Uma Musume: To The Top!!

Inside the trainer's office.

Kuroha sat at the desk, carefully reading through the race materials in his hands.

Across from him, the two girls stood side by side with their slender bodies held straight and their spirits high. Their eyes carried the same look of anticipation and faint excitement.

Kuroha pondered for a moment, closed the documents in his hands, then looked up at the two girls.

Seeing that both uma musume were a little stiff, he could not help laughing.

He then reached out, pulled the two nearby chairs in front of him, and patted the backs.

"Bourbon, Rice Shower, don't be nervous. Come on, sit down like usual."

"Yes, Master."

Before Rice Shower could react, Bourbon had already responded first.

The cyber-girl answered crisply and cleanly.

Then she walked to the chair with precise steps, obediently sat down, and placed both hands flat on her knees. Her posture was extremely standard.

"O-okay!"

Although Rice Shower was half a beat slower, she hurriedly sat down beside Bourbon as well.

She sat upright with her legs neatly together, her small hands nervously clutching the hem of her skirt, making her look especially dazed and adorable.

Once the two girls were seated, Kuroha finally got to the point.

"The dates for both of your debut races have been settled."

"Rice Shower, yours is set for the middle of this month, August 14, at Hanshin Racecourse. The distance is 1600 meters on turf."

"As for Bourbon, your race category is the same as Rice Shower's. The only difference is that the date is a few days later, set for the Make Debut race at Nakayama Racecourse on August 20."

"Understood!"

The two girls' expressions sharpened as they nodded seriously.

The current date was August 3.

There were still exactly eleven days until Rice Shower's upcoming debut race.

Although it seemed short.

For uma musume who had begun preparing madly for this race from the very first day of their true awakening, that amount of preparation time was already more than enough.

In fact.

Kuroha was not worried in the slightest about either of their debut races.

As for why...

As he thought, a faint glow flickered in Kuroha's eyes. Two translucent status panels that only he could see instantly appeared before him.

[Mihono Bourbon]

[Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt C]

[Distance Aptitude: Sprint A, Mile A, Medium S, Long A]

[Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner S, Pace Chaser B, Late Surger G, End Closer G]

[Unique Skill: G00 1st.F∞; Lv4]

[Domain: Steel Chronology!]

[Skills: Rainy Days, Fast-Paced, Rosy Outlook, Front Runner Straightaways, Taking the Lead, Front Runner Corners, Wet Conditions, Fast & Furious, Keeping the Lead, Highlander, Long Straightaways...]

[Speed: 566, Stamina: 528, Power: 581, Guts: 704, Wit: 701]

[Rice Shower]

[Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt G]

[Distance Aptitude: Sprint D, Mile A, Medium A, Long S]

[Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner A, Pace Chaser S, Late Surger C, End Closer G]

[Unique Skill: Blue Rose Closer Lv4]

[Domain: Awakening]

[Skills: Subdued Pace Chasers, Straight Descent, Deep Breaths, Determined Descent, Highlander, Long Straightaways, Hydrate, Cooldown...]

[Speed: 519, Stamina: 657, Power: 484, Guts: 603, Wit: 592]

Looking at the magnificent data before him, Kuroha could not help secretly praising them.

Compared to their initial panels when they first underwent their true awakening.

Apart from the explosive rise in their physical stats, Kuroha also noticed several extremely important changes.

First was Bourbon.

Through day after day of grueling special training, both her Medium aptitude and Front Runner aptitude had already risen from A to S.

Next was the transformation in the [Domain] column.

The original words "Awakening" had already disappeared. In their place was the sharp and dazzling [Domain: Steel Chronology!]

This symbolized that Bourbon had already faintly glimpsed the doorway to her own racetrack and pioneer path.

Before even reaching her debut race, she had already stepped into the second stage of [Domain]!

As for Rice Shower.

Beyond the same massive increase in her physical stats, her Long aptitude and Pace Chaser aptitude had also crossed into S rank.

Not only that, her [Domain] column had finally changed from its original blank state into the flickering words [Awakening].

Although her progress was slightly slower than her friend's.

It also meant that this blue rose girl, who had once been constantly lost, had at last found the correct path.

That made Kuroha feel deeply relieved.

This luxurious panel, comparable to most Central uma musume at the beginning of their classic year, was the foundation of Kuroha's certainty that his girls would crush their debut races.

Although.

Even Bourbon, whose panel had the highest stats, still could not compare to Teio's 700 F stats at the time of her own debut.

But that did not change the fact that their data had already surpassed 99.99 percent of the uma musume in their generation.

Unless they happened to run into some overpowered monster like Sea the Stars or Secretariat, the kind that only appeared once in over a decade, in their debut race...

Kuroha genuinely could not imagine how they were supposed to lose.

After informing them of their debut race dates.

Kuroha pulled two race plans from the documents in his hands and handed them respectively to Bourbon and Rice Shower.

"Besides your debut races, I've also made detailed plans for your race schedules from junior year to classic year during this period. Take a look first."

The two girls accepted them with serious expressions. Their two pairs of small, adorable horse ears stood straight up as they focused intently on reading.

As they looked at their future racing goals, Kuroha began explaining as well.

"The OP and G3-level races are mainly for helping you adapt to the atmosphere of official races and maintain your competitive condition. Just let those happen naturally. You don't need to care too much about them."

"The main thing you need to pay attention to is the G1-level races."

Kuroha said in a low voice,

"There isn't much to say about the G1 races in your junior year. There are only three of them."

"So, Bourbon, your first goal this year is the G1 at the end of the year—the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes!"

"And Rice Shower, your goal is the G1—the Hopeful Stakes!"

"As for the classic-year Twinkle Series races, they haven't been completely finalized yet. For now, I can only give you the names of the races you'll need to participate in. After reading them, you can think them over carefully."

At this point, he deliberately paused for a while.

Only after confirming that both of them had finished reading did he ask softly,

"How is it? Do either of you have any other thoughts or concerns about this schedule?"

"Confirmed. New instructions obtained. The race goals planned by Master have been successfully entered into the database."

The cyber-horse girl nodded her little head with a serious expression.

In those few short seconds just now, she had already scanned through the entire race plan and had seen the Classic Triple Crown listed within it.

In her originally calm chest, a faint heat somehow began to rise.

Even Bourbon, who had always been rational, could not help feeling her heart stir when she realized that the dream she had always held was so close to her for the first time.

I want to run...

I want to get on the track right now...

This intense impulse suddenly emerged in Bourbon's mind, but it was soon forcibly suppressed by her willpower.

She continued obediently staying by Kuroha's side.

No matter what, Master's instructions are the highest priority!

The chestnut-haired beauty quietly gazed at her trainer's serious profile, her thoughts somehow growing complicated.

"Onii-sama..."

At that moment, Rice Shower beside her suddenly raised her right hand hesitantly, shrinking her neck like an elementary school student asking a question in class.

"What is it, Rice Shower?"

Kuroha turned toward her.

"This... Triple Tiara... If this is what you expect from Rice Shower..."

The blue rose girl looked at the race schedule in her hands and spoke softly, yet her tone was unusually firm.

"Then Rice Shower... will definitely bring the championship back to you!"

Because if Onii-sama can be happy, then Rice Shower will feel very happy too!

Rice Shower did not say that final sentence aloud.

At that moment, the girl's slightly lowered eyes shone like stars.

In those clear, amethyst-like pupils, it was as though a gentle figure, always glowing with light, was reflected within them.

"If Rice Shower wants to make me happy, then you have to feel happy yourself too~"

The next instant, those words that the figure had once said to her echoed again in Rice Shower's mind.

No...

The girl murmured silently in her heart.

It should be the other way around.

Only if Onii-sama is happy first can Rice Shower feel happy.

Kuroha naturally could not hear Rice Shower's little inner monologue as she lowered her head.

He only looked at the girl's determined appearance, nodded slightly, and smiled.

"I suppose you could call it my expectation for you."

"Of course, if you have any other thoughts, Rice Shower, you can bring them up. This schedule is only the first draft. It can be changed at any time."

Among the race schedules Kuroha had arranged for the two girls.

Bourbon would naturally aim for the Classic Triple Crown.

But even after Rice Shower had untied the knot in her heart, she still did not have any firm ideas of her own.

So Kuroha had arranged a path for her with the goal of taking the Triple Tiara.

If Rice Shower liked it, then everyone would be happy. Even if she did not, there was still a long time before her classic year. They would eventually find the path best suited for her.

Rice Shower hugged the sheet of paper to herself, smiling as she shook her head.

"There's no need to change it! As long as it's a decision Onii-sama made for Rice Shower, Rice Shower already agrees very, very much!"

"Really?"

Kuroha felt that something about this was strange.

"Mm!"

As Rice Shower affirmed it, a dazzling purple-black bolt of electricity suddenly rose within her pupils.

This power, which symbolized the heart of an uma musume, proved that the girl was now facing her true feelings head-on.

"...All right, then."

Seeing Rice Shower's [Domain] power, Kuroha still felt as though something was not quite right, but he nodded anyway.

At that moment, Rice Shower spoke again.

"Onii-sama, if Rice Shower can meet your expectations..."

Kuroha: "?"

As she spoke, the girl paused. Her face visibly flushed, and after fidgeting for a long while, she finally mustered the courage to say,

"If... if Rice Shower can meet your expectations... can Rice Shower ask for a reward? Just one tiny reward would be enough..."

"..."

All right. You don't need to say it. I already know what reward you want.

Kuroha sighed helplessly, but he still reached out and rubbed the girl's small head.

"All right. When the time comes, Rice Shower can ask for whatever reward she wants, as long as Trainer can do it."

"Mm!"

Hearing this, Rice Shower blissfully accepted her trainer's head pats. The restless little tail behind her also began wagging rapidly.

And beside her.

Bourbon tilted her head, blinked, and seemed to be thinking about something.

(End of Chapter)

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