After walking out of the academic affairs building and confirming that Hayakawa Tazuna had not come chasing after him to say, "Please think it over one more time," and that no suspicious stranger had shown up with a briefcase full of cash saying, "Take this money and leave Urara," Urushihara Tōru finally became certain of one thing:
He had really become Urara's trainer.
The trainer of a horse girl who had appeared in the Uma Musume anime.
"Hehe."
Huh? Since when had his laugh become that silly?
Good heavens, it turned out the one laughing was their adorable and powerful rising star, Lady Urara herself!
And what was silly about that laugh? It was unbearably cute, that was what it was.
"What are you laughing about, Urara?"
Tōru smiled as he looked at the pink-haired horse girl holding his hand.
"Trainer's hand is so big and warm!"
Urara grinned as she raised their joined hands.
Wait. No. Hold on.
When had he started holding hands with Urara?
In an instant, all kinds of grotesque horror stories that his classmates in the trainer course had heard from their seniors flashed through Urushihara Tōru's mind.
—Do you know the pain of a ruptured corpus cavernosum?
—Do you know why being torn apart by five horses counts as a form of torture?
—Please identify which part of "a whole day and night" is the verb, and which part is the noun.
Whoa, why did it sound like the door to some basement had just creaked open?
But when he looked at the innocent, radiant smile on Urara's face, Tōru could not help but laugh at his own thoughts.
He was a man with cheats.
With a horse girl as sincere inside and out as Urara, what did he even have to be afraid of?
"Come to think of it, I haven't asked yet."
Taking the opportunity to quietly slip his hand free while Urara was not paying attention, Urushihara Tōru suddenly asked,
"Urara, what is it that you run for?"
He had not decided to oppose that damned academic-faction family entirely out of hot blood in the moment.
At the end of the day, the world of horse girls was still a world that ran on ability.
As long as, under his training, Urara could produce results astonishing enough to shake the world—say, an undefeated Triple Crown, or a Spring–Autumn Triple Crown, or something of that caliber—
Then when the time came, once Urara, the undisputed protagonist, opened her mouth, who exactly counted as the "powerful family" would still be up for debate.
"What do I… run for?"
Haru Urara blinked her pretty pink eyes, her face still carrying that crystal-clear innocence.
"Let me give you an example. You know Tokai Teio from the middle division, right, Urara?"
"Teio! Urara knows her! She dances really softly and really well!"
"That's right, Tokai Teio—the one with the Teio Step. She runs because she admires the Emperor, Symboli Rudolf, and wants to become a horse girl like her. So Tokai Teio runs in order to achieve the undefeated Triple Crown."
"But… she failed."
Clearly, Urara knew Tokai Teio's story as well.
Or rather, there was probably no one in all of Tracen Academy who did not know it.
"That's true. But she's already found a new goal."
Urushihara Tōru rubbed Urara's head.
"That Teio doesn't need anyone worrying about her."
"Mm!"
Urara nodded with complete agreement.
It was obvious she, too, had absolute confidence in Tokai Teio.
"So, I want Urara to have a goal of her own too, just like Tokai Teio."
"I see… a goal?"
Urara swayed her head back and forth as she thought for quite a while. Then her eyes rolled slightly in dizziness.
"Sorry, Trainer. I really can't think of anything."
Urushihara Tōru did not mind at all that Urara had thought so hard and still failed to produce an answer. Instead, he fell into thought.
Since she was clearly a famous horse girl important enough to appear in the anime, Urara had to possess some kind of story worth being remembered.
But if even Urara herself could not answer that question, then she was probably not the sort who carried the mission of a prestigious family, nor the type driven by admiration for some other horse girl and thus set foot on the track.
Then what exactly was the brilliance that would one day engrave Urara's name into horse-girl history?
"Urara, do you like running?"
"Yeah, I love it! I love it as much as I love carrots!"
That was the sort of question where, if you asked ten thousand horse girls, you would get ten thousand identical answers.
There was no such thing as a horse girl who did not like running.
But after saying that, Urara's eyes suddenly sparkled even more brightly, and she added:
"Because running is fun!"
In that instant, enlightenment struck.
Countless images flashed through Urushihara Tōru's mind.
Men and women.
Young and old.
They were all different, and yet they all said the same thing:
"XX is fun."
And those who said words like that in stories—without exception—they were always called by the same title.
The Demon King.
The Demon King who crushed all opposition in every sort of competition through sheer overwhelming difference in ability and seized victory!
No wonder Urara did not have a goal!
Because for Urara, things like "goals" were unnecessary to begin with!
Her future must surely be this: standing atop countless horse girls, trampling over numberless victories, and then saying with a radiant smile—
"Running is fun."
A true Demon King!
I knew it—pink-haired girls are always monsters.
That was the heroine color scheme, after all!
"I understand now, Urara."
The fighting spirit in Urushihara Tōru's eyes burned even more fiercely.
"In any case, let's start by aiming for the undefeated Triple Crown!"
The undefeated Triple Crown? Who? Urara?!
Even someone as cheerful and straightforward as Urara froze on the spot.
"Um, Trainer… shouldn't the usual first step be winning my debut race?"
"Urara, I know that right now you don't have confidence in yourself, and that this goal sounds too distant. But for someone like you, winning your debut race is only natural, isn't it?"
Even though he did not know Urara's exact racing record, surely winning a debut race was something she could do with one hand tied behind her back, right?
She was a horse girl who had appeared in the Uma Musume anime!
By now, Urushihara Tōru had completely understood the sort of script that belonged to a horse girl named Urara.
Pink hair. A history of early setbacks—namely, not being able to find a trainer. That led to a lack of confidence and an inability to recognize her own true strength.
But once things entered the "battle phase," it would become obvious that she actually possessed extraordinary talent.
And once she had tasted the sweetness called victory, the Demon King sleeping inside that small body would descend with a savage grin and rule the entire world!
Do not blame me, you ignorant horse girls still indulging in your pathetic little peace.
If you must blame someone, then blame yourselves for having been born into the same era as Demon King Urara.
…
"Hm? That's strange."
On Tracen's athletic field, Urushihara Tōru stared at the reading on his stopwatch in bewilderment.
Just now, in order to test Urara's aptitude for both distance and track conditions, he had her run a full short-distance course.
Clockwise, 800 meters, turf course, firm ground.
This was the shortest distance one could encounter in an official race.
If there were a horse girl who could not even finish that sort of distance, then she would have no qualification whatsoever to be a racehorse girl.
Naturally, the future Demon King Urara had no trouble completing such a short distance.
Judging by her breathing rhythm at this very moment, she still had quite a bit of stamina left in reserve.
But that was not the important part.
What mattered was…
Why was Urara's short-distance time so… bad?
Where had his Demon King gone?
-------
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 (261 Chapter) (Ending)
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? (130 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? (130 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! (78 Chapter)
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 (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 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? (140 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 (65 Chapter)
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 (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 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 (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it