"So, why exactly did Maruzensky give me this card? What does she even want from me in the first place?"
Upon returning to Tracen Academy, news of Orfevre's victory and Curren Chan's special promotion to a winning Uma Musume quickly spread throughout the school and various news agencies. Soon, these reports were printed as newspapers and distributed within Tracen Academy, attracting considerable attention.
Generally speaking, being promoted to a winning Uma Musume might be a cause for celebration within their own little group, but if it were to appear in a newspaper, it might not even qualify for publication. After all, many intense Uma Musume races happen every day; a victory in a regular old GIII race isn't major enough to warrant being published in a newspaper. At most, it would only be placed in the smallest possible column. Only if you win a GI might you, at a time when there's no other major news, make it to the headlines.
But this GIII race was anything but ordinary. Firstly, Orfevre's "revival," and then Curren Chan's special promotion. These were quite rare and novel events, of course, but these alone wouldn't be enough. The biggest event and the reason for this race getting so much attention was the appearance of two significant figures—Mr. C.B. from Tracen Academy's Branch School and Symboli Rudolf from Tracen Academy—who had both attended the event at the same time. Their mere existence at the racecourse undoubtedly attracted many eyes to this otherwise ordinary GIII race.
In fact, there were so many eyes that, if it wasn't for Maruzensky dragging them off, a sea of reporters would've swarmed them and blocked their path. Fortunately, Maruzensky's driving skills were truly impressive. She managed to drive off so fast that even the reporters were unable to catch up, further making the story more appealing due to its current mysterious nature.
And soon enough, news agencies began to do what they do best: spread misinformation in the form of "speculation" and "opinions."
"Symboli Rudolf and Mr. C.B. Fighting Each Other Over a New Uma Musume?! A Rematch?!"—was one of the many similar-sounding headlines published in today's newspapers.
One must wonder if reporters are either ignorant idiots or fearless geniuses; they aren't afraid of offending anyone, which includes Tracen Academy or even the URA themselves. And if they don't have enough information on a topic they deem "explosive," they'll just fabricate it themselves. After all, their social standing is established, and they control public opinion. Anyone who dares to offend them, especially without significant backing, would likely get sent into the shadow realm of public outrage. Even Symboli Rudolf had to watch her words when answering reporters and refuse some questions outright.
But for Ikezoe, despite becoming one of the most discussed figures in the Uma Musume world in just one day after Orfevre gained renown as "The Golden Tyrant" once more and Curren Chan "The Strongest Sprinter of Her Generation," none of it held any meaning for him. In fact, Ikezoe found it more annoying than pleasing since he'll have to deal with reporters who'll do anything to publish a viral story. Thus, he naturally wanted nothing to do with this mess.
What his current focus was on right now was Maruzensky, or more specifically, the business card she gave him, which made him feel uneasy. Really, why give him her contact method? Just what could someone like him offer Maruzensky?
"Ah, also if you have time, could we meet privately? I have a few things I'd like to discuss in depth with you~"
Unconsciously, Ikezoe recalled his last meeting with Maruzensky and her ambiguous tone. To say that he wasn't thinking that she wanted "him" would be a lie, but he also felt that something about that situation was off. Everything comes with risks; Ikezoe might be as dense as a brick, but his intelligence was perfectly fine. Something like "love at first sight" was way too convenient to happen. Although his looks had improved after his transmigration, it wasn't to Wada's level of handsome, let alone to the point of making someone fall in love with just one look.
In terms of looks, whether it was the rejuvenated Imanami or the already handsome Wada, both had better charming traits than him. Thus, Ikezoe decisively crossed off the possibility of Maruzensky being romantically interested in him. So, that meant... she had another agenda in mind?
"Maruzensky is a big shot even among top-tier Uma Musume, isn't she? If she has something she wants to discuss with me privately, shouldn't I contact her as soon as possible to show respect?"
"But... those two kids are being really naggy about it."
Ikezoe really wanted to know what Maruzensky wanted to talk to him about. If it wasn't the mythical "love at first sight" scenario, then the topic Maruzensky wanted to talk with him about would undoubtedly be something that warranted serious attention. But Ikezoe faced blockades in the form of Orfevre and Curren Chan—two very hard blockades.
Ever since they returned after the race, Ikezoe felt that both Orfevre and Curren Chan were a tad bit different from before. Orfevre had a positive change in regaining her confidence, but it seems like this taste of success made her even more unwilling to fall back down like she had previously. Now, she was the one who took the initiative in asking Ikezoe every day for extra training... but it was always accompanied by an awkward demeanor, always using some sort of excuse to cover it, like "The training this morning sucked; come and give me a better one" or "My Aura is getting disturbed because it was so noisy earlier today; quickly help me figure out a way to deal with it," before dragging Ikezoe off to train.
As for Curren Chan, she seemed no different from usual from the outside, but Ikezoe felt that Curren Chan's teasing towards him had become more and more bold. Usually, Trainer Ikezoe would respond in kind and tease Curren Chan back, but recently, Ikezoe was starting to feel it was a bit too overwhelming. She would even occasionally take his hand and deliberately, intimately interlace their fingers. Even more excessively, she would sometimes stand very close to Ikezoe and intentionally whisper things into his ear. Sometimes, after training, she would even jokingly ask him to wipe the sweat from her body (A/N: Though Ikezoe never did so due to being a principled man, and Curren Chan also never pushed him that much about it).
He couldn't take it; Ikezoe was genuinely feeling like he was being driven insane by his two Uma Musume. Thus, he decided that it was prime time to have some alone time after suffering through this period of dealing with overly clingy children. Anyway, he had already planned out the training plans for both his Uma Musume, so he currently had free time for himself.
"Fortunately, I don't need to actually buy a pager; there's a normal phone number on the back of the business card..."
Ikezoe flipped the business card over, took out his phone, and dialed the number on it. After a series of rings, he soon heard Maruzensky's unique, mature voice, tinged with a hint of charm.
"Hi~ This is Maruzensky, who's speaking?"
Still trying to sound all cutesy, huh? Do you think that you're still a high school student? An intrusive thought popped into Ikezoe's mind, since he could tell that Maruzensky knew it was him calling.
"Hello, Maruzensky-senpai, I'm Ikezoe Kenichi..."
"Ah, it's Trainer Ikezoe~ I thought you wouldn't call me for a while. I didn't expect you to be so decisive." Maruzensky's rather surprised voice came from the other end of the phone, but soon, Ikezoe heard her chuckle softly and say:
"Alright, since you're ready, meet me at Tracen Academy's entrance in two hours. Big sis will be there soon, 'kay~ Oh, and by the way, my advice is to find a babysitter for your two clingy ones first; that would be safer. I wouldn't want us to be interrupted halfway through our conversation by your two little kiddos. That would be a huge embarrassment. Alright, that's all. Trainer Ikezoe, see you later~"
With that, Maruzensky quickly hung up the phone, leaving Ikezoe alone to quietly put his phone back in his pocket, pondering how to prevent both Orfevre and Curren Chan from following him.
Curren Chan was easy; she was very obedient. But Orfevre would likely become very agitated if she found out he wasn't there. If she goes out of control, she would likely cause a huge ruckus... "Perhaps I should ask Wada and Imanami to look after them for a day? That should be fine, right?"
Ikezoe felt that things might still not go well, but he still proactively took out his phone and called Wada, who was currently busy preparing for the next race.
"...Hello, Wada-kun. Uh, my bro, I have a small favor to ask you. I'll treat you to a meal when it's done."
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Is Maru a W Larper?
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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.