The indoor training hall at Tracen Academy echoed with the metallic clank clank of a barbell. Though darkness had long since fallen outside, the girl lying on the bench press showed no signs of stopping.
Sweat trailed down her arms, dripping onto the floor, its rhythm mingling with the sound of the weights.
"Four hundred forty... four hundred forty-one..."
She counted silently in her mind. Her scorching skin seemed to burn the sweat away, sending up faint wisps of steam that raised the temperature around her.
She continued pressing the heavy barbell until she was drenched from head to toe, only then finally racking it and sitting up.
"Five hundred." She used the towel draped around her neck to wipe her sore, aching arms. "That's enough for the upper body for now. Next, the legs..."
Unscrewing a cap, she downed an entire bottle of water in one go and tossed it aside. Several other empty bottles lay overturned nearby.
"Hey, Brian. Still training this late?"
A bold, hearty voice called out from the training room entrance.
Narita Brian, in the middle of wiping sweat away, looked toward the sound.
A girl with deep blue hair that fell to her legs and tanned skin was waving at her.
"Hishi Amazon."
Narita Brian let out a breath that shot out like an arrow, steadying her heartbeat before replying, "What brings you here?"
"Just passing by. Saw the lights on and wondered if some airhead forgot to turn them off, so I came to check."
She walked over to Narita Brian, feeling the heat radiating from the other girl's body even before she got close.
"How long have you been training in here?"
"How long... I'm not sure. Ever since I got back from the track."
"You've got to be kidding me! It's past nine already. That means you've been at it for over four hours."
"Over four hours..." Narita Brian hung the sweat-soaked, warm towel back around her neck. "No wonder it got so dark I couldn't see a thing and had to turn the lights on..."
"No, no, no! The lights aren't the issue! Is your body even okay with this kind of training?" Hishi Amazon waved her hands frantically.
Just tonight, Narita Brian had already logged what would amount to two or three days of training for other Uma Musume. And by the looks of it, she was planning to continue.
"I've been in good form lately. I want to make the most of it and push myself as much as I can."
She clenched her fist, feeling the blood pulse within her. Just the posture she held was brimming with raw power.
As Narita Brian's contemporary, Hishi Amazon was destined to face her on the track in the future, so their paths crossed often; they even trained together sometimes.
Being a future rival who had always kept a close watch on Narita Brian, Hishi Amazon clearly sensed the change in her.
The intense, overwhelming pressure she had initially exuded was gone, replaced by a deep, grounded steadiness. Just standing there, she gave the impression of being rooted firmly to the earth.
It was a fear that struck right at the heart.
'You're... really something else, you know.'
"Are you talking about me?"
"Duh, who else?!" Hishi Amazon folded her arms across her chest. "Ever since you started using that wild running style, you've always been shocking people, ruthlessly overtaking opponents with terrifying power. I thought that was your limit, but here you are, breaking through again. Just how far do you plan to go?"
Hishi Amazon felt that the future Narita Brian would become like a tiger or a cheetah, dominating the racetrack.
"My current self can't be considered a breakthrough," Narita Brian replied flatly. "Only on the track can you truly feel the terrifying strength of that person."
Hishi Amazon knew exactly who 'that person' was.
"Do you know what I saw when she pulled away from me?"
"What...?"
Narita Brian slowly recalled the memory.
"A 'giant' standing at the apex of the heavens, looking down upon all living beings."
"Those of you not on the track couldn't possibly understand. When that 'giant' leaned down, I could still match wits with her. But when she stood up to her full height... I couldn't even reach her knees. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't budge her feet. I could only watch as she left me behind—"
As she spoke, her body began to tremble involuntarily. Every cell screamed with excitement, reliving the spectacle of that race.
I want…
I want to meet her again!
Her lips, just moistened by water, felt dry and cracked again.
Hearing her description, Hishi Amazon nodded in agreement.
During that race, her own blood had ignited as the two of them picked up speed. By the final sprint, as if channeling her own pent-up energy, she had screamed herself hoarse cheering for Narita Brian, her voice gone for two whole days afterward.
The memory of that race was exceptionally vivid.
"What a burning, addictive woman!" she couldn't help but praise. "The image of you two going head-to-head is seared into my eyes. It was the greatest race!"
"If I had the chance, I'd love to face her one-on-one too."
Hishi Amazon clenched her fists, a eager, fighting spirit shining in her eyes.
But she quickly snapped out of her excitement.
"As much as I'd like that, Brian, don't you think you're being a bit extreme?"
"To gain the strength needed to fight her, I must increase my training intensity."
She was still far, far from enough.
Sitting on the exercise bench, Narita Brian placed a dumbbell on her instep and began doing leg raises.
The sight of the thick, multi-plated weight made Hishi Amazon's eyelid twitch.
"I get it, I really do. Facing a strong opponent makes you want to grow stronger without holding back. But... think about it carefully. How do you know she'll just appear on the track again like she did this time?"
Hishi Amazon posed a brutally straightforward question. "Right now, everyone in the Central association, along with the newspaper reporters, is looking for her. If they find her, there's no doubt she'll be banned from the track for good. Then you wouldn't just miss the race, you might never even hear her name again."
Narita Brian's movements halted immediately.
"And besides, even if she does show up for the next race, do you really think your current training intensity can sustain you until the [Kikuka-shō] months from now?"
"Fatigue builds up. Your training method is draining your body. Will you even recover in time for the race?"
Narita Brian pondered this.
"And another thing! I just realized, if you've been here since returning from training, don't tell me you haven't even eaten dinner?"
"For that, I just need to make a few extra rice balls at the cafeteria at noon and bring them back after training."
"That is—totally not okay!" Hishi Amazon facepalmed.
Skipping proper meals, intense training... Even if she'd lost some of her overtly combative edge recently, Narita Brian was becoming worrying in other ways.
"Anyway, stop training for now. Come back to the dorm with me."
"Back to the dorm? What for?"
"To fill that belly you're acting so casual about, which is actually starving!"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.