Chapter 121: A Hopeless Rookie in Love and a Reliable Senior, All in One ♣

My trainer went out with Bourbon-chan—just the two of them—to greet Bourbon-chan’s parents.

My trainer. Bourbon-chan’s parents. Just the two of them. Alone.

To her family home.

…Well?

I’m not bothered at all.

Not even the tiniest bit. Not a microscopic fragment of concern. Not even 0.0001%.

After saying something that sounds less like what you tell a trainee and more like what you tell a spouse—"If you ever go down the wrong path, I’ll always be there to set you straight"—and then, mere seconds later, deciding to go greet another Uma Musume’s parents. What a two-timing trainer.

But I’m totally not bothered. Obviously.

Besides, between Ayumu-san and me, there exists an absolute, inviolable bond that no third party could possibly wedge themselves into at this point. (There has to be.) And that includes Bourbon-chan, even if she is his other trainee.

What? “Aren’t you just freaking out because the whole ‘greeting the parents’ event scares you?”

I am not freaking out in the slightest!!!

Listen carefully.

Ayumu-san already came to greet my parents ages ago. Nearly a year and a half ago, in fact.

That day, beneath the cold winter sky, he faced me with unwavering sincerity.

He was earnest—so earnest it almost hurt—and yet gentle. That’s why I was able to tell him about my parents, something that weighed heavily on me at the time.

Ayumu-san accepted that dim, shadowed part of my past.

And on top of that, he told my parents, "I am entrusted with Hoshino Wilm."

"I will guide her."

And that wasn’t even the end of it. We had a second visit not long ago.

At that point, isn’t that basically what you’d call an engagement?

No?

Oh. I see.

Well, anyway.

It was Ayumu-san who melted my heart with his kindness—and it was (probably) me who saved his.

In other words, between Ayumu-san and me exists the strongest, most unbreakable bond possible between a human and an Uma Musume: one forged through mutual salvation.

So even if Bourbon-chan takes Ayumu-san somewhere, that relationship isn’t going to crumble. It won’t flip inside out. It won’t weaken.

With that kind of overwhelming advantage, there’s no way I’d fall behind her now.

In short—

"The favorite to win the Love Derby is still Hoshino Wilm!!"

"Um, Senpai?"

…That’s how I’d like to act tough, at least.

But in reality, it isn’t that simple.

For starters, Ayumu-san would never look at his trainees with romantic feelings.

He’s serious to a fault about his duty. Faithful to his role as a trainer. He sees his assigned Uma Musume strictly as his assigned Uma Musume.

Like a very strict teacher. Students are students. They don’t cross into romance.

Which means what’s required isn’t a direct approach—a confession, a date, those embarrassingly straightforward moves—but something indirect. Subtle. Woven into everyday life.

To Ayumu-san, the heroine isn’t the extraordinary girl who suddenly overturns his world.

She’s the ordinary one.

The childhood friend.

Someone who’s always been by his side so naturally that he never thought twice about it—until one day, he suddenly becomes aware of her as the opposite sex. And while awkward and conflicted about that realization, he slowly begins seeking a new kind of closeness.

That kind of development.

That’s the only possible route for me—his trainee—to end up dating him.

That’s why I’ve been enjoying bright, ordinary days at his side, carefully avoiding aggressive advances. Not because I was scared to make a move, okay? It was strategic. I genuinely thought this was the optimal approach.

But when a rival appears, everything changes.

If it were just some half-baked competitor, I could boldly declare, "No trainee can defeat the very first one!"

…but when the opponent is Mihono Bourbon, that’s a different story.

What? Why is Bourbon-chan special?

Because her boobs are huge.

You might think, “That’s it?” But in romance, having a large chest is a massive advantage. Probably.

According to knowledge from my previous life, in dating sims and eroge, the busty heroine is popular almost by default.

Men basically like girls with big chests. They also apparently like devoted childhood friends, prim-and-proper class representatives, gyaru who are nice to nerds, and cool honor students. Guys are like that.

Though sometimes I wonder—what exactly does “prim-and-proper type” even mean? Does that imply that anyone who isn’t that is some kind of “impure type”?

And the whole “gyaru who’s nice to nerds” trope—I used to hear that all the time. But honestly, whether she’s a gyaru or not, how a girl treats someone depends on her personality. I’m sure there are gyaru who are kind to nerds. Whether they understand them or are attracted to them is a separate issue, though…

Right. I’m getting off track.

Back to Bourbon-chan’s chest.

Bourbon-chan has a truly voluptuous figure.

Actually, not just voluptuous—she’s big all over. Generously built.

When a racing Uma Musume reaches full physical maturity, her body settles into its optimal form… and for Mihono Bourbon, that apparently resulted in something very close to that of an adult woman.

She’s tall. Well-proportioned. Based on appearance alone, she could easily pass for a college student.

In fact, with her pretty face and impressive chest, she could probably win a university beauty pageant in a landslide.

And as mentioned earlier, chest size seems to be a significant bonus in what men tend to find attractive. Of course, preferences vary—some prefer smaller, some prefer none at all, some prefer the same sex—but generally speaking, bigger often wins out.

Source: the internet from my previous life.

In short, Bourbon-chan is the kind of dangerously charming Uma Musume who could attract male attention just by existing.

On top of that, she has a beautiful voice and a wonderful personality.

In my previous life, she was technically two-dimensional, so I suppose that was to be expected. But even after gaining an extra dimension, her appeal hasn’t diminished. If anything, it’s intensified.

She’s like a beautiful girl who stepped straight out of a screen.

That’s practically cheating.

Of course people would be drawn to her.

In contrast, me—Hoshino Wilm…

Personality-wise, I’m no ideal heroine. I’m just a normal, somewhat troublesome girl.

I get jealous when Ayumu-san interacts with other girls. I get moody. I feel lonely. Sometimes I spiral.

From a guy’s perspective, that’s probably annoying.

And appearance-wise, unlike Bourbon-chan, I don’t have even a shred of sex appeal. You could call me elementary-school-sized and it wouldn’t feel entirely off—just a tiny, childish body.

Well, at least the Uma Musume base stats guarantee a decent face… but still.

From a guy’s perspective, wouldn’t Bourbon-chan seem more attractive?

A troublesome, loli-bodied girl versus a cute, earnest, well-endowed second-year middle division student.

Between those two, the more appealing option seems obvious.

If my opponent wields that kind of weapon, then I’ll have to use my own strengths.

I’ve only recently come to terms with being a complete rookie at romance, but I do have countermeasures.

And ammunition.

I didn’t want to resort to this. It feels rushed. And it risks turning me into the kind of extraordinary heroine who falls outside Ayumu-san’s romantic radar.

But at this point, there’s no time left.

I’ll use my “Reward Right” and strike all at once…!

"Senpai!"

"Hm—oh! What? What’s wrong?"

The shout tears through my racing thoughts.

Only then do my surroundings snap back into focus: Tracen Academy’s training grounds, the dirt track laid inside the turf course.

…Right. I was in the middle of training.

That’s bad. I can’t afford to zone out during practice.

As we confirmed the other day, as Ayumu-san’s Uma Musume, I can’t risk accidents or injury.

What he desires isn’t glory for his trainee—but her safety.

Of course he’ll support us wholeheartedly as a trainer. But fundamentally, he’s someone who finds joy in our safe return.

And I am his Uma Musume.

Not just his assigned Uma Musume. Not merely a racing Uma Musume.

His partner.

If that’s the case, then his wishes come first.

Stability over victory. Longevity over a fleeting blaze of brilliance.

That is the core principle of the pair known as Horino Ayumu and Hoshino Wilm.

Of course, his relationship with Bourbon-chan—or with any new trainees who will almost certainly appear next year—may take different shapes.

There’s no single correct form for the bond between a trainer and an Uma Musume. Every pair is different.

This is simply ours.

I slow my pace and take a deep breath.

Then I turn to the exhausted junior trailing behind me.

"Sorry, Sourie-chan. I spaced out a little."

---

Sourie-chan—more properly, Sourie Cross-chan.

One of my adorable juniors.

She’s an active racing Uma Musume in the Twinkle Series, in the same generation as Bourbon-chan and Rice-chan.

Broadly speaking, she also runs a front-running strategy like I do.

…Apparently, she chose it because she admires my running style.

That makes me pretty happy.

To be honest, I haven’t interacted with her much lately.

I was preparing for the Osaka Hai. I couldn’t drag a Classic division girl into Senior division-level final workouts.

Now that the Osaka Hai—requiring such intense preparation—is over, I finally have some breathing room.

Actually, I’m forced to.

It was an official G1 race. A fierce clash with Teio. I need to recover from that fatigue before the Tenno Sho.

So for about a week, my training load has been reduced.

On top of that, as punishment for making a reckless decision, I’ve been strictly forbidden from doing voluntary training.

I could cry.

That’s why this afternoon was just a light jog on the dirt course.

"Ah, Senpai!"

"Sourie-chan? Long time no see."

"Yes, it has!"

We happened to run into each other in the cafeteria.

Since my session was light anyway, under Masa-san’s supervision, we ended up training together.

Well—“ended up” isn’t quite accurate.

I begged and pleaded.

After checking with Ayumu-san, Masa-san nodded reluctantly.

She then confirmed with Sourie-chan’s trainer, and apparently it was approved without issue. My name recognition probably helped.

And so, during this sudden joint run with Sourie-chan…

It seems I zoned out and surged too far ahead.

Before I realized it, Sourie-chan—who had desperately tried to keep up—was completely exhausted.

And that’s how this happened.

…How pathetic, me!

---

Masa-san handed us two bottles of sports drink.

I passed one to Sourie-chan, who had plopped down onto the turf, and made a conscious effort to keep my tone relaxed as I spoke.

"I’m really sorry. I kind of spaced out… That wasn’t very senior-like of me."

A proper senior shouldn’t show weakness in front of her juniors.

Especially me—I’m considered a fairly strong senior, after all. Well, race results don’t directly correlate with personality, but still. If possible, I’d like them to see me as strong and dependable.

That’s why I try to be someone they can rely on.

But showing such an uncool side like this… it feels almost disqualifying as a senior. I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed in myself.

In response, Sourie-chan—still visibly exhausted—waved both her hands frantically.

"N-no, please don’t worry about it! Senpai probably has a lot on her mind too, like… what happened at the Osaka Hai and everything…"

She’s so kind.

She must be tired because of me, and yet she doesn’t show even the slightest irritation.

Uma Musume really do tend to have saint-like mentalities. There are so many genuinely good girls.

Not that I was actually thinking about the Osaka Hai… but explaining what I was thinking about would be awkward in a completely different way, so I’ll leave that alone.

For now, I need to apologize properly.

"I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time."

"It’s really okay. Besides… someday, I’ll have to be able to keep up with you, Senpai."

"Mm. I’ll be waiting for that day."

"Ahaha… I wonder when that’ll be."

She smiled modestly.

…But something flickered within that expression. The faintest trace of sadness.

Is she struggling with the fact that she can’t catch up—to me, or to stronger Uma Musume?

Hmm. Did something happen?

This feels similar to… ah, right. Earlier this year, there was something like this.

No—actually, it’s different.

Back then, it was twisted frustration. Bitterness.

This time, it isn’t.

It’s more like… quiet dejection.

Right now, Sourie-chan is feeling down.

But you wouldn’t notice at first glance. She’s deliberately maintaining a composed front so no one worries about her.

Still, for someone like me—who’s practically a professional at wearing masks—it’s painfully obvious how thin that façade is.

She’s carrying some kind of sadness.

I try to piece together what it might be.

At the beginning of the year, she’d been frustrated by Bourbon-chan’s overwhelming strength.

Even when they ran together, she couldn’t catch up. The gap never seemed to shrink.

Realizing the difference in their abilities had left her resentful.

But now… the air feels different.

There’s no irritation.

No impatience.

What she’s showing instead is resignation… and something that faintly resembles admiration.

…Yeah. Overthinking doesn’t suit me.

I’ll just ask her directly.

"Sourie-chan, did something happen?"

"No, not really…"

"Go on. Tell me. It’ll feel better if you talk about it. Even if it’s just a complaint—I’ll listen."

"…Ahh, honestly. Senpai, your perception is way too sharp. I can’t hide anything from you."

With a wry smile, she lowered her gaze to the plastic bottle in her hands and began to speak.

"…It’s just that, recently, I finally started to understand how amazing Bourbon-chan really is."

"How amazing she is, huh."

"Yes."

The sports drink bottle crinkled softly under her grip.

She muttered, "Oops," then took a slow breath and looked up at the sky as she continued.

"…After watching the Spring Stakes the other day, I just thought—wow, she’s on a completely different level.

She exploded out of the gate at insane speed and then maintained that pace all the way to the finish… That’s unbelievable. If you can do something like that, of course you’re the strongest.

I tried imagining running in that race myself… but I couldn’t win at all. Even knowing exactly how Bourbon-chan would run and how the race would unfold… no matter how generously I imagined it, the best I could manage was third or fourth place."

…To be honest, Bourbon-chan was incredible in the Spring Stakes.

She launched forward from the start, avoided interference and unfavorable positioning, then used her stamina to stretch the gap and keep pushing without fading through the final stretch.

That style of racing is actually quite close to my own.

It’s the fully realized version of the strategy she had been aiming for—the one Ayumu-san helped refine.

Of course it was powerful.

For her peers—still developing, still experimenting with their racing identities—she was overwhelming.

If it had been a long-distance race, the outcome might have been different.

But the Spring Stakes was a mile—Bourbon-chan’s specialty.

So yes, it was a dominant performance.

But dazzling light casts equally deep shadows.

That race must have made many girls—including Sourie-chan—acutely aware of the difference in class between themselves and Bourbon-chan.

…And yet.

That realization hasn’t broken her.

"They really are amazing, aren’t they? Bourbon-chan. Her stamina and speed, sure—but more than anything, that pace control… It’s like you can’t disrupt her rhythm from the outside.

If you want to beat her, you’d have to shake her mentally… but that habit she used to have of getting overexcited at the start? I don’t see it much anymore.

And when I think about what I’m supposed to do… it gets a little discouraging."

It isn’t a formal statement—more like she’s talking to herself.

Letting the frustration leak out in a quiet murmur.

…But it isn’t the voice of someone who’s given up.

If anything, it’s the sound of someone desperately searching for a way to overcome a superior opponent.

Hearing that, I let out a faint "Huh…" under my breath—quiet enough that she doesn’t notice.

Sourie-chan… you’re far more interesting than I thought.

"You feel that much of a gap, and you’re still not giving up?"

"Of course not. I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to run in the Kikuka Sho and beat Bourbon-chan!

That goal hasn’t changed. …I’ve just finally realized the difficulty level is way higher than I thought."

She sighs—then suddenly clenches her fist, trying to summon determination.

…Only for the strength to drain from her hand a moment later.

"…I get it, okay? Or rather, once I seriously tried to win, I understood.

Bourbon-chan and I are built differently. Talent, suitability… maybe even talent for hard work. There’s something I’m fatally lacking."

"Well… yeah."

"Ugh. I knew it, but hearing you confirm it still hurts, Senpai…"

There is, undeniably, a cruel gap between Mihono Bourbon and Sourie-chan.

Mihono Bourbon is a top-class thoroughbred—one even Ayumu-san openly acknowledges.

Her absurdly disciplined training, combined with her naturally flexible and honest physical foundation, has built base specs that are almost unfairly high.

On top of that, her flawless sense of pace and stamina management—guided by remarkably precise sensory awareness—is exactly the kind of weapon Sourie-chan fears most.

Add Ayumu-san’s guidance: stable, repeatable methods for securing victory and a clear philosophy of running.

Honestly, whether Rice-chan could overtake her in the Kikuka Sho like in the old-world anime… is questionable. Looking at it objectively, Bourbon-chan has the edge.

That’s how overwhelming she was in the Spring Stakes.

Compared to that, Sourie-chan…

To put it bluntly, she isn’t quite top-tier.

She’s absolutely a talented Uma Musume—but more in the sense of a strong stakes-level contender.

Not someone who can’t win.

Despite calling herself “ordinary,” she clearly belongs to the upper layer. She can compete in graded races without embarrassment.

But she isn’t at the very peak of that upper layer.

G2 victories might be within reach—but a G1 would require extraordinary luck, perfect conditions… or might remain out of reach no matter what.

That’s how I’ve viewed Sourie Cross up until now.

…But.

Maybe that evaluation needs revising.

“…But the way you are now, Sourie-chan—you seem pretty formidable.”

“Huh?”

Ayumu-san says it often: races aren’t decided by raw ability alone.

In fact, emotions, fighting spirit, that surge of strength—the so-called “zone”—carry surprising weight.

And right now, Sourie-chan has that spark.

“Sourie-chan, you said that once you got serious, you finally realized the gap, right?

That means you’ve reached a level where you can genuinely measure yourself against Bourbon-chan.”

“…Um, I—”

Ah. Yeah.

That’s the kind of thing that’s hard to see in yourself.

I organize my thoughts, take a sip of sports drink, swallow, and continue.

“You know how kids who haven’t even entered Tracen don’t understand how brutal racing is—or how incredible the top tier really is—so they assume they might shine too?”

“Ghk—th-that hurts…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Everyone’s like that. I was too.”

“You too…? Even you, Wilm-senpai!?”

“Ahaha. I’m just a normal Uma Musume. When I first enrolled, I unconsciously assumed I was the strongest—that winning was natural, that losing simply wouldn’t happen.”

“Th-that’s… not entirely wrong, is it?”

“Not at all. I’ve lost twice in my life.”

“Wait—you’ve only lost twice!?”

One was my first mock race.

The other was last year’s Arima Kinen.

Official and unofficial races combined, those are the only two defeats I’ve experienced.

…Come to think of it, that chestnut-haired girl who beat me in that first race—I wonder what she’s doing now.

I never asked her name. I don’t even remember her face clearly.

Ah. I’m drifting again.

Anyway.

“The reason those kids can’t grasp reality,” I continue, “is partly because the gap is simply too massive. It’s like a star in the heavens. It’s so far away that you can’t even comprehend the distance.”

“Ah… I get that feeling. You’re exactly like that to me, Wilm-senpai.”

“Thanks. …But for you, Bourbon-chan isn’t that anymore, right?”

“—…I see.”

Exactly.

For Sourie-chan now, Bourbon-chan isn’t an unreachable celestial body.

By seriously chasing her, Sourie-chan has come to understand the real, measurable distance between them.

She knows how far apart they are.

And how hard it will be to close that gap.

In a sense, Bourbon-chan has gone from being a star in the heavens to a decorative star on the ceiling.

If you stretch, grab a tool, stand on a step stool—you might be able to reach it.

That’s what I meant when I said she’s reached a level where she can truly compete.

“And more than that—you’re looking straight at the fact that you’re inferior right now, and you’re still desperately thinking about how to win.

From experience, I can tell you—opponents like that are the scariest.”

Not giving up.

It sounds simple when you say it.

But in reality, it’s brutally difficult.

Working hard is painful.

Working hard toward something that borders on the impossible is even worse.

The stars are far away. No matter how far you stretch your hand, you’ll never reach them.

From the start, it was impossible.

With a human body—with an Uma Musume’s body—you cannot grasp the stars.

I have seen countless Uma Musume abandon the path they once chose for themselves after saying exactly that.

We—those of us in the Senior division at Central Tracen Academy—have seen it too many times.

Hope shattered by the distance to the stars, they die as racing Uma Musume.

They give up aiming higher, surrender that single shining glory, and slowly fade away.

…To be blunt, even at Central Tracen, that’s the path most end up walking.

And yet, while others around them give up striving and choose the easier road, there are those who persist alone.

It’s a lonely, brutal path.

And that’s precisely why the girls who can walk it… are terrifying.

I know that well.

From the mock races I’ve seen.

From the Kikuka Sho.

From the Japanese Derby and the Osaka Hai.

From the familiar faces I’ve encountered again and again on the track.

“No matter how painful it is, never give up on first place.”

Surely that is one of the essential conditions for becoming a yūshun—a champion among champions.

---

“Senpai…”

When I finished speaking, Sourie-chan was staring at me with a slightly blank expression.

Ah. Maybe that was a bit abrupt.

I just said what came to mind.

I gather my thoughts and continue.

“Bourbon-chan is undeniably strong. After all, she’s being trained by my trainer. Without question, she’s the leading candidate for this year’s Classic Triple Crown.

But… now, I can believe you might be one of the ones capable of shaking that up, Sourie-chan.”

On her own… yes, that would be difficult.

Sourie-chan as she is now is frightening in her own way.

But her opponent is Bourbon-chan—guided by Ayumu-san.

By the time the Kikuka Sho arrives, any remaining weaknesses will likely be patched. Her racing will be refined to near-perfection—steady and unshakable. There’s even a real possibility she’ll have mastered her Domain.

Against that version of Bourbon-chan, there may be no one in our generation who could defeat her alone.

Honestly, even that almost demonic Rice-chan—it’s hard to say if she could win in a straight fight.

…But racing isn’t always a one-on-one duel.

“No matter how hard you try, if the circumstances turn against you, you can still lose. My Arima Kinen was like that.”

“Silence Suzuka-senpai wore you down… and then Special Week-senpai overtook you at the end.”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

To be honest, there isn’t much bitterness left in that memory.

Of course it was frustrating.

But it was the kind of frustration that felt almost refreshing.

Well… Ayumu-san making his comeback probably helped with that.

That’s why I can talk about it so lightly.

“So you should become what Silence Suzuka was to me back then.

…Ah, of course, I don’t mean you should wear her down and then lose. I mean you push Bourbon-chan to her absolute limits, corner her alongside someone else… and then claim that sweetest first place for yourself.

It’s still hard to call it realistic.

But I think that’s the scenario where you’d have the best shot.”

“Like Suzuka-senpai…”

Sourie-chan considers it for a moment.

Then she gives a small nod, as if reaching a conclusion, and looks up at me.

Her eyes are shining with resolve.

“…I’ll try. In my own way. I’ll do what I can.”

“Yeah. Find your own way to run, Sourie-chan.”

And with my junior—whose fighting spirit had clearly rekindled—I was able to run comfortably for a while longer.