After several days of training, Urara had finally reached the day of her debut race.
Turf. Sprint distance. 1300 meters in total. Clockwise course. Ten runners in all.
A fine drizzle fell from the sky, dampening the grass and giving the whole venue a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.
Since it was only a debut race, there were not many spectators. Dressed in raincoats or holding umbrellas, they gathered around a small stage inside the venue.
Before the race officially began, each participating horse girl had to walk across that stage and show herself to the crowd.
"And first to appear is this horse girl…"
At the announcer's introduction, an unfamiliar horse girl came out from around the corner, stepped onto center stage, and then coolly tossed off her jacket.
"Ohhh~"
The audience immediately burst into approving murmurs.
"She looks pretty good."
"Very fresh. Very delicious."
"So this is the one~"
"I want to be your dog!"
After standing there for a few seconds, the unknown horse girl turned around, bent down, picked up the jacket she had thrown, and stepped off the stage.
"The second to appear is…"
"The third…"
"The fourth…"
After introducing several girls no one particularly recognized, the announcer finally reached the one who actually mattered.
"And next up, in lane six, number five—Haru Urara!"
At the announcer's call, a pink-haired horse girl came out from around the corner, swinging her arms high and striding brightly onto the stage.
That pink-haired girl had jewel-like pink eyes, and the lively smile on her face called spring itself to mind—a warmth capable of melting winter ice. Her small frame seemed filled with boundless vitality.
And the moment she appeared onstage, something magical happened.
The drizzle stopped.
Warm sunlight broke through the rain clouds and poured over the entire venue.
"Waaah~"
The atmosphere of the whole place changed instantly, and the audience let out gasps without even realizing it.
Urara walked to the center of the stage, planted her feet, and excitedly tossed off her jacket.
"Hello, everyone I'm Haru Urara Please take care of me~"
She waved to the crowd, wearing a smile brighter than the sun itself.
The spectators were utterly captured by it in an instant.
"So cute~"
"That smile is so healing."
"From today on, I'm her loyal fan!"
"Miss Urara, I want to be your dog!"
Urara's first appearance was met with unanimous praise.
"Urara!"
Among the crowd below the stage were the members of Team Tucker as well.
Rice Shower, Saintly Halo, Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, Gold Ship, and Tang Han had all squeezed together, cheering for Urara.
And right in the middle of them was Tang Han.
He had not wanted to stand in the middle, but somehow he had ended up wedged between Rice Shower and Tokai Teio, with more horse girls behind him. There was no way to escape.
It was both blissful and terrifying, and Tang Han found it deeply uncomfortable.
"Trainer!"
Urara waved toward them.
"Urara!"
The girls around Tang Han all waved back enthusiastically.
"Trainer!"
Urara spotted Tang Han specifically, squeezed in among the others, and called out to him alone.
Tang Han simply nodded in response.
At the moment, the Doctor's Coat's ability to reduce his presence was still active, so in theory Urara should not have been able to see him from the stage at all. But Tang Han had worried that Urara might feel hurt if she could not see her Trainer cheering her on, so he had come up with a solution.
He had personally made a giant yellow T-shaped headpiece and was wearing it over his head.
It looked ridiculous, but it worked.
Since the headpiece was not actually part of the Doctor's Coat, other people could perceive it normally, which meant Urara could spot him.
"Thank you, everyone~"
After waving once more to the rest of the audience, Urara turned, picked up her jacket, and left the stage.
Once Urara was off, Tang Han suddenly thought of something he wanted to ask Lucky.
Tang Han: Lucky, was stopping the rain your doing?
Because the way the rain had stopped the instant Urara appeared—and the sun came out right on cue—made it feel as though the heavens themselves were proclaiming her a little angel, changing the weather just for her. The audience had been full of praise because of it.
It was all a little too lucky, so Tang Han suspected Lucky had interfered.
Lucky: No. That wasn't me. I didn't do anything. It was just a coincidence.
Lucky: I can't interfere in any race, no matter what kind it is.
Tang Han: Why not?
He did not understand. If Lucky could make his own horse girl fortunate during a race and help her win, would that not make collecting hope energy much easier?
Lucky: Think about it. If I suddenly sent a wind of victory at Urara's back, or made the other horse girls trip and fall, Urara would be lucky—but what about everyone else?
Lucky: They would all feel it was unfair, and then no hope would be born.
Lucky: So I cannot do something like that.
Lucky: Only a victory won through her own strength can produce hope energy. Otherwise, none of it means anything.
Tang Han: I see.
Interfering in races was the sort of thing only a villain like Misfortune would do. Luck could not touch them. If Urara wanted to win, she had to do it with her own ability.
Fortunately, genuine ability was exactly what Urara did not lack.
Under Tang Han's guidance, and with the help of the other horse girls training alongside her, Urara's strength had improved at an astonishing pace over the past few days. Her muscle strength, running form, stamina management, and explosiveness were already completely different from what they had been a week ago. If the Urara of now raced against the Urara of then, the current one would crush her with ease.
And among the girls entered in this debut race, most of the field was not very strong. In fact, several of them were already slightly inferior to Urara.
Most popular. Triple-circle mood rating. Peak condition. The advantage was clearly his.
The only thing Tang Han was worried about was that among the entrants, there was one exceptionally strong opponent.
And he knew her.
"And next to appear, in lane seven, number seven—Happy Meek!"
At the announcer's introduction, Happy Meek stepped onto the stage, face expressionless, and tossed away her jacket.
Thud.
A faint blue aura seemed to rise around her, and her presence was strikingly powerful.
"Ohhh~"
The audience was visibly shaken by it.
Her aura was not overwhelmingly strong—compared to Emperor Symboli Rudolf, it was like fireflies beside the moon—but for a horse girl only just making her debut, having a presence like this already meant she would almost certainly grow into an incredibly powerful runner in the future.
"So cool~"
"That presence is overflowing!"
"I like little cutie Urara too, but I think I like this cool Miss Happy Meek even more!"
"Miss Happy Meek, I want to be your dog!"
Yes. The formidable opponent Tang Han had in mind was none other than Happy Meek, Aoi Kiryuin's horse girl.
When Tang Han had seen the debut race entry list yesterday and discovered that Happy Meek was in it too, his feelings had been extremely complicated.
Because the stronger the competition, the more hope energy a victory would produce.
But if Urara could not take first, then all of that extra energy would mean nothing.
So Tang Han was deeply worried now. With Happy Meek in the field, Urara would not have an easy time taking first place.
"Trainer Tang, so it really is you."
At that moment, Aoi Kiryuin slipped out from behind Tang Han and curiously looked over his yellow T-shaped headpiece.
While waiting in the back for Happy Meek's entrance, she had noticed the black-clad figure wearing the yellow T from afar. After watching for a while, she had begun to suspect it was a fellow trainer from her class.
Now that she was close enough to see clearly, it really was Tang Han.
When she had checked the debut race entry list yesterday and found that Urara, Tang Han's assigned horse girl, was also racing, she had been astonished.
But after the shock came excitement.
Trainer Tang was worthy of being the rival of her lifetime.
Neither of them had told the other they would be participating in this race, yet now they had run into each other here, in the middle of Urara's debut.
To Aoi Kiryuin, this could only be the hand of fate.
Standing beside Tang Han, she clenched her fist, full of confidence.
"Trainer Tang, let's see whose horse girl can claim victory in this debut race!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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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 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
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 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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