With the perfect conclusion of the Valentine's Day event... probably? Although Zero's mischief disrupted the original plan, the benefits gained far exceeded the plan. From a macro perspective, everyone was very happy, and it also gave everyone a deeper impression of Tracen. From the results, it was indeed a perfect conclusion.
Then, the next day, Zero was called to the Student Council Room again.
"Huh!? Every year!?" Zero's eyelid twitched slightly.
"Yes, you can do it anyway, and the academy will be responsible for the materials," Rudolph nodded.
Although Zero's stunt yesterday disrupted the original plan, the gains far exceeded what was planned.
"Besides, you only need to make them for all the students in the school, which is even fewer people than yesterday's attendance."
"Did you just say 'only'!? Ah!? I stayed up all night making those!" Seeing the other party's nonchalant attitude, Zero was so angry her teeth ached.
Her tail was twitching, ready to pounce (not literally)!
"Cough, don't worry, your reward won't be little," Rudolph coughed awkwardly, as this request was indeed a bit demanding.
"Am I short on that money? Don't forget, I covered a large part of the expenses for this event."
"Just tell me if you'll do it or not!" Seeing that she couldn't convince Rudolph, Zero angrily slapped the table.
"I'll do it."
"Then what were you just saying?" Rudolph felt her blood pressure rising.
"My doing it or not doesn't conflict with arguing with you~" Zero made a goofy face at Rudolph and then slipped away, leaving a dark-faced Rudolph behind.
Her fists clenched... This girl is getting more and more out of hand.
Rudolph decided she had to find an opportunity to really get back at her.
Meanwhile, Zero, happy from having just annoyed Rudolph, hummed a tune as she returned to her office.
"What, good news?" Trainer Okino, seeing Zero in a good mood, couldn't help but ask.
When Trainers aren't training, their offices are usually shared by several people. As members of Team One and Team Two, Zero and Trainer Okino naturally shared an office, and Tojo Hana was also there.
To be honest, Zero's expression was a bit complex when she first found out this was her office, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
There was no helping it; she had broken up Trainer Okino and A-Hua's two-person world. What a sin.
Of course, precisely because of this, Zero usually took her documents home to work, and any that couldn't be taken away she would bring to the Student Council Room to review there.
Shipping these two was basically everyone's consensus, especially with several senior members becoming full-blown shippers.
Truly, if nothing unexpected happened, these two would probably get together by next year, but everyone was still tirelessly enthusiastic about helping them along.
This was Suzuka's third year; time really flew by.
She went to her desk, picked up the documents Miss Hayakawa had packed, said goodbye to the two, and prepared to go home.
"Hmm?" Zero's eyes narrowed as she saw Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen by a wall, doing something she couldn't quite discern.
She checked her phone; it was 9:45 AM, class time.
Although their grades were indeed very good, they were still far from her level of academic prowess, where she could skip classes and still get full marks on everything except for the occasional 'metaphysical' essay.
Zero decided to give them a scare, so she adjusted her breathing and then quietly approached.
The most important thing for stealth is to maintain a stable mindset, especially ensuring that your gaze is never directly on the target.
Sight is truly a very mystical thing; things like "feeling a gaze" can happen at any time, and no one knows why.
Steady her mind, avoid direct eye contact, approach slowly.
Soon, Zero was behind Teio.
Hmm? McQueen?
Well, she's her team member, so she'll go easy on her.
"Ugh... what should I do, McQueen... I'm definitely going to get scolded..." Teio didn't notice Zero approaching from behind.
"I don't know either. Besides, this really has nothing to do with me, does it?" McQueen, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to leave immediately.
She was a bit curious about what the two were discussing, but for now... Teio's tail was constantly wagging due to anxiety.
Zero quietly reached out her hand and grabbed the tail.
"Kyaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!" Then, a sudden, extremely high-pitched scream echoed around them.
It was fortunate that this place was a long distance from the school building, otherwise, if that sound reached the school building, it would probably cause more trouble.
But for Zero, it wasn't so pleasant.
Her hearing was already excellent, and because she found it troublesome, she hadn't been wearing her earmuffs. Such a close-range shriek made her head feel a bit dizzy.
McQueen, though also feeling a bit unwell, saw Zero with swirling eyes and instantly felt that even though she was startled, it was worth it.
She walked over to help pick up the documents that had fallen to the ground, then sighed helplessly as she looked at Teio, who was trembling and clutching her tail, and Zero, who still had swirling eyes.
"Ugh... Z-chan scared me to death!" Teio, having regained her composure, complained to Zero.
"Ugh... I miscalculated..." Zero gently rubbed her big ears with both hands, never expecting Teio's voice to be so high-pitched.
"So, why aren't you in class? What are you doing here?"
"Teio dragged me here by force." McQueen immediately distanced herself.
After a moment of thought, Teio finally spoke.
Zero also saw what the two were gathered around, looking at.
A broken small stone statue.
Wait, this thing... Zero turned her gaze to the side.
There was a bamboo stalk by this wall, and it also had such a... Okay, the statue on it was gone. According to Teio, she accidentally knocked it down when she climbed over the wall this morning because she was going to be late.
If she remembered correctly, this was a statue of the Three Goddesses.
The destruction of a Three Goddesses statue was no small matter, even if it was just a small decoration. It could easily be labeled as "disrespecting the Three Goddesses" and lead to ostracization, as an innate reverence for the Three Goddesses always existed in the hearts of Uma Musume.
However, this wasn't a big deal. Firstly, the Three Goddesses themselves weren't that petty, and Teio didn't intentionally destroy it, so at most they would just notice her, with no other impact. Secondly... Zero was here.
"Never mind, be more careful next time ==" She pulled out a new Three Goddesses statue from under her skirt and handed it to Teio, signaling her to climb the wall and put it back.
"Eh?" Teio was a bit confused. Where did she pull it out from? How did she even have this?
Indeed, she had to take a good look. This curiosity was simply irrepressible!
She bent down and gently placed the statue on the ground, then... she lifted!
Bang!
After lifting the skirt, she was kicked away by a blushing Zero.
Ah... it was pure white with a white bow... "What are you doing!?" Zero, caught off guard by the sneak attack, was also furious.
Speaking of which, Teio's carefree personality must have been spoiled by Rudolph! O, Symboli Rudolph! She'll remember this grudge!
"Impossible! Why is there nothing under the skirt?!"
"It seems you still lack a lesson!"
In her fury, Zero directly dragged Teio to her classroom, leaving a bewildered McQueen behind.
"Eh?" What happened?
Wait! Teio, what did you just do!?
To lift Z-chan's skirt... it was truly wonderful... truly outrageous!
With an Uma Musume's strength, such a movement would naturally be quite significant. Although Teio lifted it from the front, and Zero quickly pressed down on her skirt, she only covered the front. McQueen, positioned behind, naturally had an unobstructed view.
To this, McQueen could only say, well done, more please.
However, the style was surprisingly ordinary. Perhaps she should find an opportunity to take her out to buy some?
Perhaps inheriting the atmosphere of Spica, the Sirius team also had no awe towards Zero, their Trainer. While this was good, Zero occasionally felt a sense of failure, especially when she wanted to be strict but couldn't bring herself to be.
McQueen tidied herself up and then simply walked towards the cafeteria.
She would pack her lunch in advance, then go directly to Z-chan's place for training later.
As a member of a branch family, McQueen didn't receive much etiquette education when she was young. She was the local children's leader back then. Anyway, if she went to class, she'd be late, and there were no participation points, so skipping was fine.
Her grades were the best in her year, so if she asked for leave, the teacher wouldn't say anything.
Seeing Rice Shower training so hard, McQueen also wished she could debut immediately, but it wasn't time yet.
Then, as McQueen was about to get her meal, she found that Oguri Cap had already eaten all the food she wanted today.
"Oh? McQueen, want to eat together?" Oguri Cap seemed unconcerned, still eating.
"No... no thanks..." Looking at the other person eating heartily and the extremely high stack of plates beside her, McQueen's smile was strained.
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