The next day, in Team Draco's training grounds.
At dawn, Stardust Illusion arrived as usual and began hill repeats with Miho Bourbon.
Off to the side of the track, Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove stood talking with Toyama Scarlet, who was recording data.
"Tomorrow we officially begin the exchange and study sessions with the French exchange team. Noblesse has already brought them to Nippon; they should be visiting the Mejiro family right now," Air Groove reminded Toyama Scarlet. "At that time, do not do anything out of line, Trainer Toyama. Leave liaisoning with the exchange team to Trainer Tōjō."
Frankly, Air Groove really didn't want the loose-cannon in front of her handling the exchange team. Fortunately she'd proposed a compromise:
Have Trainers Tōjō Hana and Nishizaki Ryū bring their current active runners to temporarily join her squad.
That way, even if Toyama Scarlet tried something outrageous, two reliable trainers could step in and stop her, right?
Thinking so, Air Groove felt a little more at ease.
"Tch, I wasn't planning to do something that annoying anyway. If A-Hua wants to handle the liaison, then let her," Toyama Scarlet said, lips jutting out, eyes still locked on the two charging up the hill. She tossed off, almost absent-mindedly, "But I do have a hard line—there has to be at least one practice race. My runners need to feel what 'world-class' really is."
"Are they really up to it? Noblesse… that level of opponent, plus a Domain-class aura and a frontrunning style—that's the worst matchup for leading horse girls." Air Groove hesitated and turned to Symboli Rudolf.
Just imagining the two trainees now on the track facing that sort of foe made her uneasy.
Noblesse—the tyrant who shattered Japan's Arc de Triomphe dream. Could they really handle her?
"Relax, they're not fragile runners," Symboli Rudolf said, arms folded, eyes on the two flying up the lane. "Miho Bourbon—when she first started serious training, most trainers weren't optimistic: small frame, especially weak waist strength, unimpressive pedigree. Everyone figured she might barely hack it in third-rate sprints."
"But Trainer Toyama picked Bourbon anyway and hammered her with devil training until she became what you see… She can handle 2000m and up now, right?" She tilted her head toward Toyama Scarlet for confirmation.
"Hmph. Bourbon is dead set on making a real splash in future races. How could she aim at sprints from the start? The Classic Triple Crown, the Spring–Autumn Triple Crown—if there are G1 middle to long distances, she wants all of them," Toyama Scarlet bared a shark-toothed grin, bragging about her favorite pupil. "For that, she follows my every order to the letter… Four hill sessions a day; Bourbon's kept it up for three months straight. A 2000m track? If she performs, even the 2500m Arima Kinen—she'll run it for you all the same!"
Symboli Rudolf chuckled and shook her head. "Heh, but that kind of regimen does carry real injury risk, doesn't it?"
She didn't spell it out, but Toyama Scarlet got the subtext. Her face clouded. "…You mean to say what happened to Ines Fujin is because of my training?"
"Of course not." Symboli Rudolf shook her head. "I raced too; I would never suspect Ines Fujin's heart. As for the JRA… forget it. I've no right to dictate others' training."
"'Ride in front, and all other horses fall silent.' The school motto our chair set… maybe your way is the right one," she said.
"Tch, I don't need you to tell me that." Toyama clicked her tongue.
"And then there's Stardust Illusion—the runner who debuted alongside the Emperor," Air Groove shifted her gaze to the chestnut already on her fourth hill repeat, recalling every stat from her debut onward.
"In short, 'Oguri Cap, second coming' really fits—her style, her obsession with winning," was her verdict.
"Does it? I think Stardust Illusion is just Stardust Illusion," Toyama countered. "Compared to that ash-gray phantom, her running may look the same now, but inside it's completely different."
"Completely different inside?"
"You mean the feeling for the run," Symboli Rudolf explained. "Oguri Cap's running was to stake everything on a late-phase closing kick out of a stalker style. In a race, her closing leg was like surf, one breaker after another smashing every rival."
"But Stardust Illusion focuses on leading. That's a world apart from the stalker style—so why do people think she resembles Oguri Cap? Because she's fully learned Oguri Cap's closing kick. And that is precisely her true potential."
Rudolf watched the girl on the slope, a trace of wonder in her tone. "Why can a frontrunner learn Oguri Cap's closing kick? I don't know. But I do know… what's terrifying about this horse girl is her extraordinary learning ability."
"Remember her debut run, Air Groove? Then compare each race since."
Air Groove, who studies every race video, replayed the details—and then it hit her. "Ah! Stardust Illusion's level goes up every race! The metrics barely fluctuate at all. Only the one time three leaders seized the front did she restrain herself in mid-race—"
For most runners, only during the novice phase do you see that straight-line upward curve. After you clear that, improvement takes persistent training and learning—nudging the ceiling of your body little by little before breaking through, over and over.
But because everyone's form fluctuates, even a practiced style can vary for all sorts of reasons; you often see a runner break records in training but fail to replicate it in a race.
Stardust Illusion is different. Her climb seems endless. Every race, every day of training steadily raises both her physical baseline and her technical skill. Add the fighting spirit she began mastering last race…
Rudolf nodded. "That's what intrigues me most—where is Stardust Illusion's ceiling? I want to see her limit."
"Oh, right, I'll take you to meet Noblesse at noon. Don't forget," Rudolf waved to Toyama Scarlet and left with Air Groove.
"Came over to deliver a whole speech just for that? I need you to point out my runners' strengths?" Toyama huffed, flinging a hand in a perfunctory farewell, then turned toward the two who were finishing the session.
"Heads up!" she barked. "Don't stop, Stardust Illusion—slowing down counts as resting! Cornering drills next. The Eagle will be here any minute—go set the cones!!!"
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