"Six lengths! Tokai Teio has won her debut race by a full six lengths!"
As the announcer excitedly declared the results, the entire audience rose to their feet, showering Tokai Teio with thunderous cheers and praise.
Just yesterday, they had all thought Rice Shower was already the most talented young Uma they'd seen in recent times. Yet today, another prodigy—Tokai Teio—had appeared, even more impressive.
Perhaps due to her extraordinary leg flexibility, Teio had unlocked a special running style other Uma could only dream of imitating:
Not only did her technique allow her to generate exceptional speed with minimal effort, but her movements were also extraordinarily graceful. Like a carefree fairy dancing effortlessly across a serene lake, she breezed past her competitors without breaking a sweat.
Rather than running on grass, Teio looked as if she was simply skipping across clouds!
After crossing the finish line, she wasn't even breathing heavily, with barely a drop of sweat on her body. It seemed like this so-called "race" was nothing more than an easy jog—far easier, in fact, than her daily training with teammates.
Tokai Teio skipped cheerfully toward the audience stands, wearing her trademark confident smile. Proudly, she flashed a "three" with her fingers.
"Hehe~ The invincible Teio-sama's victory was inevitable! After all, I'm Tokai Teio—the future undefeated Triple Crown champion!"
With abilities far surpassing other Uma of her generation, her iconic white-highlighted bangs, and that ambitious goal of the undefeated Triple Crown, everyone instantly thought of President Rudolf, the legendary "Emperor."
Could this talented young Uma named Tokai Teio truly become the next Symboli Rudolf?!
"Miss Tokai Teio! Please let me be your dog!" shouted a certain notorious guy, infamous for begging to become every winning Uma's pet dog after each race.
At that moment, a younger audience member finally tapped "Dog-san" on the shoulder, unable to hold back any longer:
"Hey buddy, I've seen you here a lot. Why is it that you always ask every single Uma if you can be their dog? You've probably said it to at least thirty of them by now. Don't you have any shame?"
Dog-san froze momentarily, seemingly caught off guard by the blunt question. After a storm of inner conflict, he made a firm decision. Wrapping an arm tightly around the younger spectator's shoulders, he drew him closer, whispering secretly:
"Brother, there's really no other way…" Dog-san cautiously glanced around, making sure no one was eavesdropping, before continuing softly.
"To be honest… I'm actually a trainer…"
"A few months ago, I noticed my own Uma looking at me strangely. After asking some experienced trainers, I discovered—shockingly—that she had improper intentions toward me!"
"But I already have a fiancée! So, to protect my chastity, I started begging every Uma after each race to let me be their dog, pretending I'd gone mentally unstable, hoping it would scare off my own Uma."
"And thanks to this desperate act over the past few months, my Uma hasn't made a move. In fact, she's been surprisingly gentle and patient."
"Still, sometimes she seems suspicious that I might be faking it, but lately she's clearly losing her patience. She often mutters something like 'How do you even train a dog?'—probably disappointed in my madness. So if I can just hold out for another few weeks, I might survive, quit my job, and finally go home to marry my fiancée!"
"I'm only telling you this because I've pretended for too long and I desperately needed to share my suffering with someone…"
"Absolutely do NOT tell anyone else! Otherwise, I'm doomed!" Dog-san sternly warned the young spectator.
"Ooh~ So that's what's going on, huh?" replied someone who had heard everything clearly.
However, it wasn't the younger spectator beside Dog-san who'd spoken; the voice came from behind him instead.
And it sounded suspiciously like his own Uma…
A chill ran down Dog-san's spine as he slowly, fearfully turned around.
Standing there was a short-haired Uma Musume, smiling sweetly at him while casually holding a dog leash.
"Trainer-san, I've been holding myself back painfully all this time too~ Let me share my suffering with you…"
"GAH—!" Dog-san immediately shoved the younger spectator aside and bolted, but he'd barely made it a few steps before his Uma deftly lassoed him with the dog leash and dragged him back, tightening it firmly around his neck.
"So Trainer-san likes being a dog, hmm? I've been diligently studying dog-training methods every single day these past months, you know~ Tonight, I'll give you a private demonstration of everything I've learned~"
The short-haired Uma licked her lips hungrily, hoisting her trainer effortlessly onto her shoulder.
"And you—don't you dare tell anyone either," she casually warned the terrified young spectator who'd overheard the truth, before happily leaving the venue with her captive trainer.
"Noooo! Somebody help—!" Dog-san howled in despair, sounding exactly like a filthy puppy about to be forced into a bath.
"Huh?" Other nearby audience members stared blankly at his desperate cries.
Since none of them knew the real situation—after all, Dog-san had never explained it to them—they assumed it was just some playful act between trainer and Uma and paid it no mind.
Only the young spectator who'd been threatened into silence and Mizuno, hiding invisibly nearby, had overheard and fully understood the truth.
"…" Mizuno watched the poor trainer get carried off and briefly considered intervening, but after a careful moment of thought, abandoned the idea.
It was someone else's personal issue. Dog-san hadn't properly set boundaries with his own Uma early on, causing her improper thoughts, then later angered her by faking madness. This outcome was entirely self-inflicted, and Mizuno wasn't really in a position to interfere…
Besides, Mizuno had far more important matters on his mind right now and couldn't afford distractions from small incidents like these.
So even though Dog-san was doomed to get thoroughly Uma Pyoi'd, Mizuno could only watch helplessly this time.
At that moment, Tokai Teio trotted off the track, gracefully leaping over the spectator fence, and approached Mizuno, tugging eagerly at his sleeve with eyes full of anticipation.
"Ne~ Trainer-san~ When are we going on our date?"
"Huh? Date?" Mizuno froze momentarily, not comprehending what Teio meant.
"Trainer-san, doesn't Tracen Academy have a special rule?" Teio bashfully twirled her fingers, her face tinted slightly red. "If an Uma wins a race, her trainer has to reward her with a date…"
"Haa? Where'd you hear that rule? I've never seen it." Mizuno scratched his head in confusion, thoroughly searching his memory but finding no such absurd rule within Tracen's official guidelines.
"Eh? But all the senpai told me that! They've always done it this way."
"…" Mizuno was speechless.
Teio, your senpai never told you an official academy rule—this is clearly an unspoken arrangement made privately between trainers and Uma, isn't it?!