Willing to honor her promise, Tamamo Cross—after Shuta An brought Oguri Cap back—voluntarily offered to treat them to a bowl of kishimen.
"It seems Norn Ace has taught you well, Oguri Cap. Your winning live performance this time was far better than the last," Shuta An praised, his tone half proud, half relieved as he addressed the gray filly he trained.
Then, turning his head toward Tamamo Cross, he added lightly, "How about we skip it? Last time, a colleague and I made a bet like this, and he ended up treating me to dinner—it cost him fifty thousand yen."
"U-uh…" Tamamo Cross flinched at the number. She only had three Fukuzawa Yukichi bills in her wallet—still two short of fifty thousand.
"Then let's exchange contact information," she said after a brief hesitation. "I owe you this meal anyway. This summer, I'll be heading to Hokkaido to challenge a one-win class race. When I come back, I'll definitely treat you to that meal."
Shuta An raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, 'She has three A-grades, the same as Oguri Cap, yet she's only just escaped the maiden class in Central?'
He quickly corrected his assumption.
'No… according to what she said earlier, she's been running dirt races and leading from the front. Her adaptability for both is quite low—so it makes sense.'
Feeling reassured, Shuta An gave her his home landline number.
"Okay, got it." Tamamo Cross nodded, committing the digits to memory. Turning to Oguri Cap, she said, "Oguri Cap, remember my name—Tamamo Cross. I'll be waiting to see you on the Central racecourse."
"I will!" Oguri Cap answered with a firm, unwavering tone. "I'll challenge Central with Trainer and Berno!"
"Good luck~" Tamamo Cross smiled, brushing past Oguri Cap as she waved. "I hope we meet on the racecourse someday."
"We definitely will," Shuta An replied before Oguri Cap could. "Next year—around the latter half—we will."
Tamamo Cross didn't respond, only walking away alone. She didn't really believe his confident words, but something within her whispered that perhaps this countryside Trainer's prediction might come true. Since Shuta An hadn't taken advantage of Tamamo Cross's offer, he simply paid for both Uma Musume to dine at a nearby restaurant.
Facing the mountain of dishes in front of Oguri Cap—and the green-faced waiter who could only stare helplessly—Shuta An felt not the slightest ripple of emotion. He was long used to this sight. Besides, he would soon receive 600,000 yen in prize money from the Wakakoma Sho; this meal was a trivial expense.
Berno Light glanced at Oguri Cap, who was devouring her meal with full focus, before turning to her Trainer. "Trainer, should we start preparing for the Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen Stakes now?"
"Yes." Shuta An picked up a sweet shrimp, chewed, and replied through a mouthful, "Next, I'll need you to prepare horseshoes suitable for different track conditions—have several spares ready—and help me organize our supplies for the trip to Hokkaido."
"As for race data and analysis, I'll handle that myself," he continued after swallowing. "If all goes well, once you've finished those tasks, we'll depart from Kasamatsu."
"So early? The race isn't until late August," Berno Light said in surprise, not understanding his urgency.
"Leaving early means we can acclimate better," Shuta An explained, glancing at Oguri Cap. "And we can also visit her home—speak with her mother."
"Hm?" Oguri Cap immediately looked up at the mention of her Trainer.
"Going to Oguri's home?!" Berno Light's eyes sparkled. "I want to go too!"
"Of course you're coming," Shuta An said with a roll of his eyes. "This trip to Hokkaido, we're all going. I'm not leaving you behind in Kasamatsu."
"Going home…" Oguri Cap repeated softly, her chewing slowing. She hadn't expected her Trainer to suggest it.
"Yes. You haven't been home in almost half a year, right?" Shuta An leaned back slightly, watching her expression. "Since we're going anyway, you must want to visit."
"I also recall you mentioning that your family's living conditions aren't very good." He tapped the table lightly. "If we win the Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen Stakes, that prize money will be enough for your mother to move to Kasamatsu—into a better house."
"Get a better house…" Oguri Cap repeated, her eyes brightening with a spark of determination.
Seeing that expression, Shuta An smiled inwardly. He wouldn't need to say anything else.
With this alone, she'll give her all in Hokkaido.
After escorting Oguri Cap and Berno Light back to the Academy, Shuta An decided to leave work early. Remaining there would only mean writing post-race reports—something he preferred doing in the comfort of his apartment. And as for training… well, no reasonable Trainer would force a filly to train the day after a race.
After reminding Oguri Cap several times not to do her morning run tomorrow and to wait for him to arrange recovery training, and handing Berno Light a small advance as activity funds, Shuta An drove leisurely home.
But though he had claimed to be ending work early, his night was far from over. After showering and resting briefly on the sofa, he sat down at his desk to write Oguri Cap's post-race report for the Wakakoma Sho.
He first described her performance at Nagoya Racecourse objectively, then casually added: "In this race, Oguri Cap displayed excellent speed talent. Perhaps next year, she could consider challenging Central's turf stakes races."
When it came to strengths and weaknesses, he filled the former section extensively, but under weaknesses, he wrote only one simple line— "Lacks sufficient understanding of the opponent's strength; slight hesitation in acceleration timing."
When he finally set down his pen, it was past ten at night. He decided to take another bath and go to bed. That night, he smoothly entered the Dream World—where once again, he rode Oguri Cap in a race.
Unlike in reality, the Oguri Cap in this dream world still remained in Kasamatsu, competing fiercely with her generation's rivals—or rather, overwhelming them.
Today was no exception. The race was a standard Kasamatsu event for debut-year participants. By now, Shuta An had the strategy down to instinct: enter the gate properly, break fast, take an early lead, endure until the turn, accelerate, drift slightly outward, seize the front, and finish strong. He expected nothing different today.
"Fujimasa March is here too," he noted upon seeing Hara Tatsuo and his partner in the waiting area. "Didn't see them in the last two races—I thought they were avoiding me and Oguri Cap. But now that they're back, they'll surely be wary of my outside rush."
Smiling faintly, he decided to change tactics. At the start, Hara Tatsuo's vigilance was palpable. His defeat in their debut race had been unforgettable—he was determined not to repeat it.
But this time, Shuta An didn't trail behind. Instead, he ran Oguri Cap side by side with Fujimasa March, head-to-head.
"Oguri Cap's sturdier than Fujimasa March. If we bump, it won't be us who loses balance," he thought, deliberately provoking a contest.
Hara Tatsuo noticed immediately. "What the hell's this scheming kid planning now?" he muttered, then urged Fujimasa March forward with an early whip to widen the gap.
Shuta An, unwilling to let him escape, raised his whip too—but just as he did, a prompt flashed in his mind: 'Do you want to use Head-to-Head Duel?'
He hesitated, then smiled. 'Aren't we already in a duel?'
As his whip struck down, he confirmed the command in his heart.
With that single whip, Oguri Cap's speed surged dramatically. Any ordinary Kasamatsu jockey would have been thrown from the saddle at that sudden acceleration—but Shuta An held firm. Empowered by Head-to-Head Duel, Oguri Cap glanced briefly at Fujimasa March beside her, then charged forward, overtaking her rival without mercy.
"From here on," Shuta An muttered as they turned the bend, "I'm not giving you any more chances."
At the Kasamatsu Tracen Academy dormitory, Oguri Cap was being unusually obedient. After her Trainer dropped her off, she ate again in the cafeteria, took a bath, and then relaxed in her room, recounting the day's race to Norn Ace.
By ten o'clock, she followed her nightly routine—lying on the bed, saying goodnight to Norn Ace (who was still watching her dramas), and closing her eyes.
Moments later, she realized she was dreaming.
"What… is this?" It was her first lucid dream, and confusion quickly followed.
Soon, she noticed her posture. "Why am I crawling?"
Though unnatural by any waking logic, it felt strangely normal in this dream.
"What's going on?!"
A faint voice echoed in her subconscious: 'This is a race. Partner with the one on your back—win together.'
Oguri Cap awkwardly turned her head and saw the rider—someone who looked exactly like her Trainer. No, not "similar"—he was identical.
"Shuta-kun and Oguri, go for it!" The crowd's cheers filled the air.
'Does this guy have the same name as Trainer too?' The thought flickered briefly, but the race was about to begin, and her competitive nature took over. Though running on all fours felt odd, her body adapted quickly. "At least this won't be a problem," she muttered with relief.
The track was Kasamatsu—familiar terrain. As they entered the bend, the rider—her Trainer's dream counterpart—cracked the whip against her flank.
"Ouch!" she yelped, grimacing. But another voice followed instantly—
'Do you want to use Head-to-Head Duel?'
Without thinking, Oguri Cap confirmed it. In the next instant, power flooded her body. Her limbs moved faster, her speed skyrocketed.
"So this is Head-to-Head Duel?" she gasped inwardly. "While used in the lead position—it boosts acceleration?"
She couldn't hide her amazement. What is this?
"I didn't expect something so incredible to exist in this world… I wonder if such things exist in ours too?"
She frowned slightly but pushed the thought aside—partly because she was too embarrassed to ever ask her Trainer where she'd learned this. After all, that whip from "Shuta-kun" had landed right on her 'there', and it still stung faintly.
"…Does Trainer usually want to hit my 'there' too?" she wondered, cheeks burning.