[Please Give some reviews and power stone and pray for the downfall of Mclaren F1 team]
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The "Bowl Soba Challenge" lasted quite a long time — after all, by the time it ended, the biggest eater, Oguri Cap, had eaten 1,251 bowls in total.
That number was 251 bowls more than in the original "Big Eater Challenge," though in that competition she had eaten quite a bit beforehand as a "warm-up." This time she hadn't, so in that sense, eating 1,251 bowls could actually be considered a little underperforming.
To be able to eat that much, it was basically impossible for anyone else to outdo Oguri Cap in this challenge. But the point of the contest wasn't really about winning or losing — the real goal was simply to organize a fun event for everyone to enjoy.
So, all the participants in the contest received some kind of prize and got to take pictures, chat, and interact with Oguri Cap and the others.
Among the first group of horse girls who participated, Sakura Bakushin O, Nice Nature , and Twin Turbo each ate over 200 bowls of soba and happily received two plushies as prizes.
Miho Bourbon and Rice Shower each downed more than 800 bowls. They not only earned the full "Cute Monster" set of figures and plushies, but also got autographs and commemorative photos.
It wasn't only the current first-year horse girls who took part — there were quite a few future students who were visiting before enrollment and wanted to try the challenge too.
Horse girls like Narita Brian, Marvelous Sunday, Sakura Laurel, and Eishin Flash were all new students joining this year, while others like Taiki Shuttle, Silence Suzuka, Seiun Sky, and Special Week had come from other horse girl elementary schools around Tokyo and beyond to observe.
[Apparently, Seiun Sky's Sire was sold to a butcher to be slaughtered and eaten as meat 💀💀 ]
At first, Kitahara hadn't thought much about what the outcome of this challenge might mean. But when it was all over, he realized it might actually serve as an opportunity to think about the future development of his team.
After all, all these girls — still young or even loli-aged now — were potential future champions in their own right.
For instance, the one now standing before him, asking for his autograph.
"Chief Kitahara, sir. My name is Narita Brian. I apologize for the sudden request, but may I have your autograph?"
With a slim green twig clamped between her lips and a white bandage across the bridge of her nose, the black-haired, golden-eyed horse girl exuded a cool, aloof air. Her tone was indifferent.
"You are very strong," she said. "I would like your autograph… as a form of inspiration for myself."
"…Inspiration, huh?"
Looking at the small horse girl before him — not yet matured, her head barely reaching his chest — Kitahara glanced at the autograph board and pen she held out with both hands, and fell into thought.
Narita Brian was a "Triple Crown Horse Girl." In the year she won the Satsuki Sho, Japanese Derby, and Kikuka Sho, she also took the Arima Kinen, and the year before that, she had won the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes — meaning she had won five G1 races in her classic year alone.
However, after becoming an older horse, she never won another G1 again.
There were many reasons for such a dramatic change — but the biggest factor, of course, was injury. After her classic year, while preparing for the spring Tenno Sho, she developed inflammation in her leg and had to rest until autumn.
Later she suffered from tendonitis, which ultimately forced her into retirement.
In Japan, people tend to romanticize such stories, and Narita Brian's drastic shift in form caused fans to constantly imagine "what if" scenarios — if only she had never been injured, perhaps she would've dominated even more thoroughly as an older horse, maybe even surpassing the legendary Symboli Rudolf.
But Kitahara didn't quite agree with that idea.
In his view, Narita Brian had a flaw that was very difficult to overcome — she was timid.
Maybe from the anime and games, where she appeared stoic, serious, and cold, it was hard to tell. But the real horse she was based on was indeed very skittish.
The original horse was so timid that it would get scared of its own shadow while running. It often wore a special noseband or "shadow roll" — a piece of gear designed to limit its downward vision so it wouldn't be startled by shadows on the ground.
That equipment served two purposes: to prevent the horse from being scared by shadows, and to encourage it to lower its head and adjust its running posture.
Narita Brian's nasal bandage and the white decoration at the neck of her racing outfit were inspired directly from that.
So, if the worlds were truly parallel, this version of Narita Brian — especially at her current young age — was probably also a bit timid.
Kitahara thought as much.
And maybe her cold, lone-wolf demeanor was actually just a way of masking her timid nature.
If that were true, then her lack of early training due to her timidness, combined with later injuries, could explain the performance gap between her classic and older years.
These thoughts flickered quickly through his mind before he took the autograph board and pen from her and smiled.
"So, Narita Brian… do you wish to become an 'Undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl'?"
"'Undefeated Triple Crown'?"
She blinked, repeating the words, then shook her head slightly. The green twig in her mouth drew two curved lines in the air.
"I don't know," she said quietly."I just… like running. I want to keep running."
"But I… uh, never mind."
Her voice trailed off mid-sentence. The twig trembled faintly between her lips. When she saw Kitahara had already finished signing and was handing the board back to her, she took it with both hands and murmured, "Thank you."
Kitahara noticed the hesitation and thought to himself that maybe his earlier guess had been right.
But since it was their first meeting, it wasn't the time to say too much. After a brief pause, he smiled casually.
"I thought maybe you were trying to find yourself a trainer ahead of time — that's why you came to ask for my autograph."
As he spoke, he pointed a little way off. "See? All the other horse girls are getting autographs from Oguri Cap and the others."
In the direction he pointed, a crowd of horse girls surrounded Oguri Cap and Tama Cross, many of them holding plushies or autograph boards just like Narita Brian, their faces full of excitement as they lined up to get signatures from their idols.
"…There are too many horse girls," Narita Brian said flatly, glancing that way before shaking her head. "I don't really like crowds."
Maybe she was just not good at small talk — or maybe she genuinely disliked being around too many people. She bowed slightly.
"Thank you, Chief Kitahara. I'll keep working hard."
"If I become strong enough… I'd like to join Eisei someday."
With that, she bowed again, hugging her autograph board to her chest, and took a few steps back before turning away.
Not far from where she was heading stood a tall horse girl wearing red-framed glasses, with a calm, intellectual air — and a somewhat large head.
"Big sis, I got the autograph. We can go back now," Narita Brian said to her.
…Ah, seeing it in real life — Biwa Hayahide's head really is kind of big…
The horse girl she called "big sis" was Biwa Hayahide. Even though she had a younger sister who was a Triple Crown winner, Hayahide herself also had an extraordinary career.
Out of 16 total races, she had 10 wins and 5 second-place finishes — her record could be summed up as "either first or second." Even in her retirement race, where she didn't make the top two, she still finished fifth — an impressive result.
Beyond her incredible race record, one of the most memorable things about this silver-haired, golden-eyed horse girl was… yes, her big head.
And she was very self-conscious about it — whenever she heard someone implying that her head was big, she would angrily insist, "It only looks that way because of my thick hair!"
It was kind of cute, actually.
As Kitahara was thinking that, he suddenly noticed Biwa Hayahide glance suspiciously his way after finishing her talk with her sister.
Then she adjusted her red glasses, placed her hands on both sides of her fluffy silver hair, and pulled some of it inward toward her cheeks — making her face look noticeably smaller, at least visually.
Then, she bowed slightly in Kitahara's direction and left with her sister.
…No way. I was just thinking it — did she actually sense that?
Watching the two sisters walk away, Kitahara smiled helplessly.
But before long, he heard a voice beside him ask curiously:
"Kitahara, what are you laughing about?"
He turned his head — Oguri Cap, Tama Cross, and the others had all come over, along with Yuzuhara, Komiyama, and the rest of the group.
"…Ah, nothing," Kitahara said with a shrug. "Just that a horse girl came over asking for my autograph. It caught me off guard."
He chuckled. "After all, all the other horse girls were asking for your autographs. She was the first to ask for mine."
"Oh, that's pretty interesting," Oguri Cap said, eyes gleaming. "So maybe she wants to join Eisei, huh?"
"Or have you thought about inviting her yourself?"
At that, the rest of the team looked curious too — especially Tama Cross and the others.
From their perspective, having more horse girls join the team would make training and daily life even more lively and fun.
"Join Eisei? Not yet." Kitahara shook his head with a smile. "She hasn't officially enrolled yet. She'll only become a Central Tracen student after today's admission process."
"But…"
He glanced in the direction the sisters had left and paused for a moment. "If she does have that idea, I'd definitely welcome her."
That wasn't a sudden thought. He had actually been considering the team's long-term development for a while — this "Big Eater Challenge" was just a trigger to expand on those ideas.
If he were just a lone trainer, he wouldn't have to think too hard — he knew enough about talented horse girls that he could easily pick a few and win plenty of races. That wouldn't be difficult.
But as a team, things were more complex — especially when considering the future of the entire horse girl world.
When he first guided Oguri Cap, his goal was to use her legendary potential, along with his own training and management, to push forward the reform of the URA Association and Central Academy Council — laying groundwork for the industry's future.
And based on what Akiyama Yayoi had told him recently, progress in that area had been smooth. The industry's rules and the training and teaching systems in both Central and regional academies were slowly evolving.
So now, the next thing to consider wasn't just which horse girl or two should join the team, but how each generation as a whole could develop better than in the parallel world.
For example, the earliest horse girls he'd met — Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen — he had subtly expressed concerns about them to Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky. And indeed, this generation's health conditions seemed noticeably improved compared to the parallel world.
And now, the sisters Biwa Hayahide and Narita Brian — in the other world, both had suffered injuries, and one even had a timid personality. So he'd need to find a way to quietly address those issues early on.
By now, through this soba-eating contest and related events, Kitahara had coincidentally met most of the horse girls from the next two or three generations. He kept mental notes on any potential future problems and wanted to meet those he hadn't yet encountered.
Let's see… aside from Teio and the others, the youngest ones entering today should be from the Air Groove batch.
The ones visiting now were still elementary-school-aged — Taiki Shuttle, Mejiro Dober, Silence Suzuka, Matikanefukukitaru, Gold Ship, and Seiun Sky wouldn't enroll until next year.
So he'd already met most of the major generations. Beyond that…
He suddenly paused.
Right — I've already met "the fisherman" and "King Halo"… cough, I mean, the young versions of Seiun Sky and Narita Top Road. Also, Air Shakur, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, and Drefong.
Same batch as El Condor Pasa, Grass Wonder, and Special Week…
And the crybaby — cough — Narita Top Road, Admire Vega, and Meisho Doto… I've met them too.
But Opera O?
As he pondered which horse girls he hadn't met yet, he fell silent.
Oguri Cap tilted her head curiously. "Kitahara, are you troubled about something? You look like you're thinking hard."
Coming back to his senses, Kitahara replied reflexively, "Ah, it's nothing…"
But halfway through, an idea struck him. Looking at Oguri Cap, then at Tama Cross, Komiyama, and the others, he began gesturing with his hands.
"I was just wondering if you've seen a few horse girls who look like this."
"One wears a wrestler-style eye mask." — That's El Condor Pasa."One has chestnut hair with a white diamond highlight on her bangs, and looks very gentle." — That's Grass Wonder."One eats a lot and looks kind of simple-minded." — That's Special Week."And one with a crown on her head — kind of flashy." — That's Opera O.
After describing each of them, Kitahara looked hopeful.
The group exchanged looks, puzzled, then shook their heads.
"I haven't seen them," Oguri Cap said thoughtfully. "But if one of them eats a lot, she probably would've joined the challenge, right?"
"If it were me, I'd never miss a Big Eater challenge like this."
"Oh, right! I've actually completed every Big Eater challenge in Harajuku!"
"The shop owners there told me I can eat for free from now on — as long as I don't join any more challenges."
"But after I went a few more times, they started paying me to go eat at other shops…"
She scratched her head, confused. "I don't really get it. It's not like I need money, right? I still have some prize money left from my races."
As she muttered, the whole team went silent.
"…I just realized — I love making snarky comments, but I don't even know where to start with that," Tama Cross groaned, slapping her face and ruffling her hair. "Oguri, your prize money — you call that 'a little'?"
"Huh? Is it a lot?" Oguri Cap asked in surprise.
"…I give up," Inari One groaned, pressing a hand to her face and covering it with her fox mask. "Do you know how much prize money you won just a few days ago in the Satsuki Sho?"
"It was 75,079,000 yen!"
"Seventy-five million! Not seven thousand! Do you know how much that is!?"
"Well… I don't think Oguri really understands money," Super Creek chuckled. "To be fair, most of us don't."
"Even though we can race and earn prize money, we don't have much concept of it. Usually, the academy helps us save it, and if we need it, we can spend freely. So we only think of it as 'enough to buy stuff,' nothing more."
"To really understand it, probably only Kitahara does," she added. "I remember Ardan saying Komiyama and Tobihara aren't too good with management either."
"Ah, I just know a little," said Mejiro Ardan, smiling. "Sometimes the elders who manage our family's businesses teach us the basics, in case we want to work in that field after retirement."
"From what I've learned, Kitahara — or rather, Kawawan Corporation — maintains a net monthly profit margin of over 2%."
"With the current economy, where many companies are running negative margins, that's actually pretty impressive."
"Let me calculate that…"
Slightly raising her head, index finger pressed to her lower lip, Mejiro Ardan's eyes twirled around as she calculated. Suddenly, they lit up. She looked at Oguri Cap and the others, raised her finger, and smiled:
"If Oguri Cap deposits that 75,079,000 yen into Kawawan Enterprise for one month, she'll earn at least 1,501,580 yen in profit."
"If she reinvests that profit the next month, she'll make 1,531,610 yen."
"With this return rate, she could earn over 20 million yen in a year—and Oguri wouldn't even have to enter any races!"
As Ardan laid out the numbers, Super Creek and Oguri Cap were still thinking it through, but Tamamo Cross and Inari One were already shocked.
"Ehh?! That old man's company makes THAT much profit?"
Tamamo Cross's eyes widened, both hands clutching her head.
"Didn't we win 33 million yen from the Hanshin Daishoten, Inari and I?"
"Doesn't that mean Oguri can win just one Satsuki Sho, and then by doing absolutely nothing for a year she'd earn as much as our entire Hanshin Daishoten prize?!"
Inari One was just as stunned—then quickly became furious.
"Damn it! The Satsuki Sho's prize is THAT high? I want… huh, wait, I'm already past the age to enter Satsuki Sho."
"Aaaahh! That's even worse!!"
She clutched her head, going wild.
"Why didn't I come to Central earlier?! I wanna earn that much prize money too!"
This made Tamamo Cross frown.
"Hey hey, that's not right. You're talking like you would've definitely won Satsuki Sho if you'd entered last year."
"I was just saying! Tama, you take things too seriously!"
Seeing the two about to start their usual argument, Mejiro Ardan hurried to calm them.
"Tama, Inari, don't get worked up."
She raised her finger again, smiling."Aren't you two entering the Spring Tenno Sho next? The winner's prize for that is even higher than Satsuki Sho."
"Let me think… based on this year's URA budget, Spring Tenno Sho should be…"
Under the eager gazes of Tamamo Cross and Inari One, Ardan's eyes spun once more—and she smiled.
"Around 95 million yen."
"If that's the amount, then just putting it in Kawawan Enterprise could earn around 33 million yen in a year, no problem!"
"Wow! Then I'M DEFINITELY winning Spring Tenno Sho!" ×2
The two declared in perfect unison—then immediately glared at each other.
"Hmph! This time I won't lose! That dumb, slow pacing like in the Hanshin Daishoten won't happen again!"
"That's exactly what I was gonna say! Tama, you're doomed in Spring Tenno Sho!"
To be honest, their motivation wasn't really about the prize money. For racehorse girls, prize money wasn't something they actually cared about deeply.
Rather than being fired up by earnings, Tamamo Cross and Inari One were burning to settle the score after their previous Hanshin Daishoten showdown.
Their trainers exchanged glances, then looked toward Kitahara.
"Senpai, Tama, and Inari are right. They already rested a few days after Hanshin Daishoten and had some fun these last two days. With Spring Tenno Sho just around the corner, we should resume training," said Komiyama.
Yuzuhara nodded.
"Yeah. Even though Chairwoman Akikawa said our Eisei Team should take a solid rest, I think she mainly wanted YOU to rest, as you've been working way too hard."
"Now that Vice President Maruzensky and Committee Member Takamine are helping, training should be fine even if you step away for a few days."
"So as the Chairwoman suggested, you, Oguri, Creek, and Ardan should go on a trip to relax."
"Kyoko and Light will still have to work a bit longer, but Spring Tenno Sho will be over in a few days, then we can rest properly."
"What do you think, Kitahara?"
Kitahara had already mentioned Akikawa Yayoi's travel suggestion to the team after returning from the Chairman's office.
Komiyama and Yuzuhara had thought then—as they still did now—that after the Hanshin Daishoten, Tamamo Cross and Inari One trained hard and deserved a short break.
After enjoying today's entrance ceremony celebration, it was indeed time to resume serious training. If Spring Tenno Sho came and they weren't competition-ready, that wouldn't do.
Kitahara thought for a moment, then nodded.
Komiyama and Yuzuhara's reasoning was sound. Most training routines were already well established, and with Maruzensky and Mejiro Ramonu's further help, things wouldn't fall apart without him for a few days.
More importantly, the idea of traveling reminded him of certain racehorse girls he had been wondering about.
El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder were both born in America before coming to Japan to race. Based on this world's timeline, they were likely still across the ocean.
A few days off wasn't enough for a U.S. trip—but he could at least call his uncle. It had been a while, and the Eisei Team's recent success would reassure him.
As for traveling, Hokkaido seemed like a good destination.
After all, Special Week and Opera O were born there.
With a destination in mind, he looked at the slightly conflicted expressions of Tamamo Cross, Inari One, Komiyama, and Yuhara and smiled:
"Resuming training? No problem."
He turned to Bright Kōki and Kyoko Miyamura.
"Then I'll be leaving Tama and Inari's training to you two, with the support of President Maruzensky and Committee Member Takamine."
"Leave it to us!" they answered in unison.
"Great. Then I'll shamelessly go take a little trip to rest," he chuckled.
He turned to Oguri Cap, Ardan, Creek, and White Narubi with Oguri Roman, thinking briefly.
"As for Mrs. White Narubi, you'll likely stay to help Roman transfer into the Central Academy, right? She came from a local horse girl elementary, so some assessments are required."
"Komiyama and the others will help, so there should be no problem. Then in my case…"
"Mr. Kitahara, just take Oguri-chan and the others on the trip."
Turning sideways, gently holding Oguri Cap with one hand and patting Oguri Roman's head with the other, White Sapphire smiled.
"Oguri-chan worked so hard for Satsuki Sho. She should rest properly."
"Leave Roman to me. I used to be an active racehorse girl, so I can manage everything just fine."
"Mm-hm! I'll listen to Mom and big sister Komiyama properly." Roman nodded obediently.
Though Oguri Cap felt a little sad she couldn't go with her mother and sister, she quickly brightened.
"Oh, so I'm going traveling with Kitahara? Should I prepare anything? Creek, Ardan, do you know?"
Kitahara also looked toward Creek and Ardan.
"I'll sit this trip out."
Creek shook her head gently, her eyes full of determination as she glanced at Tamamo Cross and Inari One.
"Even though I've just raced in Satsuki Sho, I want to stay and watch Tama and Inari's training."
She clenched her fist."I've decided—I'm not giving up on the Classic Triple Crown, and I'll work hard on long-distance races too."
"Both Tama and Inari are strong in long-distance. I want to learn more from them."
…So she'd fully committed to this route. That meant they could focus on long-distance training afterward.
Sensing Creek's clarity, Kitahara nodded slightly and turned to Mejiro Ardan.
"I'll pass on the trip too."
Ardan smiled, shaking her head.
"Since debuting, I haven't gone home in a while."
"Before break began, the head of the family told me to return and share training and racing experiences with the younger ones—to set an example for them, I guess."
"Also, there are social gatherings and family events to attend, so even though it's called a break…"
She sighed helplessly.
"It'll actually be busier and even more mentally exhausting…"
Uh… with that big family stuff, I don't know what to say…
Kitahara shared a sympathetic smile with Ardan and pondered in silence.
Wait—if that's the case, won't it just be me and Oguri Cap going to Hokkaido?
…Kind of like back when we first met in Kasamatsu. And…
Other than that time, we haven't really gone out together much.
Feeling a bit nostalgic, Kitahara took a deep breath.
"Alright. Then… I'll leave Eisei's development in your hands. I'll take Oguri Cap to Hokkaido for a few days of rest."
Since it would just be the two of them, preparing for Hokkaido was easy—just essentials and warm clothing.
It was still April, and in Japan's northernmost region, Hokkaido's average temperature was around 8–10°C; mornings and evenings were chilly.
So when they landed at New Chitose Airport in the late morning, Kitahara and Oguri Cap were both wearing long trench coats, each carrying a small suitcase.
"Oh! So this is Hokkaido! The grass over there looks perfect for running—I kind of want to go run over it!"
Oguri Cap exclaimed, looking outside.
She wore oversized sunglasses that hid most of her face. Her signature yellow diamond hair clip was packed in her suitcase. She wore a light brown knit trench coat, fleece-lined cropped jeans, and flat brown leather shoes—very casual.
Just from her outfit alone, no one would ever guess she was one of Japan's most famous racehorse girls, fresh from an undefeated Satsuki Sho victory.
That was Kitahara's suggestion: if she were recognized and mobbed by overly enthusiastic fans, their trip would be ruined—better to keep a low profile.
Kitahara also wore sunglasses. Hearing her words, he glanced outside and chuckled.
New Chitose Airport was shaped like a semicircle, with planes positioned like a fan around it.
The nose of each plane faced the circular terminal, which connected to a square operations area.
Beyond that, toward the straight edge of the semicircle, lay the parking lot—and past that stretched a vast greenbelt that looked like an endless lawn.
…Would running on a greenbelt really feel that good?
He found himself amused, recalling that a year ago, when he first brought Oguri Cap to Kasamatsu Academy, she'd said something similar.
Back then, it was the training field. Now it was the airport's lawn.
Time really flew…
After a moment of sentiment, Kitahara looked at her and smiled.
"That's a greenbelt. If you run on it, they'll stop you."
"If you want to run, you can try the track at Sapporo Tracen Academy later."
He expected her to be excited—but she shook her head almost immediately.
"I only said I kind of wanted to run. I don't really want to."
She looked at him seriously."We came to Hokkaido for vacation. If I start running, you'll definitely start thinking about training."
"That wouldn't be resting, would it?"
"So I won't run at all while we're here."
"…Ah. Okay. Then no running."
Her simple, honest reasoning left Kitahara speechless—but his heart was warm.
Unable to resist, he patted his racehorse girl's head and smiled.
"In that case, we don't have to rush to Sapporo Tracen."
"I already rented a car—it should be waiting in the parking lot."
"We'll put our luggage in the hotel first, then go try some local specialty foods in Sapporo."
"Oh! Specialty foods! Yes!"
Oguri Cap's eyes sparkled.
"Let's go to Sapporo right away!"
Sapporo was northwest of New Chitose Airport, around 40 km away—less than an hour's drive.
By the time they checked into the hotel and drove to Sapporo's famous dining area—Tanukikōji Shopping Street—it was just around lunchtime.
Tanukikōji had over a century of history, filled with Hokkaido specialties and seafood restaurants. Just walking the whole street would let you experience most local delights.
At lunchtime, as soon as they parked near one end of the street, Kitahara and Oguri Cap could already catch faint aromas in the air. By the time they stepped into the street, the mouthwatering scent was practically pulling at their stomachs.
"Mm… Kitahara, do you think they have big-eater challenges here?"
Oguri Cap was already drooling, the crystal droplets at the corner of her mouth about to fall.
Kitahara chuckled, pulling out a packet of tissues and handing her one.
"Hey, that's too much. Didn't you do enough big-eater challenges in Harajuku?"
Then he remembered what Tamamo and the others had complained about before and laughed.
"And after you ate so much there, I bet most restaurants in Harajuku have blacklisted you by now, haven't they?"
"Mmph… I-I can wipe my own mouth…"
Turning her head slightly away, Oguri took the tissue from his other hand. After wiping, she mumbled:
"I think some places hung a 'Closed' sign the moment they saw me. Such a shame—I liked some of those places…"
She sighed.
"Once I noticed they didn't welcome me, if I went alone, I tried saying I was Tamamo Cross."
…Huh?
Kitahara froze.
Oguri continued, sadly.
"I thought, since Tama and I are both gray-haired, next time if they refused me I'd change clothes, wear glasses, lower my voice, and then say I'm Oguri Cap instead—they'd let me in."
"But after I got a bit more famous, everyone recognized me anyway."
"They were super excited to see me, but their faces looked so pained when I said I wanted to eat. They really didn't want to let me in."
Seeing her genuinely upset, Kitahara's face twisted in disbelief.
"…Oguri, uh…"
He hesitated.
"The places that turned you away… were they… all buffets?"
"Eh? Kitahara, how did you know?"
Oguri perked up, curious.
"Yeah, I love buffet restaurants."
"You pay once and can keep eating without paying more. The first time I went, I thought it was heaven."
"But after one visit, they wouldn't let me in again."
"Even when I dressed up or said I wasn't Tamamo but Oguri, still no."
"I don't get it—don't they want to make money by letting customers in?"
"It's not like I didn't pay."
"So sad."
…Isn't it possible—just possible…
That they're ONLY trying to make money—and THAT'S why they don't let you in…?
Kitahara was at a loss for words, massaging his temples with a sigh.
"With your race winnings, you don't need to stick to buffets. Even aside from prize money, just being a Kawawan Enterprise shareholder means you're beyond buffet life."
After sighing for a moment, he knew Oguri didn't fully understand these things, so seeing her confused look, he smiled.
"Anyway, enough about that."
"See this Tanukikōji Street?"
He pointed toward the end of the street and grinned."Don't worry about eating a little just because it's not a buffet or challenge. Today, you can eat anything you want on this street."
Naturally, Oguri Cap lit up like a hamster sniffing seeds. She lifted her head, sniffing the air hard like a little animal, nostrils twitching.
"Kitahara, I want that one!" she said, pointing happily at a ramen shop.
"Oh, Sapporo ramen? Nice choice. Let's go."
Knowing her appetite well, Kitahara ordered seven or eight different flavor bowls—all for Oguri Cap—before ordering one classic tonkotsu ramen for himself, all under the stunned gaze of the waiter.
Hearing it was only seven or eight bowls, Oguri seemed a little troubled.
"Kitahara… with just that much, I might not get full…" she cupped her hands, measuring the average ramen bowl size by observing other customers, tugging his sleeve.
"Ah, that's just a warm-up."
Kitahara chuckled.
"Just to warm you up with some ramen first. Didn't you say eating is like racing—you need to warm up?"
"Don't worry. You'll eat as much as a big-eater challenge today, but with tons more variety."
"Oh! Awesome!!"
Oguri cheered, then asked curiously:
"So what are we eating after ramen?"
"Hmm… let me think."
Recalling Sapporo's local foods, Kitahara smiled.
"Like sea urchin, scallops—seafood you probably don't eat often. Very fresh and tender, great texture."
"There are also Ishikari skewers—grilled beef and lamb, crispy outside and juicy inside, delicious."
"And crab, fried shrimp—the seafood here is huge. A single crab is as big as a bowl, more than enough for you."
"Teppanyaki, grilled Pacific saury… Wait—you're drooling like a waterfall again…"
Seeing Oguri Cap once more drooling with shining eyes, Kitahara couldn't continue. Instead, he turned to the still-shocked waiter.
"You see, my racehorse girl is very hungry. Could you ask the kitchen to hurry with the ramen?"
(End of chapter)