"Asama-sensei, what is this for?"
"Ah, this? These blinders are also available in the store; they're considered training equipment for Horse Racing events."
During their rare break, the two sat together, chatting.
What Rice Shower was holding now was a product Aoi had left at the front desk and hadn't had time to put back on the shelf.
It was a dark blue blinder with a hollow design in the middle.
The material was also chosen to be light and breathable, and it felt very comfortable to hold and squeeze.
It was a common accessory used by competitors in races.
"These are used to reduce visual interference. If the track and venue are too wide, to prevent competitors from getting distracted, wearing these blinders will narrow the field of vision, which can improve focus."
"You know those intelligence competitions? When competitors are testing their memory, they use hat brims and special glasses to narrow their field of vision, all to prevent their attention from being scattered."
Kazuo had learned a lot about Horse Racing accessories by being with Kiryuuin these past few days, and with his ongoing studies, he found it easy to explain things with examples now.
After listening to Kazuo's explanation, Rice Shower nodded in agreement.
"For Uma Musume, focus during a race is also very necessary. Take the starting gate in the preliminary stage of a race, for example; it's a test of focus and one's initial running ability."
"And then there are other interfering factors on the track from other competitors... Hmm, for instance, losing speed--"
At the mention of this, a figure flashed through Kazuo's mind.
It was the dominance Symboli Rudolf, known as the Emperor, brought to the racetrack... Honestly, could that kind of inherent pressure truly be resisted by something like this? Kazuo wasn't sure.
Rice Shower tried on the blue blinder, but the oversized blinder almost covered half of her face.
Instead of giving her a mysterious look, it gave her a comically cute appearance.
She looked at Kazuo with an inquisitive gaze, and Kazuo naturally understood, saying, "Hmm, Rice Shower-classmate, you'll need to wait for future races to use this."
"Rice Shower... is still growing, so..."
Was this a wish or something else? But Kazuo actually thought she looked fine the way she was now... "Well, in recent years, besides the competition models, the craftsmanship has also become more refined. After all, they need to match the theme of the Uma Musume's winning uniform, so the styles have diversified, such as dancer masks, sunglasses, and so on..."
However, looking at the blinder she was wearing, it seemed to evoke memories of that masked Uma Musume from his childhood.
The elegant dancer's mask, like a knight in the dark, left a deep impression.
That was the first complete race he had ever watched, and the first time his heart had pounded so violently; even now, recalling it could make his blood boil.
"Asama-sensei...?"
"Asama-sensei?"
He had inadvertently fallen into memories, and when he came back to his senses, Kazuo saw Rice Shower looking up at him, her large, watery eyes fixed on him.
Her eyes seemed to be filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Kazuo quickly scratched the back of his head and smiled, saying:
"Nothing, I was just thinking about a few things, so I got a little lost in thought..."
With that smile, he couldn't help but straighten his back, and then—
"Hiss—ouch, ouch, ouch…"
It was like an electric shock, truly embodying what it means to be both in pain and happy. Kazuo clutched his waist, groaning on the table, while Rice Shower-classmate was flustered and didn't know what to do.
At this moment, a slightly familiar voice slowly rang out.
"Hello… I need to speak to the Manager Kiryu-in here about something… Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine… You must be the customer looking for the Manager Kiryu-in…"
Kazuo replied from the table. His disheveled appearance was not a good look for a customer to see.
However, due to his back injury, he could only wait for the pain to slowly subside.
"Hiss…"
But that voice sounded really familiar… "Huh, is that Rice Shower-classmate from the Elementary School Division?"
"Eh! President?"
Rice Shower-classmate couldn't hide her surprise, but Kazuo was only focused on his back injury—
Wait… President!?
"Symboli Rudolf, President?"
Realizing what was happening, Kazuo looked up and saw a tall girl wearing a relatively simple light green knitted cardigan and black round-rimmed glasses, embodying the concept of intellectual beauty perfectly.
However, it was difficult to associate this person with the "Emperor" who dominated the racecourse that day. This image was truly hard to connect.
Symboli Rudolf looked at Kazuo and was also slightly taken aback: "Asama-sensei…? Why are you here?"
"Uh… that's a long story."
The last time they met, besides the time Tojo-san invited him to watch a race, was in the library.
However, meeting the President here, especially dressed in clothes no different from ordinary people, such casual attire was truly novel for Kazuo.
The President glanced at Kazuo's appearance, hesitated for a moment, and asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Uh… could it be because you strained your back?"
"Eh, President, how did you know? Hiss… ouch, ouch…"
Although the pain had eased a lot, Kazuo's current condition was still not optimistic.
.
"This is a medicinal patch I used to use. Because the intensity of races and training is quite high, I usually carry some in my bag."
Symboli Rudolf said, tidying up the items on the table.
"I'll leave some here for now. If you use them consistently for two days, you should fully recover."
As a racer, she was very knowledgeable about these things.
Seeing Kazuo's complexion improve significantly, Rice Shower-classmate also lightly patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Oh… I've really troubled the President."
Kazuo smiled, indicating that she shouldn't worry about his condition, as his earlier appearance had almost made Rice Shower-classmate cry again.
Fortunately, the medicinal patches given by Symboli Rudolf made Kazuo feel much better now.
But something worth noting was—
"Is the President here to see Manager Kiryu-in?"
The customer Manager Kiryu-in had specifically mentioned earlier, was it Symboli Rudolf after all?
Symboli Rudolf nodded and said, "Yes, the race is over, so I specifically came to readjust my racing shoes."
"Eh, if you say so, could it be that the President is also at—"
Before Kazuo could finish speaking, Kiryu, leaning against the doorframe, lazily replied, "Yes, I adjusted them. The Emperor's battle boots and accessories were all polished by my own hands, you know?"