"Wh-why… why are you all looking at me like that?"

Mizuno broke into a cold sweat, his mind racing with terrifying thoughts.

Could it be… that he was the thing they liked?! Or the thing they wanted?!

If that were true, then he needed to get out of here—fast!

"…" The Uma Musume glanced at each other, then gave their reasons for staring at Mizuno.

Urara beamed. "Because seeing Trainer-san makes me happy~"

Rice Shower lowered her head shyly. "I-I'm the same… seeing Onii-sama… gives me strength…"

King Halo turned her face away, sneaking glances from the corner of her eye. "Hmph, I'm different. I hate you."

Tokai Teio scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Uh… I like your… um… honey drink! Yeah! I just want to drink honey drink!"

Mejiro McQueen nodded. "Same as Teio."

Gold Ship laced her hands behind her head. "I want a UFO toy, y'know."

Hearing their reasons, Mizuno suddenly understood.

"Phew… so that's all it was…"

Urara and Rice were pure little angels—they just felt energized seeing him. Teio and McQueen only liked his honey drink. Gold Ship was the same, just impatient to get her toy.

As long as none of them want to abduct me… or like-like me, that's fine… Mizuno let out a relieved sigh.

But one thing puzzled him. King Halo had said she hated him?

Hate me?

He hadn't done anything lately that would make her hate him. In fact, he'd gone out of his way to praise her moods. So why had he somehow offended her?

He wanted to ask her directly what he had done wrong, but with everyone else here, it wasn't the right time. He decided to wait until they were alone.

"Although this treadmill is useful, unfortunately I only had enough materials to build this one. So for now, everyone will have to take turns using it," Mizuno explained.

One Uma Musume would run on the treadmill while the others trained normally on the track. When time was up, Mizuno would call the next girl over.

"Okay~"

They discussed and set the order.

Urara was first.

Mizuno sat cross-legged on the ground in front of the treadmill, serving as her motivation.

"Trainer-san~" Urara opened her arms happily as she ran, like she wanted to hug him.

"Hehe~" She smiled so brightly, spring warmth radiating off her.

"Ugh!" Mizuno clutched his chest, heart struck by lethal levels of cuteness.

He really wanted to run over and hug the little angel. But he couldn't—he had to stay put, watching helplessly as she reached out but couldn't touch him.

"Waaah!" He was overwhelmed by guilt.

He wasn't even the one on the treadmill, and Ship-bro wasn't behind him with a stick, but somehow this still felt like torture…

Thankfully, after a long stretch of inner torment, Urara's time ended.

"Hehe~" She hopped off the treadmill, then hugged Mizuno happily—giving them both satisfaction.

Next was Rice Shower.

"Fight-oh~!" she cheered herself in a tiny, adorable voice, then started running.

Mizuno sat in front again, quietly admiring her running form—recharging on his daily Rice energy.

"Onii-sama… please don't keep staring at me…" Rice's face flushed red, her ears twitching shyly.

"Ah, sorry…"

Realizing his gaze embarrassed her, Mizuno quickly looked away.

But that action was actually worse.

"Onii-sama… isn't looking at me anymore…" Rice's eyes dimmed, her ears drooping in sadness.

"Hmm?" Mizuno's big-brother radar activated—he sensed her mood dip, so he turned his head back toward her.

"Uuuh…" Rice blushed again, her ears twitching happily this time.

"Onii-sama… p-please don't…"

"Sorry…"

"Onii-sama's not looking at me again…"

"Hmm?"

And so the two of them spiraled into an endless loop… until her time was finally up.

Next was King Halo.

"Hmph!" She stepped onto the treadmill, face turned away so she wouldn't have to look at Mizuno.

"I get it." Mizuno assumed he understood and moved around to sit behind her, out of her sight.

"Hm?" Halo frowned when she saw he'd gone behind her. "What are you doing back there? Get in front of me."

"Uh…" Mizuno didn't get it.

Didn't she hate him? If he sat behind, she could channel her dislike into motivation to run away from him. That made perfect sense.

So why insist he sit in front?

"…Fine." He didn't understand, but did as she asked, sitting in front again.

"Hmph…" Halo glared straight at him, full of indignation, and started running.

Stare~

Her glare was so intense it felt like she might sprint over and punch him. Mizuno's skin crawled, his whole body uncomfortable.

Wait—does she really hate me that much…?

While it was just the two of them, Mizuno quickly asked:

"Cough, cough. First-class King Halo-san, may I ask why you hate me?"

There had to be a reason. If he solved it, problem gone.

"Hmph!" Another cold snort.

"Last night. I wasn't satisfied."

"Last night?" Mizuno blinked, more confused.

What had happened last night? Wasn't it just him sending her Urara's video? He had sent it right away. Unless… maybe the file failed to go through?

He pulled out his phone to check.

"No, it sent successfully…" He was baffled.

So what exactly from last night upset her?

"Hmph!" Seeing him still clueless only made Halo angrier.

She had given him a precious friend slot last night, fully expecting Mizuno-dono to invite her to become his trainee.

But she'd lain in bed clutching her phone all night, and all she got was… a video of Urara dancing. Nothing else.

Wasn't that basically saying Mizuno-dono didn't care for her at all? That he didn't want to be her Trainer?!

That was why she was angry.

"You think I'm not good enough to be first-class, don't you?" Halo accused.

Her words confused Mizuno again.

But then something clicked, and he raised his brows.

"I see…" He finally understood the real reason.

King Halo is insecure.

She must have heard others belittling her as not first-class, and it had stung badly.

And since Mizuno was just a newbie Trainer, she already looked down on him (or so he thought). Combined with her sour mood, it made sense she'd lash out when she saw him today.

Ah. That explained everything.

Now his job was simple: help King Halo regain her confidence.

So Mizuno shook his head and said seriously:

"No, I don't think that at all."

"No matter what anyone else says, to me—cough—to all of us, you are first-class."

"Your running form right now is more magnificent than any Uma Musume I've ever seen!"

"No—that's not right. They don't even deserve to be compared to first-class Halo!"

He spun a whole speech of nonsense, praising her beauty and first-class brilliance.

Since it was just the two of them, he could say whatever he wanted without offending anyone else. The priority was boosting her confidence.

Sure enough, the flattery worked.

"Ohohohoho—!" King Halo let out her signature confident laugh again.

But just then, caught up in Mizuno's praise, she wasn't watching her feet—her left tripped over her right, and she toppled forward.

Boom!

The treadmill's safety airbag deployed instantly, catching her.

"Ah…" Mizuno scratched his head awkwardly.

He'd praised too much and forgotten she was still running.

"…" Halo lifted her head, face burning with shame and fury.

Falling down—nothing about that was first-class.

And worse, a man had seen her! Humiliating!

"Uuuuh—" She puffed her cheeks, glaring a warning at Mizuno not to keep staring.

"…" He froze, then quickly switched tactics:

"Wow! Even when King Halo-san falls, her form is first-class! So elegant! Even the finest museum artworks can't compare to one-tenth of the beauty in your tumble!"

"R-really…" Halo stood up, stunned.

Even her fall—praised, compared to art in a museum. Did Mizuno-dono really hold her in such high regard…?

"…" She lowered her head, brushing hair aside.

After a pause, her trademark laugh returned.

"Ohohoho—! I, King Halo, am always first-class, no matter the circumstance. That is undeniable."

A smile on her face, she pointed at Mizuno. "Since you recognize my first-class nature, I, magnanimous King Halo, forgive you. I look forward to your performance tonight."

"Alright, alright." Mizuno agreed halfheartedly.

Performance? What kind of performance? Did she just mean more compliments?

Fine. Tonight, he'd just praise her until she was satisfied.