Wuyou was completely numb.
Why did things end up like this…?
He was just tired from work and wanted to take a walk outside—how did that turn into this?
Was it really because he was a carrot spirit?
Scratching his head in frustration, Wuyou finally decided to stop thinking.
So what if he dies… come on then… I can take it!
Just as he stood up, ready to step out from the corner and meet his fated death…
"Lost boy~"
A peculiar voice suddenly sounded right beside his ear, with no warning at all.
It was pleasant—almost beautiful—carrying an oddly sacred resonance.
Like a goddess whispering an oracle into his ear.
But Wuyou couldn't help frowning.
He was certain there was no one next to him, yet the voice felt like it was speaking right against his ear.
Worse still… the tone was weirdly familiar.
How to describe it…
It had this inexplicable, punchable quality.
"Lost boy~"
"…I can hear you," Wuyou replied irritably.
"Oh, that's wonderful." The female voice gave a small, satisfied little remark, then immediately returned to its original "holy proclamation" tone. "Young man, are you troubled by your current situation? Do you require my aid?"
Wuyou answered with silence.
He had no evidence, but every fairy instinct he possessed was screaming a warning—
Whoever owned this voice had absolutely no good intentions.
And then—
"Looks like I'll have to personally drag that little kitty out."
"Wait. I didn't give you permission."
On the other side, Orfevre was clearly out of patience.
If Mr. C.B. hadn't been holding her back, she'd probably have already yanked him out herself.
The voice by Wuyou's ear spoke again, now with a clear "watching the show" amusement.
"Lost boy Once Orfi gets stubborn, nobody can stop her You'd better choose quickly~"
"Orfi? You know Orfevre?" Wuyou instantly latched onto the key detail.
"..."
The voice fell silent—awkward in the way of someone caught red-handed.
Wuyou sneered inwardly. Just as I thought!
He still didn't know how this person was projecting their voice from afar, but there was definitely some hidden motive.
Suddenly, he heard a crisp little tap somewhere not far away.
A small pebble had been kicked into the corner of the wall—an insignificant sound, yet painfully loud in the quiet corridor.
"Who's there?!"
"Wuyou? Is someone with you?!"
Orfevre's sharp demand rang out immediately, footsteps rushing closer—both of them had been drawn over by the sudden noise.
Wuyou's heart tightened.
He understood at once: the "voice" had set him up.
It was forcing him to choose.
"Lost boy~"
The voice pressed against his ear again. This time, it was openly mischievous—teasing, smug.
"Too late to run now, you know? Either you obey me nicely, or Orfi drags you out herself—pick one~"
Wuyou clenched his teeth.
This voice's owner was viciously rotten—clearly acquainted with Orfevre, yet still choosing to toy with him like this.
He could practically picture them hiding somewhere, covering their mouth and laughing.
His brain spun at top speed. He knew he had no choice but to decide.
Choose the unknown, nasty voice?
Or choose being trapped between Orfevre and Mr. C.B.?
Very quickly, Wuyou gritted out, "…I'll listen to you."
"O ho ho ho ho~"
The voice burst into exaggerated laughter, and then Wuyou heard a faint click behind him.
He remembered—wasn't that the door to a storage room?
"That's the one, young man The path to salvation lies within"
After that line, the voice vanished without a trace.
Orfevre and Mr. C.B.'s footsteps were closing in fast.
Wuyou let out a long sigh, resigned, and hurried toward the door.
"Hope what you said actually works…" he muttered, yanking it open.
A cool draft rushed at his face.
He caught the faint sound of something slicing through the air at high speed—
And then Wuyou felt his upper body get wrapped up by something.
A coarse texture scraped against his skin… and the smell was… weird…
This was—
A sack?!
Crap! This wasn't a "path to salvation" at all—this was walking right into a trap!
He tried to struggle, but a powerful arm locked around him, and in the next instant he was hoisted up.
"O ho ho ho ho Capture complete"
"You set me up!" Wuyou shouted.
"Lost boy That's not a setup, that's strategy All right! Let's go, let's go!"
"Mr. C.B.—save me—!"
But Wuyou couldn't even get the full cry out before this bizarre person whisked him away at speed.
By the time Mr. C.B. and Orfevre arrived, all they saw was a storage-room door still ajar, Wuyou's cane lying on the floor, and…
A card left behind.
"Wuyou!"
Seeing that he might have been kidnapped, even the usually composed Mr. C.B. couldn't help tensing up.
"No need to panic. I know who the culprit is…"
Compared to Mr. C.B., Orfevre was unexpectedly calm.
She bent down, picked up the card, and showed it to Mr. C.B.
Written on it was a single line:
I'm 'borrowing' Wuyou for a bit~
In the bottom-right corner was an extremely abstract chibi Umamusume face, sticking its tongue out playfully…
The instant Mr. C.B. saw that doodle, she had her answer.
"This… if I'm not mistaken… don't tell me?" Her mouth twitched as she looked at Orfevre.
In the entire school, someone with a style this… distinctive… could only be one Umamusume.
Orfevre kept her cold, proud expression, but a faint trace of embarrassment flickered through her eyes.
"Yeah… other than that idiot… it can't be anyone else…"
....
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