"You seem really pumped up. Didn't you just lose a race recently, breaking your winning streak? How are you still so motivated?"
Standing together on the track, Platinum presented a stark contrast to the constantly fidgeting Oguri Cap.
"Of course I'm motivated!"
Oguri Cap shot Platinum a puzzled glance before resuming her stretching exercises.
"Because I'm still running. I can still run on such comfortable grass. Just that alone is enough to make me happy."
Her honest, simple words were plain, yet they unexpectedly struck a chord within Platinum.
"You... run because it makes you happy?"
Platinum's tone softened inexplicably. Though her expression remained aloof, Oguri Cap's figure had begun to appear in her eyes.
"Yeah. When I was little, I had knee problems, and even walking was difficult. It was only because of my mother's careful nursing that my legs recovered."
Oguri Cap gently touched her own legs, her usually simple face now lit up with a moving smile.
"So as long as I can keep running, I don't ask for anything else."
"I see..."
Platinum said this with an unreadable meaning, then fell silent.
But her eyes had completely cleared, her entire demeanor shifting from initial indifference towards seriousness.
'[I]'m getting serious now. It seems Oguri can learn a lot this time,' the observing Nearl murmured under her breath.
"Alright, alright. Since this is just training, we'll keep things simple," Trainer Musaka Ginjirou walked over, clipboard in hand.
"The finish line is still the Amazon signboard in the distance. The distance this time is 2400 meters, the same as the Japan Cup. Are you both ready?"
He glanced at the stances of the two on the track, especially Platinum's languid posture, and asked again with some concern.
"Just start already, stop dawdling," Platinum waved a hand impatiently. Oguri Cap chimed in her agreement, making Trainer Musaka click his tongue in annoyance.
"Then let's begin."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a grey shadow flashed before everyone's eyes – Oguri Cap had already sprung into action.
"Oh! A perfect start, as expected of the famous Oguri Cap!"
Fujii Sensuke, witnessing Oguri Cap's running form, immediately snapped out of his earlier panic, excitedly grabbing his camera to start recording.
Trainer Musaka, however, focused his attention on Platinum. Watching the current situation, he occasionally jotted something down on his board.
"Bad start... lack of mental focus? And this unconscious slackness... seems she can only run from behind..."
Yes, Platinum was late off the mark again.
Even though she intended to get serious this time, if one's nature were so easy to change, there wouldn't be so many regrets in the world.
Now, starting late, she silently trailed behind Oguri Cap, conveniently riding in her slipstream.
'Come to think of it, as her training partner, what aspect of Oguri Cap am I supposed to be training?'
Following behind the steadily running Oguri Cap, Platinum pondered the goal of this session.
'Ah, right. It's to help her grasp the 'Domain'.'
Thinking this, Platinum felt a bit troubled.
'I'm no good at teaching people. Maybe I should just let her experience the full extent of my Domain. How much she comprehends is up to her.'
Having decided, Platinum stopped slacking off as before.
She focused her attention on Oguri Cap's back, stirring her own emotions.
Domain: [Unknown Dark Star of the Past]
The same black mist as always began to permeate the surroundings, spreading out in all directions and creeping onto Oguri Cap's limbs.
"My body!"
Oguri Cap's speed dropped sharply. The movement of her arms and legs became noticeably heavier.
"Damn, my breathing too... My stamina is draining so fast..."
Noticing her ragged breath, Oguri Cap was forced to slow her pace to recover stamina.
It was then she noticed the unsettling black aura swirling around her.
"What... is this?"
An abnormal pressure bore down on her from behind. Oguri Cap strained to look back, but all she could see was an expanse of darkness.
Nothing was visible. Churning mist obscured everything.
Only the occasional speck of white flickering within hinted that something existed inside that fog.
A sense of dread gripped her heart. Oguri Cap forced herself not to focus on what was behind, but it was of little use; she couldn't concentrate at all.
"The finish line... I can't see it clearly..."
Biting her lip, Oguri Cap felt as if she were treading on cotton now, each step sinking deep, every stride a tremendous effort.
"..."
Behind her, Platinum's face was expressionless. She stared coldly at Oguri Cap's figure, her own footfalls steady, seeming to leave no trace.
"What's going on? Oguri Cap looks like she's in pain! Her speed is wrong too!"
Fujii Sensuke's face was full of shock. He looked somewhat confusedly at the two on the track, unsure of the specifics.
Trainer Musaka beside him was much quieter.
He watched Oguri Cap and Centaurea with a grave expression, having even stopped writing his notes.
"A pressure-type skill? An interference-type skill? No, neither seems right."
He shook his head, dismissing the skill-related conjecture.
"Skills are far from achieving this effect. And Platinum doesn't seem to be expending any energy either."
'I can even feel that chill from here. The range is too large. There are no red-type skills with such a wide area of effect discovered so far.'
'It has to be a Domain.'
Trainer Musaka reached his conclusion internally.
"I see. So that's how she plans to help Oguri Cap comprehend the Domain?"
A faint smile touched his lips. He now felt some anticipation for how Oguri Cap would respond.
"But this means Oguri Cap is in for a rough time. After all, an Uma Musume without a Domain is completely powerless against this kind of force."
The reality was exactly as Trainer Musaka said. Oguri Cap was truly helpless right now.
"This feeling... similar yet different to how Tamamo Cross felt during a race... Is this the gap between us?"
Struggling to maintain her form, Oguri Cap felt she was nearing her limit. The grass before her eyes was already blurring.
"Hang on! The finish line isn't far. Just the last few hundred meters!"
Squeezing out the last of her stamina, Oguri Cap forced herself to accelerate into her final sprint, now unleashing her famous late kick.
"Here it comes! Oguri Cap's signature late kick!"
Fujii's mood soared with that final spurt, and he hurriedly raised his camera.
"But today's kick lacks its usual impact. Is it because she's tired from training?"
He thought, somewhat optimistically.
Yet the image captured in the very next photo made him instinctively press the shutter repeatedly.
"How... is this possible?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.