The moment he saw Urara cross the finish line, Akihara Tōru realized that, at some point, he had clenched his fists so tightly that even he could feel the pain.
He lowered his head and looked at his pale knuckles, a strange emotion welling up in his heart.
How odd.
This had only been an ordinary mock race.
The opponent was merely a nominally registered horse girl without a trainer's guidance.
From the very beginning, he had known that if everything went according to plan, Urara's chances of winning were actually quite high.
And yet—
why was he this excited?
Tōru thought back to his days in the training program.
As the top student, he had witnessed countless races.
Victories, defeats, comebacks, near-misses.
He had once believed he had become someone who could take wins and losses in stride.
After all, once you've seen enough, you get used to it.
Victory and defeat were simply the norm on the track—nothing worth making such a fuss over.
And yet—
[Trainer… Urara did it… Urara won…]
Hearing Urara's exhausted but joy-filled inner voice, Tōru's heart gave a violent thump.
So that was it.
He finally understood.
It wasn't that he didn't care about winning or losing.
It was just that… he had never tasted this before.
The taste of leading his own horse girl to victory.
Back when he was in the training program, he had only ever been an observer.
No matter the outcome of the race, it had never directly involved him.
He could analyze calmly, evaluate objectively, watch from a detached distance.
But things were different now.
The one standing on the track was his horse girl.
The horse girl whose training plan he had personally created, whose growth he had personally witnessed, whose tactics he had personally arranged.
The pink-haired horse girl who smiled every day as she ran up to him, looking at him with those round, expectant eyes.
Especially during the final phase of that race—
Tōru recalled the heart-stopping scene from moments ago.
When Urara's steps began to wobble, when her speed started dropping sharply, when Triangle Laurel's figure drew closer and closer—
his heart had almost burst out of his chest.
One horse-length.
Only one horse-length remained between them.
And Urara was clearly at her limit.
Her legs were shaking. Her breathing was ragged. Her body looked as if it might collapse at any second.
And in that instant—
Tōru hadn't even realized what he was doing.
"Go, Urara——!!!"
That shout had exploded straight from the depths of his chest.
It wasn't calculated.
It wasn't intentional.
It was an entirely instinctive cry, from the bottom of his heart.
He simply didn't want to see Urara lose.
He simply wanted Urara to know that he was watching her.
He simply wanted to pour all of his will into that pink-haired horse girl who was desperately running with everything she had.
And then—
a miracle happened.
That horse girl who had clearly been at the brink, who by all rights should have had nothing left—
actually burst forth with strength once more!
Her legs started moving again.
Her posture became firm again.
It was as if she had received his will, launching one last desperate sprint.
And then—
she crossed the finish line.
This feeling…
Tōru sighed inwardly.
This feeling of being in sync with his horse girl.
This feeling of watching his horse girl surpass her own limits.
This feeling of personally sending his horse girl to victory.
It was—
too wonderful for words.
But this was not the time to drown in that joy.
Tōru reined in his emotions and strode toward the track.
Urara, who had only made it a few steps past the finish line, was now swaying dangerously.
Her legs had completely given out beneath her. She looked like a small tree bent over by the wind, ready to topple to the ground at any moment.
Tōru quickened his pace.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
And just as Urara was about to fall—
he stretched out his arms and caught her securely.
"Trainer…"
Collapsed in Tōru's arms, Urara's face was covered in sweat and exhaustion.
And yet she still stubbornly forced out that dazzling smile.
Those pink eyes curved into crescents, gleaming with joy.
"Trainer… did you see…?"
Her voice was weak and hoarse, yet filled with unmistakable pride.
"Urara… won…"
[Urara won… Urara finally won…]
[Trainer… Urara didn't disappoint you…]
This was Urara's first victory.
Even if it was only an ordinary mock race.
Even if her opponent was just another horse girl who hadn't officially debuted yet.
For Urara, this was the very first win of her life.
And more than that—
it was also the first time she had been held in her trainer's arms.
That warm embrace wrapped around her.
Her trainer's heartbeat echoed right by her ear.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before.
[So warm…]
[So this is what it feels like… to be held by Trainer…]
[So happy…]
An unprecedented sense of happiness enveloped Urara.
The joy of victory.
Her trainer's embrace.
And that feeling of being acknowledged, expected, treasured.
All of those emotions intertwined into a warm current that flooded through her heart.
It was almost as if—
right now, she could do absolutely anything.
As long as her trainer was there.
As long as her trainer believed in her.
Then no matter what kind of opponent stood before her, no matter what kind of hardship came—
Urara would be able to overcome it.
"You did well, Urara."
Tōru gently patted her back, his voice thick with unhidden relief.
"You won."
"Mhm…"
Urara buried her face against his chest and gave a satisfied little response.
[Trainer praised Urara…]
[So happy…]
[Urara… wants this to go on a little longer…]
Meanwhile, as Tōru soothed the Urara in his arms, he looked at the new notification that had just appeared before him.
This time, it was different from the usual friendship training messages.
The system prompt now contained a line of text he had never seen before.
[Surpassing the limit, the spirit of youth erupts.]
[Haru Urara's Speed increased!]
[Haru Urara's Power increased!]
[Haru Urara's Guts increased greatly!]
[Through training, Haru Urara has deepened her understanding of front-running tactics. Her aptitude for leading has increased again!]
[Haru Urara learned the skill "Runner's Soul"!]
["Runner's Soul": When using a front-running strategy, stamina consumption is reduced.]
Tōru's pupils contracted sharply.
What was this?
The spirit of youth erupts?
He had never seen such a notification before.
In previous friendship trainings, the stat gains had simply been marked as "increased."
But this time—
one stat had actually been marked as "increased greatly"!
And on top of that, it came with a skill that looked extremely powerful.
Runner's Soul — when using a front-running strategy, stamina consumption decreases.
Wasn't this a perfect fit for the exact tactic they had just used?
The biggest flaw of going all-out from the start was how quickly it burned stamina.
And this skill just happened to patch up that weakness perfectly.
A surge of exhilaration flooded Tōru's chest.
Good.
Excellent.
This was perfect.
The scattered fragments of a debut-race victory—
had finally come together.
He shouted inwardly.
With this skill, the feasibility of the plan he had prepared rose dramatically.
Add in the stat gains Urara had already accumulated, plus the Focus skill—
and the debut-race victory was now within reach.
-------
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