"Really? Eating this won't make me gain weight at all?" She stopped herself mid-motion from wiping the drool from her mouth. Must've been a habit. Her hand hung awkwardly in the air.
Wait, was this a bit much?
The guy in front of her seemed approachable enough, but it wasn't like she needed to expose all her less-than-elegant habits just yet.
She cleverly swept her long hair over her shoulder, curled her right hand into a fist, and brought it to her lips. "Ahem! Well, if that's the case, I suppose I could have a little taste."
As night fell over the shrine, the solar-powered lights beside the bench flickered on.
Noticing the light, Hayato instinctively raised his hand to shield his face. But Mejiro McQueen's attention was glued entirely to the dessert. She wasn't even looking at him.
Would she really just eat something a stranger gave her? Wasn't she worried it might be poisoned?
It was a Japanese-style parfait glass, or maybe you'd call it a dessert cup. At the bottom sat softened cream cake, topped with five small ice cream balls, pudding cubes, a strawberry, and a lemon wedge perched on the rim. Two thick straws and a small white spoon completed the ensemble.
It didn't look like much, but the variety was impressive.
Clearly not your average dessert.
Some Uma Musume actually ate sweets before races. Not just to ensure they had enough energy, but also to boost their motivation.
These kinds of desserts were specially made by Tracen's official suppliers using high-quality ingredients, which made them pretty expensive. Regular uma musume couldn't afford them. Even Grade-level runners only bought them for particularly important races.
Hayato's version was a step up from the official ones. If the official desserts had a 30% effectiveness rating, his was at 100%.
Whether having Mejiro McQueen fixated on such a precious dessert was a good or bad thing, he couldn't say.
It's fine. I still have plenty of legendary points left... Hayato reassured himself internally.
Mejiro McQueen reached out and accepted the dessert. She was about to dig in when she remembered someone was watching. She paused and looked at Hayato politely. "There's only one dessert. How about we split it?"
"That's really not necessary..." Why would two people share something this small? Did she want him to test it for poison first? You don't need to be that cautious! There's really no poison in it.
"Don't be shy! Here, say ah~" Mejiro McQueen scooped up a purple ice cream ball with the small spoon and held it toward Hayato's mouth.
Mejiro McQueen said, "I really have seen you somewhere before. You seem like you're..."
Hayato quickly closed his mouth around the ice cream ball.
"Oh, so you're not a kidnapper..."
Seeing Hayato finally eat some, Mejiro McQueen either laughed because it proved there was no poison or for some other reason. Either way, she started eating too, forgetting whatever thought she'd had about where she'd seen him before.
"Mmm, it's delicious." She smiled happily. This was definitely the most enjoyable time she'd ever had eating sweets.
Tasty, won't make her fat, and she was sharing it with someone else.
While eating, she didn't forget about Hayato's portion. She scooped up some pudding. "Want more?"
"No thanks." Hayato quickly refused and immediately put an end to this feeding routine. "Actually, I have more."
"Mm!" Mejiro McQueen popped the pudding into her mouth. Her movements, both with her hand and mouth, slowed down. She seemed to be thinking about something.
Seeing her reaction, Hayato regretted it a bit. Why did he let her know that?
Am I trying to create some kind of foodie gathering spot here?
After she finished savoring every bite, she returned the elegant parfait glass to Hayato with gentlemanly courtesy. "Thank you for the treat. Is there anything you need help with?"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't really need anything. If there's nothing else, I'd like to get going." Hayato was already itching to leave. If this conversation continued, things could get complicated.
"Huh? Aren't you my fan? Don't you want my autograph?"
"Alright, sure, I'll take one then."
"Why does it sound like you're totally unenthusiastic about it?" Mejiro McQueen undid her bag strap, pulled out a pen and notebook, and wrote out an autograph for Hayato.
"No, no, I'm just honored, that's all." Hayato scratched his cheek awkwardly as he accepted Mejiro McQueen's exclusive signature.
"Well then..."
"I'll be run... I mean, I'll be going now." Hayato said, fleeing the scene like his life depended on it.
"Wait, hey, hey! Wait!" No matter how much Mejiro McQueen called out, Hayato didn't look back. In the darkness, after one turn, his figure had completely vanished.
"That guy ran away way too fast, didn't he? But why did he become my fan? I haven't debuted at all." Mejiro McQueen complained to herself, picked up her bag, and left the shrine as well.
Once out of the shrine grounds, Hayato had already kicked it into uma musume-level speed, flying back to school like his tail was on fire. In his frantic sprint, he discovered a deep appreciation for the joy of running.
When you run at speeds that defy common sense, you realize your whole body feels incredibly exhilarated.
That was close. If he'd stayed any longer, he wouldn't have been able to leave at all.
Back in her room at Mejiro Family Houses, Mejiro McQueen dropped her bag and was about to take a shower when she noticed Mejiro Ardan still reading. She casually asked, "Nee-chan, what are you reading?"
"Oh, this?" Mejiro Ardan flipped the cover around and set it on the desk. "Last month's Shining Magazine is out."
"Huh? Wait, this person is..." The person on the cover was none other than Hayato, in a full-body photo wearing a black uniform.
No doubt about it. That guy was definitely from before.
"You mean the runaway Trainer?" Mejiro Ardan turned to the first page and continued, "The hottest uma musume this year were all trained by him. He calls himself a trainer willing to climb mountains of swords and dive into seas of oil for his uma musume."
Runaway Trainer... Yeah, he really did escape pretty fast.
The article mentioned quite a bit about Hayato. Taking uma musume to hot springs all over Tokyo, treating them to various cuisines...
"This is the first time I've seen a trainer make it onto the magazine cover. This trainer seems genuinely good. He even said he welcomes inquiries from all Uma Musume."
Mejiro Ardan pointed to a number at the bottom of the page. Hayato's contact information was listed there.
Mejiro McQueen immediately pulled out her phone and added Hayato's contact information. She knew for certain she hadn't mistaken him for someone else.
Mejiro McQueen felt the chances were pretty high. The terrible acting and running away afterward were because of embarrassment, right?
She didn't know if this trainer was really as good as the article claimed, but the dessert he made was genuinely excellent. Maybe that trainer can be invited to the party...
---
As you know, the logic in Uma Musume is that after a few episodes, the characters who were originally small suddenly grow up, so maybe they use that kind of logic after some plot points.