Chapter 146.
December 25th — Christmas.
The previous night's Christmas Eve had been very peaceful for Shuta An, at least judging by how refreshed he looked when he went to the hospital that morning.
Because it was the Christmas holiday, both Trainers and Uma Musumes were free.
Yesterday, Shuta An had used the first morning of the break to buy Christmas gifts for everyone. Since he couldn't go into Tokai Teio's hospital room to hand her present over at night, he simply brought it with him and planned to give it to her first thing in the morning.
Shuta An had originally considered buying Tokai Teio a pair of crutches or a wheelchair, but if he gave her that as a Christmas gift, the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume would probably pounce on him and bite him a few times, risking her life.
So the young man changed to a gift Tokai Teio would definitely be satisfied with.
As Shuta An stepped into the hospital room, Tokai Teio was playing on her phone alone.
Hearing the door open, she looked up at him.
"Trainer, you're here so early today."
"Ayabe-chan isn't here yet today." Shuta An glanced at the bedside, confirming there were no signs of anyone else having been there before speaking. "Today is the first time I've been the earliest."
"Last night, Oguri-senpai said Trainer was out shopping all day, so you must have prepared my Christmas gift, right?" Tokai Teio held out her hand. "Hmph hmph, for a patient, a gift that isn't gentle enough can be very hurtful, you know!"
Shuta An pulled out a gift box.
"Aomori apple shopping vouchers from the Central Aomori Prefecture Specialty Center. I feel like this is most suitable for you."
"Hiyah," Tokai Teio let out a long breath. "I was worried Trainer would give me a wheelchair. With Aomori apple shopping vouchers, by the time next year's apple harvest season comes, I'll definitely use these few—"
While talking about her plans and opening the gift box, Tokai Teio suddenly stopped.
"Eh eh eh eh eh?!"
The shopping vouchers inside weren't just one, two, or a few. It was a thick stack.
"It cost me my share of Teio's Triple Crown prize money from last year," the young man finally said. "So it's being used on Teio."
"So many~ I feel like I won't be able to eat them all next year," Tokai Teio said.
She didn't count them, but with that quantity in front of her, she estimated she might have to invite acquaintances over for an apple feast next year.
"Can I ask Berno-senpai to research dishes that use apples as an ingredient?" she thought to herself.
As for Shuta An, since Tokai Teio could only lie in a hospital bed, he hadn't expected the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume to give him any gift in return.
Tokai Teio, however, insisted that if she couldn't buy a gift, she would make a promise:
"Next year, I will definitely stay healthy!"
"Well~ although it sounds a bit strange," Shuta An grumbled, "it is indeed a good wish. I also hope Teio can balance victory and health next year."
"Next year's first race will most likely be the Takarazuka Kinen," Tokai Teio continued. "Then I'll be competing against McQueen again."
"It doesn't matter." Shuta An shook his head. "She couldn't beat Teio in the Arima Kinen, so the shorter the distance, the harder it will be for her to defeat Teio. She won't be Teio's opponent in the 2200-meter Takarazuka Kinen."
"However, McQueen's long-distance ability is truly strong. If she had debuted in the same year as me, I definitely wouldn't have been able to become a Triple Crown Uma Musume,"
Tokai Teio remarked.
"That's right," Shuta An agreed. "So the Triple Crown also requires a lot of luck."
"Thinking about it, it feels like everyone in my generation actually posed little threat to me this year—"
Tokai Teio lowered her head.
"If I can't achieve good results in my senior year, people will definitely say in the future that I was just lucky to debut in a weak year."
"That won't be for many years from now,"
Shuta An knew it was normal for Tokai Teio to care about this—just like Secretariat still scowled whenever people online discussed her few losses.
"However, Teio's worries are reasonable too," the young man said, changing his tone. "If you want to avoid that situation, the best way is to achieve solid results in your senior year and prove you can defeat both seniors and juniors."
"In the first half of the year, I can only run the Takarazuka Kinen, and in the second half I'll stay domestic," Tokai Teio thought carefully. "In that case, I'll definitely have to go on an overseas expedition in my senior year, just like Dober-senpai."
"Doesn't Teio want to challenge opponents across the sky and sea, to face the world's competitors?" Shuta An asked a question to which he already knew the answer.
"Of course, I do!" Tokai Teio answered without hesitation.
"So, the year after next, an expedition is definitely happening."
Shuta An spread his hands.
"My personal idea is to aim for those highly prestigious races. The only G1 with ordinary honor but substantial prize money should be the Dubai Sheema Classic—after all, I previously promised to let Teio challenge this race, but this unexpected situation made it impossible for next year. So she'll have to go at some point later."
"The Dubai Sheema Classic, I want to win that too," Tokai Teio nodded repeatedly.
While Shuta An and Tokai Teio were already discussing possible protagonists for next year's Dubai World Cup race day, Admire Vega arrived.
The taciturn Uma Musume who pushed open the door was somewhat surprised that the Trainer had arrived earlier than she had. But after regaining her composure, Admire Vega bowed to Shuta An.
"Good morning, Trainer and Senpai."
"Good morning, Ayabe-chan." Shuta An smiled and stood up, preparing to give Admire Vega his seat. "Thank you for coming so early."
"It was my turn today anyway. It's no trouble."
Admire Vega curtsied slightly, carrying her bag and sitting in the seat Shuta An had offered.
After placing her bag on the table, Admire Vega untied the knot while continuing,
"Today it's apple pie and Senpai's favorite honey special drink."
"That sounds so sweet,"
Shuta An grumbled inwardly—though he knew Uma Musumes' preference for sweets differed from ordinary people's.
"Thank you, Ayabe-chan!" Tokai Teio's eyes practically sparkled. "Once I recover, I will definitely help you improve greatly on the training track!"
If Kurofune had heard that, she would have turned pale. But Admire Vega showed no change in expression, only nodding silently.
After Admire Vega arrived, Tokai Teio's enthusiasm for conversation dropped considerably. This was mainly because Admire Vega always spoke rather coldly, keeping the atmosphere from ever truly warming up.
"There's nothing to be done about it," Shuta An grumbled inwardly. "I can only see whether time can make Admire Vega less cold."
As for how much time that would take, the young man had no experience, so he couldn't judge.
Lunch was bought by Shuta An. Noticing that the restaurant's children's meal came with a small doll, he unhesitatingly ordered two. When he brought them back to the hospital room, he gave one to each of the two Uma Musumes.
"So cute!" Tokai Teio pinched the doll's cheek, sounding delighted.
Admire Vega took the doll, softly said "Thank you," then carefully put it into her bag.
"The texture is fluffy, so it must be filled with cotton. After a while, I'll have to fluff it up properly. I'll put it with the other cotton dolls when I get back to the dorm."
After just one touch, Admire Vega had already mentally evaluated it and even decided where to display it.
However, Shuta An was more focused on Tokai Teio's expression at that moment. Seeing how interested Tokai Teio was in the doll, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Good thing Teio hadn't noticed that the meal he ordered for her was a children's meal.
—
"Berno went to pick up Kurofune and Rice Shower,"
Shuta An murmured in the evening after checking the Line message Berno had sent him, feeling reassured.
Although Tokai Teio was chatting idly with Admire Vega, she always kept some attention on the young man. After noticing his actions, she felt a little uncomfortable—after all, the team was having a Christmas party tonight, and Tokai Teio herself could only stay in the hospital.
But she immediately brushed that negative feeling aside.
"I got injured because I wasn't careful, so missing the party is unavoidable."
After adjusting her mood, Tokai Teio waited for Admire Vega to briefly respond to a question about her mother's hobby, then turned to the young man.
"Trainer, shouldn't we go pick up Kurofune-chan and the others?"
"Ah... I don't need to go today." Shuta An waved a hand. "Kurofune and I can stay here until curfew."
Admire Vega nodded along—though she wasn't entirely sure when curfew started here.
After eight o'clock, Shuta An took Admire Vega home.
It was Admire Vega's first time there, but the young man couldn't read her inner thoughts from her face at all. On the attribute viewer, her favorability toward Shuta An still remained at "20."
That made the young man begin doubting whether the doll had had any effect at all.
"It doesn't seem to have much effect. But it's also possible the doll was too small. I'll run more experiments later."
While driving, he had no time to chat with Admire Vega, and the deer-haired Uma Musume sat quietly in the back seat, never initiating conversation.
Both remained silent until they arrived home.
"It's hard to imagine how Curren-chan gets along with her every day,"
Shuta An thought, increasingly impressed by Curren Chan—but the moment he stepped inside, he immediately understood.
Before he could even open the door, Admire Vega hid behind him.
The young man wasn't surprised, merely assuming she was shy and embarrassed to go in ahead of him.
But as soon as the door opened—
"Ayabe-chan~!" Curren Chan crashed into him.
If Shuta An's physical fitness had been slightly worse, that collision would have been painful.
"Hiss—"
Even so, he still gasped.
"Oh!" Curren Chan, after bumping into the young man's arms, realized the feel was wrong, stepped back a few paces, clasped her hands together, and stuck out her tongue.
"I'm so sorry, big brother."
Now Shuta An understood why Admire Vega had hidden behind him before entering.
"She really has accumulated experience," he muttered to himself. "Curren Chan's explosive power—she really is an Uma Musume who should focus on short distances. The acceleration from just a few steps almost made me unable to withstand it."
It was fortunate that Shuta An was physically strong. Otherwise, if it had been one of his colleagues from the Academy, they would probably be neighbors with Tokai Teio tonight—an occupational hazard many popular Uma Musume Trainers had to accept.
But because Curren Chan had collided with him, Shuta An, who had intended to help in the kitchen, was instead sent to the living room by Berno.
"Go chat with everyone from Team Sadalsuud. Ann isn't needed here."
Berno's reason was perfectly valid.
"Oguri and Suzuka aren't very good at conversation. I'm really afraid they'll say something inappropriate later and make the atmosphere awkward."
"Alright then."
So Shuta An returned to the living room and sent Suzuka to the kitchen to help Berno—the main reason he hadn't let Oguri go was that he was worried Oguri would try a bit then eat half the ingredients while helping.
Sitting in Suzuka's original seat, Shuta An didn't say much. With Curren Chan present, Berno's worries were completely unnecessary.
Curren Chan, who had secured her spot as a top Instagram influencer since childhood, was incredibly versatile. She effortlessly livened up the atmosphere without making the socially awkward Admire Vega feel left out.
Oguri was quite interested in Admire Vega.
"I always feel that Ayabe-chan is somewhat similar to me,"
She said.
"Eh?"
Everyone in the living room looked back and forth between Oguri Cap and Admire Vega.
"You're not thinking she eats as much as Oguri, are you?"
Shuta An couldn't help saying.
"Actually, isn't Rice Shower-senpai the biggest eater on the team?"
Kurofune said whatever came to mind.
Rice Shower blushed.
"I've lost two kilograms recently because I've been rushing deadlines with Dober-senpai!"
Privately, Uma Musumes were no different from ordinary girls; they cared quite a bit about their figures.
Oguri Cap was no exception. Although she wouldn't deliberately reduce her food intake, whenever she ate too much, she'd always add more training to burn it off. Coupled with her extraordinary talent, most of the extra weight gathered in the right places.
To be honest, if she were still active in the Twinkle Series now, Shuta An felt that no matter how much he doted on her, he'd still have to suggest targeted liposuction surgery.