Acting on the thought immediately, Kuroha temporarily left Rice Shower and Nice Nature under Symboli Rudolf's guidance.
Meanwhile, he sat down at the computer and began organizing everything he had come to understand and conclude about [Demonic Power] over this period of time, using it to formulate an appropriate training method.
That said, Kuroha had no intention of using his own girls as partners for practical run-along training.
First were Rice Shower and Nice Nature.
Among girls their age, the two of them were already considered first-rate.
Their debuff skills could also interfere with and affect the vast majority of Umamusume from their generation.
But that only applied to ordinary girls from the same generation.
If Kuroha called over the Chasing Light girls under his banner, every last one of whom had reached the second stage of [Domain] at their peak and possessed absurdly powerful mental strength, to run alongside them...
Then it would have no training value for [Demonic Power] whatsoever.
On the contrary, there was a very high chance it would make those two little ones start doubting their own strength and seriously damage their motivation to train.
Second... he simply did not want his own girls to suffer.
Earlier, because of the crushing training volume imposed on Inari One, Mr. C.B., and Symboli Rudolf, Kuroha had forbidden the use of [Domain] in order to test the specific capabilities of debuff skills.
As a result, Inari One had nearly fallen into depression. When she came back, she had tugged pitifully at his clothes and complained to him for a long time.
So when it came to training this kind of mentally exhausting, utterly miserable ability, Kuroha naturally had no plans to drag his own girls into it.
Tap.
Not long after, Kuroha's fingers gradually came to a stop over the keyboard.
After saving the training document on [Demonic Talent], he let out a long, quiet breath.
Through the semi-open corridor, he looked out at the many lovely figures on the track and slowly fell into thought.
"Hm... If I don't let Inari and the others take part, then where exactly am I supposed to find some extra labor...?"
His gaze swept across the training grounds before finally settling on a figure who had grown more and more beautiful.
At that moment, Fumino Nase was holding a tablet and focusing intently on Mihono Bourbon's training data, occasionally raising her voice to call out instructions.
"There are a few girls on Fumino's team who retired just last year."
A faint gleam flickered in Kuroha's eyes.
Super Creek was naturally out of the question. Just like the other Chasing Light girls, she was simply too capable. On top of that, she was a data-driven Umamusume who specialized in tactical planning.
If she ran alongside Rice Shower and the others, it was hard to say who would end up getting psychologically crushed.
But under Fumino, there were still a few very mediocre girls.
Their peak years had passed, and their physical abilities had begun to decline. By now, their stats were probably only a little above 800.
Although they were still clearly stronger than the current Rice Shower and Nice Nature in pure hard power, they absolutely qualified as suitable practice partners.
And as retired Umamusume, they were battle-tested in their own way. Their wealth of racing experience could guide those two rookie girls very well.
"Still, Fumino and I are practically from the same generation. Aside from Super Creek, she only has two girls under her. In terms of numbers, that's still nowhere near enough..."
Kuroha's fingers tapped unconsciously against the desktop as he stared blankly ahead.
Just then,
a pair of smooth, soft little hands suddenly reached out from behind him and lightly covered his eyes.
A familiar gentle, delicate voice sounded by his ear right after.
"Guess who I am?"
"..."
Kuroha fell silent for a moment, then called out the name with helpless exasperation. "Godolphin, quit messing around."
Putting aside the fact that she could not even be bothered to disguise her original voice,
their current bodies as the Three Goddesses were all being maintained by him. There was no way a trick like this could fool him.
"Mhm, Kuroha-kun got it right, so you get a candy as a reward."
Behind him, Godolphin cheerfully stuffed the candy back in.
Then, as if by magic, she produced a gummy from somewhere, briskly peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into Kuroha's mouth.
Shaking his head in resignation, Kuroha took the candy into his mouth out of habit. At the same time, he printed out the materials on the computer and casually asked, "Have you finished organizing what I asked you to before? The expedition schedule and adaptation training plan for McQueen's second half of the year?"
At those words, the blue goddess's delicate body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Then she wrapped both arms around Kuroha's neck from behind and answered in a small, guilty voice, "Not... not quite. I've only planned things out to around October for now."
Feeling the astonishing softness and fullness pressing against the back of his head, Kuroha sighed. "Don't get too carried away with having fun, Godolphin."
Still, having it planned through October was more or less enough.
Just enough to cover the most important race of them all, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
As for the other overseas races after October, none of them were as important as the Arc. There would still be time to fill those in later.
"Got it~"
Godolphin smiled gently, lightly resting her chin atop Kuroha's head as she asked curiously, "What were you thinking about just now? You looked so lost in thought."
Kuroha replied calmly, "Nothing major. I was just trying to find some Umamusume who could do run-along training with Rice Shower and the others. I'm having trouble deciding on candidates."
"Looking for training partners..."
Godolphin repeated the words, then lifted her eyes and thought for a moment before casually suggesting, "Wouldn't it work to recruit some newly entered girls?"
"Definitely not."
Kuroha shook his head. "Even if they just stood there without moving, with how weak Rice Shower and Nature's mental strength is right now, they wouldn't be able to influence them at all."
"That's true too."
Godolphin nodded in agreement. Then her eyes shifted as another idea came to her.
"Since the Chasing Light girls won't work, then we can just look outside for some girls instead."
"Girls from outside?"
"That's right. Lately, when I've been wandering around the shopping streets of Tokyo with Byerley and Darley, I've seen quite a few retired girls working part-time in all sorts of shops to earn money."
Godolphin said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"If Kuroha-kun puts up a hiring notice and offers decent pay, then quite a few retired Umamusume should be willing to come over and work part-time as practice partners, right?"
A hiring notice...
Hm?
That actually... did seem workable...
How had he not thought of that just now?
Was it because he simply was not cut out to be a boss by nature?
Kuroha paused, then turned to look at Godolphin in surprise. "I didn't expect that when you girls go out, you're not just playing around."
He really had been blinded by his own limited perspective.
The Chasing Light girls all looked loaded, but that was because every single one of them had won multiple G1-level major races and earned enormous prize money.
On top of that, all their food, clothing, housing, transportation, and daily expenses at the villa were covered by Kuroha with one sweeping gesture, so of course they all seemed extravagantly well-off.
But for other Umamusume, the situation was completely different.
The overwhelming majority of ordinary Central girls were not actually all that wealthy.
Many Umamusume struggled through their entire careers in G3 and even open-class races, never once managing to win a major stakes race.
All they could do was scrape by on meager appearance fees.
If they wanted to buy some pretty clothes or a luxury item they liked, they had to work part-time in their spare hours.
"I keep thinking about how to round up extra hands and cheap labor, but I completely forgot that I could just directly hire retired Umamusume to come work for me..."
Kuroha rubbed his chin and roughly thought through the process. Once he was sure there were no problems, he shut his eyes and nodded.
"That suggestion was extremely helpful, Godolphin. At dinner tonight, I'll give you an extra drumstick."
"I was just throwing out an idea. As long as it helps Kuroha-kun, that's enough for me."
Hearing the praise, Godolphin smiled until her eyes curved into crescents, her entire body giving off a gentle, graceful, virtuous air.
After chatting casually for a little while longer, Kuroha finally rose to his feet.
"Still, now that the practice partner issue is solved, don't forget about the expedition arrangements."
"Once the Spring Tenno Sho at the end of the month is over, McQueen is officially starting her overseas campaign. The preparations have to be absolutely foolproof."
"Mm!"
At that, Godolphin also put away her playful mood, straightened up, and nodded seriously. "Understood. I'll finish filling out the rest of the plan as soon as possible!"
(End of Chapter)
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