"Joint first place?!"

Everyone at the scene was astonished by the outcome.

In the original world, horse races never had two champions. Multiple champions weren't just about comparing abilities between horses—it also affected their lifelong reputations.

But more importantly, if a race had two winners, the organizers couldn't make heaps of cash from gamblers—a truly unacceptable scenario!

Fortunately, this was a world filled with love.

The main goal of these races was to allow Uma Musume to joyfully chase their dreams. Fame, fortune, and everything else were secondary.

Besides, this was only a debut race, hardly comparable to prestigious graded races. Having two winners was really no big deal.

So after some brief discussion, the spectators readily accepted the result.

Haru Urara and Happy Meek—double champions in their debut!

"Haru Urara! You're amazing!"

"Happy Meek! Happy Meek!"

"From this day forward, I'm Haru Urara and Happy Meek's dog!"

The audience erupted in cheers for both winners.

"Uuu~" Urara picked herself up from the grass, staring blankly at the cheering spectators. An unfamiliar yet wonderful sensation welled up inside her.

It was the first time she'd ever come in first, and the first time so many people were cheering for her.

The intense happiness surged within her chest, making her tiny face flush bright red.

"Yeah~!" Urara excitedly threw her arms into the air, responding eagerly to the crowd's cheers.

"Urara got first place~!" she shouted proudly, her face brimming with pure joy.

"Urara-chan…" King Halo, in the stands, had tears glistening in her eyes, filled with happiness and pride.

"Urara! Urara! Urara!" the crowd continued shouting her name.

The entire venue radiated warmth and enthusiasm.

At that moment, Fortune spoke:

[Hope energy detected! Beginning collection!]

Hope energy?

Mizuno Sora suddenly noticed a faint golden mist slowly appearing around the stadium, nearly invisible unless you looked closely.

Tiny golden particles floated gently from every spectator, guided by Fortune's direction, drifting toward Sora and gradually seeping into his body.

Warm and pleasant.

So this is hope energy… Sora closed his eyes, relaxed, and allowed the golden particles to flow into him.

After absorbing all the energy, he clenched his fists, testing to see if anything felt different.

Contrary to his expectations, instead of his body brimming with newfound strength, his physical condition was exactly as before—still completely ranked G.

"Hm?" Sora was puzzled.

What the hell? Wasn't I supposed to become some kind of hot-blooded protagonist after absorbing this energy? Shouldn't I be able to transform into a powerful racer myself?

Instead, he remained weak enough to be casually dragged away by any Uma Musume.

[Mizuno Sora]: Fortune, can't hope energy boost my physical stats?

[Fortune]: It can, but I chose not to use it that way.

[Mizuno Sora]: Did you do that on purpose or accidentally?

[Fortune]: On purpose.

[Mizuno Sora]: ?

[Fortune]: Sorry, Mizuno-dono, the hope energy collected so far is still limited. To have enough energy to counter Misfortune in three months, I can't afford to spend it on you right now.

[Fortune]: Besides, even if used on your body, it'd only enhance your resistance to physical damage, not your strength or speed. You'd just last longer while getting beaten up.

[Mizuno Sora]: !

Last longer getting beaten up? That sounds horrifying!

[Mizuno-dono, do you still want to use energy for physical enhancements?]

No, no, definitely not! Sora hastily refused.

That kind of enhancement was completely pointless!

Unless Gold Ship suddenly won a race and came to kick him afterward, Sora certainly wouldn't waste precious energy on his durability stats.

It'd be wiser to hold onto the hope energy and save it for the battle against Misfortune in three months.

But Sora still had a lingering doubt:

Wait, can hope really defeat misfortune?

While Sora stood there dazed, pondering how Fortune planned to use hope energy against Misfortune, Kiryuin Aoi approached him.

"Trainer Mizuno~" Kiryuin waved, attracting Sora's attention.

"Kiryuin-san, what is it?" Sora asked.

"Trainer Mizuno, about our bet…" Kiryuin blinked playfully, implying the obvious.

"Our bet?" Sora pondered briefly.

She was talking about their earlier wager—if Happy Meek won, Sora would treat her to dinner; if Urara won, Kiryuin would become Sora's girlfriend.

Since Urara and Meek both tied for first, not only would Kiryuin become his girlfriend, but he'd also have to take her out to dinner afterward—essentially, they'd be going on a date as a couple.

Haha, what is this low-level harem rom-com trope? Surely nobody would believe it's that easy to get a girlfriend.

Sora was smart. He knew Kiryuin had just been joking and obviously wouldn't take it seriously.

Surely no one else believes it either… right?

Sora glanced around and noticed something odd.

Aside from Gold Ship, who wore an amused look as if enjoying the show, the other members of Team Tac were staring at Sora with distinctly strange expressions.

"If Trainer Mizuno starts dating, will he forget to make his special honey drink…?" Mejiro McQueen anxiously touched her waist.

"If Trainer Mizuno has a girlfriend, will he abandon Urara-chan…?" King Halo's eyes gleamed dangerously.

Especially concerned were Rice Shower and Tokai Teio, who puffed their cheeks out in distress.

"Onii-chan…"

"Trainer-san…"

The two Uma Musume clung tightly to Sora's sleeves, staring up at him pitifully, awaiting his answer.

Mizuno Sora: "?"

What's with these expressions? They seriously think I'd become Kiryuin's boyfriend? I never even agreed to this bet!

As he was about to clarify that it had all been a joke, Fortune suddenly came up with an idea.

[Fortune]: Mizuno-dono, actually, I have a bold idea.

[Mizuno Sora]: What idea?

[Fortune]: When an Uma Musume you personally train gets first place, they generate hope energy.

[Fortune]: If Kiryuin becomes your girlfriend, her trainee would effectively become yours as well.

[Fortune]: Right now, both Urara and Meek have won…

[Fortune]: Meaning, if you become Kiryuin Aoi's boyfriend right now, this collection of hope energy would be doubled!

[Fortune]: Then we'd have extra energy to enhance your physique, Mizuno-dono! Consider it carefully…

[Mizuno Sora]: …