Looking at Kitasan Black standing beside him, Yasui Makoto's lips twitched slightly.
Apart from their long ears and swishing tails, Uma Musu looked almost identical to ordinary human girls, and Kitasan Black was just at that age—fifteen or sixteen, full of youthful energy.
Yet now, talking earnestly about becoming a magical girl, her long ears flicked gently, fists clenched eagerly to her chest, tail wagging nonstop, eyes sparkling with absolute seriousness.
Shouldn't she have already passed the age to dream about magical girls…? How does she still have such unrealistic fantasies—
Just as he was about to voice his skepticism, Yasui suddenly paused, a mory from a distant afternoon—or maybe a morning—flashing vividly in his mind.
He'd also been in his teens then, supposedly beyond the age of fantasy.
Yet, on that particular morning or afternoon, he clearly rembered engaging in a passionate debate with soone about sothing equally "unrealistic."
Between WarGreymon and talGarurumon—which one was stronger?
His earlobes suddenly flushed hot, and he coughed awkwardly, laughter rising in his chest.
Fine, having so fantasies isn't exactly a problem. Besides…
So, between WarGreymon and talGarurumon, which one really is stronger?
Realizing he'd again stumbled onto that embarrassing childhood mory, Yasui quickly tried to find sothing else to distract himself. At that mont, he suddenly beca aware of a persistent warmth coming from his hand.
He instinctively glanced down, and like before, his earlobes turned hot. He coughed once more, guilt washing over him as he nervously looked around.
Kitasan Black was still enthusiastically explaining her invented "Magical Girl transformation chant" to Almond Eye and Durante.
Several spectators nearby overheard bits of her speech, glanced over amusedly, shook their heads in bemusent, and smiled to themselves.
Farther away, everyone's attention had shifted back to the track and the paddock area. There was still one final race after the Dream Trophy, and the comntator was already listing the nas of the participating Uma Musu.
Thank goodness no one noticed…
Muttering inwardly, Yasui discreetly slipped his hand away, exhaling with relief.
Then froze.
Wait—why am I acting like I just got caught stealing…?
I didn't even do anything… right?
Yes, nothing happened.
But…
Less than half a second after firmly assuring himself, he unconsciously rubbed his just-released hand, a strange feeling rising within his chest.
This is wrong.
Sothing was twelve-tenths wrong.
It can't be… right?
Kita-chan...?
Dimly, he realized this strange feeling probably involved emotions towards Kitasan Black that went beyond trainer and Uma Musu.
Recognizing this, he was suddenly startled.
Romantic feelings developing between trainers and their Uma Musu wasn't sothing incomprehensible. After all, his own parents were exactly that—a trainer and his Uma Musu.
But according to the strict rules set by both the association and academy, as well as societal morality, romance during active racing was absolutely forbidden.
Each Uma Musu had only a short golden period in her racing career—about three to four years on average.
After that, unless she possessed exceptional talent like those competing in the Dream Trophy, maintaining top form beca nearly impossible, and physical decline set in rapidly.
Romantic attachnts during this crucial period would undoubtedly impact training and racing performance, jeopardizing an Uma Musu's future.
On the other hand, aside from exceptionally talented young trainers like himself, most trainers earned their licenses much later in life.
Uma Musu, compared to humans, were inherently simpler, more innocent, and younger in experience and emotional maturity—making them especially susceptible to emotional manipulation.
Therefore, these rules and ethics were primarily designed to restrict trainers, since even rigorous screening couldn't entirely eliminate the risk of exploitation.
Yasui knew this clearly. His parents had subtly—and not-so-subtly—warned him, and he'd always intended to make a na for himself professionally before considering any romantic entanglents.
Besides, to him, while Kitasan Black was bright, cheerful, and genuinely likable, their interactions always felt open and casual, never carrying romantic undertones.
Specifically speaking, she felt like… a buddy, just one of his bros, only female.
As he thought of that, Yasui couldn't help but recall their conversations about Extre Acrobatics, favorite movies, or their late nights spent playing console gas together, reaffirming his conclusion.
Right, Kita-chan's definitely just a buddy.
But then now…
Buddy, you're slling kinda nice today…?
Wait, wait, wait—this is getting worse…
Realizing his attempt to sort his emotions was only making things more chaotic, Yasui shook his head quickly, glancing left and right, desperately searching for a distraction.
"…Trainer, you disagree?" Kitasan Black's curious voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Of course I disagree! Sothing like that is absolutely impossible right now—"
He snapped loudly, instantly feeling like a thief caught red-handed. Noticing Kitasan Black, Almond Eye, and Durante all staring at him in shock, Yasui stood dumbly for several seconds before coughing awkwardly again.
"S-Sorry, I was just… right, thinking about training plans."
He attempted a casual tone, desperately changing the subject. "So I wasn't paying attention to anything, wasn't imagining anything weird—anyway, what were you girls talking about?"
"Oh, I see…"
Without a hint of suspicion, Kitasan Black's startled look faded, replaced with a bright smile as she pointed at the racetrack.
"We were discussing the next race! Spe-chan and the others have already gone to rest. The introductions for the next race are about to start—we're guessing who'll win."
"Trainer, who do you think?"
Yasui's attention imdiately shifted fully—though not exactly to the race before them.
Instead, discreetly glancing at Durante, he thought of her "next" race.
Race planning wasn't a trivial matter, especially for Durante's family, the association, and the academy.
Durante ca from a renowned lineage of Uma Musu, and she was currently her family's most promising racer. Her future competition schedule was thus imnsely significant.
From conversations he'd heard with Tokai Teio and others, Yasui understood the association's stance on overseas expeditions was more conservative than the academy's, yet they still desired international glory.
Considering Japan's obsession with the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, plus the expectations from Durante's family, her next race was absolutely going to be the Arc—there was no doubt about that.
So Durante clashing with her family and trainer, and running away from ho over such a disagreent, wasn't incomprehensible. Emotionally, it made perfect sense.
Yet reality always needed facing, and Durante certainly couldn't remain away forever.
Most likely, Air Groove would soon contact him, requesting his help in bringing Durante ho—and afterward, sothing strange might happen…
Yasui Makoto considered this carefully, quickly making up his mind.
Truthfully, he wasn't overly concerned with preventing that mysterious accident.
But he knew deep inside—though Kitasan Black had never openly voiced it—she desperately wanted another race against Durante to settle things clearly.
He wanted that just as much as she did. So maybe, just maybe, he could do sothing ahead of ti.
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