"WELCOME!! WELCOME!! LET YOUR HEART OUT!! WE HAVE MADE SURE THAT THIS YEAR'S FAN FEST IS BIGGER THAN LAST YEAR!!!"
Morning comes up, and an unusually loud commotion accompanies it. The Fan Fest had commenced at full force, and Tracen Academy was filled with Racing Uma Musume fans. Young and old. Male and Female. All kinds of racing fans are here to meet their idols. The number of people attending could easily exceed thousands.
"YOHOHOHOHO~~ Welcome everyone~~~"
The Lolita Chairwoman is laughing happily as she stands on top of a podium guarded by URA PMC. Being the chairwoman of a training center that specifically trains running uma musume, the number of people here can be seen as a fruit of her hard work.
"DON'T YOU EVER DARE LEAVE THIS PLACE WITHOUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE!!!! YOHOHOHOHOHO~~~~"
Along with the chairwoman, there is also the President of the StuCo, who greeted the incoming guests with speeches and greetings. Many were joyous to see the legend in person, but some also wondered why she looked so tired. And why is her vice president carrying a small dagger with her? She is in her racewear, but people don't remember that her racewear includes a dagger. They just shrug it off and think that she had done a modification to her racewear. Why else would she be carrying a dagger beside the President if it wasn't just a part of the show?
After the chairwoman opened the festival, people quickly filled the academy. Thankfully, through the effort of all the students, staff, teachers, and also some of the PMC members, the academy had been prepared to receive everyone. Stalls decorate the pathways, teams proudly showcasing their achievements, and sponsors are selling their products.
It was a successful event by any standard.
While everyone is happily enjoying themselves, a certain team is still holed up in their room.
"Why do I have to wear this?!?!"
"It's either that or your gym clothes, and considering you haven't washed your gym clothes since you're a lazy bum, you're going to wear the other one instead."
"Uuuhh… Why can't you approve my racewear?!?!"
"It's a literal copy-paste of Rudolph's!! You're going to get sued!!"
Team Minaz can be heard screaming at each other. All of the members are still inside the room, but only McQueen and Tachyon are in their special racewears. Everyone else, except the young man, is in the Starting Future racewear that Tracen gave them when they enrolled.
The young man had brought up the topic of special racewear to his trainees yesterday and asked them to design their own, which is why he has some free time to observe Gold City. He thought they would come up with the iconic racewears that many Uma Musume players have known them for, but he has to come to terms again that this world is a reality now. Not everyone will come up with their iconic designs on day one.
Goddesses… I wish I could just show them how their racewear is supposed to be, but that would put suspicion on me.
The young man almost smashed his head clean off when he collected his trainees' designs. Tokai Teio straight up copy Symboli Rudolph's racewear. A complete replica with not even a single alteration to it. Silence Suzuka's obsession with airflow has given birth to a racewear design that is basically just a racing swimsuit. Her racewear HUGS her body extremely tightly, the young man had considered Suzuka an exhibitionist. Haru Urara was playing with El Condor Pasa, so her design heavily borrowed from El Lucha Libre. The young man doesn't even want to remember Goldship's design.
"Prez won't sue me!! She loves me!!"
"I don't!! Now shut up and be a good girl!!"
"You meanie!! You'll regret this in the future!!"
"Yeah… Yeah… As if, tiny patootie."
"MMmmmhhH!!"
"Shoo! Shoo!! The lot of you!! Go greet your countable number of fans."
"Sigh… He really is the worst."
Because of the young man's forceful persuasion, the members of Team Minaz finally came out of their room.
"Now, if you excuse me, I have a festival to enjoy."
"What?! You're going to leave us!!"
"Yeah! It's a festival! I don't want to be stuck on babysitting duty while there's fun stuff to do!!"
"Urara is not a baby!!"
"You're not helping our case here, Urara. Regardless, it's literally a trainer's job to babysit his trainees. Are you saying that you don't want to do your job?"
"If I still get paid, then yeah! Who doesn't?!"
"Goddesses… How are you a real person?"
"Fufufu~~ Team Minaz is as loud as usual, I see."
The Vice Presidents and President of the StuCo, the same ones who were on the gate of Tracen Academy, approach the ruckus that is team Minaz.
"PREZ!!"
The little Monarch quickly leaves everyone behind and runs up to her idol. Rudolph wasn't in her A-game, so she couldn't catch the incoming Teio, and they both fell over.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Nothing~~ There's nothing wrong with Rudolph."
Your tone suggests otherwise, Air Groove.
"By the way, why are all of you in that uniform? Where are your racewears?"
"They can't design racewear for shit, Air Groove. I want to cry just looking at it."
"Is that so? Mind if I see Suzuka's design?"
"Eh!? Mine?"
"Yeah… Here…"
"..."
"It's good, right, Air Groove?! You would agree with me, right?"
"...if it were anyone, I would say that they're a pervert. But I know you're just stupid, Suzuka."
"Eeeeeehhhhhhhh!!!! No way…"
Air Groove couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Suzuka's design. She knew that her friend was somewhat of an airhead, but she didn't think that she was this much of an airhead.
"But I work so hard on it…"
"What? Drawing yourself, blocking your entire body with blue marker, and writing racewear?"
"Air Groove… That hurt, you know?"
"Good. Sigh… You're such an idiot sometimes."
"Oooohh…"
The redish orange-haired Uma deflated from being constantly attacked by someone whom she consider as a close friend. Not only has she been attacked by her crush, but now she is also attacked by her friend.
"But Taiki told me it looks good…"
"The cowgirl? Seriously? Did she also propose you wear an American-flag bikini?"
"Yes…"
"Air Groove, you really have some weird friends."
"Sigh… I thought Suzuka was smart, but I guess I was wrong."
"Ooohhhh… Sniffle… Sniffle…"
"Why are you bullying Suzuka?!?"
While the pair was busy bullying the reddish orange-haired Uma Musume, they failed to notice her roommate approaching them. Special Week, the contender for the strongest glutton of Tracen Academy, had come huffing a fit. She has short bob brown hair with white bangs in front of her forehead, and a white braid that goes around her head.
"Oh, it's Special Weight."