"Frankel, huh…"
"Let me see just how strong you really are."
Air Groove's interest had been completely piqued.
Beside her, Mochizuki Toru simply went back to his book, turning the page with a light chuckle.
…
A short while later.
In the video, the starting gates flew open.
The moment she saw Frankel in the far outside gate clearly break poorly, Air Groove froze for a second.
Daiwa Scarlet had told her it was a blowout victory. A full five-length win.
"She botched the start and still won by that much?"
Yet even after the bad break, Frankel did not sit at the back like a typical closer. Instead, she immediately kicked into acceleration.
Air Groove, whose interest had been thoroughly hooked, watched with a bright, delighted smile on her originally innocent, doll-like face. Her crimson eyes were full of anticipation.
Speed.
The ultimate goal of her research, the final destination of all her experiments, was the absolute top speed of a horsegirl.
Which meant: only horsegirls standing at the very summit, or at least possessing the potential to reach it, could ever make Air Groove take things this seriously.
For an eccentric prodigy like Air Groove, the world was split into only two categories: "not interesting" and "extremely interesting."
The vast majority of horsegirls, even those who had already won GI titles, all fell squarely into the former for her.
Even top trainers who had produced multiple GI champions did nothing for her.
Those whom the outside world saw as "worthy of respect" or "amazing," Air Groove simply did not care about.
The only ones who could capture her attention were the current strongest active horsegirl, Japan's second "fully automated horsegirl" T.M. Opera O; and, as friends or juniors, Manhattan Cafe and Daiwa Scarlet.
And, of course, the trainer she had formed a contract with a few months ago, Mochizuki Toru.
As for Frankel…
Would she be the next one?
On screen:
"Number ten, Frankel, refuses to drop to the rear!"
With the commentator's shout, Frankel, despite her poor break from the far outside, charged forward along the outer lanes and began overtaking one horsegirl after another.
Until, finally…
She even swept past the future Empress herself, Vodka!
That brief video, only a few minutes long, came to an end in front of Air Groove's eyes. In that instant, her pupils bloomed with a gem-like crimson radiance.
Five lengths. That was an undisputed blowout. A dominating performance on a completely different level.
And her opponent was none other than Vodka, whose talent was so extraordinary that her future as a GI champion was practically guaranteed.
On top of that, Frankel had drawn the worst possible gate for a frontrunner, the very outside, and had still made a mistake at the break.
"The worst outside gate, plus a bad start, and the opponent is Vodka…"
In Air Groove's inner "extreme speed" rankings, which almost never changed, a new name was added for the first time in a long while.
That name was Frankel.
Moreover, as Japan's "fully automated horsegirl," Air Groove's razor-sharp eyes had also noticed something else: Frankel's racecraft clearly wasn't polished.
Obviously, she had probably never joined Tracen Academy. Without that environment, she had no one to run serious training races against.
And yet, under so many unfavorable conditions, she had still managed to win by five lengths. What an utterly terrifying monster.
How was she supposed to get to know this girl? How could she approach her?
After the thrill faded slightly, Air Groove exited out of the video.
Then she began searching for Frankel, wanting to see more detailed information.
A moment later, new data loaded onto the screen.
For example: "Trainer: Mochizuki Toru."
?
??
The smiling girl scientist in a white lab coat froze on the spot. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
Huh?!
In the next second, she immediately turned her head toward the handsome young man reading beside her.
There was no way this was just someone with the same name, right?
In Air Groove's eyes, Mochizuki, who showed almost no interest in actual training work and drifted through life in a laid-back manner, was as mild as a lamb.
And yet this Frankel, who had the potential to become the strongest of the next generation, was also under Mochizuki Toru's charge?
So all this time, while she'd been wondering how to find a way to meet Frankel, it turned out they were already in the same team? That she herself was technically Frankel's senior and upperclassman?
After the initial shock, an even stronger excitement rose in Air Groove's chest. Still smiling, she stepped over to Mochizuki's side.
"Trainer Mochizuki, Frankel is your charge, isn't she?"
Mochizuki put down his book and looked up, nodding calmly.
After all, race regulations required every debuting horsegirl to have a trainer.
Just as Air Groove refused to be trained or directed by anyone else, Mochizuki also had no intention of letting "his transformed self," Frankel, be handled by some other trainer.
From that angle, he and Air Groove really were unexpectedly compatible. They were, in every sense, the same kind of creature.
"That's right," he said.
"But… in terms of our relationship, it's basically the same as between you and me."
Mochizuki casually summed up the nature of that bond with a single mark: "…"
Yes. An ellipsis.
He could be her trainer, but only in the sense of "a trainer who has never actually given any guidance."
Because there were a few points that were really hard to explain.
First, if he was always at Tracen Academy, how was he supposed to find the time to train Frankel day in, day out?
Second, why did Frankel still have trouble with her breaks from the gate, lack experience, and not even know how to handle the Winner's Stage performance?
Put bluntly, Frankel was the kind of existence that would utterly destroy his reputation in the educational world.
Therefore, the only way to make it all add up was to treat her the same way he treated Air Groove: complete non-interference.
As long as he never actually trained Frankel, then he could not be called a lousy teacher.
At the same time, this only made Frankel's overwhelming natural talent stand out even more. It was the same as saying she could dominate the entire schedule and win by five lengths without needing a trainer at all.
Perfect.
Air Groove, who had been fully prepared for such an answer, nodded along without surprise, then smoothly followed up with her next question.
"Then when is she enrolling at Tracen?"
In the eyes of Air Groove, Symboli Rudolf, and the others, Frankel was absolutely certain to join Tracen Academy.
Normally, any horsegirl who could make her debut in a central racing venue would go on to enroll at Tracen. There were very few exceptions.
After all, if a horsegirl wanted to become stronger, talent alone usually wasn't enough. Training and training races were crucial.
In the next instant, Mochizuki, chin slightly raised, shook his head.
…
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N/T: Hi everyone, I'm Zuru, an inexperienced translator and non-native English speaker, so if you notice any mistakes in the text, please let me know in the comments so I can fix them. By the way, I have a Patreon. There isn't much there yet, but it would really help me if you could consider joining.