"Hair color doesn't affect speed."
Takayama Gamu took a sip of tea and nearly scalded his mouth.
"If anything, the outfits horse girls wear during races look like they'd affect speed more."
"Because of the Three Goddesses' blessing, clothing and shoes won't affect a horse girl's running," Rudolf replied.
"Then I don't believe the Three Goddesses would dislike ash-gray horse girls and make them slower than others."
"That's an interesting way to look at it." Rudolf smiled faintly—she liked his answer. "Then I'll be looking forward to seeing you help Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross step onto the G1 stage."
"But now, including Gaia, you already have three trainees. By regulation, you should establish a team. Have you decided on a team name? I'll submit the application for you as well."
"I haven't decided yet… Team Gaia? Or Team XIG?" Gamu pondered, a few names popping into his head—only for him to reject them immediately.
"Even if Gaia is your adopted little sister, naming the team after her might make your other trainees unhappy. A trainer should treat everyone equally."
That also implied Gaia mattered a great deal to him—but as for what kind of relationship these two "siblings" truly had, Rudolf couldn't tell yet.
Besides, they weren't blood-related anyway…
"At Tracen Academy, trainers often name their teams after stars, hoping the stars will bring them luck," Rudolf said.
"Stars, huh?"
"How about Sirius? It symbolizes speed, brilliance, leadership. But it's so famous that hardly any trainer dares to take the name—because a team name also represents the team's style. A weak team doesn't suit a name like that."
"If that's the case," Gamu said plainly, taking another sip of tea, "I actually prefer Vega."
"Beautiful, elegant, pure. I want the horse girls on my team to win easily and happily, in that kind of spirit."
As for Sirius—it didn't really fit his personality. Gamu wasn't the type to be aggressively competitive.
After wrestling with it for a moment, Gamu decided to message Tamamo Cross both options and let her weigh in.
"Then the team name will be Sirius."
He said it after seeing Tamamo Cross's reply arrive within five seconds.
If they liked it, then fine.
After a bit more casual conversation, Takayama Gamu stood up to leave.
Rudolf seemed in a good mood, but chatting too long would inevitably interrupt her work.
President Rudolf didn't look like someone who slacked off on the job.
"Oh—President Rudolf, can I add you on LINE?" Gamu asked suddenly at the doorway.
"Sure." Rudolf nodded.
Up to now, no trainer had ever added her on LINE. As the "Emperor" standing at the pinnacle of Japanese horse girls, Rudolf wasn't good at casual, off-the-cuff conversation.
Because of her strength and fame, most people unconsciously showed respect and admiration when speaking with her. Those who could talk to her as equals were rare.
But Takayama Gamu was different. Rudolf could feel his respect—yet not a trace of fear or stiffness.
A fearless warrior, towering like a mountain—tempered by countless battles…
Rudolf sensed that aura from him—an aura strikingly similar to what she'd felt the first time she met Gaia.
They were adopted siblings, yet alike in this regard. Rudolf almost started to wonder if Gamu and Gaia were the same person.
But how could Takayama Gamu possibly be Gaia?
"If you run into trouble, you can come to me anytime. I'll reply as soon as I can," Rudolf said.
...
Tracen at night looked peaceful.
Straight streetlamps stood quietly along both sides of the road, casting silvery light to illuminate the path under Gamu's feet. A campus that by day was filled with the sound of horse girls' footsteps now held only the rustle of leaves in the evening wind and the chirp of unseen insects.
Takayama Gamu enjoyed the serenity.
It would've been even better if he hadn't had his "perfect image" of Tracen shaken by an unsettling incident on the way to the student council office.
He was genuinely worried he might stumble into something else that would shatter his rosy impression of the academy.
"Oh—students out for a night run?" Gamu glanced sideways.
Not far away, two similar figures were running side by side.
No—"similar" wasn't the right word.
Narrowing his eyes, Gamu looked carefully. The two horse girls were practically identical: the same long black hair, the same petite build, the same cute face. Aside from their eye colors, he couldn't find any difference at all.
"Twins?" he murmured.
Then he realized they seemed to be running toward him, so he stepped aside to let them pass.
"?"
Why did they stop in front of me?
In Gamu's view, the two horse girls who had been running abreast stopped before him. The red-eyed one leaned close to the golden-eyed one's ear and whispered something.
"You're… glowing?"
Manhattan Cafe tilted her head as she spoke.
"A warm, red light…"
"But I can't see it."
"Um… hello. Who are you two?" Gamu asked.
The petite black-haired horse girl circled around him, examining him from head to toe so thoroughly that Gamu felt inexplicably embarrassed.
"Us?" She pointed at herself, then at the red-eyed horse girl beside her.
"I'm Manhattan Cafe."
"Can you see my friend?"
"You mean… the horse girl next to you who looks just like you?" Gamu asked carefully. To him, they really did look like twins.
"Oh—he can even touch me!" the red-eyed horse girl exclaimed.
She stepped forward and started kneading Gamu's cheeks with her hand, laughing as his face got squished and warped under her grip.
"Excuse me, you are…?" Gamu began.
He had a very bad feeling about where this was going. Something was seriously off about this horse girl!
"You can see me?"
"And you can touch me!"
In other words, this red-eyed horse girl was someone ordinary people couldn't see—or touch.
Which meant…
"I'm Manhattan Cafe's friend." The red-eyed horse girl flashed a smile that looked… a little dangerous. "Maybe I'm a ghost."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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