The conversation between Narita Brian and Oguri Roman was very quiet, and the others at the table did not pay much attention to it.
Meanwhile, with Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen constantly going at each other during breakfast, the atmosphere stayed lively.
Kitahara did not try to stop them and just watched with a smile.
In his mind, perhaps these two racehorse girls were destined to face each other one day.
Just like that Tenno Sho (Spring) from history.
In 1992, Mejiro McQueen already had eight wins and had completed the unprecedented feat of three generations in her lineage consecutively winning the Tenno Sho (Spring). She had also just defended her title at the Hanshin Daishoten at the start of the year.
Riding on that momentum, her camp decided to challenge the Tenno Sho (Spring) again, aiming for McQueen's own consecutive victory in that classic race.
Among her rivals was Tokai Teio, who had been undefeated in seven starts since her debut and had achieved the undefeated Double Crown the previous year.
Naturally, such a matchup drew immense attention. Before the race, the two camps even exchanged sharp words in interviews:
"Tokai Teio can run to the very end of the earth."
"If she can run to the end of the earth, then Mejiro McQueen can soar into the sky."
Such pre-race declarations were not unusual, but with Tokai Teio being the national idol at the time and Mejiro McQueen in top form, the atmosphere in the industry became especially heated.
Because of that heat, the media took the initials of their names — Teio and McQueen — and dubbed it the "TM Showdown."
The result was that Mejiro McQueen, who entered as the second favorite against Teio's overwhelming popularity, began a long sprint from the fourth corner and ultimately won by three lengths, achieving the first back-to-back Tenno Sho (Spring) victories in history.
At the same time, Tokai Teio's dream of staying undefeated came to an end.
That duel was often talked about afterward, and even its anime adaptation was unforgettable. So even now, Kitahara could recall every detail clearly.
That had been their first and only showdown — and now being able to see a "TM Showdown: Youth Edition" didn't seem bad at all.
Not only those two, but also Mihono Bourbon, another undefeated Double Crown horse, and Rice Shower, who would later stop Bourbon's Triple Crown bid and McQueen's third Tenno Sho (Spring) in the parallel world, would all cross paths here.
Plus Narita Brian, and Symboli Rudolf's older generation…
Even if the relay race wasn't an official event, Kitahara felt it was well worth looking forward to.
With that anticipation, after breakfast he almost couldn't wait to visit the traffic bureau to confirm the road conditions in and around Nagoya.
His current plan was to model the course after the anime and real relay race formats, using horse-girl-only expressways.
He planned to bring Oguri Cap, Super Creek, and Ardan along — they had just raced and were scheduled to rest anyway, so afterward he could take them sightseeing in Nagoya.
And with their opinions, choosing the venue would be easier.
But to his surprise, when he suggested it, all three hesitated.
"Um… go to the traffic bureau…?"
Oguri Cap scratched her head, glanced at Super Creek and Ardan, then at Tamamo Cross and Inari One further away.
"Do we really have to go, Kitahara?"
The reluctance was obvious.
"It's not absolutely necessary," Kitahara said gently. "I just thought that for a relay race, the venue needs special consideration…"
He explained about track lengths, safety, and why highways or outdoor courses were better.
"I thought we could check the roads, run a bit, and then go have fun."
But seeing their hesitation, he asked:
"Do you have something else planned?"
"Yes — Super Creek, Ardan, Tamamo, Inari, and I talked yesterday… we want to watch race videos together and study during our break."
…Five-color ring intelligence friendship training?
Kitahara was confused.
In the game, "friendship training" occurs when support cards trigger during training. Intelligence training focuses on studying and analysis. When several cards activate together, rainbow rings appear — and five cards at once is extremely rare.
Kitahara felt most of their daily training already resembled that — but this was the first time the girls had proposed self-study on their own.
"Watching videos together is great," he encouraged them. "It's very effective right after races."
He praised their initiative.
Oguri Cap beamed.
"Then I'll really work hard! That way I won't fall behind everyone — and I'll be more confident in future races!"
"Fall behind… everyone?" Kitahara echoed, puzzled.
Super Creek explained it was because she and Ardan had made experimental changes in their racing approach.
She said she sensed that Kitahara had changed his thinking and methods.
"Good intuition," Kitahara admitted. "Very good."
He confirmed her guess and added:
"You're preparing because you'll soon be racing against each other more, right?"
They nodded.
Ardan added she especially wanted to perform well in the relay — especially with her sister, Mejiro Ramonu, there.
So Kitahara decided not to disturb them.
But Super Creek added one more thing:
"Then today, Kitahara, please go by yourself. And… maybe take those two kids out for a walk."
She looked worriedly at the corner of the table.
"One is too serious — like a miniature you. The other is very shy. They'll be training with us too, so they should get used to the team."
She was referring to Mihono Bourbon, sitting stiffly, and Rice Shower, curled up timidly beside her.
(End of Chapter)