"Mechane Tornado"

"Oh!"

Misuzu immediately turned around and gave Yasui Makoto a mildly reproachful look.

"Makoto, honestly! It's New Year's—why are you assigning homework and giving her a pop quiz? You're being way too strict! Xiao Bei already works hard enough with training and competitions."

Yasui Makoto let out a helpless sigh. "Mom, when I couldn't recite my lessons as a kid, you didn't say that..."

Before he could finish, Misuzu pretended not to hear him. She turned back and warmly took Hokubu Genkoma's hand.

"Xiao Bei, let's ignore him. Come on, tell Sister Misuzu what's giving you trouble.

"Don't let the fact that I'm just a housewife now fool you—I used to compete as an Uma Musume!

"My results were pretty average, but I might still remember some of the basics. Maybe I can help?"

At that, Hokubu Genkoma's eyes lit up. Anmokume, Alice Speed, and the others smiled and nodded.

They'd heard Yasui Makoto mention his mother's past before, but Chunqiu Fen was hearing about it for the first time. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she let out a quiet gasp.

"Huh?! S-Sister Misuzu used to be an Uma Musume too?"

Seeing Chunqiu Fen's astonishment, Misuzu seemed to spot something amusing. Her eyes curved into crescents as she leaned closer, lowered her voice, and spoke in a conspiratorial tone.

"That's right, that's right. Surprised?

"Back in the day, I caused a little 'Mechane Tornado' on the Nagoya track!

"Though the reason I got that reputation... well, I used to speed up for no reason on the turns and make myself dizzy..."

She started laughing at her own story. Her warm, self-deprecating manner immediately put everyone at ease.

Alice Speed looked interested. "Oh? An unusual running style from a regional competition? Heh heh... That's intriguing."

Yamato Akagi smiled amiably as