Chapter 33: Standard Running
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Stardust Mirage, currently passing by a small stream, was already panting heavily.
It wasn't because she had run an incredibly long distance, but because Mihono Bourbon behind her maintained a near-sprint pace, relentlessly pressuring her. To avoid being caught, Stardust Mirage had no choice but to grit her teeth and sustain her own maximum speed—
But seriously, is Mihono Bourbon actually a robot!?
Originally, because her running form was automatically corrected by her system, Stardust Mirage occasionally felt proud of her standardized posture. But now, witnessing Mihono Bourbon's precision-engineered running, she understood:
Even among standard forms, there are gaps.
Compared to her own merely standardized running, Mihono Bourbon's stride length and arm swing distance were perfectly uniform. Though it appeared purely mechanical, her running possessed an industrial beauty.
It's absolutely baffling—who knows where the beauty in mechanical movement comes from!
"You've been chasing me for almost ten minutes! Why won't you stop?!"
Stardust Mirage gasped heavily, shouting loudly. She could clearly hear Mihono Bourbon panting behind her as well, trying to reason with the other girl.
"Master's orders are absolute."
Mihono Bourbon replied, her voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
And in the moment when Stardust Mirage slowed down from speaking, Bourbon suddenly stomped on the ground, leaping into the air and pouncing straight toward Stardust Mirage's back!
"What the—"
Stardust Mirage hadn't expected the other to dare such an extremely dangerous move while running at over 60 km/h.
Frozen in place for a moment, she only had time to dodge to the side, dragging Mihono Bourbon—who had tackled and grabbed her waist—with her as they both tumbled into a small river ahead!
Splash! Splash!
Two crisp sounds of falling water echoed. Not long after, the completely drenched Mihono Bourbon dragged the equally soaked Stardust Mirage ashore.
"I was wrong, Bourbon. Could you give me a break?"
Stardust Mirage lay weakly on the bank, looking up as she spoke.
She never expected this horse girl to be so desperate—not only daring to pounce at full speed, but even holding onto her tightly after they fell into the water, clearly refusing to let go.
After struggling in the river for a while, she finally chose to give up resisting, avoiding any risk of drowning in such a small stream.
"Master's orders are absolute." Faced with Stardust Mirage's plea, Mihono Bourbon remained as indifferent as a T-1000 executing a mission, answering coldly before hoisting Stardust Mirage over her shoulder and carrying her back.
"Really, you're something else…"
As she was carried, Stardust Mirage thought it over carefully. No matter what, the other wouldn't go too far in front of the Emperor and Oguri Cap, so she might as well relax and adjust to a comfortable position, letting Bourbon carry her back to the training field.
"Pfft! Hahahaha! Did you two take a quick bath?"
On the field, Musaka was the first to notice them and burst into laughter.
At that moment, Musaka Ginjirou stood beside the trainer named Toyama Hikaru. Oguri Cap, Air Groove, Rudolf, and Hayakawa Tazuna were all with them on the stands next to the field, seemingly ready to watch the race. The participating horse girls were already lined up at the starting point, ready to go at any moment—
The two empty spots left among them made it clear they were waiting for Bourbon and Stardust Mirage.
"Why did you have Bourbon bring me here, Toyama Trainer?"
Stardust Mirage smoothed her soaking-wet hair, sprinkling water droplets everywhere, and looked at the woman with a helpless expression.
"So you're Stardust Mirage?" Toyama Hikaru asked without looking up from the tablet she was flipping through, checking some information. "Get ready for a training race so I can see your performance."
"You didn't even know if I was Stardust Mirage, yet you had Bourbon catch me?! She actually pounced at me at full speed just now—do you know how dangerous that was?!"
As Bourbon set her down, Stardust Mirage hurriedly explained the situation earlier. Dodging the pounce wouldn't have been dangerous for her, but Mihono Bourbon could have been seriously injured.
"It's fine." Faced with Stardust Mirage's complaints, the woman remained completely calm. "I already instructed Bourbon that avoiding injury was today's top priority. So even if it looked dangerous, she wouldn't get hurt."
"Alright, alright. Stardust Mirage, this Toyama Hikaru is the trainer I recommended to you. You like basic training, right? Toyama is the best trainer at Tracen for foundational skills." Musaka brought towels to dry the two horse girls' hair before comforting them.
"It's her?!"
Stardust Mirage felt immense resistance toward this seemingly mature woman. For their first meeting, she'd directly had Bourbon capture her—was this trainer really reliable?
"Trust me." Musaka half-pushed, half-urged Mihono Bourbon and Stardust Mirage into the changing room, then continued through the door:
"Toyama here is very capable. Try working with her first. If you really don't like it, you can still ask Rudolf Symbol to change trainers later. How about that?"
"Isn't she too reckless?! If she wanted me to run a training race, couldn't she have just asked properly?"
Standing inside the changing room with Mihono Bourbon, Stardust Mirage grumbled while stripping off her wet clothes and putting on the fresh tracksuit stored there.
Just as she was about to walk out, she noticed Mihono Bourbon still standing drenched, with no intention of changing.
"Hey, aren't you going to change? We're running a training race soon. How can you run in soaking clothes?"
Stardust Mirage asked.
"Master gave no order to change clothes." Bourbon stood motionless, answering indifferently.
"Tsk—you won't do anything unless that woman orders it? That's so troublesome. Hurry up and change! Didn't she say we're running the training race?"
Seeing Bourbon still unmoving, Stardust Mirage simply started undressing her. Mihono Bourbon offered no resistance, allowing the other to change her into the new tracksuit piece by piece.
"Do you really have to be so robotic?"
A resigned Stardust Mirage led Mihono Bourbon out of the changing room and asked the female trainer, "Hey, Toyama Hikaru, I changed Bourbon's clothes. Is that okay?"
"..."
The woman didn't answer immediately, only looking up thoughtfully at the two holding hands. Then, in a noticeably softer tone, she explained, "Bourbon has been like this since she was little. It's great if you can look after her... Now, let's join the training race. Everyone's been waiting."
"Tsk—so we're still running, after all?" Walking to the track with Bourbon, Stardust Mirage muttered to herself.
To her left was Sakura Bakushin O, excitedly chanting "Bakushin! Bakushin!" under her breath. To her right was a cheerfully smiling, gal-style dressed Daitaku Helios...
Since we're running, I might as well win—lead from start to finish!
"On your marks!"
"1400m, turf, counterclockwise, short-distance training race—begin!"
[Skill: Concentration], activated.
[Skill: Non-Standard Distance ○], activated.
[Skill: Counterclockwise ○], activated.
Bang!
Twelve horse girls shot forward simultaneously, and among them, Stardust Mirage—choosing to lead once again—slammed her foot against the ground!
[Skill: Ground Work], activated!
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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