Teio somehow felt even better to the touch than before.
Her body carried a sweet scent now, and her waist felt softer too.
After resolving the second issue, Kaito took the dewy-skinned Tokai Teio out for training. First, he had her run wearing her regular training shoes. Then, he had her try again with the racing shoes.
The difference between the two runs was 0.6 seconds.
Kaito didn't know whether the same effect would apply in the real world, but in this game world, an item had unquestionably brought Teio a tangible boost.
Could there be even more broken items out there? Ones that could send Teio's speed skyrocketing outright?
Whether or not such things existed, Kaito decided to stay alert. He needed to buy more items from the real world—food, sports equipment, anything at all. If they could all strengthen Uma Musume, that would greatly increase his margin for error in training. He couldn't guarantee that every training plan he made would be perfectly optimal, and each race demanded different stat thresholds anyway.
Uma Musume also differed in training difficulty. In the game, Tokai Teio was fairly average—unlike those simple "dump everything into Speed" types, she required more careful stat allocation.
Speed, Stamina, and Intelligence were especially important for Tokai Teio. Those values needed to be pushed high to clear races consistently. Right now, Kaito's approach was more like a "balanced bucket"—everything evenly spread, but without any defining strengths.
"Trainer~"
Just as Kaito was recording the stat changes in his notebook, Teio leaned over and rubbed her head against him, her cute ears swaying back and forth.
Game characters weren't supposed to have human-like thought processes, yet Teio's affectionate behavior clearly went beyond the system. Still, she wasn't truly human either—whenever Kaito tried to talk to her properly, he'd only ever get the same fixed lines in response.
…Teio, don't you have any special scenarios I can trigger?
Kaito found himself missing that world again.
After patting Teio and sending her off to play, he went looking for Seiun Sky. She was probably hiding in some patch of grass, asleep again—and sure enough, he spotted her lounging lazily in the bushes by the training field. Her clothes had ridden up while she slept, revealing her pale stomach and an adorably placed navel.
Kaito walked over and gently touched her belly. It felt like white jade infused into a sponge—so soft it was hard to let go.
At his touch, Seiun Sky opened her eyes. Her sky-blue gaze met his for a moment… then she closed them again.
This girl—fixed dialogue again? Where did today's training go? Did sleeping just override everything?!
Just as Kaito was about to mess with Seiun Sky a bit more, he noticed something new on her status panel.
"Outfit Change?"
He'd never seen this option on any other Uma Musume. Only Seiun Sky had it—her UI had an extra button.
Kaito reached out and tapped it. A prompt popped up.
[Currently Unlocked: Apron]
He remembered the notification that had appeared when Seiun Sky wore an apron before—it had been some kind of outfit unlock.
He tapped the apron option. A blue flash flickered across his vision. When Kaito looked down, Seiun Sky—still asleep—was now wearing the apron.
It actually worked?!
That was incredibly game-like. In the Uma Musume mobile game, you could change a character's outfit too.
If only he could do this in the real world. Kaito really wanted to see the expressions on their faces if their clothes suddenly changed in front of them. Everything he did now would probably be erased from their memories anyway.
Maybe they were living in a completely different world from his.
Looking down at Seiun Sky, Kaito gently pulled her clothes back down to cover her stomach.
Just as he was about to leave, his ankle was suddenly hooked by a small hand. At some point, Seiun Sky had quietly wrapped herself around his leg, hugging it like a pillow she'd found in her sleep.
Her behavior patterns really had changed a bit.
You weren't asleep at all, were you?!
If Kaito weren't completely spent after "emptying his output" on Teio earlier, he'd definitely have disciplined her right now.
Seiun Sky's ears swayed lazily. Seeing that, Kaito decided to rest for a bit too.
"Sky… did you get transported back with me too?" Kaito lay down beside her. "In your memories, how exactly did we come back?"
Seiun Sky didn't answer. She buried her face in Kaito's chest and fell quietly asleep.
"Not having to think about anything really is blissful… Maybe I should just sleep all day like you…" Kaito wrapped his arms around the girl's soft body, breathing in the relaxing scent of Seiun Sky's hair as he closed his eyes.
But just as he drifted off, Tokai Teio suddenly appeared and scooped him up.
"Teio?"
Reflected in her azure eyes was Kaito's face. As if executing a command, she carried him away from Seiun Sky.
"I did give that order back then, but you don't have to be this strict! Can't you at least let me sleep with Sky for a bit?!"
Tokai Teio remained unmoved.
"Three times! I get three chances. After I've slept next to her three times, then you can take me away—got it?" Kaito adjusted his command.
Tokai Teio set him down and nodded. "Yes."
After being jostled around like that, any trace of sleepiness vanished. A man nearly 180 centimeters tall was being carried around at high speed by a horse girl who barely reached his chest.
Uma Musume were terrifying.
"Trainer."
"Wah!"
The sudden voice startled him. Turning around, Kaito saw a girl with black hair and golden eyes—Manhattan Cafe.
"Oh, it's Cafe." Kaito let out a breath. She really made no sound when she appeared.
"Today's training task… what is it?" Cafe asked slowly.
Right—you're my Uma Musume now too.
"I still need to arrange that—hm?"
Kaito noticed that the moment Cafe appeared, Tokai Teio's mood began dropping at a visible pace—tick by tick—plummeting from [Excellent] straight down to [Awful]. Her ears drooped limply.
This was…
Could it be that something happened between Teio and Cafe in the real world, and it was affecting the game too?
This kind of linkage even reached the system's judgment.
It wasn't just the Trainer assignment—events from reality really could influence the game.
Unlike Teio, though, Cafe showed no change at all. Her mood remained steadily at [Good].
That was probably just her personality. She was used to being misunderstood and criticized; other people's attitudes rarely affected her. Teio, on the other hand, had a very childlike temperament—she flared up easily.
Kaito couldn't help but imagine Teio clinging to him, puffing out her cheeks while glaring at Cafe.
"…How about I give you two something tasty to eat?"