"Huh? Me?" Mizuno pointed at himself in disbelief, then looked down at his disabled legs.
Maruzensky's wish reminded Mizuno of an ancient meme:
A young man asks an old sage: "The boss is too strong, I can't beat it, what should I do?"
The old man replies: "Go get some stronger gear. Then you'll be able to beat the boss."
The young man asks, "But where do I get stronger gear?"
The old man, growing impatient: "From beating the boss, of course!"
The young man starts to get mad: "But if I can't beat the boss, how do I get stronger gear?!"
The old man scolds, "Then go get stronger gear!"
The young man slams his chair: "But you need to beat the boss to get the gear!"
The old man slams the table: "So go beat the boss!"
Right now, Mizuno was basically stuck in this meme.
If he wanted to walk again, he had to grant Maruzensky's wish: join the car race and win first place. But he couldn't even stand up, couldn't step on the gas—how was he supposed to race, let alone win?
This was a paradox with no way out, a Möbius strip representing infinity. It might look like a simple two-lap route with a clear finish line, but in reality, it never ends. There's no reaching the goal.
"How about I try persuading Suki to change her wish?" Symboli Rudolf suggested.
To her, Maruzensky's wish was dozens of times harder than Air Groove's wish to personally raise an Ephemeral Bloom until it blossomed—an impossible challenge!
To ask a wheelchair-bound guy to win a car race?
You might as well have him enter a Uma Musume race—at least then he could, through certain "flesh-based transactions," persuade other contestants to let him win…
"No." But Mizuno shook his head, rejecting Symboli Rudolf's idea.
"If this is truly Maruzensky's deepest wish, then it can't be changed."
After all, the desires lured out by Uma Mint are the truest, deepest cravings of each Uma Musume's soul. You can't just substitute them with something easier—if this wish is too difficult, let's swap it for a simple one just doesn't exist.
If Maruzensky was going to recover, Mizuno would have to fulfill whatever longing was hidden in her wish.
So right now, what Mizuno needed to figure out was: Is this really what Maruzensky wants most right now? And why does she want him to win the car race, instead of wanting him to help her win?
Unfortunately, Maruzensky was hiding from him like he was some kind of plague, so Mizuno couldn't talk to her directly and had to communicate through Symboli Rudolf as a go-between.
So Symboli Rudolf went back into the room and had a private talk with Maruzensky, who was still curled up in her cardboard box. She came out and relayed the message to Mizuno.
Symboli Rudolf: "Suki says she's not actually scared of you, it's just that you smell so good she's afraid she'll lose control and cause you trouble. That's why she's been avoiding you."
Mizuno: "Mm-hmm."
Symboli Rudolf: "Suki also says this really is the wish she wants most. As for why she wants you to win the race a few weeks from now—she's not sure herself. It's just this feeling she has, like only if you, this super charming guy, achieve the same glory she once had, can she find the courage to open up again, and escape her current fear of other people…"
Mizuno: "Mm-hmm."
Symboli Rudolf: "And Suki also says she thinks you and I are a perfect match, and it'd be a shame if we don't get together soon, so she wants to see you confess to me."
Mizuno: "Mm-hmm… Wait, what?!"
You definitely added that last one yourself!
"Come on, I'm ready for it~" Symboli Rudolf winked at Mizuno.
"No way!" Mizuno shook his head violently.
Confessing to Symboli Rudolf would basically mean handing over the right to Uma Pyoi him!
As they say, love is war—whoever confesses first loses, has to be the submissive one, has to go along with the other, and accept the other's unfair terms.
If Symboli Rudolf ever decided to call it "paying the grain tax" and demand Uma Pyoi time, Mizuno would have no grounds to refuse—he'd be the loser, after all.
He knew this was just Luna trying to trip him up. Of course, maybe she was also trying to lighten the mood with a joke, since things had gotten so heavy.
But whether she was joking or not, Mizuno would never confess to her as long as she had those sorts of intentions! He'd never even considered becoming a couple with her!
Would you want to spend your life with a Uma Musume who's always trying to squeeze you dry, whose physical abilities are world-class?
Mizuno didn't, and honestly, he didn't dare…
Anyone who dares marry Symboli Rudolf, Maruzensky, or Air Groove—those legendary Uma Musume—Mizuno would salute them as a man among men.
...
Symboli Rudolf didn't know what Mizuno was thinking, but seeing him shaking his head and rolling his wheelchair away, she could guess he was definitely rejecting her.
"Tch…" Symboli Rudolf clicked her tongue in mild annoyance.
With her looks and status, if she ever announced she was looking for a boyfriend, there'd be a line of suitors out the gates of Tracen. Why did this guy act like she was radioactive—you stay away from me and I'll stay away from you?
Plus, he'd already made her bottle up so much frustration. Did he really think she'd let him off that easily?
But as the "Emperor," there was no way she'd bow her head first, no way she'd ever confess and become the weaker party in love.
At least… not so obviously.
So Symboli Rudolf stomped on the wheel of Mizuno's chair, halting his escape, narrowed her eyes, and asked, a bit annoyed:
"So, can you grant Suki's wish or not?"
"I'll figure something out…"
Mizuno saw that she'd brought the topic back around to business, and finally relaxed. He grabbed his chin and began to think.
To be honest, he knew nothing about car racing. His only reference was that classic street racing anime, Initial D. Everything else, he couldn't even call "not an expert"—he was utterly clueless.
And besides, this was the world of Uma Musume. These girls could run faster than cars, a single collision would be worse than any crash—so racing didn't have much appeal here. At most, a handful of hardcore fans might organize small races for the thrill.
So this was the first time Mizuno had even heard about car races here…
"With so few racing fans in this world, the competition can't be that tough, right?"
Mizuno clung to that hope.
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T/N: FLAG RAISED ALERT