Urara defeated Smart Falcon and won the Teio Sho.
The margin was very small. It wasn't even a neck, but a win is a win.
I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Urara hug Smart Falcon. Then, I scratched my cheek in a troubled way.
Smart Falcon was in perfect condition. But, her mental state wasn't, even if her physical state was.
I took another look at Smart Falcon in the distance and thought about what was to come.
(If Smart Falcon's mental state recovers... I wonder how much stronger she'll become...)
It's not a given that her mental state will recover. Still, seeing Smart Falcon crying in Urara's embrace makes me think she'll at least be better than she is now.
She won this time, but that doesn't mean she'll win next time. A horse girl can show more power than their ability suggests when their emotions are strong. Conversely, they can also lose to opponents they thought they could beat, depending on their emotions at the time.
(...Well, it's rude to think about that now.)
Deciding that, I clapped my hands for Urara and the others. I was just naturally doing it, without clapping particularly hard. There was a scene worthy of it at the finish line.
I'm happy Urara won. But more than that, I'm happy that she's hugging Smart Falcon to show her concern.
(A child's growth is... fast.)
As I clapped, Rice and King also started clapping. The other spectators must have noticed the sound, as they also started clapping.
Of course, not all the spectators did. But countless people clapped their hands, and the sound of clapping gradually enveloped the entire Ohi Racecourse.
A rain of applause poured down, as if to drown out the sound of the rain and praise the horse girls who ran in today's race. At this praise from the spectators, which was different from cheering, the defeated horse girls also lifted their heads and started waving to the stands.
Some of them were crying tears of frustration. But there was something there that conveyed "you did your best" and "good job" more than words ever could.
With the rain of applause pouring down, Urara and the others retreated from the course. Urara was walking slowly, as if to be close to Smart Falcon, toward the entrance and exit.
Normally, I would want to follow Urara and spoil her with praise as much as I could once we got inside. But well, now wouldn't be the right time for that. Urara looked at me and gave me a little wink. I smiled back, as if to say I was looking forward to her winning performance.
The horse girls, as if being pushed by the applause, disappeared into the staff-only passage with a hint of reluctance.
After seeing Urara and the others off, I went to the staff-only passage. I thought I should be careful, as it would be a huge problem if she skipped her winning performance, although I didn't think that would happen.
I decided to wait until the last minute for her to clean off the mud from her racing clothes, and if Smart Falcon still hadn't left Urara, I would say something. I was heading to the staff-only passage with that in mind.
"Well, Haru Urara is something else."
Suddenly, I heard that voice. I thought it was just a random person since there were other horse girls, trainers, and Ohi Racecourse staff there, but I had a strange feeling that the voice was directed at me. I turned around, and a man in a suit was standing there.
If he had been a complete stranger... maybe it would have been better. The person standing there was Smart Falcon's trainer.
I think he's about five years older than me... He looks like an average guy, which is a boomerang that will hit me, but he's not as handsome as the senior from Team Spica. Nor does he have the gentle appearance of the senior from Team Canopus. Although the senior from Team Canopus seems gentle at first glance, he's also kind of scary.
For a trainer at the Tracen Academy, other trainers are rivals and business competitors. There can only be one horse girl who gets first place in a race, unless they have a photo finish. Many senior trainers don't get too involved with other trainers in order to get their own horse girls into that limited first-place spot.
When a trainer has a skill and a track record as outstanding as Tojo-san, there are no trainers who openly oppose him... but everyone gets talked about behind their backs. In fact, it would be scarier if everyone only praised him without any complaints.
The senior in front of me... I had never heard of him being close with other trainers. At least, I hadn't heard anything from my colleagues or junior trainers.
So, when he spoke to me in a friendly way with a smile, I was on guard.
I'm aware that I'm disliked by many of the senior trainers, except for a few, but this senior is different. I don't feel any hostility or distance from him. In fact... what is it? It's as if he's grateful, judging from his expression and voice.
"Huh? Are you on guard?"
"Yes, I am."
"Hahaha, you're honest, and I like that."
When I answered, the senior laughed for some reason, and my wariness only grew stronger.
"So... do you need something?"
Since I didn't know his purpose, I asked him directly. The senior tilted his head in a puzzled way.
"I just came to thank you."
"Thank you?"
For what? I furrowed my brows in confusion, and the senior looked at Smart Falcon, who was still being hugged by Urara in front of the waiting room.
"Because with this, Farl-ko might finally be able to move forward... I came to thank you for that. Thank you."
At the senior's words, I furrowed my brow slightly. I left Rice and King to take care of Urara and walked with the senior to a more private area.
"...That's not something you should say to me, is it? Also, it sounds like you're talking about someone else."
Urara was the one who beat Smart Falcon. I didn't do anything, and I probably couldn't have had the same effect on Smart Falcon as Urara did.
Still, the senior's words sounded so detached, so I couldn't help but snap back. The senior smiled wryly.
"Ah, I worded that poorly. But with this, both Farl-ko and I can move forward. I'm grateful... much more than you think."
I didn't sense any insincerity in the senior's words. His tone was as if he was genuinely thankful from the bottom of his heart.
"...I don't understand. Looking at Smart Falcon's body, I can tell you've been thoroughly training her to the point where she's just on the verge of injury. But even if you were doing that physically, I don't understand why you would mentally push her that far."
Yes, looking at Smart Falcon's body, I could tell just how much attention to detail the senior in front of me put into training her.
If Smart Falcon were just lending her name to a trainer and training herself according to her own plan, I would have intervened more with her. But seeing the condition of her body, I naturally understood her trainer's skill.
If a horse girl trains on her own like Rice did in the past, she'll develop in a distorted way, no matter how careful she is. It's difficult to objectively look at your own body, and there's a limit to how well a horse girl can manage herself, no matter how good she is.
Ever since I first saw Smart Falcon, I've been amazed at her conditioning every time I saw her in a race. I thought there had to be a reason for Smart Falcon's condition, since she had a trainer with such great training skills, but...
"The fact that you would say that... means you think I didn't do any mental care for Smart Falcon and even pushed her too hard... is that right?"
The senior asked with a wry smile, not getting angry. His reaction only caused more questions and confusion in me.
The senior took a tired sigh at my words.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped if you think that. To be honest, I couldn't solve anything. All I could do was increase or decrease the amount of training according to her condition... and when she said she wanted to do a street performance, I went to the police to file the papers and put on a happi coat to cheer her on... that's about it."
Saying that, the senior squinted as if looking into the distance. He looked at Smart Falcon, who was being patted on the head by Urara, with an expression that was hard to describe.
"You're right... yes, you're right. I know that now that I've seen Farl-ko's face. I knew it all along. I've been doing mental care for the past few months that had no effect. Honestly, your Haru Urara is terrible. She wins the race, hugs her, and just says a few words, and she breaks that stubborn girl's mask."
He said "terrible," but his voice was still mixed with a wry smile. No, I even felt a sense of gratitude.
"At first, she thought Haru Urara was amazing, and she was motivated, thinking she couldn't lose to her as an Uma-dol with such a charming smile. But it seemed she couldn't stand losing in popularity, let alone ability and performance... And before I knew it, she was like that."
"Before you knew it?"
I wondered how that could be. Weren't there any signs? The senior's wry smile deepened.
"You don't notice things when you're close to them... that's what I want to say to make an excuse. But she's so good at wearing her Uma-dol mask that I had no idea what she was hiding inside."
He said he was blind.
"It was around the JBC Ladies' Classic last year... she suddenly went crazy. No, 'crazy' isn't the right word. She started to show her distortion on the outside so much that even I could see it."
The JBC Ladies' Classic... that was when Urara ran in the JBC Sprint. Smart Falcon came to talk to Urara then, but Urara...
"From then on, it was just a downward spiral... No matter what I said or what I did, she couldn't smile from the bottom of her heart. That was the first time in my life I felt so helpless."
"...Was it that bad?"
"Yeah. I did everything they taught me in the trainer's school, and I researched and tried everything I could. But it didn't work. It didn't work when I raised my voice and got angry, and it didn't work when I cried and begged her to go back to being the old Farl-ko. I even tried to appease her and make her look at other horse girls besides Haru Urara, but even a foreign horse girl couldn't do it."
He said that Haru Urara was something different for Farl-ko.
"She came in second in the Saudi Cup, but she didn't seem to have any interest in coming in second in her first foreign race... I deposited all the prize money into Farl-ko's account and showed her the passbook, but she didn't react at all, so I felt like my challenge overseas was meaningless and was at a loss."
"That's... something..."
The senior was talking so much, so maybe he just really wanted to talk to someone. Even if it was Smart Falcon's trainer, the one who was the cause of her being like that.
"About Smart Falcon's street performances..."
"Didn't I just tell you? I did all the paperwork for the police. Besides, she's a minor even though she's a horse girl, so her guardian had to do the paperwork, and a guardian had to be with her at night. You came to see one of her street performances, didn't you?"
Huh? Was the senior there then? I don't remember seeing anyone who looked like him.
The only people I saw were the ones wearing happi coats and headbands, cheering on Smart Falcon... Was he one of them? Oh, he just said he put on a happi coat and cheered...
"But I know for sure now that I've seen her. She can finally move forward... It's been so long..."
Saying that, the senior put his hand in his pocket. He then crumpled something up and walked over to a nearby trash can to throw it in.
"I'll thank you again... Thank you. With this, she'll break out of her shell and get even stronger. As an Uma-dol... she's been shining from the very beginning to me, so I don't know if she can grow any more than that."
The senior turned his back to me as if to say he had said everything he wanted to say. He was heading in a different direction from Smart Falcon, but...
"Senior, what are you going to do about the winning performance?"
"Of course, I'm going to see it. But I left my clothes bag in the locker room. I'll see her later."
The senior walked away. After seeing him off, I let out a big sigh and returned to Rice and King.
The winning performance of the Teio Sho was a full house. In fact, it was so packed that I couldn't even get to the front row.
I thought it would be difficult to push through the crowd with Rice and King, but I tried saying, "Excuse me, I'm Haru Urara's trainer," and they easily made way for me.
It was almost time, so I hurried to clean the mud off of Urara's racing clothes and sent her off. And I just barely made it to the stands.
I didn't have time to check on Smart Falcon, but I was wondering if she would even be able to perform in the winning performance... but...
(Hmm? Hmm...?)
I looked at Smart Falcon, who came out on stage, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Urara was holding her hand, and she came out onto the stage with a timid and anxious expression.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who was confused by Smart Falcon. The spectators around me also voiced their confusion, and some people didn't even know it was Smart Falcon.
But Smart Falcon, who was holding Urara's hand and being pushed from behind by Sulayem, walked forward on the stage with a look of resolve. Her expression was more natural than before.
And the winning performance that began was surprisingly subdued for those who knew the Smart Falcon from before—but it was earnest and desperate.
Her singing and dancing were so disjointed that you would wonder if she had forgotten all her practice and past winning performances. But I think there were many people who had a different impression of her from before, seeing her desperately singing and dancing.
At first, the spectators were confused, but they soon lost themselves in the winning performance of Urara, Smart Falcon, and Sulayem, who are among the top-class active dirt horse girls.
(...You can smile and sing so well.)
I thought that as I watched Smart Falcon's awkward but seemingly genuine smile.
And the Teio Sho winning performance, with Urara as the center, ended with unprecedented success.
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