"Fujiwara-san, is there a rule that says you have to drive a sports car to enter the race?" Mizuno glanced at his useless legs and asked another question.
If the race really required a car with a foot pedal accelerator, then even with Fujiwara-san's coaching, there was no way he, as a disabled person, could compete—he simply wouldn't have the strength.
"Uh... nope, nothing like that." Fujiwara-san spread his hands.
"Our amateur race rules are really relaxed—there's almost no restriction on what kind of vehicle you can enter. There's no rule that says you must drive a certain type of car."
"As long as you don't use an Uma Musume as your mount, you can race with any ground vehicle you want. You could even show up on a bicycle if you think you can beat everyone... as long as you're really faster than the rest."
"But I really wouldn't recommend anything other than a sports car. They're way more dangerous—if you collide with another vehicle during the race, you'll definitely end up more seriously hurt."
"There was this one kid, thought he was hot stuff with his rollerblading skills, so he entered the race on rollerblades. Got bumped by a car halfway through, rolled right off the mountain, and he's still in the hospital."
"Uh... well." Mizuno broke into a cold sweat after hearing that.
Rollerblading in a car race—what kind of idea was that? Was that even humanly possible?
Still, as abstract as that kid's story sounded, it actually sparked a new idea for Mizuno.
"So, as long as you're not riding an Uma Musume, it's fair game..." Mizuno glanced over at Symboli Rudolf beside him, resting his chin in thought.
If riding an Uma Musume were allowed, all he'd have to do was hop on Symboli Rudolf—didn't matter how godly the opponent's car skills were, on the track they'd never even catch sight of Symboli Rudolf's tail.
But alas, that wasn't allowed.
"Hmm?" Symboli Rudolf seemed to see straight through Mizuno's thoughts. She folded her arms, crossed one leg, and eyed Mizuno with a knowing squint.
"What? Were you planning to ride me?"
"No, no! Of course not!" Mizuno shook his head violently, not daring to admit to such a dangerous thought.
"Then why are you staring at me?" Symboli Rudolf pressed further.
"Uh... I just think you look good..." Mizuno guiltily looked away, not daring to meet her gaze.
"Is that so?" Symboli Rudolf's expression froze for a second, then her cheeks flushed slightly pink, and her horse ears twitched with delight.
Didn't matter whether Mizuno was lying or not—it was a win for her either way.
If he was telling the truth and only staring because she looked good, then it meant she still had charm in Mizuno's eyes. After that, she could confidently use her looks to press her attack until he was thoroughly won over. If he was lying, and he really did want to ride her, well, then she'd have leverage to force Mizuno to admit he liked her.
After all, everyone in this world knows and agrees—only someone important to an Uma Musume can ride on her back.
Like a parent, a child, a sibling, or...
...
Anyway, either way, it all worked out in Symboli Rudolf's favor. Mizuno's poorly timed glance had served him up on her dinner table—there was no escaping her now.
Not that Mizuno realized any of this. He still thought riding an Uma Musume was no different from riding a human, no special significance at all.
After all, back when he was dodging Misfortune, he'd once ridden Broshi, and Broshi didn't make a fuss about it. That left Mizuno feeling it wasn't a big deal, just like playing house as a kid—worst case, he could always let the other person ride on his back next time.
The real reason he didn't dare admit he'd thought about riding Symboli Rudolf was because she was the esteemed Student Council President, and the two of them weren't close enough for that sort of thing.
If it were his buddy Broshi, Mizuno would've teased her about it already, inviting her to "combine forces" and enter the race together.
But racing doesn't allow using Uma Musume as mounts.
Which made sense—if you could ride an Uma Musume in a car race, it would have nothing to do with the driver's skill anymore. It'd all come down to the Uma's own power—turning it into a weird kind of horse race...
So Mizuno was still racking his brain, trying to figure out if there was any tool that fit the rules but didn't require his legs—something that could become his "heavenly steed" and carry him to first place.
Hmm...
Lost in thought, and completely ignoring Symboli Rudolf's foot poking at his calf, Mizuno's mind suddenly conjured up the perfect ride for his current situation!
"Eh?! That's it!"
The answer was right under his nose all along!
Mizuno's eyes sparkled as he looked at the hand-cranked wheelchair that had been by his side for almost a month now.
"I could race in a wheelchair!"
"Huh?!" ×2
As soon as the words left his mouth, two bewildered voices rang out.
It wasn't just Symboli Rudolf, who'd been teasing Mizuno, who was dumbfounded—even Fujiwara-san, who'd been planning to teach him to drive once he healed up, was stunned.
"What did you just say?"
"I said, I can race in my wheelchair!" Mizuno patted the wheelchair beside him, his tone firm, no trace of a joke.
"You sure you're okay, kid?" Fujiwara-san, realizing Mizuno was dead serious, couldn't help taking a deep breath, staring wide-eyed.
Racing in a wheelchair—who would come up with something like that? That was even more absurd than the rollerblading kid from earlier!
"Grandpa, are there any rules against racing in a wheelchair?" Mizuno asked.
"There aren't... but how are you going to compete with everyone else's sports cars?" Fujiwara-san's face twisted up, unable to hold back a comment.
"With that hand-cranked wheelchair, even if your arms started smoking, you still wouldn't keep up with the other guys' modified sports cars. They'd be crossing the finish line, and you'd barely have left the starting line!"
"He's right, Fujiwara-san's exactly right..." Symboli Rudolf nodded, thinking Mizuno's idea was too out there.
"How could a wheelchair ever win a race?"
Just picturing Mizuno frantically hand-cranking his wheelchair down a bumpy mountain road, yelling "Dash! Go!" Symboli Rudolf found the image so surreal...
Maybe Mizuno really had been traumatized after a week locked up by Gold Ship, but just never showed it because he liked to bottle up his problems. Now, with the pressure of helping Maruzensky accomplish this near-impossible wish, maybe he'd finally cracked and started talking nonsense.
The more Symboli Rudolf thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She looked at Mizuno with real concern in her eyes.
"Come here, nap in my arms for a while. When you wake up, you'll feel much better." Symboli Rudolf scooted her chair closer, opening her arms wide, looking ready to pull Mizuno into an embrace.
"No need! I'm perfectly clear-headed!" Mizuno leaned back warily, dodging Symboli Rudolf's grasp.
Seeing the two of them so completely unconvinced, Mizuno could only sigh, patting the wheelchair beside him as he declared earnestly:
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll show you whether I mean it or not..."
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T/N: LMAOOOOO let me see if i can find an image
i looked at the images and wow, heh you can look it up yoruself