After deciding that tonight they would hold the victory party together with Kiryuin Aoi and Happy Meek in the Team TAC training room, everyone happily set off to buy supplies.

Urara, Rice Shower, King Halo, and Happy Meek walked ahead, picking out the foods they each liked to eat.

Meanwhile, Mizuno and Kiryuin Aoi followed behind, chatting as they went.

"Trainer Mizuno, what do you usually do during your rest time?" Kiryuin Aoi asked.

Because aside from occasionally seeing him train his horse girls in the afternoons, she never knew where Mizuno went the rest of the time, so naturally she was curious about what he did in his off-hours.

"Usually just stay in the dorm and read." Mizuno answered.

"Read?" Kiryuin Aoi's interest was caught.

"I also really like reading. Trainer Mizuno, what kind of books do you read?"

"Uh… mostly things like how to be a proper trainer, how to make training equipment, Uma Musume massage techniques, cooking and gourmet stuff." Mizuno answered honestly.

"Eh? Trainer Mizuno, you're that diligent?" Kiryuin Aoi looked surprised.

"I also read some professional books, but honestly I read romance novels more often… seems I still have to learn more from Trainer Mizuno."

"No, it's not that I'm diligent, really. It's just—I don't know what novels are worth reading, and I don't have friends to go out and play with. So I can only pass the time by reading professional stuff."

"I see…" Kiryuin Aoi thought for a moment, then suggested:

"Then, how about next time, we go out together?"

Ever since Mizuno had helped her at the exchange meeting, teaching Happy Meek to use reverse thinking, she had wanted to invite him out again, to talk more. But she had never managed to find him. Now, at last, here was the chance!

"This…" Faced with Kiryuin Aoi's invitation, Mizuno hesitated a little.

Does this count as a Friendship Card outing event?

Mizuno never understood why, in those events, when the trainer went out with another, the horse girl's motivation and mood actually improved. Realistically, if a horse girl saw her trainer going out to play with another woman, wouldn't she be jealous and angry? But instead it raised motivation and mood? Wasn't that just bizarre…

But Mizuno thought again—anyway, he had nothing better to do in his rest time, and Kiryuin Aoi wasn't one of the terrifying horse girls. Going once wouldn't hurt. Maybe he could even gain more training insights from talking with her. Why not?

So Mizuno finally accepted her invitation.

"All right then, I'll be in your care, Trainer Kiryuin."

"Good, it's a promise then. Next time we're free, let's go out together. Hmm… how about the library?"

"Reading? Sounds good!" Mizuno found that agreeable.

Originally, he had thought that going out with a girl inevitably meant things like shopping together, or going to a dessert shop and keeping her company while she ate sweets. That would look no different from a date—and for Mizuno, who had always heeded his senpai's warning 'Don't date your coworkers', that was far from friendly.

But if it was just going to the library to read, then he had no issue at all.

Both of them reading, each immersed in their own worlds—he could learn something new, and no misunderstandings would arise. The best of both worlds.

"Oh, right." Kiryuin Aoi suddenly remembered something. She pulled out a notebook titled Collection of Trainer Insights.

"This is a teaching passed down in my family. I've always relied on it to learn how to become an excellent trainer. Trainer Mizuno, would you like to have a look?"

"..." Mizuno raised an eyebrow at the green-covered book.

Isn't that the very item in the game that teaches you the golden skill [Iron WIll]?!

If Urara and the others read it, would they be able to learn [Iron WIll]…?

Mizuno thought for a bit, then took out [From Getting Started as a Trainer! (Basement Ending)] and handed it to her.

"As a trade, Trainer Kiryuin, would you like to see the book I usually study?"

"Trainer Mizuno's study book? I'd love to. Thank you." Kiryuin Aoi accepted it, opening it for a quick browse.

But one glance—and she froze. Then her eyes widened, utterly absorbed by the content. She couldn't pull herself away.

She didn't even watch where she was walking anymore, just kept her head down, following Mizuno's steps on instinct as she read.

"Oh?" Mizuno found the situation amusing.

He had once shown this very book to Kaneshiro Takeru, to see if maybe it had been written by his missing older brother. After all, the first half was filled with tips on how to deepen bonds with horse girls—overflowing with yasashii vibes—and both the author and Kaneshiro's brother seemed to have ended up in the basement. Could it actually be the same person?

But Kaneshiro said he couldn't understand the book, and the handwriting wasn't familiar either. Not his brother's.

That had disappointed Mizuno—not only had he failed to find his idol, but also a kindred spirit who could read and understand the book.

Yet now, seeing Kiryuin Aoi so engrossed—could she actually understand it?

"..." Mizuno didn't disturb her reading. He quietly walked ahead to lead the way, while picking out fresh radishes at the greengrocer's for tonight's victory feast.

Only ten minutes later did Kiryuin Aoi finally raise her head, as if she had eaten her fill of spiritual nourishment, and let out a long, satisfied breath.

"Phew…"

"How is it?" Mizuno asked, expectant.

"This book… it's amazing!" Kiryuin Aoi's mood was alight, stars shining in her eyes.

"Though it uses unconventional methods of expression, at first glance a bit hard to follow—if you read more carefully, you can quickly grasp what the author meant to say. The style is concise yet effective. I really like it."

"Even more, his insights on training Uma Musume are truly unique. I've only skimmed it a little, haven't read in depth, but already I've gained so much. It's broadened my whole perspective!"

"The one who wrote this book must be a top-tier trainer!"

"Yes, yes, exactly!" Hearing Kiryuin Aoi sincerely praise the Basement Bro, Mizuno's own emotions surged.

He hadn't expected she could really understand the book!

This was wonderful! It meant Basement Bro had one more fan—besides Mizuno himself!

"Trainer Mizuno, may I borrow this book to take home and study for a few days?" Kiryuin Aoi asked.

"Of course, no problem." Mizuno agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you." Kiryuin bowed slightly, and immediately went back to reading.

"Hou hou…" Mizuno watched from the side, quietly pleased.

Right now, it felt like he was sharing his favorite work with a friend—wanting her to do nothing else, just read, and then give him more words of praise for it.

But after a while, Kiryuin Aoi suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong? Something you don't understand?" Mizuno asked.

"Trainer Mizuno, did you notice something?"

"What is it?"

"This book of yours… the first half and the second half aren't the same."

"Oh, of course I know that." Mizuno nodded.

He had long noticed that extreme split.

The front half taught how to raise Uma Musume affection and get into the basement quickly—so he never read it, just skipped straight past.

The back half was the real essence—teaching how to be a proper trainer. Mizuno reread those parts often, carefully studying them.

"So Trainer Mizuno already knew…" Kiryuin Aoi gave a slightly awkward smile. Still, she felt something was off.

Because she had realized—the front and back halves were written by different people.

The back half, the "trainer experiences," all had the same handwriting, clearly written by a man.

But the front half, "how to raise horse girl affection," was different. More than ten different handwritings—seemingly a group of girls, perhaps even Uma Musume, gathered together to discuss, then wrote their thoughts down.

More than ten Uma Musume, all teaching you "how to raise Uma Musume affection"—that was… a very strange thing!

But since Trainer Mizuno already knew, and looked so calm about it, it probably wasn't a big problem. She decided she didn't need to bring it up further…