Tracen Is a Place of Relentless Competition

Silence Suzuka did not say that she was also a viewer after hearing that.

First, Digital had not asked. Second, Silence Suzuka had something she was concerned about.

Zhou Yuang seemed extremely worried about his identity being discovered during the livestream.

What would happen if she said that she knew, and even had a sense of déjà vu?

Silence Suzuka did not know, but Digital did not ask. Even Air Groove, who arrived later, did not ask Silence Suzuka whether she had watched the livestream.

When Air Groove came to find Silence Suzuka and noticed Digital beside her, she realized there was no need for an explanation. She simply told Silence Suzuka to be wary of any Trainer who approached her.

If a Trainer took the initiative to approach you or even proposed to you, call the Student Council immediately.

The people from the Student Council will come running. Sorry for the trouble, but please keep the situation under control until then.

Silence Suzuka curiously asked what the Student Council would do to that Trainer afterward.

Air Groove answered righteously, "For a problematic Trainer like that, they would receive criticism and guidance at best. At worst, they would be dismissed directly."

The moment she heard the word "dismissed," Silence Suzuka froze.

She had not thought about the criticism and guidance. The first thing she had thought of was dismissal.

Dismissal meant that if AT came to acknowledge her, he would be arrested afterward, and might then leave Tracen Academy forever.

By then, she would have no way to keep running under his gaze forever, as they had promised during the livestream.

Silence Suzuka thought for a while and decided to do nothing.

She believed AT would come looking for her, but how to overcome those difficulties was his... no, it was something the two of them had to face together.

If he cares about me as much as he did during the livestream, he'll definitely find me. Then, just as we promised...

Even if Zhou Yuang was not AT, the real AT would surely be unable to sit still after seeing her talk with another Trainer.

Silence Suzuka was indeed a running idiot, but she was not an idiot who could do nothing except run.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Tracen Is a Place of Relentless Competition

Therefore, when Silence Suzuka heard Zhou Yuang's invitation to train, she agreed without a second thought.

Her swift acceptance left Air Groove and Digital extremely troubled.

"I didn't come here just to train."

He also intended to protect Silence Suzuka and bring certain people to justice.

Air Groove was just about to object when Digital suddenly cried out beside her.

"Training with such a cute Uma Musume... I understand! I'll come too!"

An astonishing voice came from the petite Uma Musume's body.

Even Air Groove was startled.

The reason was simple: joint training meant a group of Uma Musume training together.

Just as everyone enjoyed eating together, training together was also comfortable.

Although it did not have the game-like effect of wildly increasing stats whenever many people trained together, the atmosphere made the Uma Musume feel secure.

Real horses were herd animals. It was common for them to gather in groups of two or three, socialize, and chase one another.

Some lively horses became uneasy without that.

As someone who wanted to observe Uma Musume up close, Digital was completely incapable of refusing such a request.

Oguri Cap was the first Gray Coat Uma Musume she had ever seen in person. Gray Coat horses were extremely popular among horse fans.

Many horses were obsessed with Gray Coat horses.

Digital was suspicious of Zhou Yuang, but she would never give up an opportunity to spend time with any Uma Musume!

Training together would let this Uma Musume Fan help the Uma Musume while also allowing her to observe a Gray Coat Uma Musume up close.

The thought of twice the happiness made her feel like she was about to reach bliss!

If I tricked Digital by telling her that, as long as she agreed to join us, she could watch two cute Uma Musume every day and even live with them like biological sisters, she'd immediately defect and surrender... All right, that's just wishful thinking.

Zhou Yuang rejected this ridiculous idea. If that hardcore supporter who had sworn to uphold his and Silence Suzuka's pure-love pairing heard him say that—

She might immediately shout, "Shut up! I've never seen anyone so shameless!"

The idea of having thirty wives did indeed violate modern society's laws, but while living in this world of Uma Musume, Zhou Yuang had not neglected international news. Some famous Uma Musume had immigrated with their Trainers to countries where polygamy was legal and begun their lives there.

As for how things were going for those Trainers, Zhou Yuang did not know. In any case, they were certainly suffering and enjoying themselves at the same time.

And in the game, Zhou Yuang had far more than thirty favorite horses. As a DD, could he easily abandon any of his favorites?

Of course not.

"Then, Miss Air Groove?"

Zhou Yuang turned toward Air Groove, hoping that this nearly perfect Empress would do him the honor.

Air Groove merely closed her eyes and stroked her chin, her ears twitching slightly. Then she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Zhou Yuang.

"I'll be intruding."

In other words, she agreed?

Was it really that simple?

Perhaps she wants to observe me up close... Wait, is this going to turn my daily life into Werewolf?

Give me a break. I only want to live a peaceful life.

"Then let's begin training."

Zhou Yuang first explained that today's training would focus on the Mile track.

Oguri Cap's Central debut was only a few days away.

It would be a 1,600-meter Mile race.

Coincidentally, all four Uma Musume here had considerable ability in Mile races.

During the previous livestream, Zhou Yuang had properly analyzed training methods for the track and distance, but different distances had different priorities.

He had talked about middle-distance races during the livestream and was now talking about Mile races. What did the two have to do with each other?

Training methods could not be treated as universally applicable.

Zhou Yuang took out the training plan he had written earlier.

He explained the training methods required for a Mile track.

He also explained how to care for certain parts of the body after training them.

Air Groove looked somewhat surprised as she listened to Zhou Yuang.

When she had secretly looked at his training plan earlier, she had known how he arranged things. But now she had heard the entire arrangement intact.

It was even word-for-word identical to what was written in the notebook.

This guy actually told us passerby Uma Musume such an important plan?

Was this guy an idiot?

Was he not afraid that they would spread the plan?

Air Groove still remembered how red her face had become when she secretly read Zhou Yuang's plan.

She had even condemned herself as an excessive person. And now Zhou Yuang had simply said it out loud?

She did not know whether Zhou Yuang was foolish or simply did not treat them as outsiders.

Air Groove did not say much and merely trained along with the others.

During training, Zhou Yuang periodically swept his gaze over the four Uma Musume.

That scanning-like gaze made Air Groove uneasy.

To be honest, she could not quite figure out what sort of person Zhou Yuang was.

He seemed meddlesome, but Zhou Yuang was not constantly fussing over his Uma Musume in front of them now.

He seemed shrewd, but at present he was training everyone without the slightest hesitation. He even showed no concern when Silence Suzuka raised her hand and asked him to repeat something.

Could it be that he genuinely regarded everyone as his Uma Musume?

He seemed foolish, yet the training plan he produced was very clever.

He had not been stupid during the earlier incident involving that Trainer and Uma Musume, either.

Furthermore, no matter how she looked at him now, he seemed like a polite and gentle Trainer. He had none of AT's extremely scummy manner of speaking or tone.

This left Air Groove suffering immensely. Judging whether this kind of Trainer was AT through threats and similar actions made her feel troubled.

She had a conscience. She was not a hotheaded idiot who only knew how to make unreasonable trouble.

Even if she could use the fact that Oguri Cap was AT's recommended Uma Musume in the game to arrest Zhou Yuang, the result would merely be a situation where he said, "What does your arresting AT have to do with me, Zhou Yuang?"

Tracen's Student Council was not a bunch of fanatics who arrested people at random!

"This Trainer is just an ordinary person who appears to be positive and diligent."

Air Groove was not heartless. She had not viewed Zhou Yuang through particularly colored glasses.

As sweat ran down her face, she recalled the knowledge she had learned earlier.

At least she had gained something from this.

"But Silence Suzuka, this Uma Musume..."

Sooner or later, she would have to find a Trainer. Could he be AT?

Besides, were Trainers not all people who wished for more and more talented Uma Musume under their command?

Air Groove still remembered running a Trial Race back then, after which a crowd of Trainers came rushing over.

Their clamoring, and their attitude of telling her to trust them and that choosing them meant choosing success, had disgusted Air Groove.

They were all making empty promises without producing plans that satisfied her. If someone could demonstrate the same attitude or knowledge as the Trainer before her, she might consider it for a while.

Only for a little while.

At the same time, Air Groove realized a certain common fact through this matter.

Trainers at Tracen were far too competitive.

Perhaps to the Uma Musume, choosing an excellent Trainer and winning races concerned their dreams.

It was about dreams, youth, passion, and leaving no regrets behind.

But Uma Musume were minors, whereas Trainers were all adults.

The adult world was mostly unrelated to dreams and youth.

How many lively people realized the cruelty of the world after entering society?

Not shutting themselves away and becoming emotionless machines was already good enough. Those who did not withdraw would more or less become crafty.

Therefore, they constantly competed for resources to survive.

Having a powerful Uma Musume meant they could use the strong horses under their command to earn money through constant racing, then use those resources to raise more resources and gradually expand their living space in competitive Tracen.

It was like playing a strategy game. Resources were limited, and generals could not be duplicated, so every player could only frantically fight over people and resources.

Thus, whenever they encountered a genius Uma Musume, they swam over like sharks that had caught the scent of blood.

From AT's words, it seemed that he knew exactly how capable many Uma Musume were.

Perhaps he would not rush to seize an Uma Musume, but he surely would not want Silence Suzuka, who wished to become his wife, to grow too close to another Trainer.

After thinking of a major problem, Air Groove naturally turned her head toward Zhou Yuang.

Either another Trainer would suddenly appear and compete with him for Silence Suzuka, or Zhou Yuang himself had a problem...

During the training, Zhou Yuang merely glanced casually at the surrounding Uma Musume, focusing mainly on Oguri Cap.

It looked as though he did not care about Silence Suzuka?

Air Groove was somewhat confused. Her previous dealings and suspicions involving numerous Trainers had left her mind in chaos, so in the end, Air Groove simply decided to leave the matter to Rudolf.

She could carry out the operation afterward.