The "fascia knife" that Oguri Cap mentioned, along with various supporting training and relaxation methods, were naturally all experienced personally by Opera O afterward.
Besides Kitahara and the other trainers who directly handled the guidance, senior horse girls like Oguri Cap and Super Creek also participated in assisting.
This had been planned from the beginning.
Back when it was still in the team stage, there were no real problems with resources, but manpower was indeed somewhat limited.
With five active horse girls and three trainers, all aspects of training could still be taken care of.
But after expanding the team into a club, the original staff plus two newly joined trainers, along with the team's original active horse girls, were enough to provide one-on-one guidance to every member.
Oguri Cap and the others were very familiar with daily training, recovery, and conditioning methods.
Before the training camp, they had also tried explaining training and racing knowledge to their juniors.
With such experience, during the entire "Synchronization Rate Training," the senior horse girls could take on part of the instructional responsibilities.
This not only helped them deepen their understanding of past knowledge but also improved the overall efficiency of training.
Thus, with more than a week still remaining before the Mainichi Okan, the St. Lite Kinen, and the Kobe Shimbun Hai, the training had already begun to show rather obvious results.
That afternoon, beside the wind-tunnel training chamber.
On the wall opposite several wind-tunnel pipes hung six medium-sized projection screens.
In front of the projection screens were three sets of speakers playing music.
Between the speakers and the pipes, six dance mats were placed one-to-one.
On the dance mats were circles of various sizes and colors.
Standing on those circles, six horse girls were dancing in rhythm with the lyrics and beat of the music.
As the dance progressed, their palms and feet landed rhythmically on the differently sized circles.
Whenever their movements matched the lyrics and beat precisely, the circles lit up.
Correspondingly, numbers resembling scores appeared on the projection screens.
The six horse girls dancing were the three pairs of seniors and juniors participating in this round of "Synchronization Rate Training."
The equipment they were using wasn't particularly complicated. It was simply the traditional "step-on-the-circles training," enhanced with some electronic devices after considering practical training efficiency.
If it were only the traditional version, there would be considerable errors in counting and comparative analysis.
But after adding weight sensors and similar equipment, calculating the accuracy of contact became very convenient, and the obtained data could also be directly imported into programs for body metrics and simulation rendering.
Through those programs, the synchronization rate could be grasped more effectively.
The entire training method was also arranged in the style of a "dance machine."
This way, the Winning Live dance practice—which normally required extra time—could be combined with racing-related training.
At that moment, a dance track had reached its final stage, and the "score statistics" on the projection screens began calculating the results.
However, the horse girls' dance steps did not stop.
Oguri Cap and Opera O, Super Creek and Tokai Teio, Mejiro Ardan and Mejiro McQueen—these three pairs continued following the final part of the song, completing the routine meticulously.
The moment they finished, a lively and excited voice rang out loudly.
"Bingo! Yay! Our group—Creek-senpai and me—got the highest score! Nice!"
Ignoring the fatigue from just finishing the dance and the sweat on her cheeks, Tokai Teio leaped up with excitement and raised both hands toward Super Creek.
"Let's celebrate, Creek-senpai!"
"Mm, alright."
With a motherly, doting smile, Super Creek high-fived Teio and then looked toward the six projection screens.
"Our final score is a perfect 10,000 points. Oguri's team got 9,685, and Ardan and McQueen got 9,845…"
"You're amazing, Teio. Your dancing talent is really impressive."
While Super Creek was praising her, Tokai Teio stuck out her tongue and made a playful face toward Mejiro McQueen.
"Nya-nya-nya~ See that, McQueen? My score's higher than yours~"
Then she excitedly looked toward the trainers standing farther away.
"Hey hey! Since our team won, I want honey cake for tonight's extra dessert!"
Only then did she pause in surprise and look at Super Creek.
"Huh? Creek-senpai, what were you saying just now?"
"Ah, nothing," Super Creek replied with a smile, wiping the sweat from her face. "I was saying that Teio really has great dancing talent."
"If it were only me, I wouldn't have been able to score that many points."
"Even though the individual scores weren't displayed, I think you probably contributed more of the points."
"Ehehe, it's nothing really. I just liked this kind of thing since I was little, and I often play dance machines at arcades."
Although she spoke modestly, Tokai Teio's face didn't look modest at all.
Grinning widely, she spread her legs slightly, placed one hand on her hip, and raised the other in a "V" sign.
"When it comes to dance machines, I'm very confident!"
"The high score on the machine at the arcade nearest my house—620,000 points—I'm the one who set it!"
"Well, if the equipment here had a higher score limit, maybe our final score could've been even higher."
"Oh right," she suddenly thought of something. "Creek-senpai, what do you want to eat?"
"I mean for tonight's extra dessert."
"Extra dessert… let me think… then rice dumplings would be nice."
Smiling, Super Creek voiced her preference.
The "extra dessert" was a small daily reward after practice recently, and also an essential part of energy replenishment for training.
The intensity of "Synchronization Rate Training" itself wasn't particularly high.
Besides the "dance machine–style step training," there were also activities like clapping to music rhythms and ball-throwing exercises.
These methods did not require heavy physical exertion, but rather mental effort.
During the dance—or training—just now, the steps and movements of each pair were almost perfectly identical.
This required not only following the projection screens and the music from the speakers but also constantly paying attention to one's partner.
This demanded extremely high concentration, and therefore consumed a great deal of mental energy.
Although the brain accounts for only about 2% of the body's weight, it consumes 20% of the body's energy.
Under intense concentration, that energy consumption increases even further.
During highly tense mental activity, the brain mainly consumes glucose as energy.
Brain cells cannot store energy like other cells in the body, so they must continuously obtain energy from glucose in the blood through oxidation.
If blood sugar levels drop, the brain will feel fatigue, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating due to insufficient energy.
Therefore, in the recent training period, sugar replenishment in various forms had increased much more than before.
The additional dessert at night was one such example.
Besides replenishment, it was also a playful little challenge arranged by the trainers after discussion.
Simply put, if a team performed well in the various segments of "Synchronization Rate Training," they would receive an extra dessert portion at night.
And they could freely choose and customize what they wanted.
It was also a small trick to motivate the horse girls' enthusiasm for training.
Nowadays, the horse girls in the Eternal Club were far more numerous than before. Continuing their previous training style meant that food intake was a very important factor.
Although none of the girls could quite be described as "finishing an entire sack of grain in one meal," they definitely ate quite a lot.
Most of them loved sweets—sweet corn, apples, bananas, honey, carrots, and similar foods were consumed in enormous quantities every day.
To ensure healthy diets and adequate energy supply, besides the meals provided by the academy cafeteria, the club also added extra food privately.
This "extra food" wasn't cooked by ordinary chefs.
Instead, it combined Miyamura Kyoko's medical nutrition knowledge with the skills of the Mejiro family's star-level chefs to produce various "special supply" meals.
Basically, once someone tried the Eternal Club's "special supply meals," saying they would lose interest in tea and food forever afterward might be an exaggeration.
But it was certain they would never forget them.
In such an atmosphere, during this period of training, whether in synchronization training or other types of practice, every group worked hard in order to earn more of these "special supply meals."
Right now, Super Creek and Tokai Teio had the highest score and had earned the extra portion, so naturally they were in high spirits.
In contrast, the other two groups looked somewhat dejected.
Since she already loved sweets, being teased by a friend about delicious food made Mejiro McQueen unable to keep her elegant noble-lady demeanor.
She began muttering to herself.
"…Damn it, that Teio…"
Her ears were clearly pointed toward Tokai Teio, yet she turned her head away as if she hadn't heard anything and quietly clenched her fist.
"It's just a little dessert…"
"Even though it's especially delicious…"
"Even though it's especially sweet…"
"Even though we've been training a lot lately so gaining weight isn't even a concern…"
"But…"
"It's just a little dessert…"
"…Damn it, I'm still annoyed…"
After muttering for a while, she showed an embarrassed expression and looked to the side apologetically.
"I'm sorry, sister."
"Because of me, our group didn't get the extra dessert today… cough."
"I mean, we didn't get first place this time…"
As she spoke, she lowered her head gloomily, and her ears drooped.
Soon, she felt her head being gently patted.
Feeling the warmth above her head, she raised her head in surprise.
"…Shh. I'll only tell you this, McQueen. Don't tell anyone else…"
While stroking her sister's head, Mejiro Ardan said in a mysterious whisper with a smile:
"Shirohito has always disliked sweets and only likes meat, so she often gives her desserts to little Oguri."
"And lately, maybe because she's eaten too many sweets, little Oguri said she's gained a bit of weight and wants to find someone to help eat some of the desserts Shirohito gave her."
"So if you really want to eat some, you could go talk to little Oguri…"
As she said this, she winked at McQueen.
"Really…?!"
McQueen's eyes lit up as she almost shouted, but she quickly covered her mouth.
Looking around hurriedly and realizing nobody had noticed her, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
A little embarrassed but also excited, she nodded to her sister.
"Mhm! Got it, thank you, sister…" she whispered gratefully.
While the Mejiro sisters were quietly discussing desserts, on the other side, Oguri Cap and Opera O had also finished their training and were walking toward the trainers while chatting casually.
"You did very well today, Opera O. If you had trained as long as Teio and McQueen, maybe we could have won this time."
"Hah~ hahaha! That's only natural!"
Facing Oguri's praise, Opera O brushed back the hair on her forehead confidently.
"Senpai, peers, juniors—it doesn't matter!"
"I have absolute confidence that I won't lose to any horse girl!"
"If I could debut in the Shining Star Series right now, the one who might end your winning streak, Oguri-senpai, could be me—Opera O!"
"I see. Then I look forward to it."
After spending more than half a month together, Oguri Cap had already become quite used to Opera O's proud personality.
Not feeling annoyed at all, she gave Opera O a thumbs-up.
"Then keep working hard."
"I think even if we can't meet in the Shining Series races…"
"But in the future's Youth Cup… hmm, maybe not that one."
"But in the Summit Cup, I'll be waiting for you."
"Don't worry! I'll definitely reach that level of race!"
Opera O declared confidently.
Then she suddenly took out her phone.
"Oh right, Oguri-senpai, are you free this weekend?"
Oguri Cap paused, but still nodded instinctively.
"I usually don't have anything to do on weekends. Why?"
"Ta-da! The Ring of the Nibelung!"
After fiddling with her phone for a moment, Opera O turned the screen toward Oguri.
"It's an opera currently being performed at the New National Theatre Tokyo. I wanted to see it ever since I saw the preview."
"And I've saved quite a bit of scholarship money and the living expenses my family sends me."
"Besides the time last year when I first came to Tokyo and secretly climbed over the wall with Narita Top Road—when I first met you, Oguri-senpai—I usually go watch operas by myself."
"But this time, I feel like I've learned a lot from you, especially recently."
"So I want to invite you to watch it together."
"Oh right, if Roman-senpai is also interested in opera, she can come too."
"Oguri-senpai could ask her, or I could ask her as well."
Hearing Opera O's invitation, Oguri Cap didn't immediately agree. Instead, she looked curiously at the phone screen.
On the screen were not only promotional posters for The Ring of the Nibelung, but also some photos of the New National Theatre Tokyo.
This theater was one of the most famous theaters in Japan and an important venue for large operas, ballets, modern dance, and stage plays.
The entire building was designed in the style of classic European opera houses.
A spacious stage, tiered seating facing the stage, and five levels of private boxes—these were all standard features of European opera houses.
The seating and boxes together could accommodate more than 1,800 spectators, and the number of seats was relatively limited.
From the stage to the audience seats, from lighting to stage lifts and background-changing equipment, everything used the most advanced international technology.
With such architectural design, the viewing experience was naturally excellent. Combined with the facilities and limited seats, one could tell just by looking at the photos that the ticket price was probably not cheap.
That was exactly what Oguri Cap was concerned about.
After looking at the poster and photos, she asked curiously:
"Something like this… looks pretty expensive."
"If you're the one paying, Opera O, wouldn't that be a bit of a stretch?"
"It's actually not too bad. My family seems to be somewhat well-off, and my usual living expenses aren't that little."
Opera O thought for a moment and smiled.
"And my scholarship is also pretty good."
"So if we just buy ordinary tickets, we should still be able to afford three."
"I see…"
Oguri Cap nodded, then smiled as well.
"In that case, I'll pay for the tickets."
"I've never watched an opera before, so it would be nice to try it at least once."
"As for the seats… the ones that look like little rooms in the photos seem more comfortable. How about we buy tickets there?"
"Huh? The VIP boxes?"
Opera O looked a little troubled and scratched her head.
"If it's those seats… the money I've saved probably wouldn't be enough…"
"It's fine. I already said I'll treat this time. Let's bring Little Oguri along too."
Oguri Cap continued with a smile.
"When we were in Kasamatsu, we'd never even heard of something like opera."
"Even after coming to Tokyo, we've mostly just been training and racing. At most we've gone to places like Harajuku to watch a movie."
"So this is a good chance to experience something you like, Opera O."
Seeing Opera O about to speak again, Oguri Cap raised a hand to stop her.
"There's no need to talk more about the ticket money. I've already received your goodwill."
"You haven't debuted yet, so you don't have any race prize money."
"It's not easy saving up scholarships and living expenses."
"So keep that money carefully. Then if you want to watch opera yourself later, you'll be able to go more often."
"As for me, I still have quite a lot of money right now… well, actually I don't remember exactly how much I have, but it should be a lot."
"I think buying a few tickets should be enough."
"As for you really wanting to treat me someday…"
The smile on Oguri Cap's face grew even warmer.
"You can do it after you debut and win in the Shining Series."
"Didn't you say it yourself? Whether it's seniors, classmates, or juniors, you won't lose to anyone."
"If that's the case, then winning races and earning prize money shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"So let's make it a promise."
"I'll wait for you to use your race winnings to invite me to the opera."
Staring blankly at Oguri Cap, seeing the gentle smile of her senior, Opera O looked at her for a long moment.
Then she suddenly laughed confidently and nodded firmly.
"Hah~ hahaha!"
"As expected of my senpai!"
"Alright, I'll remember this!"
"After I win my first race, I'll invite you again. You must come!"
"Mm, I will."
Oguri Cap nodded firmly with a soft smile.
The trainers standing a little farther away noticed some of the horse girls' interaction.
Influenced by the relaxed and harmonious atmosphere over there, Kitahara and the others, although busy processing and analyzing various data, didn't feel tired at all. Instead, everyone looked energized.
This mood continued all the way to the summary meeting after dinner.
Unlike the strict atmosphere of the past, the discussions nowadays were just like the horse girls' training sessions—everyone was in a relaxed mood.
Especially today.
Kitahara, who used to be the team's chief trainer and was now the club's chairman, looked completely carefree.
Before the meeting even started, instead of being in a hurry, he strolled in slowly while carrying several large cardboard boxes.
"Come on, everyone, try this."
As he spoke, he placed the boxes down, took out several cartons of drinks—something like milk—and handed them out to everyone in the office.
"Huh? That's interesting. Senior brother, you've been getting more and more relaxed lately. It feels like you've completely lost that old-man vibe you used to have."
Joking as she spoke, Komiyama didn't even look carefully at what Kitahara handed her. She grabbed it, took the straw from the box, stuck it into the opening, and took a big sip.
"Eh? What is this… milk?"
After swallowing with a gulp, she looked surprised.
"I've never tasted anything like this before. It's so novel."
"Is this some newly released drink?"
Influenced by her reaction, the others also accepted the drinks with smiles and began drinking. Soon they also expressed surprise.
"Yeah, I've never had this before…"
"How should I put it… it's a little sweet, but more than that there's a fresh fragrance…"
"But there's also a strange slightly astringent taste… like… grass?"
"Grass? No way. What kind of strange formula is that?"
"Wow! This milk tastes great! Mr. Kitahara, where did you buy it? I want to buy a whole box!"
The one who praised it at the end was Nishiki Hikaru.
Hearing this, Kitahara smiled and opened a bottle of milk for himself.
"At the moment, you probably can't buy this on the market yet. This is something I…"
As he spoke, he took a sip and then showed a slightly subtle expression.
"…It is a bit strange. It seems not every human can adapt to this taste…"
"Human?"
Nishiki Hikaru froze for a moment.
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Kitahara…?"
This time, the one who answered wasn't Kitahara but Miyamura Kyoko on the other side.
Perhaps due to professional instincts, she was the only one who didn't open the milk immediately. Instead, she first looked at the nutrition label on the carton.
Because of that, she understood what Kitahara meant.
"Because this should be a kind of milk specially made for horse girls."
Smiling, she raised the carton in her hand so everyone could see the front and began explaining.
"Alfalfa flavor."
"Technically speaking, this plant can also be eaten as a vegetable."
"It has good nutritional value, decent quality and yield, and the taste is fairly good."
"But because of its unique fiber structure, high dietary fiber content, and the presence of large amounts of crude protein and sugar-like substances, not everyone can adapt to its taste."
"However, horse girls usually love eating it."
"And compared to the more bitter yellow alfalfa or other varieties, purple alfalfa is much sweeter and has a fresher aroma."
"So in many of the 'special supply meals' we usually prepare for our horse girls, we often use purple alfalfa instead of other varieties."
"As for this milk…"
She looked at the carton again.
"It should be a brand-new product from some manufacturer… huh?"
As she spoke, she turned the milk carton over and showed a surprised expression.
"Gold City?"
Turning the carton around so everyone could see, she said in surprise,
"Is she endorsing this?"
"Ah, that's right. This 'purple alfalfa flavored' milk was just endorsed by Gold City not long ago, and it's still in the process of entering the market."
Kitahara nodded with a smile, then shrugged at Nishiki Hikaru.
"So if you really like this flavor, Hikaru, you'll have to wait a while before you can buy it."
"But because of some cooperation arrangements, the manufacturer sent us a box."
"I only brought a little over here. If you want to drink it, you can have all of these."
"Wow! Really?!"
It was obvious that Nishiki Hikaru really liked the taste of this purple alfalfa milk.
She cheered and immediately ran over, taking the box from Kitahara's hands.
But after taking it, she hesitated.
"Uh… is this the only box?"
She looked around, then held the box with one hand and pointed out the office window.
"It seems like everyone except Mr. Kitahara and Mr. Tōbara likes this flavor."
"It looks like girls and horse girls can adapt to it more easily."
"If that's the case, Oguri and the others would probably like it too."
"But… if there's only this one box…"
Looking at the carton in her hands, Nishiki Hikaru looked troubled.
Seeing this, Kitahara subconsciously pointed outside the door.
"It's fine. Didn't I say the manufacturer sent us a whole box? How could it not be enough?"
After saying that, he noticed Nishiki Hikaru first looking stunned, then giving a wry smile as if it still seemed insufficient.
Kitahara suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't explain clearly."
He shrugged again with an amused expression.
"The box they sent isn't the size you're holding."
"They sent an entire shipping container."
"They said they knew the horse girls of Eternal Club are famous for eating and drinking a lot, so they sent that much at once."
"And they even said that if it's not enough, we can ask them for more."
"That should be enough, right? I mean, a whole container of purple alfalfa milk."
When she heard the phrase 'shipping container,' Nishiki Hikaru's jaw practically dropped.
Now that she realized Kitahara was joking a bit, she couldn't help laughing helplessly.
"Of course that's enough. That much… even if Oguri came here, she probably couldn't finish it all in one go."
She joked as well.
"And if we're not worried about wasting it… with that much… we could even take milk baths…"
Her words made the entire office burst into laughter.
After that, Kitahara's expression became slightly serious. He pointed to the milk cartons in everyone's hands.
"And the opponent we're going to analyze today… is related to this milk."
As soon as he said this, everyone froze for a moment, then looked at the cartons in their hands again in surprise.
"Gold City?"
"Yes. Though she's not the only one. I just happened to find out about her participation today."
As he spoke, Kitahara walked to the desk and adjusted the computer files and projector screen.
"Gold City… she should have…"
While Kitahara busied himself, Tōbara looked shocked.
"But… she retired."
"Retired, yes—but her case is different from Symboli Rudolf or Maruzensky."
While operating the computer and entering some newly obtained information, Kitahara quickly copied and pasted it into the pre-prepared strategy PPT and brought it up on the projection screen.
"Gold City didn't reach the stage of true retirement, and her health condition isn't problematic."
"So in principle and according to the rules, she can return to racing."
"And…"
The screen was ready, but Kitahara didn't explain immediately. Instead, he looked at his colleagues and sighed.
"The reason she retired in the first place wasn't because of herself."
"It was because of a friend."
"A friend…?"
Tōra looked puzzled and began thinking.
Before he could figure it out, Komiyama suddenly cried out in surprise.
"Wait… senpai, are you talking about Sakura Star O?"
As soon as she said that, Tōra showed a look of realization.
Nishiki Hikaru and Miyamura Kyoko reacted the same way.
However, the two newcomers, Hosoe Junko and Akashi Tsubaki, still looked confused.
Junko was slightly better—after a moment of confusion she seemed to recall something and began thinking.
But Tsubaki looked completely lost.
"Um… could someone explain what exactly is going on…?"
Scratching her cheek awkwardly, Tsubaki raised her hand.
"I've heard the names Gold City and Sakura Star O before."
"And I know they both retired."
"But now…"
"Are they both coming back… and becoming opponents for Oguri Cap and the others in the upcoming races?"
Hearing this, Kitahara—who had just opened his mouth to speak—paused and thought for a moment before answering.
"It seems Tsubaki wasn't aware of the situation when she was in Europe. But… there are indeed some details everyone should know."
He walked to the projection screen but didn't begin explaining the slides yet.
Instead, he started with some background.
"Gold City is the horse girl trained by my uncle, Roppei Ginjiro."
"My uncle went to the United States, but his trainer position and license are still registered here in Japan."
"So his trainer relationship with Gold City hasn't been officially dissolved, which means she isn't considered fully retired."
"As long as the two of them agree internally, Gold City can return to racing, provided she has enough fan support."
As he spoke, Kitahara frowned slightly.
"And the reason for Gold City's retirement… is related to Sakura Star O."
"Tsubaki, you should know a bit about Sakura Star O, right?"
"Yes, I do."
Tsubaki nodded.
"Seven races, four wins, one race abandoned midway. She won both the Satsuki Sho and the Kikuka Sho, becoming a two-crown horse girl."
"And she was last year's Japan Horse Girl of the Year."
"Could it be…"
A look of surprise appeared on her face.
"She's also going to race?"
"But during last year's Arima Kinen, didn't she have a serious accident?"
"I remember it being quite severe. She seemed to be hospitalized for a long time."
"I don't know the exact details, but with an incident like that…"
"Does that mean she has fully recovered now?"
"And she and Gold City…"
"Are both going to participate in the upcoming races?"
(End of Chapter)