Perhaps because they had declared their determination to participate, Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower became a little more proactive afterward, allowing Kitahara to talk with them about many more topics.
For example, about their pasts, and their reasons for wanting to become stronger.
At the academy, Mihono Bourbon usually simply wanted to participate and run in order to improve her own abilities.
While running together with her, Kitahara had also noticed that she was currently better suited for short-distance races. But since she had never mentioned wanting special training in that direction, he hadn't paid much attention to it before.
Rice Shower, on the other hand, often followed along with other horse girls.
Just as she herself believed, she felt she had an unlucky constitution and wanted to change that.
In her view, becoming an excellent horse girl and bringing exciting races to others was a way to make people happy.
To achieve that, she naturally wanted to become stronger, and wouldn't miss any opportunity to do so.
Of course, at the academy there were few classmates willing to approach her, and she wasn't invited very often — that was probably another reason she followed others.
After all, the rarer something is, the more precious it becomes.
Not only through the original work and the mobile game, but also through past training and interactions at the academy, Kitahara already had a general impression of the two of them.
However, face-to-face conversation revealed many details he hadn't noticed before.
For example, Mihono Bourbon often used words like "data," "parameters," and "metrics" — terms that sounded very familiar and pleasant to Kitahara.
During training she also had the habit of using her eyes, ears, and skin to measure track humidity, temperature, and wind direction.
But she clearly understood that some things in the world couldn't be measured numerically.
When talking about dreams or future plans, she would instead use the word "feeling."
Rice Shower had similar unexpected sides.
She was surprisingly good at drawing.
According to her, when she was little, her parents used to read picture books to her before bed.
From then on, she came to love drawing and stories. Her favorite book was a picture book called The Happy Blue Rose, and even her phone wallpaper was a blue rose.
[Watch the Pakatube of RIce shower telling you a stroy right now]
All of these details couldn't be known just from memory or observation during training.
Kitahara only learned them through conversation.
These discoveries made him increasingly feel that he had overlooked many aspects of the horse girls, focusing too much on training and competition.
With that thought, he wanted to pay more attention to them in the future, and also reduce the intensity of the upcoming relay race.
If the intensity wasn't so high, the race wouldn't be so exhausting, and he himself wouldn't be so serious and obsessed with training and competition — that was what he thought.
So after returning to the resort and discussing things with Komiyama and the others, the draft plan announced the next day was already somewhat different from his initial concept.
They were once again discussing the race in a large conference room at the resort.
But with the idea of "letting both myself and the horse girls relax more," the atmosphere that day was clearly less rigid.
The projector and computer were still there.
But instead of rows of meeting chairs, the room was filled with round tea tables like a tea party.
On the tables were English-style afternoon tea snacks, with steam rising from fragrant black tea in delicate porcelain cups.
Opposite the teacups were three-tiered dessert stands filled with cream-covered pastries, jam, honey, and fresh fruits with dew on their skins.
Normally afternoon tea was mostly pastries, and fruit felt a little out of place.
But aside from Maruzensky, none of the horse girls had much of an afternoon tea habit, and even the Mejiro sisters didn't.
Maruzensky was more focused on the screen anyway, and most of the others were either watching the presentation or eating happily.
So no one cared.
This kind of "meeting" was new in both form and atmosphere, making the horse girls — especially Oguri Cap and the others used to old-style meetings — feel relaxed.
Oguri Cap led the charge in eating pastries and fruit, clearly more interested in food than the presentation.
Still, Kitahara noticed that when he walked to the screen, her eating slowed a bit, and her ears turned toward him — so she wasn't completely indifferent.
"Um… while I explain the relay race ideas, everyone can stay relaxed like this. No need to be tense."
Trying to change, Kitahara kept his opening light.
"This is the first time any of us have organized a race, so there will probably be oversights. If everyone's too tense, it'll be hard to give good advice."
He looked toward the back table.
"Especially the student council members — you all have rich experience. We really want your input."
At the back table sat Symboli Rudolf and the other council members.
Maruzensky, CB, and Katsuragi Ace sat beside her.
Unusually, Mejiro Ramonu wasn't at that table — she sat with her sisters Ardan and McQueen.
Coincidentally, since the relay would be divided by age, the three sisters could form one team.
After signaling Rudolf, Kitahara began with team assignments.
"There will be three legs."
He pointed with a laser pointer as a list appeared.
"There are 15 participants. So three groups of five."
"Group 1, the first leg, will be the student council members led by President Rudolf."
"Group 2, the second leg, will be Oguri Cap and the current active racers."
"Group 3, the third leg, will be the future stars — Teio, McQueen, Bourbon, Rice Shower, and Brian."
This arrangement made sense by strength and age, so there was no objection.
He then explained about peak age, "blessing," and why separation was fair.
The room remained calm — until he proposed random team assignment by lottery.
"W-wait! What did you say? Drawing lots?!"
Tokai Teio jumped up, horrified.
"No no no no!"
"If it's random, I might not be on the same team as President!"
"Absolutely not!"
"I must be on the same team as President!"
She rushed over and clung to Rudolf's arm.
"I reject the lottery! I demand free team formation!"
That caused an uproar.
McQueen also hesitated.
"I want to be with my sisters too…"
Others supported random draw.
Tamamo Cross said it was fair.
Inari One agreed.
They started arguing.
Super Creek tried to stop them.
Oguri Cap, chewing, finally said:
"Huh? Teams? Isn't that fine however? It's not like fighting over food."
"And in the end, we'll just listen to Kitahara anyway. Thinking about this is tiring."
(End of Chapter)