At night, in this time when all sounds had returned to silence, on the training ground of Tracen Academy, there was still a figure who was working hard to the point of self-abuse, active on the training ground.
However, unlike what most people imagined, this horse girl was not running on the turf that most central horse girls were better at, but on the dirt track, which was muddy after a light rain and tested a horse girl's strength and stamina even more!
After another round of hard support, finally, Nakayama Festa, who had finished this round, seemed to have finally exhausted her stamina. She fell headfirst onto the dirt track, letting her whole body be soaked in mud. After a difficult flip, she could no longer move. If not for the extremely violent rise and fall of her chest, it would not have been unreasonable to suspect that she had stopped breathing.
"Hah... hah..."
"No, I can't... if this continues... I'm going to die. This is not for humans..."
"—You're already done?"
And during her difficult and heavy breathing, on the other side, Oguri Cap in her racing silks came to her. This "ash-haired monster," looking at her teammate, had not a trace of pity in her eyes, but just said calmly, "The current intensity is far from what you will have to face in the Tennō Shō (Autumn). Nakayama-san, you have to know that the opponent you will have to face is Mejiro McQueen."
"The Tennō Shō (Autumn), a 2000-meter turf race held at the Tokyo Racecourse. You will have to face two uphill slopes, one downhill, and a five-hundred-meter final straight."
"The turf of the Tokyo Racecourse is more suitable for horse girls with speed as their strong point. But both you and her are not good at speed, but at strength. And for you to surpass her in speed in these few months is obviously unrealistic. The only thing you can be stronger than her in is your strength."
"The dirt can better train your strength, and this slope can also train your uphill ability. Only when you have an advantage in both strength and uphill can you have a chance to defeat her."
"—That being said, but is it necessary?"
And after hearing her words, Nakayama Festa, who was sore all over, also struggled to stand up from the dirt. However, faced with her constantly trembling legs and her lips that were already out of control and trembling non-stop, she endured the pain and questioned, word by word, "If you want to train your strength, then train your strength. Is it necessary to raise the training intensity so much? I feel that the training you've arranged is twice as much as his plan!"
"Speaking of which, do you even know how to plan training? If I had known that the extra training would be like this, I would have gone to him to help me plan. He must be much more scientific than you."
However, faced with her complaining accusation, her face still did not show a trace of expression. She just looked at her coldly and, after a long while, continued to answer, "I've said it before. He will feel sorry for you and will not give you high-intensity training because he is soft-hearted. But I will not."
"I will only do everything I should do for him to live. As long as he can live, no matter how harsh, how impersonal, I can do it."
"If I wasn't unable to go on the track, it would be me who is doing the extra training here now. It wouldn't be your turn at all, Nakayama Festa."
Her words were merciless. She seemed to have also completely made up her mind. Even if after this storm, she would be at odds with the her she had "abused," even if he knew about all of this and would unprecedentedly reprimand her, or even worse, kick her out of the team, she was willing to bear it.
Because what she could think of now, the only way to help her defeat her, was to carry out such cruel training. If she did not push her into a desperate situation, she would not be able to burst out with all her potential.
Actually, he also knew this very well. She had heard him talk about how to force out her potential more than once, as well as the racing style she pursued. But the problem was that he had said so, but he did not dare to squeeze his charge. And in front of him, her training was only completed to the minimum—because she knew that he would indulge her.
So she had gone to the extreme, hoping to completely hide this matter, and force her alone to carry out this training that would consume her stamina to the limit.
"As far as I know, Mejiro McQueen has suffered from periostitis since she was a child, and she has many leg diseases. Therefore, her training intensity will not be high. Otherwise, it will easily cause a relapse."
"And this is your opportunity to surpass her talent—your leg bones are very healthy, without the incurable disease of periostitis, and even less the risk of fracture. You can withstand a stronger training intensity than her."
"I will force out all of your wildness and make you turn into a monster to compete with her. This is your only chance of winning."
She made up her mind again in her heart, maintaining her terrifying deterrent power of an "ash-haired monster." The dark [Domain] exuding from her body was even at risk of losing control from time to time. Once again, with a serious expression and a fierce gaze, she forced her to continue training.
However, what neither of them had expected was that at a high place some distance away from the training ground, the figures of him and Mr. C.B. were standing against the night breeze. The two of them had been standing here for who knows how long, and had long been observing the cruel training of the two girls.
"...I discovered it by accident, Trainer-san. What do you plan to do?"
And C.B. also turned her gaze to him on the side. And he, who had been observing their training with binoculars, also, after a long silence, let out a long sigh and answered softly, "Her failure is, in the end, my responsibility... she now has a psychological shadow of Tokai Teio. It was I who did not force out her potential, that made her decide to avoid the Kikuka Sho where Teio was, and would rather challenge the Tennō Shō (Autumn), which is no less difficult than the Kikuka Sho."
"What Oguri is doing is actually what I know I should do but don't dare to do. Although she is acting on her own, I can't criticize her."
Saying this, he also finally put down his binoculars. Faced with the extra training that the two horse girls in his team were conducting behind his back, after a long silence, he finally admitted that he had not done a good enough job and chose to indulge them.
"...I'll modify her daytime training program. Let her have a good rest, and add some swimming and other items, so that her legs can relax a bit."
"—How surprising. Knowing the strength gap between the two, you still choose to indulge them?"
And at this very moment, suddenly, a mature voice that was enough to make him shudder suddenly sounded behind the two of them. But unlike C.B., who turned her head to look, he, even without turning around, knew who had appeared behind him.
With the slow opening of the rooftop door, for some reason, Mejiro Palmer, in her tracksuit, quietly appeared here. It seemed that she, who had just finished a night run, had opened a precise positioning system and had coincidentally come to the place where he and she were.
But she herself did not seem to have any guilt at all, not making people suspect that she had any motive. It was as if meeting in such a remote place was just an accident. She even had the leisure to turn her gaze to them and say with a hint of teasing, "Good evening, Miss C.B., and our lovely sleeping beauty."
"I had guessed before that you, who had slept so sweetly in the student council, probably had no sleepiness at night. I just didn't expect that you would actually come to the place where I usually spend my time alone at school."
"...Long time no see, Miss Palmer. What a coincidence to see you so late. Can't you sleep either?"
And faced with the her who was walking straight towards him and was already beside him, even if he had a psychological shadow of her, he really had no way to ignore her. Especially according to what C.B. had said, she was also a witness at the scene where Rudolf had made her "shocking statement." The purpose of her coming to find him... was probably also related to her declaration.
After all, she was her childhood friend. She should also be quite interested in the object of her public declaration of love, right?
On the contrary, C.B. on the side, when she noticed her arrival, her expression was originally a little nervous. But when she thought of the time when she had been eavesdropping, her negative attitude towards the Mejiro family's plan, she also chose not to do anything extra, but still watched her with a vigilant gaze, for fear that she would have some action.
However, her arrival, she did not choose to talk to him about Rudolf, nor did she talk about him himself. After a long silence, she, whose inner thoughts no one could see through, finally said softly, "Is this the child who will challenge our Mejiro family's new star in the Tennō Shō (Autumn)? A bad hand."
"...Whether she is a bad hand, I think it all depends on how you play it. As long as you play well, a bad hand can also turn defeat into victory."
And for her evaluation, he, who had once been sharply criticized by her as an "uninteresting" and unqualified trainer, but after she had made a similar remark of not being optimistic about her, he had immediately chosen to stand up and defend her. Even in a place where she could not hear, he still maintained his confidence and expectation and said without thinking, "Please don't underestimate her. She is the kind of person who can often be unexpected in a situation where no one is optimistic about her."
"You really defend her, Trainer Kitano."
And upon hearing his words, a slight curve appeared on her lips. She pretended to be nonchalant and said again, "Your defense is a comfort to the weak who have failed. I think any horse girl would be happy from the bottom of her heart to hear such an expectation from you."
"Miss Palmer, this is not a defense of the weak. There is not a single weakling among my charges. They are all horse girls with great potential, but it has not yet been discovered. They still lack the opportunity to burst out."
"Besides, the strong are not without controversy, right? But as long as it is my charge, whether they are strong or weak, when they are treated unfairly and are criticized by the outside world, I will be the first to stand up and defend them."
In the end, he, who was doing his best to live to the next day in every playthrough, with his advantage as a transmigrator, the charges he could find were by no means weak. They might be "one-shot wonders," or have other flaws, but a horse girl who could win a major prize, or even a G1, how could she be a weakling?
Furthermore, he had cultivated many strong ones. Even Mejiro Palmer, whom he could influence the least, he had helped her to unlock the unprecedented achievement of "undefeated Filly Triple Crown."
And his words, for some reason, had also caught her attention. After a moment of silence, she silently turned her gaze to him. Her demonic peach blossom eyes also narrowed slightly as she asked with particular solemnity, "...No matter if they are strong or weak, you will defend them?"
"—Of course." Not quite sure what she meant, he could only bite the bullet and stick to his bottom line. And under a long silence, he saw her in front of him, her lips slightly curled.
So... I passed? Just as he was a little suspicious, her cherry-blossom-colored moist lips moved slightly, and she said in a voice only she could hear, "First round, passed."
With that, she, under his and C.B.'s suspicious gazes, walked towards the rooftop door on her own. But before leaving, she turned her head slightly and looked at him behind her with her peripheral vision, saying softly, "...McQueen's strong point is not speed and acceleration. If you want to defeat her, besides dealing with the situation of the racecourse, you have to try to beat her in terms of explosive power as much as possible. But fortunately, your bad hand's strong point seems to be in the area of explosive power."
"I'm looking forward to it, Trainer Kitano. McQueen is determined to win this Tennō Shō (Autumn). I'm looking forward to you and your bad hand playing an unexpected effect."
This is the second test you have to face. She murmured to herself in her heart, and finally, under his and C.B.'s gazes, she slowly left the rooftop. And behind her, the confused C.B. also turned her gaze to him and couldn't help but ask, "Trainer-san... do you know what she means?"
"...Not quite clear, but no matter what, she seems to have told me a correct hint on how to defeat Mejiro McQueen."
He, who also could not figure out her personality, after a moment of deep thought, chose not to think too much. And faced with the rare concern of this former charge, it also quietly made him change his perception of her a little bit.
Palmer... doesn't seem to be as scary as I thought. She seems to be quite kind, isn't she?
...
Late at night, the dormitory door quietly opened. Ardan, with a head of sky-blue beautiful hair, quietly returned to the dormitory at this time. She was not secretly meeting someone, but during this period, her body had been repeatedly jumping between illness and health.
Finally, because her grandmother was worried about her body, she had let her recuperate at the Mejiro home for a period of time... and with the dream in her mind seeming to have finally stopped for a while, the recovered her returned to the academy under the cover of night, planning to return to work the next day.
But this time, the quietly returning her, at the moment she opened the door, found that on the bed, Invincible's figure was still standing. She seemed to be waiting for her, and her expression... was also particularly serious?
"Invincible? You're not resting so late? You might not have the energy for training tomorrow."
"...I can't sleep. Palmer-auntie said you would be back tonight."
Quietly, even the way she addressed Palmer had changed, which made Ardan's heart skip a beat. And at this time, her dark eyes stared straight at her in front of her. After biting her lower lip slightly, as if she had finally made up her mind, she finally opened her mouth and said, "I have something very important to tell you."
"...It's already very late. If there's anything, can we talk about it tomorrow?"
For some reason, seeing the so-solemn her, her heart was faintly uneasy. The sense of crisis in her heart made her subconsciously want to escape... but at this moment, what she had not expected was that she was no longer planning to let her escape.
She only felt her shoulders being grabbed by two extremely powerful hands. The next moment, with the scenery in front of her blurring, she was forcefully dragged to the bed by her and made to sit down. Her eyes were fixed on her in front of her.
Under the moonlight, she noticed her dark eyes, the few crystal-clear tears that were brewing...
"Ardan... no, Mom."
"Please, don't run away anymore. I don't want to see Dad being snatched away by another woman. If you want to know, I can tell you everything about myself."
My unspoken origin, my family background... and my most beloved family members who have left me one after another.
She couldn't bear it anymore. She didn't want to see the happiness that was right in front of her be destroyed by one extra existence after another... she wanted to get back everything she had never had before.
And this desire, after facing Rudolf's confession to him today, and the stimulation of Tokai Teio, this half-sister of hers, she finally could not continue to hide, continue to wait—no matter what means, she had to let them break through the current predicament!
Under her call, her originally bewildered eyes, with the trembling of her heart, were greatly moved. All her guesses were finally verified. And now, she would once again get a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of her other life.
....
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