Chapter 24. Rice Shower's Impulse and Progress
After waking from the Dream World, Shuta An got up and washed, not bothering to check the rewards from the attribute viewer. He guessed they were probably related to long-distance races.
First, go to work, and we'll talk about it when I get to the clubroom.
The young man thought—mainly because he forgot to set his alarm and woke up a bit late today.
By the time the young man rushed to the office and clocked in, he was only a few minutes from being late.
"Good thing I ran fast." Shuta An said, greatly relieved after clocking in.
"Speaking of which, Ann-san runs fast, doesn't he? I feel like he could even compete in the Olympics." Kitahara quipped.
"Don't joke around; I only run on grass. I can't figure out those synthetic tracks. I'd just end up with a broken bone."
Shuta An retorted.
"That's truly a shame." Kitahara shrugged. "Any thoughts on the next Japanese Derby?"
"No thoughts." Shuta An replied casually. "I'm still thinking about tactics; I feel like I can't let Mihono Bourbon lead too easily at Tokyo Racecourse."
"Indeed, but are you completely disregarding the opponents in the preliminary races?"
Kitahara raised an eyebrow. "Do you only need to study Mihono Bourbon now?"
"Yes, only studying Mihono Bourbon is enough." Shuta An gave a definitive answer this time. "Other Uma Musumes, their abilities are still a bit lacking compared to Mihono Bourbon. As long as we can defeat Mihono Bourbon, victory in the race will also be ours."
"Saying that, Minamisaka-kun will surely be a little disappointed; I saw him put a lot of effort into Matikanetannhauser's training."
Kitahara smiled wryly.
"It's not that I look down on the Uma Musume Minamisaka-san trains; it's just that Matikanetannhauser is a late surger Uma Musume, but when facing a lead-style Uma Musume of Mihono Bourbon's caliber, she doesn't really have much advantage. Her burst power isn't enough to pose a threat to Mihono Bourbon."
"Is that what you mean?"
Kitahara understood.
—
Back in the clubroom, Shuta An, who had set a kettle to boil water, sat on the sofa, studying the Pu-erh tea bags displayed in the Team Sadalsuud's clubroom.
"Looks like an import."
The young man mumbled, then began to review what rewards he had received from winning the Spring Tenno Sho with Rice Shower in the Dream World last night—
"Followed Runner: Slightly boosts all abilities when using the marking (front-runner/leading) tactic."
When this line of text appeared in Shuta An's thoughts, his eyes lit up.
The tactic the young man had previously hesitated to have Rice Shower execute, in simple terms, was "follow the leader." and the appearance of this reward now perfectly scratched that itch.
Now, the challenge before Shuta An was how to teach this skill to Rice Shower.
This was not a simple task for the young man either.
After pondering until the afternoon, and having a simple lunch at the cafeteria, Shuta An returned to the Team Sadalsuud's clubroom. Instead of immediately starting work, as his only remaining task for the day was scoring the previous week's major races, and he already had a draft in mind, the young man decided to take a nap in the lounge first.
He neatly placed his shoes by the bed, then lay down on the bed fully clothed, and quickly fell into a deep sleep after closing his eyes.
—
After finishing her morning classes, Rice Shower and Kurofune came to the team's clubroom, planning to spend their lunch break there.
"I feel like Rice Shower-senpai's condition these past two days is even better than when she first returned."
Kurofune said whatever she thought, without any concealment.
"Because when I came back, everyone around me was congratulating me."
Rice Shower paused, rubbed the tip of her nose, and her tone became softer.
"It's true that I lost the Satsuki Sho, but you have to know that in a year, there are four-digit Uma Musumes who debut in the academy, and only 18 Uma Musumes can step onto the Satsuki Sho racecourse. I got second place, only losing to Mihono Bourbon; it's actually enough for countless classmates to envy me."
"Of course, this thought doesn't stop me from wanting to win back in the Japanese Derby."
Rice Shower clenched her fist.
"Losing a race is definitely not a good feeling."
"I'm still a long way from debuting, so saying I can understand Rice Shower-senpai's feelings would be deceiving myself, but I know how much pressure there is as a member of the Team Sadalsuud."
Kurofune turned to look at Rice Shower.
"Chasing after the backs of our seniors, wanting to get closer step by step—"
"Even getting one step closer is already very difficult." Rice Shower interjected. "I truly feel now that Senior Dober and Senior Teio, who won the Triple Crown, are too strong."
"Oh, well, I'm destined to run Dirt races anyway. The Triple Crown has nothing to do with me. It's also really hard to catch up to Teio and the others. After all, looking at the atmosphere in the Academy and outside, the Dirt Twinkle Series is just an inferior existence."
Kurofune hung her head.
"But Trainer said my talent is on dirt. Instead of being mediocre in turf races, it's better to be a star in dirt races."
"It's okay, Kurofune-chan can think differently—if you can use your performance to make the audience for dirt races grow, and make everyone like dirt races, wouldn't that also be a great initiative?"
This time it was Rice's turn to comfort Kurofune.
"Hmm…"
Kurofune sighed after hearing Rice's words and fell into deep thought.
—
More than ten minutes later, Kurofune received a Line message from Curren Chan and left the activity room to help her.
Rice Shower remained alone in the Team Sadalsuud's activity room. She took a bottle of barley tea from the refrigerator and took a sip.
Rice originally planned to lie down on the sofa, but after thinking it over, she decided it would be better to simply take a short nap in the lounge.
If I sleep on the sofa, Trainer will definitely nag me.
With this thought, she came to the lounge next to the office, and upon entering, found her Trainer sleeping soundly on a bed.
"I thought Trainer was killing time outside; turns out he was sleeping here."
Rice kept her voice very low, afraid of waking the young man who was swimming in the Dream World.
She tiptoed to the bedside, tilted her head, and looked at Shuta An, who was in a deep sleep, a smile unconsciously curving on her lips.
Trainer looks just like a child at this moment, Rice murmured to herself.
Thinking of this, she unconsciously extended her index finger and gently poked the young man's cheek.
It felt good.
Shuta An was sleeping soundly, with no sign of waking up.
Rice maintained her downward gaze, blinking.
It's rare to see Trainer… No, this is the first time I've seen Trainer sleeping so soundly in the lounge at this time,
She mumbled inwardly. The team's next race is Mejiro Dober's Victoria Mile—So he must have been designing tactics for Mejiro Dober's race and didn't get enough rest last night, right?
Thinking of this, Rice felt a tiny bit of jealousy. Truly, only a tiny bit.
Rice's center of gravity tilted forward slightly, and the distance between her and Trainer rapidly shortened, until it approached 0.
"Chu~"
Subsequently, the black deer-haired Umamusume, as if electrocuted, straightened her body from a crouch and then turned and fled the Team Sadalsuud's activity room.
Her cheeks flushed by the spring breeze all the way, she used a speed that would normally never be allowed in public areas of the Academy, rushing back to her dormitory with her head down.
Zenno Rob Roy, who was sitting on the bed engrossed in reading "The Three Musketeers." looked up, somewhat surprised as she observed her roommate.
In her impression, Rice often panicked over small everyday incidents, but the tension and fluster emanating from her now surpassed any previous occasion.
She didn't really get into trouble this time, did she? Zenno Rob Roy muttered to herself, putting down the book she was holding.
"What's wrong, Rice? Don't worry."
As she spoke, she handed Rice a glass of water.
"Drink this, then tell me slowly."
"It's nothing."
Rice Shower mumbled evasively after taking the cup. After answering, she gulped down the warm water.
"If it's nothing, then don't panic even more. If you panic like this, what will you do on the Twinkle Series racecourse?"
Zenno Rob Roy flicked Rice's forehead—it was interesting, though Rice debuted earlier than Zenno Rob Roy, in their interaction, Zenno Rob Roy seemed more like the senior.
"Yes."
Rice lowered her head, obediently listening to the lecture.
—
At 1:30 PM, Shuta An was woken up promptly by his phone alarm.
He rubbed his eyes, then quickly became alert.
I need to handle the grading matters, and then I can make a dashing exit from work.
Shuta muttered, then thought of Rice's situation again.
He then froze in place—because he saw a long string of skills added to Rice's skill bar.
What's going on? I shouldn't have been sleepwalking, right?
Shuta An looked down at his shoes, confirming there was no change, and the bed next to him hadn't changed either.
He was a bit baffled.
No way?
After ruling out the possibility of sleepwalking, only one answer remained.
Getting taken advantage of, huh?
The young man furrowed his brows.
If that's the case, I can't just ask directly. I'll just pretend nothing happened.
There wasn't much time left until the Japanese Derby, and Shuta didn't want any unexpected complications during this period.
—
In the following days, Rice Shower saw that Trainer was interacting with her normally, showing no unusual expressions, and she estimated that her momentary impulse at that time had no effect whatsoever.
No, there was still a slight effect.
"I feel like Rice's training performance has improved a lot recently. Did she have an inspiration after running the Satsuki Sho?"
Mejiro Dober, who had returned to Central Tracen Academy after assisting Mejiro Ardan, noticed Rice's improvement on the very first day they resumed training together.
"I don't know—It's just that I don't want to lose so helplessly anymore."
Rice shook her head; she herself wasn't sure what had happened to her.
"Anyway, growth is definitely a good thing; it should be that the progress of her full-fledged development has arrived."
Mejiro Dober mused.
"In short, the current Rice Shower can exert much greater power than she did during the Satsuki Sho."
"But Mihono Bourbon is also working hard, so Rice Shower can't slack off either. Let's run another lap!"
Mejiro Dober clapped her hands.
"It's a good chance for me to get a feel for racing too. I've been coaxing children every day with Ardan-nee, and I feel like I'm a bit confused myself."
"Yes!"
Rice Shower responded loudly.
—
That evening, Mejiro Dober, lying in her lover's arms, described to him the growth she had noticed in Rice Shower during training that morning.
"I noticed it too. It's been roughly since she returned from Kyoto; her progress has been rapid, truly exceeding my expectations."
Shuta An whispered into Mejiro Dober's ear.
This action made Mejiro Dober feel ticklish. So, she turned around and met her lover's gaze.
"Japanese Derby, do you have confidence?"
"Much more than before." Shuta An answered honestly. "Mainly because Rice's improvement has been so significant. I feel the chances are much greater than right after the Satsuki Sho. I wonder if she's figured something out."
"Then for tactics—still a senko (pace chaser) strategy? Or considering a late surge strategy that's more suited to Tokyo Racecourse? If it's the latter, I can help with special training! Lately, I've been teaching children, and I feel like I've gained some insight into how to teach others."
Mejiro Dober looked up at the young man holding her.
"If I can help—"
"Well, you don't have to, actually."
Shuta An "cruelly" refused Mejiro Dober.
"In fact, I plan to have Rice stick with Mihono Bourbon." the young man continued to explain. "From the gate, she'll follow Mihono Bourbon about half a length behind, putting obvious mental pressure on her."
"Aren't you afraid that a pressure tactic will benefit a third party?"
Mejiro Dober immediately expressed her concern.
"This kind of tactic can easily set others up for success, right?"
"It's very easy." Shuta An didn't deny this point. "But Mihono Bourbon's strength is immense. It's precisely because I acknowledge her ability that I believe Rice has a chance by running this way. As for the other competitors in the same race—"
"Ann doesn't care about any of them, huh?"
Mejiro Dober understood immediately.
"Yes, I don't care about their tactics, I don't care about their performance, because as long as Rice keeps up, the Japanese Derby will be a 1v1 stage for Mihono Bourbon and her."
Shuta An gave his judgment.
"On Derby race day, I'll go to the Racecourse with Ann."
Mejiro Dober snuggled in his arms, then spoke.
The young man had no reason to refuse this. He responded with a smile.
"Alright."
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