While Sakura Bakushin O, Kitasan Black, and Satono Diamond were chatting, the door to the TCB clubroom was pushed open again.
"Good afternoon, Trainer-san~" Tokai Teio's always vibrant voice echoed in the small clubroom.
"Good afternoon, Trainer, and you two."
Mejiro McQueen, whose demeanor always exuded the grace and elegance of a young lady from a prestigious family, followed her in, greeting the people in the room.
"Alright, everyone's here. Our team has finally grown to four members, which is delightful." Sakura Bakushin O said with a smile to the group.
"Let's first discuss the upcoming training plan. In a few days, it will be the Spring Tenno Sho again. McQueen, you had a period of laxity due to your previous injury, so you must train diligently."
"Understood."
Mejiro McQueen nodded with a serious expression; she also placed great importance on the Spring Tenno Sho.
"This race probably won't be much easier than the last one. You must have already heard the news: Mihono Bourbon, who has been resting for a long time, will also participate in this Spring Tenno Sho. She has trained longer than you, so I judge her strength should not be weaker than Rice Shower's last time."
"No matter who it is, I will win."
Although Mejiro McQueen's tone was nonchalant, her expression clearly became several shades more serious after hearing that Mihono Bourbon would be competing.
"After the Spring Tenno Sho, it will be the Takarazuka Kinen. Both the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen are races where participation is determined by audience votes, so you two must prepare well for the Takarazuka Kinen in June."
"Understood, Trainer-san."
Tokai Teio smiled sweetly, then turned to look at Mejiro McQueen.
"For voting, McQueen must have also secured a spot, right?"
"Of course." Mejiro McQueen tossed her beautiful hair. "After winning the Spring Tenno Sho, I will also participate in the Takarazuka Kinen. You better be careful, Teio."
"I'm more afraid you'll lose to me again like yesterday," Tokai Teio laughed.
"Stop, stop, wait for me to finish..." Sakura Bakushin O was a bit speechless, seeing the two rivals about to start bickering again, and quickly interrupted.
"The latter half of June not only has the Takarazuka Kinen, but also your two debut races. You two must win this race; otherwise, if you don't take first place and have to compete in maiden races, the entire plan will be disrupted."
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond both nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, feeling the urgency of time deep in their hearts.
"OK, then we'll proceed like this. Teio, you take Kita and focus on speed training. McQueen, you take Diamond and do endurance training. Once they are proficient, you two can proceed with individual training."
"Okay."
"Understood."
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen each responded, and the group left the clubroom, heading towards the Tracen Academy track.
--
After about an hour of training, Sakura Bakushin O noticed that Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black, the two newcomers, were clearly showing signs of exhaustion.
Although Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen did not train at their own pace when leading the two junior Horse Girl, they deliberately slowed down their speed and rhythm.
However, the gap between Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen and the two junior Horse Girl was too vast. What was considerably easy training for them was an entirely new and unexplored domain for Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond.
"Kita, Diamond, come over here!"
Sakura Bakushin O called out to the two of them, then gestured to Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, indicating that they should resume their original training.
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen both simultaneously placed a hand on the junior Horse Girl's shoulders, casting sympathetic glances at Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond respectively, before going to do their own training.
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond panted as they jogged to Sakura Bakushin O's side, then both braced their hands on their knees and began to catch their breath.
"My...my lungs are going to explode..." Satono Diamond gasped, clutching her chest.
"Te...Teio-san is truly amazing. After more than an hour of such intense training, she's still the same as usual, not even out of breath. Can...can I really reach Teio-san's level?"
Kitasan Black was a bit doubtful of life. After a short period of training, she finally realized the huge gap between herself and Tokai Teio.
"Here, you two, drink this."
Sakura Bakushin O smiled and pulled out two bottles of something resembling a nutritional drink. The small, semi-transparent black bottles were wrapped in a label that read "Nutritional Drink."
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond had both heard about Sakura Bakushin O's training methods from Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen yesterday.
In short, she would provide them with many drinks and snacks during training to help them recover their stamina.
The two took the nutritional drinks from Sakura Bakushin O's hand and began to examine the contents written on the bottle.
"It looks no different from the nutritional drinks you can buy at a convenience store. Is the effect really that good?"
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond were both a bit skeptical; they had seen such things more or less before.
To say there was an effect, there certainly was a tiny bit, but it was very slow to take effect, nowhere near enough to allow them to continue training immediately after drinking it.
"Just looking at it is useless; you'll only know the effect after you drink it yourselves."
Hearing Sakura Bakushin O's urging, the two no longer hesitated, uncorked the bottles with a "pop," and then both drank the liquid in the bottles in one gulp.
The nutritional drink tasted quite good; although it couldn't compare to a regular beverage, it wasn't so unpalatable that they found it difficult to swallow.
Most importantly, the moment the cool drink flowed down their throats, Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond were both surprised to find that their fatigue had miraculously diminished by more than half.
The frantic gasping, like a bellows, also subsided considerably in an instant, and their breathing gradually returned to normal.
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond both widened their two pairs of eyes, one red and one gold, in astonishment, looking at the nutritional drink in their hands, then at Sakura Bakushin O, feeling an indescribable sense of wonder.
"Trainer-san, this is too amazing! Why is the effect so fast!" Kitasan Black exclaimed.
"I've drunk similar things before, and they seemed to take effect very slowly. Why is Trainer-san's so magical?!" Satono Diamond also covered her mouth, exclaiming in surprise.
"Good effect, right?"
Sakura Bakushin O chuckled softly, highly satisfied with their surprised expressions.
"Alright, you can continue training."