Afternoon—in front of the factory.
Master Jin stood lazily in the doorway, a half-empty whiskey bottle in his left hand and a glass in his right, savoring the quiet mountain air.
Few could understand the pain of a man married to an Uma Musume. After twenty-plus years of marriage, his body was past its prime—but fate had decided that this was exactly when his wife, Starry Sky, entered her own "peak season."
Now, every single night she demanded "contributions." And if he ever refused, she simply took them by force. Once, he'd been America's number-one wrestler; now, even with his "reserves," he couldn't keep up with that kind of agricultural-tycoon-level exploitation.
So two weeks ago, he'd spun her a story—said he was heading for the mountains to convert his old shooting range into a chili-sauce factory. She'd let him go, and he'd escaped here alone to rediscover what peace felt like.
Every day since, he'd drunk good whiskey, smoked expensive cigars, and enjoyed the mountain view. Life was sweet.
Ahh, life in the mountains—so good, so good~
"I wonder how Little Gou's endurance training's going…" Master Jin murmured, swirling the whiskey in his glass and gazing into its amber reflection.
A week ago, a mysterious young man calling himself Hideki Gou had come to him, seeking a wrestling technique strong enough to defeat an Uma Musume.
The boy had been polite, humble, and surprisingly well-built. Master Jin had taken a liking to him—so much so that he'd tried more than once to nudge the kid toward dating his daughter.
Shame the boy kept refusing. Otherwise, Jin would've already dragged him into the family by force if needed.
By Jin's calculation, though, the kid wouldn't be back for months. Between the brutal training and the recovery time, no ordinary human could complete the regimen in less than three.
He was just taking another sip when the bushes in front of the factory rustled—
And Mizuno burst out, sprinting straight toward him.
"Master Jin! Master Jin!"
"Oh? Little Gou?" Jin blinked. "What's the rush? Don't tell me the program was too much for you, and you came back early to rest, huh?"
He chuckled, proud of his own deduction, and took another drink—
"I've completed my training!"
Pfft!
Whiskey sprayed everywhere.
"What?! You what?!" Jin coughed, wiping his mouth. "You finished your endurance training already?!"
"That's right." Mizuno nodded earnestly. "Just this afternoon, I endured a full-force strike from the Uma Musume under the waterfall."
"So fast?!" Jin's jaw practically hit the ground.
A regimen designed to take three months—done in one week?!
"You don't believe me?" Mizuno asked. "I can bring you to her—"
"No need!" Jin waved him off.
He didn't doubt the boy for a second. No one with sense would risk their life lying about being ready; the technique was too dangerous for that.
Which meant… he really had done it.
Finished a three-month course in seven days. Recovered instantly from daily punishment. Woke up each morning stronger than the last.
That kind of recovery rate—
That was the dream of every middle-aged husband with an Uma Musume wife.
If he could recover that fast, he wouldn't be hiding in the mountains right now, pretending to run a sauce factory just to escape nightly "exercise."
"Uuuhhh…" Jin groaned, eyes misting with envy.
Unaware that Fortune was secretly healing Mizuno every night, Jin assumed the boy was simply built different—a monster who could shrug off injury through sheer will alone.
With proper guidance, his potential would be limitless.
"…"
Jin lowered his gaze, deep in thought.
Originally, he'd planned to teach the move for free once the kid finished his three-month training—a simple senior-to-junior gesture.
But that plan was based on the idea that Mizuno was human.
This wasn't human speed.
This was something else entirely.
"Master Jin?" Mizuno asked nervously as the silence stretched. "What are you thinking about?"
Jin looked up, a sly smile curving his lips.
"I'm thinking… maybe I shouldn't teach you after all."
"Eh?" Mizuno blinked, stunned. "But you said once I could withstand a full-power Uma Musume strike, I'd qualify to learn the move!"
Jin folded his arms, tone suddenly solemn. "I've changed my mind."
"I'm very interested in that body of yours, kid. So if you want me to teach you, you'll have to join my family first—become one of us."
"Join your family? What do you mean?"
Jin jabbed a thumb proudly at his own chest.
"Call me Father-in-law!"
"Ha?!"