"Fūga—! We've already signed you up for your next race!"
Three days later, as Seiun Sky was idly wandering around Himeji Tracen Academy, Saito Asuka found her.
He leaned against the wall, panting, tightly clutching a piece of paper in his hand.
After taking several deep breaths, Saito Asuka straightened up and handed the paper in his hand to Seiun Sky.
"A race in three days…"
Seiun Sky, staring at the paper for a long time, murmured, then raised her gaze to look at Saito Asuka standing in front of her.
"It's not a G1 race?"
The Black-haired Horse Girl asked in confusion, "…To quickly gain popularity in a short time, shouldn't a G1 race be more effective?"
"We're just saying, can we be a bit more pragmatic?"
Saito Asuka, hearing Seiun Sky say this, first stared silently at the Black-haired Horse Girl in front of him for a while, then replied in a helpless tone, "You're a Newcomer Uma Musume who just finished her debut race not long ago, do you think it's appropriate for your second race to be a G1 type?"
"Is there a difference?"
Seiun Sky retorted, "Participating in a G1 race is just a matter of time, isn't it?"
"Since that's the case, then…"
"Seiun Sky."
Saito Asuka interrupted the Black-haired Uma Musume before she could finish her sentence.
He took a few steps forward and then placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I hope you can take your time and not rush."
"…"
Seiun Sky looked at her Trainer, who was holding her shoulder and staring at her with a serious expression.
…Trainer is worried that I've only run a debut race and won't be able to adapt to the rhythm of a G1 race quickly, right?
"Yes, I understand, I was too rushed."
Seiun Sky nodded obediently, then took the race entry form from Saito Asuka's hand and carefully read it from top to bottom.
"However, the Zhongjing Newcomer Championship…"
Seiun Sky stared at the total length of the track, her expression a bit hesitant, "…Isn't this length a bit too short?"
If I remember correctly, my debut race was about two thousand meters, right?
"Short? I actually think a track of this length is just right to help you adapt to the rhythm of the racecourse."
Saito Asuka expressed his thoughts, "What you need to do now is to quickly adapt to the rhythm of the racecourse, don't let your rhythm be dictated by other Uma Musume, and of course, the most important thing is—"
As he said the last sentence, Saito Asuka stared intently at the Black-haired Uma Musume in front of him and slowly said, "In the next race, don't be late out of the gate again."
"Hahaha…"
Seiun Sky's smile stiffened, then she tried to gloss over it under Saito Asuka's gaze.
…She didn't want to be late out of the gate in her debut race either.
But since it was her first race, it was understandable that she didn't react when the gate opened, right?
"Mhm, Trainer, don't worry! I won't be late for this race in three days!"
Seiun Sky patted her chest, solemnly assuring him, "…Trainer, just watch my flawless performance on the racecourse!"
"…I hope so."
Saito Asuka looked at the Black-haired Uma Musume standing in front of him.
After the debut race, he specifically took a day to help her solve the problem of being late out of the gate.
Although from the final results of the training, Seiun Sky's problem of being late had been resolved, whether she could bring the training results to the racecourse still depended on her.
Saito Asuka couldn't help but sigh at this thought.
Sigh… If I were stronger, would I be able to help Seiun Sky?
I am too weak now.
"Hmm? Does Trainer not believe what I said?"
Seiun Sky blinked, seeing Saito Asuka sighing with a worried expression in front of her.
"Hmm? No, no, I've always believed in you."
The man, coming back to his senses, hastily waved his hand, "I just feel that I can't help you at all right now, and I'm a bit disappointed."
"Didn't help? What are you talking about, Trainer~?"
Hearing what Saito Asuka said, Seiun Sky said with a smile, "…Haven't you already helped me?"
"The gate training to prevent me from being late again, and helping me sign up for the race, aren't these helping?"
Seiun Sky said this, and walked to his side, gently patting his shoulder.
"From my perspective, well… although you really can't help me too much right now~?"
Seiun Sky playfully winked at Saito Asuka, "But you are indeed slowly becoming a qualified Trainer~?"
Indeed, slowly becoming a competent Trainer…?
The man murmured and repeated it in his heart.
That's great… I'm not holding her back.
"…Don't think that just because you say that, everything will be fine, okay?"
The man turned his head and cleared his throat, "If, after so much gate training, you're still late for the race that day…"
The man paused in his tone, then grinned, a somewhat sinister smile appearing on his face.
"After the race, you'll focus solely on gate training for me!"
"Wow~ Trainer's face looks so scary~?"
Seiun Sky, completely unfazed by Saito Asuka's expression, covered her mouth with her hand and took a step back, feigning fear.
"But… Trainer, you can rest assured."
Seiun Sky said with a smile, "…I was just slow to react when I was late for my first race."
"In this race, I absolutely won't be late like last time!"
"Then I'll be waiting for good news, shall I?"
Saito Asuka nodded upon hearing Seiun Sky's words, then looked down at his watch.
"I'm heading back. I still have some documents to process in the office."
"Mhm, goodbye Director~?"
Watching Saito Asuka hurry away, Seiun Sky waved at his gradually shrinking back as she spoke.
…It's boring again.
She had already fed the Canned Food in the dorm milk today, and she had scooped the litter box.
Now Canned Food was sleeping in the dorm, and she was too bored staying in her room alone, so she decided to come out for a stroll.
However…
Seiun Sky looked around, then sighed helplessly.
She couldn't find anything to pass the time.
The idle Seiun Sky thought for a moment, and finally looked towards the training grounds.
…Three Goddesses, run another lap with me!
The bored Seiun Sky eventually walked towards the training grounds.