"Trainer Chiya, here are the new teaching materials."
In the office, Hayakawa Tazuna placed a stack of documents on his desk.
"Thank you for your trouble, Miss Hayakawa."
"Not at all," the other person smiled. "By the way, about that exchange meet, how did you feel about it, Trainer Chiya? About the future changes to the races."
"It was alright. It's not something I can't accept," he said, putting down his pen. "But increasing the difficulty of the competition also means a higher chance of the Horse Girls getting injured. If they rely on physical contact to forcibly fight for position, it could lead to them falling and getting hurt. That's a situation no one wants to see."
"Do you value the Horse Girls' physical well-being more than the race results?"
"Of course. I hope every child can race happily, not be arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat, and live a healthy life."
"That's a... rather simple and pure thought."
"Of course, that's what I say, but I'm not prepared to let my Horse Girls back down," he said, picking up the newly revised training plan in his hand. "If the enemy attacks, we just need to dodge. There's no need to take it head-on."
"What you mean is..."
"I'm going to max out their evasion," he said. "If they want to forcibly fight for position or block them, then we'll retreat to advance. I'm preparing to focus on training their countermeasures, to have them learn race tactics, to analyze the enemy's running style before the race, and then anticipate their moves."
In short, it was to pour points into intelligence and engage in a bit of information warfare.
He was planning to observe how other trainers trained their Horse Girls in the next few days, to thoroughly understand the contemporary rivals of Shirayuki and Rice Shower. This way, he wouldn't be afraid of them using any dirty tricks on the track.
Faced with the problem posed by the central division, Chiya had given his answer.
When the enemy advances, I retreat. When the enemy camps, I harass.
"It seems you've also summed up your own training method during this time," Tazuna nodded in satisfaction. "In that case, I won't disturb..."
"Onii-sama!"
Before she could finish, a petite figure ran in excitedly.
She was holding a small basket in her hand.
"Onii-sama... and Miss Hayakawa?"
Seeing the green figure in the room, she stopped.
"Good morning, Rice Shower-san."
"Good morning."
After returning a smile, she trotted to his side.
"I made some dessert for you!"
She placed the basket in his hand. Inside were cakes and cookies.
"Thank you. Did you make them yourself?"
"Yes. Last night, I worked hard on it," she said with an angelic smile.
"Let me try... It's great! You have some too."
Rice Shower closed her eyes and opened her mouth.
Looking at her small, pink tongue, he was stunned for a few seconds before he fed her the cookie.
"Onii-sama's cookie... hehe."
"You made it yourself."
"It has your taste, Onii-sama," she said with a cute smile.
Every time he saw that expression, he couldn't help but pat her head. Today was no exception. Just as he reached out, he suddenly stopped. He had just remembered that his hand had held a cookie and was oily.
She blinked.
She opened her mouth and took his finger in.
"Rice... will clean it for you, Onii-sama..." Making a gurgling sound, her soft and slippery tongue moved around on his finger. After sucking for a few seconds, she opened her mouth in satisfaction. "Rice has cleaned it for you."
Then she placed his hand on her head.
He was stunned by the series of actions. His mind was still filled with the image of her sucking his finger, her expression like a child who had just gotten a delicious candy.
"Um... thank you, Rice Shower," he said, his eyes glazed over.
"Hehe~"
Even more stunned than him was Hayakawa Tazuna, who hadn't had a chance to leave yet. From the moment he had fed her, she had been watching from the side. When Rice Shower licked his hand, she felt as if something in her head had burned out.
To use a metaphor, it was like a flower she had painstakingly cultivated for a whole year had been picked just as it was about to bloom, and the person had even flaunted it in front of her, saying, 'This flower is so beautiful, I'll take it.'
"Th-that, Trainer Chiya..."
Hearing the voice, he turned to look at her.
For some reason, he felt that her smile was a bit forced.
"What's wrong, Miss Tazuna?"
"No, it's just that I feel your relationship with your Horse Girl is very good..."
"I suppose so."
He looked at Rice Shower, who was rubbing against his hand like a cat, her eyes hazy.
Actually, he was only this close to her. The others, like Gold Ship and Meisho Doto, were not this clingy.
Gold Ship would occasionally ask him to go out and play, like mountain climbing or adventuring, but his stamina was not even a fraction of hers. He would be exhausted in less than half a day.
After returning to his dorm, he couldn't get out of bed the next day.
As for Meisho Doto, she wouldn't make any outrageous requests and would even make him some dessert sometimes. Excluding her absent-mindedness, she was a relatively easy-going Horse Girl.
Of course, it would be even better if she could distinguish between salt and sugar. Last time he ate her dessert, he had almost been sent to the hospital. He had been drinking salty water for a whole week.
Rice Shower was the one who was closest to him, the most obedient, and the most well-behaved. Every time she came over, she would bring him a sense of healing.
In training, he treated all his Horse Girls equally, but outside of training, he would favor her a little more, like buying her some snacks or taking her out for a walk or shopping.
She also liked to follow him around very much.
"It's a good thing for a trainer and a Horse Girl to have a good relationship, but you also need to be careful. If some things go too far, they can hurt each other," Tazuna said with a smile, a strange light flashing in her emerald-green eyes.
"Yes, I'll be careful."
Not seeing her gaze, he answered casually.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer, Trainer Chiya."
"Take care, Miss Tazuna."
"You too, Trainer Chiya. Enjoy your pleasant time."
She walked out of the room.
Closing the door and taking a deep breath, a vein popped out on her forehead.
She thought she had already gotten rid of her fiery temper, but it seemed that was not the case.
"There's a naughty little thieving cat..."
Glancing at the door behind her, she snorted and turned to leave the hallway.
The sound of her iron hooves echoed.
....
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