Meanwhile, on the other side, Kitano, who didn't have to wake up early because he had no assigned Uma Musume, was sound asleep. He seemed to have made a small mistake—sleeping a little too close to the edge of the bed.
And so, with a slight, heavy breath, his body finally lost its balance on the bed...
Thump!
"Ouch, ouch, ouch—What happened? Was there an earthquake?"
The fall woke him up. As he sat up, rubbing his head, he still felt dazed. He had a feeling that falling out of bed was not a good omen. His right eyelid had been twitching all day...
"Should I go to Matikanefukukitaru for a divination? I have a feeling something really bad is going to happen today."
He rubbed his head, feeling a large bump from where he had hit it. It hurt a lot, but it probably wasn't necessary to go to the hospital.
But the fall seemed to have jogged his memory a bit. He heard the noisy sounds of Uma Musume from the training grounds not far from the dorms. Looking out the window, he saw girls in tracksuits still heading towards the field.
Seeing this, he slapped his head and quickly remembered.
"Crap, I promised Senior Fujiwara I'd go check on the training progress. I have to hurry!"
"I knew I shouldn't have helped Rudolf with her documents. Now I've overslept again!"
He wailed, regretting his good deed from yesterday. Because of that hour-plus delay, he had overslept and forgotten about his official business. Little did he know, he should indeed regret his actions from yesterday, but for a completely different reason...
He rushed to the Tracen Academy training grounds. This facility, which included dirt and turf tracks with a maximum lap length of 2000 meters, took up a considerable area of the academy. All the Uma Musume trained here. The grounds could simulate the conditions of most racetracks.
But there were an exceptionally large number of girls here today. Even with his many years as a Central trainer, he had rarely seen such a scene.
"Hahahahaha! You've finally arrived! My dear Princess! Do you see the scene of the knights of Tracen preparing for battle to compete for the lingering fragrance by your side?"
The moment he arrived, a laugh that was hard to ignore immediately drew his and everyone else's attention.
Over there, T.M. Opera O, dressed in a tracksuit and with sweat still on her face, approached him with a towel in hand, her elegance and majesty undiminished. She stopped just a step away from him.
"As I said, my dear Princess who possesses both beauty and wisdom! Do you see this sight? These are the people who have been drawn by your charm, who want to compete for the position of First Knight!"
She pointed to the girls on the training grounds, all running hard. Most of them were new students from the middle school division, without trainers. Because of yesterday's commotion, they all knew about his "genius" identity and were all training with all their might to win the race in a week.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Ryuichi's eye twitched as he looked at the sheer number of girls. By his estimate, there were at least seventy or eighty of them. All of them were here for him?
Could I have been wrong? Am I actually quite charming? His conceited thought lasted only a second before he immediately dismissed it.
"—Of course it's true, Trainer Kitano. Although Opera O's words are not entirely comprehensive, most of these Uma Musume are here for the victory in this selection race."
Just then, another gentle voice came from the side. A figure in green was smiling and approaching them. It was Hayakawa Tazuna.
"Good morning, Trainer Kitano. You look—a little tired?"
"Ah, I just didn't sleep well." Seeing that it was Tazuna, he relaxed a lot. She was, after all, his best drinking buddy and all-purpose friend. In any loop, he knew very well how convenient it was to have a good relationship with her.
Although he always felt that she seemed to be nice to every trainer, that had nothing to do with him, right? Whenever there was an opportunity to get on her good side, he would always try to leave a good impression.
"Is that so? I hope you don't overwork yourself." Tazuna tilted her head slightly and smiled gently.
"Although the izakaya is open to all trainers, please don't drink too late with the others."
"Ah... Mm, I understand."
Ryuichi stammered his agreement. Looking at her smiling face, he felt a little intimidated... Why did he feel like he had been caught?
Wait, Ms. Hayakawa isn't his drinking buddy now. Why should he be afraid? Besides, even in the past loops, he had more than one drinking buddy. Although Trainer Fujiwara was indeed the only other woman he had drunk with...
But he still couldn't help but feel guilty. He felt Opera O's surprised gaze on him from the side. He immediately changed the subject.
"—By the way, Ms. Hayakawa, you said these girls are all participating in the selection race? What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it says." Tazuna didn't make things difficult for him and explained with a smile, "You can really be considered a hot commodity among the middle school students. More than half of the girls without trainers are now preparing for the selection race. Whoever wins, will undoubtedly be a one-in-ten-thousand Uma Musume."
"Hahaha! Who could refuse the position of the strongest knight by the side of the beautiful Princess?" Opera O laughed, puffing out her not-so-prominent chest. Just then, Tazuna said:
"But, I didn't expect you to be so actively involved in training, student Opera O... Although you've never slacked off in races before, you seem very motivated this time."
"Student Opera O, are you also planning to participate in this selection race? I remember you're a high school student, right?"
"...Opera O?"
Tazuna's words made Ryuichi react. He subconsciously looked at Opera O beside him, but found no surprise on her face, only a confident smile.
"—As I said before, my dear Princess, no knight would refuse the qualification to stand by the side of a beauty who possesses both beauty and wisdom."
Even when exposed by Tazuna, Opera O felt no shame. Instead, she admitted her intentions frankly. She performed an elegant knight's bow and said:
"That's right. Even I, the Overlord, have been drawn by your beauty and wisdom. Of course, I will participate in this duel to compete for Her Highness the Princess. I will defeat all my rivals and become the strongest knight by your side!"
"Please look forward to it! My Princess. I will lift you from your throne as the victor. At that time, I will become your strongest sword!"
"Now then, I must go and prepare for battle, my Princess."
With that, she lightly kissed the back of his hand again. But this time, her kiss lingered a little longer than yesterday.
And she seemed to have forgotten, or perhaps ignored, that this time she wasn't performing a hand-kiss in an empty cafeteria. That time, only Mihono Bourbon would have cared. But now, doing this on a large training ground, in front of so many training Uma Musume, would surely attract a lot of attention.
For a moment, many of the girls, upon seeing Opera O kiss his hand, let out a shriek, their faces flushing red. Clearly, for these innocent girls who had never even held a man's hand other than their father's, an act so easily performed by Opera O was just too impactful.
But... the training grounds didn't just have ordinary Uma Musume. A few of them, upon seeing her action, stopped in their tracks. The looks they gave her from a distance began to turn a little scary.
For example, a beautiful blue rose, who at this moment was blending in with the crowd, looking rather inconspicuous... and a certain first-class Uma Musume.
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