With only one day left until the race.
Daijin, contrary to her anxiety of the previous few days, was instead attending classes, studying, eating, training, and ensuring good sleep and condition as usual.
The closer it was to the race, the more important it was to adjust one's condition than to blindly add more training.
Previously, Daijin had only been pushing herself due to psychological reasons, but as the emotional knot in her heart was slowly untangled, she was now gradually beginning to try and make changes.
Although not yet obvious, she was slowly taking steps forward.
In the afternoon, the last class for Class A was held in the academy's computer room. Today's topic was watching and analyzing race videos.
For Uma Musume, this theoretical knowledge class was also a compulsory subject.
And after class, Daijin, who had just walked out of the teaching building, unexpectedly heard Xiao Hai Wan call out to her.
"Daijin!"
Hearing Xiao Hai Wan's voice, she, who had been looking down at her phone, also stopped walking. Although she didn't lift her head, she responded in a low voice:
"...Is something wrong?"
Since that night, Daijin had indeed changed a lot. Now she would respond to others' calls, though only to a select few.
But undoubtedly, the door she had locked was gradually being opened, inadvertently.
"Daijin, Daijin! Can you help me with something?"
Xiao Hai Wan affectionately clung to her. In her own words, hugging the small Daijin was like hugging a kitten—soft and comfortable.
"Ugh…" Although Daijin wanted to resist, the thought of Xiao Hai Wan immediately becoming sad made her give up the struggle.
She could only sigh softly, turning her gaze elsewhere and muttering, "What is it now?"
"Daijin! I need to go help out at Tamamo's club right now, so could you please go back to the computer room and get the backpack I left there? Please, I'm begging you…"
"Ugh… Why would you leave that thing there?"
Daijin seemed a bit helpless, but the problem was she couldn't refuse the Xiao Hai Wan in front of her.
Although she sounded like she was complaining, she didn't refuse.
"…Fine, I guess. But I'll be back very late, so I'll keep the bag for now… Is that okay?"
"Daijin! Thank you!~"
Saying that, Xiao Hai Wan intimately hugged her again, stroking her bright, fluffy hair.
"Ugh… I can't breathe…"
At this moment, Daijin was clearly unaware that this was a "little trick" intentionally played by the seemingly harmless Xiao Hai Wan.
Returning to the classroom, the computer room was now empty of other people. In the deserted classroom, there was only the orange-red glow of the twilight.
"The thing… it's here, right?"
Daijin mumbled to herself, recalling where Xiao Hai Wan had sat during class.
Sure enough, on the chair, she found a small blue shoulder bag.
It was truly puzzling; the usually capable and reliable Xiao Hai Wan actually had moments of forgetting things.
Slinging the bag across her body, Daijin walked out of the computer room again. But in the silent corridor, now devoid of people, there seemed to be an unusual sound.
Daijin looked with some confusion at the slightly ajar door down the corridor. For some reason, she subconsciously walked over.
She gently poked her head out to peek inside.
She saw a familiar figure sitting there. Kazuo was wearing headphones, intently staring at the video playing on the screen.
It was him… Daijin recognized him immediately. For some reason, upon seeing him, she couldn't help but recall everything that had happened that night.
Why… was he here alone?
Daijin curiously surveyed everything inside, but she hadn't expected that upon closer inspection, she would discover something amiss.
Although she couldn't hear any sound at the moment, she recognized the race being played on the screen.
It was—
A race where she had once represented the school team and won first place in the regional competition.
She had broken the school record that time, so the impression was particularly deep.
Why… why… does he have these things?
Kazuo was completely unaware that Xiao Hai Wan had intentionally made Daijin "accidentally" discover something he didn't want her to know.
Wearing headphones, he was holding a bagged coffee milk in his mouth, and simultaneously writing something back and forth with a pen and paper.
He would occasionally pause the frame, occasionally rewind, and occasionally pull up data and videos of Uma Musume in the same positions from various races for comparison.
Without a doubt—
He was watching the video of her past race.
Why… She suddenly remembered how she had once scolded him to his face, saying he didn't understand her at all… But—
What was presented before her at this moment was an incredibly focused teacher, constantly comparing data… And this person had, not long ago, grabbed her shoulders and said he would believe in her, trusting that she would definitely achieve victory.
Thump—
For some reason, her heart began to feel like it was accelerating.
She hadn't had time to think about why this was happening.
Then Kazuo directly pressed the pause button, took off his headphones, and stood up.
This action startled Daijin like a little mouse; she swiftly pulled her head back, pressing against the wall, not daring to move.
Holding her breath, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.
"Hmm… I remember the previous data should be here… Daijin's races from her second year of junior high… Hmm, found it, it's here."
"And then the time records… Hmm, after comparing the data of G1 competitors again, it's indeed most suitable for Daijin to run a big chase. With her absolute sprint… she is definitely not inferior to Victory Ticket and Biwa Hayahide…"
Only Kazuo's murmuring voice and the subtle rustling of paper filled the room.
And outside, just a wall away, a girl was clutching her chest, head down, leaning against the wall.
She didn't know what was wrong with her… But—
"Now it just depends on whether Daijin has listened. Tomorrow is the day of the showdown. You must win… Daijin."
As if praying, Kazuo looked up, seemingly sighing.
Suddenly, Kazuo said with some surprise, "Huh? Did I not close the door?"
When he stood in the doorway and looked out, the quiet corridor was only filled with the hazy feeling of twilight.
"Hmm…?"
Kazuo suddenly noticed a small pendant on the floor.
It looked a bit like a small figurine from some game, like a keychain that would hang on a phone… Kazuo slowly picked it up, a little confused:
"This… Who dropped this here?"
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