"You're addicted to sweets, McQueen."
"Uuh?"
Several days after the restraint on McQueen's sweets has gone into action, the lady in question looks like a drug addict on withdrawal. Dark bags under her eyes, slumped shoulders, frowning lips, and restlessness. At some point, Igo almost feels bad and wants to lift the ban, but he knows better not to listen to the angel on his shoulder. That bastard never gives him any good advice anyway.
"Sundae?"
"Goddess Lord, you're lost…"
Igo only gave McQueen a quota of 1 kilogram of sweets per day, but those weren't enough. Goldship has been a gentleman with her words and helped Igo ensure McQueen doesn't go over the kilogram quota, not even a gram.
"Sigh… The mock race is today. Make sure that all your preparation is ready now."
"Yeah…"
"I am!"
One Uma is beaming with hopeful light, while the others suck all of it into her black hole heart.
"Sigh… If you win, then I'll lift the ban for tomorrow."
"I'm ready. Let us haste. No time to waste."
McQueen's was engulfed in a bright golden aura the moment the word 'lift the ban' was uttered by her trainer. Her listless eyes quickly turn into hyperfocus, looking forward to the end of her goals, a mountain of sweets with her trainer, being the sweetest dessert of them all, tied up and unable to resist her–
WHAT AM I IMAGINING?!?!?!
"I'm glad all of you are mentally ready. Remember, this mock race for us is to test how effective our training has been, but more importantly, to crush those Umas who rejected my invitation!!"
"It's not healthy to hold grudges like that, trainer."
"Think of it this way, Teio. What is the best way to get rid of grudges? To take revenge against those who wrong you. That's why you girls will be my tool to get rid of these grudges."
"Hmm… Weeeellll… If it helps you, then sure. I will give it my best!"
"That's what I want to hear. And before that, there is something I want to give you two. Give me your hands."
The 2 Umas tilted their heads in confusion, but still opened their palms forward to their trainer. The young man reached into his pockets and pulled out 2 items.
"A ring?"
McQueen's eyes widen when she brings the item in her palm close to her face. She wasn't mistaken, the thing in her palm was a metal ring.
"Put it on your right ring finger."
"Wait a minute! You're proposing to us?!?!!"
At least let me meet your parents first!!
"Of course not, you idiot. Do you not hear why I have you both attend the mock race? I want to show those losers the potential that they're missing, and how do they know who you belong to if there's no ring on your finger?"
You can put a collar on me.
McQueen's thought was flowing without restraint when she first heard her trainer's rhetorical question. The next moment, she realized what she had just thought and was punching a reflection of herself in her mind.
"I don't mind putting this on! I have never worn a ring before!"
Teio innocently put the ring on her right left finger. The cold metal ring stands out from her normally warm body as she looks at it for a few moments. A gift from her trainer feels more special somehow compared to the gifts her parents have given her before, and Teio can't tell why. She can only grin at the metal ring on her finger.
"See, McQueen? Why can't you be more like Teio? She doesn't make a fuss about a very normal situation."
I will chain you to a bed!!
"Now, *CLAP* *CLAP* get your ass moving."
XxX-XxX
"I almost thought you forfeit, McQueen."
"If I did, it would be because of my trainer, and fortunately, he is not a coward."
McQueen walks up to her roommate, who is standing ready on the racetrack. McQueen had told Dictus about her trainer's intention of having both McQueen and Teio run in the mock race.
McQueen extends her arm with her palm open toward her roommate, a sign that she wants to shake her hand. Ikuno had no reason not to take the handshake, so she did. She extends her arm and grabs McQueen's hand.
"!!"
Ikuno was surprised by the intensity of McQueen's grip. It was unnecessarily strong for an informal before-race handshake.
"Ikuno, please don't go easy on this race."
Ikuno looks at McQueen through her glasses. The McQueen in front of her wasn't the same McQueen she had spent days and nights together. Her eyes lit up, and a sinister smile was plastered on her face. A distinctive chilling aura strikes each inch of Ikuno's skin the longer she is in front of McQueen. It's hard to think that the girl in front of her was once a member of the Mejiro Family.
"My trainer told me that I have to win, and I couldn't agree more with him."
"... Is that so?"
Ikuno couldn't help but be infected by McQueen's drive and smile on her own. Her intention to attend the race was to test herself and perhaps get a trainer, but now, all she wanted to do was measure herself compared to the win-crazed McQueen.
I always thought she got along with her trainer despite her constant complaints about him. Whatever that man did, you should be grateful that he chose you, McQueen.
McQueen finally let go of Ikuno's hand when it was time to line up for the race.
"Everyone, please stand behind the line!"
Trainers and Umas alike gather around the racetrack. Many of the trainers are rookies who want to see if they can scout a high-caliber Uma Musume as their first trainee. A few amongst them were veterans who wanted to add an Uma Musume to their already established team.
"The signal is this flag that I'm holding. The end of the course is where Hishi Amazon is standing."
Fuji Kiseki was moving the flag in her hands to catch the attention of the runners, but some didn't give her the privilege of their attention.
Man… Seeing them like that wants to make me race too.
Fuji cursed herself for agreeing with Symboli Rudolph's request to be the flag bearer.
"In three… Two… One… GO!!!"
The Umas instantly kick their feet off the ground and bolt forward. At first, everyone was neck and neck, but soon enough, the positions shifted and the runners got into their preferred positions. None were using the closer strategy, a few were using the surger strategy, most were using the chaser, and there were some runners at the front. Amongst the runners at the front, a light purple-haired girl and a chestnut-haired girl stand out.
"A Mejiro Front Runner?"
"I understand that Mejiro is known for its stamina, but to think one would take advantage of it using a runner strategy."
"On hindsight, isn't that the most obvious choice?"
"But the chestnut-haired girl is still leading the pack. It's still doubtful whether the Mejiron girl possesses a kick powerful enough to go past her."
McQueen is not losing to Suzuka at all.
Teio was the one leading the chaser pack directly behind Silence Suzuka and Mejiro McQueen. A flash of their talk with their trainer in the club room came to her mind.
"McQueen, since this is a medium-length race, I want you to try a front-runner style."
"Hmm? What's the sudden change in strategy?"
"I have no doubt in you winning using the chaser strategy, that would be boring. Why don't we use this chance to test and train you on being a front-runner? You're the only one who currently possesses the stamina needed for a front-runner strategy in a medium-length race."
"But trainer, Silence Suzuka also uses a front-runner strategy in medium-length races."
"Will she be attending this race?"
"I believe so."
"Great!! McQueen, tail her. Learn everything you can from her. Only overtake her on the final corner."
"If that's your order, then yes, I shall do it."
"What about me?"
"Nothing changed about you, Teio. You can only use the chaser strategy for now. Keep doing what you do best."
From the top of the slope surrounding the racetrack, the young man watches the race while his [Truth Seeing Eyes] is active.
My first assessment of Suzuka was wrong. She is not a mere front-runner or escapist, she is a great escapist. Her front-runner aptitude is S. Stats-wise, McQueen is winning, but that can change with their aptitude for their style. Suzuka can regulate her stamina better than McQueen, which closes the gap in their stamina stat.
"They are entering the first corner with the chestnut girl still leading the pack."
"She is amazing, isn't she?"
"Silence Suzuka… I'd better remember her!"
The rookie trainers only have their eyes fixated on the one leading the pack, while the veteran trainers watch the entirety of the race.
"The second and third… Those aren't moves from someone with no trainer…"
"They either already have a trainer or learn it from their upperclasswomen."
Hearing people complimenting his trainees fills the young man with joy and pride. They're right, those 2 already have an amazing trainer and that is himself.
The racers soon come to the final corner, and the suspicion of the veteran trainers is proven correct as the second and third runners swiftly and skillfully overtake the first.
"Those two definitely have a trainer already."
"Those movements aren't something any mere people can teach in such a short amount of time. Whoever their trainers are, they must have already had experience of teaching Uma Musumes."
They're not wrong. As expected of veteran trainers of Tracen Academy, they're sharp as hell.
The young man watches as his trainees perform the technique he had drilled into them on the last corner.
McQueen starts moving after the apex of the turn, but Teio immediately starts moving when she enters the corner.
The young man remembered he had told them that the sooner they moved, the better, but he had not expected Teio to do it immediately after entering the corner. To turn, a moving living object needs to slow down if it ever wants to keep its balance, which is why the Umas only enter the corner while having 70% of their previous speed.
The curving technique the young man had taught his trainees allowed them to accelerate when everyone is still on that 70%. For McQueen, she first drops her speed to 70% and then starts accelerating after the apex before Silence Suzuka even reaches the end of the turn. But for Teio, she enters the corner at 90% of her previous speed. Her skillful turning allows her to keep the momentum and use that to position herself without losing a significant amount of speed.
She is a genius.
"HAAAAAAAHH!!'
"HHHAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
Silence Suzuka could only watch as McQueen and Teio overtook her before she even had the chance to accelerate.
"WOW!! Look at them go!!"
"They overtake the chestnut girl!!"
"Now it's the hot battle between both of them!!"
"But it looks like the Mejiro is winning!! The brown-haired couldn't overtake her!!"
No, they're wrong. With Teio's power stat, she should be able to overtake McQueen even if McQueen is at her top speed. It may look like she is losing, but if they're more perceptive.
"The amber brown-haired girl is using the Mejiro girl to create a slipstream."
Yes. I never taught her that, and yet she manages to pick it up during the endurance part while she was running behind McQueen and Suzuka.
In truth, the young man had seen a hint of skill pop up above Teio when she was running behind the front runners. It was a slipstream skill hint. But that's just it. It was just a skill hint. The skill itself still hasn't lit up on Teio's skill tab, so her using it right now purely on her own.
Everyone watches the battle for first place intensely. No breath was let out. No eyes blink. That's just how intense the battle was.
"HAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Teio finally makes her move, but.
Too late.
Her sideways movement had caused her to slow down for just a tiny bit, so McQueen managed to cross the finish line first.
I see… She grasped the concept, but she hadn't learn when to escape the slipstream and fight on her own. That's why the skill isn't lit up yet on her skill tab. She only knows half of the information.
But learning a skill mid-race is just crazy. It's no wonder that one of her unique titles is 'The Undefeated Genius'. They got the genius part of her title correct, alright.