"?!"
Both Mizuno and Maruzensky jumped at Symboli Rudolf's introduction, never expecting her to just drop a bomb like that so casually.
"Hey, hey, hey! Luna, what are you saying?!" Mizuno felt his scalp go numb, frantically wheeling himself to hide behind Symboli Rudolf. Only after making sure he was shielded did he protest, flustered: "Luna, don't slander me like that! Don't you know calling someone a 'mysterious man' at random is dangerous?!"
His voice trembled—he had no idea what was going through Symboli Rudolf's head, just exposing his identity like this! Wasn't she just throwing him into the Monarch's Basement?!
"Don't panic…" Symboli Rudolf turned to look at Mizuno, who was clutching her waist and shaking behind her, and smiled, "Suki's not going to do anything to you."
"How could that be?!" Mizuno shook his head furiously, not believing a word.
After all, every Uma Musume who'd gotten a whiff of his Uma Mint—until they untied their heart's knot—would want nothing more than to strip him down and do unspeakable things to him.
At least, up to now, Mizuno had never seen a single Uma Musume who, after learning he was the "mysterious man," wasn't agitated and desperate to pounce on him.
From his point of view, Maruzensky, after finding out his real identity, would be no different—absolutely dying to see him again up close!
Even though Mizuno was hiding behind Symboli Rudolf and couldn't see Maruzensky's expression, he could imagine it: she probably had the look of a hunter eyeing prey, scheming how to drag him out and Uma Pyoi him on the spot!
"Gwah!"
Just thinking about what might happen next, Mizuno buried his face in Symboli Rudolf's lower back, too terrified to even look Maruzensky's way.
"Fufu~"
Feeling the warmth around her waist, Symboli Rudolf's horse ears quivered in delight, and her tail instinctively curled around Mizuno's neck.
But Mizuno, too scared of getting Uma Pyoi'd, didn't even notice Symboli Rudolf's little move, basically letting her do as she pleased.
After all, a little teasing was way better than getting Uma Pyoi'd.
"Oh~"
Symboli Rudolf noticed Mizuno wasn't fighting back like usual, and her heart fluttered. Her tail even curled into a little heart shape.
She almost wanted to take him then and there, but with her good friend Maruzensky right here, she just barely managed to rein in her instincts. Instead, she reached behind and grabbed Mizuno by the collar, dragging him out from behind her and exposing him fully to Maruzensky.
But that heart-shaped tail stayed wrapped around his neck.
"Huh?!"
Watching as Symboli Rudolf not only revealed his secret but also shoved him right into danger, Mizuno couldn't help but cry out: "Luna, are you in your right mind?!"
His first thought was that Luna was still mad at him for being "interrupted" every night by Tokai Teio lately, so now she was going to make him share himself with Maruzensky as payback.
But, thinking it through, that didn't really make sense. After all, it was still class time, and Mizuno hadn't brought Rice Shower or Tokai Teio with him. If Luna really wanted to Uma Pyoi him, she'd had plenty of chances on the way here—why wait and risk having to share?
So, Mizuno could only conclude Luna was just so stressed lately that her brain had short-circuited, so she was pulling some "I'm the Armored Titan!" kind of nonsense and just exposed his secret out of nowhere.
Even knowing Luna was basically offering him up to Maruzensky like a New Year's gift, Mizuno had no strength to resist. All he could do was shut his eyes and brace himself, waiting for the nightmare to begin.
But even after tens of seconds, there was no sign of his clothes being torn off, no commotion at all. All that happened was Luna's tail winding even tighter around his neck.
"?"
Mizuno was confused, so he cracked his eyes open a bit.
And suddenly realized: not only was Maruzensky not looking like she wanted to Uma Pyoi him, she was actually nervously backing away, hugging her head and crouching on the floor.
"I'm sorry!"
Hiding behind the door, Maruzensky timidly poked her head out at Mizuno.
"You're so scared of me—I must be bothering you, it's my fault…"
She kept apologizing, tears glimmering in her eyes, horse ears pressed tight to her head. Honestly, she looked more terrified of Mizuno than he was of her, as if she was the one in danger of being Uma Pyoi'd.
"Uh…"
Mizuno's face twisted. He was completely speechless.
Seriously, girl—how can you be even more Rice Shower than Rice Shower?!
He started to wonder if this was actually Rice Shower in disguise and Luna was just pranking him.
But if it really was Rice Shower, with their relationship now, she'd have jumped into his arms for a hug, not hidden from him like this.
So it was actually new—he'd never seen a single Uma Musume affected by his Uma Mint who didn't want to be near him.
"Don't be afraid, you're not bothering me, and I won't hurt you."
Mizuno tried to make his voice as gentle as possible to comfort the frightened Maruzensky.
But as soon as he said it, he felt something was off.
After all, this was the first time he'd ever had to comfort a Uma Musume not to be afraid of him—wasn't that completely upside-down?
"P-please don't come any closer!"
No matter how Mizuno tried to reassure her, Maruzensky acted like she was facing a natural enemy, desperately keeping her distance. In the end, she even dove into one of the scattered cardboard boxes, the walls trembling from how hard she was shaking.
With no choice, Mizuno turned to Symboli Rudolf—since the two of them were good friends, at least Luna wouldn't get pushed away like he was.
"Luna, I'll leave it to you."
"Got it."
Symboli Rudolf nodded, unwrapped her tail from Mizuno's neck, and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She created a private space, just the two of them, to talk things out.
Mizuno was left outside, staring into space and waiting quietly.
After about ten minutes, Symboli Rudolf finally came out.
"Well?"
Mizuno snapped back to attention and hurriedly asked,
"Did Maruzensky say what her wish is?"
"About that…"
Symboli Rudolf looked hesitant, like she was debating whether or not to share such a bizarre request.
Mizuno noticed her hesitation and confidently patted his chest: "Don't worry, just tell me. I'll make it happen."
His record of granting four Uma Musume's wishes was no joke—one hundred percent success rate. No matter how hard Maruzensky's wish was, he was sure he could handle it.
"Alright."
Symboli Rudolf hesitated a bit longer, then sighed and finally revealed the wish Maruzensky had just told her:
"Suki said… she wants you to win first place at the car race in a few weeks…"
---
T/N: LMAOOO bro cant even move his legs...