The next afternoon, Zero heard that Silent Suzuka had indeed been scouted, so she prepared a welcome cake in advance at the cafeteria during lunchtime (the house hadn't been bought yet), then took the cake to the training room after classes ended.
"Little Special, why are you here?"
"Ah, good evening, Senior!" Special Week was sitting in her seat, enjoying being fed carrot essence... by Suzuka, with a look of pure bliss.
"So... what happened?" Zero was also completely bewildered.
"Ah~ It's like this, Little Special has also joined our team!" Trainer Okino still had his signature lollipop in his mouth.
"So why exactly..." Just as she was about to continue asking, Zero suddenly remembered how she had joined this team.
At that time, she was a somewhat shy child who had just arrived at school. After politely declining Tojo Hana's invitation to join Rigil, as Tojo Hana looked too serious and made her, who was a bit socially anxious at the time, feel scared, she was walking back to her dormitory alone in the sunset.
Then, distracted, she bumped into a tall, blond Uma Musume wearing sunglasses and a mask.
"Um... Is there something I can help you with?"
After timidly asking, the other party directly pulled out a sack, threw it over her, hoisted her up, and sprinted for a hundred meters.
After finishing her recollection, Zero's gaze towards Trainer Okino also became quite fierce.
"I say, could it be that she also...?"
Trainer Okino, being stared at, coughed, then quickly explained.
"No, no, no, although the means of bringing her over were a bit forceful, I didn't force her to join the team! She saw Suzuka was on our team and very actively wanted to join!"
"Really?" Zero looked at Special Week with such a gaze.
After receiving a nod from the other party, Zero's gaze returned to its previous state.
"So, how long do you plan to continue this team-joining tradition? By the way, Gold Ship, did you join the team that way too?"
"No, no, no, I found this guy interesting and sought him out myself, and you were the second team member." The Uma Musume named Gold Ship was the one who had tied her up and brought her over at the time.
"As expected, you were the one who started it all =_="
"Though that's what I say, when I proposed this idea, Trainer also agreed with a look of pleasant surprise, didn't he?"
Good heavens, so it was with your consent after all!
Too infuriating, she prepared to glare with her eyes.
"Alright, alright, by the way, what are you holding?"
"Oh right, Suzuka, isn't it? This is a cake I brought to celebrate your joining the team, but I didn't expect Little Special to be here too, so it might not be enough."
"Ah, thank you, Senior." Suzuka also bowed to Zero; she was a very polite child, seeming a little out of place with the lively atmosphere of the team.
"Oh! Did Senior make it herself!?" Daiwa and Vodka, who were arguing, also stopped and gathered around the table.
"Yes, but the main characters are Suzuka and Little Special, so don't eat all the cake... Gold Ship! What are you trying to do!?" Zero quickly moved the cake box away when she saw Gold Ship stealthily crawling towards her on the floor.
"Oh, I just wanted to see what kind of cake it was~" Gold Ship put away the fruit knife she was holding. It seemed she had intended to make a hole in the bottom of the box to take out the cake.
"It's not like there isn't any for you. Aren't you afraid the cake will spill or I'll kick you?" Zero rolled her eyes at the other party and placed the cake on the table to avoid any further complications.
The moment the box was opened, a sweet aroma instantly filled the entire training room.
"This... this smell is...!" (by Gold Ship, who suddenly started making funny faces)
"Could it be the legendary Sweet Carrot, which has only a single-digit annual yield and is sold in slices at auctions, known as the world's sweetest?" (by Vodka)
"How much of it was used for such a big cake!?" (by Daiwa Scarlet)
"Senior, this is too extravagant..." (by Silent Suzuka)
...(drooling) (by Special Week)
"Eh? Didn't I tell you?"
"What?" x4
"The mountain forest where I live is one of the few areas in the world that produces Sweet Carrots, you know?"
"Eh!? !?"
"By the way, the yield of this stuff isn't that low; it's just mostly for internal consumption, so not much flows out, which is why it's so expensive. At least I'm not short on it myself. You can ask me anytime if you want to eat some."
"Yay!!!" x4
"Then what about me?" Trainer Okino pointed to the lollipop in his mouth.
Since all his lollipops were confiscated yesterday, his lollipops had been completely controlled by Zero. Especially now that his salary was heavily deducted, just maintaining his life was difficult, let alone buying such small snacks.
"Well, today is a good day, so I'll give you an extra one."
"Yay!!"
Such humble satisfaction, Trainer Okino.
Watching everyone happily sharing the cake, Zero's lips curved slightly.
"Oh, right, this cake is a bit special, you know?"
"Eh?"
"As you know, Sweet Carrots have plenty of sugar and calories, and well, I processed them in a slightly special way, so..."
"So...?" Everyone's curiosity was piqued.
"After eating it, if you don't exercise and properly digest that energy, it will cause a series of side effects like obesity and insomnia."
"!!!" Obesity... insomnia... "Of course, the benefit is that subsequent training will produce better results, and it only takes an hour of training to burn it off."
"Senior, you're just playing with us!" Daiwa first breathed a sigh of relief, then complained.
"Exactly! You scared us!" Vodka also temporarily forgot her antagonism with Daiwa and stood on her side.
Only Special Week, who was eating nonstop, and Silent Suzuka and Gold Ship, who saw through everything, were unaffected.
Or rather, Zero said it like that primarily to scare the bickering pair.
"Alright, keep eating. I'm going to do my evening training now. Remember to clean up after you're done."
"Eh? Senior, aren't you eating?" Special Week also looked up, hearing Zero was leaving.
"Ah, well, I've eaten a lot of this myself. Since you haven't had much, eat more. Remember to run for a while afterwards."
"Okay!"
With that, Zero dragged Trainer Okino out.
"At this rate, it's probably going to turn into a tea party. You're a big man, so go have a drink with Hana-nee."
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you suddenly trying to set us up like this!?"
"You two aren't in a hurry, but those of us watching from the sidelines are! Why don't you get drunk on some hard liquor, gather your courage, and just confess already!"
"Impossible! Until I've thoroughly beaten her, I will absolutely not confess!"
The next day, Zero received news that Trainer Okino had apparently gotten drunk and cornered Tojo Hana against a wall, but because he was so intoxicated, he vomited on her just as he was about to say something.
Enraged, Tojo Hana immediately demonstrated a set of joint locks on him.
Can these two really be saved? Zero, listening to the gossip with the other members of the Student Council, who also belonged to Rigil (Tojo Hana's team), couldn't help but sigh.
Why are Three-Star Factors so hard to get? (Cries)