stared blankly. Two girls. Two feet. No clue what was happening.
But since the feet were already there…
He took Vodka's foot gently and began to tickle it too.
"Uu~" Vodka twitched, trying hard not to flinch. She turned her head aside, hands covering her mouth to stifle any sounds, her ears twitching furiously. Even through her hair, Mizuno could see how red her face was.
"Kekeke—I'll feast thoroughly~" Mizuno declared, crouched between them. He pressed his thumbs into their soles, working in practiced circles.
"Ahh—!" Both girls gasped, soft cries slipping out before they could stop themselves. The pleasant shock ran up their legs and spread through their bodies.
Watching him focus so earnestly on the task, both Uma Musume grew oddly warm inside. Their throats were dry, their faces flushed, and their vision slightly hazy.
Sure, the man was laughing weirdly, but… his "payment" was helping them relax. How could someone like that be bad?
Without realizing it, they exchanged a quick glance—and nodded.
Yes, this masked, strangely dressed man was clearly a good person. A trustworthy one.
By the time Mizuno finally finished five minutes later, both girls were dazed and blissfully calm.
"Phew~" Mizuno plopped onto the ground, legs sore from squatting. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he looked up hopefully. "Well? How do you feel?"
He expected disgust—or at least a glare.
Instead—
"That felt amazing! Thanks a lot!" Daiwa Scarlet said brightly, swinging her legs as she flashed a cheerful, fanged smile.
"Hmm~ Not bad…" Vodka muttered, arms crossed, but the tiny smile tugging her lips betrayed how pleased she was.
"Huh?" Mizuno blinked, baffled.
Why were they happy?
Was his acting that bad? Or were girls just impossible to understand?
Panicking, he tapped his Bluetooth headset. "Broshi! Something's wrong! I acted super perverted, but they're not scared at all!"
"Yeah, I can see that…" Gold Ship's voice came through, equally puzzled.
Through her binoculars, she watched the two Uma Musume chatting comfortably with Mizuno instead of running away screaming.
This doesn't make sense. If any random guy had tried touching her feet, she'd have knocked him unconscious before he got close.
Unless…
"They already know you!" Gold Ship blurted out. "That's gotta be it!"
"Uhh… yeah," Mizuno admitted sheepishly.
"When?!"
"Yesterday… Tachyon and Gimlet introduced me. Said I'd help them find the mysterious gentleman."
"Haa?!" Gold Ship almost dropped her binoculars.
Of course they trusted him! He was personally recommended by their favorite senpai!
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"
"Well…" Mizuno scratched his cheek guiltily.
He couldn't exactly tell her that yesterday he'd been forced into marriage, chased by McQueen's gang, and drugged by Tachyon. Broshi might've had a breakdown on the spot.
Gold Ship let out a long, pained sigh. There was clearly a mountain of nonsense hiding behind that silence, but now wasn't the time to dig it out.
"Fine," she said wearily. "Then you'll have to go even further so they finally see you as a villain."
"How?" Mizuno asked nervously.
"The pervert's final moves," Gold Ship declared. "Grope their chests, forcibly kiss them, tell a dirty joke—any of those'll work."
"Ehh?! Do I have to?" Mizuno looked at the two unsuspecting girls and felt his soul shrivel.
They were still just kids—how could he do something that awful?
But if he didn't, the plan would never progress.
After a deep breath, Mizuno steeled himself, stepped toward Vodka, raised his trembling hand… and…
He gently patted her shoulder. "You're very cute."
Silence.
From the bushes, Gold Ship's voice cracked with disbelief. "Mizuno-dono?! Where's the groping?! The kiss?! The dirty joke?! You just—complimented her?!"
"Waaah, I can't do it!" Mizuno wailed, crouching down and clutching his head. "Cartoons only ever taught me to help grandmas cross streets, not how to harass girls!"
"No cartoon would ever teach you that!!" Gold Ship howled into the mic, torn between laughter and tears.
Mizuno, she realized, wasn't just bad at playing villains—he was anti-villainous.
If you cast him as a gentleman, he'd nail it. But as a creep? He'd transcend failure, loop all the way around, and land right back at pure, unshakable goodness.