"The racers have entered the fourth curve—less than four hundred meters left to the finish line!"
"Tokai Teio still holds the lead! Can anyone catch up to her?!"
"No way! There's no chance! The gap is only growing wider!"
"Tokai Teio is leaving everyone in the dust! She's pulled ahead by four lengths! This race is her stage alone!"
"Last 100 meters! Last 50 meters!"
"She crosses the line!"
"The champion of today's race is—Tokai Teio!"
With the announcer's call, the stadium erupted in cheers, the crowd celebrating Tokai Teio's effortless victory with thunderous applause.
"She's so fast! How are we supposed to stop her? How are we supposed to stand a chance?!"
"With strength like that, I bet she'll sweep the Classic Triple Crown too!"
"Not just that—I think she could surpass the Emperor someday! Become the new Teio!"
"Miss Teio, from today I'm your die-hard fan!"
"Humph-humph~" On the turf, Tokai Teio stood with her hands on her hips, basking in the crowd's praise as she flashed three fingers at everyone.
"EB~"
After striking a pose and showing off her heroics for her fans, Tokai Teio wasted no time dashing over to the front row, where she leaned in close to a black-clad figure in a yellow T-head and white hood by the railing and whispered, "Trainer-san, don't forget our promise~"
"Mhm…" Mizuno, who had watched the whole race from start to finish, nodded.
Of course, that "promise" was: if she won this race, Mizuno would have to take her on a date, just the two of them.
Back when Teio had spent days before the race in a funk, totally unmotivated, Mizuno couldn't bear it and agreed. The moment Mizuno nodded, Tokai Teio instantly snapped out of her slump and was right back to her usual self. With a talent for running leagues above the other Uma Musume, Teio had breezed through this race, easily claiming the win—and her chance for a one-on-one date with Mizuno.
Teio's sudden mood swing before and after he agreed made Mizuno suspect he'd walked straight into a trap.
No, Tokai Teio must've been faking her unhappiness just to bait him!
...
Even if he felt completely set up, all Mizuno could do was accept his "bad luck." It's not like he could ignore his own Uma's troubles, right? Though he'd agreed to Teio's date request and didn't plan on breaking his promise, for now he'd have to postpone.
After all, with Mizuno still stuck in a wheelchair, he really wasn't fit to go out for a date….
Just picture it: Mizuno, half-crippled and slumped in a wheelchair, while Tokai Teio pushed him slowly along from behind—not like a couple on a date at all, more like a daughter taking her dad to the hospital.
Teio had the same thought. Her ideal date was walking hand in hand, side by side down the street—not pushing her Trainer's wheelchair like an escort to the doctor. So Teio graciously allowed Mizuno to "owe" her this date until he was back on his feet.
Her little reminder after the race was just to make sure Mizuno didn't forget.
"I won't forget," Mizuno promised again, finally shooing away the Tokai Teio who'd been glued to him under everyone's eyes.
"Sigh…"
Up in the stands, a veteran Tracen Academy trainer who vaguely recognized Mizuno's odd getup—and knew him as a new recruit—looked at the wheelchair under him and let out a helpless sigh.
This rookie's only been here a few months, right? Already in a wheelchair? That's gotta be some kind of speed record….
At this rate, it won't be long before I never see that new guy again.
He sighed again for Mizuno's bad luck, but before he could wallow any longer, his own Uma snuggled up out of nowhere and grabbed his arm.
"Trainer-san, I bought a new house in the suburbs. Come see it with me~~"
"No! Wait—mmph—"
Half-dragged, half-hauled by his affectionate Uma, the veteran trainer—who'd just been brooding that Mizuno would end up in the Monarch's Basement soon—had his mouth covered and was whisked away from the stands, vanishing from everyone's sight…
There were so many people around that no one noticed anything unusual. Everyone was still caught up in the excitement of the incredible race.
...
While the crowd was buzzing about how amazing Tokai Teio was, Mizuno just sat there, head down, staring at his unsteady legs, frowning in confusion.
He'd been eating well, doing his rehab, and resting as much as possible, so why, even after weeks, was his body showing no signs of improvement?
It was like someone had hit him with a no-healing debuff—no matter what he did, he just couldn't recover.
Mizuno couldn't make sense of it. So he messaged Fortune, who was currently napping to recharge, to ask what was going on.
[Mizuno]:Fortune, when are my legs going to heal? Don't tell me I'm stuck like this forever?
[Fortune]: Misfortune's seeped into your body. Lifelong disability isn't out of the question.
[Mizuno]:…?
[Mizuno]:Don't scare me like that, I'm fragile! What if I actually believe you?
[Fortune]: Why would I want to scare you? What do I get out of that?
[Mizuno]:…?
[Mizuno]:So I really am crippled for life?!
[Fortune]: What else?
[Fortune]: That's what you get for self-destructing with Misfortune! If you'd just let her go, you'd be fine!
[Mizuno]:Listen to yourself—how could I possibly let her go?
[Mizuno]:Even if she couldn't possess me, she could've possessed someone else. If she latched onto another girl and started causing chaos around the Academy, it would've been even worse, right?
[Fortune]: Uh… Fair point….
[Fortune]: Looks like self-destructing with her really was your best move back then.
[Mizuno]:Stop! Don't analyze what's already done! How about telling me how to fix my body instead? I really don't want to end up stuck in a wheelchair for life!
[Fortune]: Relax, it's actually simple. Just purge the misfortune from your body and you're good.
[Fortune]: But right now, I don't have enough energy. I can't handle that kind of job.
[Mizuno]:Then what am I supposed to do? Should I go do some community service and help you gather energy?
[Fortune]: No way. That'd take way too long—at your current speed in a wheelchair, you could volunteer for a whole year and still not have enough.
[Fortune]: So the best option now is to hurry up and find the next Uma Musume affected by your Uma Mint. Fulfill her wish, help her break through her inner confusion. That way, not only will you lower the academy's misfortune level, you might even get a big pile of Hope Energy for me, and then I can help heal your legs.
[Mizuno]:Huh? That's actually possible?
[Fortune]: Of course!
Fortune nodded, issuing a brand new mission to Mizuno, right inside his mindscape:
"Ah!"
[Fortune]: Young man! To escape your wheelchair and stand on your own feet once more—go and fulfill Maruzensky's wish!
---
T/N: MARUZENSKY!!!!!!!!!! HER STRAP HAS BROKEN BUT MARUZENSKY DOES NTO CARE!!!