Not long after that, once Rice Shower had calmed down and pulled herself together, the two girls made their way side by side to the training grounds.
On the track not far away, Tokai Teio was grunting through self-directed training, her lively brown ponytail flying through the air with every stride.
Ahead of her, Kuroha stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the way Teio ran.
"Master."
When they drew close, Mihono Bourbon stopped first and called out softly.
Hearing her voice, Kuroha turned around.
After confirming that Teio, still running in the distance, had not slipped out of rhythm, he shifted his gaze to the two Uma Musume before him.
Deep in his eyes, the power of Body and Breath Perception flowed silently, a faint white gleam flickering to life.
At the same time, a system panel visible only to him abruptly unfolded in midair.
In that instant, the full post-True Blooming data for Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower appeared before Kuroha with perfect clarity.
[Mihono Bourbon]
[Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt G]
[Distance Aptitude: Short A, Mile A, Medium A, Long B]
[Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner A, Pace Chaser C, Late Surger G, End Closer G]
[Unique Skill: G001st.Fool v2]
[Domain: Awakening]
[Skills: Rainy Days, Quick Start, Promising Future, Front Runner Straightaways, Fortune Favors the Fast, Front Runner Corners, Heavy Track Conditions, Trailblazer, Lead Keeper, Mountaineer, Long Straightaways...]
[Speed: 176, Stamina: 173, Power: 194, Guts: 192, Wit: 319]
[Rice Shower]
[Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt G]
[Distance Aptitude: Short E, Mile B, Medium A, Long A]
[Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner A, Pace Chaser C, Late Surger G, End Closer G]
[Unique Skill: Blue Rose Hunter Lv. 1]
[Domain: None]
[Skills: Pace Chaser Strategy, Downhill Straightaways, Deep Breaths, Determined Downhill, Mountaineer, Long Straightaways, Nourishment, Cooldown...]
[Speed: 159, Stamina: 202, Power: 153, Guts: 174, Wit: 202]
"...Hmm."
Looking at the two panels, Kuroha could not help sinking into thought.
Since becoming a trainer, a total of four Uma Musume on Team Chasing Light had gone through True Blooming.
To be honest, Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower's starting stats after True Blooming were nowhere near as impressive as Mejiro McQueen's had been.
Not to mention that completely unreasonable stat monster training over there right now.
Just from the raw numbers, Bourbon's situation was still acceptable.
Her Speed and Stamina started a little low, but in the other three categories, not only were her Power and Guts enough to rival McQueen's post-True Blooming values, her Wit was nearly a hundred points higher. In a way, she had her own strengths.
Rice Shower's panel, however, looked much more strained.
Like McQueen, she was a top-class Uma Musume blessed with long-distance talent and the potential to one day stand at the summit of Central.
Yet if one looked only at her five core stats, she was essentially a weaker version of McQueen.
She even lacked a Domain, one of the most important trump cards in high-level competition.
Of course, that was only from Kuroha's own harsh perspective as Chasing Light's head trainer.
If these two were measured against the team's average, their data might merely seem unremarkable.
But if their post-True Blooming profiles were placed in the broader context of Central Tracen Academy as a whole, their physical gifts would absolutely rank among the very best of the new generation.
"Hm... this is a little troublesome."
"Looks like I can't take it as easy as I did with McQueen and Teio. I'm probably going to have my hands full from here on."
Kuroha ran through the data in his mind at high speed, already beginning to form a simple set of tailored training plans.
Bourbon and Rice Shower might not possess the era-defining talent Tokai Teio did, the kind that could overwhelm all of Central.
But that only meant he, as their trainer, would need to spend more time on them and pour in more effort.
And honestly, Kuroha enjoyed that kind of challenge.
Thinking back to the time he had coached Teio, the girl had been a bit of a brat personality-wise, but whenever she learned a new technique, she understood it in one try, grasped it in two, and could already use it properly by the third.
As for Star of Haito, whose talent was even more absurd than Teio's, she had been downright outrageous. Even before True Blooming, she had managed to copy the power of a Domain after seeing it just once.
Geniuses who required too little care instead robbed Kuroha of part of the joy of being a trainer, the joy of teaching according to each student's individual traits.
Looking at Bourbon and Rice Shower, who still needed careful polishing, Kuroha could not help curling his lips into a motivated smile.
"Still, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't checked. So Rice Shower actually has this kind of talent after True Blooming..."
Kuroha's expression turned strange as he looked toward one particular skill in Rice Shower's status list.
[Pace Chaser Strategy]!
If he remembered correctly, that thing... was a red skill.
The system shop did not even sell it.
If he remembered correctly, that thing was one of the skills only Uma Musume with a top-tier spiritual gift like "Demonic Talent" were qualified to use.
"A red skill, huh... now that's really outside my area of expertise."
He had a headache coming on.
In truth, Kuroha had not encountered many Uma Musume with Demonic Talent.
Even when he had, they had generally been too weak to pose any threat to Chasing Light's girls.
At present, his understanding of red skills amounted to little more than this: they interfered with an opponent's mind.
And beyond that, only one other brutally simple fact remained.
A Domain could hard-counter them.
Still, Kuroha quickly came up with a solution.
"It doesn't matter."
"I only need to handle the rest of Rice Shower's training. Even if I don't understand red skills, I happen to know someone who does."
"Let a troublemaker teach a troublemaker."
"And this troublemaker just happens to be one of the strongest Uma Musume standing at the pinnacle of Central."
That was what connections were for.
Satisfied, Kuroha nodded to himself.
Then he sorted through the outline in his mind and carefully laid out the strengths and weaknesses of the two newly True-Bloomed girls one by one.
From that moment on, Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower, two girls of the new generation, officially began the Uma Musume lives that belonged to them.
...
At that same time, several kilometers away at Central Tracen Academy...
Inside the student council office.
"Ah...!"
Symboli Rudolf suddenly felt a sneeze coming on, but after taking two small breaths of cold air, it got stuck in her throat and refused to come out.
"Ugh... this feels awful."
After trying several more times without success, Rudolf could only rub her small nose helplessly and take a sip from her teacup.
"What is it, Rudolf?"
At her side, Maruzensky turned to look at her.
Symboli Rudolf waved a hand. "Nothing. My nose just feels itchy. I felt like sneezing, that's all."
The busty brown-haired beauty smiled teasingly. "Ara? Maybe someone is thinking about you~"
"I wish that were true."
Rudolf glanced at her and replied flatly, "Hopefully they'd also help me with some of this work."
Maruzensky's body stiffened. "Uh... ahem, I've been busy preparing for the wedding lately."
"Really?"
Rudolf looked at her quietly. "If I remember correctly, someone's wedding isn't supposed to happen until summer break, is it?"
Silence hung in the air for a moment.
"...Rudolf, you just don't get it. It's not just my wedding I'm preparing for. There are also a few adorable junior girls' weddings to think about."
"Really?"
"Really~"
(End of Chapter)
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