The training for the other team members can be handled by the assistant trio. Today, Ling plans to give Haru Urara one-on-one lessons.
It's the special treatment Little Special always wanted (not).
"When you run on a grass track, do you feel like your feet always sink very deep, and it feels like you're stepping on cotton, unable to exert force?" As someone who can perfectly master both grass and dirt tracks, Ling naturally understood the differences between the two running styles.
"Mmm! But it's okay as long as I use more force!"
"Wrong." She gently tapped Haru Urara's small head with a pointer.
"Eh?"
"Grass isn't like the dirt track you're used to. Because of the soft grass and soil, the more force you use, the deeper you'll sink, and then you'll expend more stamina when taking a step."
Actually, there are techniques for using force, just like Ling's [Frenzy Charge], but that move is a self-harming technique only possible due to her recovery ability, and she would absolutely not teach it.
"And precisely because of this, when you run on grass, you need to pay more attention to your strength, not to use too much, but also to maintain your speed. I'll teach you the specific techniques on the track once your body has fully recovered."
"Mmm! I'll rely on Z-chan!" Haru Urara also nodded seriously.
Their lesson continued for a while, and then, to allow Haru Urara to properly digest today's content, the lesson was stopped, and they entered a break time.
But at this moment, Haru Urara asked a question that stunned Ling.
"Hey, Z-chan, if I spin my tail like a propeller when I run, will I run faster?"
"???"
Ling clapped her hand over her face. For a fleeting moment, she had actually considered the feasibility of that idea.
"If it's fast enough to break your tail, maybe it could speed you up for a second?" Ling wasn't exactly sure how to explain it.
"Eh!? Will my tail break!?"
"Yes, so definitely don't do that, okay?"
"I understand!" Haru Urara quickly hugged her tail.
"Alright, let's end today's teaching here for now. You also want to see everyone training, right? You can go out and watch, okay?"
"Oh!"
After letting Haru Urara move freely, Ling tidied up the room and went to the monitoring room.
"Hey, Digital, are you still alive?"
"Ugh… That was really close just now…" A pale Alice Digital walked out, trembling and leaning against the wall.
Looking at the tissue paper stuffed in Alice Digital's nose, Rei Zai could roughly guess what had happened, and besides, she was already used to it.
"So, my dear friend, is there something you need?"
"It's not a big deal, just wondering if you're free this weekend."
"Eh? Are we going shopping with the Uma Musume again!?" The scene of accompanying Heavy Gun and Marvelous Sunday shopping last time was still vivid in Alice Digital's mind, and her face turned green.
To say she was happy, she was certainly happy, but she was truly exhausted.
"No, no, no, it's just that the Academy is holding an entertainment race that day, and the Student Council drew your name to be the host. If you're busy…"
"Yes! Of course, I am! Please let me do it!" How could Alice Digital refuse when she heard she could openly d-Uma Musume?
"Then go report to the Student Council tomorrow and get acquainted with the details of that race."
The entertainment race, a large annual event, this time the theme of the entertainment race was… "Cooking."
There's no rule that Uma Musume entertainment races must involve running, right?
"By the way, who is the other commentator?" Alice Digital also felt curious.
"…" Rei Zai's flickering gaze made Alice Digital feel something was off.
"M-Masaka…"
"Yes, it's Miss Hayakawa."
Similarly, there's no rule that the Chairman's secretary can't be a commentator, right?
"Eek!!!"
Actually, there was a reason why Alice Digital was so afraid of Miss Hayakawa.
Once, Rei Zai told Alice Digital, "The Chairman and Miss Hayakawa might be Uma Musume, you know?"
Of course, Alice Digital herself had vaguely noticed; if it came to sensitivity towards Uma Musume, she'd say she was second to none.
"By the way, if they were Uma Musume, would you push for them?" Rei Zai was suddenly curious if this DD could go that far.
"No, no, no, how could I? They're ultimate seniors, aren't they? They might even be great-grandmother figures. It's impossible to push for someone of that generation, right?" Alice Digital ignored Rei Zai's suddenly terrified and winking expression and stated her judgment.
She was then taken away by Miss Hayakawa from behind and returned looking completely dazed.
No matter how old a woman is, her age is still a taboo subject.
"Well, Miss Hayakawa should have forgotten about that day. As long as you don't court death, nothing will happen."
A similar incident happened once, but that time it was Heavy Gun.
That day, while discussing "mature women," she brought up Maruzensky, and then Heavy Gun gave her assessment.
"Maruzensky-senpai, rather than mature, is more like… old-fashioned, isn't she?"
She was then dragged away by Maruzensky from behind, and no one knew what happened. When she returned, she kept repeating, "A mature woman does not gossip."
In any case, Alice Digital still decided to go. Besides, this time, because of the cooking theme, she could also act as a partial judge and eat the dishes personally prepared by the participating Uma Musume. In the end, she couldn't resist the temptation.
By the way, besides the two commentators, the other judges included the Headmaster, the Emperor, and Oguri Cap.
Rei Zai even thought that if someone could make an enormous amount of food to satisfy Oguri Cap, Oguri Cap could override all objections and directly become the champion.
None of this was important. After notifying Alice Digital, Rei Zai, having nothing else to do, went to the training ground. The result was… "Oguri-chan! What are you doing!!!"
She heard Tamamo's scream.
Oguri Cap was seen lying on the training ground, gnawing on the grass of the turf track.
"Grass!? Stop it!" Rei Zai quickly conjured a pot of vegetables and rushed over.
A while later… "Ugh… I'm alive again…" Oguri Cap leaned contentedly on the sofa, her belly swollen like she was ten months pregnant.
"So what exactly happened…" Rei Zai walked over, wiping her freshly washed hands with lingering fear.
Tamamo Cross began to recall, painfully.
"Basically, after receiving the notice for the entertainment race, Oguri Cap started looking forward to that day, and then inadvertently converted all the food that should have been slowly digested into energy?"
As a judge, Oguri Cap naturally received the notice. So, in her excitement, she accidentally fed all the food in her stomach to her [Gluttony] skill.
"Oguri Cap-senpai just now really scared us. A hungry Oguri Cap-senpai can be so terrifying…" Everyone nearby also had lingering fears.
"Ahem, I lost my composure…" Even Oguri Cap couldn't help but feel embarrassed at a time like this.
"Be more careful next time…" Rei Zai, who had pretty much become Oguri Cap's exclusive chef, could only sigh helplessly.
Although she also really liked cooking, she couldn't shake the feeling that her image was gradually aligning with a certain talking electric rice cooker next door. That must just be her imagination, right?
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