Da-da-da-da-da-da.
Clear footfalls echoed over the training ground as three horse girls ran, aligned front to back, fully focused.
Their steps were firm and powerful; the special horseshoes thudded on the turf with a rhythm like a moving score.
On the bend ahead, a mass of red cones formed a triangle jutting into the track.
El Condor Pasa, leading, threaded the gap like a fighter jet; as she entered the turn, her speed never wavered. Her footfalls were rapid and steady; she smashed off the turf, body lowered, and brushed the triangle's edge.
Behind her, Miho Bourbon wasted no motion. She slightly eased and, in textbook form, tilted as she went by the tip of the cone triangle, carving a perfect arc.
In back, Stardust Mirage wore a grave look.
Eyes locked on the bend, she bit back the urge to bolt wide before entry. Matching Miho Bourbon's motions exactly, she tilted and aimed to skim the triangle's point—
—No.
"Ah, crap!"
She had only time for a short cry before she hit a cone square, smashing the triangle.
Her steps tangled; she floundered but kept her feet and didn't fall.
"Another fail… phew…"
She stood and took a breath, wiping sweat.
Today Draco was drilling cornering.
Since El Condor Pasa agreed to help, Hotoyama had her serve as a paired target so Stardust and Bourbon could learn.
But nearly two hours in, Miho had improved while Stardust still couldn't grasp a passable corner.
"Failed again?" Hotoyama Scarlet came with a tablet, tossed Stardust a towel, and said, "Rest a bit. You don't seem built for cornering technique. We'll have to think of something else…"
Stardust glanced at El Condor Pasa and Miho Bourbon running back.
They'd trained the same time, but with cornering already in hand, they'd spent less.
Meaning—they still had energy.
"Once more, Trainer Hotoyama!" Stardust said firmly. "Maybe I'll get it this time!"
"Technique isn't something you brute-force. You—" Hotoyama started to refuse—then saw the flames in Stardust's eyes.
It was the same state she only had on the course.
"Ugh… then… one more!" Never the gentle sort, Hotoyama sighed and slashed her hand toward the start:
"You three back to the line—another cornering rep!"
"Mm!!" x3
No one objected; they returned to the line buzzing.
"Set… go!" Lacking a gun, Hotoyama shouted the start.
El Condor Pasa, Miho Bourbon, and Stardust Mirage blasted out and again attacked the cones!
"Watch Condor's steps this time!"
Condor took the lead again and began her rapid, short corner steps, legs drumming the turf, body low. She tore past Hotoyama with a breeze.
Not a howling gale but a light, swift airplane's breath—a testament to her slicing technique.
"Status, OK. Intended position: third," said Miho Bourbon, giving up the stalking slot to let Stardust run second.
Footfalls, breathing, slipstream—together a brimming symphony—until—
"Ah!!!"
Stardust cried out—another failure.
It wasn't that she couldn't take this sort of corner. It was that forcing herself to copy Condor made her feel wrong all over.
For a moment, she even lost the sense of how to place her foot.
"Am I really unsuited to cornering?" She stared at her legs, barely able to stand straight, and doubted her talent.
"Click. I really am a melodramatic idiot," she sighed.
"Stardust Mirage, I judge your state requires rest," Miho Bourbon said, arriving at her side. She looked down at Stardust's calf.
A bruise had swelled there—the cone's kiss.
"I'm fine, Bourbon." Stardust, all smiles, patted her teammate.
She crouched to rub the bruise and massage the hot ankle, then straightened and shouted to Hotoyama Scarlet:
"Trainer, one more!"
"..."
Hotoyama didn't answer at once. She scanned Stardust's condition.
El Condor Pasa jogged up, sweating. "Condor thinks another go is fine. She seemed to improve. One more and she'll get it!"
"Then once more. Stardust Mirage—don't focus on where your legs land; that'll only jam you up."
Hotoyama nodded and coached as she walked. "Watch Condor, then let your body choose the motion!"
"Let my body… choose how to move?" Stardust repeated, thoughtful.
The three took their marks again. Hotoyama raised her hand. "Set—"
"Trainer Hotoyama!!!" A figure burst onto the ground and cut them off.
The man's face was all urgency. Spotting Hotoyama, he shouted, "Trainer Hotoyama! Aines Wind God, she—Aines Wind God, she—!"
"What about Aines?!" For the first time, the demon trainer showed this look—worry, unease, urgency mingled.
"Aines Wind God's treatment worked! The doctor says her recovery looks ideal—she should be able to resume training very soon!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for reading until the end.
If you'd like to read more, you can Joining to my Patreon.
My Patreon:
patreon.com/Hydran_Tea
Chainsaw Man: The Covenant of Flame Demon [Ss2 150 Chapter ]
Uma Musume: Wait—you want me to pop my Christmas Hat Ultimate? [Ss2 140 Chapter ]
Honkai star rail:Invincible From the Moment I Started Playing as Jing Yuan [ 74 Chapter ]
The Problem Child Starts from Gensokyo [ 66 Chapter ]
FGO: Handcrafted Lostbelt, the Strongest is the Real History [ 37 Chapter ]
Honkai World: Kiana Doesn't Need Redemption [ 35 Chapter ]