Uma Musume: This Trainer Doesn't Do His Job, Ch 26-30

Chapter 26 - K.S. Miracle’s Curiosity

Night fell, and everyone at Phoenix had finished their training and work for the day.

The group chat Yuu had set up quickly became lively.

【Phoenix】

【Yuu: @Urara, welcome! If you run into any problems when I’m not around, just message me here.】

【Miracle: Um… hello, I’m Miracle.】

【Urara: Got it, Trainer! And hello to you too, Miracle-senpai!】

【Miracle: …………】

【Miracle: Um, if possible, please don’t use honorifics. It feels kind of strange…………】

【Urara: Got it, Miracle!】

Miracle’s expression turned a little odd.

This kid… is really energetic.

“Trainer, what kind of child is Urara?”

She looked down at Yuu, who was lying across her lap, fiddling with the buttons on her clothes.

"Urara, huh? She's a cheerful girl who's always smiling. Even when she runs into setbacks, she never gives up. She's got an incredibly healthy mindset, always looking upward. She acts carefree, but she's actually very attentive and notices things most people miss."

Miracle nodded, an I see look on her face, then turned her attention back to her phone.

【Miracle: After you passed the re-exam, did they tell you when you’re enrolling?】

【Urara: In a week, but I’m planning to go tomorrow! I can’t stay at home at all. Mom and Dad gave me some money, so I’ll stay at a hotel for a few days!】

That’s some serious initiative.

【Yuu: You don’t need to worry about lodging. For convenience during treatment, Miracle is staying off-campus right now too.

If Urara doesn’t mind, you can stay together.】

【Urara: Same room?! I’m really looking forward to it!】

【Yuu: Uh, there are actually quite a few rooms, but if you want a roommate, the two of you can share.

You can discuss it between yourselves.】

【Urara: Mm-hm!】

【Yuu: Even if you weren’t planning to come early, I was going to bring you over ahead of time anyway.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin treatment and prepare for training at the same time.】

【Urara: Eh? But didn’t you say I should rest first, Trainer?】

【Yuu: That was if you weren’t joining. A short rest would be enough for you to recover, but now that you're on my team,

this little issue doesn’t even count as a problem.】

【Urara: Trainer, that’s so cool! I want to have something like that someday, something I can talk about with that much confidence!】

【Yuu: You already do. You can proudly tell everyone that your Trainer really likes you and believes in you!】

【Urara: Trainer! I’m fired up!】

【Yuu: Nice! Then go run a hundred kilometers!】

【Miracle: Trainer, don’t say weird things like that. Urara will take it seriously.】

…………

A faint smile lingered on Miracle’s face.

She was happy, truly happy.

Every day, she could feel that today was just a little better than yesterday.

A little closer to her dream. And… she got to see her favorite Trainer every single day.

She had seniors and juniors she could relax and chat with.

Just talking normally with girls her own age, something she never would’ve dared to imagine before.

No… everything she had now was something her past self wouldn’t have dared to dream of.

And all of it was brought to her by the man lying across her lap.

“Hehe hehehehe K.S. Miracle really is the best~”

“Trainer.”

She was still smiling.

“Hm?”

“If you ever need to act like an idiot, you won’t need to act at all. Just hold back a little.”

“What kind of thing is that to say! I can’t act like an idiot!”

Yuu looked at her with complete seriousness.

“I’m great at acting like a pervert, but idiot? That’s impossible!”

Miracle let out a small sigh.

So… was that really something to be proud of?

"Oh, right, Trainer, why does Tachyon-senpai never talk in the group chat?"

Yuu played with Miracle's slender, soft fingers. "Because Tachyon's busy. Even after a full day of training, she still does her own research. Honestly, Tachyon's professional knowledge isn't inferior to any Uma Musume Trainer out there. Her research on Uma Musume is downright terrifying. She studies everything, from hair tips to toenails. Once she retires, I'm definitely making her my assistant coach."

Miracle looked surprised.

If the Trainer called it terrifying, then Tachyon-senpai really must be incredible.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Time to get ready for bed!”

Yuu looked at her expectantly.

Miracle turned her head away, her cheeks faintly red.

“Trainer, don’t you think this is a bit fast…”

"My dear Miracle, I think you're overthinking it. I just want a body pillow, absolutely nothing else."

He shifted his head closer to her knees. If he didn’t move, he genuinely couldn’t see her face.

If it were Silence Suzuka, this wouldn’t be a problem at all!

(Somewhere, Silence Suzuka, who already had her own troubles, felt inexplicably irritated.)

…………

"At your current level of affection toward me, hugging is about right. Kissing would be a bit much. I'm not some pure herbivore, but I'm not a lust-crazed beast either."

Miracle turned to look at him.

The embarrassment made it hard for her to speak.

Honestly, if it were just hugging, she wanted it even more than he did.

“Trainer.”

“Yeah?”

“Actually, ki—kissing… sorry… it really is a bit too early…”

Halfway through, she felt like steam was about to pour out of her head.

Yuu wore a smug grin. “See? Don’t underestimate the bond between me and affection levels. This is the power of a galgame master!”

“Then… Trainer, let’s rest early. Tomorrow… tomorrow we still have work, right?”

The lights dimmed. Miracle lay on her side, stiff as a board, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

Then an arm wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her in close.

"Goodnight, Miracle."

His voice was soft, already half-drowsy. He buried his face against the back of her neck, his breath warm and steady against her skin.

Miracle's ears twitched. Her whole body was burning, but she didn't pull away. Slowly, carefully, she placed her hand over the arm around her waist.

His breathing evened out almost immediately. He really did fall asleep that fast.

She stayed still for a long time, feeling the warmth pressed against her back, the weight of his arm, the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

So this is what it feels like.

A small, helpless smile crept across her face. She closed her eyes and let herself sink into it.

…………

Yuu leaned back in the car, looking completely satisfied.

A long-lost body pillow at last.

After being spoiled by Tachyon, he couldn't sleep at all without something warm to hold now.

Then he glanced toward the passenger seat in front.

The one with him today was Miracle. Tachyon had said it was boring, so she didn’t come along.

Miracle’s face was full of curiosity. After hearing his description yesterday, her interest in Urara had been completely piqued.

“We’re almost there. Get ready to work!”

“Work!”

"You're not even working. Why are you copying me?"

“Objection. As the chairwoman, supervising whether you’re working properly is my job!”

"Never in my life have I witnessed such brazenness in a person— no, in a Uma Musume!"

Chapter 27 - I’ll Make You Wear Your Signature Racewear

Urara stood behind Yuu, watching her Trainer at work. It was… seriously incredible.

Just a quick check with his hands, a small movement following his instructions, and he could already tell what was going on.

Yuu rubbed his temples.

Honestly, he was a little tired.

"I propose we take a short break."

Yayoi looked at him as she made the proposal.

She wasn’t stupid. She could clearly see how exhausted he was. This wasn’t just a re-exam.

It was a full assessment from head to toe, plus a physical examination.

And all of it had been handled by Yuu alone.

He waved a hand and rolled his shoulders.

“I have no limits!”

"Trainer, so cool!"

"You bet, you bet!"

It was just fatigue. He was still far from his limit.

“Next one, please come in.”

Miracle glanced at Urara.

It felt… pretty much like she’d imagined.

…………

“This is so good!”

Urara’s eyes sparkled as she ate. Delicious! So delicious!

How could it be this good?

She excitedly looked over at Yuu, who was eating beside her.

“Trainer, is the food at Tracen Academy always this amazing?!”

He paused his chopsticks and smiled smugly.

“I made all of this myself.”

“Huh?”

Urara’s expression shifted from admiration to pure confusion as she stared at him.

“So… Trainer, you’re a doctor, a Trainer, and you can cook?”

Swish.

Yuu pulled out a small booklet from his pocket.

【International First-Class Nutritionist】

The corner of his mouth lifted into a classic smug grin.

“Your Trainer’s cooking isn’t just tasty, you know~”

“…?”

Miracle also stopped eating.

Trainer, where did that certificate even come from?

After putting it back into his inner pocket, Yuu continued eating.

"Using food to assist training and treatment is one of my specialties. For anyone else to pull this off, they'd need an entire team, and the results still wouldn't be as good as mine."

Just assembling an Eastern medical team or a Western one alone would cost a fortune.

Spend less, and the team’s quality drops; no help at best, harm at worst.

Then you’d still need an international first-class nutritionist who could work seamlessly with them.

And finally, the only optional part, a master-level chef.

He swallowed the food in his mouth.

“So yeah, even a meal that looks this simple is actually very hard to pull off.”

Yayoi rubbed her stomach. “No wonder I feel all warm and comfy after eating… wait, is that just psychological?”

"Nope. I don't even need to examine you or Hayakawa-san. Your condition is exactly the same as people who stay up late all the time. Targeted treatment, targeted dishes. Seems pretty effective, right?"

Yayoi nodded in realization.

"Wait, what?! No wonder I slept so well that night!"

Tazuna also looked at Yuu with gratitude.

"No need to thank me. I've got a natural soft spot for Uma Musume~"

He pinched his fingers together into a heart shape with an infuriating grin.

Yayoi leaned closer. "New proposal: add us to your meals from now on! After tasting your cooking, there's no going back to the cafeteria!"

Yuu didn’t mind at all and finished off the remaining food in his lunchbox.

“Sure. If you want to come, just come. It’s only one extra set of chopsticks.”

He pressed his palms together. “I’m full!”

Then he reached out and pushed Yayoi’s face away as she leaned in too close.

“Alright, let’s rest a bit before we get ready for the afternoon work. Good night!”

With that, he lay back on the recliner and instantly entered sleep mode.

Yayoi blinked. “He’s… asleep?”

Tazuna walked over and examined his peaceful face closely.

“He really does seem asleep…”

"No way! He fell asleep that fast?!"

Urara’s admiration only grew stronger.

As expected of Trainer, even his sleeping speed is amazing!

Definitely number one!

…………

There wasn’t much to say about the afternoon work. It was just repeating the earlier process.

With his help, the re-exam success rate rose dramatically.

Many of Tracen Academy’s weaker points were strengthened as well. If they followed the direction he laid out, these Uma Musume would become the academy’s backbone in the future.

Not everyone would make it to Graded Stakes, but winning in Local Races was still very possible.

You really shouldn’t underestimate Uma Musume in Local Races.

After all, only a small handful ever reach Graded Stakes.

Most Uma Musume spend their entire careers struggling through Local Races. Some never even win once.

There are only so many races.

The number of Uma Musume isn’t small either.

And there’s always only one winner.

“Urara, did you bring everything?”

At Yuu’s question, Urara pulled out a backpack from the side, one several times bigger than she was.

“All packed!”

Looking at Urara in her training outfit, he suddenly imagined her wearing Signature Racewear.

Signature Racewear, something only earned by winning G-grade races or receiving awards.

“Urara, I’m really looking forward to seeing you in Signature Racewear.”

“Huh? Trainer, you’re really confident! Urara’s going to work super hard!”

She clenched her small fists, pink flames blazing in her eyes.

A hand landed on her head.

“No need for super hard. Just follow my pace and move forward step by step.”

Yuu smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

“I won’t let you rest.”

“Hey! Trainer Tsukimori, harassment is prohibited!”

Tazuna suddenly appeared between them.

He looked at her in confusion.

“I’m talking about training. What are you thinking, Hayakawa-san?”

Yuu and Urara shared the same blank expression.

Only her face turned bright red.

Did she… really overthink it?

Yuu and Urara leaned their heads together.

“Trainer, you’re pretty mischievous~”

“Hehe, right back at you~”

Poor Tazuna was completely toyed with by this Trainer and Uma Musume pair.

"Come on, Urara. Let's go see where you'll be staying for the next few days. And there's one thing I wasn't joking about."

He looked into her cherry-blossom-colored eyes.

“I’ll make sure you get into your Signature Racewear as soon as possible.”

“Yeah! Urara believes in Trainer!”

Chapter 28 - A Bit of Trouble

Time was tight, and there was a lot to get done.

After finishing the day’s work and returning to Tracen Academy, neither Yuu nor Urara chose to rest.

At the training field, Yuu’s expression was a little stiff.

So… we’re really starting from here?

Urara looked at him with her bright, pretty eyes. “Trainer, is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Urara, stop for a moment. I’ll lead you through today’s warm-up. Tomorrow’s first lesson will be about how to warm up properly and how to activate your body the right way.”

Off to the side, Miracle watched the scene with a gentle smile. Looks like the Trainer’s going to be busy lately.

……

Yuu studied Urara’s data.

Just like in the game.

Dirt track. Short distance.

His judgment hadn’t been wrong.

Low speed, low stamina, weak power.

That was Urara’s current state. Then there was the tactical issue: if she was the same as in the game and the anime.

That made things even more troublesome.

She only excelled at late-closing and chasing positions. At first glance, some people might not see a problem with that.

So, let’s explain it properly.

Front-runners and leaders are a bit weaker when it comes to positional battles, so their demand for raw power isn’t as high.

But during position changes, both power and stamina get burned fast.

On top of that, Urara specialized in short distances. There simply wasn’t enough time or course length for her to experiment.

Fail one or two position changes, and the race was basically over.

Strip away all the extra factors, and her power and stamina just weren’t enough to leave her with anything in the tank for a final sprint after the battles were over.

And that was assuming the best-case scenario, where the position change actually succeeded.

“This is a big problem.”

“Mm-hm!”

“We’ll have to work even harder.”

“Mm-hm, mm-hm!”

Urara looked completely fired up. Other things aside, if you talked about working hard, that was exactly what Urara was good at!

Urara was weak, but Urara worked hard!

“Good. That’s the spirit.”

Yuu turned to Miracle and Tachyon, who had just finished warming up.

“Tachyon, you take Miracle and handle today’s training. I’ll take Urara for some tactical testing.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

Tachyon smiled, her slightly overlong tracksuit sleeves swaying as she moved.

“Why are your sleeves so long?”

“No idea~”

“Did you grab another Uma Musume’s tracksuit by mistake?”

“No idea~”

“……”

……

Yuu’s mouth twitched. What a wildly unrestrained running style.

Mouth wide open, eyes squeezed shut. Urara! Who taught you to run like that?!

The upperclassmen Uma Musume in charge of the test wore conflicted expressions. They were already holding back as much as they could.

They’d seen weak Uma Musume before, but one this weak… this was honestly a first.

“Thanks so much for your help!”

Smiling, Yuu repeatedly thanked the Uma Musume who had come to assist.

When they looked at him, several of them blushed.

“No need to thank us! Trainer Tsukimori, if you ever need help again, please come find me! Even if I’m busy, I’ll make time for you!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Same here!”

“Trainer Tsukimori, love you~!”

Yuu raised an arm and made a heart back at them.

Their faces turned even redder.

Even though he’d only been working as a medical office instructor for a few days, he’d basically met every Uma Musume already.

Even if nothing was wrong, getting checked by Trainer Tsukimori was still a good thing!

But that was beside the point for now.

Urara’s face was drenched in sweat. Yuu took out a warm towel and gently wiped her cheeks.

“Trainer, I can do it myself—”

“Be good. Do you even have the strength in your hands right now?”

“Hehe~”

Urara laughed shyly. Tactical testing was exhausting.

Just like she said, she was weak, but she was really good at working hard.

Her speed dropped sharply as the training went on, but Yuu had already fully grasped her condition.

Her strongest position was late-closing, followed by chasing.

That was a relief.

If her strongest had been chasing, things would’ve been really troublesome.

If chasing were her best, then… grit your teeth and reinforce late-closing! Race using late-closing!

Short distance, chasing, low stats, no skills… that was a full stack of debuffs.

All he could say was: it was troublesome, but only a little.

Flexing his hands, it was clear he needed to put together a solid training plan as soon as possible.

Her diet would need adjustments too.

……

“All right, that’s it for today. Urara, hurry back and get some rest.”

Yuu patted Urara on the head.

Then he looked at Miracle. “I’ll leave Urara to you. As her senpai, take good care of her.”

Miracle nodded. “Leave it to me, Trainer.”

Yuu scratched his head. “Somehow, it feels like Miracle is the most reliable one among us.”

With a smile, Miracle replied, “Don’t underestimate yourself too much, Trainer.”

Urara left with Miracle. She still needed to tidy up her room.

She’d be staying there even during breaks in the future, so it needed a proper cleanup.

“All right. Now it’s time for my work.”

Rolling his wrists, Yuu glanced toward his dorm, then at Tachyon, who was idly spinning her sleeves around her fingers.

“Guinea Pig-kun, want me to keep you company while you work~?”

“Yes, please.”

……

The sound of keys clacking filled the room. Tachyon poured Yuu a cup of tea, set it on the desk, and quietly sat beside him.

She leaned her head against his shoulder.

The glow of the screen illuminated the faces of one man and one Uma Musume.

Lines of text filled the monitor. Two folders lay on the desk.

One contained Urara’s ability and aptitude test results.

The other was the report from the full medical checkup he’d had Urara undergo.

Information about Urara flashed through his mind.

A rough training plan took shape, with refinement to come next.

First, learning how to warm up, absolutely essential.

If warm-ups weren’t done properly, injuries during training were highly likely. One injury meant wasting an entire month.

Next came fundamental techniques and details: skills and running form.

Urara’s details weren’t exactly bad; they just didn’t exist.

Once all of that was taken care of, it would be time to raise her stats, just pull them up a bit.

Then they could start preparing for the Debut Race.

Working behind closed doors wasn’t the answer. As ideas poured in, his typing sped up.

Words flooded the screen.

Tachyon watched Yuu’s serious, focused expression.

This kind of Guinea Pig-kun… she liked him too.

Chapter 29 - Only Learn What You’ll Actually Use

“I’ve already talked about how important warming up is, so I won’t go over it again.”

Urara stood up straight, her small face filled with focus.

She didn’t blink once, her eyes fixed on Yuu.

Miracle and Tachyon had both gone to class. Since there was still some time before Urara’s enrollment date, this was the perfect opportunity to rebuild her foundations.

Yuu, meanwhile, had put on a tracksuit he hadn’t worn in a long time.

"Warm-ups are divided into static and dynamic warm-ups. The technical terms probably won't make much sense to you, so just remember this: through a series of continuous, controlled movements, you activate your joints and muscles. The range of motion gradually increases, letting your body enter an active state quickly. Static warm-ups don't really have much to do with you, Urara, so we'll skip those for now. As for static stretching after exercise, you probably don't know how to do that either. We'll learn it later."

Yuu rested his hands on his hips, his usual teaching posture.

He explained what was useful and skipped what wasn’t. Dumping too much new knowledge at once would only scatter her attention.

Teach what you need when you need it. That was how memory stuck best, at least in his view.

“All right, let’s begin. I’ll start correcting you from the first movement.”

“Understood!”

……

So strict!

That was Urara’s first impression. Even the tiniest mistake didn’t escape the Trainer’s eyes, and he immediately pointed it out.

As she moved, he also told her which muscles were being used, why the movement mattered, and how it would help with later training.

Her second impression?

She was so happy!

The Trainer was seriously helping her become stronger!

The thing she was best at, no, best of all at, was giving it her all. But until now, she’d never known where to aim that effort.

Now, her path was stretching endlessly ahead of her.

For the first time, her effort had an arrow pointing forward.

“Okay, take a short break.”

Looking at Urara’s sweat-soaked face, Yuu continued, “From now on, your warm-ups have to strictly follow the correct form. At first it’ll feel awkward, but once you get used to it, it’ll be fine.

“I know this might make you a little unhappy, but it’s something I have to say.”

He bent down and wiped the sweat from Urara’s face with a towel.

“Urara, your talent isn’t great, so you have to hold yourself to even stricter standards. That’s the only way you’ll have a chance at winning.”

“I won’t be mad at all!”

Urara beamed, copying her Trainer by putting her hands on her hips.

"Urara knows her talent isn't good! The fact that you're telling me this means you really want to help me! I'm so excited! The first victory!"

After wiping away the sweat, Yuu straightened up.

“That first win… it won’t be too far away.”

……

The path of sports was nothing like how shiny and glamorous it looked in TV dramas.

There was only endless repetition and sweat that never dried.

Only by pushing yourself again and again did you earn a chance at victory.

Of course, that was for people who genuinely wanted results.

If you just wanted to mess around and coast, then sure, life could be pretty “exciting.”

“That’s it, Urara. One more time. The intensity isn’t high, so we’ll repeat it several times and let your body really memorize the movement.”

Yuu raised his head, eyes leaving the computer screen.

The training intensity wasn’t high, but the session had already gone on for over two hours.

Light shone in Urara’s eyes, without the slightest hint of impatience.

“Okay, Trainer!”

Once again, she performed the ‘warm-up’ according to proper form.

It was called a warm-up, but with that much repetition over such a long time, it could no longer be called that.

It was low-intensity training.

Yuu’s gaze returned to the screen. A tablet beside him was connected to the computer, and the document displayed on it was filled with problems.

So many problems, and they were ranked by priority.

The higher the level, the more urgently it needed to be addressed.

Lower-level issues could wait. Ranked first was warm-up.

A towering building starts from the ground up. Fundamentals were everything.

Sweat slid down Urara’s cheeks as the dull, monotonous training life began.

But for Urara, it didn’t seem dull at all.

……

Inside the cramped activity room, Urara’s face was full of happiness.

After class, Tachyon and Miracle also returned.

Tachyon wore a satisfied smile. “As expected, Guinea Pig-kun’s cooking tastes best when it’s fresh off the stove.”

Miracle nodded in agreement.

"I'm so happy I could burst. Amazing food and the best Trainer ever!"

Tachyon’s gaze fell on Urara’s blissful expression.

Urara noticed and looked over curiously.

“Tachyon, what is it?”

Under Agnes’s strong insistence, “Agnes-senpai” had long since become just “Tachyon.”

“Oh, nothing. I was just wondering… how far someone like you can go.”

Resting her chin on her hand, she smiled meaningfully.

If it were an ordinary Uma Musume, she might’ve faltered under that look.

After all, sitting across from her wasn’t just any Uma Musume; it was Tachyon.

Just from her presence alone, you could tell she was maxed out on danger.

“How far I can go…”

Urara touched her chin, then immediately broke into a bright smile.

"However far the Trainer thinks I can go, that's how far I'll go!"

Tachyon froze, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Urara, who was still enthusiastically eating.

What an unexpected answer.

Her lips curved upward. The Trainer had really found a good companion.

Even though Urara’s strength was nowhere near Blazing Steed’s—

She believed in her. Far more than she believed in Blazing Steed.

She had the key to opening the Zone.

And that key was already in her hands…

Bang!

The door to the activity room was suddenly shoved open.

"The chairwoman has arrived! Trainer Tsukimori, I'm here! It smells amazing! Food, food!"

Yayoi appeared in front of Yuu with her hands on her hips, striking a bold pose.

Behind her, Tazuna’s cheeks were flushed red.

“Honestly, Chairwoman, that’s so rude!”

“Oh, welcome.”

Yuu untied his apron.

“I made a bit extra. Go grab some bowls and chopsticks.”

“Okay!”

“Chairwoman, you’ve got real presence when you’re freeloading a meal!”

Yayoi’s smile froze.

She knew Urara didn’t mean anything by it, but still…

What’s wrong with freeloading, huh?!

Chapter 30 - So… What’s the Bad News?

So good!

So tasty!

Trainer Tsukimori’s cooking was practically magical; you could never get enough of it!

Yayoi wore a look of deep satisfaction, while Tazuna’s smile carried a kind of bliss most people never got to see.

Arms crossed, Yuu looked on proudly.

“Eat first. After that, rest a bit, then we’ll head to the training field.”

“Understood, Trainer!”

“Okay.”

“Hm hm hm”

Ever since Urara joined, the first one to respond was always Urara.

"Oho~ oho! Training Uma Musume, huh! I'm curious! Don't look at me like I'm just a chairwoman. I've been in this industry for years. My understanding of training is very deep! I'm not worse than you! I want to see it too!"

Yuu looked at Yayoi’s face, clearly screaming I’m about to show off.

His eyebrow lifted slightly. “Oh~?”

So she wanted to look cool this time after he’d shown her up last time?

Fine. Come on. He’d accept the challenge.

……

“Huh?”

“Eh?!”

The first confused sound came from Tazuna. The second, full of shock, came from Yayoi.

Once again, Yuu demonstrated what high-end operation really meant.

The computer screen was split, showing the training conditions of three Uma Musume at once.

His other hand flew across the keyboard connected to a tablet.

Lines of text appeared in rapid succession as he switched between the training plan documents for all three.

Was Yuu slacking? Were the training plans immature?

Couldn’t they tell?

Of course they could!

This was insane!

Are you really a rookie Trainer?!

His insight was razor-sharp, his analysis straight to the point!

He didn’t feel like a newcomer at all! And how was he watching three screens at once?!

Do you have a third eye hidden somewhere?!

One eye per screen?!

Your two eyes are seriously overclocked!

And what’s with that typing speed?! How many characters per second is that?!

“Phew~”

Yuu stretched and shook out his hands.

“For now, that’s all the problems. Nothing serious enough to halt training, so we’ll leave it at that. If anything comes up later, we’ll add it.”

He turned to the dumbfounded Yayoi, flashing a bright smile.

"So, Chairwoman, if there's anything you'd like to know, don't be shy Just ask"

“D-damn it!”

Her face red, she stormed off in a huff.

But after walking a short distance, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

“What an outstanding Trainer.”

“Indeed.”

“Wah!”

Tazuna’s ghost-like timing startled Yayoi badly.

“Tazuna, don’t speak all of a sudden!”

Hands folded in front of her abdomen, Tazuna simply smiled without replying.

To think, even the Chairwoman had finally met her match.

Meeting Trainer Tsukimori… might actually be a good thing.

……

“Trainer, what’s going on?”

Miracle asked curiously after returning from the first round of training, noticing the smile plastered across Yuu’s face.

“It’s nothing. I just taught a certain ignorant brat a little lesson.”

Hand pressed to his forehead, he leaned back dramatically.

“You want to challenge me? You’re twenty thousand years too early!”

“Trainer, maybe watch a little less JOJO. And that line isn’t even right.”

Miracle reached out and lightly tapped his forehead.

“Hehe, okay, okay. Let’s talk about your training issues first.”

Yuu dropped the lazy act. Urara and Tachyon had also returned.

……

All three Uma Musume listened intently.

“All right. Miracle, do one more training session today, then rest. No more training after that.”

“Understood, Trainer.”

Miracle nodded to show she got it.

Yuu gently patted her head. She really put him at ease.

She was obedient, well-behaved, and never made him worry.

As for Tachyon’s issues…

Well, at her current stage, there was honestly nothing to say.

Just adjust things based on her progress and physical condition.

Ridiculously easy.

“Lastly, Urara.”

Hearing her Trainer call her name, Urara tensed up.

She waited for the inevitable “lecture.”

“One piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear?”

“The… the good news!”

Yuu’s expression instantly shifted from serious to cheerful.

“You did amazingly. None of the problems from yesterday showed up, and your improvement is very obvious!”

Urara beamed, then snapped back to a serious face the next second.

“Then… what’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is…”

Yuu matched her seriousness.

“Because of your excellent performance, Urara, your training intensity is going to increase a lot.”

A question mark practically popped up over Urara’s head.

“Um… so what exactly is the bad news?”

“The bad news is that your training intensity is increasing.”

Smiling brightly, Urara patted Yuu on the shoulder.

“Oh, Trainer, I can handle that! So what’s the bad news, then?”

“?”

Yuu looked genuinely confused.

“Yeah, the bad news is that you’re going to be more tired from now on!”

Urara froze.

“W-wait… Trainer, you think that’s bad news?”

“?”

“?”

Question marks appeared over both of their heads.

……

Miracle sat beside Yuu. Just moments ago, she’d finally finished her last segment of training.

Yuu thoughtfully wiped the sweat from her.

Miracle’s cheeks flushed red. She really liked this feeling.

“Your physical condition has been getting better and better lately, Miracle.”

“It’s… it’s all thanks to you, Trainer.”

As she spoke, her ears twitched slightly.

“You really don’t make me worry at all.”

Yuu put away the towel. Looking at the shy Miracle, he couldn’t resist reaching out and pinching her soft cheeks.

“My K.S. Miracle is so cute~”

“Tr- Trainer…”

When she saw him reach out, she instinctively placed her hand in his.

Yuu gently held her soft hand. There was nothing special left to watch in the final training segment anyway.

After the last segment came rest, dinner, post-meal rest, and then night training.

Oh right, Urara also needed an extra training session now.

Miracle looked toward the field, where Urara was adjusting her running form.

“That’s nice…”

“No need to envy her. It won’t be long before you can run freely too, Miracle.”

Yuu squeezed her hand lightly. One look at her expression was enough to know what she was thinking.

Miracle smiled softly.

“I believe in you, Trainer. Always.”