Belno Light, hailing from the local circuit, was an otherwise unremarkable Uma Musume.
She wasn’t particularly fast, nor did she have great stamina.
Although she had a well-developed physique, her overall abilities were far from the level required to enter Tracen Academy.
Therefore, she switched to the Uma Musume Support Department, entering Tracen Academy as a logistics and support staff member to help her best friend, Oguri Cap, who had been recruited to the Central circuit.
Unlike Belno Light, Oguri Cap’s name was practically a household word in Japan.
Hailing from a weak local circuit, she possessed a monstrous running form and overwhelming presence.
After coming to the Central circuit, she achieved a terrifying six consecutive wins in Graded Races, ultimately securing a total of four G1 championships throughout her Twinkle Series career.
Thanks to her widely beloved underdog story and outstanding results, any race Oguri Cap participated in always saw her popularity lead by a massive margin.
Every venue she entered was packed to the brim, making her a truly deserving “Uma Musume Idol.” And the one standing behind Oguri Cap, constantly supporting her, was Belno Light.
However, not many people knew about this.
Ten minutes later.
Kaito and Rice Shower followed Belno Light to the sporting goods section deep within the Ichibangai Shopping District, stopping in front of an Uma Musume sporting goods store named Bright Sports.
“This is the place.” Belno Light enthusiastically led the two inside, revealing a dazzling array of sporting goods before them.
“Please have a seat, I’ll go make some tea!” Before Kaito could politely decline, Belno Light had already hurried to the back of the store to get busy, clearly eager to repay the favor.
It was Rice Shower’s first time seeing so many sporting goods for Uma Musume, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit dazzled, while Kaito looked on with great interest.
“Running shoes, support straps, knee pads, sportswear, dumbbells…
they even have treadmills and sports headphones.
This store’s product lineup is truly comprehensive.” With this, the issue of running shoes shouldn’t be a problem.
Hearing this, however, Rice Shower hesitated a bit.
“Rice Shower has heard from other girls that the items at Bright Sports are very expensive.
Rice Shower doesn’t need to buy such expensive shoes…” “It’s fine.
A high price just means good quality.” Kaito told Rice Shower not to worry.
He had some savings of his own, and besides, he could apply for funds from the academy.
Buying a pair of running shoes was no problem at all.
Rice Shower nodded gratefully, silently vowing in her heart not to let Onii-san’s efforts go to waste.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!” After a while, Belno Light carefully carried the tea out and handed it to the two of them.
Kaito took the tea and thanked her, then asked.
“I’ve been a bit curious since the beginning.
Is there any relationship between the name of this Bright Sports chain store and you, Belno Light-san?” “Ah, about that…” Belno Light scratched her cheek awkwardly and explained.
“This is actually my family’s business.” Kaito’s hand trembled slightly as he held his tea.
So this was the so-called rich girl experiencing life at the bottom?
Rice Shower covered her mouth, also showing a surprised expression.
Belno Light hurriedly explained.
“But I’m just a part-time clerk here, so please don’t look at me with such admiration!…” After Belno Light’s explanation, the two finally understood that the scale of the Bright Sports business wasn’t actually that large.
It was previously just a popular merchandise store in the Kasamatsu local circuit.
Because his daughter was coming to Tokyo for school, the boss of Bright Sports opened a branch in the Ichibangai Shopping District near Tracen Academy.
Later, it gained fame due to its high product quality.
Because of this, Belno Light was often mistaken for a rich girl, causing quite a few misunderstandings, which was why she was so eager to explain.
“I see.” Kaito calmed his mind and looked at Belno Light, who had breathed a sigh of relief, and asked.
“But it’s true that you and Oguri Cap are very close, right, Belno Light-san?” “Yes!
Oguri Cap is my best friend!” Talking about Oguri Cap, Belno Light’s expression was no longer reserved.
“I heard that Oguri Cap’s running shoes were also specially customized by you, Belno Light-san?” “Eh?” Belno Light nodded, curious about where Kaito had heard this trivial matter.
Hearing this, Kaito just nodded and made a request to Belno Light.
“In that case, I’d like to ask you to help choose a pair of running shoes for Rice Shower, who is under my care.
I trust your eye won’t be wrong.” “I see, you want to buy running shoes?” Belno Light nodded repeatedly, then looked at Rice Shower beside her.
“Rice Shower-san, what kind of running shoes were you wearing before?” “T-That, um, please look!” Rice Shower hurriedly took out the old shoes wrapped in newspaper from her bag.
This was something Kaito had reminded her to bring.
Additionally, Rice Shower didn’t forget to add.
“The shoes I wore before were this most basic model.
Rice Shower doesn’t know what kind of shoes would suit her…” “It’s fine!” Belno Light put on her glasses, took the shoes, and carefully examined them, muttering to herself at the same time.
“Mhm, I see.
The entire sole is worn down, which indicates a large amount of daily exercise.
However, the heel is worn down more noticeably, which means her running stride is large and she tends to land on her heels first.” “In addition, there is wear on the inside of the sole.
It looks like Rice Shower-san has a slight tendency for her legs to tilt inward.” “But these are no problem at all!” Belno Light patted her chest and explained to the two with full confidence.
“We just need to treat the symptoms accordingly.
By changing the sole material to a more flexible and wear-resistant one, and increasing the thickness of the rear horseshoe plate, it will be able to meet the demands of training.” “As for the inward tilt of the legs, we can thicken and raise the horseshoe plate around the inside of the sole.
It will gradually improve.
Please wait a moment!” Saying this, Belno Light rummaged through the merchandise for a while, comparing the size of Rice Shower’s old shoes to find a pair of blue and white sneakers.
The shoes were streamlined overall, with noticeably thick heels and inner sides.
The horseshoe material used was also quite different from ordinary shoes.
“The prototype of these shoes was originally designed by me for Oguri Cap-san.
Although it wasn’t used in the end, after some slight modifications, it unexpectedly suited quite a few Uma Musume, so we produced it as a product.” As Belno Light spoke, she came in front of Rice Shower and squatted down.
“Come, Rice Shower-san, try putting them on.” “Yes!” Rice Shower squatted down, untied her shoelaces, and pulled out her delicate little feet covered in cute socks.
Then she put on the new shoes and tried stepping on the floor.
“Amazing!” Rice Shower couldn’t help but exclaim.
No one knew what material the shoes used.
Even though they were lighter than they looked, they had a reassuringly solid feel when stepping on the ground.
Just from trying them on, one could tell they were excellent shoes for running.
Rice Shower happily hopped around the store to test the shoes.
Then, thinking of something, she asked Belno Light with worry.
“Belno Light-senpai, how much do these shoes cost?” Belno Light smiled and said.
“Because Rice Shower-san helped out so much, I’ll give you these shoes as a gift.” “Eh?” “Is that really okay?” The one asking was Kaito.
Although he secretly hoped to get a good deal, he knew he had to be appropriate for the occasion.
However, Belno Light didn’t seem to mind much.
“I still have this much authority.
And if you feel bad about it, just have Rice Shower-san wear these shoes and achieve good results in her next race.
Consider it as advertising, alright?” Hearing this, Kaito and Rice Shower looked at each other and then nodded.
“Understood!” “In that case, I’ll also go to the venue to support you in the next race.” Belno Light put the running shoes back into the box and solemnly handed them to Rice Shower.
“You must do your best in the next race!”