The conclusion of the Gold Ship incident signaled that everything at Tracen Academy had returned to normal, and the stone hanging over the Student Council's hearts was finally lifted. Everyone quickly resumed their busy schedules.
First, Ikezoe. Although he couldn't yet persuade Gold Ship to join his team, he understood one thing from this incident: some hardships are tied to one's fate. Since he couldn't avoid them, he might as well learn to enjoy them.
Ikezoe had made up his mind to train Gold Ship into a world-class Uma Musume in this world as well, but of course, this would require a process. At least for now, Ikezoe needed to arrange Curren Chan's Debut Race first.
"The two-year-old New Horse Race in July, 1200 meters on turf, at Hakodate Racecourse. It looks like Wada started much earlier than us. He's so lucky to have found a GI-level Uma Musume like Meisho Doto, who has already run her Debut Race and doesn't have a Trainer."
"However, we still have plenty of time to prepare for the Debut Race."
"Hehe, since Oni-chan arranged it this way, Karen-chan has no objections." Curren Chan smiled and said,
"A race in July, that means several months of preparation time. Karen-chan needs to train hard!"
"That's right, 1200 meters on turf, a short-distance race, is Karen-chan's strength. But even so, don't be careless, okay?"
Ikezoe nodded in agreement. As her Trainer, he naturally understood Curren Chan well. When it came to short distances, Curren Chan's strength was undeniable. After training, running a GI race wouldn't be a problem. This was why Ikezoe signed up for the Hakodate GIII New Horse Race in July, not the Niigata race in August.
To put it simply, Curren Chan's races were too limited to short-distance events, to the point where even mile-level races were a considerable challenge for her. Curren Chan was not Sakura Bakushin O, who could perform well even in mile races. She excelled almost exclusively in short-distance events.
Therefore, Ikezoe only dared to sign her up for short-distance races. Fortunately, he was familiar with Curren Chan's strengths, which allowed him to avoid some detours and help Curren Chan win more races.
"Short distance is Karen-chan's advantage. We are determined to win this GIII, but we will definitely not cut corners on training."
"Oh, Karen-chan needs to work hard!" Curren Chan said with a very cute smile, then bent down and said with a grin,
"If Oni-chan praises Karen-chan more, I'll work even harder~"
"Alright, alright, Karen-chan, work hard~"
Ikezoe was not at all stingy with his praise, gently rubbing Curren Chan's small head, feeling a sense of healing in his heart.
Indeed, Curren Chan was the easiest for him to manage. She was healing, never refused training, and was very cute. This was a hundred times easier to handle than Gold Ship or Tosho Change.
"Ugh?!"
However, for no reason, as Ikezoe thought this, he suddenly shivered uncontrollably, his gaze instinctively darting in one direction, but he didn't catch sight of anyone.
"Oni-chan, what's wrong?" Curren Chan was enjoying Ikezoe's petting when his movements suddenly stopped, making her ask, somewhat confused.
"...Nothing, probably a Gold Ship aftereffect." Ikezoe hesitantly withdrew his gaze, unconsciously smiling slightly as he said, "The spot where that Giant kicked me this morning is still faintly aching."
"Really, Oni-chan, when you're with Karen-chan, your attention should be fully focused on Karen-chan, okay? Don't think about other Uma Musume~" Curren Chan said cutely, pouting as if feigning anger, "Otherwise, Karen-chan will get angry, you know."
Ah, even Curren Chan's anger feels cute. This was Ikezoe's current thought. Then, his mind involuntarily recalled Gold Ship's angry expression... Indeed, there's a big difference between Uma Musume; you can't generalize.
And in a place Ikezoe couldn't see, a bush rustled, and Gold Ship, wearing a mask, slowly emerged from it, ignoring the puzzled gazes of the surrounding Uma Musume and leaving as if nothing had happened.
The GIII race in Hakodate in July, 1200 meters, turf... Recalling these keywords, Gold Ship made a decision in her heart, a decision to fulfill her previous words.
She wanted to prove that she could win races even without a Trainer. She wanted to show that annoying guy named Ikezoe Kenichi her true abilities as Gold Ship!
...Unlike the commotion on Ikezoe's side, Wada and Trainer Imanami's training was in full swing. The short-term disturbance at Tracen Academy did not affect their training, nor did it affect Doto and McQueen's practice.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
"Is that, is that enough? Is it over?"
Another lap finished, Mejiro McQueen, wearing a tracksuit, was panting and almost collapsed to the ground. However, she gritted her teeth and persevered, looking at Imanami, who was holding a stopwatch, and asked,
"Trainer Imanami, how's my time? With this weight... I feel much more tired than usual."
"This is a method to lose weight while practicing strength." Imanami nodded, first recording McQueen's time, then adding,
"The time isn't important; what's important is progress each time. This method of running with added weight has a significant training effect on you, but it also puts a lot of strain on your body."
"So, this method can only be trained four days a week. On the other three days, your training will return to normal, which will ensure no accidents occur."
"I, I can still persevere." McQueen was slightly surprised to hear this. Her whole body was sore, but having not stopped dieting since day one, she naturally knew this was proof of significant results, and immediately said, "Please allow me to train like this all week, I beg you!"
"No." However, when it came to this point, Imanami, who was usually very gentle, refused with a very serious expression, "My training schedule has a reason, Miss McQueen. Don't joke about your career."
"Also, don't let me see you training at such high intensity in private—Gold Ship, can you help me supervise Miss McQueen?"
"No problem at all! Old man!" Gold Ship, who had been running alongside the entire time without any weight, wasn't even out of breath. She grinned and walked up to Imanami, giving an awkward salute, indicating that she would supervise McQueen well.
This undoubtedly extinguished McQueen's last chance. Her horse ears drooped listlessly, clearly in low spirits. All of this was seen by Imanami, but the old man didn't explain anything.
"Ha... ha..."
And at this moment, the other figure, arriving late, finally reached the group. It was Meisho Doto.
However, Meisho Doto's condition now seemed much worse than McQueen's. McQueen's diet plan had never stopped, so she was accustomed to high-intensity training. Doto, on the other hand, had been relatively lax since her Debut Race, making her struggle even more now that she had resumed high-intensity training.
But she was certainly not weak; the reason she was so tired was that she had voluntarily run an extra lap.
"I persevered, I persevered." Doto was also completely exhausted, but she still raised her fist, indicating that she had persevered.
"Ah, Tr-Trainer, I, I persevered, ah... oyster..." But soon, Doto, after reaching the finish line, immediately collapsed softly.
"Doto?!"
Doto's sudden exhaustion startled Wada, who was following closely behind her. When Doto spontaneously ran an extra lap, Wada felt something was wrong and followed her the entire way, as Doto was already quite strained at that point. If she ran another lap, he was afraid Doto would collapse somewhere and couldn't be helped up.
That Doto only collapsed at the finish line was completely unexpected. One should know that Doto also had the same added weight as McQueen.
Wada immediately stepped forward and embraced Doto's body. Doto's body plus the added weight was quite a burden for Wada. Fortunately, McQueen, who was still able to stand, as well as Imanami and Gold Ship, immediately stepped forward to help support Doto's body.
"This silly child... if you couldn't handle it, you should have said so. Why exhaust all your energy..." Wada asked with a troubled expression after supporting Doto.
"Ugh..." However, the groggy Doto seemed to still be conscious, and replied in a low voice,
"Because, I... didn't want to betray Trainer's trust..."
"I... held Trainer back, but Trainer still encouraged me so much... I..."
However, even though Doto was so tired she could barely speak, Wada understood what she meant. Wada and Imanami exchanged glances, and finally, old Imanami smiled and said,
"It seems, Wada, this child you chose, truly gives us a surprise."
Wada was silent for a moment, looking at Doto, who seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep in his arms. This person, who was once a major rival when he rode Opera O, had now become his in charge Uma Musume. His heart felt somewhat complex.
But in the end, Wada still hid these emotions and whispered into Doto's horse ear,
"We will win, Doto, I believe in you."
"..."
Doto did not answer Wada's words, but in her sleep, her mouth seemed to curve into a slight smile, like a cat's gentle grin.