"So tired…"
After the conditioning session ended, Tamamo Cross braced herself against the wall just to stay upright.
Every muscle in her body burned as if it were on fire. Her legs trembled uncontrollably. Those two hours had felt longer than a century—everything she had that could keep her going, stamina, grit, even sheer obsession, had been completely drained within that time.
She turned to look at Oguri Cap.
Oguri was already sprawled on the floor, staring blankly at the gravity chamber ceiling. Her chest heaved violently, like she was about to inhale every last bit of oxygen in the room.
"Drink some lightly salted water to replenish your energy," Takayama Gamu said.
With his eyes closed, he casually hauled Oguri Cap up off the floor. Both horse girls were soaked through; their athletic wear had been completely drenched in sweat. Tamamo Cross's loose outfit clung to her in a way that gave Gamu the vague impression of a grade-schooler who'd gotten her clothes wet playing at the beach.
Oguri Cap was a different story.
The same outfit that hung loosely on Tamamo Cross barely fit Oguri's upper body. It exposed a flat midriff with sharp, athletic lines, and once the fabric was soaked, it traced her silhouette even more clearly.
After giving them a moment to recover, Takayama Gamu dragged out a silver-white device from somewhere in the training room—something that looked like a sci-fi movie hibernation pod.
"This is a liquid-nitrogen cryotherapy pod," he said.
Gamu lay down inside first.
"Once activated, it creates a minus one-hundred-degree environment inside. The cold stimulus constricts blood vessels, reduces inflammation, and promotes lactic-acid metabolism."
"Minus one hundred?!" Tamamo Cross nearly lost her balance and toppled over.
"You'll turn into an ice cube!"
"Is this a refrigerator?" Oguri Cap asked curiously.
Then she realized the device seemed to want her to lie inside it.
"Ugh…"
"This is a scientifically grounded recovery method—same as the gravity training," Takayama Gamu explained calmly, with only his head sticking out.
"You're only inside for a little while. See—" he started.
Paal chose that exact moment to release a blast of cold air while Gamu wasn't paying attention.
"It's just… a bit… cold," Gamu managed, his face spasming through a rapid sequence of expressions as he blinked hard and bared his teeth.
That looks so wrong. So scary!!
Tamamo Cross tried to drink some lightly salted water to ease her nerves.
Ugh… even lifting a bottle is exhausting right now…
Three minutes passed. The pod opened. In a cloud of white fog, Takayama Gamu rose and forced a confident smile onto his face.
"Ahem. See? I told you it's fine. Oguri Cap, you go in first. Tamamo Cross still has training tasks after this."
Only after confirming Gamu hadn't been frozen into a block of ice did Oguri Cap slowly—cautiously, like easing into a swimming pool—lie down inside.
It was cold.
Oguri Cap shivered, ears snapping upright in alarm.
But it wasn't as unbearable as she'd imagined. If anything, it felt far better than the gravity chamber.
The burning sensation from lactic-acid buildup was steadily fading. Muscles that had been taut as bowstrings gradually loosened.
…This is kind of comfortable?
Oguri Cap's tension finally sank away, replaced by a strange sense of safety.
So this is the power of science?
Trainer Gamu really is amazing.
Watching Oguri Cap's face soften into something almost pleased inside the pod, Tamamo Cross instead wore a miserable, long-suffering expression.
Because she still had to keep training.
"Next is running-form adjustment. Based on the movement data we just collected, Paal has already used the model I provided to make an initial refinement to your form," Takayama Gamu said.
"It's still rough overall, but it should help."
He continued, matter-of-fact:
"Once we start winning races, Chairwoman Akikawa will increase our funding. We can build a simple wind tunnel, and then we'll refine further using aerodynamics."
What is he even talking about? I don't understand any of this!!
Aerodynamics—aren't those things airplanes worry about?!
Tamamo Cross swallowed hard, remembering what she'd seen on the trainers' internal forum:
A seventeen-year-old PhD in quantum mechanics, an Alchemy Star—Takayama Gamu.
Right. Trainer Gamu is a STEM genius. Aerodynamics is probably child's play for him…
But what do these training methods have to do with quantum mechanics at all?!
Meanwhile, Takayama Gamu yanked Oguri Cap out of the cryotherapy pod.
"Your running form hasn't been designed yet, so you'll rest for today." He shut the pod and pointed at Paal. "Want to watch TV? Paal can play it. There's fruit on the table too—help yourself."
"If you have any questions, you can ask Paal directly."
Tamamo Cross thought it felt exactly like a college student being told to babysit when a relative's kid came over.
"Understood, Gamu," Paal replied immediately.
Oguri Cap thought for a moment as well, then answered:
"Understood, Gamu."
Then Takayama Gamu returned to the gravity chamber and set the gravity to 0.2×.
"First, try to make your movements precise in a low-gravity environment."
"Gah!"
Tamamo Cross felt her body turn unbelievably light. She pushed off the floor with just a little force—only to nearly slam into the ceiling.
Watching Tamamo Cross drift down from above, Takayama Gamu found her oddly cute.
But even so, he wasn't going to go easy during training. He would be as strict as Team Hercules had been when they drilled him.
"Swing your arms a little farther back."
"Lean your body forward more. Don't worry—gravity is low right now. You won't fall."
"Lengthen your stride—yes, that's it!"
Takayama Gamu stayed beside Tamamo Cross. Whenever her movement started to deform, he reached out and physically corrected her.
Until the very last trace of strength was squeezed out of her, his training wouldn't stop.
...
"I'm digging in."
Oguri Cap sat at the table and said it with solemn sincerity.
Fruit was expensive…
So she had to savor it carefully.
"Banana…"
Tasty.
"Apple…"
Tasty.
"Grapes…"
Also tasty.
Oh—carrots too!
"Paal, can I eat carrots?"
Unlike Tamamo Cross, Oguri Cap didn't really have a concept of artificial intelligence. Even if Paal talked, made expressions, and seemed to think, she didn't find it strange.
Trainer Gamu was amazing. Anything he made was normal.
That was how Oguri Cap thought.
"Yesterday's carrots have already been harvested by Gamu," Paal said simply—because Gamu hadn't set any confidentiality restrictions.
"Please bury the seeds in the soil again."
Oguri Cap, only half understanding, followed Paal's instructions and planted the carrot seeds Gamu had left nearby.
Then the carrot seeds began to grow at explosive speed!
"The carrots—grew!"
Oguri Cap now regarded the styrofoam box as an invention even more miraculous than anti-gravity. She clasped her hands together, and with reverence for the earth that produced food, bowed devoutly.
Then—
"I'm digging in."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (123 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (110 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (780Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (165 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (115 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (125 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (120 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (54Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (76 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (63 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (83 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (70 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (70 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (80 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (75 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (60 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (80 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (58)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it