"What—just what are you all even talking about?" Mizuno's face twisted into a strange expression as he listened to Mejiro McQueen and the others apologize one after another.
Rough, too forceful, drained dry… Why did it all sound like they'd taken turns ravaging him?
"Ugh, I crippled myself through my own stupidity. It has absolutely nothing to do with any of you," he said firmly. "And besides, I'll recover in no time—just watch!"
Mizuno gritted his teeth, slapped the armrest of the wheelchair, and tried to stand—to prove he was perfectly fine.
Easier said than done.
"Ughh…" The instant he pushed himself up, a wave of numbness shot from the top of his head through his whole body, leaving him utterly powerless. His legs trembled like saplings in a storm, unable to lift him even a centimeter off the seat, let alone stand upright.
Instead of standing, he just looked like someone convulsing from pain—closer to a late-stage cancer patient than a man proving his health.
Watching him struggle like that only made the Uma Musume's hearts ache even more.
"Ahh… guess I'm still not ready," Mizuno admitted at last, collapsing back into the wheelchair and waving a hand casually, as if it were nothing. "Don't worry—just give me a few more days of rest, and I'll be up again."
"Will it really…?" Vodka murmured, uncertain.
Could spiritual wounds really heal in just a few days?
She still thought it would be better if everyone knew about Misfortune.
But Mizuno shot her a look—a quiet reminder of their secrecy pact. Even though Vodka couldn't quite read his expression, she could feel exactly what he meant.
"Fine…" Vodka muttered, obediently closing her mouth and swallowing her unfinished words.
"Mmm." Mizuno nodded approvingly, then looked at the kind-hearted, worried girls in front of him.
His body might've been as weak as a newborn—easy prey for even kindergarteners—but beneath his hood, his eyes glowed with unshakable determination.
Truthfully, Mizuno never wanted to play the mysterious, tight-lipped type. He'd watched enough anime to know how that went—people who kept crucial secrets from their teammates always met tragic ends, and their "mystery" rarely made sense anyway. It was almost always better to come clean so everyone could help.
But that only applied when his teammates could help.
What could a bunch of underaged Uma Musume possibly do against a curse that even the Three Goddesses couldn't handle?
Telling them would only send them straight into danger.
They could only support him in one way.
By chasing their dreams. By winning races. Because only through their victories could Mizuno gather enough Hope Energy to confront Misfortune.
Now, someone might argue, "Hey Mizuno, that doesn't stop you from telling them the truth! If they knew the world depended on them, wouldn't they push themselves even harder?"
True. If they realized that losing a race meant Misfortune would destroy everything, these kind-hearted Uma Musume would gladly train until their legs broke…
Even without Mizuno pushing them, they'd squeeze themselves dry—competing endlessly and winning championship after championship just to fuel his Hope Energy.
But if he really thought like that, he might as well go full capitalist: become the Trainer of every top Uma Musume, monopolize the entire industry, and harvest infinite Hope Energy like a money-hungry tycoon.
Yet that wasn't who Mizuno was.
If he cared about profit, he wouldn't keep making Honey Drinks for Mejiro McQueen for free—especially knowing how much she adored them. He'd have bled the Mejiro family dry long ago.
If he didn't care about his girls' feelings, he wouldn't just keep his distance from Tokai Teio—he'd bait her with promises of marriage, milk her motivation for Hope Energy, then vanish without a trace.
If Mizuno saw Uma Musume as disposable tools, every girl here would already have been emotionally manipulated into becoming an obedient little Hope generator—used up and tossed aside once broken.
But he wasn't that kind of person.
Mizuno was a big brother figure—a Trainer who'd sworn to help his Uma Musume achieve their dreams. Even if he didn't think he was good enough, he kept pushing himself to live up to that ideal.
Maybe that was exactly why Fortune had chosen him—to be her Apostle, to protect this racing world from Misfortune.
And though he couldn't bear to drag Urara and the others into danger, he wasn't so stubborn that he'd refuse their help entirely.
Who said he couldn't rely on them without telling them the truth?
The reason Mizuno gathered everyone today—even inviting Condor from another team—was precisely to announce his new training plan.
"Let's put the wheelchair aside for now," Mizuno said, raising a hand. "The reason I called everyone here is because I have two very important announcements."
The Uma Musume quieted down, watching as he gestured toward the two standing behind him.
"First off, these two companions—Daiwa Scarlet-san and Vodka-san—will officially be joining our team starting today."
"Eh?!" The existing members gasped in unison.
Before they could recover, Mizuno continued with his second announcement.
"As for the second thing…" He paused, visibly hesitant, brows furrowing as if weighing something painful. Then, gathering his resolve, he said,
"For the next month, I'll be staying on campus twenty-four hours a day."
"During that time, if there's anything you don't understand during training, you can always come and—wan… ahem—ask me, and I'll guide you however I can."
"To keep everyone motivated, I might also invite some powerful senpais to join our daily sessions and share their experience."
"So get ready, everyone. Let's give it everything we've got!" Mizuno declared, eyes shining with conviction.
Rather than relying on harsh, exploitative methods to force victories, he planned to build a healthy, scientific training system—raising their environment and morale to the absolute highest level.
To increase Teio and the others' chances of winning championships, he'd abandon his secret hideout and move into the academy full-time, devoting himself entirely to training them.
And beyond that, Mizuno intended to make full use of every available resource—maxing out his girls' friendship-training stats to the limit!