After her younger sister reminded her, Oguri Cap finally recalled that her mother had indeed mentioned something like this during one of their phone calls.
It was just that at the time she had probably still been in Europe, or busy with training, and hadn't paid much attention to it.
The effects of moving house were actually quite obvious.
This time, the team chose to rent a small section of the seaside exclusively for special training, precisely because the Eisei Team's current reputation could be described as blazing hot.
When horse girls casually go out to have fun and happen to run into fans, that's usually fine, and they've never really encountered anyone overly fanatical. But once something like a race is publicly announced, the trouble that gathers can increase quite a bit.
Without reserving the area, it would be hard to avoid fans affecting training.
This wasn't a rare occurrence in any world. For example, when Oguri Cap won the Satsuki Sho—or in a parallel world, the so-called "interview incident."
That year also happened to be Oguri Cap's retirement year. Due to the owner's grueling race schedule, up until the Arima Kinen at the end of the year, Oguri Cap's condition had been consistently poor.
And during several rest and recuperation periods, interview teams had come knocking. These media people might have been very familiar with news hotspots, but when it came to training, they were complete outsiders.
As a result, the filming and photography during interviews had a significant impact on Oguri Cap's condition. What was supposed to be a recovery period for race preparation ended up leaving her in even worse shape after the interviews.
If the staff hadn't noticed and stopped it in time, the outcome would definitely have been even worse.
So, whether viewed from a short-term or long-term perspective, White Narubi's decision as a mother to deliberately move house could hardly be called anything but wise.
Oguri Cap's new home was located in a building further inside the apartment complex, on the very top floor—a three-level duplex structure. In other words, it was actually a full three floors of living space.
Such a large house was indeed more than spacious for just Oguri Cap and White Narubi. Even if Oguri Roman came back to Kasamatsu and stayed often, it would still feel rather big.
Learning about the details of the house while heading upstairs, Kitahara and the others were all a little surprised, and couldn't help but speculate whether such a large place had been purchased with today's many guests in mind.
"Hey, Oguri, I gotta ask—your mom isn't really that godlike, is she?"
Standing in the elevator, Tamamo Cross patted Oguri Cap on the arm and asked curiously.
"Auntie used to be an active horse girl too, so it's not surprising that she thought moving would help ensure proper training."
"But to even predict that so many of us would come today—that's kind of impressive, isn't it?"
"Probably not…"
Oguri Cap hesitated for a moment.
"I was surprised too that Mom wanted to buy such a big house."
"But as for predicting that so many guests would come today… she probably didn't think that far, right?"
The others were also puzzled, and once again Oguri Roman stepped in to explain.
"It's because of the gifts the fans send to Big Sis."
Smiling with admiration, Oguri Roman said,
"I also asked Mom White Narubi why she bought such a big house. Mom told me that after Big Sis became more and more famous, a huge number of fans started sending letters and gifts."
"During holidays, there are even more letters and presents."
"If it were Big Sis's old place, there wouldn't even be enough space to move the furniture out, let alone store everything."
"And Mom feels that all those letters and gifts are expressions of the fans' heartfelt feelings, so they should be carefully preserved—at the very least, sorted out properly with time."
"So basically, both Big Sis's old house and this big new one are filled with things sent by fans."
"Mom has been staying in Kasamatsu and hasn't gone to Tokyo yet. Every day she's been busy sorting all of that."
"Oh! Are the fans really that enthusiastic?"
Oguri Cap froze.
"That's really hard to imagine…"
Tamamo Cross, however, understood immediately.
"So that's how it is. Now it makes sense—my hometown's the same."
She nodded, a very happy smile on her face.
"When I first debuted, I just wanted to earn more prize money to help the old man and let my younger siblings live better lives."
"But now I've earned a lot of prize money, and Uncle's company is still making money too—yet there's hardly anything to spend it on."
"Because just the gifts mailed in by fans alone are already enough for my brothers and sisters!"
"That's really great!"
Seeing how excited she was, the other team members couldn't help but feel the same way.
"Now that you mention it, Oi's family also received a lot of gifts."
Looking at her trainer, Inari One stroked her chin.
"I remember Big Sis mentioning it a few times, but I didn't really pay attention. Aro probably knows more, right?"
"Uh… things like that are usually handled by my mother,"
said Yuzuhara Taro, scratching his chin just like his horse girl, though with a slightly awkward expression.
"I put my mother's contact information down for most external communications."
"I'm not very good at dealing with those matters, and handling them myself would still affect the training work."
"I see… Aro, that part of you really does resemble Uncle," Inari One laughed.
"Indeed, it feels like all our trainers are extremely conscientious."
After thinking for a moment, Mejiro Ardan suddenly made a suggestion.
"How about this—going forward, things like gifts and letters could be entrusted to me? What do you all think?"
As soon as she said that, everyone froze.
"Ardan will handle it…?" Kitahara said in surprise.
"Ah, more precisely, it would be handled by the Mejiro family."
Bringing her hands together and showing a grateful expression, Ardan smiled.
"How should I put it—the Mejiro family is quite experienced with handling these kinds of things."
"From the clan head, my mother, and even earlier senpais, the Mejiro family has always had a wide reputation."
"Since back then, there have always been huge numbers of fan letters."
"In those days, there weren't many communication devices like phones or computers, so letters and gifts were even more numerous."
"That's why the Mejiro family has specialized personnel to handle such matters."
"A lot of the gifts that Ramonu Onee-san receives are handled by them."
"Otherwise, just the things she received after winning the Triple Tiara and earning Hall-of-Fame honors would have been enough to give anyone a headache for a long time."
"I see… I really hadn't thought about that before. Thanks for reminding me, Ardan."
After a bit of thought, Kitahara quickly smiled and nodded.
"Then I'll leave it to you. I really can't think of a better way."
"Mm! Leave it to me! I'll talk to my family about it," Ardan nodded confidently.
Letters and gifts, like Oguri Cap's move, were a small but not insignificant episode.
If you had preparation or experience, dealing with it was quite simple; but if you ignored it entirely, it would inevitably cause some trouble.
Kitahara had absolutely no experience in this area. In the past, he had just been an ordinary office worker, at most with some business management experience.
Now, he was a trainer who focused solely on training, shutting out everything else. It was indeed hard for him to notice such everyday details.
Fortunately, White Narubi as a mother and Ardan were both very meticulous, so these matters were quietly resolved.
When everyone finally arrived at Oguri Cap's new home, they realized that both White Gem's decision to buy such a large house and Ardan's suggestion to involve professionals were absolutely necessary.
"…Huh? Th-this… what is this?"
Having just greeted White Narubi at the door, the lively Tokai Teio took one look inside and immediately cried out.
"Th-that's a huge Oguri-senpai!"
And after seeing what she was referring to, everyone else fell into stunned silence, unable even to gasp.
Because the house was a three-level duplex, looking up from the hundred-square-meter living room on the first floor, the ceiling above rose to a height of around ten meters.
And within such a spacious area, a gigantic "colossus" instantly made the room feel crowded.
It was a massive "Cap-zilla" plush toy.
The style was the standard "cute monster" version of Oguri Cap commonly seen on the market. The biggest difference was its height—over three meters tall—and a body proportionate to that size.
In the entire Eisei Team, even Kitahara, the tallest among them, looked like a child standing in front of it, let alone the others.
When the shorter Tamamo Cross and Inari One stood close to it, everyone couldn't help but laugh—they didn't even reach the knees of this "Cap-zilla."
"This plush is way too exaggerated… Is it something made by an ultra-fanatical fan?"
After Tokai Teio's exclamation, her close friend Mejiro McQueen reacted more quickly. She looked at White Narubi with an amused expression.
"Ms. White Narubi, this plush is…?"
"McQueen guessed right—it really was sent by a fan."
White Narubi smiled, though there was a hint of distress in it.
"When I first saw such a huge plush, I was startled too."
"And just receiving it and unpacking it took quite a bit of effort. We first tried opening it at the old place, but it simply wouldn't fit, so we had to move it here."
"But even though it's troublesome, it still needs to be handled properly."
Looking at her daughter, White Narubi smiled gently and with satisfaction.
"The fan letter that came with the plush said it was handmade by that fan."
"Both the materials and the stitching were done bit by bit by hand."
"So I thought—since it's a gift from a fan who loves Kuri-Kuri so much, it must be cherished properly. That's why I put this 'big Kuri-Kuri' in the living room."
"And besides…"
Smiling as she approached the giant "Cap-zilla," spreading her arms to hug its fluffy belly, she said happily,
"When I can't see Kuri-Kuri here in Kasamatsu, having this 'big Kuri-Kuri' around makes it feel like Kuri-Kuri is keeping me company."
The plush's size was so exaggerated that even with White Gem hugging its belly, there was still room for Tamamo Cross and Inari One to each cling to one of its pillar-like legs.
Both of them found the plush extremely fun. They hugged its legs and even tried to climb it like children.
"Wow! It's really sturdy—climbing up is totally fine!"
As she spoke, Tamamo Cross had already climbed onto the plush's shoulder.
Sitting there, she looked down at the dazed Oguri Cap and laughed.
"Hey, Oguri, I think we can call this plush 'Big Kuri-Kuri.'"
"And then the plush is 'Big Kuri-Kuri,' you're 'Little Kuri-Kuri,' and Oguri Roman would be 'Tiny Kuri.'"
"Isn't that really fun?"
"Oh! That is really fun!"
Oguri Cap's eyes lit up.
"Now the house has lots of 'Kuri-Kuris.'"
"Huh? Inari, you climbed up too? Hey, how about you and Tama come down— I want to try sitting up there too."
"Hey, Tama and I can't see this thing—oh right, 'Big Kuri-Kuri'—every day. You'll be able to see it often. Can't you wait until we leave before climbing up?"
"That's true… but it feels less fun if it's not right now… Hey, just come down and let me go up!"
"No! I finally managed to climb up here!"
"How can you be like this…"
The horse girls were instantly filled with cheerful laughter.
The team had arrived in Kasamatsu early in the morning. Even now, at Oguri Cap's new home, it was only around eight or nine o'clock. After greeting everyone, White Narubi began preparing lunch.
Having stayed with Eisei in Tokyo for a while, White Narubi knew very well the appetites of her daughter and her friends.
Home-style cooking wasn't particularly difficult, but cooking for a group of big eaters at once still took quite some time.
While waiting for lunch, Kitahara and the others didn't plan to sit idle.
Just like that giant Cap-zilla plush, there were still many letters and gifts sent by fans in the house. White Narubi hadn't been able to finish organizing them even after a long time, so this was a perfect opportunity for everyone to lend a hand.
Not everyone helped with sorting; some went to help White Gem cook.
In the Eisei Team, Super Creek, Mejiro Ardan, and Tamamo Cross were all quite skilled in the kitchen and went to help.
Super Creek in particular had cooking skills on a professional-chef level. Since she often cooked for her companions, both taste and portion size were guaranteed.
Oguri Cap originally wanted to help in the kitchen or sort letters and gifts, but Brand New Light told her something.
"Oguri, on the way here I told March and the others that we're back, and it just so happens they're all in Kasamatsu."
Finding Oguri Cap alone, Belno Light took out her phone and waved it.
"They said they'd already seen in the newspaper that you'd be coming to race at Chukyo Racecourse and had been waiting."
"They didn't want to disturb your training at first, but when they heard you came back to Kasamatsu to rest, they wanted to ask you out to hang out together this morning."
"What do you think?"
Belno Light was naturally referring to the friends she and Oguri Cap had in Kasamatsu.
Even though they hadn't met in a long time, the two of them often chatted with their friends by phone or video while in Tokyo, and sometimes those friends would even go to Tokyo to visit.
But it had been a long time since they'd met in Kasamatsu, and thinking about it made Oguri Cap feel nostalgic, so she agreed immediately.
After informing her mother, trainer, and companions, Oguri Cap and Belno Light followed the location sent on their phones and headed to Kasamatsu Riverside Park.
"Mm… it should be around here, right? But it feels like the park has changed a bit."
Arriving at the familiar yet slightly unfamiliar park, Oguri Cap wore a nostalgic expression and couldn't help raising her hand to point forward along the long road by the riverbank.
"Hey, isn't this where we used to train?"
Tilting her head to look at the person beside her, she smiled.
"We practiced on this road back then, remember, Light?"
"Of course I remember. The first time I ran alongside you, I overdid it and got completely exhausted."
Belno Light smiled a little shyly.
"In the end, you even carried me back to Kasamatsu Academy."
"It feels like such a long time ago… hey, isn't that…?"
Just as she was reminiscing, her gaze suddenly shifted. She immediately understood the "changes" Oguri Cap had mentioned—and also spotted familiar figures.
Walking forward along the riverbank, there were now several snack and drink stalls on both sides—things that hadn't been there when the two of them trained here.
Such stalls were common in Tokyo's parks and streets. Kasamatsu hadn't had many before, except in specific pedestrian areas.
Now it seemed that Kasamatsu was gradually catching up with the trendiness of big cities like Tokyo.
And in front of one drink stall, several familiar backs could be seen ordering drinks and chatting.
"Wow, I didn't expect Kasamatsu to have this kind of honey specialty drink shop now. I think I'd only seen this brand in places like Tokyo and Osaka before."
"Hmm… they even have a four-times-size challenge. Doesn't feel like anyone could finish that in one go, right?"
"Maybe if you take turns drinking it? Alone, I wouldn't be very confident…"
"Maybe… Oguri could do it? When it comes to eating and drinking, I always feel weirdly confident in her… hey, I wonder if she and Light have arrived yet…"
"Oh! A four-times-size honey specialty drink? Excuse me, boss—could I have two cups?"
Hearing the excited voice suddenly coming from behind them, Norn Ace, Fujimasa March, Ruddy Lemmon, and Mini the Lady all froze.
Before they could even react, the shop owner had already handed over two cups of the special challenge honey drink.
"Alright! Two four-times-size honey specialty drinks for the challenge! Please take them—huh? You look really familiar…"
Taking the two cups, inserting the straws, and gulping down two big mouthfuls from both cups at once, Oguri Cap finally heard her friends' shouts.
"Oguri?!" ×4
"Oh! Hey everyone! Long time no see!"
Belno Light beside her also waved and smiled. "Long time no see, everyone!"
(End of Chapter)