...
While chatting idly, the situation on the track grew increasingly intense.
Twin Turbo ultimately began to lose speed gradually and was overtaken one after another by the horse girls behind her.
Matikane Tannhauser and Nice Nature passed by her side but couldn't say much—on the track, there were only opponents. They could only silently cheer for Twin Turbo in their hearts.
Come to think of it, they should thank Twin Turbo—her great escape run had disrupted the rhythm of quite a few horse girls.
As the race entered the final straight, Nice Nature and Matikane Tannhauser both broke through the pack, heading into the decisive stretch.
Meanwhile, Dextrous Bailey, Hayano Ditus, and Twin Turbo were already far from championship contention.
"It looks like the champion will be decided between Nice Nature and Matikane Tannhauser!"
"Nice Nature is still accelerating—Matikane Tannhauser seems unable to close the gap any further!"
"Only three hundred meters to the finish… two hundred meters… last one hundred meters! Matikane Tannhauser has closed a small distance again! But Nice Nature still holds first—can she withstand the pressure?!"
The race inevitably reached its conclusion. In the end, Matikane Tannhauser lost by a head to Nice Nature.
Nice Nature's time: 02:02.6.
Matikane Tannhauser's time: 02:03.0.
A narrow defeat—one move short, but races are always full of such regrets and near-misses.
Dextrous Bailey finished seventh, Hayano Ditus sixth, and Twin Turbo fell from her early first-place position all the way to eleventh.
"I should go greet my team members." Lucian said goodbye to Grass Wonder.
"Mm, see you later, Trainer Lucian." Grass Wonder had no intention of following along.
"See you."
If Silence Suzuka or Special Week had been present, Grass Wonder might have been interested.
But the horse girls here right now... to her, they were just kids.
...
Lucian arrived early at the exit tunnel, just as the team members finished their curtain call and headed this way.
He raised one hand—since he didn't have confetti cannons on hand, high-fives would have to serve as celebration.
"Today's champion was really excellent."
Nice Nature lowered her lashes, tiptoed, and lightly slapped Lucian's palm. Her mouth fought hard to suppress a rising smile—like trying to hold down a page of wind-lifted letter paper—but she still forced herself to stay composed. "Trainer, I'm going to change first."
"Got it." Lucian was seeing Nice Nature off when his palm was suddenly ambushed with a slap.
Hss... that force was pretty strong. Lucian felt a burning sting right in the center of his palm.
When he turned his head, Matikane Tannhauser jumped up and slapped his palm again.
After those two slaps, she still seemed unsatisfied, itching for more.
"Eh?" Lucian clenched and unclenched his fist to ease the pain. "Tannhauser, I seriously suspect you're settling a personal grudge."
"No way, isn't this just high-five celebration~?" Matikane Tannhauser—what schemes could she possibly have? She was genuinely just too happy. "Trainer, I got second place desu!"
"I know, amazing, amazing~" Lucian smiled indulgently. "You should go change too... Can't you learn from Nature? Look how calm she is."
Right after he spoke, laughter echoed from farther down the tunnel. "Ha… haha… hahaha~ Mm-hmm, just first place, that's all."
Matikane Tannhauser turned her head, staring blankly at Lucian. "Trainer?"
"It's fine. Go change quickly—don't catch it."
"Oh, o-okay~" Matikane Tannhauser nodded and skipped lightly after Nice Nature.
Next came Twin Turbo. The unfortunate little shark didn't choose to high-five this time—instead, she walked up to him sniffling and teary-eyed.
"Trainer... waaah X﹏X, I failed! Eleventh place, so far behind!" Twin Turbo trembled; her clear voice turned into damp sobs, tears hovering but not yet falling.
The little shark with eyes brimming with tears was just too adorable.
For a moment, Lucian didn't even know how to comfort her. In the end, he resorted to head pats. "It's okay, it's okay. Twin Turbo still needs to keep training hard and build up her stamina."
"And I noticed—when you run the same distance in training, you seem way more relaxed than in the race."
"Mm-hmm! Waaah... Trainer, how did you know?" Twin Turbo took a step forward; her wet nose was almost rubbing against Lucian.
Lucian didn't dare step back—he was afraid the little shark would misunderstand. "It's psychological. Twin Turbo gets too nervous during races—your breathing rhythm gets messed up, and your legs probably go weak after not too long."
"Trainer, then what should I do?"
"Emmmm, you have to overcome that mindset. Tannhauser still wants to compete against Teio in the future, right? You can't pass that hurdle if you don't overcome this."
"Then... how do I overcome it? That's what I want to know."
"Treat all future practice races like real races—approach them with the same mentality as a real competition. Can you do that?"
"But… but I already take practice races very seriously desu!"
"You mean you often 'reverse jet' in practice races, then laugh it off every time saying 'oops, mistake'?"
He spoke gently—after all, she wasn't someone who couldn't listen, so Lucian never chose harsh words.
Twin Turbo realized her mistake. She lowered her head, watching her tears splash into tiny flowers on the ground. "Trainer, I'm sorry. I was wrong."
Her voice was soft but clear enough.
"Mm-hmm, recognizing your mistake and correcting it is the most important thing." Lucian said warmly. "Alright, go change now."
"Okay, got it."
Halfway there, Twin Turbo turned back. "Trainer, my hand hasn't high-fived yet."
Lucian was slightly stunned. "Okay, okay."
He extended his hand—pa—a crisp sound rang out. The fading red mark flared up again with a fresh wave of heat. "Hehe, Trainer, I'm going to change now~"
Lucian was helpless with her. Not only was a patch of his shirt wet now—his palm was also stained with some of Twin Turbo's tears.
But as long as her mood recovered, that was fine.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Bailey. What about you—want a high-five? Seventh place is still great."
Dextrous Bailey nodded, but when she approached, she gently took Lucian's hand and rubbed it with concern. "They all hit so hard… I can't bear to… even if it turns red, I don't want it to."
She was joking, but Lucian knew Dextrous Bailey already had her answer. "Have you decided when?"
"I have."
"That's good. No pressure—everyone will miss you, but they'll all support you too."
This matter still wasn't public—Dextrous Bailey would have to announce it herself.
...