"Pant... Pant... Pant..."
"Faster... I need to catch up even faster...!"
At this hour, unlike her peers who were ready to go to sleep, Rice Shower was still diligently training on the training grounds.
Shortly after the Satsuki Sho concluded, Rice Shower, unlike most Uma Musume, did not choose to rest. Instead, she immediately threw herself into more training.
Rather than hard cold determination driving her body, Rice Shower was actually currently running on the ecstasy of her performance in the Satsuki Sho.
The scene of Special Week and Mihono Bourbon being suppressed by her was so ingrained into Rice Shower's mind that she had no doubt that it could not have been an illusion.
Now that Rice Shower managed to see her Zone in an actual race, she could confirm that as long as her Zone manages to catch an Uma Musume, so long as the strength difference was not too abysmal, no one would be spared from being 'killed' off in the race.
'Even Orfevre wouldn't be able to withstand it, right?'
Although Rice Shower hadn't verified this yet considering the fact she failed to use it on her during the Satsuki Sho, she now had a kind of confidence— because after running a race with her Zone, she unexpectedly felt that the gap between her and Orfevre wasn't so unreachable after all.
The Satsuki Sho was only 2000 meters, far from Rice Shower's best distance; yet, though it was too late, Rice Shower was indeed starting to catch up to Orfevre near the end.
If she grew stronger this time, if the next race was a little bit longer, Rice Shower was sure that she'd be able to give Orfevre a good challenge.
While Rice Shower could not dramatically improve her Zone in such a short period, it should be possible for her to train her body to the point she could actually ensnare Orfevre in the area-of-effect of her Zone.
After confirming her goal, Rice Shower continued running another lap, striving to be an even better version of herself than last time.
She failed to even touch Orfevre this time, but in the Japanese Derby, she would make sure to become strong enough to make her hesitate in her steps.
Even if it was for a fraction of a second, it would count as her success; then, once the Kikuka Sho arrived, Rice Shower would finally attempt a coup against the 'Golden Tyrant' to take the crown.
"You can do it, Rice Shower! You're no longer the same you! Keep going to reach Orfevre!!"
"Fight on! Fight on! Fight on...!"
Hyping herself up proved to be effective as Rice Shower felt her steps become a tad bit lighter, motivating her further to continue training.
However, unknown to Rice Shower, she had become so engrossed in her own little world that she failed to notice the figure who had been watching her from above.
From a bird's-eye view from above the training ground, Mihono Bourbon, dressed in her training tracksuit, was silently observing Rice Shower.
Given that she had just run in a high intensity race, Mihono Bourbon was given a rare day off, with her Trainer, Kuro Numa, also using this time to readjust her training plan.
After watching the Satsuki Sho, Kuro Numa realized that continuing with his intended training schedule with Mihono Bourbon would make it impossibly hard for her to defeat Orfevre; he needed to come up with something fast.
Moreover, Mihono Bourbon was ultimately surpassed by Rice Shower, failing to get even second place.
For the former sixth place finisher in the Yayoi Sho to overtake an Uma Musume as amazing as Mihono Bourbon only meant that the problem wasn't with his prized disciple, but with him, the Trainer.
Kuro Numa refused to be the one dragging down his Uma Musume; becoming even stricter with himself as he studied and analyzed every possible fault in the Satsuki Sho, thus his decision to temporarily suspend Mihono Bourbon's training.
But, Mihono Bourbon did not take advantage of this rare time off to laze around. Instead, she went straight to the training ground as night fell.
—After asking about Rice Shower from a few friends, she knew that Rice Shower would typically come here to train alone until the curfew.
Once there, Mihono Bourbon simply observed Rice Shower as she ran, sorting and updating the information she gathered in her mind.
'Rice Shower; Trainer: none? Friends: none? Retrieving information from memory bank: sixth place in the Yayoi Sho. Possibility of subject hiding her strength: 13%, a low probability.'
'Considering possibility of outside help after the Yayoi Sho: 80%, extreme likelihood. Further data is required to prove statement.'
Mihono Bourbon did not believe that Rice Shower managed to achieve such a huge leap in power in just one short month without anyone helping her.
Although Uma Musume are indeed beings capable of miracles, with there being many unexplained phenomena that can't be explained through hard, cold data, the chance of Rice Shower miraculously growing powerful just like that was incredibly low.
There must be a reason why she suddenly grew that much in that month, was Mihono Bourbon's current thought process as she continued to patiently watch Rice Shower for a full hour now.
"Spying on your opponents? That's quite a smart move, I like it~ But isn't improving your own strength the more important thing to focus on?"
"!!!"
Hearing a sudden voice, a hint of surprise appeared on Mihono Bourbon's usually expressionless face, as she instinctively turned to see a black haired Uma Musume standing behind her for who knows how long now.
This Uma Musume was, of course, Deep Impact, who had just left Ikezoe and Orfevre.
Although she originally did intend to just return home, upon spotting Mihono Bourbon on her way to the exit, she immediately felt her interest piqued.
As for her impression of Mihono Bourbon, although Deep Impact felt that she didn't have much potential, she was clearly incredibly diligent, a trait she favoured greatly.
Moreover, though her ceiling was not that high, Mihono Bourbon had indeed yet to fully develop, and as one of Orfevre's whetstones on her journey through the Classic Triple Crown, Deep Impact felt it wouldn't be bad to check up on Mihono Bourbon.
"Serious looking face, black hair, Uma Musume, casual tone, 89% chance of not being from Tracen Academy. Searching memory bank..."
"—Deep Impact-senpai, nice to meet you."
"Oh~ What an interesting way of speaking. Are you acting like a robot?"
Finding this junior's way of speaking amusing, Deep Impact sounded her random thought before being immediately countered by Mihono Bourbon.
"—Not a robot, a cyborg. There is a difference."
Seeing Mihono Bourbon being extremely serious about this fact, Deep Impact couldn't help but like this 'cyborg Uma Musume' more and more as she continued.
"I am an existence that executes Master's commands with absolute precision. My goal is to 'become a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume.'"
"Ah... that's cool and all, but didn't you already lose in the Satsuki Sho? Shouldn't you already have received a system update to change your objective?"
Blinking innocently, Deep Impact deliberately said something provocative, which, as expected, made Mihono Bourbon fall silent.
Though Mihono Bourbon's expression remained stiff, her emotions could not escape Deep Impact's notice.
She could sense the determination and unwillingness swirling inside her, and at that moment, a sudden thought couldn't help but pop into her head.
Since she had decided to rebrand from 'Hero' to 'Demon King,' shouldn't she also have minions that won't actually achieve anything other than powering up the hero, now Orfevre?
I mean, she was a teeny tiny bit dissatisfied with the Golden Tyrant's rate of growth. Giving her some 'help' should be fine, right?
Plus... this was a good chance to transform the discouragement from the failures of these Uma Musume into motivation and growth to achieve greater accomplishments later on in their respective careers.
Furthermore, it could also extend the career of this junior she had gained a liking to.
"Since you know who I am, this makes things much simpler."
"Do you wish to obtain power— no, rather, do you want to become stronger? I can find a way to make you stronger."
Cutting herself off from saying the cringy lines from the manga she read, Deep Impact resigned herself to simply laying out her offer in the most truthful manner possible.
"I can get you past the limitations of your potential too. If you follow me, I can make you much, much stronger before the Japanese Derby."
"—Offer declined. Master is my Master, that will never change."
Without a sliver of hesitation, Mihono Bourbon instantly rejected Deep Impact.
Though having the guidance of an Undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume was undoubtedly tempting, that would never surpass the gratitude she had for her Trainer.
"Huh? Oh, no, no, no! I'm not asking you to change Trainers or anything like that! Do you think I'm like those numbskulls from Shadai or something?"
"Don't worry, you don't have to terminate your contract with your Trainer, you don't have to pay anything, and there are no hidden conditions."
"Just think of this as like a... free tuition I'm giving you out of the goodness of my own heart~"
"...Understood then, agreement accepted... but, if any abnormalities are detected, this deal will be immediately annulled."
Shaking hands, Deep Impact smiled faintly as she obtained her first 'minion.'
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Managed to join an S ranked club! :D
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.