"Miss Fumino Nase, while I'd love to say I welcome your arrival and am happy to accept this so-called assessment… could you elaborate on what you meant by becoming my assistant? Tracen doesn't seem to have given me prior notice about anything like this."
After a brief introduction with Fumino, Wada quickly found the situation off. He had never said he was looking for an assistant, nor had there ever been any "senior" promising to have someone teach him.
Wada had indeed been studying hard, but he hadn't sought help from anyone else, not even Imanami. He knew everyone was busy, so he had been trying to rely on himself more to deal with small problems like this.
And again, Wada had never bothered anyone else about his problem. Why would such a genius, beautiful Trainer suddenly show up, wanting to be his assistant and teach him?
This wasn't some web novel or fanfiction world where a beautiful girl descends upon him or something… (T/N: I don't know how to tell you this but...)
"You don't need to ask too much; that senior doesn't want me to reveal their personal information." Fumino had clearly anticipated this and said to Wada,
"However, you could perhaps ask your teammate, Trainer Ikezoe Kenichi. It was he who asked that senior, and only then did they send me specifically."
"Ikezoe?" Wada raised an eyebrow slightly. Realizing it was Ikezoe's request, he immediately felt much more at ease.
At least Ikezoe wouldn't harm him; Wada was very confident about that. Now, thinking that Ikezoe had specifically asked a senior for a favor to help him, Wada felt truly grateful.
It looks like I'll have to treat Ikezoe-kun to a meal, Wada thought to himself.
"Since it's Trainer Ikezoe's arrangement, then I'm thankful for you, Miss Nase. However, what is this assessment you keep mentioning?"
"Of course, it refers to a test of your abilities as a Trainer," Fumino Nase said matter-of-factly.
"I will evaluate every facet of you. If you don't meet my requirements, even if it's the request of a senior, I'll have no choice but to decline."
"I do not assist useless Trainers who piggyback off the efforts of their excellent Uma Musume. That is my bottom line. So, Trainer Wada, you aren't one of those kind of Trainers, are you?"
What Fumino Nase said was perfectly reasonable and general judgment. After all, in her experience, an Uma Musume with a useless Trainer might be able to successfully win the Satsuki Sho with high enough talent, but the Japanese Derby, which requires the most luck, isn't something that can be won without extensive preparations on the Trainer's part to increase their Uma Musume's chances.
This was also why she was so willing to come here, because T.M. Opera O, under Wada, had won both the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby.
If Maruzensky had asked her a little earlier, when T.M. Opera O had only won the Satsuki Sho, Fumino wouldn't have been so quick to fulfill her request—at least she would have waited until the Japanese Derby results were out.
But Fumino's words unintentionally dealt AOE damage. All of a sudden, the phrase "useless Trainers who piggyback off the efforts of their excellent Uma Musume" deeply stung Wada's wound-ridden heart.
She really does sound like Yutaka Take back when we were young… Wada shook his head with a bitter expression.
Wasn't he from back then the exact kind of Trainer Fumino was describing right now? If he hadn't won the Takarazuka Kinen with Mikki Rocket before he transmigrated, he would have had no room for rebuttal.
However, Fumino Nase's unintentional choice of words caused both Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O's expressions to subtly change.
Perhaps Fumino didn't actually mean for her words to be directed at anyone present, but saying such words in front of their Trainer would undoubtedly be misunderstood as a provocation towards their Trainer.
"Tra- Trainer doesn't win by piggybacking off his Uma Musume!"
Meisho Doto was even more agitated than T.M. Opera O. She stood up aggressively, her Uma Musume ears flipped back, and said indignantly,
"If it weren't for Trainer, I wouldn't have been able to defeat T.M. Opera O in the Mainichi Hai. I won't allow you to insult Trainer like that!"
"Hahahahaha! Even an Overlord as magnanimous as myself cannot ignore those words, Trainer Nase Fumino~"
T.M. Opera O also stood up, using her usual exaggerated act to conceal her quickly growing hatred towards this woman. She spoke to Fumino in a relatively pleasant tone:
"Without him, even I, the Overlord, would not have been able to win the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby. Ryuji is my most trusted subject; he is not only a Trainer with ambition, but the competency to back it up, he is someone truly worthy of conquering the world with me."
"He may still be immature and green in certain areas, but his abilities are absolutely not to be questioned, Trainer Nase Fumino. I ask you to not talk nonsense about my Trainer in front of me."
"…Well then, it seems like I was being rude. My apologies."
Fumino was also startled by the way Wada's two Uma Musume defended their Trainer's abilities and reputation. But very quickly, she apologized to Wada very solemnly.
Although she was being given the death glare by Wada's two Uma Musume, Fumino was very satisfied with T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto's reactions.
When an Uma Musume is so vehemently defensive about their Trainer after their Trainer's ability or morality is put into question, it usually indicates that the Trainer has been very good to their Uma Musume.
A Trainer who has hindered the future of his Uma Musume would definitely not be so beloved. Uma Musumes might be kind to a fault, but they aren't fools; they are well aware if their Trainer is truly good to them or not.
Watching Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O's anxious and fiery expressions, Fumino smiled slightly to herself, and couldn't help but recall a time when she also had an Uma Musume who defended her in such a way.
It was like a fated encounter; the very first time, Fumino met an Uma Musume she could never forget in her life, and it was even the other party who chose her… This experience was a true marvel for Fumino, and a time she could never forget…
However, at this moment, Fumino, reminiscing about the past, didn't notice the subtle changes in expression on Wada, T.M. Opera O, and Meisho Doto's faces—because behind Fumino, a mature Uma Musume with a well-endowed figure that was in no way inferior to Meisho Doto's, was slowly approaching Fumino, who had her back to her, with an undisguised smile on her face.
"—Ta-da! Trainer~ Long time no see~~"
Finally, the curvaceous Uma Musume could no longer contain her emotions. She very proactively hugged Fumino's back, who hadn't noticed anything, her face beaming with an incomparably bright and joyful smile.
And when Fumino felt the weighty emphasis and familiar softness on her back, after a brief moment of surprise, her expression quickly changed from startled to a gentle smile, and she said playfully:
"Super Creek… it really has been a long time."
"Really, Trainer, you should have told me when you returned. Am I not your Uma Musume?"
Super Creek leaned intimately against Fumino Nase, thoroughly enjoying this reunion with her Trainer after a long separation. Super Creek also couldn't help but ask:
"Trainer, are you planning to stay in Tracen for a long time this time around?"
"Ah… not guaranteed yet, but I think it's highly likely I'll stay for a long time." Fumino saw that Super Creek had released her arms from around her waist, and she turned around, saying with a smile,
"Don't worry, Super Creek, this isn't just a quick visit like before. We'll have lots of time together, just like back then."
"That's wonderful, Trainer." Super Creek also smiled slightly and took her Trainer's hand. Only then did she notice Wada and his group, but she wasn't shy. Instead, she greeted Wada with composure:
"Trainer Wada Ryuji, this is our first time meeting, isn't it? I'm Super Creek, and this is my Trainer. You've already introduced yourselves, haven't you?"
"Ah… yes, nice to meet you, Super Creek." Wada was momentarily speechless. However, after shaking hands with Super Creek, he suppressed a strange expression and cautiously asked:
"Uh, Miss Super Creek, may I ask a rather personal question?"
"Hmm?"
"Um… how did you and Trainer Nase Fumino meet?"
"Ah, that, it was truly a wonderful experience." Super Creek smiled slightly upon hearing this and explained to Wada without any hesitation:
"It's a bit of a long story. At the time, my legs were quite frail and I thought that I would just be another mediocre Uma Musume but then my Trainer over here discovered me and chose me."
"—Actually, it was Super Creek who chose me at the time. I merely discovered that Super Creek's talent was more than that."
Fumino Nase waved her hand upon hearing this. When discussing matters related to Super Creek, her expression was very gentle, yet she completely failed to notice Wada's increasingly distraught emotions.
At this moment, when Fumino Nase said, "It was Super Creek who chose me," Wada's expression had already completely frozen, because the guess in his heart was thoroughly confirmed the moment Fumino Nase uttered that sentence.
This woman, is she actually the genderbent counterpart of Yutaka Take in this world?!
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Super Freak being freaky as usual I suppose
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.