Have you ever seen Kasamatsu at four in the morning?
For Oguri Cap and Xingyun Liuge, it was a sight so familiar it could not have been more familiar.
That said, until Rudolf Symboli's invitation arrived, the two of them had never really spoken properly. Their training routes were different, so most of the time they only caught sight of each other from afar before going back to their own business.
This time, however, Oguri Cap deliberately veered off her usual route, ran up beside Xingyun Liuge, and began running shoulder to shoulder with her.
It was not that Oguri was trying to act aloof. She simply had not managed to organize her thoughts.
Up until now, she had only ever thought that being able to run freely was enough. She had never really considered racing itself, much less the Tokai Derby, Central races, or an overseas campaign.
Rudolf Symboli's arrival had shattered that quiet little world of hers and forced her to start looking toward the future.
As for Xingyun Liuge's claim that "the president isn't really a bad person," Oguri did not quite understand it. But she was willing to trust Xingyun Liuge. After all, Liuge had been so earnest in teaching her how to grow stronger.
"What's wrong, Oguri? After thinking it over all night, you still couldn't make sense of my suggestion?"
Xingyun Liuge knew Oguri Cap was the slow-reacting, stone-headed type, so she did not think the girl was putting on an act. As usual, she patiently took the initiative and spoke first.
Liuge already knew that Oguri and Kitahara Jones had promised each other they would run in the Tokai Derby. She also knew that everyone was aware that the two of them could not participate in the JRA's Classic races. So she had come up with a "bad idea" for Oguri:
The Tokai Derby's entry requirements were actually rather simple.
First: the horse girl had to be from the Tokai region.
Second: she had to have accumulated more than five million in prize money.
Central prize money did not count toward that total.
Which meant that as long as Oguri Cap earned enough prize money before registration closed, she could still come back and run in the Tokai Derby.
She could not enter the Japanese Derby in May anyway, so there was nothing wrong with returning to the local circuit and farming some prize money first.
If she went to Central, then the plan would be to enter the Pegasus Stakes first to gain experience, then point toward the Mainichi Hai and give Central's horse girls a little taste of Ashen Cinderella shock.
When it came to researching overseas campaigns, Xingyun Liuge had really put in the work.
Her own situation, on the other hand, was a bit miserable.
The road to Kentucky was not nearly as straightforward as she had hoped. The ideal route was to first win Japan's Wakaba Stakes, then go on to Dubai and win the UAE Derby. That would guarantee enough points to enter the Kentucky Derby.
But the problem appeared immediately, right at step one.
The Wakaba Stakes had entry requirements too. A runner either needed to have earned eight million in prize money the previous year, or to have won the Kurofune Sho, the Kirin Cup, or the Kyoto Kimpai. But Liuge had only arrived this year. She had no prior earnings, and all three of those races had already been run.
If those hard conditions were taken off the table, then only one road remained:
A special JRA recommendation—one of only two spots a year.
Calling it a special recommendation sounded nice, but in truth it was just backdoor access. Xingyun Liuge had no intention of pinning her hopes on something like that.
Which meant she could not run in the Wakaba Stakes in early March.
And if she could not run in the Wakaba Stakes, then she could not run in the UAE Derby. Which meant that road to Kentucky was closed.
Thankfully, heaven never seals off every path. Xingyun Liuge had found another way:
The Hong Kong Gold Cup.
Win the Hong Kong Gold Cup, and she could go on to the UAE Derby. Win the UAE Derby, and she could still enter the Kentucky Derby on points. Britain was roughly the same story.
So the road to the British and American Triple Crowns would begin with the Hong Kong Gold Cup!
While the trainers were still wringing their hands over Xingyun Liuge's overseas campaign, none of them realized she had already mapped out her entire year ten days ago.
It helped that the horse racing systems around the world had only just begun to align. Otherwise, running both the British and American Triple Crowns would have been even harder.
As for the fact that a top-two finish in the Wakaba Stakes granted entry into the Satsuki Sho, while a top-three finish in the Mainichi Hai led to the Japanese Derby?
Sadly, neither she nor Oguri Cap could run in the Classic Triple Crown races anyway. So if the two of them went out and won those races regardless, what kind of uproar would that cause?
Hehe. She had no idea~
These were the JRA's rules. When you ran into them, you ran into them. If nothing could be done, then nothing could be done. Xingyun Liuge firmly supported all JRA regulations, naturally!
Listening to all this, Oguri Cap wore a blank little "O-O" look, because she understood absolutely none of it.
All she knew was that as long as she followed the schedule Xingyun Liuge had prepared, then she would be able to keep running. And if that happened, then she could fulfill the promise she had made with Kitahara and realize the dream the two of them shared.
Looking at Oguri like this, Liuge knew at once that the girl understood nothing at all. She badly wanted to laugh, but she already knew exactly what this clumsy Cinderella would say, so she held it in.
As expected, Oguri scratched the back of her head and said:
"To be honest, I really don't understand."
Race qualifications, the Classic Triple Crown, dreams—she did not understand any of it. All she wanted was to keep running freely, to keep running forever.
"But Xingyun said that if I follow this schedule, then I can keep running," Oguri said, her eyes gradually filling with firm resolve. Looking straight at Liuge, she declared, word by word, "So I'll win everything, and sweep across the world together with Xingyun!"
As she said this, Oguri Cap took the initiative and held out her fist, staring into the eyes of the petite girl before her.
"Mm. Just trust me," Xingyun Liuge said, bumping fists with her. Her smile bloomed like a flower.
At that very moment, the cold colors blanketing the sky began to change. The deep blue backdrop gradually faded, slowly turning into a very pale azure.
The outlines of the clouds became clearer, and their edges were dyed a dark red by the unseen light below.
That dark crimson seeped upward bit by bit, gradually warming into orange-red.
Between the clouds, the white light shining through grew brighter and brighter.
And when they looked up again, dawn had arrived. A huge red sun was slowly rising from beyond the horizon.
Its warmth scattered the lingering strands of night's chill and gilded both horse girls in radiant gold, as though saying:
You who chase your dreams are the brightest beings in all the world.
Now that morning had come, it was also time to bring the good news to the principal of Kasamatsu Tracen. After all, she had already worked herself to the bone for them quite a few times. Rewarding her with news of the overseas campaign could count as a little encouragement.
An hour later, in the principal's office at Kasamatsu Tracen—
The principal was practically shaking with excitement.
"Student Xingyun—no, Your—Your meaning is that you intend to continue on to Hong Kong as a regional horse girl?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin