By the finish line, Urara—so focused that she had only noticed after the race was over that there was now another horse girl standing beside Urushihara Tōru—widened her eyes.
"Huh?"
The pink-haired horse girl blinked those round cherry-blossom eyes, her gaze moving back and forth between Tōru and the blonde twin-tailed horse girl.
That person definitely had not been there while she was running.
So how had she suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
Had Urara simply been too focused on running to notice?
That's weird… Urara was paying attention to Trainer's direction the whole time…
Come to think of it, ever since that race with Falcon-chan, Urara really had felt a mysterious power flowing into her body.
It felt like… like something was helping her become stronger.
Urara had heard Little Te and the others mention before that once a horse girl got her own dedicated trainer, a kind of power called "bond" would gradually form between them, helping her break through her limits.
Could this be the "bond" between her and Trainer?
But somehow, it did not feel quite like what Little Te and Little Grass had described.
Urara tilted her head, but quickly gave up trying to think it through.
If she could not figure something out, then there was no point forcing it. Trainer would help her anyway!
More importantly—
Urara's gaze landed on the blonde horse girl again.
She looked like a horse girl with an incredible presence.
Her golden twin-tails shimmered in the sunlight, and her jade eyes held an unshakable confidence.
Why was this horse girl standing next to Trainer?
And why did the two of them seem to be chatting so pleasantly?
The expression on Trainer's face looked strangely unfamiliar. Had he ever made that kind of face at Urara before?
A strange emotion suddenly welled up in Urara's chest.
It was hard to describe.
Her chest felt stuffy, and somehow a little uncomfortable.
Like… like when her favorite carrot accidentally fell on the ground…
No, actually, it felt a little worse than that.
This is so strange… what is this feeling…?
Urara frowned.
She tried hard to remember whether she had ever felt anything like this before.
The last time she saw Falcon-chan standing beside Trainer… it did not feel like this.
Back then, Urara had only thought Falcon-chan was very pretty and cheerful, and had wanted to be friends with her.
But now…
As she looked at the blonde horse girl, Urara found that she did not really want to be friends with her that much.
Even though the other girl looked very impressive.
Even though her presence was attractive too.
Still… somehow… she just did not really want to.
Urara doesn't understand… why she feels this way…
The pink-haired horse girl's ears drooped slightly.
She did not like this feeling.
This heavy, prickly, uncomfortable feeling inside her heart.
So—
"Trainerrr—!"
Urara shook her head hard and decided to drive the unpleasant feeling away using the method she was best at.
She broke into a run toward Urushihara Tōru with her usual bright smile, and like a little puppy finding its owner, pressed close against his side.
"Urara finished running! Trainer, how did Urara do?"
Those pink eyes curved into crescents, and a radiant smile lit up her face.
Trainer… will pat Urara's head like always, right…
She tilted her chin up slightly and looked at him expectantly.
As long as Trainer patted her head the way he always did, that strange feeling would definitely go away.
Urara believed that completely.
"You ran well."
Urushihara Tōru reached out and gently rubbed her head.
The familiar warmth of his hand immediately made Urara feel better.
Hehe… Trainer pats… so happy…
Just as she thought—when Trainer patted her, all strange feelings disappeared!
Urara narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, and her pink ears perked back up again.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Urushihara Tōru—who had actually been peeking into Urara's thoughts the whole time—slightly raised an eyebrow.
He had heard every bit of her inner voice as she ran over.
All that confusion. All that dislike.
And those occasional guarded glances toward Narita Crown.
So this was…
Tōru quietly analyzed it in his head.
Jealousy?
No, no. Urara was much too innocent a child to understand something like jealousy yet.
At most, this was more like…
Mm, like a pet that had been living with its owner for a long time, then suddenly discovered the owner had brought home another pet.
Or maybe like a daughter seeing her dad talking to another little girl and feeling the need to compete for attention.
Kids were like that all the time. Totally normal.
That was the label Urushihara Tōru assigned to Urara's behavior.
Nothing to worry about.
Once Urara and Narita Crown got a little more familiar with each other, this emotion would naturally disappear.
After all, Urara was the kind of cheerful girl who could become friends with anyone.
"Oh right, Urara."
Urushihara Tōru withdrew the hand that had been rubbing her head and pointed toward the horse girl standing nearby.
"Let me introduce you. This is Triangle Ir—"
"It's Narita Crown!"
The blonde horse girl's voice instantly shot up by eight octaves, her jade eyes flashing with fury.
"How many times are you going to get it wrong?! It's Narita Crown! Crown! Not Triangle Iron, not Triangle Delta, and definitely not Triangle Arrow!"
This guy is doing it on purpose, right!? He absolutely is! How can a trainer's memory be this terrible!?
"Oh, right, sorry, sorry. I haven't been sleeping much lately, so my brain's not quite working."
Urushihara Tōru apologized with a perfectly innocent face.
"Anyway, I'm planning to arrange a mock race between the two of you. Urara, no problem with that?"
"A mock race?"
Urara blinked, looking first at Tōru and then at Narita Crown.
"Mm! No problem!"
The pink-haired horse girl nodded hard, her radiant smile blooming once again.
Then she turned toward Narita Crown and held out her hand.
"Hi there, Narita Crown! I'm Haru Urara—just call me Urara! Nice to meet you!"
There was not the slightest trace of hostility in those pink eyes—only pure warmth and friendliness.
As though that heavy, uncomfortable feeling from earlier had never existed at all.
Narita Crown froze for a second.
She had already prepared a whole lofty speech, planning to respond to this horse girl—whose strength seemed nothing special—with the kind of superior, condescending tone she thought was appropriate.
But faced with Urara's utterly guileless smile, those words simply refused to come out.
"…Narita Crown."
She looked away, her tone still somewhat stiff, but far gentler than before.
"Though I still don't know what exactly that trainer saw in you… please take care of me."
This girl… how can she smile so happily? Her strength is so poor, and she's about to get crushed by me…
Could this be the reason that trainer chose her?
Narita Crown's gaze grew complicated.
For the first time, she felt as though she might understand, just a little, why that G-rank trainer had made his choice.
Only a little.
And she still thought she was ten thousand times more exceptional than this pink-haired horse girl.
But still…
"Then let's do dirt, 800 meters. Any objections to racing over that distance?"
Urushihara Tōru's voice cut through Narita Crown's thoughts.
Dirt…?
Narita Crown blinked.
In the current racing environment, turf was the absolute mainstream.
Dirt was generally regarded as a lower-class surface, something only places too poor to maintain proper grass would use.
Because of that, students at Central Tracen Academy rarely chose dirt unless they truly had no aptitude for turf.
And Narita Crown was no exception.
She had no idea at all whether she even had aptitude for dirt.
But—
"No problem."
Narita Crown still nodded and strode toward the starting line.
I feel a little bad for that girl, but even on dirt, there's no way I'm losing.
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Urara."
"Mm?"
"I like your personality."
Narita Crown's tone was serious and solemn.
"But a race is a race. I won't go easy on you just because I like you."
This is my chance to prove myself. I'm going to make that trainer see exactly what he missed!
"So prepare yourself to be crushed."
The blonde horse girl lifted her chin, fighting spirit blazing in those jade eyes.
Faced with that declaration, Urara only tilted her head.
"Go easy on me?"
The pink-haired horse girl blinked, looking puzzled.
"Why would anyone go easy in a race?"
"…What?"
"A race is only fun if everyone goes all out!"
Urara smiled and pumped a fist, and her pink eyes blazed with fighting spirit too.
"So you don't need to hold back either, Narita Crown! Urara will go all out too!"
Because that's the only way Trainer can see Urara at her very best!
"And besides—"
Urara's smile grew even brighter.
"Urara doesn't need anyone to go easy on her."
Narita Crown stared.
For a moment, she did not know what to say as she looked at this pink-haired horse girl who was so much weaker than her and yet still this confident.
This girl…
She's so weak, so why can she say things like that?
Why… can she smile that brilliantly?
"…Interesting."
Narita Crown's lips curved upward slightly, excitement flickering in her jade eyes.
"Then let me see what your full effort actually amounts to!"
With that, she turned and strode toward the starting line.
Standing nearby, Urushihara Tōru silently committed the whole scene to memory.
It seemed Narita Crown's attitude toward Urara had already changed.
Did this count as the two of them having formed some kind of… friendship?
If so, the chance of triggering friendship training ought to be even higher now, right?
He folded his arms across his chest and began looking forward to the race ahead.
-------
April Special Days *Sale 20%*
patreon.com/RuneA
-------
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon Age of Gods: Starting with a Simulation as Heracles (10 Chapter)
Terra Love Trap: They All Want Me to Themselves (10 Chapter)
Dimensional Ranking: Top Ten Saviors (10 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen: Naoya Zen'in Wants to Stay Alive! (10 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it