...
"Trainer, look—hearts are full! o((^▽^))o" Meisho Doto's voice carried a childish delight.
She long-pressed the "+" key, proudly showing Lucian the screen filled with pixelated hearts.
"This isn't a game either." Lucian casually took the remote back from Meisho Doto's hand. "This is the air conditioner remote. What were you randomly pressing for?"
He placed the remote beside himself but didn't make any further adjustments.
So the fully filled heart stubbornly stayed on the screen like a tiny medal, occasionally pulsing a few times.
"Air conditioner remote?" Meisho Doto froze, puzzled. "But I pressed it for so long—why didn't the air conditioner react at all?"
"Because the air conditioner's power is cut off." Lucian sighed. "So silly. It's only January—who needs the air conditioner now?"
Yeah, it's only January—no need for air conditioning at all.
"Trainer, you're calling me dumb again. (︶︿︶)" Strangely, Meisho Doto felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart—as if this kind of interaction made things feel normal again.
"Hm?" At that moment, Meisho Doto's alert horse ears suddenly perked straight up. "What was that sound?"
She followed the fleeting noise, her gaze shooting like an invisible ray, landing precisely on the tightly closed bedroom door.
"What's wrong?" Lucian's face showed no panic—not even a twitch of his brow—maintaining his calm, breezy expression.
Meisho Doto pointed toward the bedroom. "Just now, there seemed to be a sound from Trainer's bedroom. Very faint, like something moving. Didn't Trainer hear it?"
"No." Lucian shook his head. "Maybe a mouse got into the room."
"A mouse?"
"Yeah. After all, we often have team gatherings here. Sometimes garbage sits out too long, and mice appear... just like expired food grows mold."
Lucian spouted nonsense with a straight face.
But the silly little Meisho Doto believed it, her face full of shock. "Eh—!!? Mice grow like that!? (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!"
"Yeah, so tonight we'll have to ask Little Dango to catch them." Lucian said, holding back laughter.
"No way!" Meisho Doto immediately hugged Little Dango tightly, turning her body to shield it. "Mice carry lots of germs, and they're really dirty..."
Imagining Little Dango with a mouse in its mouth made Meisho Doto feel nauseous.
"Isn't it only natural for cats to catch mice?" Lucian spread his hands as if it were obvious, his gaze shifting from Little Dango to Meisho Doto, a mischievous curve forming at his lips. "If it won't help me catch them, will Doto catch them for me?"
He truly hadn't planned to tease Doto tonight—but he did feel like teasing Dextrous Bailey.
Meisho Doto struggled internally for a moment before finally compromising. "I... I can help Trainer chase it out, but I don't dare catch it."
"Fine." Lucian set the game controller on the coffee table, his voice unconsciously deepening a few notches. "Then I'll have to ask Doto to help chase the mouse out."
"Okay."
...
Meisho Doto followed Lucian's steps, slowly approaching the bedroom.
But right at the door, Lucian stopped again. "Doto, aren't you the one chasing the mouse? Why are you hiding behind me?"
"Trainer, open the door first."
"Alright." Lucian pressed the handle and easily opened the door. "After you."
Meisho Doto followed Lucian into the bedroom. Her nose twitched—the warm, familiar scent unique to Lucian hit her, mixed with a faint trace of perfume.
Trainer really is refined—wearing perfume too.
Meisho Doto didn't point it out. After curiously looking around, her gaze landed on the row of plushies lined up on the low windowsill.
Her eyes scanned from left to right, recognizing them one by one.
"Suzuka... Seiun... Spe-chan... McQueen... Bailey... Suzuka... Suzuka..." Meisho Doto mentally counted the last "Silence Suzuka" plushie and couldn't help asking aloud: "Trainer, these plushies are?"
"Oh, they placed them here themselves. Said the spot felt empty, so they put them up." Lucian explained.
Except for Mejiro McQueen's, the others were placed by him—there simply wasn't room in the car.
"Oooh.... So many 'Suzuka-senpai' ones."
"Emmm... Hers are easier to fish for."
"Oooh." Meisho Doto nodded blankly in response.
Looking at her dazed yet earnest expression, Lucian couldn't help laughing. "Once Doto officially steps onto the Twinkle Series stage, there'll definitely be tons of merch like this for you too. Save one to put up here then."
Hearing this, Meisho Doto's already upturned lips curved even more. "I'll do my best!"
Lucian cleared his throat lightly. "Alright, back to business. Don't forget why you came in here, Doto."
"Mm. Trainer, do you have a broom? Let me check under the bed first."
"Yeah." Lucian handed her the broom by the door.
After taking it, Meisho Doto lay flat by the bed, using the handle to sweep thoroughly underneath.
Lying down, Meisho Doto's curves were fully displayed. Her tail swayed slightly with her movements, brimming with vitality.
Lucian silently circled behind her—otherwise the view was too much, not suitable for children.
But no matter how you looked at it, he was just putting on an act. If anything was unsuitable for children, it was the intense, decadent aura sealed inside the wardrobe of this room—seeping out through the tiny gap in the closed door.
"Doesn't look like the little mouse is over here."
After searching fruitlessly, Meisho Doto pushed herself up from the floor and dusted off her hands. She picked up the broom again and moved to other corners of the room—poking under the desk, behind the curtains—but still found nothing.
Finally, her gaze turned to the wardrobe with its narrow gap left open. "Could it have crawled under the wardrobe?"
Lucian subconsciously glanced at the gap and shook his head, still relaxed. "Not sure."
"I'll check." Meisho Doto said, broom in hand, and walked over.
At the same time, inside the wardrobe, Dextrous Bailey curled up tightly, biting down hard on a cotton garment, beads of sweat dotting her forehead.
The voices and footsteps outside the cabinet door felt agonizingly slow and endless.
Her heart was both nervous and a little aggrieved—but she could only endure like this to complete Lucian's game of hide-and-seek.
Her burning breaths sounded especially heavy in the cramped space.
Through the gap, Dextrous Bailey watched Meisho Doto's short-skirted figure slowly approach. She nervously closed her eyes, heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out the next second.
Fortunately, Meisho Doto only jabbed the broom handle randomly a few times under the wardrobe, scraping the floor—showing no intention of opening the door.
"Trainer, doesn't seem to be over here either..."
"Oh!?" Lucian's tone rose sharply. He quickly stepped aside, pointing exaggeratedly toward the door. "Doto, it just ran out to the living room!"
"Eh!? Trainer, why didn't you stop it? Σ(っ °Д °;)っ" Meisho Doto grabbed the broom and hurriedly chased after it.
Lucian cast a wicked glance toward the wardrobe, then slowly closed the door.
...
After nearly turning the living room upside down, Meisho Doto still found no trace of the mouse and finally gave up.
"Trainer, I really can't find it... Maybe put out some mousetraps or something at home? (⇀‸↼‶)" Meisho Doto hunched over, leaning the broom against the wall.
"Alright~ Thanks for the trouble, Doto." Lucian checked the time—surprisingly fast; half an hour had passed.
"No trouble, no trouble." Meisho Doto gave Lucian a dazed look. Trainer really was weird today—so polite to her.
"Trainer, if there's nothing else, I'll head home?" Meisho Doto fed Little Dango a cat treat, then placed it back in its bed.
"Okay, take care on the way."
Just as she reached the entrance to change shoes, something suddenly "dinged" in Meisho Doto's mind—like she'd remembered something crucial.
She spun around. "Trainer, right! About the campus festival!"
"No rush. We'll find a time for everyone to discuss it together?"
"Mm, okay! o((^▽^))o"
...
After watching Meisho Doto's figure disappear, Lucian rose from the sofa.
He slowly walked to the bedroom, opened the door, and murmured softly, "Little mouse... where are you?"
No little mouse—but behind the door sat a horse girl in "princess kneel" pose.
Her forehead was damp with sweat-matted hair, her whole body looking like she'd just emerged from a hot boiler.
The horse girl who now couldn't function without Trainer had hearts in her eyes.
"Successfully completed the hiding mission—no discovery by Doto. Bailey did great." Lucian gently touched her cheek—her body jolted like she'd been shocked. "Good work. Now let's turn on the air conditioning to cool down."
...