After the Osaka Hai, everyone naturally held a celebration banquet for Zero at a restaurant... Of course, Zero ended up paying.
Life then returned to normal once again, but Zero's days still maintained a cycle of training and teaching, aiming for the Tenno Sho approximately one month later.
After the Osaka Hai, she also went to watch the Hanshin Daishoten, a very exciting race, exciting in a different way from her leading the entire way in the Osaka Hai.
At the start of the race, Narita Brian and Heavy Gun both chose the Leading (leading) running style, but Narita Brian slowed down a bit, tightly clinging to Heavy Gun, while Heavy Gun maintained the fourth position under close scrutiny, until the middle of the race. After the middle of the race, Heavy Gun suddenly accelerated and took the lead, and Shiro Hito followed closely. On the final straight, the two had already opened a gap of about 3 horse lengths with the third-place runner, completely becoming a one-on-one duel between them.
On the final straight, the strength displayed by both of them was vastly different from the past. The process of mutual competition was so fierce that even the commentator almost ran out of breath. They crossed the finish line almost perfectly simultaneously, and at this point, the two were nine horse lengths ahead of the third-place finisher, Rooibos Gold seems to be a type of tea, directly transliterated as Rooibos, and naturally Gold. I couldn't find any other translation so I used my own). It should be noted that this competitor, like Oguri Cap in her time, was an Uma Musume who came from Kasamatsu to challenge the Central racing, and had already won the top local race in Kasamatsu, the Tokai Derby. Yet, she was still left far behind by the two. If not for the existence of the domain, perhaps she would also be a formidable opponent.
Afterward, the rarely activated camera judgment was used, and Narita Brian ultimately won by an extremely small margin, taking the championship.
The entire race, from Narita Brian's initial close pursuit to the final moment of overtaking, every strategic move perfectly showcased the competition in Uma Musume races. Compared to Zero's overwhelming presence in the Osaka Hai, where she led the entire way and controlled the track at her own pace, this race was like a fierce battle scene in an action movie, conveying that burning passion and belief in victory to every spectator present.
And this also meant that in the Tenno Sho, she would face two domain users, and Heavy Gun's domain seemed to show signs of a breakthrough. Just thinking about facing such opponents... she was truly hyped!
So, for this race, which might be the most intense she had run since she started, she naturally had to prepare thoroughly.
However, this had nothing to do with her resting on her day off, because even she would break down if she didn't balance work and rest.
When she was alone in the mountains before, she would also set aside a day and a half each week for rest.
However, after arriving in the city, there were more people around, so her training couldn't be as intense as before. Secondly, she no longer needed such a large amount of training, which meant she had a lot more free time.
For example, right now she was browsing forums, looking for all sorts of strange documents to read.
[About My Uma Musume Imprisoning Me in the Basement]
The title was quite unremarkable, but the key was that the poster was genuinely imprisoned, and it even made the news.
At the time, Rudolph even stepped in, but the response was that the poster... who was the Trainer, and the Uma Musume who imprisoned him, were completely willing participants. Plus, aside from wearing a collar, the Trainer hadn't suffered any physical or mental harm, hadn't disturbed the public, and hadn't done anything inappropriate in public places. In the end, nothing came of it.
So, this post was actually a display of affection masquerading as a strange document, and it was still being updated.
[Tsk tsk, are kids these days playing so wildly?]
"?"
[I only made my Trainer lick my feet every day back then.]
"???"
Shocked Rei Zai.jpg
In any case, this situation had been going on for a while today. Staying at home was the best way for Ling to relax.
Shopping was too troublesome. Wasn't it nice to play on her phone, computer, and games at home?
The two gray-coated Uma Musume habitually went out to eat, Oguri Cap also habitually followed to take care of them and snag some food, and Alice Digital's day off was spent watching Uma Musume affectionately interacting. So, Ling was the only one left in the huge house.
However, this harmonious daily routine was completely shattered by a knock at the door.
"Z-chan! Let's go out and play!"
What was this, like a boy going to a friend's house to drag them out to play soccer...? Opening the door, it was naturally Special Week, her face full of excitement, and the rest of Team Spica following behind her.
"Where's Gold Ship?"
"I don't know. This morning she suddenly said, 'I saw an interesting Uma Musume,' and hasn't reappeared since," Daiwa replied simply.
"That's very her style = ="
To the unknown Uma Musume, thank you for taking A-fune (Planetary Devastation) off my hands.
After offering a silent prayer (mourning) for that Uma Musume in her heart, Ling returned to her room to change into her going-out clothes.
Well, while shopping itself wasn't interesting, shopping with Uma Musume was fun.
"So, where are we going?" Suddenly realizing she hadn't asked the destination, Ling inquired about today's itinerary.
"Ah, it's the biggest arcade in Kyoto! There are so many fun things there!" Teio immediately raised her hand, looking like it was her idea.
"That one... I don't mind." Playing games was fine; if it were shopping in a commercial district, she'd still feel mentally exhausted, even if she was a girl.
The journey from Tokyo to Kyoto by train was only two hours. A group of lively girls naturally attracted a lot of attention after boarding the train.
Of course, more of it was from Ling's fans.
Although the fans were very self-controlled, when an idol appeared in front of them, the impulse to ask for an autograph would still arise.
This also led to Ling's habit of always carrying a pen.
After simply signing autographs for fans and giving some candy to a few children, Ling was met with Special Week's big face.
"I want some too." This was what Special Week's eyes expressed.
"Yes, yes, here you go." Carrot candy.
What else? Did you think Special Week would want an autograph?
"Z-chan really spoils Little Special," Suzuka-san said softly, resting her chin on one hand, looking at the two of them gently, much like a mother watching her children interact.
"I always feel like Suzuka, you're thinking something rude = ="
"Ah, no, I'm not!"
"You're so flustered that even Little Special is suspicious, hey."
Daiwa, Vodka, and Teibo were playing on their phones on the other side. It seemed the three of them were playing a co-op battle royale game, and from the cries, it sounded like Teio had been badly screwed over by the two fighting amongst themselves.
After the train arrived at the station, the first thing everyone saw wasn't the scenery of Kyoto, but a familiar face.
"Gold Ship!?" Team Spica members cried.
"McQueen!?" Teio exclaimed.
At this moment, Gold Ship was rolling on the ground, covering her eyes, while a gray-haired (though it looked purple) Uma Musume was looking at her speechlessly, a cup of oden still in her hand.