After confirming that Friendship Training had triggered again, even the way Urushihara Tōru looked at Narita Crown became much gentler.
He immediately started checking the effects of this round of Friendship Training.
Speed, Power, Grit—
This time, three attributes had increased all at once?
The last time, during Friendship Training with Smart Falcon, Urara's Speed and Power had gone up, and she had also gained the skill Concentration.
This time, she had not acquired a new skill, but an extra attribute—Grit—had increased instead.
Was that difference because the training partner was different, or were the boosts random?
Tōru quietly filed that question away in his mind.
On top of that, this Friendship Training had also improved Urara's aptitude as a front-runner.
Was that because she had used a front-running style in this race?
If so, then could the attributes raised through training also be related to the specific running style used?
For example, if Urara used a closer's style in the next Friendship Training, would that increase her aptitude as a closer?
Or if she trained more often on dirt, would that further improve her dirt-track aptitude?
As Urushihara Tōru's thoughts turned, he had already started building all kinds of experimental plans in his head.
And then, unexpectedly, he heard that voice again.
[Through Friendship Training with Urara, Narita Crown's attributes have increased.]
[Narita Crown's Stamina has increased!]
[Narita Crown's Power has increased!]
[Through training, Narita Crown has learned the knack of playing in the mud. Her dirt-track aptitude has increased!]
…
Wait, what?
Why are you getting something out of this too?
Are you here to steal?
In an instant, the kindness vanished from Urushihara Tōru's eyes and was replaced by hostility.
He had put real effort into arranging this mock race, all for the sake of triggering Friendship Training for his own Urara.
But if the horse girl racing against her also gained stats, then what if they ended up meeting in an actual race? If both sides got stronger, did that not just cancel the whole thing out?
So from now on, should he make sure Urara trained with horse girls whose aptitudes were completely different from hers, to reduce the chance they'd meet in races later?
But aptitudes could also change because of Friendship Training.
Just as Tōru was about to say something, their eyes met—
and he froze.
Narita Crown's expression… why did it look so strange?
Those beautiful jade eyes were watery, the rims faintly red. Her lips were pressed tightly into a line, but her chin was trembling ever so slightly.
Both hands were clenched hard around the fabric of her skirt, the knuckles white with effort.
It was the face of someone desperately trying not to cry.
Damn it… damn it, damn it, damn it…
I said I was going to crush her… I said I'd make that trainer regret rejecting me…
And in the end I only won by half a length… If that girl hadn't messed up her final sprint… then half a length basically means nothing at all…
I kept saying she was weak… but if someone weak almost beat me, then what does that make me…?
No wonder that trainer said I had no eye for talent… no wonder he didn't want to become my trainer…
A horse girl like me… I just… I just…
Narita Crown's inner voice came in broken fragments, full of grievance and frustration she could not hide.
Urushihara Tōru immediately understood.
So that was it. She had talked such a big game before the race, then nearly threw the whole thing away. Now she was so embarrassed she felt like she couldn't face anyone.
Honestly, that made sense.
From the very beginning, this blonde horse girl had carried herself like the outcome was already decided, like her victory was inevitable.
And yet in the end, she had only won by half a length.
Even taking into account that this had been a dirt track—something she was completely unfamiliar with—
Urara had also used a running style she was not used to at all, and she had nearly fallen after messing up while imitating Smart Falcon's sprint on the final turn.
If all those factors were taken into account…
then calling Narita Crown's victory a loss would not be unfair.
At least, for a horse girl as proud as she was, this kind of win probably felt worse than losing outright.
Even though Tōru still had some wariness toward this horse girl—one who had once wanted to "play horse" with him—he had no intention of provoking her further now.
After all, she had helped him out. She had successfully triggered Friendship Training for Urara, and she had also given him a new idea for how Urara might attack her debut race.
Even if Narita Crown herself had also gotten something out of it.
Urushihara Tōru opened his mouth, intending to smooth things over a little with something polite like You ran well too—
"I'm not crying!"
But Narita Crown suddenly shouted.
Two tears slipped free from the reddened corners of her eyes and rolled down her pale cheeks.
"I'm not crying! It's just… it's just that something got in my eyes!"
Uuu… why are the tears coming out on their own… I was holding them in…
The moment she said that, Narita Crown spun around and bolted toward the exit of the training grounds.
Her uniform, still speckled with bits of grass, looked a little pitiful in the sunlight, and her golden twin-tails whipped wildly in the air.
She was fast—far too fast for Urushihara Tōru to say anything in time.
All that remained was her retreating back and what seemed like a few faint sobs lingering in the air.
"…"
Urushihara Tōru stood there, momentarily unsure what to say.
The one who had won the race and gotten free stats had ended up running away in tears.
What kind of situation even was this?
"Trainer?"
At some point, Urara had wandered over and was now tilting her head as she looked toward the direction Narita Crown had fled.
"What happened to Narita Crown? Why did she run away?"
She won, didn't she…? Then why does she look even sadder than Urara?
"Who knows."
Tōru shook his head and rubbed Urara's hair.
"Maybe her desire to win is just too strong. For her, winning by only half a length feels no different from losing. But she was probably too embarrassed to cry over something like that, so she ran off instead."
"I see…"
Urara nodded thoughtfully.
Then suddenly she lifted her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Urushihara Tōru.
"Then next time Urara has to beat her! That way she won't need to be embarrassed anymore!"
Because if Urara wins, then Narita Crown can be sad fair and square!
"…"
Urushihara Tōru was speechless.
What kind of logic was that?
If winning made her cry and run away, then losing would let her cry openly without having to run?
Still, considering that Urara was destined to become a "Demon King" someday…
Maybe that kind of reasoning was not impossible to understand.
I see.
Looking at Urara's radiant smile, a warm feeling suddenly welled up in his chest.
So my Urara is a benevolent Demon King.
Even though she was the one who lost the race, she was still worrying about how her opponent felt.
Sure, there were a few tiny problems with the logic. But she was a Demon King, so that was probably fine.
"Alright."
Urushihara Tōru nodded, smiling.
"Then let's keep working hard with that as our goal."
"Mm!"
Urara nodded vigorously.
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