"Alright, alright! Enough with the off-topic questions—get moving already!" Mizuno clapped his hands, urging the group toward the door.
"Aww, fine…"
Disappointed that Mizuno still refused to reveal who he liked, the Uma Musume sighed in unison, reluctantly following his orders. One after another, they shuffled out of the training room toward the academy's track.
But as they passed Mizuno by the doorway, five pairs of hands—belonging to Tokai Teio, King Halo, Rice Shower, Vodka, and El Condor Pasa—simultaneously reached for the handles of Mizuno's wheelchair.
"?" The five froze, glaring suspiciously at one another. The air grew thick with tension.
"Hey! What do you all think you're doing?!" Vodka snapped, her ears twitching irritably. How dare these other Uma try to steal her job?
"I should be asking you that!" Tokai Teio puffed out her cheeks, pouting hard. "Obviously, I should be the one taking care of Trainer-san! It's only natural for the great Teio-sama!"
"Huh?! I completely disagree!" King Halo crossed her arms proudly, chin tilted up. "Trainer-san should obviously belong to a first-rate Uma like me!"
"Onii-sama… belongs to Rice," Rice Shower muttered darkly, clutching Mizuno's sleeve with both hands, her eyes gleaming with the fierce possessiveness of a tiny animal guarding its territory.
"No way! Mizuno-san clearly belongs to me!" Condor boomed, slapping her palm down on Mizuno's shoulder with dramatic flair.
The five glared daggers at each other, all gripping the wheelchair's handles tighter, refusing to back down.
Pushing a wheelchair might've looked like a simple act—but for these girls, it carried tremendous symbolic weight.
It was the same as the relationship between an emperor and the imperial jade seal. The seal itself was just an object—but whoever held it, held the throne.
In other words, whoever got to care for Mizuno-san would instantly leap ahead in the relationship race.
After all, it wasn't just pushing him around. They'd get to accompany him to meals… to baths… and even back "home" to sleep.
Could they feed him personally at dinner? Help scrub his back in the bath? And when escorting him home at night—couldn't they "accidentally" end up staying over because the dorm gates were already locked?
Then they could lie next to Trainer-san, hand in hand, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes until they drifted to sleep together…
Ooooh!! Just imagining it made every Uma Musume's heart race—and, for some, drool a little.
There was no way any of them would give up that right!
"Grrrr!" The five puffed out their cheeks, eyes narrowing as they growled softly at each other like adorable, fluffy beasts.
From an outside perspective, though, it looked less like a fight and more like a bunch of little girls having a heated squabble.
"Honestly, who pushes the wheelchair doesn't really matter…" Mizuno sighed, watching the commotion helplessly.
Was pushing his wheelchair really that fun? Why did every single one of them want a turn so badly?
"Of course it matters!" all five shouted at once.
"Then Trainer-san, you should decide," King Halo said quickly, tail swishing as she leaned forward. "Which one of us do you want to stay by your side?"
Mizuno: "?"
"Ah—no, wait, that came out wrong!" King Halo stammered, blushing. She stuck out her tongue, then immediately straightened up and corrected herself. "I meant… to take care of you!"
"Um…" Mizuno thought for a moment before answering. "Today, it's Vodka-san's responsibility."
"Hehe~" Vodka tilted her head back proudly, rubbing her nose with a smug grin like she'd just crossed the finish line in first place.
"Eh?! Why her?!" Tokai Teio and the other original Team TAC members shouted in disbelief.
He'd ignored three veteran Uma and picked a newcomer?!
"Could it be… Onii-sama doesn't like Rice anymore…?" Rice Shower whispered, her head drooping as her voice trembled with heartbreak.
"Gah—! That's not true at all!" Mizuno panicked, instantly losing his composure. "I'll always like Rice the most! It's just that I promised Vodka-san earlier—Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are her turns."
"What?!"
So that's why he chose her?! She'd secretly locked down her schedule ahead of time?!
"Then… Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays…"
"Belong to Daiwa Scarlet-san," Mizuno said smoothly.
"Hehe~" Scarlet folded her arms and smiled, striking a confident pose to match Vodka's.
"No fair!!" Tokai Teio stomped her feet, cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.
"There are so many of us—why should those two hog almost the whole week?! I want to be with Trainer-san too!"
She pouted tearfully, grabbing Mizuno's sleeve with both hands, clearly threatening to throw a tantrum if he didn't cave.
Mizuno hesitated for a moment.
He could just deflect—let Scarlet and Vodka handle it. If they agreed to share, great. If not, Teio would blame them, and Mizuno would still look like the kind, fair Trainer caught in the middle.
A perfect diplomatic dodge.
But Mizuno wasn't the type to dump problems on others. He decided to face it head-on.
"Teio, have you forgotten what I told you before?" he asked gently.
"Team TAC's third rule—Lesson Three: Never break promises you've made to others."
"Since I already promised Vodka-san and Scarlet-san their days, even if it seems unfair, I won't change it."
"Muuuu…" Teio puffed out her cheeks again, sulking. She wanted to argue—but she couldn't. Mizuno had taught her that rule himself, and he always kept his word, no matter what.
"Then what about our promise?" Condor asked with a sly smile, her masked gaze glinting mischievously. "You'll keep that too, won't you, Little Gou-san?"
"Promise? What promise?" Mizuno blinked, tilting his head in confusion.
"You know~ that promise." Condor raised her left hand, deliberately displaying her ring finger.
"Ah…" Mizuno quickly looked away, guilt flashing across his face.
Tch—right. That promise. The marriage contract counted too, didn't it?!
"Ah, oh! I just remembered something!" Mizuno blurted, instantly shifting gears with his signature evasive maneuver. "Today, I invited a special guest—a highly respected senpai to share her experience! She's probably already waiting at the track, so let's hurry up before we keep her waiting!"
"Time waits for no one! Vodka-san, let's move!"
"You got it~!" Vodka grinned triumphantly, then shot a teasing look back at the others before pushing Mizuno's wheelchair forward at full speed toward the practice field.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Tokai Teio and the others shouted, sprinting after them.
"Grrr…" Condor growled softly, her eyes narrowing as Mizuno's figure rolled farther away.
As expected—he'd used a fake name to win her father's wrestling techniques, and now he was trying to wriggle out of their marriage?
Fine. If he dared to run from El Condor Pasa, the future world's number-one racing Uma Musume—then tonight, he'd better not expect to sleep easy!