It must be said that an Uma Musume's increased stamina compared to their horse counterparts is probably due to their humanoid bodies, which significantly enhances their endurance.
For example, T.M. Opera O, while running at decently high speeds, managed to carry Wada through several laps from morning until noon, before her energy was finally depleted.
Training on the same level of intensity as this was completely unfeasible for racehorses.
This was because of the fact that horses can't really dissipate heat from their bodies all that effectively.
This was also why training for racehorses usually starts early in the morning.
If the weather gets too hot, high intensity training could easily lead horses to becoming sick, which was usually a massive hassle to deal with.
However, in this world, facing an Uma Musume, Wada and the others had no such worries.
With an Uma Musume's newfound ability to sweat which came with their humanoid bodies, even training in the middle of the day was fine!
"Ha… ha… ha…"
"How… how was it? The results?"
T.M. Opera O had been training all morning; even with her decently high stamina, she was currently completely exhausted.
Wada had also been riding on T.M. Opera O's back all morning, their cooperation becoming more and more tacit with each attempt as T.M. Opera O gradually understood Wada's way of conveying signals.
Meanwhile, Meisho Doto performed her role as a sparring partner very effectively.
While T.M. Opera O and Wada were still adjusting to each other, Meisho Doto adjusted her speed and rhythm to match them; though still winning each time, achieving victory after victory.
Through this method of sparring, Wada and T.M. Opera O managed to sense their cooperation visibly improve each round.
And on the most recent attempt, their coordination finally allowed them to surpass Meisho Doto, resulting in T.M. Opera O asking Fumino Nase about their results.
"Hmm… your results are very ordinary, nothing outstanding. It's around the normal time for an average GI level Uma Musume."
Fumino Nase looked at her stopwatch, her brows slightly furrowed as she said,
"But considering that neither you nor Meisho Doto were using your full strength, with you also not using your final spurts, these results were to be expected, I suppose."
"The main issue is… T.M. Opera O, you still haven't fully let go."
"When Trainer Wada was on your back, you were constantly holding yourself back, as if... you were instinctively lowering your level to let Trainer Wada have a chance to contribute."
"Although you've improved by quite a significant margin since your first time, it isn't enough."
"It's probably better that you don't use this training method, since you can actually unleash more of your strength when running alone."
Fumino Nase carefully chose her words since she didn't want to be so impolite as to say something like, "Trainer Wada is limiting you."
And it wasn't just because she didn't want to be rude, it was also because Wada's judgment was genuinely very accurate; from when to exert force and when to sprint, he was incredibly precise.
The key point was that as long as Wada was on T.M. Opera O's back, T.M. Opera O wouldn't go full throttle, as if she had a limiter installed.
Although T.M. Opera O was more motivated when using this training method, it clearly was not an effective training method for her.
Thus, they'll have to abandon considering this training method for the Arima Kinen.
The rate of improvement while using this method simply wasn't acceptable, especially since the Arima Kinen was only two months away.
"Is that so… I actually found this training quite interesting…"
T.M. Opera O sat panting to the side, and Wada, who had ridden T.M. Opera O all morning, was also very tired.
—Don't think that only the "Horse" gets tired; the amount of physical exertion a Jockey needed to do is actually very high.
It's just that T.M. Opera O isn't a very difficult Uma Musume to cooperate with.
If you were to replace T.M. Opera O and Wada with Orfevre and Ikezoe, let alone a whole morning, an hour would be exhausting enough.
Not only that, the only reason why Ikezoe could even withstand this training with Orfevre was because his physical strength and endurance had dramatically increased after his transmigration.
Otherwise, with stamina similar to Wada's, he would have been sent to the hospital long ago.
"It seems this training method isn't very suitable for us… Well, we'll just try a different approach…"
Just as Wada was muttering to himself, suddenly, a sound akin to Orfevre growling at Ikezoe rang out.
For a moment, everyone exchanged glances, all turning their gaze to Meisho Doto, whose face was flushed red.
"I- I'm just a little hungry…"
Meisho Doto shyly placed her hand on her stomach and said.
After running all morning, even an Uma Musume will start to feel hungry.
"—Then you all can go eat. Trainer Nase, please take T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto to the cafeteria."
"Huh? Trainer Wada, aren't you coming with us?"
Fumino Nase nodded, but then, remembering that Wada had also been exerting himself all morning, she couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not very hungry now, just tired. I want to go back and take a shower first, then have a good nap."
Wada stretched, looking very exhausted, and said,
"...Well, I suppose I could get something after napping. Anything is fine; just leave it on the dining table in the team building."
"Alright, I'll see you later then."
Fumino Nase nodded gently and led the two Uma Musume towards the cafeteria.
This time, neither T.M. Opera O nor Meisho Doto showed the same resistance towards Fumino Nase as before.
It seemed like Fumino Nase was indeed slowly integrating into Team Miracle, as well as learning many things she didn't know before by Wada's side.
Until she made up her mind to train an Uma Musume, she firmly decided in her mind again that she will remain in this team, diligently learning.
After Fumino Nase and the two Uma Musume had walked away, Wada slowly stood up from the ground, brushing off the pieces of turf stuck to his pants.
But contrary to his words, he didn't walk towards his dorm, nor did he walk towards the team building.
Instead, he walked in another direction…
Tracen Academy was a very large place.
As the main URA school in Japan, cultivating the best of the best Uma Musume, they had received a lot of funding which reflected on Tracen's exceptional environment and facilities.
But no matter what school, whether it's Tracen's main campus or a Branch School or even a local school, there is always a place that is present in all of them.
—The Three Goddesses Statue, a large statue depicting the Three Goddesses.
It was one of the most prominent places in Tracen Academy.
Whenever someone enters from the school gate, one of the first things they'll see is this very statue.
And at this moment, though Wada didn't know why, a certain instinct compelled him to come to this place. (T/N: Time for Wada to get no pink sparks!)
As Wada wordlessly gazed at the statue, a golden plaque situated below it gave a general explanation to the origin and power of the Three Goddesses.
"…The progenitors of all Uma Musume, they guide and bless Uma Musume, giving them the strength needed to run freely and to chase their dreams..."
"Are these the ancestors of Uma Musume in this world?"
"...These statues don't have specific facial features, so I can't tell who their racehorse counterparts are..."
"Or are these not three specific Uma Musume, but rather the general depiction of the first few Uma Musume who appeared in this world?"
It had been almost a year since Wada had come to this world, and this was the first time he had paid such close attention to the statue of the Three Goddesses.
Although he had tried several times, he still couldn't recognize just who these three statues were supposed to represent from his original world.
But… in the presence of this Three Goddesses Statue, one could truly feel a sense of calm.
Was it a placebo effect? Wada wasn't sure.
However, combined with his earlier exhaustion, Wada felt like this atmosphere was urging him to close his eyes and peacefully experience this tranquility.
"...Three Goddesses, the three of us still don't know the reason why we came to this world, nor do we know if our arrivals were related to you..."
"...But if you were truly the ones who had given us this opportunity, if you truly are watching us from above... Then please listen to the prayer of this mediocre Jockey."
Wada took a seat at one of the nearby benches, closed his eyes, and whispered his prayer in his heart,
'I have grown, I have worked hard, and I have done my best to help her.'
'...But I am still that incompetent freeloader who can't help a single bit. Although I have resolved many of my past regrets, for me, this is still far from enough.'
'I- if you are listening to me, I wish that I can be of help to T.M. Opera O, even if it's just a little…'
'All I want... is for her to not be fighting alone. To be worthy enough to fight alongside her.'
However, in the darkness of his closed eyes, at some unknown point, he didn't even realize that he had unconsciously entered a strange place.
Just then, an ethereal female voice entered his ears.
{{Do you truly wish to fight alongside her, young Trainer?}}
*Who?! Who is speaking?*
As Wada tried to open his eyes in surprise, he found that he couldn't do so.
Or rather, he no longer possessed the eyes and eyelids required to do such an action.
It wasn't that Wada couldn't see; no, he could see very clearly, clearer than he could ever see before!
...But he no longer possessed a body; it was a rather strange sensation, and he couldn't even describe it even if he wanted to.
But if he were to give it a try, it was like he was simply just... there.
Panic began to slowly seep into Wada's mind as the realization that something had clearly happened to his body finally registered to him.
However, that panic quickly stopped as he took a good look at just where he was at.
A dark void with the most beautiful starry sky he had ever laid his current non-existent eyes on filled his senses.
Yes, not his vision, his senses.
In his current strange state, Wada could see the temperature, taste the light from the stars, hear the texture... it was a genuinely breathtaking experience.
But just as Wada was enjoying his strange new senses, the voice from earlier spoke up again.
{{I am one of the Three Goddesses. You may call me Byer}}
{{Now, I ask you once more, young Trainer, do you truly wish to fight alongside her?}}
{{Are you truly willing to completely bind your destiny with the Uma Musume you cherish in your heart, connected across two lives?}}
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Marriage proposal ahh question. Stop aura farming and just make Wada sign the marriage papers already.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.