Zhou Tai'an's Alto had a capacity of 4 people. So after the races were over, when he and Kitahara were taking their respective Horse Girls to downtown Nagoya for dinner, Zhou Tai'an chose to leave his car in the Kasamatsu Racecourse parking lot.
"Parking is free for academy trainers anyway," he said.
"If it wasn't free, you'd probably drive your car right back to the academy, wouldn't you, Tai'an-san?" Kitahara retorted.
Zhou Tai'an shook his head vigorously. "No, I wouldn't."
"Oh?" Kitahara was surprised. "I thought you'd be reluctant to pay the parking fee, Tai'an-san."
"If trainers had to pay for parking here, I wouldn't have driven here in the first place," Zhou Tai'an shrugged. "I don't have much savings myself, so I have to save where I can."
Kitahara didn't pry into Zhou Tai'an's financial situation. He figured his friend, who had just graduated a little over a year ago, had at most a few million yen.
"He'll have to take his Horse Girl on expeditions later. Saving money now is a must," Kitahara muttered to himself.
At this thought, he slapped his own head. "Tai'an-san, you should have received the prize money from today's race, right?!"
"Isn't the prize money always transferred immediately after all the races of the day are over?" Zhou Tai'an raised an eyebrow. "Oguri Cap and the other one both have their own bank accounts. The prize money must be sitting in them by now."
"That means Tai'an-san earned 320,000 yen today... Do that nine more times, and your income will equal the average annual salary in Japan," Kitahara calculated out loud.
"How could I do that nine more times," Zhou Tai'an just wanted to retort after hearing his friend's calculation. "Racking up wins at Kasamatsu is easy, but it's also boring."
"And your goal isn't at Kasamatsu anyway," Kitahara, of course, knew this. "You've told me that several times, Tai'an-san."
"What about you?" Listening to the conversation between the trainers walking ahead, Oguri Cap suddenly spoke to Fujimasa March, who was walking sullenly a few meters away with her head down.
Brand New Shine, walking behind Oguri Cap, also perked up her ears. Although she now had more wins than the gray-coated Horse Girl in front of her, she knew that if she were to compete against Fujimasa March on the same stage, she would be no match for her.
"My dream?" Fujimasa March wasn't so cold as to ignore Oguri Cap's question.
She pointed to herself, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Before, it was probably to stand on the stage of the Tokai Derby."
"Before?" Brand New Shine caught the key word.
"That's right," Fujimasa March turned to look at Brand New Shine and smiled, then met Oguri Cap's gaze again. "But now, my dream has changed."
"What's changed?" Oguri Cap couldn't guess and simply asked.
Walking ahead, Zhou Tai'an listened to the conversation between the Horse Girls behind him and gently shook his head. "Oguri Cap is really dense when it comes to these things."
But this clumsiness was to his liking. "A Horse Girl who is too sensitive about all sorts of emotions is more easily distracted by these things. Oguri Cap is fine just the way she is. It saves me a lot of trouble."
Behind him, Fujimasa March also revealed her new goal. "My goal is to race against you one more time, Oguri Cap. I will definitely win."
"Is that so?" Oguri Cap's expression didn't change. "Then I'll be waiting for you."
In her opinion, Fujimasa March was indeed very strong. But with her trainer's help, Oguri Cap believed her own rate of improvement was faster, and she would never give Fujimasa March the chance to win.
Fujimasa March could hear the confidence in Oguri Cap's tone. She just bit her lip and didn't say any more harsh words.
"Words are useless. Actions speak louder," Fujimasa March clenched her fists and said to herself.
The Chinese restaurant, named "Rian," was located next to Nagoya Station. As a restaurant that had been in business for over ten years, it was very popular in Nagoya.
Because they had made a reservation in advance, the group was led by a waiter to a private room for six on the 16th floor.
The set menu had been ordered in advance. After the waiter confirmed their dietary restrictions and left, Zhou Tai'an spoke up. "Kitahara-san, there's something I need to ask you."
"What is it?" Kitahara was quite surprised. In his opinion, Zhou Tai'an knew much more than he did and had no need to ask him for anything.
"I hope Miss Fujimasa March can teach Oguri Cap how to sing and dance," Zhou Tai'an sighed, turning to look at Oguri Cap, who was scanning the private room. "I really don't want to see Oguri Cap perform that 'Kasamatsu Ondo' on stage again."
"I think it sounds nice," Oguri Cap protested after coming back to her senses. "I feel like Mom would like it too."
"But your audience isn't just your mom," Zhou Tai'an shrugged. "Meeting the audience's expectations is also a Horse Girl's duty."
"I'm not suitable to teach this," Fujimasa March spoke up while Zhou Tai'an and Oguri Cap were talking. "Because I'm not very good at it myself. If I rashly try to teach Oguri Cap, the effect will probably be poor, and it would be a waste of time."
"Then who is suitable?" Zhou Tai'an frowned after hearing Fujimasa March's reason. "This needs to be taken care of quickly."
"I know someone who's suitable," Brand New Shine joined the conversation. "I'm just not sure if she'd be willing."
"Hm?" Everyone in the room turned their gaze to the chestnut-haired Horse Girl.
"Who?" Zhou Tai'an pressed.
"Northan Ace," Brand New Shine answered, then quickly added, "But she seems to be quite hostile towards Oguri Cap... I don't think she'd be willing to teach."
"I can help persuade her," Fujimasa March raised her hand. "She's a fan of mine."
Zhou Tai'an didn't respond to the gray-coated Horse Girl's offer first. Instead, he focused on Brand New Shine's words and continued to press, "What do you mean by 'hostile'? Did she play any pranks on Oguri Cap?"
Before Brand New Shine could speak, Oguri Cap spoke up. "No, she didn't. After school started, she said she had a lot of luggage and couldn't finish organizing her dorm, so she asked me to stay somewhere else. I was quite comfortable where I stayed, so I don't think it was bullying."
But Zhou Tai'an didn't see it that way.
"You're still not living in the dorm?" he asked Oguri Cap with a serious expression.
"I moved back after the mock race," Oguri Cap replied, with a look of regret. "Actually, I thought the place I was staying before was quite nice."
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