After a peaceful weekend, the important day finally arrived: the internal mock race for undebuted Horse Girls.
"You've all made great progress this week. Even against strong opponents, you won't be at a disadvantage. As long as you run seriously, you can definitely get good results."
Before the race, Chiya gave everyone a pep talk.
"Now I'll announce the race assignments. Gold Ship, group two, lane four. Meisho Doto, group three, lane five. Rice Shower, group four, lane six. Fujiwara Shirayuki, group five, lane five."
After that, he reminded them, "Don't forget that there's a pre-race presentation. When your name is called, remember to go up."
""Yes, sir.""
The Horse Girls replied in unison.
After sending them to the preparation area, Chiya turned and left. All he had to do now was wait for the race committee's arrangements.
He had been practicing his balance all week. While it wasn't perfect, at least he wouldn't fall when using that running form.
That was enough.
It was unrealistic to expect an undebuted Horse Girl to achieve some earth-shattering result. Just running steadily would be fine.
Leaving the group, Chiya carefully checked the race lineup. Despite his rousing speech, he still had no confidence. He knew his Horse Girls still had many shortcomings.
If there were any familiar faces among the opponents, the race would become much more difficult.
First, Gold Ship. Chiya checked the list of names.
Main opponents... Daitaku Helios, Mejiro Palmer.
There's a Mejiro in this race too?
This race might be a lost cause.
Next, Meisho Doto. Her opponents were TM Opera O, Matikanefukukitaru, and Nice Nature.
In terms of raw talent, she was on par with the latter two. The key was TM Opera O. He hadn't seen her train, but she had been chosen by a trainer after her first mock race, so she was definitely skilled.
Another tough battle.
Then, Rice Shower.
Her opponents...
Chiya flipped through the list.
Mihono Bourbon, Twin Turbo, and Mejiro McQueen.
Why is there another Mejiro?! McQueen, are you doing this on purpose?!
Looks like this race was also a long shot.
Isn't there a single race we can win for sure?
Finally, he flipped to his own race, Fujiwara Shirayuki's.
"Opponents: Special Week, Seiun Sky, and... Tokai Teio."
Hmm.
This one seems winnable.
Folding up the list, Chiya prepared to find a seat in the audience. As he passed the staff area, he saw a familiar figure pacing back and forth.
It was Mejiro Dober.
She was holding a race list, looking like she wanted to say something to the race committee but was too afraid.
What is she doing here?
He instinctively wanted to go talk to her, but he quickly remembered that he was not Shirayuki.
Stopping in his tracks, he observed from the side.
Dober repeatedly compared the list and looked towards the race committee.
The list...
Right.
Chiya opened his list again. Mejiro Dober's name was not on it.
Is that what she wants to ask about?
He faintly understood the situation.
But why hadn't her condition improved at all? She could eat dinner with him now, but she was still so afraid of strangers.
Seeing the male race official, Chiya thought he understood.
Even if she could talk to strangers, her fear of men had not subsided.
Looks like I'll have to work on that in the future.
With that thought, he bypassed Dober and found the race official.
"Hello."
"Hello. Ah, Trainer Chiya. Is there a problem?"
"There's someone missing from this list."
"Missing?"
"That's right." Chiya nodded, then pointed to Dober in the distance. "That girl is not on the list."
Being pointed at, Dober flinched, curled up, and ran to a distance to watch.
"That girl... is she your Horse Girl?"
"No, she's from the instructor's group. You should have received news that a student from the instructor's group would be participating, right?"
"The instructor's group... Ah!"
At that, the race official slapped his head.
"Look at my brain. I've been so busy I completely forgot about that! It's true, an instructor did say to put a student in the race. What's her name?"
"Mejiro Dober."
"Which instructor's group?"
"Group Six."
"I'll add her right away. She can just join the race directly later."
"Will there be any issues?"
"For the popularity poll, I can only put her at the very bottom. And for the lane, it will have to be the outermost one, lane ten."
"I see..." Chiya nodded. "This is your mistake. The outermost lane is a huge disadvantage for a Horse Girl. It's not fair if she gets it without a random draw."
With his colleague, Chiya was not as gentle as he was with the Horse Girls. Especially with a race official who was specifically in charge of competition matters.
"Look at my memory," the official apologized repeatedly. "Mejiro Dober, group six, lane ten."
"I'll go tell her."
With that, Chiya turned and left.
Dober, who was not far away, saw him coming and was about to leave, but he immediately shouted, "Group six, lane ten! Your number is group six, lane ten!"
Hearing this, she stopped.
"Hurry up and get to the race. Just tell the Horse Girl in charge your number, and leave the rest to the committee."
Her ears twitched slightly. She stood there for a few seconds, then gave him a small bow and quickly ran off.
Well, it's just the beginning.
Watching her leave, he thought.
It will get better over time.
After Dober left, Chiya went to the spectator stands. Climbing the stairs, he saw Nase Fumino leaning against the railing. Their eyes met.
"Trainer Nase."
She nodded.
"Is that girl participating in the race?"
"Shirayuki?"
"Yes."
"She is."
"I see..." she said, looking at the track.
"And you, Trainer Nase? Are you in charge of any Horse Girls?"
"Tokai Teio," she said. "I'm in charge of her training."
"Tokai Teio... the one in the same race as Shirayuki..."
"Her potential is the strongest I've seen among the new students so far."
"Even stronger than Shirayuki?"
Nase Fumino nodded.
"Then I'll have to see for myself if she can beat Fujiwara Shirayuki."
-------
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