In the afternoon, a cherry-haired girl walked with light steps toward the school gates.
"Maruzensky-senpai said she'd help me with special training… but why are we going outside for it?"
Sakura Chiyono O tilted her head slightly, her mind turning in circles as she pondered.
But soon, the ponytail behind her began to sway from side to side.
She clenched her little fists and encouraged herself.
"Come on, Sakura Chiyono O! No matter what kind of training Maruzensky-senpai has planned, you have to stick with it!
For victory in the Japanese Derby!
Go for it!"
The girl took a deep breath, eyes shut tight, then stepped out through the school gates.
Not far from the entrance, a red Ferrari supercar was parked.
As Sakura Chiyono O hesitated and stepped closer, the car window slowly rolled down, revealing Maruzensky's signature flowing red hair and the stylish sunglasses covering half her face.
One hand rested casually on the steering wheel as she turned to the girl frozen on the roadside, flashing a radiant, slightly mysterious smile. Her pearly teeth gleamed under the sunlight.
Maruzensky's smile brimmed with an odd mix of excitement and "urgency" as she urged:
"Yo~! Chiyo-O-chan, what are you spacing out for?"
Her voice was light and lively, with a kind of energy that made one's heartbeat quicken.
"Hop in! Our 'special training' won't wait, you know."
"Ah! Ma-Maruzensky-senpai!"
Sakura Chiyono O snapped out of her daze, hurried over, her heart pounding wildly with both nervousness and anticipation.
She carefully pulled open the passenger-side door of the sleek, brilliantly colored Ferrari. The leather seat felt cool and luxuriously smooth to the touch.
Once she was seated in the low cabin and closed the door, the outside world seemed to vanish, leaving only the deep, powerful thrum of the engine.
In that moment, the instincts unique to Uma Musume flared inside Sakura Chiyono O. A sudden, intense sense of foreboding struck her!
???
The cherry-haired girl glanced left and right, trying to find the source of this uneasy feeling.
But aside from Maruzensky and the car, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
…Was it just her imagination?
She let out a small sigh of relief.
The air inside the car was filled with the mingled scents of new leather and Maruzensky's faint perfume.
Sitting up straight and a little stiff, Sakura Chiyono O placed her hands neatly on her knees, though her eyes couldn't help but wander curiously toward Maruzensky.
"Um… senpai, where exactly are we going for this training?" she asked quietly.
Maruzensky didn't answer right away—her lips simply curved into a deeper smile as she shifted gears with practiced ease.
Turning her head slightly, her gaze—hidden behind the sunglasses—seemed to pierce through, landing precisely on the younger girl's face, which was full of tension and excitement.
"No need to rush~"
She chuckled softly, her voice carrying a languid, magnetic charm.
"The first lesson of training is to let you personally experience—"
She deliberately stretched the last syllable, her right foot tapping the accelerator. The engine's roar suddenly rose, like a beast coiling to strike!
"—what true 'speed' really is!"
The moment those words fell, her long fingers made a subtle motion on the steering wheel, and the red supercar shot forward like an arrow from the bow, unleashing a low, feral roar!
!!!
The ominous feeling in Sakura Chiyono O's heart spiked to the extreme in that instant. Her pretty eyes went wide in shock—before she could speak—
"VROOOM!!!"
The engine howled!
An overwhelming surge pressed her firmly into the seatback!
"Kyahhh—!"
Caught off guard, Sakura Chiyono O let out a short, sharp cry, instinctively clutching the armrest. The scenery outside stretched and blurred in a dizzying rush.
In truth, the speed wasn't that high—Maruzensky was behaving herself on the national highway—but that sudden burst had been enough to startle her passenger.
Then, the glamorous red-haired onee-san took an exit onto a ring road…
—Oh no.
That phrase flashed in Sakura Chiyono O's mind.
She stared blankly as Maruzensky, looking utterly thrilled, stomped the accelerator to the floor…
"Uwaaahhhh—!!!"
On the track, a clear, high-pitched cry of distress rang out.
Perhaps… this was something she'd never forget for the rest of her life.
...
Ōi Tracen Academy
In his trainer's dorm, Kuroha had just finished putting away the training equipment and other supplies he'd bought that morning. Now, he was tinkering with a certain device.
Placing the laptop on the desk, Kuroha stared at the dark-gray metal casing, his fingertip hovering over the power button, his expression odd.
"An RTX 4060… no matter how you look at it, that spec doesn't belong to this era."
Every time he directly experienced the pace of technological advancement in the Uma Musume world, he couldn't help but feel a bit unreal.
"Whatever. As long as it works."
Booting up the computer, he fiddled with it a bit, finding the operation method almost identical to his previous life.
He tried searching for news in the built-in browser and looked up some common software.
The news was nothing unusual, but familiar software was rare.
Still, plenty of sharp-nosed tech companies had already announced their smartphone apps would soon be perfectly compatible with PCs.
Among the names, Kuroha spotted some familiar ones:
Such as the online platform Junyuu-Circle for Uma Musume to chat and make friends, and several major food delivery and courier services.
Today was Fujimasa March and Inari One's rest day, so Kuroha had no pressing tasks. "Just the right time to work on this old friend."
In truth, he simply created a few documents and entered the data for each Uma Musume on his team, then began tailoring training plans to suit their current physical conditions.
Time passed quickly—before long, it was already three-thirty in the afternoon.
Closing a book on the Central Trainer's License, Kuroha stretched.
"The written test shouldn't be a problem now!"
He loosened up his muscles, walked to the window, and rolled his neck.
Outside, the training grounds of Ōi Tracen Academy were bathed in the warm afternoon sun, the figures of a few Uma Musume faintly visible on the track.
Just as Kuroha was thinking of heading out for a walk by the track, the phone on his desk began to vibrate.
The screen lit up, playing a familiar ringtone.
He picked it up and saw a name he recognized—Maruzensky.
The last time they'd parted ways at Ōi Racecourse with Symboli Rudolf, they'd exchanged training methods. This was the first time she'd contacted him since.
Kuroha answered, a little surprised.
After a brief wait, Maruzensky's refined yet lively voice came through the line:
"Ah-la~, Kuroha-trainer, good afternoon! I hope I'm not interrupting your valuable rest."
Her tone was as composed as ever, though the background noise was… unusual.
"No interruption… I just finished up. Is there something you need, Maruzensky-san?"
Kuroha glanced outside again at the empty training field.
"Well, the thing is—"
Her tone carried just the right touch of apology.
"Sorry to drop in on you suddenly, but I wanted to check—do you have time this afternoon?"
…What's this about now? Another inspection?
Didn't we just meet yesterday?
Though puzzled, Kuroha replied lightly:
"Yeah, I'm free. Do you need help with something?"
"Perfect!"
Relief was clear in her voice.
"Then, just wait for us a little bit~"
"Us?" Kuroha caught the word.
"Mhm! We'll be there in five minutes!"
Her pace of speech quickened, and suddenly the background grew sharp and noisy.
A deep, throaty roar—belonging to a top-tier sports car—burst through the speaker, carrying a beast-like ferocity. And mixed in was a faint, muffled, panicked squeak from a girl: "Uu…"—quickly drowned out by the engine's growl.
…?
What was that?
A question mark practically popped over Kuroha's head.
"That's that, then! Chiyo-O-chan and I will be right over!"
Maruzensky's tone was tinged with excitement, as if she were in the middle of something exhilarating. With Kuroha's agreement, she promptly hung up.
(End of Chapter)
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