The new year arrived, and everyone generally returned home to reunite with their families.
Zero also planned to go back for an offering, so she took the train back to Hokkaido with Special Week.
After completing the offering, Zero stayed at Special Week's house for a day before returning to Tracen Academy.
After all, she still had to consider team assignments and going abroad.
The racing experience inherited from her lineage included foreign racetracks, so she might be more familiar with those tracks than the local Uma Musume there.
Therefore, she only needed to consider scheduling, and the specifics would require thorough discussion.
"That being said, are you really planning to participate directly in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe?" Trainer Okino was a bit surprised by Zero's choice.
"Well..." She had run it that way before.
However, Trainer Okino naturally had no objections to Zero's decision.
"The Arc de Triomphe, huh…" Trainer Okino also sighed with emotion.
There's a saying that no matter how well you perform domestically, if you can win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, you are a powerful Uma Musume.
It's easy to see how highly regarded the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is.
It's understandable that Zero would set her sights on a race of this caliber, and somehow, after she disappeared alone for a while that night and returned panting, she seemed to have changed.
It was an indescribable feeling, perhaps a sense of openness, as if a long-held wish had been fulfilled?
As for the result of that race… [Wuwuwu, Z-chan is too ruthless!]
Seeing the Three Goddesses like this, you probably understand what happened, right?
When facing the four Three Goddesses, she finally ran without holding anything back, and even then, the race was incredibly close despite her giving her all.
However… Zero's divine speed skill, which ignored activation conditions and could be used directly even if it had already been activated once, was too overpowered, especially since she wouldn't get injured from breaking her limits while in her domain.
Of course, that move, which she had already used once that day and required three days of recovery, was used again in this race, and it cost a lot of PT to barely recover.
But this didn't matter much; after fulfilling that wish, all she sought was to continue running and for an Uma Musume to defeat her one day.
The latter still seems a bit uncertain given the current situation; as long as she uses her full power, no Uma Musume can pose a threat.
Well, at least there's still hope to look forward to, right?
In any case, this year, besides the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in early October, there are no other races left to participate in.
She just received a notice that the association has asked her to avoid participating in domestic Twinkle Series races unless absolutely necessary, to give other Uma Musume more opportunities.
Alright, she's been banned again ( ).
But it doesn't really matter; this year, the main reason was to lead a team, so she wanted to focus as much attention as possible on the team, otherwise, she would have already gone abroad to wreak havoc.
However, waiting until next year is fine; besides, if her performance at the Arc de Triomphe remains the same, she believes she probably won't be able to run normal races.
It feels like she'll still have to challenge the Dream Cup and Legend Cup.
In short, after the race schedule is finalized, it's time to prepare for the new team.
The Trainer assessment is no problem for Zero, but team registration, especially squad division, will take some time, so it's better to do it in advance.
When it came time to think of a team name, Zero, as if possessed, filled in this name.
"Team Sirius"
"Sirius, huh…" Trainer Okino pondered for a moment.
Speaking of which, the two largest teams at Tracen are currently named after stars.
Spica, Rigil, it feels like there might be more in the future.
But this is good; naming them after stars also carries the implication that the Uma Musume business can flourish like the stars in the sky, so it's not a bad thing.
"But I thought you would name it after Draco…" Trainer Okino thought for a moment and expressed his opinion.
"Why would you think that?"
"I don't know, I just had a feeling you'd suddenly blurt out something like 'Xyz Summon, Draconic Overlord, Mu Beta' or something similar."
"?" She understood every word, but put together, why did it sound incomprehensible?
"I don't know, maybe I was influenced by A-fune and thought of some strange phrase?"
"Although I think that name is quite interesting, I still prefer Sirius; I just feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity."
"Well, it's your team, so as long as you like it, it's fine."
"Right?" Zero shrugged.
Next was about the team members; Trainer Okino assigned Mejiro McQueen and Haru Urara to Zero's command, as they both usually have a good relationship with Zero.
Haru Urara is like that with everyone, but her best relationships are with Zero and Rice Shower.
Perhaps this is what they call the loli group (gets dragged away).
And Mejiro McQueen was mainly due to Zero's non-fattening desserts (crossed out).
That being said, it was actually because McQueen was very convinced by Zero's teachings.
After all, she was the one who achieved the consecutive Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho victories that McQueen desired.
Moreover, she and Teio are rivals, so maintaining competition within the same team would be more beneficial for their passion.
Of course, the specific details still need to be discussed with them after the holidays, as their opinions must be heard.
After setting some general goals, Zero went to prepare for the Trainer exam.
The Trainer exam was tomorrow, and Zero had returned at just the right time.
Today's events should have ended like this, but then… "So, what is it this time? = =" Zero looked helplessly at Alice Digital, who had come to her house looking pitiful.
"QAQ"
After the other party's explanation, Zero finally understood the whole story.
"So you got caught selling some strange doujinshi? = ="
"That's slander! All the doujinshi I draw are pure love!" Alice Digital retorted indignantly.
"And then what? What else happened?"
"The one who caught me was Air Groove, the Vice President… Then I was taken to the Student Council Room and lectured, and when I went back, I realized I hadn't brought my dorm key…"
"Huh? Isn't Suko there?"
"Emmmm, she seems to be living in the research lab now and only occasionally goes back, and I'm usually always there, so I didn't bring my key."
"That does sound like something she would do = ="
Alice Digital's life skills are truly inversely proportional to her talent, and Manchester Cafe is constantly worried about her, while Zero occasionally makes bentos to help out.
However, with Alice Digital showing up so pitifully, Zero couldn't just leave her exposed to the elements.
After all, her money was gone due to fines, so she couldn't afford a hotel.
"Well… anyway, have you had dinner?"
"Not yet…"
"Alright, go wash up first, I'll make dinner."
"Yay! As expected of my friend!" Alice Digital seemed very happy.
But it wasn't long before she regretted it.
When it was time to sleep, Alice Digital lay with her back to Zero, too nervous to sleep.
"Well, the guest room hasn't been cleaned in days, so just sleep with me." Zero had said this during dinner.
"!!!"
As like-minded good friends, they naturally had a lot of communication, which made her forget that the other party was also an Uma Musume with extremely high Appearance.
"Hm? Can't sleep?" Zero asked, seeing Alice Digital's ears twitching.
Zero's voice… how to put it, it was actually very soft and gentle, but with a special vocal technique, it also carried a certain authority when training others.
But now she wasn't training, so she was using her natural voice, which felt like a soft feather brushing against her ear.
"Mm… Mm! After all…"
"First time sleeping with another Uma Musume?"
"Mm…"
"Then I'll sleep on the floor?" Zero propped herself up.
"No! How can another Uma Musume sleep on the floor! Let me!"
"www, alright, I can't let a guest sleep on the floor, can I?" Zero said, intending to grab a blanket.
Then Alice Digital grabbed her hand.
"Really… really no need! Give me some time, I'll sleep well!" Alice Digital whispered softly, her face slightly flushed.
"What is it, you can make cute expressions too, www~" Zero smiled, seeing the shy Alice Digital.
Alice Digital always lacked confidence in herself; she had never even been on the winner's stage.
Every time she won, she would avoid it, giving the reason, "I can't let my unartistic self pollute the eyes and ears of other Uma Musume." But Zero knew very well that after D-ing countless other Uma Musume concerts, even if she lacked artistic talent, she had those songs engraved in her DNA, and singing and dancing would definitely be no problem.
And she usually always looked disheveled, so seeing such a shy Alice Digital was indeed very interesting.
"Mo!"
"Alright, since you said it, you have to do it, okay? It's time to sleep."
"Mm…"
That day, Alice Digital tossed and turned until around two in the morning before falling asleep.
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