"Orfevre… what do you think of today's training…?"
"There's way too much physical training! It's so tiring, Ikezoe, can't we switch to something a bit easier?"
After returning to Tracen Academy, Ikezoe's training regimen remained as difficult as ever, and Orfevre was visibly becoming less and less cooperative with her training.
From all her previous races, Ikezoe had gradually understood how Orfevre likes to run.
When Orfevre was in race mode, she completely shuts off her brain, running on pure feeling and experience, completely forgetting about the tactics taught to her.
While she is capable of winning races like this, the problem was that aspects like experience were simply too difficult and unreliable to systematically train.
Therefore, Ikezoe trained Orfevre in two ways.
First, there was the 'Uma Musume riding' training method invented by Orfevre, which frequently caused Ikezoe a great deal of suffering.
Ikezoe would use his self-made bridle, ride on Orfevre's shoulder, and then use the bridle to signal Orfevre when to accelerate, when to slow down, and so on.
Through repeatedly doing this, he aimed to engrave some important strategies into her body so that she could still use them in race mode.
Although this method was invented by Orfevre, and the process was so difficult that Ikezoe initially suspected it was simply a novel method designed to torment him, this training method was indeed quite effective.
Moreover, as time passed, Orfevre gradually became less resistant to Ikezoe being on her back.
—Of course, every time they finished a lap, she would still instinctively throw Ikezoe off her back.
The other way was the most basic of physical training, made to give Orfevre an all-rounder build so that she could deal with any situation thrown at her.
He even came up with four super-categories to help Orfevre understand her training plan better, which were: speed, stamina, strength, and guts.
Ikezoe was pushing Orfevre to improve as much as possible in almost all physical aspects, except for tactical thinking.
He had realized that with Orfevre's Classic Year arriving next year, her only weapon would be her innately powerful physique.
Time was running out, and they needed to seize the opportunity to train Orfevre's physique to be so above her peers that things like tactics won't matter to her.
After all, it was undeniable that Orfevre could not reach the level of those technically skilled Uma Musume.
But Orfevre was a purely physical Uma Musume; as long as her physique was up to par, there was no need to worry about anything else.
However, what was bothering Ikezoe now was that Orfevre was already fed up with the usual, monotonous physical training.
Orfevre said to Ikezoe with great dissatisfaction:
"This training takes so long and makes me so stinky after—I don't wanna do it~! I don't wanna~!"
"Ikezoe! I want the other training! Go grab that... whatever thing now!"
"Please spare me, I really can't take any more falls these days."
As soon as Ikezoe mentioned this, his back also throbbed faintly.
He had just finished 'riding training' with Orfevre a few days ago, and the injuries he sustained on his back hadn't healed yet.
"Anyway, I don't want to do physical training anymore! I want to run races! Ikezoe! I want to run races!"
"...Orfevre, your next race is the Kyoto Kimpai in January. Before that, you can't just not train at all."
Ikezoe also felt exhausted. Orfevre, who will be their team's main Uma Musume for next year and would likely encounter monsters like Mejiro McQueen in long-distance races, was currently at a phase where she wouldn't even listen to her Trainer.
But this was simply how Orfevre was, plus, this wasn't the first time he had to deal with her like this, Ikezoe comforted himself in his mind.
"Hehe, Onii-chan, it's okay. If Orfevre isn't motivated, then leave it to Curren Chan~"
At this moment, Curren Chan, who was standing by, timely stepped forward to comfort her Onii-chan.
She tiptoed slightly and rubbed Ikezoe's head, saying gently,
"You can prepare my training first. As for Orfevre, she can continue once she gets motivated~"
"...Curren Chan, you truly are my angel~!"
Ikezoe said this without any hesitation.
Having someone by his side who knew him inside and out, who could assist him and step out to comfort him when necessary, was something Ikezoe fully appreciated.
"Hmph."
Orfevre looked at this scene and just snorted coldly, turning her head away.
Clearly, she had already gotten used to Curren Chan and Ikezoe's way of interacting. As such, she still stubbornly persisted in slacking off.
"Well then, Curren Chan, once you reach your Classic Year, your training schedule will actually become very similar to Orfevre's."
"Since you specialize in sprint races, your training items will be relatively singular."
However, just as Ikezoe said this, he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up, asking Curren Chan.
"Also, one thing, Curren Chan, have you ever heard of a Uma Musume named 'Lord Kanaloa'?"
"Eh~ That name sounds a bit familiar... I think she's a student from the branch school?"
Curren Chan also tried hard to recall anything about the name "Lord Kanaloa," then said with some uncertainty,
"I believe that she's one of my fans? I remember someone with that name donating a lot to my channel and going to my meet-and-greet every time, so I have a bit of an impression of her."
"She is a... freshman, I believe? And she doesn't seem to be old enough to even race in a Debut Race."
"Onii-chan, why did you suddenly bring up that girl? Could it be... Onii-chan is planning to recruit new Uma Musume from the Branch School into the team?"
"No, I don't have such plans for now."
Ikezoe answered this question, which both Curren Chan and Orfevre were somewhat interested in, without hesitation, causing both girls to let out a sigh of relief.
Ikezoe's inner thought was that if he really recruited Lord Kanaloa into the team, his group would face a T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto predicament where her and Curren Chan's races completely overlapped, but one was simply a superior/inferior replacement.
Ikezoe did not want to be like Wada, suffering such difficulties in this regard.
"I'm just giving you a heads-up, Curren Chan. That girl might be a strong rival for you in the future."
"Her talent in short-distance races is very strong. It's even likely that she could be the next Uma Musume to dominate short-distance races after you."
"Eh... Is she really that amazing? Onii-chan, you haven't even met that girl and you already think of her that highly?"
Curren Chan was quite surprised to hear this, but she chose to believe Ikezoe unconditionally.
After her surprise, her eyes sparkled as she smiled, saying:
"As expected of Onii-chan. Curren Chan understands~ If that girl participates in races in the future, I'll treat her with care~"
"Is she that amazing…?"
Orfevre, who was standing by, also muttered to herself when she heard Ikezoe praising an Uma Musume she had never met, seemingly a bit unconvinced.
As she was slacking, Orfevre was probably thinking that once that Uma Musume named Lord Kanaloa debuted, she would bully her for a while to make her understand who was boss.
And just as the training here was at a standstill, suddenly, the voice of Tokai Teio, who came from afar, broke the silence here.
"Trainer Ikezoe! Orfevre! Curren Chan!"
"Oh? Tokai Teio? What's wrong? Was it too boring at Imanami's place?"
Ikezoe was also surprised that Tokai Teio would actively seek them out.
After all, this child didn't really like doing errands, and Imanami usually made Gold Ship do such work, so that this unsinkable ship, which had not yet set sail, could move around a bit more.
"No, Trainer Ikezoe, Trainer, McQueen, and Gold Ship all went to the Mejiro Family, so I'm here all alone, I'm so bored!"
Once Tokai Teio finally arrived in front of them, they could clearly see her demeanour.
She looked a bit haughty, her fighting spirit completely unconcealed.
Then, she wrapped her hands around her small chest and said proudly:
"I'm here to challenge you all! Trainer Ikezoe! I want to challenge Orfevre!"
"...Huh?"
Orfevre, who had already begun to doze off, turned her head in surprise, raising an eyebrow slightly.
What did this have to do with her? Why did she suddenly want to challenge her? Was this child itching to get punted?
However, before Orfevre could figure this out, her inner restlessness, caused by boring training, took over.
At this moment, Orfevre's competitive spirit, which had been dormant for a long time due to the monotonous training, was instantly ignited by Tokai Teio's words, like oil on a fire.
This time, Orfevre was truly bored out of her mind and didn't mind beating the living soul out of a willing sacrifice to vent her emotions.
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Lord Kanaloa, also nicknamed Dragon King, is a 6-time GI winner in sprint and mile races who defeated Curren Chan 3 times.
He is the son of King Kamehameha and the father of Almond Eye too.
Fun fact: He also had a child with Curren Chan named Curren Moe.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.