Hayato tried to push Maruzenski away, but her strength was way beyond his. He could only struggle uselessly.
"Ha? Who are you calling old? Am I that old? I'm only..." Maruzenski forcefully pressed Hayato's head against her chest, locking his neck in anger.
"Eighteen years and a few months."
You didn't even say how many months exactly... Hayato didn't dare ask.
"Hey, hey, enough already, Maruzenski." Hayato couldn't take it anymore. Out of all the trainers here, why pick on me?
Am I really that charming?
"Oh my, didn't Grass Wonder tell you? I've decided to transfer to your team. After all, I'm also a frontrunner. Wouldn't it be strange if I didn't join your team, which is always famous for its runaway running style?" Maruzenski loosened her grip a bit with a grinning smile on her face.
There are so many front runner uma musumes... do I really have to take them all in just because of that reason?
"Hehe, Trainer, I've been wanting to tell you. Maru-nee really wants to come over to our team." Grass Wonder smiled with her eyes closed. Grass Wonder probably realized she'd arrived too late and couldn't compete with Seiun Sky and the others for the trainer's attention, so she was looking for backup.
Doesn't she know what it means to invite a wolf into the house?
Anyone else could be accepted, but not this Maruzenski. Too difficult to handle. If he took her in, he'd probably end up in an uma musume's basement within two days.
"Not happening!" Hayato's attitude was firm.
The next moment, Maruzenski locked his neck again.
"What did you say? Take back what you just said, or else..." She seemed very angry, but also somewhat joking.
"No, it's not... old..."
"Oh! You dare call me auntie!"
Hayato's neck was squeezed even tighter.
"No, I wasn't going to call you auntie, but rather..."
"Rather what? Old woman?" Maruzenski's blue-green eyes widened, and fine lines appeared on her forehead.
This grip was way stronger than Daiwa Scarlet's.
"Nahhhh, I would dieee... Seiun, help me!" Hayato called out loudly for help.
But Seiun Sky just watched coldly, even pulling out her phone to take pictures.
King Halo and Daiwa Scarlet not only didn't help, they even complained inwardly: Seiun, Seiun, is Seiun the only one in your eyes?
"Wait, Maru onee-san, getting angry is bad for your health. You'll age easily and get wrinkles."
Maruzenski froze. Her grip loosened. Hayato successfully escaped her embrace and fled back to his team. He waved at Maruzensky with a grin. "A forced melon isn't sweet. You should go back to your own team."
"Hmph!" Maruzenski turned her gaze toward the stage presentation below and huffed. "Just a rookie trainer, yet he dares refuse me. Back in the day..."
She didn't want to mention what happened back then. She huffed lightly again and stopped paying attention to Hayato.
"You've made Maru-nee angry, Trainer." Grass Wonder pressed one hand to her lips, speaking gently.
Hayato frowned, displeased. "It's not that serious, right? She's already retired. Whether she has a trainer or not doesn't matter."
Although he said that, this expression of melancholy on Maruzenski's face was truly rare.
Not being able to participate in the classics, was she really that frustrated?
Maruzenski didn't return to Team Rigil. She seemed intent on staying by Hayato's side.
Tojo Hana didn't say anything. Maruzenski, Rudolf, and Taiki Shuttle weren't uma musumes she could manage anyway.
Only Hishi Amazon muttered quietly, "Traitor."
"Next to appear is the first favorite of this race, this year's Oka Sho Queen, the runner from another dimension, the still-undefeated Silence Suzuka!"
"Suzuka, go for it! Come on!" Beside her, Taiki Shuttle waved her hands, loudly cheering for Silence Suzuka.
She wasn't the only traitor.
There were many voices cheering for Silence Suzuka. The last Oka Sho had ignited many passionate hearts.
"It's okay, Dober. Air Groove will definitely win. No need to worry."
On the other side, members of the Mejiro family had also come to the venue. Mejiro Ryan, Mejiro Ardan, and Mejiro Dober.
Mejiro Dober was looking down with a worried expression.
There was also one with a purple-gray coat that looked a bit like cream, overall looking like a sweet cake.
Mejiro McQueen?
Was Mejiro McQueen already in school?
Among all the uma musumes, Hayato actually thought most highly of Mejiro McQueen and wanted to recruit her the most. The reason was simple. She was a foodie, the easiest to deal with.
Unlike big eaters like Oguri Cap and Special Week, Mejiro McQueen just couldn't control her desire to eat sweets. She was a sweets addict.
"Next to appear is the second favorite, who has tremendous prestige among students, hailed as the Empress, Air Groove!"
Air Groove proudly threw off her coat, one hand on her hip, gazing ahead with sharp eyes. Her powerful presence covered the entire venue.
A petite uma musume's ears drooped down after being looked at by her. "She seems very confident." Mejiro McQueen looked at Air Groove below and smiled, hoping Mejiro Dober would also have confidence in Air Groove.
"But Air Groove-senpai once said this race is one she absolutely must win." Mejiro Dober said quietly. She knew this race was extremely important to Air Groove, which was why she was a bit worried. If Air Groove lost, what would happen?
When Silence Suzuka and Air Groove entered the preparation area side by side, all the competing uma musumes looked over.
A few of them still trembled involuntarily, dominated by the fear of Silence Suzuka's great escape running style.
"But this is 2400 meters. She shouldn't use that running style again, right?" An uma musume muttered to herself.
Both Seiun Sky and King Halo had changed their running styles in their G1 races. She hoped Silence Suzuka would be more level-headed, too.
Even if it meant losing, she didn't want to face a great escape running style like what she saw in the Oka Sho video. Being left behind by a dozen lengths right from the start, who could handle that pressure?
It could disrupt everyone's pace in the race. If someone was a few seconds late in guessing when to move, they might not catch up in the final stretch. But if they went too fast, their pace might collapse, and they could be overtaken by other uma musumes.
Their mentality would completely crumble.