"Hmm?"
Hayakawa Tazuna tilted her head cutely. She had a gentle personality and handled matters appropriately, making her well-loved by everyone at Tracen.
Many said she was always busy with work— but with so many "problem children" in Tracen, she had no choice but to be busy.
Between the likes of Orfevre and Mayano Top Gun, anyone would get a headache.
Furthermore, appearances were deceiving; it was said that Hayakawa Tazuna used to be an incredibly powerful existence.
Mizuki's Umamusume-loving friends had given her the lore: Tazuna's real name might be the "Phantom Uma Musume" named "Tokino Minoru," an undefeated Ten-for-Ten legend.
It was said that during the era when Tokino Minoru ran, all other top horses of the generation were overshadowed. Some Uma Musume, upon learning she was competing, almost lost the will to resist immediately. One could see how powerful she was.
Mizuki also knew this wasn't just a groundless rumor. When she played the game, she could see scenes where Hayakawa Tazuna caught Uma Musume who were breaking various rules, and she usually caught them with ease, possessing leg strength and explosive power far beyond human imagination.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Mizuki:
'There's always someone more capable, and there's always a horse that's faster.'
"Is something the matter, Trainer Mizuki?"
Hayakawa Tazuna asked with a puzzled expression. She thought she had faintly heard the words "cuck," but she assumed she must have misheard.
Surely this new hire wouldn't be rude enough to say that to her on their second meeting...?
"It's nothing. Thank you for delivering the certificate."
Mizuki laughed it off and quickly turned the conversation to official business.
"Right. All the specific details are in here. If any new members join, just come find us to report it," Tazuna said.
"Wait a moment..."
As Tazuna spoke, she checked her phone. She had just received a message that Nakayama Festa was cutting class again. Apparently, she had strolled right out of the classroom with an incredibly defiant attitude.
"My apologies, Trainer. I have a matter to attend to. That girl really knows how to cause trouble."
Nakayama Festa was quite the character— thick-skinned and prone to talking back to anyone she didn't like. She was a pure "chaos-bringer." Tazuna would have to go catch her, and things certainly wouldn't end well for the girl.
"Please be sure to punish her severely." Mizuki said, nearly dying of laughter. Seeing someone like Nakayama Festa get caught was inexplicably funny.
However, Mizuki realized something: Nakayama Festa usually hung out with Gold Ship. Could it be that those two escaped together? Gold Ship had a make-up exam this morning and hadn't shown up for training either.
Whatever, catch them all. Catch them all together.
As the saying goes— Any evil shall be brought to justice!
Tazuna got into a running stance, but then she suddenly remembered something. She added Mizuki to the large group chat for Tracen Trainers.
Logically, as a new hire, she shouldn't have been added yet, but Tazuna gave her special permission. This was actually the wish of the Chairwoman, Akikawa Yayoi. After seeing the diary, Akikawa found it very interesting and noticed Mizuki's passion for the job, so she told Tazuna to add her.
A talent like her deserved a "little bit" (read: a ton) of support from the Chairwoman.
"Alright everyone, follow me. Today is our first group training of the month."
Mizuki didn't waste time. Once Tazuna left, she led Vodka, Daiwa Scarlet, and McQueen toward the track. The four of them together formed a stunning sight.
"Daiwa Scarlet, Vodka, you two work on speed. McQueen, today you'll train your Guts on the dirt track. Remember the key movements I mentioned. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."
Upon arriving at the field, Mizuki gave her instructions. The three girls nodded; they were very obedient to her commands because they could feel themselves getting significantly stronger under her guidance. The knowledge Mizuki possessed— partially gifted by the system and partially from her own diligent study— was extremely practical.
Meanwhile, Mizuki was pondering a question:
'How should I use the "Prying Eyes" skill granted by the system to activate the girls' unique skills?'
Every Uma Musume has a unique skill. Being able to trigger it at will is the prerequisite for entering the "Zone," and it's a massive boost for them.
'I think I understand now... I need to focus, then observe the Uma Musume.'
Mizuki looked at Daiwa Scarlet. She knew her basic unique skill was "Red Ace." Because Scarlet loved being the center of attention and wanted to be number one in everything (a trait Vodka often complained about), her spirit was centered on leading.
Agnes Tachyon actually appreciated this about Scarlet— the pursuit of the top and the limit made her a better "test subject." Tachyon was actually quite good to Scarlet, giving her high-quality "supplements" compared to what she gave Manhattan Cafe.
"So that's how it is."
As Mizuki watched Scarlet and Vodka, their forms seemed to manifest in her mind. Flaws in their running style and bad habits in their movements were fully revealed to her, as if she had turned on a scanner.
She could see every detail of their motions. She could now point out exactly where they were going wrong; correcting these would help them unlock their unique skills.
Coincidentally, just as Mizuki finished her analysis, Scarlet and Vodka were about to finish their first lap. They were running 2000 meters, the length of their Debut Race.
However, the way they ran was ridiculous. They had agreed the first lap was just a warm-up and not to be too competitive, but they kept accelerating, both trying to snatch the lead until they were practically sprinting.
Mizuki was speechless. They just told me they didn't care about each other. This is "not caring"?
'Dammit! I want someone to "not care" about me too!'
While Mizuki was bitterly complaining in her head, Vodka was panting heavily, clearly out of breath but still intending to continue with a second lap. Daiwa Scarlet, being the obedient honor student, came to ask Mizuki for feedback on her first lap before continuing. She had noticed she was having trouble maintaining speed upon starting— a problem that bothered her. She wanted a rhythm that suited her.
Seeing Scarlet's confusion, Mizuki told her everything she had scanned in great detail, telling her exactly what to correct. Scarlet's eyes widened; she benefited immensely and immediately went back to training.
"O~hohohoho!"
Just then, a voice caught Mizuki's attention. Over by Vodka, another "heavyweight" figure had appeared: King Halo. That signature laugh was unmistakable.
Vodka was thinking of inviting King Halo to run with her to learn a thing or two. Hearing this, King Halo waved her hand, laughed loudly, and said:
"Oh? How could a mere 2000-meter track pose a challenge to a First-Rate Uma Musume like me? I am King Halo, after all! Very well, seeing how sincere you are, I shall grant you the privilege of training alongside me!"
Vodka was delighted. "Great! Let's run together then!"
In many ways, Vodka admired King Halo— for example, the way she could boldly declare herself "First-Rate." Not many people could do that.
Vodka was a bit of an edgelord herself. She would mimic protagonists from "Dragon Quest" and recite hot-blooded shonen manga quotes, imagining her own victory scenes. But she usually did this in secret. If she were caught, she'd die of embarrassment.
They started running together. As they passed by, Mizuki gave King Halo a greeting and proactively called her a "First-Rate Uma Musume."
King Halo was overjoyed, declaring that only Trainer Mizuki truly understood her. She was so enthused that she had forgotten to give pointers on a true Victory Laugh to Trainer Mizuki— something she came here to do after reading the diary.
Her running posture seemed to sparkle. As they say, good things make the spirit bright.
However, King Halo was too happy and didn't pay enough attention to the track. She tripped and fell in a classic "star" shape.
She really can't handle praise; as soon as you compliment her, she gets carried away.
Still, although King Halo was a bit dramatic, she was loyal, hardworking, and a very lovable character.
"O~hohohoho!"
King Halo stood up, completely unbothered. There would be many falls in life; she just needed to keep standing back up.
Though she felt a bit dizzy— likely from laughing so much she lacked oxygen— she would keep laughing like that. Because that laugh was truly First-Rate!
Mizuki took notes. After her guidance, Daiwa Scarlet showed obvious progress, proving her skill was effective. She later observed Vodka and McQueen, intending to give them feedback later.
Indeed, a day's plan starts in the morning, and they benefited greatly.
However, just then, Trainer Mizuki suddenly became aware of another gaze.
Stare...
It turned out that from behind a distant tree, Admire Vega's eyes were fixed on her.
And Admire Vega was looking for Trainer Mizuki because of the diary.
Last night, Admire Vega was outside looking at the stars, missing her prematurely deceased sister, when Trainer Mizuki's diary suddenly appeared. She was startled, her ears and tail standing on end.
After a long while, she realized it was Mizuki's diary.
However, the contents of the diary utterly stunned Admire Vega.
Because Admire Vega discovered the existence of a "parallel world" and "counterparts" at the end of the diary.
And if there were parallel worlds, Admire Vega wondered, could her sister still be alive in another world?
Could her sister also be happily running in another world?
After these emotions surfaced, Admire Vega was so excited and nervous that she didn't sleep well all night, and she wanted to come find Trainer Mizuki first thing in the morning.
However, Admire Vega was clearly not a social terror like T.M. Opera O; she was more reserved. When she saw Trainer Mizuki directing her team in their training, she didn't go directly to ask.
She felt it would be a bit intrusive and abrupt.
So, she kept hesitating.
However, what Admire Vega didn't know was that Trainer Mizuki had already seen her. Rather, who wouldn't feel such an intense, obsessive gaze?
Furthermore, Mizuki also noticed another Uma Musume: Narita Top Road.
It turned out that Narita Top Road noticed Admire Vega was distracted today, and as the class representative, although she was a bit rough around the edges, she was very concerned about her classmates.
She also followed Admire Vega, wanting to see what was wrong with her and if she needed her help.
However, Narita Top Road wasn't very good at lying. She seemed to want to pretend to meet by chance but didn't know what to say, which made her very anxious.
Mizuki checked the time and realized it was getting late. Shetidied up a bit, intending to go ask them, but when she turned around, they were already gone.
'Were they just passing by?'
Mizuki wasn't entirely sure.
But no matter what, she had two more Uma Musume to write about in her diary today.