While Stardust and the others were feasting—
Central Tracen Academy, Student Council office.
"Ugh… Air Groove, do you think those JRA guys are all blockheads?" Symboli Rudolf rubbed her temples, looking helplessly at the report just delivered.
It detailed everything that happened at Oguri's retirement ceremony, including the birth of "Oguri Cap II"… and that JRA reporter's disgrace.
"Can't be helped."
Air Groove, at a side desk, wrote quickly on a document, answering without lifting her head:
"That reporter has already been fired on the spot by JRA. It should mitigate some of the impact."
"Good…" Rudolf sighed and leaned back in the chair, eyes closed, and in her mind rose that gray-mane horse girl who had once rushed into her office shouting, "I need your authority."
That was two years ago.
"'Oguri Cap II'… do you really place such high expectations on her?" Rudolf seemed to be asking the Oguri in her head—or herself.
"That's not a bad thing, right? Didn't you say you hoped Teio would have her own 'Senbon Matsu'?" Air Groove pushed a lock of hair behind her ear without looking up.
"That's true—but who could have expected Teio to push herself that far?! In her second race today she ran to the point of pulling a muscle. I can't believe she finished the winner's stage with the pain!"
Rudolf covered her face and cried out. Alone with a friend, she could drop the regal pose; she was relaxed, nothing like the awe-inspiring president in public.
"Then stop Teio. Tell her not to push so hard. She'll listen to you," Air Groove answered like reading lines, emotionless.
"How could I… telling a horse girl not to run her fill—what is that?" Rudolf retorted at once.
"Then you're just an over-worrying parent." Air Groove chuckled behind her hand.
She'd seen that Rudolf only wanted to vent to relieve worry over Teio, so she deliberately poked her.
"Eh… you're right. Back to work then. Let's make time to visit Teio in the hospital tomorrow." Prompted, Rudolf realized what she was doing, sighed, and set herself back to work:
"Have JRA prepare a press conference."
"Understood. I'll notify them at once." With Rudolf back to business, Air Groove also switched tone and responded seriously.
Propping her face in one hand, the Emperor turned her gaze toward the empty doorway, voice cool:
"At the press conference, we'll announce we've already specially admitted Stardust Mirage. That will prove Central has long taken her seriously…"
"As for the rest, let those old men apologize. Bowing is what they do best anyway."
————————————————————————————————————————
Dawn, 5 a.m.
Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!
A sudden knocking sounded at the dorm door of the training grounds.
Stardust Mirage was jarred awake by the heavy, forceful raps. Seeing the sky still gray outside, she didn't know what was going on.
Only after a few seconds to gather herself under the knocking did she shuffle out of bed, bleary-eyed, and open the door.
Two figures, one big, one small, stood outside.
"Old man… and Oguri Cap? What are you doing this early?" Stardust rubbed her eyes, puzzled.
"We leave on vacation tomorrow," the old man said mildly.
"Er… and?"
Shivering in the winter wind in just pajamas, Stardust curled up.
She still didn't get it. Maybe, since they were leaving tomorrow, they wanted to spend a little more time with her?
"So of course we're taking you for a run today."
He checked his watch and smiled. "It's 5:04 a.m. I'll give you six minutes to get ready. At 5:10, Oguri and I will be waiting downstairs."
"…Huh?" Without so much as a glance at the dumbfounded Stardust, the old man turned and left.
Oguri followed at once, but halfway she turned back, clenched a fist, and whispered to Stardust:
"You can do it!"
Stumbling back into the room, Stardust dressed and splashed cold water on her face, finally waking up.
She was still confused—training had always been in the daytime. Why drag her up at the crack of dawn?
But the old man wasn't the type to joke about training. So she hurriedly tidied up and dashed downstairs.
As soon as she reached the bottom, she saw Rokuhira straddling a petite pink ladies' scooter. Oguri, in her workout clothes, was stretching. When he saw Stardust, Rokuhira waved: "Let's go."
He fired up the scooter and chugged off.
Oguri jogged after it. Stardust didn't know what was going on, but instinct made her fall in behind the scooter, running alongside Oguri.
"Where are we going?"
Watching the little old man ride—probably his daughter's—scooter, head down, leading them out of the training grounds, Stardust couldn't help asking.
"To catch the Shinkansen."
Rokuhira didn't go fast, holding a steady 10–20 km/h to lead the way.
It was barely past five. The sky wasn't fully light. Streetlights still glowed. Stardust looked around: aside from the occasional breakfast cart, most shops were shuttered.
"To catch the Shinkansen to where?" She asked, but kept her limbs and breathing balanced, staying comfortable while jogging behind the scooter with Oguri.
"To check out Central Tracen a little early—and to introduce you to your next trainer."
The scooter picked up a bit. Stardust matched it—and began to feel uneasy—
How far was it to the Shinkansen again?
After about an hour, through quiet streets that slowly stirred with people, with the rumble of passing trains in the air, the panting Stardust realized they were near…
"How do you feel?" The old man stopped the scooter, handed her a towel.
"I can still hang!" She was tired, but answered stubbornly.
"Heh." He smiled, meaningful.
Standing before the station, he fell silent, then said:
"For top-potential runners like Oguri, Teio—or you—the trainer's biggest role is devising plans so you can build your body and experience scientifically, achieving twice the result for half the effort."
"Like today—if I tell you that running ten kilometers every morning will further train your stamina, will you keep that habit?"
"I will." Stardust answered without a blink.
"I knew you'd say that." He arched a brow. "Honestly, people call Oguri a monster on the track—but I trained you 17 days… to me, on the training ground, you also deserve to be called a monster."
"Stardust Mirage, when I compare your logs at the same time each day, I don't see even one instance where your training effect dips. I've never seen that. That's the main reason I believe you're worthy to inherit Oguri's glory."
"Once you understand the weight of victory—and with the trainer I'll introduce you to—you'll probably focus more and more on basic work, right?"
"But I must tell you… never force yourself into destructive training. Restrain your desire to train. Don't be fooled by the illusion that training can always raise your base."
The old man spoke earnestly, his face weathered by experience:
"I've seen too many good seedlings suffer injuries from overtraining, then their careers crash—or end outright. No matter what plan you get later, you must pay attention to your body's alarms. Never hurt yourself because of training."
Stardust understood what he meant.
Her system could quantify training effects. In recent plans, that made the improvements feel striking.
The old man feared she'd be blinded by those striking effects, forcing herself into overload and injury. That's why he staged this whole morning.
"Relax, old man. I want to win, but I'm not deranged."
She didn't mention the system—that would be awkward and cause needless worry—so she answered that way.
"Good. Next—since we're going to Tracen today, do you want to team up with Oguri for the Dream Cup next year?" His tone lightened.
"Eh?"
Racing isn't a team sport—what did that mean?
"Oh, you haven't learned about the Dream Cup, have you?"
He explained:
"The Dream Cup is a special event held by the Three Goddesses. Their power opens a special space and concretizes a G1 course. Entrants form teams of three and run team races. Points are awarded by placing, and the team total decides advancement."
"There's also Group A and B, Restricted and Open, etc. Someone at the academy will explain the details when you arrive."
Stardust's mind started cursing:
Teams of three?
Restricted and Open?
Random G1 courses?
Group A finals, Group B finals?
Fine. So that's how it is.
Damn you, Three Goddesses. I escaped into Uma Musume—why are we still doing "push the big tourney" arcs?!
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