"So that one not wearing the school uniform is Gaia?"
Not far away, Air Groove and Symboli Rudolf silently watched Gaia standing at the starting line.
"That's right."
"What's that on her chest?"
"I've heard it's a life monitor." Rudolf folded her arms. "If it turns red, it means Gaia's body has a problem."
"What a weird setting… is she some kind of alien horse girl or something?"
Air Groove frowned as she watched Gaia—the same girl who'd stood her up this morning.
"It's starting," Rudolf reminded her.
As student council president, Rudolf's work hours were mostly in the mornings and evenings. Even though she'd fully retired, she still made time in the afternoon to train.
Getting to see Gaia run was an unexpected bonus.
She'd said she would look after Gaia, and she wasn't the type to break her word.
I'll just jog casually, Gaia thought.
Horse-girl Gaia's physical specs were far below his normal form—but compared to ordinary horse girls, it was still overwhelming.
Even a rough estimate put her current top speed firmly at G1-level. As for endurance—while her energy supply was limited, in this "power-saving mode," even jogging all day probably wouldn't be a problem.
To avoid drawing attention, she would just run casually.
Low-key. Ordinary. Finish it like a normal run.
When the coach blew the whistle, Gaia's right leg slammed into the ground.
Boom.
The earth trembled.
A crater nearly half a meter deep appeared at the starting point, and Gaia's figure turned into a streak of red light as she shot forward.
The turf became like her most devoted follower. Every time Gaia's foot struck the ground, it exploded with a massive, impact-like roar. The soil seemed to cheer—breaking free of the roots that bound it, surging high into the air with each of Gaia's steps, forming a dramatic trail behind her.
"Is that an earthquake?! An earthquake?!!"
Haru Urara, who had just finished warming up, shouted in shock.
Because of Gaia's running, the ground began to vibrate with excitement—and as Gaia accelerated, the shaking grew even more violent. Every horse girl on the track stopped unconsciously. Countless eyes, as if linked by instinct, converged on the single figure still running. Even the beat of their hearts seemed pulled along by her footsteps.
"It's like a giant is running," Air Groove muttered, feeling the tremor through the ground. "That strength is unbelievable."
"It's like the earth is answering her…"
"Three-wave time: 34.2 seconds."
The coach wiped cold sweat from his forehead. For a moment, he'd honestly felt like the ground might tear open and he'd fall into a crack.
"But this speed…"
Fast—but not fast enough.
For a newly enrolled horse girl, it was astonishing—basically G3-class level.
But compared to the scene of the ground shaking like that, the speed felt too slow.
Staring at the field left in a complete mess by Gaia's run, the coach decided his timing must be wrong.
There was no way it could be that slow.
"I didn't feel any will to compete in her running," Rudolf said, eyes fixed on Gaia's back.
"She's holding back."
Rudolf stared thoughtfully.
A truant, silent genius.
"A horse girl loved by the earth… Gaia…"
"Data anomaly! Earthquake signal vanished!" Mihono Bourbon stared at Gaia—who looked completely fine, breathing steady, like she'd merely taken a leisurely post-meal stroll. Rare surprise appeared on Bourbon's face. "Gaia's power exceeds known samples in database."
If she wanted to win the Triple Crown, Gaia might become her strongest opponent.
Bourbon handed back Gaia's whiteboard and marker, speaking with unusual seriousness.
"I look forward to running with you in the future, Gaia."
"Gaia—should we test again?" The instructor ran over, visibly tense. This timing had to be his mistake. A horse girl with that kind of power couldn't possibly have only run that fast.
"No."
Gaia wrote it on the board—while inside, beneath that perfectly flat expression, she was already screaming.
I controlled my speed…!
The earth moved on its own.
Gaia felt like she'd been set up. The ground was acting like an obsessive fan meeting its idol—cheering wildly and shaking nonstop while she ran.
Was it always this enthusiastic before?
After that, Gaia was taken to test long jump, flexibility, and other items. Apart from the ground caving into a huge hole when she landed her long jump, nothing else caused a stir.
But when Gaia returned to class, her classmates' eyes had become unusually intense and… excited?
"Gaia, you were amazing! Two reporters kept asking about you just now—they said you're a future rising star!"
"And President Rudolf too—she was watching you run!! We even said good things about you to her!"
"Students from other classes all came over to ask about you! They said they want to race you!"
Urara pumped her fist excitedly, waving her hand in the air.
"Gaia, you're going to become a huge celebrity!"
...
"Paal, search the Tracen campus network for information about 'Gaia'…"
That night, Takayama Gamu collapsed in his office chair, his whole body practically turning into liquid and dripping onto the floor.
How did it come to this?
It wasn't supposed to be like this!
"Search complete. Many posts about Gaia have appeared on the campus forum."
"What are they saying?" Gamu asked weakly.
"Approximately sixty percent are discussing Gaia's strength, twenty percent are discussing Gaia's appearance, and twenty percent are discussing Gaia's training methods," Paal replied.
"Gaia is Tracen Academy's hottest topic today—ranked number one."
"Paal… when did you become an AI that pokes people where it hurts?"
"Gamu, I'm only stating facts."
Just as Takayama Gamu and Paal were chatting between bouts of sorting data, someone knocked on the training-room door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Tamamo Cross stood nervously outside. The light inside was still on—so someone should be there.
Using the address Takayama Gamu had given her yesterday, Tamamo Cross had found the place.
Even though the wound wasn't fully healed, it didn't hurt when she ran anymore.
She took a deep breath and forced her nervous heart to steady.
If she wanted to win, she had to work twice as hard. Trainer Gamu was willing to believe in her—so she had to answer that trust.
She wasn't a genius. She was just an ordinary ash-gray horse girl. The only thing she could do was put in more effort. And on that one point, she refused to lose to anyone.
She didn't want to disappoint his faith.
"Um—Trainer Gamu, it's me, Tamamo Cross! I'm here to train!"
-------
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