"...Wada Ryuji, hmm... that name rings a bell."
After an unknown amount of time, just as Wada was thinking about how screwed he was, Nase's father's voice finally came faintly from the other end of the phone.
In the video, the dead-panned middle-aged man, who was clearly a pretty stern person, narrowed his eyes and spoke to Wada:
"Ah right, you are one of the three new Trainers at Tracen Academy. I watched the races of the Uma Musume you were in charge of... Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O, was it?"
"Very good. As a new Trainer, you are quite talented."
"Um... thank you for the compliment, senior?" Wada seemed surprised by Nase's father's unexpectedly non-confrontational attitude, which caused him to relax a bit.
Although he didn't know what was happening, it was good that at the very least, her father still seemed calm...
What Wada was most worried about right now was that Nase's father would be the typical overprotective parent, who doted on his precious daughter to an almost obsessive degree.
Such fathers were not uncommon, very strict, with a strong desire to control their family.
This was especially so in Japan where they even completely forbid their family members from interacting with outsiders, and are also irritable themselves.
They call it 'dignity,' but really they just liked being controlling assholes.
Fortunately, however, Nase's father did not seem to be such a father, which relieved Wada considerably.
"Your thanks is acknowledged, but I'm not here to compliment you. I'm here to ask about my daughter. Can you explain why you are with my daughter?"
"And, Nase, you never said you had a male friend, nor did you say you returned to Tracen Academy and brought a student."
Hidehito Nase's barrage of questions left Fumino Nase, who was still half-drunk and half-awake, at a loss for how to explain.
She turned her head blankly to look at Wada, hoping he could explain on her behalf.
'Why are you looking at me? Girl, I don't want to die young!'
Wada also noticed Fumino's gaze, and his pressure instantly doubled. He could only bare himself as he took Fumino Nase's phone, saying:
"Um... your daughter might not have had time to tell you, but she has indeed returned to Tracen Academy to work... and is temporarily under a team which I'm also a part of."
"You should have heard of it, but our team is..."
"—I know, Team Miracle. It's a three Trainer team, right? I also know the names of the other two." Hidehito Nase unceremoniously interrupted Wada, saying calmly:
"So, my daughter joined your team and even became your teacher? Is she the leader of the team now?"
"Uh... not yet." Wada's tone paused, and he answered awkwardly:
"But your esteemed daughter is an indispensable part of our team, and a member we all respect. She is an excellent Trainer, and we all agree on that."
Although Fumino Nase undoubtedly had the ability to be the leader in almost any team, it wasn't possible within their team, because whether it was Imanami, Ikezoe, or Wada, their abilities were either higher than Fumino's, or not far off.
Though Wada indeed needed Fumino Nase's guidance, it was only about foreign races; if it came down to a regular old race, it's hard to say who would win.
Of course, Wada did not tell him that, although his daughter was nominally his mentor, she was actually also Wada's assistant.
Such words would probably be unacceptable to a father who regarded his young and promising daughter as his pride.
Therefore, Wada cleverly skipped this part of the conversation, and Hidehito Nase's gradually relaxed brows also made Wada breathe a sigh of relief.
"...Since you are friends, I won't ask too many questions."
"Nase, you're drunk today, so I won't say much, but tomorrow when you sober up, I'm expecting you to catch me up to speed with everything."
"You'd best not hide anything from me."
"That's all for now. See you tomorrow."
With that, Hidehito Nase proactively hung up the call, and Wada also breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Fumino Nase, leaning against Wada, had somehow already fallen into a deep sleep, once again entering a drunken state.
'Is he your father or am I your father?' Wada watched Fumino Nase, his mind filled with unknown thoughts; he then silently opened Fumino Nase's phone and scrolled through her contact list.
Since Nase had unlocked her phone earlier to answer the call, it saved Wada the trouble of having to call Meisho Doto this late for Super Creek's number.
Before long, Wada successfully found the name "Super Creek" on Fumino's phone. After he dialed the number, the call finally connected.
"Hello? Trainer? It's late already, do you need something?"
"Yes, is this Super Creek? I'm Trainer Wada. Um, your Trainer and I are together right now." Wada glanced at the sweetly sleeping Fumino Nase beside him and patiently said:
"She's drunk right now. I'll send you the location. Can you help me take her to the dorm?"
"Eh? Trainer Wada... are you with Trainer?"
Super Creek's extremely surprised tone came from the other end of the phone, but soon, Wada heard her say:
"I'll be there very soon. So, Trainer Wada, please help me look after Trainer for a bit."
...A full forty minutes later, just as Wada was starting to get bored of just scrolling on his phone, a taxi slowly pulled up in front of Wada.
From it, Super Creek's figure, comparable to Meisho Doto's, completely occupied Wada's depth of field.
Fortunately, because of Meisho Doto, Wada had already developed immunity to such a mature figure and had completely learned to remain composed.
"Trainer Wada."
Upon seeing Wada and the drunken Fumino Nase, Super Creek also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately walked over to ask:
"Is Trainer alright?"
"She's sleeping soundly, I think she's fine." Wada, glancing at Fumino Nase still leaning on his shoulder, said calmly:
"Give her some water when you get back, and remember to make her sleep on her side; otherwise, if she vomits tonight, she'll have a terrible time."
"Thank you, Trainer Wada."
Super Creek immediately took Fumino Nase from Wada's hands.
Unexpectedly, although Fumino Nase was asleep, her grip on Wada was surprisingly strong.
Super Creek tried several times before using a bit of force to make Fumino Nase's fingers release Wada's clothes.
"...This is my first time seeing Trainer drunk. She's always been very dignified and serious."
Super Creek carried Fumino Nase's body in her arms. As an Uma Musume, such a simple action was no problem for her, but she said to Wada with a hint of a smile:
"I've never seen Trainer drunk before, Trainer Wada. You might be the first person to drink with Trainer."
"The first time taking care of a drunkard is not something to cherish. There's nothing but suffering."
Wada waved his hand, feeling no honor about it.
Whether it was taking care of a beautiful woman or a man, if a drunkard passed out, they were always difficult to handle. Wada had long experienced this deeply.
Wada's disgusted expression, however, somewhat surprised Super Creek.
One should know that Fumino Nase was a very famous beauty at Tracen Academy, with countless suitors.
If anyone had the experience of drinking with Fumino Nase, they would undoubtedly brag about it for a long time.
Super Creek wasn't worried about her Trainer, because she knew her Trainer was very straightforward in social interactions, with almost no one she was particularly familiar with besides herself.
And now, while she had gained another friend, Wada surprisingly had no covetous intentions towards her Trainer, unlike others.
"...You really are a good person, Trainer Wada."
Super Creek said such an inexplicable sentence to Wada, then carried Fumino Nase into the taxi. Wada watched the taxi slowly leave and only stood up after a long time.
"Seriously... I never thought Trainer would have a day like this. Tomorrow, I'll have to ask T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto what happened."
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Wada's the second person out of the three to get three death sentences! Who'll be the one who gets four first?
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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.