Now that McQueen has become the sole Uma Musume that can obtain the Triple Crown this year, the pressure has increased on the young man's shoulders. Like Orfevre said yesterday during the party.
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"As a payment for the cake, I'll give you a warning."
"..."
"There are no Crown Killers in Satsuki Sho. They only start moving in the Japanese Derby and more in the Kikuka Sho. In Satsuki Sho, it's a free-for-all. In the Japanese Derby and Kikuka Sho, it's one versus all."
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"Sigh… You stupid tyrant. You're making things harder, you dumbass."
The young man couldn't help but be carried away by the Tyrant's warning. If someone as arrogant as her tells you to be careful, that's less of a warning and more of a threat. He wishes he had just locked Rice Shower in a basement to make sure that McQueen wouldn't get assassinated, but alas, Rice is too cute for that fate.
"Mind if I help?"
The young man was looking through the bookshelves for a book that might help him when a small uma walked up to him. Her braided black hair rests comfortably on her left shoulder. Her ears twitch happily as there's nothing she loves more than to pair someone with a good book. Her large, bright blue eyes' beauty wasn't blurred behind the black-framed glass.
"Zenno Rob Roy. I'm looking for books that might help me teach a pace chaser break through a cage-in."
McQueen possesses the knowledge and experience of breaking through cage-ins, but this will be a G1-level cage. It won't be something that she can easily break through with what she has now. Her opponents will be umas who have experience in dealing with Triple Crown candidates. In other words, formidable opponents.
"A training book, yes? Please follow me."
The little uma guides the trainer toward another section of the library.
"It's the one up there."
Zenno points up toward a section that is just out of her reach. The little uma is on her toes, trying to reach a book, but she is still incapable of even putting her fingers on it.
"Mmhh!! Nngghh!!"
"Please don't be afraid to ask for help."
"Kyyaaaah!!"
The young man was getting annoyed at the sight of Zenno trying to reach the high-up section, so he decided to help her. He put his hands on her waist, grabbed her tightly, and then lifted her. Zenno wasn't expecting his big, girthy, powerful hands on her slender, thin waist, so she yelped.
"Which one was it?"
"It's–It's–It's this one."
Her hands are quaking in place. She can feel his long, burly fingers digging into her supple meat. Each feels as if they're clawing into her, like they're tearing her apart, like they're claiming her for their own enjoyment.
This is—This is like the book I read!! A princess being claimed by the villain, with him having his fingers all around the princess's body!! This section is rarely visited by students since it's mostly trainers' books, which means!! Which means!!
Being a massive book lover gives Zenno Rob Roy an amazing imagination. She can practically imagine an entire 5 seasons' worth of soap opera without needing to pause and think. Everything just comes and flows naturally.
This powerful imagination allows her to visualize the book she is reading, giving it more depth than just mere words on paper. This visualization power can be used at real life scenarios. Imagining what ifs. Imagining interactions between people. Imagining herself as the hero of a story.
She normally would be grateful for the imagination she has, except for now. The kind of scenarios on her mind between her and the young man is not pure. It's very much not pure at all. The young man pinning her against the bookshelf. The young man forcing her to shut up or he'll get her in trouble. The young man's hands invading her skirt. The young man forced Zenno to bend down, unzip her skirt, and—
"Hey, are you okay? Why are you zoning out?"
"KKYYAAAAHHH!!"
Zenno slams her head against the book she is carrying to shut herself up. Being a librarian, she knows better not to cause a ruckus inside the library.
"Are you okay? What is wrong with you?"
"No! No! It's nothing! That's the book you want."
The young man grabs the book with a massive confusion on his face. He isn't very familiar with Zenno in his previous life, but he swears she wasn't this kind of character. He just chucks it into off-camera character development or Cygames updating their game or something.
"Oookaaayy? Then I just go to the counter, and you stamp this, right? I want to bring this with me."
"Ye–Yeah… It's just that."
Instead of letting Zenno down, the young man put her under his arm and walked toward the counter. Again, Zenno is a small Uma Musume, so he doesn't have a hard time carrying her around like a sack of potatoes. Zenno was flabbergasted as she was being carried to the counter. Not even her parents have carried her like this before.
"Alright, behind the counter you go."
The young man lifts Zenno above the counter and puts her behind the counter. After that, he put the book that Zenno recommended on the counter.
"I'll be borrowing this book for a week. I can extend the time if I'm not done, right?"
"Yes…"
Zenno lifelessly grabs the book and completes the borrowing procedure. Putting the book ID into the computer, assigning it to the young man's ID, and setting the time he needs to return it, and then she stamps it.
"Thank you… And sorry for the screams…"
"Hm? Oh yeah! Don't worry! You should rest if you're tired, Zenno."
"Yes… Tired…"
The young man grabs the book before he leaves the library. He already forgotten the weird things Zenno did, since, compared to his team, those were nothing. The same couldn't be said of Zenno, as her imagination still allows her to retain the young man's fingers on her body, on her skin, and on her soul.
"Zenno, are you okay?"
*THUD*
"Zenno?!?"
When her fellow librarian wonders about the little Uma Musume's condition, she suddenly slams her face onto the counter. The act of slamming her face onto the counter wasn't something that people would've thought Zenno would do. Everyone has an image of her sitting calmly with a book in her hands, not slamming her face into the counter.
"Are you okay?! Do you need to go to the infirmary?!"
"No… I need to get rid of a book."
"You really are sick!!!"
A book lover wanting to get rid of a book, people thought that the world was ending.
The book that Agnes Digital donated!! I need to get rid of it before it corrupts more umas!!
Zenno quickly ran toward the fantasy section of the library. Her eyes quickly scan and lock onto a single book. It was a book that Agnes Digital had donated, and Zenno had read. It was the book that corrupted Zenno's pure imagination. Agnes Digital said that she only read this book for inspiration for her doujin.
Zenno grabs the book and looks at it. The cover depicted an uma musume princess being restrained by tentacles and hands creeping around her. Zenno's imagination quickly steps in, replacing the princess with herself and the hands with the young man's hands.
Mmhh… Perhaps I need to reassess the book by reading it again. I just want to know if it's as bad as I remember it to be. Nothing else.