As they walked out of the training grounds, Shinji could not help feeling a little undersized standing beside Kuro-numa's massive frame.
He glanced back at the track. The horse girl inside was resting for the moment, though it looked as if she intended to keep pushing herself with extra practice once she caught her breath. With genuine curiosity, Shinji spoke first.
"So? Did you come over here on your own just to take a look and happen to run into her, or what?"
Kuro-numa was much easier to talk to than Shinji had expected. He looked cold and unapproachable, but in practice he was quite straightforward. The moment the subject turned to horse girls, his interest lit up immediately, and that only made Shinji respect the big man more.
A trainer wholly devoted to raising horse girls was exactly the kind Japan lacked.
Nishizaki Ryu's face drifted through his mind. Shinji had no idea whether the man had found any horse girl today who truly suited his taste. Plans were one thing, but accidents could always happen.
If a trainer really did encounter a horse girl who fit him perfectly, standing by and letting that chance slip away would hardly be wise.
Shinji pressed his lips together, then felt a pang of regret for the man beside him. After their brief exchange, he had come to feel that Kuro-numa's professional ability was no worse than Nishizaki Ryu's—if anything, it might even be slightly better.
Ryu relied too heavily on a horse girl's natural talent. Releasing a girl's potential by drawing her closer to her instincts certainly had its merits, but at its core, Shinji felt it was still a training style that leaned entirely on innate ability.
"I just came over by myself to take a look."
A wry smile touched Kuro-numa's face, and that was the other reason Shinji found him regrettable.
His terrible reputation made it unbelievably hard for him to recruit trainees. Any horse girl with confidence in her own talent, or any girl afraid of a trainer who set brutal training regimens, would never choose Kuro-numa. In the end, the only ones left for him were either girls no other trainer wanted, or those with difficult personalities.
Trying to find a truly moldable talent among them was self-evidently difficult.
"You know how it is. The moment those kids over there heard it was me, they all scattered."
"At that age, that's only natural. If you expect them to accept that kind of hard, miserable training, it's basically impossible."
Kuro-numa nodded deeply at Shinji's words.
But that was exactly the cruel part. The girls who signed early would never go to Kuro-numa. And by the time they entered the academy and started understanding how things really worked, the second batch of promising girls would already have been snatched up by other trainers.
It was little wonder that a trainer with skill like his had ended up with only a handful of graded-race results and not a single GI victory.
"But this trip was still worthwhile."
"Yeah. That girl has talent—and the right temperament. She should be able to step onto a GI winner's stage one day."
Shinji's firm evaluation startled Kuro-numa. He had not expected the young trainer to speak with such certainty. After all, competition at the GI level was brutally fierce. To win one, hard work was not enough; it also took talent, and a measure of luck besides.
But then Kuro-numa recalled the look Mihono Bourbon had worn when they left. The girl had already developed a real sense of self-discipline. Even when faced with punishing training, and a program far beyond her at this stage, she had met it calmly—almost eagerly.
"Her future's limitless."
That was Kuro-numa's judgment of her, and also his hope for her.
A dream of GI victories. A dream, perhaps, even of the Triple Crown. For the first time in a long while, Kuro-numa felt as if he had finally found his hope.
"When are you planning to bring her to Central?" Shinji asked, curious. There was never any harm in learning from an experienced senior trainer.
Someday, he too might find a child here who suited him perfectly. By then, he might stand in a position like Tōjō Hana's—arriving here to be admired and chased after by the kids. He needed to learn how to make use of that.
In that regard, he was already far ahead of Kuro-numa.
"Not yet. I want to give her more time to grow. Bringing her to Central too early would only put too much pressure on her."
Shinji could tell Kuro-numa wanted nothing more than to have Mihono Bourbon debut immediately. But a good trainer had to adjust plans according to the condition of his trainee. That was part of the job.
"Fair enough. Your training load is already pretty intense."
"You really think so?"
"Shouldn't I?"
The two men stared at each other, then a helpless smile spread across Kuro-numa's face.
"That girl doesn't come from anything special. No noble lineage, no extraordinary bloodline. The only thing she has is the ability to improve through effort, to create for herself a chance at GI."
His eyes sharpened slightly as he went on.
"I heard that, once, you recruited a horse girl with no talent to speak of. So you, of all people, should understand. Girls like that don't get to choose. Training and race plans that sound absurdly harsh and difficult are the only way they can make up for what they lack from birth."
Shinji fell silent and nodded. Kuro-numa was exactly right. On this subject, the two of them truly spoke the same language.
"Have you thought about stretching the measuring interval a little? Changing it from two hundred meters to several hundred, for example?"
"I'd rather have her maintain a perfect rhythm throughout. Using each burst as a marker—yes, it puts more pressure on her, but the payoff should be greater."
As he said that, Kuro-numa's eyes shone when he spoke of Mihono Bourbon. The sunglasses pushed up onto the brim of his cap finally let his real expression show.
Shinji could see plainly how much the man liked Mihono Bourbon. A trainer who had spent so long surrounded by girls with little talent, girls who could only maybe scrape together some results by sheer grit, had suddenly found a new-generation horse girl who truly clicked with him and possessed far greater talent than any of his past trainees. Of course he would be excited.
Together, they made their way back to the main group of trainers. Nishizaki Ryu was still standing with Tōjō Hana, talking and laughing with her. It seemed likely the two of them had found some promising children of their own.
The moment they saw Shinji return, both of them came over. Ryu pulled the lollipop from his mouth, twirling it between his fingers.
"Did you find anyone suitable? I saw you head farther in."
"Not really."
As he answered, Shinji thought of the petite girl with the black mini-hat. He had only looked at her for a few moments, but the effort she put in had reminded him strongly of Mihono Bourbon.
If it fit, he could always mention her to Kuro-numa. For someone like him, who needed horse girls with exactly that sort of grit and determination, she might become another option—assuming her talent checked out.
Unexpectedly, however, after hearing Shinji out, Kuro-numa smiled and declined. Half joking, he said he had been tired for a long time now, and wanted to focus all of his energy on a single horse girl.
That dream of conquering GI races—of maybe conquering the Triple Crown—really was unwavering.
Shinji said nothing more.
He could only hope that girl would also find her way out into the light, and earn the results she deserved.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 142)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter181)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter103)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter192)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 173
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 166
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 110
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 190
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 165
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 156
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 81
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 102
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 120
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 80
Uma Musume: I Want All 95
I Can Copy Unique Skills 84
Summoning an Evil God, but the 66
Supernatural Multiverse 83
My Harem Is Indescribable 75
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 81
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 75
Still playing traditional Honk 55
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 60
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 55
Checking In in Demon Slayer 60
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 65
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 35
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 35
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 39
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 58
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