"I'll help you become the youngest trainer ever to win a G1."
"So, how are you going to repay me?"
The clear gaze of the chestnut-haired girl, along with the absolute confidence in her voice, made Mochizuki Toru freeze for a moment.
Public rankings and tiers don't just exist for horsegirls. The trainers working behind the scenes are evaluated in much the same way.
On the surface, the trainer's job looks very similar to a "coach" in human sports, and there are indeed many similarities.
But in reality, being a trainer is far more difficult.
The job is so demanding that there is no such thing as muddling your way through.
You could tell just from the brutally difficult Central Trainer exams. Even trainers who have already worked several years in local circuits usually need at least one or two more years before they have any hope of passing.
That was why the fact that Mochizuki Toru, a novelist, had speedrun the exam in just a few months and entered the Central Tracen Academy as a full-fledged trainer was enough to stun the entire place.
But sometimes, talent alone is not enough. There are Central trainers who spend their entire careers without ever raising a single G1 champion horsegirl.
After all, there are only a bit over twenty G1 races in all of Japan each year.
And in every generation, there will always be one or two "era-defining monsters" who take multiple G1 titles in a single year.
In the past there was the "Emperor" Symboli Rudolf, and just last year the "End-of-Century Overlord" T.M. Opera O, who managed to win four or even five G1 races in a single season.
In an environment that competitive, most trainers' dream is simply to raise at least one G1 champion in their entire lifetime.
The bolder ones might dare to dream of seeing their horsegirl win the Satsuki Sho or the Japanese Derby.
But Agnes Tachyon wasn't satisfied with just that. She was going to make him not only a G1 trainer, but the youngest G1 trainer in history?!
"I'll be looking forward to it."
Once he recovered, the corners of the black-haired young man's lips lifted slightly as he gave his reply.
"Once our team has a G1 win on the board, I can apply to the academy for a bigger clubroom."
"When that happens, how about we keep splitting it fifty-fifty and keep being partners in crime?"
Agnes Tachyon's lips curled upward, and she actually burst into open laughter.
"Hah, what a terrible way to put it, Trainer Mochizuki."
"But… here's to a pleasant partnership."
She had already grown completely used to her carefree days of experimental research, always able to spot that familiar figure somewhere nearby whenever she turned around.
That slow acclimation was something she had never experienced before.
Just like in "The Devotion of Suspect X," the brilliant science genius Ishigami and the ordinary woman Yasuko were not the same kind of people at all, and they had nothing in common to talk about.
Yet simply witnessing that small, warm everyday life was enough to move Ishigami, enough for him to cast aside everything for her sake.
And Agnes Tachyon… was she not also a genius in the sciences?
Moreover, Mochizuki Toru stayed by her side from beginning to end, until she grew completely used to this "intruder" who had stepped into her once-sealed-off world and refused to leave.
Mochizuki was anything but ordinary, and he completely embraced all of her quirks and obsessions.
From Agnes Tachyon's point of view, she doubted she would ever meet another person who interested her this much and suited her tastes this perfectly.
So… she would start by making Mochizuki Toru the youngest G1 championship trainer in Japan's history.
That would be her small way of paying him back.
All of a sudden, she turned on her heel.
"Get ready to repay me a lot more than that."
Agnes Tachyon's eyes shone sharply. Hands thrust into her pockets, she showed a spirited, high-spirited side she had never revealed before.
"Trainer Mochizuki, I'm going to make you the trainer of a Triple Crown winner."
"When that time comes, you can think carefully about how you're going to thank me."
With that, the chestnut-haired girl broke into a wild grin. As she strode toward the race's backstage area, the white coat of her victory outfit billowed dramatically behind her.
That slightly mad, yet utterly full-of-spirit smile seared itself into Mochizuki Toru's mind.
Standing where he was, the black-haired young man turned around and headed toward the spectator stands.
"A Triple Crown trainer, huh? I'll definitely be looking forward to that…"
He had come to this world with the mindset of a spectator, a connoisseur of chaos, seeking more entertainment and the fun of "unlocking" a new profession. Bit by bit, he had also grown used to having these little horsegirls around him.
In that case, he might as well sit back and appreciate Agnes Tachyon's gallant figure properly.
Even during this stretch where he had basically done nothing, he still occasionally appeared at the training grounds and previous races to watch her run, so he had a solid grasp of Agnes Tachyon's strength.
As long as she didn't get injured, she might very well pull off a Triple Crown feat rivaling the Emperor's.
From the first and second seasons of the Uma Musume anime that he had watched, Mochizuki Toru remembered that not many horsegirls actually ended up injured. Among those the story focused on, it was basically just Silence Suzuka, Tokai Teio, and Mejiro McQueen.
So surely, Tachyon's luck wouldn't be as bad as those seniors… right?
…
Backstage.
Agnes Tachyon stepped in with a sharp grin on her face.
Waiting there was a girl who radiated energy and fighting spirit, clenching her fists as she stared straight at Agnes.
Jungle Pocket, a hugely popular star horsegirl who had already racked up multiple graded stakes victories.
In a previous race, she had lost to Agnes Tachyon, and she had been thinking about that defeat ever since. Today she was here for revenge.
"Tachyon, you're finally here."
"Get ready for your first loss!!"
Facing her defeated rival's vow of revenge, Agnes Tachyon kept that mad grin of hers, but her tone carried a hint of "apology."
"Sorry, but I have no intention of losing in front of 'him.'"
"So I'll have to trouble you to prepare yourself for another defeat."
The straightforward Jungle Pocket blurted it out without thinking.
"Huh? So who is it you're secretly in love with?"
The moment that question left her mouth, all the other horsegirls who had been warming up or going through their pre-race rituals turned their heads in unison toward Jungle Pocket and Agnes Tachyon.
Agnes's manic smile stiffened for a split second.
Her graceful aura was gone, replaced by a sudden, inexplicable irritation.
"You are so dead."
If she didn't absolutely crush this idiot out there on the track, she might as well change her name.
…
A short while later.
From the stands, Mochizuki Toru watched the silhouettes filing into the gates.
Beside him, along with Daiwa Scarlet, who had gotten her ticket back, there was also a small, pitch-black figure.
Manhattan Cafe, Mochizuki Toru's devoted fan, the first horsegirl to ever ask him for an autograph after he arrived at Tracen as a trainer.
He hadn't expected to see her here today.
After all, Manhattan Cafe was one of Agnes Tachyon's peers and rivals. She should have been down there as a runner, not sitting up here in the spectator seats.
Both of the small, dark-haired girl's legs were wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages, clearly the result of an injury.
At the same time, the commentator's voice rang out across the entire venue.
"The Satsuki Sho marks the beginning of the Classic Triple Crown."
"The most highly anticipated runner in today's field is… Agnes Tachyon!"
…
The commentary continued as the countdown ticked away.
Then, in an instant, the gates flew open.
Clad in her white-coated victory outfit, Agnes Tachyon, her expression steeped in madness, exploded from the gate in a flawless start, sliding comfortably into her signature running style.
The Satsuki Sho had begun.
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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.
[email protected]/ZuruZ