It was hot. I watched the Uma Musume kicking up the dirt and charging ahead with all their might.
That girl put too much force into every step. If she kept that up, it looked like her knees or ankles would take a serious beating, so I felt like I ought to say something to her at least once.
That girl didn’t have enough power in her footing. I couldn’t tell whether it was a matter of aptitude or simply a lack of technique, but she didn’t look like she’d manage better than fourth in this race.
Watching the stride of the girls giving their all in the selection races, there was more than one thing I wanted to correct. Maybe it was because I had seen Oguri’s race. My standards had gotten way too high.
I had brought up the contract talk, but every single one of them had turned me down. Still, it was a relief that I could at least give them a few simple pointers on how to train going forward. I sat in the shade and stared blankly up at the sky.
Failure. Nothing more, nothing less. I didn’t know whether it was my lack of eloquence or my lack of results to convince the girls, or maybe both.
I felt like my heart was about to break. I stared blankly at the paperwork for Tachyon and Oguri in my bag. Repeating the same thing over and over—approaching the girls, talking to them, getting rejected—had made the whole thing feel like a pain.
Oguri Cap and Agnes Tachyon. They were far too good for someone like me. But I didn’t have a choice. There was still a long way to go in the selection races. Over the next two days, many Uma Musume would run to prove themselves.
I wanted to at least keep every one of those girls in my eyes. And I wanted to talk to them. I put the papers back into my bag. Maybe because Tachyon and Oguri had made their offers, my resolve had softened. I tore up the documents.
I’d do my best with what I could do. Then I’d think about the rest afterward. If I still couldn’t do anything then, I’d kneel before Oguri and Tachyon and beg them. I stood up. The selection race was scheduled for thirty minutes from now.
“Trainer.”
“Yeah, Oguri. Good to see you.”
Oguri Cap was standing beside me before I knew it. It was hard to notice her presence.
“Why... did you tear up the contract? Am I not enough?”
Had she seen everything? I looked straight at her.
“Because I’d get weak.”
“What do you mean, weak?”
“If I have somewhere to lean, I won’t be able to give it my all.”
Oguri seemed about to say something, then closed her mouth tightly. Slowly, she opened it again.
“If you have somewhere to lean, you can give it your all. If you have somewhere to rely on, you can push forward even more. If someone is pushing from behind, you can run faster. Trainer, you’re lying. I can tell.”
I looked at her. Her eyes, impossible to read, were staring straight at me. Embarrassed, I lowered my head.
“I’ll be honest. It’s overwhelming. Tachyon and you are both so outstanding that I’m afraid a rookie like me would ruin you if I took responsibility for you. So I’m looking for other girls.”
“I see.”
Oguri nodded calmly.
“Are you disappointed?”
“No.”
“You can call me a coward if you want.”
“No.”
Oguri shook her head.
“You are a coward, but you are not someone who runs away.”
She took one step toward me.
“You are a very shy person, but you know how to say what needs to be said.”
Another step.
“You’re clumsy, but you do your best.”
One step.
“When you’re afraid, you straighten your back and look ahead.”
It was only one step.
“You put strength into your eyes and don’t avoid the moment when the result comes.”
And yet she was coming toward me faster than any speed.
“No matter how messy that may be.”
The gray monster seeping into me was stretching straight out and entering me.
“Even if you can’t live up to expectations.”
She ran straight through the line I had drawn, over the fence I had set up to keep her out.
“You waited for me.”
So close I could feel her breath.
“So it’s fine.”
I looked at her as she gazed up at me.
“It’s fine to be scared. It’s fine to be embarrassed. If you want to run away, you can run away.”
In those unwavering eyes, only I was reflected.
“Just like you waited for me, I’ll wait for you too.”
My vision blurred at the sight of her smiling at me with a face so beautiful it almost made me fall for her.
“I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying, Oguri.”
“I see.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sorry.”
“...Still, thank you.”
She only gave a small nod.
“Hmm... good, good. This has become very interesting indeed!”
At the unfamiliar voice, I hurriedly wiped my eyes with my sleeve.
“Agnes Tachyon...?”
“Mormot-kun. There’s a race in ten minutes. Wouldn’t you say it’s time to go?”
“No, I think... I don’t need to anymore.”
I stood beside Oguri. Tachyon frowned and shook her head.
“Amazing! Astonishing! I had made assumptions, but now that it’s actually in front of me, I can’t think of anything at all! This was the 107th scenario I’d considered... Hahaha...! How troublesome!”
Tachyon let out a long sigh, covering her face with one hand.
“Oguri Cap. I think we need to have a rather serious little talk between ourselves...”
“I have nothing to say to Tachyon...”
At Oguri’s response, Tachyon swept her bangs back with a dumbfounded expression. She muttered something too softly for me to hear. The next moment, Oguri’s eyes widened to their limit.
“Do you have something to say now that it’s just the two of us?”
“I don’t mind saying everything here.”
“You’re bluffing right now, aren’t you?”
Tachyon cut Oguri off cleanly. Oguri stood in front of me without a word, as if to protect me.
“You’re afraid of having her taken away.”
Tachyon came closer. Oguri stood right in front of me. A cucumber-soap scent drifted from her gray hair.
“And you’re anxious.”
Tachyon didn’t close the distance all at once. She kept her spacing and moved slowly in a circle. It was the behavior of a predator sizing up its prey.
“Don’t try so hard to keep a straight face. Can’t I tell at a glance what your weakness is?”
Tachyon narrowed the gap. Oguri lowered her stance like she might spring at any moment. Tachyon let out that familiar, charming smile and once again walked in a circle around me.
Oguri moved with her, positioning herself as if to shield me.
“How is Tamamo Cross doing?”
Oguri’s face stiffened. Who was Tamamo Cross? Did the two of them know each other? Caught in the atmosphere the two much younger girls were exuding, I couldn’t do anything at all.
“Didn’t you want to talk with me?”
“I...”
Oguri kept repeating “I” and clenched her fist tightly.
“Tachyon, don’t tease Oguri too much.”
“Our Oguri, is it? Tch. Let’s end the joke here. I overestimated myself. I should have accounted for this possibility. I think my brain has gone soft as well.”
Tachyon stepped back two paces and shrugged.
“So, Oguri Cap. If I say I have no intention of interfering with you contracting with Mormot-kun, can I talk with you?”
“...Yes.”
“Mormot-kun. There are only five minutes left until the selection race. You’d better run quickly.”
“No, I’m with Oguri...”
“Trainer. I’d like you to go.”
Oguri grabbed my sleeve. It seemed the two of them had something they wanted to say in private. I looked at Oguri. She couldn’t even meet my eyes and was only staring at the ground for no reason.
“I’ll be back. I’ll talk to the girls and then return...”
“Ah, come to my lab. The third floor of the old school building where Mormot-kun practiced last time. All the way at the end. Up the stairs and to the left. Remember it. You can’t tell directions apart, so you’ll probably end up making a full lap! I have so much to say, Oguri Cap! Truly, what a painful and delightful miscalculation!”
When Tachyon gave a glance, Oguri followed after her. She looked back this way once, and her eyes were full of disappointment.
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