Chapter 292: You're Almond Eye, right?
Almond Eye's breathing grew rapid, her heart pounding like a drum being struck over and over.
Not far away, a tall Umamusume was chatting confidently with her companions, her eyes shining with determination.
Almond Eye overheard her say with confidence:
"I'm going to pass this exam and make a name for myself at Tracen Academy."
Elsewhere, a short-haired examinee was warming up on the spot, every movement smooth and powerful, as if silently declaring her strength to everyone around.
Further in the distance, a commotion caught Almond Eye's attention. She looked over to see a well-built Umamusume surrounded by a crowd.
Her posture was upright, her gaze sharp, every movement exuding confidence.
Someone nearby whispered:
"That's Lily Noble. I heard her training results are outstanding—she's one of the favorites this time."
Hearing this, Almond Eye suddenly felt a little less nervous.
She opened her hand, wiped the sweat from her palm onto her training outfit, and looked toward Lily Noble. A spark of fighting spirit flashed in her eyes as she resolved inwardly:
"No matter who my opponent is, I won't back down. If I run into her in a test or practice race later… then I'll face her head-on."
With her spirits lifted slightly, she continued forward until she reached the check-in area, where a long line had already formed.
Some examinees stood in line with their eyes closed, adjusting their condition; others whispered to companions, sharing their nerves and anticipation; still others bounced lightly in place, warming up their bodies.
Almond Eye took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, thinking silently:
"I can do this. I'll show everyone what I'm capable of."
As the line moved forward bit by bit, it was finally her turn.
The Umamusume in charge of inspection had a gentle expression and performed a careful check with practiced ease. Then she turned, picked up a chest number tag printed with a four-digit number from a nearby table, and handed it to Almond Eye with a smile.
In a kind and patient tone, she reminded her:
"Make sure you don't lose this number tag."
"All the tests you take later will be organized based on this number."
"The detailed schedule is all listed on that board over there."
Almond Eye nodded repeatedly, thanking her again and again.
As she put on the number tag, she couldn't help but take a closer look—it clearly displayed the number "0806," which she carefully memorized.
Following the direction indicated by the upperclassman, she soon arrived at a large notice board ahead.
It was covered with densely posted lists, each detailing different test items—not only the timing of each test, but also clearly marking the corresponding candidate numbers.
Almond Eye couldn't help but think:
"So thorough…"
"No, now's not the time to admire this—I need to write everything down quickly."
She hurriedly reached into the pocket of her training jacket and pulled out a small notebook and a carrot-shaped ballpoint pen.
This habit was something she had picked up from Kitasan Black. She often saw her senpai taking notes like this while talking with their trainer.
Almond Eye focused intently as she recorded everything, then carefully checked her notes against the board line by line. Only after confirming everything was correct did she nod in satisfaction.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, a hand suddenly extended from beside her, and an elegant Kansai-accented voice spoke near her ear:
"Excuse me, this is your tissue."
Almond Eye froze for a moment and instinctively turned her head.
The first thing she saw was a slender, fair hand holding a small pack of tissues.
And that pack… was exactly the one Kitasan Black had tucked into her hands before she entered the exam area.
"Thank you so much, may I ask who you are…?" Almond Eye quickly took the tissues, thanking her sincerely as she looked up.
Only then did she notice that, at some point, an Umamusume with dusky-rose long hair had appeared beside her.
Just like her voice, this girl carried an air of elegance, with a subtle sense of nobility in every movement.
"I'm also an examinee for this entrance exam—Lucky Lilac. Nice to meet you, please take care of me."
After introducing herself with a graceful bow, Lucky Lilac straightened up, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Almond Eye with curiosity in her eyes.
"If I'm not mistaken… you must be Almond Eye, the one Kita-senpai mentioned, right?"
Hearing the name "Lucky Lilac," Almond Eye couldn't help but pause for a moment.
She had heard this name from Makoto and Kitasan Black, and knew that when they visited the Gold Family household a few days ago, this was the Umamusume they met.
Since both Makoto and Kitasan Black had spoken highly of her, Almond Eye had always felt a strong competitive spirit toward Lucky Lilac.
Sometimes she had wondered whether they would meet in the practice race—and if they did, she would definitely give it her all to surpass her, no matter the event.
But now that they had actually met, and she could feel the kindness radiating from Lucky Lilac, that competitive urge strangely faded.
Almond Eye quickly returned a smile.
"That's right, I'm Almond Eye. Nice to meet you, Lucky Lilac. I've heard Kita-senpai mention you—she said you train very hard."
As she spoke, she carefully put the tissues into her pocket, thinking to herself how thoughtful Kitasan Black had been. She hadn't expected the tissues to come in handy like this—let alone in such a way.
Lucky Lilac's eyes lit up with delight.
"Really? Kita-senpai praised me?"
"I've been training really hard lately, hoping to get good results in this exam and make it into Tracen Academy."
"I heard you train together with Kita-senpai—you must have learned a lot of amazing techniques, right?"
As she spoke, she unconsciously leaned in a little closer, her eyes filled with eagerness to learn.
Almond Eye scratched her head and smiled shyly.
"Not really… I've just been training hard with Kita-senpai and Trainer, slowly figuring out what works best for me."
"By the way, how did you end up picking up my tissues?" she asked curiously, guessing she might have dropped them while taking notes earlier.
Lucky Lilac blinked and pointed at the notice board, then at the ground.
"You dropped them just now while you were busy writing. You were probably too focused to notice."
Then she glanced around again at the floor.
"You might want to check your pockets too, in case you dropped anything else. If you did, I'll help you look."
Hearing that, Almond Eye quickly checked her pockets, looked down at her feet, and tried to recall everything she had been carrying.
After confirming that everything was still with her and nothing seemed to be missing, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"It's okay, everything's here. Thank you, Lucky Lilac."
After nodding gratefully, she glanced at the number tag on Lucky Lilac, then at the notice board.
"Oh right, what's your number? I'll help you check your exam schedule… huh?"
"Hmm? What's wrong, Almond Eye?" Lucky Lilac, who had been looking at the board, turned back with concern.
"Well…"
After a brief hesitation, Almond Eye flipped through her notebook and pointed at Lucky Lilac's number tag.
"It looks like… we're in the same testing group."