They had come here intending to observe an opponent's training, only to run headfirst into such a heated argument from the very start. Kitasan Black secretly glanced at Yasui Makoto, uncertainty flickering in her eyes, as if asking how they should handle this.
Yasui Makoto returned her look with a reassuring one. After all, this was not his first time seeing the Umamusume of the Gold family. Arguments like this... in a certain sense, were part of their daily life.
After reassuring Kitasan Black, he quickly turned his attention to the training grounds.
Unlike Tracen Academy's fully standardized facilities, this place only had two tracks of five or six hundred meters, one turf and one dirt, along with a grassy area for physical training.
Gathered near the starting point of the turf track were five Umamusume, four of whom looked very familiar.
Orfevre's face was flushed red, veins faintly bulging on her forehead as she looked ready to refute Gold Ship all over again.
Gold Ship stood with her hands on her hips, eyes wide and round, staring straight back without backing down in the slightest.
The tense atmosphere between them made it seem as though they might start settling things directly on the training grounds in the very next second.
Beside them, Dream Journey and Nakayama Festa continued in their respective roles: one acting as a helpless mediator, the other gleefully fanning the flames.
Amid that tense yet ridiculous atmosphere, the final Umamusume seemed almost detached from the world, unaffected by any of it.
She stood quietly with her hands at her sides, her figure graceful and poised.
Beneath the neat bangs cut straight across her brow was a pair of bright, calm eyes.
Her waist-length cherry-red hair was smoothly tied into a long side ponytail, swaying lightly in the breeze, a faint sheen flickering through the strands.
Her posture was elegant and proper. Every subtle movement was measured just right, and from head to toe, she carried the noble bearing of a distinguished family, as if all the noise around her had nothing to do with her.
Faced with the intense argument of the seniors beside her, she merely listened in silence, occasionally nodding slightly as though thinking something over.
His gaze was immediately drawn to that Umamusume, and Yasui Makoto quietly thought to himself.
She looks... about the same age as Almond Eye. To stay this calm in such a noisy environment—she has a pretty good temperament, Lucky Lilac...
Kitasan Black had noticed her as well. She nodded, her eyes filled with approval as she said,
"Trainer, Lucky Lilac looks... really composed."
"Yeah, she does seem like the calm type. But..."
Yasui Makoto paused in thought. "How someone acts normally and how they race are two different things. As for what she's actually like on the racecourse... we'll need to see her training first."
Their voices were not loud. At the same time, Imanami Takatoshi shook his head helplessly and walked toward the track with Stay Gold.
As they approached Orfevre and Gold Ship, who were still arguing, the old man raised his voice, full of vigor, as he tried to restore order.
"All right, stop arguing!"
"Let Lucky Lilac do today's training first. We can discuss your ideas slowly afterward."
"And we have guests today. Come over and greet them first... Honestly, have you all forgotten even the most basic manners?"
At those words, Orfevre and Gold Ship still looked somewhat unconvinced, but they immediately stopped arguing. Dream Journey and Nakayama Festa also halted their respective "activities."
The Umamusume, along with Lucky Lilac, all looked toward Yasui Makoto and Kitasan Black.
"Whoa! Kita-chan! And Yasui!"
Gold Ship was the first to cry out in delighted surprise. She ran over enthusiastically like a gust of wind, her face lit up with a brilliant smile as she called loudly, "Long time no see!"
After that, Orfevre, Dream Journey, and Nakayama Festa also came forward one after another, politely greeting Yasui Makoto and Kitasan Black.
Once the greetings were done, Gold Ship's eyes suddenly rolled, then lit up sharply as she suggested excitedly,
"Since Kita-chan's here, why don't we switch up today's training?"
As she spoke, she looked at Lucky Lilac, then at Imanami Takatoshi, and continued, "Old man, how about arranging a partner run?"
"Little Lilac usually only does partner runs with us, so she's probably sick of it by now."
"If she gets to run with a new senpai like Kita-chan this time, I'm sure she'll gain something different from it. What do you think?"
The instant she said that, the helpless look in Imanami Takatoshi's eyes brightened.
Orfevre and the others, meanwhile, looked at Gold Ship in unison as if they had discovered a new continent, then exclaimed together,
"You actually... came up with such a normal training method for once?!"
"Hey, hey, hey. What, in your eyes..."
Gold Ship immediately took offense, planting both hands on her hips as she protested in dissatisfaction, "Am I usually that weird?"
On Yasui Makoto's side, his interest had been stirred as well, and his eyes lit up along with theirs.
If they really arranged a partner run like this, it would be an excellent opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Lucky Lilac's ability and traits.
For Kitasan Black, it would also undoubtedly be a good challenge and training exercise.
After all, Orfevre and Gold Ship's strength was obvious. Even if Kitasan Black had trained with them many times before, doing so again would surely let her gain plenty from the session.
Thinking that, he subconsciously looked at Kitasan Black.
And then he saw that the eyes of his Umamusume were also shining with eagerness. Clearly, she too felt this was a rare opportunity.
At that moment, Lucky Lilac, who had been silent until now, took a few steps toward them, bowed slightly, and said in a soft Kansai accent, "It'd be my honor to have a partner run with Kitasan Black-senpai."
Although it was a Kansai accent, coming from her, the tone was extremely gentle.
There was none of the usual straightforwardness associated with Kansai speech. Instead, it matched her elegant, composed image perfectly, adding a few more traces of distinctive charm.
"Then it's decided."
Yasui Makoto had no intention of hiding why they had come, and he had also learned Kitasan Black's thoughts through her eyes, so he stepped forward on his own initiative.
"Kita-chan and I originally came here only because we wanted to learn a little about how Lucky Lilac is doing. But if we can do a partner run together, that will naturally be a great help to both sides."
"We'll give it our all, and afterward, we'll do everything we can to help with the race analysis as well."
Hearing that, the Umamusume of the Gold family all nodded, while Imanami Takatoshi smiled with satisfaction.
"I heard from Golshi and the others before that Yasui-san is a very straightforward person. Now that I've seen it myself, they really weren't wrong."
Then the old man very briskly pointed toward the training grounds.
"In that case, let's do this. Two and a half laps around the outer track comes to almost exactly 2000 meters, so we'll run a 2000-meter turf race."
"For this mock race, everyone should treat it like an official race and perform at full strength."
"Remember to control your rhythm and distribute your stamina properly."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over each Umamusume in turn before finally landing on Lucky Lilac, his eyes full of expectation.
"Little Lilac, make good use of this chance and learn plenty from Kitasan Black-senpai."
"I'll give it everything I have."
Still speaking in that distinctive Kansai accent, Lucky Lilac bowed, neither humble nor arrogant. "I won't disappoint you, Grandpa, and I won't disappoint Yasui-san or Kitasan-senpai either."
---
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