Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement

Chapter 398 398: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement [398] [600 STONES]

Back with Mizuno.

"I'll go see Rice Shower and Haru Urara later."

Having regained his confidence thanks to a certain big-brother-type person's passive, Mizuno planned to return to the tent first and get some sleep. Once he recovered his stamina, he would head to Team TAC's training room to see the juniors on his team and replenish the energy he would need for his future efforts.

Tokai Teio, who had been holding onto his arm the whole time, had no idea what sort of mental journey Mizuno had just gone through. She only felt that his entire aura had suddenly changed. He no longer looked as dispirited and powerless as he had back in the Student Council.

His legs were no longer shaking. His back was straight. His whole body seemed to faintly radiate a resilient spirit that refused to give up.

Trainer looks so cool like this!

"Could it be… Trainer, are you really looking forward to our date too?" Tokai Teio asked expectantly, blinking her big eyes in an adorable way.

"Uh… yes." Mizuno did not want to ruin Tokai Teio's expectations, so he nodded.

"Hmph-hmph~ I knew it!" Hearing that answer, Tokai Teio raised her head in satisfaction, her tail spinning wildly behind her like an electric fan.

"Let me think. What are you supposed to do on a date?"

"Sing karaoke? Watch a movie at the theater? Ride the Ferris wheel at an amusement park?" Tokai Teio counted on her fingers, then shook her head.

"No, no! This is my first one-on-one date with Trainer. It can't be too simple. I have to prepare properly!"

"Right! Mayano definitely knows about this sort of thing! I'll go ask her later!" Tokai Teio's eyes lit up. She could hardly wait to prepare every part of the date plan, so that tomorrow, she and Mizuno could have a romantic couples' date.

Feeling the softness pressing more and more tightly against his arm, Mizuno inexplicably thought back to Symboli Rudolf and the others.

Compared to her father and her best friends, Tokai Teio still had some growing to do.

"Ahem…"

Mizuno coughed awkwardly a few times and hurriedly shook that thought out of his head.

"Trainer, what's wrong?" Tokai Teio looked at Mizuno in confusion.

"Nothing. I'm just a little tired." Mizuno covered his forehead, looking exhausted.

"Then hurry back and rest!" Tokai Teio's expression turned worried. She let go of Mizuno's arm, then quickly walked in front of him, bent down, and looked back. "Trainer, why don't I carry you? We'll get back faster that way."

"No need." Mizuno quickly waved his hand and refused. "I can walk on my own. Don't trouble yourself."

To prove it, Mizuno even tried moving his legs a little, only to discover that they were no longer as numb as they had been a few minutes ago. It seemed like he would have no problem running, even.

That surprised Mizuno himself a little. His body's endurance was actually this strong now? After being tormented all night, he had recovered this quickly after only a short while.

"All right…" Seeing Mizuno so lively and vigorous, Tokai Teio lowered her head in slight disappointment.

What a shame. If Trainer were just a little weaker, I could have let him ride on my back…

"Then let's hurry back. You stayed up working all night, so you can't go without a proper sleep." Tokai Teio wrapped her arm around Mizuno's again and pulled him toward the tent in the Flowerbeds.

On the way, the two happened to run into Mejiro McQueen, who was heading to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Trainer, you can walk?!" The moment Mejiro McQueen saw Mizuno, she asked the exact same question Tokai Teio had.

"Yeah."

"That's wonderful." A sincere smile appeared on Mejiro McQueen's face.

Then Mejiro McQueen curiously circled Mizuno several times, before catching a strange yet pleasant scent from him.

"Trainer, did you put on some sort of perfume?"

"…"

Mizuno's heartbeat stopped for a second.

Why did every Umamusume think he smelled good?! This was not right, was it?!

"This isn't perfume. It's just some strange smell I picked up after passing by a stinking gutter. McQueen, you'd better not sniff it." Mizuno guarded his chest with both hands and took several steps back.

But that behavior only provoked her contrarian streak.

"I'm sniffing it anyway!" Mejiro McQueen puffed out her cheeks. The more Mizuno backed away, the closer she leaned in, sniffing harder and harder.

"Mm, it really does smell nice. Trainer, are you hiding something delicious? May I have a taste?"

"Hiss—"

Seeing Mejiro McQueen's intoxicated expression, Mizuno knew this was bad.

Once he got back to the tent, he would have to hurry and wash this outfit from top to bottom!

"All right, all right, it's getting late. McQueen, hurry along and eat breakfast." Mizuno urged her along guiltily, taking a step as he prepared to leave.

"No. If you don't hand over that delicious thing, I'm not letting you go!" Mejiro McQueen blocked Mizuno's path, then reached out with both hands and began patting him up and down, trying to find the delicacy hidden somewhere on him.

"Hey, McQueen, Trainer is very tired right now and needs to go back to rest. Please stop bothering him!" Tokai Teio could not stand seeing Mizuno being touched all over by another Umamusume, so she wrapped her arms around Mejiro McQueen's waist and forcibly dragged her away from Mizuno.

"No! Give me the tasty thing!" Drool dripped from the corner of Mejiro McQueen's mouth as she stretched her hands unwillingly toward Mizuno, her eyes filled with longing for whatever on him was giving off that strange scent.

"Trainer, go back by yourself first. I'll stop McQueen!" Tokai Teio declared righteously, then strained to drag Mejiro McQueen away bit by bit.

"…"

Mizuno nodded and quickly turned to leave, leaving the two young Umamusume there struggling against each other, along with the wails of a certain young lady of the Mejiro family who could not eat the delicious thing.

After escaping Mejiro McQueen's roadblock, Mizuno soon returned to the tent in the Flowerbeds.

Ever since he had rented a place outside to make it easier to learn street racing, he had not been back here for two weeks.

However, the things inside the tent had not been covered in dust because of that. On the contrary, everything looked as good as new, because Air Groove seemed to like this place very much and came here to clean every day. Even the bedding on the bed was kept in the cleanest possible state.

The first thing Mizuno did after returning to the tent was pick up the hose outside used for watering flowers, turn on the tap, and directly spray the cold water over himself, clothes and all, giving himself a thorough wash.

Taking off his clothes to bathe was impossible. In a place as open-air as this, taking his clothes off would simply be asking to die, so Mizuno had long since learned how to bathe while fully dressed.

Though bathing like this might give him a cold, getting a cold was also not very likely. After all, with his current physique, the probability was actually very low. As long as he basked in the sun afterward and let his clothes dry, he should be fine.

And just as Mizuno was earnestly rinsing the strange scent off himself, a short-haired, princely Umamusume with a sapphire accessory hanging from her right ear slowly stepped out from the shadows among the flowers. Her eyes were fixed straight on Mizuno, and she could not suppress the wild joy on her face.

"I finally… found you!"

---

bonus chaps

200 stones -> 1 chapter

400 stones -> 2 chapters

600 stones -> 3 chapters

and so on

patreon.com/wisetl