Time officially entered April, and Tenno Sho was not far off. The topic of the three-way battle instantly heated up, and everyone was looking forward to that race.
So, what were the three people who were the subject of the discussion doing at this moment?
At this time, the three were harmoniously gathered together, eating hot pot.
"Shiraito-chan, don't just eat meat, eat some vegetables too!" Heavy Gun looked at Shiro Hito, who was devouring meat, with dissatisfaction.
"Heavy meat is the source of strength; light, airy vegetables will only become a hindrance," Shiro Hito said, biting into a steak while putting vegetables on Zero's side.
"Mo! Z-chan too, don't always go along with Shiraito-chan!"
"But you see, I put vegetables for her too. If she doesn't eat them, there's nothing I can do," Zero shrugged, feeling helpless about Shiro Hito, the carnivore.
"Well, eat a little more~" This was Hishi Akebono, a being Zero truly had to look up to.
Nothing, because Zero had to look up to her in terms of both figure and height. Her record said 1.8 meters, but she always felt like she had a 2-meter oppressive presence.
Anyway, for Zero and Heavy Gun, who had childlike physiques, being held in her arms was no different from a child being held by their mother.
At this time, the three were eating an extremely large sumo hot pot, kindly provided by Hishi Akebono. The taste was uniquely delicious, and the quantity was more than enough.
Let me introduce Hishi Akebono, an Uma Musume who believes in the philosophy of "big is good." She loves to eat and loves to feed others. And because of her philosophy, the food she makes is always larger than large, possessing the special ability that "the other party cannot refuse being fed." No matter who is offered food by Hishi Akebono, no matter how much they don't want to eat, they will eventually eat it deliciously. She has a gentle personality and is known in the academy, along with Oguri Cap, as an Uma Musume with extremely high maternal instincts.
But none of that matters. Zero, who rarely got free food, was also eating very happily.
If Shiro Hito preferred the rich meat inside, then Zero liked the rare, strong flavor this time.
Japanese cuisine is usually light, and strong-flavored food like this is not so common unless you make it yourself. Of course, "strong-flavored" here only refers to spiciness.
Actually, sumo hot pot usually uses chicken and duck broth or seafood broth and generally isn't seasoned too much, relying entirely on the fresh taste of the ingredients. A sumo hot pot made like this would probably be considered heresy. But since it was made for her own consumption, there was no need to be too particular.
"Z-chan, are you okay eating like that?" Heavy Gun also sighed helplessly, then looked at Zero.
Although this time the flavor was stronger, it still wasn't enough for Zero, so she went to get some more things to use as a dipping sauce. And the ingredients for the dipping sauce… were beyond the comprehension of Heavy Gun's small brain.
Just looking at the reddish-black sauce and the faintly emanating devilish spiciness sent shivers down her spine.
"It's fine, do you want to try some?" She offered a vegetable dipped in her sauce.
"I refuse ==" Heavy Gun immediately shook her head, her face turning green.
"Z-chan, don't bully Maya-chan (Mayano, taking the pronunciation of Maya, which Heavy Gun often calls herself) either~" Hishi Akebono also smiled as she fed Heavy Gun in her arms, and Heavy Gun happily accepted the feeding with a blissful expression.
Perhaps Heavy Gun's most endearing quality was her childlike personality: she loved to act spoiled, was occasionally a little devilish, aspired to be "mature," and was sometimes a little willful. Her fans were all like doting fathers.
After a while, a portion of hot pot that would seem incredibly exaggerated to an ordinary person was finished by the three Uma Musume.
Hmm? Hishi Akebono? She always fills herself up before going out to feed others, reasoning that it's "to be able to take care of others more attentively."
"Ah~ So delicious, Maya wishes she were Hishi Akebono's child~" Heavy Gun lay in Hishi Akebono's arms, sighing contentedly.
"Ufufu, if you want, you can call me Mama, you know?"
Zero then saw Oguri Cap and her two Ash-haired daughters passing by.
Their expressions went from sudden realization to eagerness to try.
"Xiao Tamamo~"
"I refuse!"
"Oguri~"
"Is there food? Okay!"
"Hey! Oguri, don't be so rash!"
It seems to be lively over there too.
Having finally eaten a meal to her taste, Zero felt a rare sense of relaxation.
"Speaking of which, there's just over two weeks left. How are your preparations coming along?"
"Of course, if it were you at the Osaka Hai, you would definitely not be my opponent," Shiro Hito declared fiercely.
"Maya is always like that~" Heavy Gun still lay comfortably in Hishi Akebono's arms. Even Zero couldn't help but wonder if Hishi Akebono's massive front armor was really that comfortable to lean on.
"Speaking of that thing, haven't you finished it yet?" Shiro Hito suddenly asked.
"Oh! Right! Z-chan, haven't you finished it yet?" Heavy Gun also became interested.
"That thing" referred to dolls, or rather, handmade dolls.
Every time a child in the school successfully debuted, on their birthday after their debut race, they would receive a doll of themselves from an unknown source, which was considered one of the Seven Great Mysteries of the academy.
It was actually sent out by Zero. Due to the need to access student information from the Student Council, it was no secret within the Student Council; as for Heavy Gun, she often helped Zero secretly deliver the items to that Uma Musume's dormitory.
And recently, many children have successfully debuted. For example, in Special Week's class, four people, including Special Week, debuted: Special Week, El Condor Pasa, Seiun Sky, and Grass Wonder. Grass Wonder debuted last year, and she naturally received her doll on February 18th this year.
Currently, only Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa have received theirs. The others' birthdays are later, so she thought about making them slowly, but they are still not finished.
"Well, it's mostly done. I'll have to trouble you again, Maya."
"Hmph hmph~ Maya's price has gone up now!" Heavy Gun suddenly started to raise her price.
"Oh? What do you want this time?" Zero also became interested.
Every time Heavy Gun helped, Zero would symbolically give her something, for example, last year she gave her several major single-player games from the second half of the year.
One of them happened to be The Last of Us Part II, which made Heavy Gun completely out of condition at the Arima Kinen last year.
To be honest, even she hadn't expected such an outrageous plot twist.
But she also wondered what kind of request Heavy Gun would make this time, as it was rare for her to do so.
"That would be… Z-chan accompanies me on a date after the Tenno Sho!"
"!?!?" Shiro Hito
What the heck, when did these two get together!?
"…Maya, did you watch something strange?" A drop of horseshoe-shaped cold sweat ran down her face.
"Eh? No~"
"It's just, you see, isn't going out to play with friends a date?"
"Who told you that?"
"Nacha-chan!"
"=="
Nice Nature, a child who is quite famous in a certain sense. She performed very well in her debut race, but after that, she managed to get third place in various ways, earning her the title of [Bronze Medal Collector].
Another peculiar thing was that when she looked at the other party's abilities… they were all red skills, which was also a sign of extraordinary talent.
She was a very good person, but just a little mischievous. She loved to tease children, and Zero knew that Heavy Gun was one of her main victims.
After explaining the meaning of the word "date" to the other party, the misunderstanding was resolved, and Heavy Gun vowed to get revenge on Ms. Neiqia.
It feels like she'll just be teased again if she goes… "Well, if it's just going out to play together, I don't mind. But do you have any specific places you want to go?" She also agreed to the outing invitation; it wasn't like she had that much time to spare anyway.
"Oh right! Marvelous Sunday is coming along too."
As soon as they heard Marvelous Sunday was also coming, Narita Brian and Hishi Akebono looked at Zero with pity.