"An IP address from the U.S.…?"
Fujimura Hikaru opened the unread email. When he saw the sender's IP, his eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Dear Trainer Fujimura Hikaru, in light of the active performance your horse girl has shown on the American circuit, the Student Council President of Central Tracen Academy (USA) would like to meet with you."
This… feels like a trap banquet.
Reading the short message, Fujimura Hikaru's mouth twitched.
No—more than a trap banquet, it feels like a telecom scam.
The president of American Central Tracen… why would someone that important want to see me?
Just because Hitomi put on an impressive showing in her debut race?
Fujimura Hikaru couldn't figure out what the email was really about—much less why that legendary horse girl supposedly wanted to meet him…
"Let's pretend I never saw it."
After turning it over in his mind, he ultimately chose to ignore the suspicious email.
The reason was simple.
Replying offered him nothing.
Meet that legend and build a relationship?
He wasn't naive enough to dream about something so unrealistic.
Those superficial connections, even if you built them, usually didn't help when it mattered.
And besides—if contact with them caused his identity as Hitomi to be exposed, all of his plans would go straight down the drain.
Who knew whether the other side—especially that "Secretary" horse girl—would even allow a being like him, someone who was both trainer and horse girl, to set foot on the American circuit.
This involved his survival. The risk of approaching them rashly was far too high.
Ignoring it was safer.
Knock knock.
A crisp knocking sound came from the door. Fujimura Hikaru put away his phone.
"Come in."
"Excuse me…"
A black-haired girl pushed the door open timidly.
"Chazā, what's wrong? Did something go wrong with training?"
The one who entered was Manchester Chazā. But the worry on her face made Fujimura Hikaru uneasy.
"Teacher Fujimura… help…"
"Hm? What happened?"
Seeing how flustered she was, Fujimura Hikaru stepped forward and rested a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"Help… please help my friend…"
"Your friend?"
Fujimura Hikaru froze. He'd assumed she came because of a training issue, but this sounded like something else entirely.
Manchester Chazā gently took his hand. In her golden eyes, a rare pleading look appeared.
"Help… Suko…"
"She's going to be expelled."
—
"Chazā, I don't remember you being the type to meddle like this."
Inside an unused clubroom at Tracen Academy, a short, tea-colored-haired horse girl wore a white lab coat over her uniform. She held a green vial of medicine as she spoke.
"To think you'd be advised to withdraw because of skipping class and refusing to join the selection race… Eishin Flash—no, Airi Suko—what a delightful surprise you've left me."
Fujimura Hikaru positioned Manchester Chazā behind him and looked straight at the horse girl in front of them as he spoke.
"Oh my, oh my—so the help you brought is Teacher Fujimura?"
Airi Suko looked at him, her expression faintly surprised.
"Then answer me this, Airi Suko. Why aren't you going to class? And why aren't you participating in the selection race?"
If he wanted to solve the problem, he at least had to start by understanding why she was skipping.
"Why won't I go to class, why won't I join the selection race? What a strange question, Teacher Fujimura… to ask something like that…"
Airi Suko rested a finger against her chin, an inquisitive look appearing on her delicate face.
"Rather than that—why do I have to go to class at all? Why do I have to participate in some 'selection race'?"
"Huh?"
Her counterquestion left Fujimura Hikaru completely at a loss.
Wasn't a student supposed to attend classes properly?
"Your thinking is too traditional, Teacher Fujimura."
Airi Suko smiled.
"I've already acquired the knowledge taught in class, so why should I spend time on something so meaningless? Instead of wasting time like that, I'd rather devote myself to my research."
"Then what about the selection race? If you just don't want to attend academic classes, you still don't need to skip the selection race, do you?"
"Then let me ask you, dear Teacher Fujimura—what is the purpose of making horse girls participate in the selection race?"
"…To help you find a suitable trainer."
Fujimura Hikaru answered. The so-called selection race was a chance for first-year horse girls to show what they could do. If they performed well, a trainer might take interest, bring them onto their team, and then they would debut and enter Japan's unique Glitter Series of races.
"But I don't need a trainer~"
Airi Suko set the vial down on the desk in front of her.
"Training plans, health checks, race scheduling—even improving myself—I can do all of that on my own. In that case, why would I need a trainer pointing fingers at me? Someone like that would only delay the progress of my experiments… In simpler terms—"
"My plans have no place for something called a 'trainer.'"
There was no emotion in the tea-haired horse girl's words.
No excitement. No disgust.
Only pure calm.
The expression on her face was like a lake at night—still as glass, carrying a quiet, tranquil air.
"…"
This is going to be a problem.
Fujimura Hikaru thought to himself.
This was the first time he'd ever dealt with a horse girl who refused to cooperate this completely.
He could only try talking first.
"What do you mean by 'experiments'?"
"Ah, I suppose I never explained it to you, Teacher Fujimura Since I happen to have time right now, I'll explain a little"
Airi Suko walked up to him and met his gaze head-on. Then she raised a slender finger and pointed at herself as she asked:
"Teacher Fujimura, what is standing in front of you right now?"
"Airi Suko…"
"No, no, I'm not asking for my name. The correct answer is 'horse girl,' you know~"
Airi Suko clasped her hands behind her back and smiled.
"A horse girl—our body structure is similar to a human's, yet our physical capabilities are dramatically different. I'm curious what causes that.
But I'm even more curious about this body's limits. Just how fast can a horse girl's body truly become?
All of my experiments are built on that curiosity—on the pursuit of the ultimate speed hidden within this mysterious body."
Inside the clubroom, excitement glinted in the wine-red eyes of the tea-haired girl.
"Don't you want to know too, Teacher Fujimura? What 'ultimate speed' really is—"
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it