"Ogre… what are you eating?"
After an hour of running-form correction training—and then painfully crawling out of the liquid-nitrogen cryotherapy pod—Tamamo Cross weakly asked as she stared at Oguri Cap, who still had traces of some food at the corner of her mouth. Then she collapsed into Takayama Gamu's office chair.
…Burned out…
"Just some fruit." Oguri Cap gave a thumbs-up. "And delicious carrots."
"Alright. After a ten-minute break, we'll start racecourse analysis training." Gamu took off his G-suit as well. Even for him, staying in triple gravity for long periods was exhausting; he'd sweated quite a bit.
"Gravity-chamber training lets us condition the body in far less time than traditional training. The time we save, I'll use to train your race analysis ability."
He operated the computer as he explained.
"Of course, if you feel the gravity training is too much pressure, tell me. I'll reduce the intensity. For me, it's enough if my trainees can run happily on the track. Results don't really matter."
And honestly, given Tamamo Cross's and Oguri Cap's potential, even without the gravity method, Takayama Gamu could still find a way to help them take a few G1s.
Gravity training was simply the most efficient physical-upgrade method he'd proposed. Racing wasn't purely about raw specs—proper running technique could still improve speed. Add Takayama Gamu's information analysis and tactical planning, and they could win regardless.
And if they focused on technique training, it would be much easier than what they'd just endured.
So as for which route to take—Takayama Gamu would respect Tamamo Cross's and Oguri Cap's wishes.
"I think… we can increase the intensity…" Tamamo Cross croaked from the office chair, sounding half-dead.
Her body was wrecked. Multiple times during training, she'd nearly fainted. But for Tamamo Cross, that was exactly what she wanted.
When it came to effort, she refused to lose to anyone.
She wanted to get stronger. She wanted to win.
Win for everyone who looked down on ash-gray horse girls. Win for her family. And with those victories, prove to Gamu that Tamamo Cross really was what he'd predicted—the strongest horse girl, the one who could take wins.
"Same here." Oguri Cap nodded.
She wanted to run faster too.
"Don't push it," Takayama Gamu said. He gently pinched Tamamo Cross's arm; the soreness made her grit her teeth.
"Your training capacity is already high enough. Increasing volume further will only affect tomorrow's training."
"You get stronger while recovering. When you go back, rest properly—sleep at least seven hours."
Like a mom catching her kid staying up late, Gamu lectured her seriously. Tamamo Cross rubbed the spot he'd pinched, her face a little red.
"Alright. Now we start racecourse analysis training."
...
"Ogre—help me."
On the steps in front of Ritto Dormitory, the two ash-gray horse girls lifted their thighs with grimacing faces, forcing themselves up one step at a time.
The not-yet-recovered muscles sent up sharp, brutal soreness.
"Are you two okay?" Dorm leader Fuji Kiseki asked, looking at Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap with confusion. The way they were limping along was hard not to notice.
"Just finished training," Tamamo Cross answered.
"Our legs are just a bit sore…"
Under Fuji Kiseki's puzzled gaze, the two ash-gray horse girls supported each other up the stairs. Every so often the hallway echoed with "Sss—" and "Gah—" sounds that made you want to laugh.
"Kind of like humans after leg day?" Fuji Kiseki said uncertainly, remembering some videos she'd seen online.
Horse girls' average physical ability was three times a normal human's—and their leg strength gap was even more exaggerated.
Coupled with their much faster recovery, Fuji Kiseki couldn't imagine what kind of training could leave horse girls like this.
"Gah! Finally made it up!"
Curse these stairs!
Tamamo Cross clenched her fist in indignation.
"Sss…"
Even my hands are sore!
Even after two more hours of race analysis in Gamu's training room, the soreness from gravity training hadn't fully faded—going up stairs had made it flare up completely.
Oguri Cap was in slightly better shape.
Only slightly.
One big and one small ash-gray horse girl flopped onto their beds, limbs spread into a full-body "X."
Their bodies felt impossibly heavy. The moment they touched the soft mattress, it was as if they could sink straight in—dragging their exhausted souls down with them.
"Ogre."
After a brief silence, Tamamo Cross suddenly spoke.
"I'm going to become Japan's number one horse girl."
She lifted a hand, palm half-open, reaching toward the center of the ceiling as if trying to grasp something. Light spilled through the gaps between her fingers and across her face, and she narrowed her eyes slightly as she continued.
"I came to Tracen to get famous. To make money. Back then I thought if I kept winning, I'd become famous, and then I'd have the money to treat Mom's illness… and buy tasty food for my little brother and sister."
"But winning is really hard."
"Sometimes I even doubt myself. Can Tamamo Cross really win? Will I lose again this time?"
Two failed debut races. Then she finally took first in an unvictorious dirt race. And in the condition race she'd just entered, she'd been forced to withdraw midway because of an accident.
Well, she's ash-gray…
Tamamo Cross had heard voices like that. She didn't believe them. Who cared? She'd keep running.
But there was still confusion in her heart.
How am I supposed to run? How do I win? What should I do?
"Then… Trainer Gamu appeared."
Lying on the bed—just like she'd once lain on the track—Tamamo Cross's lips curved into a faint smile. In the thin wash of light, it was as if she could see again the instant Takayama Gamu had reached out his hand to her.
"He said I would win, because I was the strongest horse girl in that race."
"And later he said… he would teach me how to win."
The satisfaction of being acknowledged, of being believed in, filled the emptiness inside her. In his own way, Takayama Gamu had told Tamamo Cross—
You can win.
"Trainer Gamu is really amazing, Ogre. You can feel it too, right? Maybe Trainer Gamu is the best genius trainer in Japan."
She hadn't trained under anyone else, but that was what Tamamo Cross truly believed. If someone claimed their trainer was better than Gamu, she might genuinely get angry enough to bite them.
"Trainer Gamu believes that even ordinary horse girls like us can do it. So I want to answer that expectation."
"I want to become a trainee horse girl Trainer Gamu can be proud of. If Trainer Gamu is Japan's strongest trainer… then I want to become—I want to become…"
Tamamo Cross clenched her fist. Her resolve wouldn't be shaken by anything now.
"Japan's number one horse girl!"
Because Trainer Gamu supports me… I can do it.
Not just believing in herself—believing in the one who believes in her.
"I won't disappoint Trainer Gamu."
She flashed a cute little fang and declared it boldly.
"I won't disappoint Gamu either," Oguri Cap said with equal solemnity.
"Hey! You have to say 'Trainer Gamu'!" Tamamo Cross yelped. "Calling him by name is rude!"
"Lil' Tama… I don't think Trainer Gamu would care," Oguri Cap said.
"No means no!" Tamamo Cross snapped sternly.
"Our relationship with Trainer Gamu isn't at that level yet."
At least… not until they got closer…
Tamamo Cross thought quietly to herself.
-------
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