The next day.
Kuroha woke up for the first time in ages with the sun already high.
Or rather, the two of them hadn't slept at all. Only when the horizon lightened did they finally lie down.
Sitting up and rubbing his head, Kuroha carefully avoided waking Sakura Chiyono O.
Looking at the sleeping face beside him, he felt a little sigh rise.
As expected of a Derby champion—one per year.
He really had underestimated Chiyono O's fighting power a little.
Good thing he'd handed morning training over to Aoi Kiryuin a few days ago, and his girls were all quite self-disciplined.
On the team side of things, there wasn't much to worry about.
While Chiyono O was still asleep, Kuroha slipped out to buy a simple breakfast.
He returned just as the girl was rubbing her eyes awake.
After the two of them sat together for a cheerful bite and then washed up, they left the couples' hotel.
Back at the villa.
Not long after, the horse girls finished their morning classes. After filling up in the cafeteria, they all came home.
"Chiyono O, over here~"
Mejiro Ardan stood at the foot of the stairs and beckoned to her.
Fujimasa March and the others looked completely unsurprised; they stood to the side and laughed behind their hands.
Seeing these "bullies" surround the weak, pitiful, helpless little Sakura and about to drag her into a room to "discuss certain secret matters,"
Kuroha shook his head, amused, and called to one of the girls: "Obey, come here a sec."
Obey Your Master blinked, then scratched her cheek and scampered over to Kuroha.
Only after the others had filed into Ardan's room did she break into a big smile, stars seeming to sparkle deep in her eyes.
"Trainer, did you miss me?"
The blonde girl winked lightly.
"…Are you still mad that March stole your turn the night before last?"
"Not at all. That's something we decided on long ago."
Obey shook her head, then—voice turning sly—added, "But the day of the Japan Cup is March's slot. If I win~"
"Don't blame anyone else for what happens."
"Feeling that confident?" Kuroha smiled.
"Does Trainer not have confidence in me?"
Obey countered, her expression calm,
as if everything were already in the palm of her hand.
[Obey Your Master]
[Surface Aptitude: Turf S, Dirt D]
[Distance Aptitude: Short C, Mile A, Medium S, Long A]
[Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner C, Pace Chaser A, Late Surger A, End Closer A]
[Unique Skill: Devote All My Glory Lv5]
[Domain: Wild Joker]
[Skills: Good Track (gold), Clairvoyance, Godlike Stride, All-Out, Medium Straightaways ◯, Iron Will, Professor of Curvature, Prudent Positioning, Bad Conditions ◯ …]
[Speed: 1236 · Stamina: 1197 · Power: 1184 · Gut: 1239 · Wit: 1348]
A clear status panel for Obey appeared before Kuroha's eyes.
Compared to the same time last year, when her peak stats barely pushed past the 1100s and her weaker areas were only just over 1000, her gains this year were anything but small.
Not only had every stat crossed the 1100 mark, her strengths had broken past 1200—and even the 1300—thresholds.
And March—
Beyond a more complete skill set, Obey had also raised her Turf aptitude and Medium-distance aptitude to S.
Compared to last year's Japan Cup version of her,
she had patched every shortcoming—and climbed even higher.
It was just that, like Inari One and the rest, her physical limits had been reached; simple training could no longer push her up in a stable way.
Closing the panel,
Kuroha looked at Obey and smiled. "You've gathered the materials, right? Tell me your view on this year's Japan Cup."
Keeping Obey behind, of course, was for the race six days from now.
Obey was like Super Creek.
Or rather, she was an even more powerful data-driven horse girl than Creek.
Even without Kuroha, she would proactively collect data on every entrant, then analyze and organize it,
to determine her strategy and tactics for the race.
But that method wasn't foolproof.
If some mare, like Obey herself once did before a race, hid her true strength—
saving everything to pour out in one decisive battle—
then all that collected data would be little more than decoration.
In the end, only pure strength speaks.
"Your view?"
Obey's smile faded. After thinking a moment, she spoke softly:
"In this period, all the Japan Cup entrants have spent quite a long time on acclimation work."
"Among them, there are plenty who love to show off."
"While their strength is real, they're too confident—in fact… conceited—so they can't be bothered to hide their true selves."
"Their track habits, temperament, rough stamina threshold and speed ceiling… easy to read."
At that point, Obey paused—as if something had come to mind, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
"Trainer, you mean—among those who aren't showing off, the ones deliberately hiding—two of the three champion-level candidates might be lurking."
"Right?"
Kuroha didn't answer at once, but a satisfied look still touched his face.
More than pointing it out himself, he wanted to see Obey arrive there on her own.
"Go on."
"Mm."
Obey nodded and continued her read of the race.
"This year's international G1 spectacle has three horse girls worth attention."
"First is a representative from my homeland, the White Eagle Nation—Pirate Crowhawk."
Obey nodded, her body naturally leaning in until most of her weight rested against Kuroha's chest, and continued her analysis.
"This year's international G1 spectacle has three overseas horse girls worth attention."
"First is a representative from my homeland, the White Eagle Nation—Pirate Crowhawk."
As she spoke, Obey took out her phone, opened a photo, and passed it to Kuroha.
The picture showed a racehorse girl with a black star tattoo at the corner of her left eye and a wild, overbearing air.
Her unruly black hair was tied back; her gaze was as sharp as a hawk's—full of aggression.
"Her final-spurt speed is terrifying—almost… mm, almost on par with Inari One's usual two-step Domain burst."
Obey hesitated, then still used the fastest finisher on the team, Inari One, as the comparison.
"But her stamina is a bit worse, and her temperament is volatile and quick to anger—very easy to provoke."
"In one race back home, she was goaded mid-race by a mare with a 'bewitching talent,' got flustered, lost her rhythm, and someone else used the opening to blow past for the win."
"In short: very strong—but fairly manageable."
Hearing that, Kuroha's expression went a little odd.
"Bewitching talent"…
In the spring series before, during the races between Inari One and Super Creek, a mare with that kind of mental gift had shown up, too.
It's just—
Why do all these "bewitching talent, awakened red-skill" types seem… not actually that strong?
Of the two Kuroha had seen and heard of so far, both had ended up as stepping stones for others.
Even the most famous later on—Nice Nature—earned that "well-timed third" reputation.
But right away, Kuroha overturned his own thought.
He almost forgot—Rudolf's a mischief-maker too, with no shortage of red skills…
It's just that her base strength is so overwhelming she hardly ever needs them.
(End of Chapter)
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