...
"Ding-ling-ling——"
The moment the alarm rang, Lucian opened his eyes reflexively.
He discovered that when he slept while relying on Ines Fujin's body, he was especially well-behaved. The position when he woke up was almost exactly the same as when he had fallen asleep.
So this was what people meant by a gentle countryside. It made the heart feel at ease, made one want to indulge, and made one reluctant to even turn over.
"Otouto..." Ines Fujin was also startled awake by Lucian. Her dry lips trembled slightly. "Has the time already come?"
"You can sleep a little longer and come later. We're not doing group training in the afternoon." Lucian pulled his hand out from under the bedding... not from his own clothes... and turned off the noisy alarm.
With a little bit of mischievous interest he brought his hand closer to Ines Fujin. "Does little Ai-nee want to smell it herself? From now on I won't wash my hands anymore."
"If otouto says it like that, I've already tasted it myself." Ines Fujin moved her slightly stiff neck left and right, then raised her hand. The warm pad of her finger gently brushed across Lucian's lips. "Hurry and go. It'll be bad if they wake up later."
"Mm."
...
After leaving Ines Fujin's room, Lucian went to wake the team members. A few had already woken up, but there were still a few who were snoring heavily.
"Wake up, wake up. Quickly prepare. Afternoon training is about to start."
"So sleepy..." Haru Urara wrinkled her little face and rubbed her eyes with both hands, still mumbling, "Nn... just now I dreamed about Trainer."
The Uma Musume each yawned as they got up, not paying particular attention.
"Ah? What did Urara dream about?" Rice Shower asked.
"Cough cough, Urara, we're not in a dream right now." Lucian reminded her. He hoped this little scatterbrain could read the situation and not say things that made people overthink at a time like this... or rather, say the truth.
"It was... I dreamed that Trainer picked me up."
At those words, the Uma Musume all stopped what they were doing. Their gazes focused on Haru Urara.
Hugging was fine, but picking her up was a little... Tokai Teio thought of something both wonderful and embarrassing, but she could not say it.
"Ah… ah? Picked up?" Rice Shower was also confused, her little face full of bewilderment.
Lucian masked the fluster in his heart and continued to change the subject. "Urara, the others are almost ready."
"I know, Trainer. You keep urging Urara." Haru Urara puffed out her cheeks a little aggrievedly, but still obediently lifted the blanket and climbed up while adding, "I just dreamed that I got the championship trophy, and then Trainer lifted Urara high up into the air."
So that was what it was...
The Uma Musume seemed to have the pause button released and continued the things they had not finished at the same time.
"I believe Urara can definitely do it." Rice Shower showed a gentle smile and clenched her little fists tightly to cheer for her friend.
"Alright, I'll go wait for you outside first. Don't be late." Lucian let out a breath of relief and quickly slipped out of the room.
...
The content of the afternoon training would be a bit heavier than the morning, but the intensity was about the same.
After the warm-up ended, Lucian once again gathered the Uma Musume in front of him.
"Trainer, there are a lot of wooden stakes stuck over there. What are they for?" Matikane Tannhauser asked curiously.
Haru Urara touched her chin, closed her eyes, and analyzed with great seriousness. "Nn... I heard that the kung fu of the Dragon Country is very powerful. Those great heroes all stand on wooden stakes to practice and can even fly along eaves and walk on walls! Are we also going to stand on those and train?"
Tokai Teio exaggerated, "No way? The moment my queen steps on them, won't the wood just break?"
Seiun Sky immediately agreed, "And Spe-chan too~"
Mejiro McQueen elegantly straightened her body and said solemnly, "Teio... please don't speak nonsense... As the young lady of the Mejiro family, my figure is managed very well."
Then the question arose—why did it need to be managed repeatedly?
Special Week was pulled by Seiun Sky and immediately panicked. Her little face flushed red as she hurriedly waved her hands to explain, "Seiun, I... I'm not heavy at all! My weight meets the competition standards!"
That's right. Nine hundred and ninety-nine also counted as "several hundred times."
...
"No, no..." Lucian looked at Haru Urara speechlessly and went over to pinch her cheeks. "These are for simulating corners. This afternoon we will first do corner training."
"The props are limited, so I could only make them like this for the time being... Little Ai and I stuck them in one by one. You're not allowed to look down on them."
At this moment Ines Fujin also arrived.
When Lucian saw her, he immediately began assigning tasks. "Little Ai is here too. Perfect timing for you to observe and guide them on the spot. I'll be in charge of this area, you take that area."
"No problem, Trainer." Ines Fujin nodded and walked toward the corner area.
"Alright, then let's begin our training."
...
Lucian had increased the density of the corners. There were both left-hand and right-hand turns. In addition, a small camera had been installed at the entrance of every corner so that the Uma Musume's postures while taking the turns could be collected from different angles.
On top of that, he had brought a newly developed piece of technology from the Dragon Country—the velocity recording board.
As the name suggested, it could precisely record the speed of the Uma Musume while they took the corners.
Lucian fixed his gaze on the Uma Musume who were training and raised the megaphone in his hand.
"Your center of gravity is too high, Teio! Corners are not for you to charge through with brute force. You have to learn to use centrifugal force, tilt your body toward the inside, and convert speed into centripetal force! Remember, you need to fly while sticking close to the curve!"
"McQueen is excellent. Your posture is textbook level. Core strength and sense of balance are both top-tier! But your speed has dropped. Being fast on the corners is what truly counts as fast. McQueen, how about adding a bit more of that all-out 'drive'? Learn from Teio."
Tokai Teio bit her lip and unhappily looked back at the corner that had made her look bad, then glanced at Mejiro McQueen who was standing not far away.
By coincidence, Mejiro McQueen, who had just finished, was also looking at Tokai Teio.
Their gazes intertwined in the air, fighting spirit burning.
....
"Tang-tang, you can choose the way that feels most comfortable for you. We have plenty of time. There's no need to rush. Take it slowly."
Matikane Tannhauser was not in a hurry to chase speed. Instead she tried approaching every corner with different angles and rhythms.
Although the efficiency of her cornering was not the highest, this proactive attitude of exploration was something Lucian appreciated very much.
...
"Suzuka, it's fine if your right-hand corners are a little weaker. You can specialize in the left-hand ones you're best at. Seiun's technique is excellent—it can be said to have been used to the extreme. After you two finish a few more runs, come over and teach the others your experience."
...