"Ohhh!! Kagura-chan, your cooking skills really are amazing! So this is radish cake? The taste is seriously unforgettable!"
Sitting by the table, Mr. C.B. was quietly marveling while savoring the radish cake on the plate.
"As long as Senpai likes it. I was a little worried you might not get used to Chinese snacks."
"As long as it tastes good, who cares if it's Chinese, Western, or Japanese? It all goes into the stomach anyway! If my belly approves, then it's all good!"
Mr. C.B. always gave Kagura the vibe of an easygoing older sister from Northeast China. Unlike Symboli Sirius, who was also casual but somewhat aggressive, Mr. C.B. felt as free and easy as the wind.
Today marked Kagura's third day back at school. With Tracen's open house finally over, she had been nearly too scared to enter the kitchen for the past two days. Now that the crowds had thinned, she'd dared to return to the kitchen, letting Mr. C.B. know she had some time today.
"Kagura-chan, you're free this afternoon, right? Perfect, how about we hit the track?"
Of course, Mr. C.B., who rarely visited Tracen, hadn't come all the way here just for a meal. She was looking forward even more to the upcoming bullying—no, training session. She was genuinely curious about the skills of this Inari Kagura, whom even the Student Council President praised endlessly.
"Although I did promise... please go easy on me, Senpai."
"Relax~ Kagura-chan, you haven't even reached honkaku yet. I won't go too hard on you! After we run today, I'll treat you to a nice meal!"
"Eh?"
"Yeah, let's go to Ginza Hotel for dinner."
"Gin… Ginza Hotel?!"
Kagura froze in shock at that.
Even though Kagura hadn't really ventured to the Ginza area much, she knew just how expensive it was to eat there. Although a Triple Crown winner like Mr. C.B. wasn't short on money, Kagura felt that just running a few laps hardly justified such extravagance.
It took quite some effort for Kagura to persuade the overly generous Mr. C.B. to abandon this luxurious idea. Seeing Kagura's reaction, Mr. C.B.'s gaze toward her seemed to carry a little more approval and satisfaction.
"Oh right, I heard you were previously helping train your friend? If you run with me, it won't disrupt your training plans, will it?"
"You mean Nature? She's already passed the Selection Race and found a trainer. She has her own training schedule now, so I don't need to accompany her anymore."
"Ahh, that's good then."
Mr. C.B. nodded, forked the last piece of taro radish cake on the plate, popped it into her mouth, and let out a satisfied belch.
"Ahh, this really hits the spot! It's a pity I can't come to school every day… How about Kagura-chan, you come live with me? I'll support you!"
"Senpai… I already mentioned I've signed a contract, remember?"
This wasn't the first time Kagura had heard someone jokingly trying to poach her away—Mr. C.B. and Maruzensky-san had both made similar comments before. She didn't take it seriously, knowing it was mostly playful teasing.
But recently, Kagura had indeed noticed more and more people on Tracen's forum asking for her contact information, especially after the commotion Mr. C.B. caused in the cafeteria a few days ago. Both trainers and Uma Musume seemed keen to recruit her support or tutoring skills.
"Speaking of which, Senpai, do you know a classmate named Bizen Nishiki?"
"Bizen Nishiki…? I've seen her around. Rudolf mentioned her to me too. She hasn't lost since her debut. Isn't there a rumor she's Rudolf's most promising rival? Why do you ask? Scouting out rivals?"
"You could say that."
Kagura asked partly out of curiosity about Bizen Nishiki's reputation and partly because she'd noticed Bizen Nishiki and her trainer constantly seeking Kagura's contact info all over the forums lately. Their recruitment intent was the clearest she'd ever seen, even publicly offering a price to secure Kagura's support.
Since Bizen Nishiki hadn't hidden behind anonymity, even posting openly under her real name, Kagura quickly noticed her posts. However, Kagura hadn't yet had the time to properly research this classmate and simply brought it up casually to Mr. C.B.
"Rumors aside, from what I've seen, even though Bizen Nishiki is strong, she can't threaten your Ojou-sama's position. She clearly has weaknesses—otherwise, she wouldn't be desperately seeking you out. Trust me, Kagura-chan, I have a good eye for these things."
"I see…"
Naturally, Kagura had no intention of jumping ship. Thanks to those around her diligently protecting her contact information, Bizen Nishiki still hadn't managed to reach her directly. During the open house days, Kagura had conveniently avoided the cafeteria crowds, causing Bizen Nishiki's attempts to miss entirely.
If Bizen Nishiki eventually managed to approach her directly, Kagura had already decided to decline. After all, she'd already signed an employment contract with the Symboli family and wouldn't abandon her commitment before its completion.
Since she's also aiming for the Triple Crown next year, like Ojou-sama, maybe I should watch some of this classmate's races when I get the chance.
"Alright, enough chatting about others! Kagura-chan, finished cleaning up? If you're done, let's head to the track?"
At this moment, Mr. C.B. had no interest in focusing on other messy topics. She was feeling restless and only wanted to drag Kagura to the track as soon as possible.
…
There weren't many people on the track today. When Kagura and Mr. C.B. arrived, they found only Trainer Tojo and Rudolf Ojou-sama present.
"Good afternoon, Kagura. The one beside you is… Mr. C.B.? Are you two here to…"
Trainer Tojo was noticeably startled to see Mr. C.B. approaching. This incredibly busy senpai, who usually never appeared around Tracen, actually had time to come to the track today, even accompanied by Inari Kagura.
Although Trainer Tojo had heard rumors about the cafeteria incident, it did seem Mr. C.B. and Kagura had hit it off rather well. Seeing Mr. C.B. in her sports attire, it was obvious they'd come to run.
"Mr. C.B.-senpai insisted on taking me for a run… She said she'd teach me how to tackle the Triple Crown, so… Um… it won't interfere with your and Ojou-sama's training, will it?"
"No, there won't be any interference. It's just unfortunate Rudolf's already tired from training. Otherwise, I'd have liked to ask Mr. C.B. to run alongside Rudolf for comparison."
Although she couldn't see Rudolf go head-to-head with Mr. C.B. right now, Trainer Tojo knew that even someone as talented as Kagura wouldn't stand a chance against the legendary Triple Crown winner yet. But simply observing Mr. C.B. running was valuable enough.
"Trainer-san over there! Mind helping us start?"
Already stretching on the track, Mr. C.B. shouted towards Trainer Tojo, who looked down at Kagura. Kagura gave her a reassuring nod:
"I'll go now, Tojo-san. Watch closely and take good notes—it'll definitely benefit Ojou-sama in the future."
"Thank you, Kagura. I won't waste this opportunity you've secured."
Trainer Tojo knew how difficult it usually was to get a Triple Crown winner to run in person, gratefully patting Kagura on the shoulder. With that short exchange over, Kagura stepped onto the track and began her warm-ups, while Trainer Tojo moved onto the grass to announce the start.
This time, the distance wasn't the 2000-meter training races Kagura had previously run, but the 2400-meter standard for the Triple Crown races. This was another reason Kagura had agreed to Mr. C.B.'s invitation. Even just receiving direct guidance from Mr. C.B., or watching from behind, would surely benefit Rudolf Ojou-sama's future.
"Clear weather. Distance: 2400 meters…"