"Boss, want to think about it?"
"Not a chance. Take that proposal and remove it at once!" Tang Han rejected Luck's bold idea with the utmost cowardice.
After all, Aoi Kiryuin's wager had only been a joke. It had no actual force behind it. Even if Tang Han acknowledged the bet, she still would not really become his girlfriend.
And even if she somehow did, what then?
It would only mean the energy gathered from Urara's debut race would double. And after that?
Use the surplus energy to boost his stats, just so he could potentially get jumped for even longer in the future? Completely pointless. Tang Han refused without hesitation.
Even if he were kicked to death by a horse girl, even if he fell off a cliff right here and now, there was no way he would date Aoi Kiryuin just for that tiny bit of energy.
Still, Tang Han was certain he could not simply reject her outright. That would make him seem far too serious and utterly lacking in charm.
And besides, he had a strange feeling that if he accepted—even as a joke—he would be stepping into extremely dangerous territory.
So, in order to preserve the possibility of maintaining a normal, friendly relationship with Aoi Kiryuin in the future, Tang Han decisively changed the subject.
"Hey, isn't the winners' stage performance about to start? We should hurry over and grab a good spot. This is Urara's and Meek's first performance, after all."
After every horse-girl race, there was a post-race stage show known as the Winners' Stage, performed by the top three finishers. In ordinary terms, it was basically the horse-girl dance performance, meant to help the winners win over fans.
And Haru Urara and Happy Meek were two of the three girls performing in this debut race's Winners' Stage.
"Urara's performance!" King Halo's ears shot up at once, instantly interested.
As Urara's self-appointed mother, how could she possibly miss her daughter's performance?
"Come on, hurry!" King Halo seized Tang Han by the back of his coat and forcibly dragged him toward the Winners' Stage area.
And if one were to ask why the person she dragged was Tang Han, the answer was obvious: Tang Han was Urara's trainer. He absolutely had to be there, or Urara would be sad if she could not see him.
Mm... perhaps there was also a little trust mixed in there...
Tang Han had made Urara so much stronger. As a trainer, his ability was clearly reliable, and as a person... well...
Maybe... should she consider asking him to become her trainer too...?
Ah... but she was a first-rate King, after all. If she, of all people, expressed the desire to join Tang Han as one of his horse girls, surely he would agree at once, right?
"Ahem." King Halo's face suddenly flushed faintly pink. She coughed awkwardly a few times, then kept dragging Tang Han along.
Tang Han, for his part, was slightly puzzled about why King Halo was hauling him away, but he was not especially worried.
It was not as if she were dragging him off to be horse-jumped, so what was there to fear?
And besides, by pulling him away, she had neatly put an end to the previous topic and saved him from that awkward situation. Killing two birds with one stone. Perfectly reasonable.
So Tang Han offered no resistance and let King Halo drag him off.
"You all should hurry over too!" he called to the others still standing there.
"Big brother!"
"Trainer!"
"Vendor—no, wait, Tang Han!"
Rice Shower, Tokai Teio, and Mejiro McQueen hurried after them.
"Hehe, Trainer Tang really does get along well with the girls on his team. I can't fall behind either." Aoi Kiryuin smiled and followed as well.
"..." Gold Ship, meanwhile, watched the group running off in silence for a moment before finally starting after them at her own pace.
Thanks to King Halo dragging Tang Han over so early, the group managed to secure the very front row of the audience area, with the best possible view.
They stood there quietly, chatting from time to time, waiting for the show to begin.
About an hour later, night fell, and the stage lit up in dazzling colors. Three horse girls in beautiful stage outfits came skipping out to center stage, greeting the audience.
The top three finishers of the race: Urara, Happy Meek, and Fresh Delicious.
"Trainer! King Halo! Ricey! And everyone else!" Standing center stage, Urara waved adorably at Tang Han's group.
Under normal circumstances, the champion stood in the center. But with two champions this time, they had settled the matter by drawing lots, and Urara had won the center position.
"And now, these three lovely horse girls will perform a song for you all: Horsey Bounce Legend!"
"Oooooh!" the audience cried out in approval.
The music started, and the performance began.
"Woo, horse girls~Woo, horse girls bounce horse girls jumpWoo, I love you so much~Woo, horse girls hey~Uma uma umya umya 321 Fight!!"
Urara, Happy Meek, and Fresh Delicious began dancing along to the beat.
They were dancing very well.
They just were not quite keeping up with the rhythm.
Although Tang Han had arranged for Urara to spend most of her energy on training, he had not completely neglected dance practice. She still made some time to learn.
Granted, Urara still looked a little stiff, only barely managing to follow the tempo.
But that was not really a problem.
Because as long as all three girls on stage were equally stiff, then there was absolutely no problem at all.
At that moment, both of the other girls were also showing the exact same issue of lagging a bit behind the music.
Happy Meek, like Urara, had spent most of her effort on training and was not especially polished as a dancer.
As for Fresh Delicious, she was in low spirits because she had failed to secure a date with her trainer.
All three girls were failing to keep perfectly with the beat.
And that somehow led to a miraculous result—
Their timing matched each other perfectly.
The three girls' movements were synchronized, so much so that you could not even tell they were behind the music.
Wait, no, that was wrong.
What do you mean they were behind the beat? Clearly the music was too fast. This was all the sound engineer's fault.
Sound engineer, what are you doing?!
"I—I don't know either!" the sound engineer was in full panic.
He could not figure out what exactly had gone wrong.
He had already caught on and slowed the music several times, but somehow, just a few seconds after the girls seemed to catch up, the music would feel too fast again.
Was it because the girls on stage were dancing too slowly?
But all three of them were moving in perfect sync, so the problem had to be with the music, right?!
The performance soon entered its高潮, the highlight section.
"Doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor doctor~Your dear horse girl ah~!"
Because this was the most important part, the girls had practiced it far more than the rest. This time, they actually lined up with the music properly and delivered a true visual spectacle.
"Ooooooh!" The audience screamed, waving their glowsticks wildly in support.
"So strange!" the sound engineer was completely dumbfounded.
Why had the timing suddenly synced up again? This made no scientific sense!
No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not figure out the cause, so in the end he gave up and decided he would just report it to his supervisor afterward and request a replacement sound system.
"Hohohohohohoho—! As expected of the roommate of a first-rate King. Her cuteness is first-rate as well. Though of course, still not as first-rate as me." King Halo was already holding up her phone, firing off ten photos per second of Urara.
"Someday, Rice will bring happiness to everyone too!"
"From now on, every race, I'm taking Urara's spot in the center!"
Rice Shower and Tokai Teio silently renewed their resolve.
"Would anyone like some yakisoba? Yakisoba goes great with a winners' stage performance." Gold Ship was apparently selling yakisoba.
"Freshie..." At that moment, a voice caught Tang Han's attention.
Tang Han suddenly noticed that Fresh Delicious's trainer was standing right next to him.
The guy was gazing at the gloomy Fresh Delicious on stage with a pained expression.
"So Freshie's like this because she didn't get first..." he muttered sorrowfully.
"She already did so well. She shouldn't have to be this sad..."
"I have to tell her. In my heart, she'll always be number one!"
He kept talking to himself. Then, before the performance had even ended, he left the audience area, walked into the dark backstage corridor, and disappeared from Tang Han's sight...
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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