The winner's stage, for the fans, was another carnival after the race.
After all, who doesn't love seeing their idol sing and dance on stage?
Heavy Gun, after a simple treatment with special medicine, had recovered her usual vitality, looking at first glance like a husky who had healed from a wound and forgotten the pain.
The main song for this Tenno Sho winner's stage was set to be "Winning the Soul," a song full of passion.
Below the stage were naturally fans holding glow sticks and friends and family, and as the music began, everyone's enthusiasm, accompanied by cheers, spread throughout the venue.
Standing on stage, Rei Zai took a deep breath.
At this moment, everyone on stage was wearing their winning outfits instead of live performance outfits, which was unusual for a winner's stage, but given that the rain had lessened considerably but hadn't stopped, the winning outfits were warmer than the light and airy live performance outfits.
It's quite magical, even if a winning outfit looks like a swimsuit, as long as the Uma Musume who owns it wears it, they won't fear the cold. They can run without worries even on a snowy track, and even if they collapse in the snow from exhaustion after running, they won't get sick.
Of course, it still gets cold, so everyone on stage still shivered more or less when a gust of wind blew past.
Another feature of the winning outfits is probably... their lightness? As mentioned earlier, there are winning outfits that are simple and cool like swimsuits, so naturally there are also heavy winning outfits. As Rei Zai knows, there's an Uma Musume in Europe named Bloyye whose winning outfit even has a quilt draped behind it (bushi). But even so, they can still run normally, as if the clothes were truly just decorations.
A faint prelude began, and the backup dancers and main singers got ready, and with the first lyric, the winner's stage officially began.
A winner's stage after a major G1 race naturally wouldn't just feature one song; it usually officially began after the main song was performed, but due to the weather, much of it was cut short, and when the winner's stage concluded, the enthusiastic Tenno Sho also came to a complete end.
Her hair, which had been dried, was now wet again from the rain, but Rei Zai's winning outfit was considerably more conservative than those of Heavy Gun and Narita Brian, which exposed their waists and large parts of their thighs, so her condition was the best at this moment.
"Wuwuwu... So cold, Rei Zai, let me hug you!" Heavy Gun pitifully opened her arms and pounced.
"Hey, hey, hey, Shiro Hito, help me pull her off!" Rei Zai, caught by surprise, tried to push Heavy Gun away, but Heavy Gun was clinging to her like an octopus, making it impossible to free her hands.
Shiro Hito looked at Heavy Gun, who had a comfortable expression like someone hugging a hot water bottle on a cold day, then looked at her own winning outfit, which was no different in its coolness from Heavy Gun's.
She also went over and, using her size advantage, hugged both of them.
"Hey!"
"Hehe, how about it, Shiraito-chan? Rei Zai's body is soft and warm, it's super great!" Heavy Gun looked at Shiro Hito, who had hugged them, with a proud expression.
"Don't make me sound like a hot water bottle!"
For Rei Zai, warming up truly meant "warming up." Especially when participating in races and performing on the winner's stage like this, she would generally maintain a higher body temperature. Even in rainy and snowy weather, just a short run could dispel the cold, which was quite mystical.
Finally, the three of them entered the lounge in a strange pose, and then each went to the shower room to bathe.
The organizers would arrange for this level of comfort; otherwise, if the Uma Musume were to return home covered in sweat after a race, it wouldn't just be a warning from the association.
What do you mean, everyone's common daughter (leaning back)!
In short, everyone in this world basically dotes on Uma Musume like their own daughters. You know, those chefs in the Central Tracen cafeteria would be highly sought-after chefs by various restaurants outside, yet they gave up higher-paying jobs and willingly stayed in the cafeteria kitchen out of their love for Uma Musume.
Of course, even the gatekeeper at Central Tracen earns much more than white-collar workers outside.
After washing off the rain and sweat and changing into dry, clean clothes, Rei Zai completely relaxed. If anyone wanted to ambush her, now would be the best time.
Of course, this was also because she had locked the door; otherwise, she wouldn't... "Ah~"
"Awoo...!?!" Rei Zai, who had vaguely bitten into a sweet offered to her, suddenly opened her eyes in horror.
Super Creek.
"You, you, you... When did you come in!?" She was so startled that she stammered.
"Emmmm..." Super Creek pondered, resting an index finger on her chin and looking up at the sky, finally giving her reply.
"When Rei Zai was taking a shower, I guess?"
"I locked it!"
"But I got a spare key from the staff?"
!?
"As soon as I said 'I need to go take care of Rei Zai,' the staff readily gave me the key, you know?"
It is well known that when the maternal Super Creek wants to take care of someone, she absolutely cannot be stopped, otherwise you too will become a baby in her embrace.
"Alright, Rei Zai, you worked hard today, Super Creek Mama will take good care of you~?"
Don't come near me!!!!
When the Spica members thought it was time to go back and gathered to go to Rei Zai's lounge, the moment they realized Super Creek was nowhere to be found, they all had a vague sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, upon arriving at Rei Zai's lounge, they found that the door, which should have been locked, was not. After opening it, they saw Rei Zai, who had been changed into a kindergarten outfit at some unknown point, being held in the arms of a gently smiling Super Creek, her eyes vacant.
"Were we still one step too late...?" Trainer Okino covered his face in pain.
This wasn't the first or second time Rei Zai had been treated this way by Super Creek. For some unknown reason, Super Creek, who usually managed herself well, had an unusual maternal instinct specifically towards Rei Zai when she was in a relaxed state. Every time she was asked about it, she would only respond with, "This child can't be left alone."
Otherwise, why do you think Rei Zai only rests when Super Creek isn't present or can't see her?
Putting aside Super Creek's extraordinary maternal instinct towards Rei Zai for a moment, the current situation wouldn't be resolved for at least an hour. Fortunately, Super Creek in this state was still able to communicate.
Finally, the champion of the Tenno Sho, the popular athlete who had won 14 G1 races, was led away by Super Creek, dressed in kindergarten clothes and held in her arms, under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
[Oh my, how cute~] The next day, the Three Goddesses teased Rei Zai, who was trembling slightly while looking at the news.
"Eh, poor child..." Tamamo Cross also empathized and comforted her from the side.
As for a certain gray-haired individual, she was still eating, having already consumed twenty bowls of rice. It seemed she was planning to challenge fifty bowls today.
Yes, fifty bowls of plain rice, without any side dishes.
As for the Spica members, they were now looking at the two short figures huddled together, their eyes sparkling slightly. As their time together increased, Rei Zai's status in the team was tending towards that of a mascot, and a very useful one at that.
Trainer Okino, who saw through everything, was now drafting a new training plan.
[Motivation Plan: The best performer each month gets full ownership of Rei Zai for one day.]
Hmm, although he felt sorry for the child still traumatized by Super Creek, he was sure she wouldn't mind if it made everyone train harder.
This is a necessary sacrifice (Chen Gong face)!
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