Having trained real horses, why are we now training racehorse girls after time-traveling?

"It was tough... I certainly suffered a lot, but it was all voluntary."

Upon hearing this, Chi Tian smiled and nodded. Seeing Chi Tian's frankness, Dongfang Yishu, who had initially thought Chi Tian would complain about the master's temper, was slightly taken aback, but then immediately smiled and said:

"Trainer Ikezoe... is indeed no ordinary person. A trainer who can tame this child is something we have never heard of before."

"But now that you've come here, you're our honored guest. We haven't had the chance to visit you before, but today we finally have the opportunity. Please stay for a simple meal and have a good rest for the night."

"It's a pity that Golden Ship went to Mejiro's house today with Miss McQueen and her trainer. I hope everyone won't be too disappointed with my cooking~"

This Ikezoe is truly fascinating. Meanwhile, at that moment, after exchanging a glance with Golden Journey, Eastern Art and Golden Journey both understood the meaning behind each other's eyes.

We can't let this go so easily. Whether from the perspective of a master craftsman or the Golden Family, it would be a waste not to make good use of such talent.

Chapter 440: The Past of the Gold Master?

The Golden Family generally acknowledges Golden Boat as the best cook. This might be hard for those who aren't part of the Golden Family to accept, but it's true. Although Golden Boat rarely cooks anything other than fried noodles at school, if she really wants to, she usually makes it incredibly delicious—she has always maintained a high level of respect for food.

But in reality, when Oriental Art revealed its culinary skills, it still managed to amaze Ikezoe and his group.

"How is it? Are you enjoying the food?"

"Delicious, so delicious!" Meanwhile, as the two women, Oriental Art and Golden Journey, were clearing away the plates, Dong Shang Bian Ge, already full, lay motionless on the ground, looking as content as a cat.

"Madam Dongfang is practically a witch! Is this the magic that makes food taste better? My grandmother once demonstrated it for me, but I could never learn it..."

"It's really delicious." Makoto replied, wiping her mouth. Today, even as a female idol, Makoto couldn't resist having a little extra. While worrying about her figure, she also said to the Eastern Art:

"I never expected Madam's cooking to be so good! It's wonderful! Karen-chan, I want to learn too!"

"Thank you for the compliment. Actually, Golden Ship learned her cooking skills from me." Oriental Art smiled and said, quite pleased with the compliment, "But Little Golden Ship's skills are actually better. If she wanted to, she could definitely do it."

"It's just that Little Golden Ship isn't here today, and we don't know where Dream Journey is either. We haven't heard from him at all. He didn't even come home for Christmas. That kid is really something."

“Everyone has their own life.” Golden Journey said to Oriental Art while clearing away the dishes, “The children have all grown up and don’t need our nagging anymore.”

"As the eldest sister, you should have some self-awareness, journey." Oriental Art retorted reproachfully, "You're usually the one who's least home."

However, Golden Journey didn't say much about it, only helping to clear the dishes. After the two women had almost finished cleaning up, Golden Journey suddenly turned to Chi Tian and asked:

"Trainer Ikezoe, could you please help us? It's just me and Higashi, and we're a bit overwhelmed."

"Oh, if possible." Upon hearing this, Chi Tian stood up without the slightest doubt, while Dong Shang also rolled over and said:

"Go and come back quickly, Qianyi. This witch needs to rest now... Ah~ I'm so sleepy."

"Then I'll stay here and look after Dong Shang." Makoto said gently to Ikezoe, "Onii-chan, good luck! There are some things even Karen-chan isn't very good at~"

“The master craftsman and I aren’t very good at housework, so please take care of it.” Upon hearing this, Zhongshan Qingdian immediately passed the task to Chi Tian, ​​treating Chi Tian as if he were an outsider.

"Looks like I'm the only one left." Seeing this, Chi Tian stepped forward with a wry smile, while Dongfang Yishu also laughed.

"Don't make that face, Mr. Ikezoe. Being able to do housework is a huge plus for a man!"

The three of them slowly walked towards the kitchen. After Chi Tian and his group left, the group in the living room, who had just finished their meal, belatedly realized that something was amiss. It was only then that the Gold Master realized what was happening and said:

"It seems... we're all here, the eldest sister and Mom... are they going to talk to Chi Tian about something?"

“Master, it seems you’ve become smarter lately.” Nakayama Keiki was also a little surprised that the Gold Master could react. His eyes flashed with a hint of shock as he said, “I’m getting more and more curious about what exactly you’ve been training under Trainer Ikezoe.”

“Master, I’m not joking with you now. For the sake of our sisterhood, besides the eldest sister and Golden Ship, you are the only one in our family who has made a debut. Dream Journey and I haven’t even had a chance to find a trainer yet.”

"I feel like I might ask Ikezoe to be my trainer in the future, Master, if you agree..."

"I'll go listen to what they're talking about."

However, before Zhongshan Qingdian could finish speaking, the Golden Master immediately stood up and walked towards the kitchen without looking back. Zhongshan Qingdian, left with a calm expression, shook his head and looked back at Dongshang Biange and Zhen Jiling.

"...Master, you care the most about Onii-chan's affairs."

Makoto smiled slightly and replied, "But this has only strengthened her possessiveness. Don't worry, Nakayama-san, she hasn't refused."

“I know that from childhood to adulthood, she has always been very reluctant to let go of the toys she has, for fear that we will take them away from her.”

Zhongshan Qingdian pulled another lollipop from his pocket and put it in his mouth, muttering to himself, "She only remembers that we took her toys, but she forgot that she has more and more toys, and we are the ones who keep filling them up for her."

"But we don't blame her. She's our most beloved younger sister, but also the one who's most easily bullied—if you're interested, I can tell you some stories from the past."

……

In the kitchen, Golden Journey and Chi Tian put on gloves and began washing dishes in the sink, while Oriental Art applied detergent to each dish and handed it to them.

The silence didn't last long. Finally, Golden Journey broke the silence, asking Ikezoe:

"Trainer Ikezoe, speaking of which, we haven't even thanked you yet for helping the Masters achieve the classic triple crown."

"I had high hopes for you back then, saying that you would bring Orpheus to the Arc de Triomphe and achieve a height that no Japanese horse show had ever reached before—now, Odora has broken this barrier ahead of schedule, which makes me even more excited for your team."

"After the master won the three championships, I looked at you with even more admiration, Trainer Ikezoe. Before you appeared, I always thought that we might have to wait a very long time before the day when the master awakens."

“We can all see this child’s talent, but I thought there was almost no way to resolve his awkward personality and the setbacks he suffered from a young age, until you came along, Trainer Ikezoe.”

“That’s right.” Dongfang Yishu placed a stack of plates with cleaning solution between the two of them and said with a smile, “I always thought that the first one in our family to realize this would be Meng Zhilv, after all, she’s older.”

"I never expected it to be that master's child. Moreover, she has brought our Golden Family the greatest achievement in history this time."

"This child, Master, has such an awkward personality. Even in our Golden Family, where everyone has a very unique personality, she is a very special case."

“I can relate.” Upon hearing this, Chi Tian couldn’t help but recall the hardships he had faced when he and the Gold Master were still getting to know each other. In fact, compared to the period of confusion before he and the Gold Master opened up to each other, the pressure he had accumulated in the past was what tormented Chi Tian the most.

It was truly a double torment of body and mind, and Chi Tian was a truly stubborn person. Perhaps because he had experienced it once before, he was already mentally prepared. For Chi Tian, ​​going through it again was just walking the same path he had walked before.

But Chi Tian spoke of it so casually, yet all of this experience was truly remarkable to others, especially to everyone else who witnessed it. Therefore, when Chi Tian spoke these words in such an ordinary tone, both Golden Journey and Oriental Art looked at Chi Tian with a strange gaze.

"Huh? What happened all of a sudden?"

"...Trainer Ikezoe, I think you might really be sent by the Three Goddesses to save our Golden Family."

Golden Journey's expression suddenly turned serious. She stared intently at Chi Tian and said calmly:

"Trainer Ikezoe, if you don't mind, could you tell me why the Master has become the person he is now?"

"If you can untie the knot in her heart, perhaps the knots in the hearts of our Golden Family's future children can be released, and they can all achieve greater success on the racetrack and become true racehorse girls."

Chapter 441: The racehorse girls who have resolved their "heart knots" will stay together for life.

Horse Girl, burdened by inner conflicts, finds it extremely difficult to break through her own limitations, even when she possesses unimaginable talent and potential. She is troubled by her inner conflicts, thus hindering her from unleashing her full potential.

The physical development of female racehorses can be divided into three stages: the juvenile stage, the peak stage, or, from the perspective of racehorses, the racing stage. This is the most suitable stage for racing, when their physical functions are developing rapidly, quickly reaching their peak physical condition, so that they can exert their full strength on the field and withstand pressure.

As for the third stage, according to Uma Musume, it is the retirement period, but it is generally referred to as the maturity period. This means that the physical condition gradually becomes unsuitable for racing, and the individual has fully matured and reached a stable stage. Although they retain most of the strength they had as Uma Musume, they are no longer able to perform at their peak. The main manifestations are that their bodies become fuller, their secondary sexual characteristics develop again, and their bodies become more flexible, which are more feminine.

Of course, each racehorse girl reaches these stages at a different age, so racehorse girls are also divided into early-maturing and late-maturing types. This indicates the age at which their bodies will enter the racing period. Treson Academy also admits racehorse girls based on their racing period age. Therefore, it is common for seniors to be younger than juniors within Treson Academy.

But having said all that, generally speaking, a Uma Musume's racing career is only for a short period of time. Therefore, a Uma Musume who has a mental block and is unable to perform at her best will find it difficult to perform at her best. One or two years might be okay, but the period when she is suitable for racing is only a few years. If she cannot resolve the issue for a long time, she will really waste her peak period.

Why does the Golden Horse Girl, despite Golden Journey's relentless efforts to prove their family's excellence, still face such a predicament? The reason is quite simple.

Because every racehorse girl in the Golden Family has an innate, unresolved "knot" in her heart.

“Starting with Sunday Serenity, the pioneer of our Golden family and also the pioneer of many excellent racehorse girls, Sunday Serenity discovered me and the bloodline of our Golden family. She had a very high opinion of our family, but at the same time, she also warned us about the future of the Golden family.”

"Our elders said, 'If one can break the prison in one's heart, one will be a bloodline that can reach the pinnacle of the world.' But even now, very few people in our family have been able to overcome the prison in their hearts."

“From birth, we are born with an innate ‘knot’ in our hearts… It’s as if the three goddesses are playing a joke on us, and we are trapped in this knot, unable to break free.”

"Until we find the answer we are looking for, the children in our family will behave very poorly. They are irritable, lazy, indifferent, aloof, and irritable... But no matter what, each of these personality traits is just a protective shell for them."

"Trainer Ikezoe, do you know why Master has become like this? So awkward and sensitive?"

When asked about the Golden Journey, Chi Tian could only answer with silence. He was unaware of the past of Orpheus in this world—even in the past, he did not know what Orpheus had experienced. At that time, he had only gone to see Orpheus out of curiosity because he heard that Orpheus was the younger brother of the Dream Journey, and later became its designated rider by chance.

He truly knew nothing about Orphie's past, what happened before she officially joined the training. In fact, when he first met the Golden Master, he thought the child was unusually honest, unlike the crazy younger brother of Dream Journey, although he gradually revealed his true nature later on... In some ways, he was no less than Dream Journey...

"This child, the master, was born a little late and was born small, so his early childhood was very difficult."

Before Golden Journey could speak, Eastern Art finally spoke slowly, saying, "He grows slowly, is short, and is timid. Although Dream Journey was actually smaller than her when she was born, no one dared to bully her when she was in elementary school."

"But this child, Master... had a very difficult childhood. We often saw her come back from school looking lifeless, but when we asked her what happened, she wouldn't say anything. She would just lock herself in her room and cry."

"Both Golden Journey and I have been to the school, and even the two kids, Celebration and Golden Ship, have stood up for the Master quite a few times. But we can only help her once, not always stay with her at the school."

"So later, we transferred the master to a training academy that specializes in training racehorse girls, hoping that she could be transformed there."

“But we were too naive.” Golden Journey shook his head upon hearing this, unsure of what to say about his helplessness at the time. He said calmly, “Even at the racehorse girl training school, Master was not recognized. Her grades were poor, and her training results were mediocre.”

"Her constant lack of recognition and consistently unremarkable performance gradually closed her off. She is sensitive and attentive to everything around her, and this very personality makes her more vulnerable to being hurt."

“She longs for recognition, just like that child Dream Journey—except that Dream Journey is much more assertive than Master, so she can release some of the pressure, but Master… she can only swallow it down because her strength is not enough to help her stand out.”

"If it weren't for Rudo Symbol having just taken office as the student council president and searching for excellent racehorse girls everywhere, and she hadn't recognized the potential of the master, the master probably would never have had the chance to step into Treson Academy in his life."

"And it was because of this, to prove our Golden Family bloodline, and to build confidence in these children, that I decided to step onto the field."

Golden Journey forgot when she stepped onto the field, but she remembered who she was there for. It was for these children, to set an example for these younger sisters, to show them that as the eldest sister, she could overcome all kinds of difficulties in the Golden family, and to tell them that as long as they were determined, they could also succeed like her.

That's why when Golden Journey won their first GI, Golden Ship and Nakayama Festival were so excited that they cried their eyes out. Golden Journey persevered all the way, advancing on a path full of thorns, and finally proved that their Golden family's racehorse girls could overcome their weaknesses and conquer their inner conflicts.

Just like her golden journey, she was called "the horse girl who couldn't focus on the race" by everyone at the time, but she still overcame this in the end and conquered herself.

Even though it was far too late for Golden Journey, she still managed to do it.

"Trainer Ikezoe, what I've said so much is just to tell you that you may think that teaching Gold Masters is just a difficult thing for you, but we have watched Gold Masters grow all the way, and we know how difficult it is to get a master to open their heart."

“But you did it, and you did it very well. I never thought that one day, one of our Golden Family’s children could become a Triple Crown racehorse girl.”

"It's all thanks to you, Trainer Ikezoe. All the racehorse girls in our Golden family will consider you their benefactor."

"You saved a racehorse girl with a mental block, and not only that, you also helped her shine and achieve what countless racehorse girls could not."

"...This is what I, as a trainer, should do."

After hearing these words, Chi Tian finally smiled and nodded after a long while, saying, "I just don't want to give up. I'm not as great as you all say. In some ways, I'm actually more stubborn than that guy Orpheus."

"That's why we're attracted to each other now. We're both wild horses that the other can't tame, and now we're relying on each other to move forward."

"Trainer Ikezoe is a truly remarkable person." Upon hearing this, Dongfang Art smiled and replied, "This kid, Master, perhaps he's used up all his luck in his life by meeting you."

“How could that be…” Chi Tian shook his head helplessly. In fact, he had similar feelings.

Outside the kitchen, the goldsmith, who had been listening intently, silently walked back in the direction she had come from. As she left, she quietly wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and murmured to herself:

“Idiot Ikezoe… What’s the point of telling him these things… I’m so embarrassed… I don’t even care anymore.”

However, the slightly drooping horse ears of the goldsmith clearly confirmed her thoughts, as well as her recognition and satisfaction with her current good fortune.