"All right, then—I choose you, Urara!"
Mizuno tapped on Haru Urara's card. A dazzling pink glow burst from it, and a cheerful voice rang out:
"Urara will win first place!"
Mizuno had ultimately selected Haru Urara.
He chose her because, compared to Rice Shower—who would inevitably trigger his unconditional affection as an Onii-sama—Urara was someone Mizuno could approach with more calmness.
Moreover, managing Urara was famously 200% safe. The main worry wasn't that she'd pull you into a basement, but rather that someone might deceive this innocent angel instead. Truly, Urara was one of the few genuine safe zones in this cursed fanfic universe.
After all, how could an angel possibly be corrupted by something as twisted as a cursed fanfiction?
Isn't that right, Tokai Teio?
And so, with some sadness, Mizuno gave up Race Shower and happily settled on Haru Urara.
---
[Quest Accepted: Become Haru Urara's Trainer]
Description: Approach Haru Urara and become her trainer.
Reward: None | Penalty: Doctor's Outfit reclaimed
---
"Wait, what's with this quest?"
Mizuno suddenly realized that after selecting a card, he hadn't gained anything tangible—only another new quest.
[The host must now persuade the chosen Uma Musume independently. Failure will result in the immediate reclamation of the Doctor's Outfit.]
Mizuno scratched his head.
"So that three-choice ticket wasn't a benefit—it was just adding more quests? Success has no reward, but failure has penalties?"
[Correct.]
"…" Mizuno was left speechless.
What kind of messed-up item was this? Was it even necessary to exist?
Clearly, this bastard of a system was deliberately messing with him.
Other people's lottery tickets instantly gave them an Uma Musume, while Mizuno's ticket handed him an additional quest—one that would ruin him completely if he failed…
"System, could you possibly screw me over any further?" Mizuno sarcastically grumbled.
---
[Quest Accepted: Apologize to Tokai Teio]
Description: Prepare the world's best honey special drink and gift it to Tokai Teio.
Quest Items: Honey, spices, sugar, water, tea.
Reward: None | Penalty: Unable to manage Uma Musume.
---
[Quest Accepted: Apologize to Rice Shower]
Description: Gift Rice Shower the Lucky Charm in your inventory.
Quest Item: Lucky Charm ×1.
Reward: None | Penalty: Unable to manage Uma Musume.
---
"Huh?" Mizuno stared numbly at the two additional quests suddenly added to his list.
"Apologize?"
[Correct. Because you rejected them during the selection, you must now apologize. Failure to complete these apologies will render you unable to become a trainer.]
"…"
I was being sarcastic! Why'd you take it seriously?
[Please swiftly complete the apology and trainer quests. The Doctor's Outfit has only 1 day, 16 hours, and 9 minutes remaining.]
"…"
"If the host feels insufficiently challenged, the system can provide more quests."
"System, you son of a—"
[Beep—New quest accept—]
"Wait! Stop, stop! Thank you for your generosity! Save those quests and give double to the next poor bastard!"
Mizuno felt tears forming, swallowing down his frustration.
Under someone else's roof, one must bow.
Continuing to argue might land him with impossible tasks, leaving no room for negotiation later. Better to swallow his pride and beg forgiveness now. Who knew if this "not-system" was specifically using quests to screw him over—or maybe it could only sabotage him by assigning tasks?
This logic felt solid, so Mizuno decided to bide his time.
"Let's get to work then…" Mizuno sighed, pulling out the ingredients from his inventory to handle Tokai Teio's apology quest first.
Preparing the world's best honey drink felt significantly harder than handing Rice Shower a lucky charm. It was Mizuno's habit to always tackle the hardest tasks first.
If he failed at the tougher task, completing the easier one afterward would become meaningless.
As for why he chose the conference room to experiment rather than someplace safer…
Nowhere in Tracen Academy was truly safe. Even the trainer dormitories could be invaded by Uma Musume, never mind other places on campus.
Since the veteran trainers felt secure enough to share their horror stories here, the conference room was probably safe. At least, Mizuno hadn't seen any Uma Musume barging in to kidnap trainers during the meeting.
So, experimenting here was the best decision.
Just as he arranged the ingredients—honey, spices, sugar, water, tea—across the table, Mizuno suddenly realized a crucial issue.
"How am I supposed to know if the honey special I make is actually the world's best?"
[Do not worry. The system will evaluate your drink. When you achieve an 'S' rating, it qualifies as the world's best honey special.]
"That's good."
The system provided unlimited ingredients. With feedback, Mizuno could gradually refine the recipe.
"Let's get started!" Mizuno grabbed the ingredients, about to roughly mix them together.
But just as he was about to recklessly begin, the system dashed his hopes again.
[However, all drinks rated B or below must be personally consumed by the host. Otherwise, the unlimited ingredient supply will be revoked. No waste permitted.]
"…Right…" Mizuno narrowed his eyes, suppressing his irritation to avoid provoking the system further. He took a deep breath, calming himself.
He carefully set down the ingredients, then picked up a dropper, extracting tiny amounts from each container with painstaking care.
"All right, world's best honey special—trial one."
Mizuno had never tasted an actual honey special drink. At most, Tokai Teio had accidentally splashed him with some earlier. He had no idea about the correct proportions, relying purely on instinct.
Half a minute later, the first cup was done.
"System, rate this one."
[Rating A.]
"Hey, pretty good."
Achieving an A rating on his first attempt greatly boosted Mizuno's confidence.
If the first try was already an A, how long could it take to reach an S?
"World's best honey special—trial two!"
Another half-minute later, the second cup was done.
"How about this one?"
[Rating B. Determined: Fail.]
"…"
How had it gone from an A to a B?
Since B or below required personal consumption, Mizuno had to drink it all.
Thankfully, he'd wisely made only tiny samples to avoid getting too full or poisoned. Drinking such small portions also allowed him to actually taste-test properly.
He downed the honey drink, smacking his lips like a gourmet critic.
Hmm, sweet enough. He couldn't identify why it failed.
"I think it tastes pretty good…"
[If you like it, feel free to have some more.]
Mizuno instantly lost his appetite.
Even the system mocks me…
He noted the proportions carefully and proceeded.
Third cup—Rating B. Determined: Fail.
...
Seventeenth cup—Rating C. Determined: Poor taste.
...
Fifty-ninth cup—Rating D. Determined: Garbage.
...
Sixty-third cup—Rating E. Determined: Cheese Snow Leopard (inedible).
...
Ninety-eighth cup—Rating A. Determined: Pass.
Ninety-ninth cup—Rating A. Determined: Pass.
Hundredth cup—Rating A+. Determined: Decent.
Hundred-and-first cup—Rating D. Determined: Garbage.
...