At Tracen Academy:
Hokko Tarumae looked at Trainer Mizuki's log and was completely floored. This level of brown-nosing... she had to call it shameless. She wished she had half the thickness of Mizuki's skin. And Trainer Mizuki-san really loves to daydream— one girl on the left, one on the right. Why not call two more to fan you while you're at it?
"Hmph, keep dreaming. Just keep lying to yourself, you big pervert."
Hokko Tarumae cursed her with a red face. However, she wanted to know one thing:
'Taiki Shuttle had finished her training goal, right? Would she actually get a reward? If so, what kind? Could she really get information about her real-life horse?'
She wanted to message Taiki right now. In fact, many other Umas felt the same. But she felt she shouldn't be too hasty— better to wait for news from Taiki herself. Also, Tarumae knew that Wonder Acute was participating in her debut race— an 1,800m dirt race. She was 7th in popularity, she wondered if Acute could pull it off.
Elsewhere:
Tap Dance City saw this scene and laughed happily. She felt Trainer Mizuki was definitely talking nonsense— saying there were so many beauties at Tracen, didn't that include her?
She thought to herself: 'Talk all you want, one of these days I'll have to drag you away for a lesson in true beauty!'
Still, she was enjoying the read. It was quite interesting, and she looked forward to the sequel. She also hoped for a chance to perform a dance.
She had gained inspiration from famous Uma Musume like Symboli Rudolf, people had to line up to take photos with them. She felt the same— if people wanted to see her dance, they could line up too!
For high-difficulty dances, she might charge a small fee— not for the money, but for the sense of achievement, like a trophy. She felt her dance would captivate everyone, not just Mizuki.
Maybe she should mention this plan to Opera O-san? She noticed that Opera O has been having trouble getting fans to ask her for autographs...
...Or even accept an autograph in general.
Perhaps charging for the privilege could help?
At Kyoto Racecourse:
The Winning Live event was about to begin. Mizuki's log updated.
[Haha, the award ceremony just now was a sight to behold. Taiki was the champion, and No. 12, Moon Move, was second. That girl was originally quite happy— after all, runner-up isn't bad.]
[Until she suddenly looked up and caught a glimpse of Taiki's figure. Then she looked down at her own. I saw her face turn red instantly, then she secretly zipped up her jacket with a look of pure sorrow.]
[I died laughing. Losing the race is one thing, but losing at life is the real kicker. I suggest her facial expressions be included in Film Academy textbooks. First, a secret comparison of the gap between herself and Taiki, with her expression going from shock to acceptance to sadness— it almost went through the five stages of grief in one second. Hilarious.]
[I want to say, eat more papayas, girl. You just debuted, your maturation isn't complete yet— there's still hope!]
At this moment, Moon Move turned bright red with rage.
'Damn it, was my envious expression that obvious? This is so embarrassing!'
As for the papayas... she was actually quite well-endowed, she just lost to Taiki, that's all. She wouldn't eat them.
Yes, it was a matter of dignity. She wouldn't take a single bite.
"Moon-san, we're heading to the Winning Live stage soon. Let's grab some food first. What do you want?" said the 3rd place finisher, Flare Star.
"...Papaya."
Moon Move finally spoke bashfully, gritting her teeth.
'Fine, just this once.'
Simultaneously, she clenched her fist. When she saw Trainer Mizuki, she'd knock her out with one punch, sending her to chat with the Three Goddesses!
In the Tracen Laboratory:
"It... It doesn't matter if she doesn't have a big chest!"
Manhattan Cafe looked at herself and blushed, hurriedly taking a sip of coffee.
During last year's Holy Hoof Festival, not many people came to her coffee stand. Many young Uma Musume didn't visit, which made her sad for a long time.
Could it be that she was outshone by those girls who were pretty and had great figures?
Thinking of this, her future felt bleak.
"Oh? Cafe, do you need my help? Just say the word." Agnes Tachyon smiled, twirling her hands again.
"No thanks."
Manhattan Cafe refused flatly. She felt she just needed to improve the quality of her coffee. She was a talented barista, not someone who relied on looks.
In reality, Cafe hadn't realized yet— what little Uma likes drinking coffee? Especially such intense, bitter coffee. It's likely that more people drank Tachyon's black tea than her coffee.
The log updated again.
[After the awards, Taiki and the others have to change, so the Winning Live won't start immediately.]
[We have about two hours of free time.]
[Gold Ship knew there was work to be done and somehow got a stall. She called everyone over to sell yakisoba.]
[Gold Ship taught everyone how to help out. Daiwa Scarlet learned very quickly and soon finished prepping the ingredients. She got a bit cocky, put her hands on her hips, and happily said that sometimes she feels she's quite smart and learns everything fast.]
[Let me translate that sentence: 'Sometimes I feel I'm smart' means that most of the time she's not very smart, right?]
[Daiwa Scarlet, my silly little horse.]
At this moment, as she read this part of the entry:
The knife Daiwa Scarlet was using to cut vegetables slammed hard into the cutting board. Her chest heaved up and down, her teeth were grit, and her face was flushed bright red— it was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or pure rage.
From between her clenched teeth, she squeezed out two words filled with deep resentment: "Trai...ner... Miz... uki..."
She couldn't let it go. When she saw Mizuki, she pretended to walk past her and gave she foot a little stomp. However, she didn't dare use too much force, Uma Musume are incredibly strong, and it wouldn't be good if she actually injured her.
Mizuki, however, still felt a lot of pain. Even a light stomp from an Uma would still hurt a human!
But assuming she had just been clumsy and wasn't looking where she was going, Mizuki graciously forgave Daiwa Scarlet and rushed to write in her diary.
[All of my Trainees seem to be scatter-brained today. Was it something in the bread they ate, or are they just naturally silly?]
[First Suzuka forgot to get my order when she got everyone food, then Vodka accidentally smacked me into unconsciousness, and now Daiwa Scarlet stepped on my foot so hard that I almost felt like crying.]
[Did I do something to make them angry somehow...? But I can't imagine what I could've done. I've treated them with nothing but affection and care!]
[I guess they're all just tired from the train ride.]
[Sigh. It truly is tough to manage all of these little dummies. I'll have to do my best!]
Little did she know that Daiwa Scarlet was dying of anger inside, constantly muttering: "You're the dummy! Your whole family are dummies!"
Gold Ship, seeing this, laughed her head off. She truly couldn't hold it back. This was a classic case of "it doesn't affect me, so I'll laugh first."
Back at Tracen Academy:
Oguri Cap looked at the mention of the yakisoba and couldn't stop herself from swallowing. Her face was practically a roadmap of hunger, with "I want to eat" written all over it.