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

"Welcome to Tokyo Racecourse! Next, we will be providing commentary for the GI Autumn Emperor's Sho race!"

"Right now, all our racehorse girls have started preparing for this race. Wow, this year's Autumn Emperor's Sho race is really intense. A lot of racehorse girls have enthusiastically signed up for this race, hoping to win the GI race!"

"That's right, this competition is full of hidden talents, and of course, the most anticipated one is—"

"—Of course, it's the famous general Nutao, who has fought several times before and is known as the 'Overlord,' and is about to challenge the Chrysanthemum Award and the next triple crown winner in opera!"

On stage, the commentators and the live streamers were also keeping the atmosphere lively by chatting. They certainly knew what the audience wanted to hear. For the audience of this race, without a doubt, the biggest highlight was the match between Good Opera, which had a good chance of becoming the next Triple Crown Horse Girl, and the famous horse Nuotao, with whom they had faced off several times.

"Although he lost to the Good Opera in both the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby, his sprint in the Japanese Derby was truly remarkable. Even now, it is generally believed that if Naritaji and Aimo Orihime had not blocked Meishou Noutou's charge, Meishou Noutou would likely have been the winner of the Japanese Derby."

"That's right, but this time the famous champion Nutō has chosen to avoid the Chrysanthemum Sho and instead participate in the Autumn Emperor Sho. It seems she is very confident in winning this GI match and redeeming herself."

"However, as the most popular female horse in this race, Nutao's biggest enemy might not be the other female racehorses, but another obstacle..."

"Yes, 'The Demon of the Mansion'—our curse of not winning for twelve years since becoming the most popular horse in the Autumn Emperor's Prize. And what about the famous 'Raging Waves,' the most popular racehorse girl in this Autumn Emperor's Prize? Will she also encounter an accident in this race, or will she sweep through and win?"

……

At this very moment, in stark contrast to the excitement outside the track, the renowned racehorse Nutao, dressed in her final outfit, was making final adjustments in the rest room. She was checking her running shoes for any signs of the horseshoes coming off, as this was a significant factor affecting a female racehorse's performance on the day.

“Okay…no problem, now I can go on stage with peace of mind.” Nu Tao nodded with relief. This was not her first time stepping onto the GI stage, but it was her first time stepping onto the GI stage without any good operas to compete in. Losing the goal of good operas actually made Nu Tao much more relaxed.

Nutao has already tested it; even without a good opera, her "momentum" won't hinder her performance at all. And although she doesn't know most of the female racehorses in this race, she has enough confidence to win this time.

But at that moment, a knock on the door in the lounge made Nu Tao subconsciously look up. Before Nu Tao could react, he saw a piece of paper slide down the crack in the door and land at his feet, getting stuck in the gap of his shoe.

Nu Tao picked it up without understanding why, but all he saw was a line of words clearly written on the note that left him completely bewildered.

"Numbers 2, 4, 7, 12, and 14, racehorses from the racetrack, beware of being surrounded, we suggest avoiding the race..."

Nu Tao murmured the words on the note softly, then belatedly realized what it meant. She immediately went forward and opened the door to the lounge, intending to see who had given her the note.

Just as Nu Tao opened the door, he crashed head-on into the chest of He Tian, ​​who was about to knock.

"Pfft." A sudden, strong softness made Wada instinctively take a few steps back, but it didn't knock him over. Wada couldn't help but ask:

"What's wrong, Raging Waves? What happened?"

"Ahhhh... Trainer, are you... are you alright?"

Nu Tao realized that she had bumped into He Tian. She subconsciously covered her chest, where she had been hit first, and walked forward with a slightly flushed face. After scanning her surroundings, she found no one else.

It seems they've already left. Nu Tao was also somewhat uneasy. He grabbed Wada's arm, pulled him into the lounge, and then carefully handed him the note, saying:

"Trainer, a mysterious person just slipped this note to me through the crack in the door, and I don't know what to do..."

“This is…” Wada took the note from Nutao’s hand and, after carefully reading it, quickly realized the importance of the information on the note.

It's important to know that although all the trainers receive a list of participating racehorses close to the race, the list doesn't specify which ranch each racehorse comes from. This is to hide the racehorses' personal information, mainly to prevent a situation where most of the racehorses target a single, outstanding racehorse. Of course, this doesn't apply to some particularly famous ranches.

Therefore, Wada and the others only knew that the racetrack would definitely rig the race, but they had no idea how many racehorses the racetrack had sent in, let alone details such as which racehorses they were.

The information on this note is undoubtedly very important to Hotan and Nutao right now, but the most important question is whether this information is true and who sent it.

Is it someone from the radio station? That's quite possible, since such inside information is usually only known to internal staff at the station. But if it's someone from the station, why would they pass this inside information on to him and Nu Tao? Why would they be specifically reminded?

Could she be one of Ms. Nase's friends within the company? But why has Ms. Nase never mentioned her before?

Or... was it simply a matter of misleading him?

Countless possibilities flashed through Wada's mind as he pondered them repeatedly, until a broadcast interrupted his thoughts.

"—All participating racehorses, please enter the arena now. The race is about to begin."

"What should we do... trainer..."

Nu Tao was also momentarily at a loss, and couldn't help but look to He Tian for help.

“…Nu Tao, come with me for a moment.”

At this moment, Hetian finally made up his mind, pulled Nutao over, and before Nutao could react, Hetian used his warm palm to stroke Nutao's soft cheek, followed by a vigorous rubbing.

"Waaaaaah—Trainer?!"

Nu Tao, his cheeks flushed red, was being rubbed by He Tian, ​​who was completely bewildered. Although he didn't understand why He Tian was doing this, he didn't resist.

……

A short while later, most of the female racehorses had entered the track, but the famous rider, Nu Tao, was still nowhere to be seen. The commentator's voice immediately came through:

"The race girls have all arrived—but the most popular racer, Nutao, is nowhere to be seen. Has something unexpected happened?"

"No, that's not right. The renowned general Nutao has arrived—but he seems to be in a slightly off state?"

However, as soon as the commentator finished speaking, all the eyes of the audience and the female racehorses on the field turned to the direction of the famous general Nutao, only to find that Nutao's condition was indeed somewhat worrying.

"Isn't it?!"

"How could I possibly encounter something like this?"

"Am I that lucky?"

"This...this is the 'Demon Within the Mansion'? Is there really no way to defeat it?"

All that could be seen was that the renowned general Nu Tao, who had arrived late, did not look quite right. His cheeks were flushed as if he were sick, his hair was messy, and his final battle uniform seemed disheveled, as if it had not been ironed for a while.

At first glance, Nu Tao's condition was truly worrying, but compared to the voices from the audience, the female racehorses on the field were collectively delighted.

"The renowned general, Nu Tao, is in an absolutely unyielding state—that's fantastic!"

"Now things will be much easier with the trainers!"

"I almost forgot, there's also the matter of the monsters in the manor! The most popular horse racer has absolutely no chance of winning the Autumn Emperor's Prize!"

At this moment, whether it was the female racehorses from the racetrack or the other female racehorses participating in the race, they were all very wary of Nutao, who was the most threatening horse of the day. However, Nutao's obvious poor performance made them feel much more relaxed.

Especially the female racers on the stage, after seeing Nu Tao's performance, breathed a sigh of relief and their minds became active.

No one knew what was causing Nu Tao's mental confusion at that moment. It wasn't until the staff pushed the still not fully awake Nu Tao into the gate that she slowly came to her senses.

"No, no, I need to concentrate...concentrate."

"Bang!"

"Oh! Right at the beginning, a very reasonable scene unfolded: the renowned general Nutao, who was not in good condition, was late to the group! However, she quickly caught up with the team, but because of her poor condition, she remained at the back of the line!"

"Could the curse of the monsters in the manor still linger? Is it really impossible for the most popular horse girl to win the Autumn Emperor's Prize?"

That's it! At this moment, the commentator's voice also made the female racers on the racetrack who were trying to block the attack route of the famous general Nutao all happy. They were now certain that the famous general Nutao was no longer in good condition!

That means it's time for them to compete for this victory!

Chapter 172: Charge Forward, General Fury Waves!

"Nutao, when you go to the competition later, don't appear too energetic. Try to appear a little weak, just like the Golden Master who went to the Hakodate competition, looking a little sickly."

Before the race began, before sending Nutao to the track, Wada reminded Nutao, who was still a little dazed from Wada's rubbing, "If what the note says is true, then those racehorse girls will try their best to surround you and block your attack route."

"Then we can't let them have their way. If we rush in as usual, we'll not only fall into their encirclement, but we won't be able to escape, and we'll waste a lot of energy for nothing."

"Therefore, we have temporarily changed our tactics this time. Nutao, let's try the chasing horse or the 'chasing line' tactic. I remember you used this running method in the Japanese derby. This time, let's stabilize the situation first."

"Once those racehorses ahead have lost their nerve, we'll launch a full-scale attack and overtake them!"

……

"Chasing horses... I'm not very good at it yet."

"But since it's for victory, then I will do it."

At this moment, the famous general Nu Tao, who was slightly distracted and unexpectedly late, did not wail and lose her rhythm because of her small mistake. She quickly regained her form after stepping onto the field, recalling her conversation with He Tian and controlling her rhythm.

Everything was just as Wada had said. The racehorse girls from the local racetracks, who had been prepared to block Nutao's attack route, had initially occupied very advantageous positions. However, at this moment, those positions had lost their meaning for Nutao.

Her tactic this time was to follow the horses, so she obediently stayed at the back of the line, intending to conserve her energy as much as possible and minimize her presence.

The purpose is to wait until the racehorses ahead have finished their battles with each other in that final stretch before making a final, decisive breakout!

"Very good, Nutao, that's it." Meanwhile, He Tian, ​​watching Nutao's rhythm from the stands, secretly felt a chill run down his spine and muttered to himself:

"You can accelerate at the third bend. The 2000-meter distance won't affect you much. You can extend your last leg as much as possible. This way, your chances of winning are much higher than if you try to break through the encirclement."

"Oh? They adjusted their tactics so quickly? And... they even used a little trick?"

At that moment, a rather weathered man's voice beside Wada made Wada instinctively alert. Wada turned his head and saw a man who was slightly taller than him, wearing sunglasses, a mask, and even a top hat. He was wearing a black trench coat and looked extremely suspicious.

You know, even though it's October, the temperature hasn't dropped at all. Wearing this kind of clothing to watch a race in a packed stadium must be a real ordeal.

Moreover, what alarmed Wada most was the other party's words; Wada's pupils contracted slightly, and he couldn't help but ask:

"You...you're the one who passed the note to Nutao?"

"You guessed right, young man. Want a candy?"

The middle-aged man's hoarse voice was quite unpleasant to listen to, but the teasing in his words did not make Wada lower his guard. He immediately asked:

"Who are you? Are you from the radio station?"

"...I suppose so, but I've been retired for a long time." The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, the information I gave you is all true. The tactical adjustments you made were absolutely correct. If I were you, I would have done the same when I heard this information."

"If you had really chosen to avoid the fight, just like I wrote, or if you had foolishly taken my advice as a joke, you probably wouldn't be here now."

"You can be happy, young man, you have passed my first test."

The middle-aged man spoke thus, then turned his gaze to the scene. However, Wada still had many unresolved questions and couldn't help but ask:

"Why...why are you helping me? It can't just be because you can't stand what the TV station is doing, can it?"

"...That's part of it. The other part is because of my daughter." The middle-aged man paused slightly before continuing, "...because a girl asked me to do something."

"A girl?" Wada immediately realized and said, "So it really is Trainer Nase?"

"While I genuinely didn't think Trainer Naze would have any connection with the shrine, she actually went and asked a senior from the shrine for help?"

"Yes, Fumino is a good girl." The middle-aged man smiled slightly upon hearing this, quite pleased with Wada's trust in Fumino.

His joy confirmed Wada's suspicions; in that instant, Wada had a rough idea of ​​who this mysterious man was.

However, Wada wondered why such a big shot would be here. Appearing at Tokyo Racecourse couldn't possibly mean he'd suddenly become interested in the new generation of racehorse girls, could it? Shouldn't he have gone to the Chrysanthemum Viewing Festival first? Why come here?

Could it be... that they've come looking for him? At that moment, such a thought crossed Wada's mind, but he couldn't help feeling a little scared.

Could this old father be here to interrogate me because his daughter was seen in the same frame as him, and he thinks I'm some kind of shady man?

However, the fact that the other party's attitude was relatively mild and even quite friendly reassured Hetian, allowing him to refocus his attention on the track.