The next day was just as clear and beautiful.
On the crisp winter training grounds, Rice Shower and Oguri Cap stood facing each other.
Other Uma Musume training nearby were currently looking in their direction, or more specifically, at Oguri Cap.
“Wow, it’s Oguri Cap-san!” “I was determined to enter Tracen Academy after watching her races!” “I heard she’s doing really well in the Grand Masters now.
I didn’t expect she’d still come here to train.” “Which Uma Musume is with Oguri Cap?” “Looks like a rookie?
It seems she’s going to spar with Oguri Cap-san.
I’m so jealous…” Hearing the other Uma Musume, Rice Shower immediately grew nervous.
After all, she had only started following official Uma Musume races and entered Tracen Academy because she heard Oguri Cap’s stories.
Facing the idol she had long admired, Rice Shower forgot the greetings she had prepared in advance.
Fortunately, Belno Light was standing between the two and promptly introduced them to each other.
“Oguri, this is Rice Shower-san, the one who helped me recover my goods at the Ichibangai Shopping District the other day.
She’s also Trainer Kaito’s assigned Uma Musume.” “Rice Shower-san, this is Oguri Cap.” Seeing Belno Light’s encouraging gaze, Rice Shower finally gathered her courage.
Clenching her hands tightly in front of her chest, she bowed deeply to Oguri Cap.
“T-Thank you for your time today, Oguri Cat-san!” *Uwah, I bit my tongue!* “Hello, Rice Shower-san.” Oguri Cap, wearing a red and white tracksuit with her hair tied in a ponytail, calmly nodded.
“I’m looking forward to our sparring run, and I’m also looking forward to Kaito’s lunch today.” “He cooks very well.” Rice Shower was taken aback for a moment, then nodded earnestly.
“Yes, Onii-san cooks very well!” “Yeah, especially the fried meat from yesterday’s lunch.
The juices were perfectly locked in, and it wasn’t greasy at all…” “Rice Shower thinks so too.
The rice Onii-san cooks is also really fragrant…” On the topic of Kaito’s cooking skills, Rice Shower and Oguri Cap reached an agreement and quickly became friendly with each other.
Seeing this, Belno Light breathed a sigh of relief.
“Looks like I don’t need to worry after all…” …
Over at the spectator seating nearby.
Kaito was making preparations before training, while Hana watched the scene of Rice Shower and Oguri Cap chatting happily in the distance, her mouth hanging open in shock.
Though she had a sharp tongue and a soft heart, and had told Kaito to find someone himself, she ultimately couldn’t just leave him to it and decided to help out.
But as soon as she arrived at the training grounds and saw the scene of Rice Shower and Oguri Cap meeting, she briefly thought she was hallucinating.
After all, that was Oguri Cap!
She looked at Kaito beside her, her tone full of disbelief.
“Kaito, how on earth did you manage that?” “It’s hard to say.
Maybe I’m blessed by fate and just got lucky?” Kaito chuckled.
“You!…
Forget it, as long as you found a partner.” Hana sighed helplessly, but also felt relieved.
Having Oguri Cap as a sparring partner was probably the most efficient choice in the world.
After all, even though Oguri Cap wasn’t a Satsuki Sho champion, she was stronger than many Satsuki Sho champions.
Kaito walked forward with his documents and called out to the three Uma Musume.
“Alright, once you’re done warming up, we’ll start the sparring run.
Rice Shower, stick to the Runner pace you’ve been practicing these past few days.
Oguri Cap-san, just run at your own pace.” “Yes!” “Understood.” The two Uma Musume began their warm-ups.
Rice Shower followed the warm-up exercises from Earth that Kaito had taught her, using high-frequency short strides and dynamic stretching to awaken her body and muscle adaptability in advance.
As for Oguri Cap, she didn’t use so many techniques.
She simply relied on Belno Light’s help to do a seated forward bend, folding her upper body completely forward until it pressed flat against the ground.
“That’s some terrifying flexibility…” Kaito marveled.
This kind of bodily controllability was probably one of the reasons Oguri Cap was called a “monster.” Rice Shower had also undergone special lactate threshold run training these past few days.
Although Kaito didn’t think these results would be enough to beat Oguri Cap, as long as Rice Shower could properly demonstrate the fruits of her training in the competition, it would count as achieving their goal.
After finishing their warm-ups, the two Uma Musume stood at the starting line, and Kaito gave the order.
“Go!” Whoosh— Like a sudden gust of wind, Rice Shower successfully broke out in the lead.
Oguri Cap, left behind in an instant, showed a slightly surprised expression.
Kaito’s training had yielded great results, allowing Rice Shower to execute a solid and stable break from the gate.
This immediately gave her confidence, and she silently chanted in her heart.
“Accelerate at the start to secure the Runner position…
Alright, maintain this pace until the middle phase, then drop to a cruising pace to hold the advantage—” Thunderous roar!
A thunderous roar echoed behind Rice Shower.
It was Oguri Cap, breaking from the gate!
“Huh?!” Startled by the noise, Rice Shower hurriedly looked back.
Behind her, Oguri Cap lowered her body in a posture that ordinary Uma Musume could never achieve, covering every step with an astonishing stride, charging forward like a four-legged beast on the hunt.
In just an instant, the distance advantage Rice Shower had gained at the break was completely wiped out.
Before the sparring run even reached the middle phase, Oguri Cap was running neck and neck with her.
“She’s so fast!
Oguri Cap is probably even faster than she was in the Twinkle Series, isn’t she?” Hana, watching from the sidelines, had a face full of shock.
Even Kaito couldn’t hide his surprised expression.
He had watched videos of Oguri Cap’s races in his past life, but when the sheer presence of a monster running actually came right before his eyes, the impact was completely different.
If Rice Shower was like a normal galloping racehorse, then Oguri Cap was a roaring war chariot; her speed, power, and oppressive presence were simply incomparable!
“N-No good, I have to maintain the lead!” Rice Shower was in a complete panic.
To execute the original tactic, she could only grit her teeth and accelerate, hoping to hold the lead before entering the middle phase.
But for every step she took, the neck-and-neck Oguri Cap took two.
For every meter she ran forward, Oguri Cap ran two.
There was no other reason; it was simply a difference in ability.
Rice Shower, running with all her might, was overtaken by Oguri Cap in the blink of an eye!
“N-No good, I’ve been passed.
I have to take back the lead…” Watching Oguri Cap pull further and further ahead, Rice Shower grew anxious.
Upon entering the middle phase, she completely forgot the tactic of switching to a cruising pace, and instead continued to accelerate to close the gap.
But the distance didn’t shrink.
Oguri Cap still steadily maintained an absolute lead.
“Haa…
haa…” Rice Shower’s footsteps, however, grew noticeably fatigued from the prolonged acceleration.
Every step was incredibly difficult, every breath more rapid, and the expression on her face grew increasingly strained.
Soon, the speed of the struggling Rice Shower dropped significantly, and she was completely left behind by Oguri Cap.
Rice Shower was trailing by at least twenty lengths.
“She’s still too young.” Hana, watching from the sidelines, sighed softly and looked at Kaito.
Kaito remained silent, watching the race end without any suspense.
Next Goal: 150PS!]