Uma Musume no Nama no Nichijou (Horse Girl), First and foremost

"Do you understand? This is just a little bit of my technique."

After saying that, Golden Victory solemnly used her left hand to stop her treasured space-themed fidget spinner.

The dazzling light stopped immediately after the top stopped spinning.

Fujimasa March: "..."

Shibasaki: "..."

The man and the horse girl's eyes met for the first time, both filled with confusion about the next ten days.

How to do?

This Central Racehorse Girl is a Central Trainer.

It seems a little...not quite proper?

Chapter Four: Competition Under the Zhongjing Cup

The Chukyo Racecourse is also the venue for the Chukyo Cup.

Today is the day of the Zhongjing Cup. The participants have all finished their introductions and are preparing to move from the players' stage to the stadium gates to begin the competition.

As for the trainers, they have already given their respective racehorse girls instructions before the race.

Nowadays, trainers' job is more about believing in the racehorses they breed and watching them compete to identify areas for improvement.

Of course, the unique characteristics and strengths that racehorses exhibit during the races will also be remembered by the trainers, serving as key points for building the racehorses' confidence after the races.

But right there in the stands, before the game even started.

Two men wearing name tags indicating they were trainers for horse racing almost came to blows.

"Damn it! Shibasaki!!!"

Kitahara, acting like a thug, was using his hands to pull on Shibasaki's collar, putting the latter at a disadvantage for a moment.

"You bastard! Why did you have to enter at the last minute?! And how did you even get that extra spot?!"

This was something Kitahara hadn't anticipated at all: the participation of Uma Musume Fujimasa March.

However, when faced with Kitahara's violent questioning, Shibasaki calmly pushed the man in front of him back forcefully with both hands.

Kitahara was stunned by the sudden resistance, while Shibasaki took the opportunity to break free. The spectators on both sides immediately pulled the two apart as a way to break up the fight.

They do enjoy watching exciting scenes, but what they really want to see is horse girls competing on the track.

Who wants to see two middle-aged men fighting?

They're blocking our view of the horse's swaying figure!

If it weren't for the name tags on these two contestants, a few righteous fans would probably have forcibly separated them or even kicked them out of the competition.

Once they regained their composure, their physical interaction quickly turned into a standoff between their eyes.

A hint of confusion flickered in Kitahara's questioning gaze.

For some reason, Shibasaki, who had previously been somewhat afraid of Kitahara, who frequently engaged in thuggish behavior...

His personality now seems less passive than before.

After straightening his clothes and tie, Shibasaki calmly replied with a displeased look, "There's no reason, is there? It's just that she wanted to have another showdown with Oguri Hat, that's all."

"As for how we signed up, do you think you're the only one with connections? It's Kitahara Yutaka, the nephew of the Central Trainer."

Because of what had just happened, Shibasaki did not intend to reveal to his violent colleague the news that Golden Victory was serving as a temporary advisor.

Anyway, it wouldn't make any difference if he found out.

Oguri Hat herself wasn't the one needing help...

Thinking of his stubborn horse girl during training, Shibasaki finally couldn't help but hum, "Do you think you little rascals are afraid of losing to a march?"

"Of course not! Oguri Hat is very good at running! Because her mother loves her very much! So Oguri Hat is very good at running now!"

However, the petite racehorse girl next to her, Shining Bright, beat the trainer to it, her eyes wide with fighting spirit, showing her full confidence in her teammates and friends.

"Yes...yes! That's right! And, Oguri Hat eats a lot! So she's a great runner! She'll definitely win the race!"

"What is this all about... Oh well, isn't this fine enough?"

I don't quite understand the bizarre logic of this human and horse girl.

Fortunately, after ten days of hardship, Shibasaki has become almost immune to the word "weird" and chooses to ignore weird behavior.

He simply walked to the railing area, rested his hands on the railing, and responded to them in a slightly somber tone:

"Our work as trainers is done before the race even starts. All that's left is to watch the race and trust that our racehorse girls will win."

After saying those cool words, he looked at the distant blue sky.

Shibasaki felt he looked very handsome today.

Unfortunately, Chukyo Racecourse, which offers high-stakes races, is much larger than Kasamatsu Racecourse, so no smoking in the open area is a basic rule.

Otherwise, he might want to look cool with a cigarette between his fingers, even if he doesn't smoke.

Well, never mind. If I really want to look cool, I can just suck on a lollipop...

Anyway, I don't really like smoking, and as a trainer, I basically won't allow such foolish behavior that indirectly harms racehorse girls.

It's hard to say about the local situation, but he heard that the central trainers are particularly strict about this, and if there are any difficulties in this regard, they usually require him to eat a lollipop when he goes to work.

"The horse girls respect their trainers, and the trainers believe in the horse girls..."

"Uh..."

It seemed like she remembered something.

Shibasaki's eyes suddenly narrowed slightly as he looked at the horse racer in the distance, wearing a tacky bright red tracksuit...

"Golden Victory, you've been here in Kasamatsu for ten days now and you still haven't left. What exactly are you up to?"

After seeing the racehorse girl, Golden Victory, who was deliberately sitting next to him, Rokuhei Ginjiro promptly voiced his inner question.

"As for me... it's mainly because of Oguri Hat and her friend, who said they were going to challenge East Blue Darby with the trainer."

As she spoke, Golden Victory casually and without any attempt to conceal her purpose.

"So I made the chestnut hat a bit more difficult. In my opinion, geniuses always need more training."

"...This is a formal competition, and a near-high prize event at that. You didn't teach Fujimasa March some fouls, did you?"

His own nephew was an idiot, but he wasn't.

Rokuhei Ginjiro was more or less aware of the whereabouts of the golden Victory.

"Her?" Fujimasa March looked at the other female horses waiting to enter the gate, and was doing her final warm-up at the edge of the track.

Golden Victory's smile remained confident and frank.

"Don't worry, Fujimasa March's aptitude is actually sufficient; she doesn't need my somewhat dangerous core techniques."

"My little tricks are enough to deal with an immature racehorse girl like Oguri Hat."

But right after she finished speaking...

Golden Victory shuddered beautifully from his tail to his ears as if he had been electrocuted, his ears locating a certain spot like radar.

She then glanced briefly at the reserved seats on the higher floor.

Those were the silhouettes of several familiar women wearing Central Tresson uniforms.

From a position near the edge of their field of vision, they sat like nobles in the VIP seats, elegantly observing the current match through binoculars.

Among them are many familiar faces from the Golden Victory team.

"You pursue victory through sprinting, while I pursue the essence of victory."

"Who's on whose side? This match might be a good start."

"You're right, aren't you?"

"[Emperor] Rudolf symbol."

......

The guest seats, which were specially reserved by the organizers, were currently being used by a group of horse racing girls dressed in Central Teresen Academy uniforms in this semi-transparent indoor space.

Among the many horse racing students, the two chestnut-colored horse girls, who were in the best position in the middle and had enough comfortable space, stood out.

One of them was pressing down on the chestnut hat's battle record provided by the person next to him with one hand. The leading horse girl was observing the horse girl's figure in the gate waiting area with great interest through the lens of her binoculars until she found the person whose characteristics matched.

The other woman looked at the other woman with a caring smile. The two women clearly distinguished between the two in their behavior and demeanor, and she seemed to prefer the position of the person next to her as his secretary.

Maruzensky, secretary of the student council at Central Teresen Academy.

And the person next to Maruzensky, the student council president of Central Teresen Academy, is Rudolf's symbol.

"Is she Oguri Hat...?"

As the president of the Central Teresa student council, part of the reason she came here today was indeed because of this gossamer monster.

"It really is a horse with reeds. It seems I am ignorant and lack knowledge."

Meanwhile, Maru Zenkichi, who served as Emperor Rudolf's symbolic secretary, looked at the chairman with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? But I heard that the horse racer with the goose feather... But Oguri's test data is so good that even a lot of the students from the Central Academy of Drama can't beat her, right?"

Maruzensky's implication was that he had previously harbored doubts about the color of Oguri's fur.

"There is indeed a rumor that ruddy-haired female horses are not fast, and there are not many ruddy-haired female horses that can stand on the racetrack and become racehorses."

I put down the binoculars, and beside me was a rather thick stack of various materials about Oguri Hat.

From the health problems diagnosed by doctors when she was a child to her recent winning record in the Youth Crown Cup, there are many physical data records she has kept at Treson Academy.

"But truly exceptional individuals often break these stereotypes."

"That makes sense, but in that case..."

"There seems to be another goose-haired horse girl worth noting in this match."

As a secretary, it was her job to fill in the gaps and make up for the president's shortcomings, who was also the most busy person in the academy.