Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement Chapter 187: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement [186]

"Yarooo—!" Mizuno desperately tried to escape, but with his feeble human strength, he had no chance of breaking free from Air Groove's iron grip.

"Is it for Hayakawa-san? Or perhaps the Chairman?" Air Groove rapidly listed all official staff of Tracen Academy, but the answer she sensed from Mizuno's eyes was consistently negative…

"Not a staff mber? Could it be an Uma then?" Air Groove guessed again.

This ti, unexpectedly, the answer was yes!

"Soone from Tracen Academy?"

Yes.

"President Rudolf? Tokai Teio?" Air Groove began listing every Uma in the academy. Google seaʀᴄh ⓝovelFire

"No way!" Realizing Air Groove was getting dangerously close to the correct answer, Mizuno imdiately shut his eyes tight, refusing to let her read any more of his thoughts.

But Mizuno only kept his eyes closed briefly before abandoning that plan completely.

Because right now there was still an important sunflower beside him to care for—if he closed his eyes and shut out the outside world, the experint would fail instantly!

Between exposing his true intentions and ensuring the experint succeeded, Mizuno prioritized success. He reopened his eyes, ready to face the terror head-on once again.

But Mizuno didn't just wait passively for Air Groove to finish reading his mind. Instead, he rolled his eyes chaotically, hoping Air Groove couldn't accurately capture his gaze.

Yet, what Mizuno didn't expect was that whether he closed his eyes or looked wildly around—it hardly mattered…

Because for the current Air Groove, as long as she knew roughly where Mizuno's eyes were and locked onto them, she could clearly sense his emotions.

Thus, it didn't matter if Mizuno kept his eyes shut or refused to look directly at her. Air Groove couldn't care less.

Right now, Mizuno beneath her was just a helpless, soft toy, entirely at her rcy—a toy she could interrogate until the truth finally erged.

"Oguri Cap? Maruzensky?" Air Groove continued probing.

"Eh?! It's useless?!" Mizuno exclaid in shock, never expecting Air Groove to see through him even without direct eye contact.

This ti, he was truly dood. At this rate, it was only a matter of ti before Air Groove found the correct answer!

"What now, what now?!" Mizuno's forehead stread with sweat.

The only scenario Mizuno could envision to get Air Groove off him was if the sunflower beside them suddenly ran into trouble, requiring both their attention—buying him precious ti…

But when Mizuno turned desperately toward the sunflower, deep disappointnt struck him.

Because the sunflower right now showed no signs of wilting whatsoever. Instead, it was thriving splendidly—lush leaves and full branches—requiring absolutely no imdiate care.

"Fuji Kiseki? Bamboo mory? Narita Brian…" Air Groove kept naming Uma, one after another, yet none were correct.

As long as the sunflower remained trouble-free, she had plenty of ti to keep trying nas…

Thus, for a full hour, Air Groove continued relentlessly, practically ntioning every Uma at Tracen Academy, yet she still couldn't find the right answer.

anwhile, Mizuno spent the entire hour desperately glaring at the sunflower, hoping it would create so commotion—his only chance to escape Air Groove's interrogation.

But this sunflower seed to hold a grudge against him, deliberately denying him rcy—refusing to shed even a single "tear" the entire hour! Instead, it seed poised to bloom smoothly and calmly!

"Damn you! You were so troubleso before, why are you perfectly fine now?! Doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Mizuno cursed inwardly.

He'd personally nurtured this sunflower—wasn't he its nominal "father"?!

How could this sunflower simply watch its own "father" be pinned and interrogated by soone else without helping out?!

"…" Facing Mizuno's furious accusations, the sunflower naturally gave no response—after all, it was just a sunflower.

But if it could speak, it might have replied, If you're my father, then the one pinning you down is my mother, and those two sleeping over there are my aunties—so whose side should I even take?

"Strange…" Air Groove finally released Mizuno's head, rubbing her chin, lost in thought.

She'd already ntioned every single Uma at the academy, yet sohow Mizuno's gaze still indicated she hadn't gotten it right.

"Hehe~" Seeing Air Groove fail to find the correct answer, Mizuno couldn't suppress a victorious chuckle.

"Guh…" Watching Mizuno's smug expression, Air Groove's anger boiled. She was certain the correct Uma was indeed soone at Tracen Academy—just one she'd sohow overlooked due to so unknown reason…

"Who is it?" Air Groove agonized, utterly baffled.

Determined to pinpoint the answer, she decided to narrow things down further.

"Is she an upperclassman?"

Yes.

"Is she part of your team?"

No.

"A fellow trainer's team?"

No.

"An older trainer's team?"

Yes.

"Is she… part of my team?"

Yes.

"!" Air Groove's eyes brightened with excitent—this shrunk the possibilities drastically. Now all she had to do was list out her own team mbers, and the answer would inevitably erge!

"Mr. C.B.? President Rudolf? Taiki Shuttle?" Air Groove listed her own teammates again.

But all answers were negative…

"Hehe~" Mizuno smothered another laugh. Air Groove's silly little brain just couldn't find the correct answer, after all. To think he'd been so worried before, fearing serious trouble once she learned the truth…

Turns out there had been nothing to fear at all!

Doo-doo-doo~

If Mizuno wasn't currently pinned to the ground, he might've stood up and done a mocking dance to taunt her.

"You little…" Air Groove's mouth twitched violently, horse ears folding completely backward in rage. A burning fire rose in her chest—she desperately wanted to vent it, perhaps by smashing this infuriating trainer's face flat.

Though she imagined such violence vividly, she'd never actually do it.

Yet no matter how hard Air Groove thought, she couldn't recall which Uma belonged to her team yet sohow remained unntioned.

In sheer despair, Air Groove finally voiced a guess she herself considered utterly impossible.

"Don't tell —it's ?" she joked bitterly.

Yes.

"…" Air Groove and Mizuno froze simultaneously, staring directly into each other's eyes. On the surface, silence ruled—but inside, their hearts raged violently like stormy seas!

"It's… ?" Air Groove looked at her own trembling hands, her mind going completely blank.

After the entire night, she finally found the answer she'd been seeking all along.

At that exact mont, the previously motionless sunflower beside them finally stirred.

As the first rays of morning sunlight spilled gently over the flowerbed, the sunflower bud atop its stem slowly unfurled, opening tenderly toward the distant, rising sun…