Why was I assigned to be a horse girl?

"And from an emotional point of view, I've already won, so refusing to go up to the winner's stage for the awards ceremony feels like a disrespect to the hard work I put into the competition... Even if I just stand there like an idiot, I earned that spot for myself, so running away would only make things harder for myself."

Kotobuki nodded slightly, secretly praising her. Sure enough, Hitobuki Amber's thinking was still very clear on such a crucial issue. None of the lines she had prepared to persuade the socially awkward racehorse girl to go on stage were of any use.

When it comes to matters of principle, Hitoko Amber is much less troublesome than many racehorse girls.

Fei Tu Hu Po clapped her hands and said as if she had thought of something, "So I've decided... how about I go on stage and sing 'I Can Go to the Toilet by Myself'? I only know the lyrics to this song very well."

"Please don't sing this... and the Uma Musume Girls Association won't let you sing it either."

Kotobuki Toru quickly grabbed Hisako Amber's hand, "I wasn't finished talking earlier. The winner of the horse-drawn carriage race doesn't actually need to perform on stage. You just need to pound rice cakes with a pestle and mortar."

Fei Tu Hu Po breathed a sigh of relief: "Since we don't have to perform right now, that makes things easier... But what's the meaning of 'pounding rice cakes'?"

"The horse-drawn carriage race symbolizes farming and transportation. With work comes harvest, and the winner's stage in the horse-drawn carriage race naturally symbolizes the process of enjoying the harvest. Therefore, the performance usually involves pounding rice cakes, continuing to demonstrate strength, and finally distributing the rice cakes to the audience to express gratitude."

"You mean pounding rice cakes? Let me tell you, I can actually make rice cakes by just squeezing the rice dough a few times."

Kotobuki Toru nodded: "Actually, in the past, the stage environment for the winner of the horse-drawn carriage race was actually for the racehorse girls to step on mochi with their feet, since racehorse girls are creatures that live on their legs... Then this tradition was stopped by the Food Safety Committee, which said it was unhygienic."

Whenever the local professors at Hokkaido University think about this, they always show a pained expression, saying that if this tradition could be maintained, the horse-drawn carriage race would not have declined to this extent.

"It doesn't matter, using a pestle and mortar is fine too!"

Hitoko Amber clasped her hands in a fist salute, "No wonder Kinkakuji said she wouldn't lose to me tonight. Well then, I'll just have to beat her one more time... Let's go!"

As night fell, a makeshift stage, lacking height and special lighting effects, was erected. At the same time, buckets of glutinous rice, emitting wisps of steam and an enticing aroma, were carried onto the stage, their fragrance gradually spreading through the air.

The female horses that participated in the competition today took to the stage one after another, holding hammer-shaped pestles and mortars in their hands or carrying them on their backs. They raised them high in front of the audience and then smashed them down.

"One, two, one, two!"

Accompanied by uniform slogans, the aroma of warm rice filled the air, creating the perfect atmosphere of everyday life in autumn.

Kotobuki Toru, who was brought in as a trainer to help Hitsukohaku move the already hard mochi, kept sighing that sometimes hard work and studying are meaningless in the face of talent.

Even though everyone was chanting the same slogans with the same rhythm and words, the way the horse-drawn carriage girl shouted them out felt different from how Hito Amber shouted them out.

The effect of the horse-drawn women's shouts was like that of a fitness monster who had taken stimulants and drunk coffee with protein shakers at the gym; their shouts were earth-shattering, as if they were about to unleash a lion's roar.

When Fei Tu Hu Po called out, it was just like a nimble fox from the mountains, warm and delicate, with a slight panting, her soft murmurs were extremely effective.

When I open my eyes, I see myself pounding rice cakes; when I close my eyes, it still feels like I'm pounding something...

However charming and alluring she may be, Fei Tu Hu Po is not the kind of soft, fragile enchantress who would break at the slightest touch.

When she raised and slammed the pestle down, the entire stage trembled. The pestle seemed to be creating a sonic boom. Even if she was Su Daji, she was still the Su Daji who could uproot a willow tree.

It's unclear whether Hitoko Amber's imagination of the evil world stemmed from the rice cake in front of her, or from someone who caused her to lose her job...

--------------

After the special winner's stage ended, each audience member had an average of one rice cake in each hand.

It's said that Hitsukohaku pounded 500 kilograms of mochi by herself, and Kotobuki Toru carried the same amount. So much so that upon returning to the inn, both Kotobuki Toru and Hitsukohaku went to their rooms to take showers.

"Today felt like I'd been carrying bricks at a construction site... Why did taking a shower only make me more tired?"

Despite being physically exhausted, Kotobuki Toru was still very excited... Her original plan was to work hard on her own for the next two months to catch up with Hitokohaku, but things had turned out to be so unexpected.

Since Hitoko has chosen to stay and illuminate herself, she can only choose to work even harder so that she can also illuminate Hitoko.

The true meaning of companionship lies in illuminating each other while striving to become brighter ourselves...

So Qin Chui Tou decided to study all night tonight!

After sending the good news to her supervisor online, Qin Chuitou brewed herself a strong cup of tea and then calmed down, preparing to fully immerse herself in tonight's academic battle and begin a fierce intellectual contest.

"Dong dong."

But just then, there was a knock on Kotobuki Toru's door, and Hitoko Amber's energetic voice rang out from outside: "Toru, open the door! Open the door!"

Kotobuki Toru was taken aback. He had originally planned to tell Hitokohaku to find something to do and not disturb his studies, just like he had done the night before...

But as her thoughts drifted, Kotobuki Toru suddenly realized that the person she was yesterday and the person she was today had undergone a complete transformation in their relationship with Hitokohaku.

Strictly speaking, she was already an untrained trainer at this moment. Thinking of this, Kotobuki Toru stood up and went to the door to open it for Hitoko.

As soon as the door opened, Fei Tu Hu Po peeked in through the crack.

At first glance, Hitotsu Kohaku noticed the desks the hotel had prepared for everyone. In just one day, Kotobuki Toru's desk was already piled high with reference materials and thick draft paper. Judging from the empty pen refills placed next to the desk, Kotobuki Toru must have studied quite a bit last night.

"I was wondering why you didn't come out when I asked you to grab a late-night snack yesterday. Turns out you were secretly playing alone in your room!"

Kotobuki Toru ignored Hitoko's accusations and stared blankly at Hitoko in front of him.

At this moment, Hitoko had just finished taking a shower. Perhaps because she didn't have the time or money to buy pajamas, the clothes Hitoko wore as her home pajamas were probably her old short-sleeved shirts and shorts that were obviously a size too big.

The clothes were loose and baggy on her, revealing her long, fair, and plump legs. Fei Tu Hu was clearly the type who didn't have the patience to clean herself up, and the water droplets that hadn't been wiped off in time slid down the girl's calves, looking incredibly vivid.

Fei Tu Hu Po's hair was clearly not wiped at all, just like when the two of them had a video call last time. Although it was no longer dripping wet, it still looked damp.

Kotobuki can probably guess that Hitsuko's comment about the hairdryer breaking and not being able to dry her hair was probably an indirect cause, not the main one...

Why didn't you dry your hair this time either?

"Well, based on my experience, Ma Niang's basal body temperature is quite high, so I think I can use my internal energy to evaporate this little bit of water!"

Kotobuki Toru reached out and grabbed the hem of Hitoko Amber's clothes. "Just to be on the safe side, I want to ask first... With hair this long, do you know how to blow-dry it? It's going to snow in Hokkaido in a few days, and if you go out, you'll get frozen."

"..." Fei Tu Hu Po thought for a moment and replied, "Let's figure out a way after it freezes! But I shouldn't have to worry about catching a cold, I'm very resistant to temperature changes."

"Even though idiots don't catch colds, you still need to dry your hair properly!"

Kotobuki Toru reached out and grabbed Hitoko's tail... Anyway, Hitoko didn't have any racehorse instincts when she was awake, and she didn't know that if her tail was grabbed, she should kick and thrash people.

Surprisingly, the tail of the Scarlet Amber was already dry and smooth, as smooth as could be.

Kotobuki Toru quickly guessed that Hitotsu Kohaku had probably shaken the water off its tail like a dog.

As for why Hitoko didn't shake her hair dry, firstly, it's probably because she can't shake her head so violently, and secondly, she's probably worried about shaking the water out of her head.

While trying to figure out what Hitoko was thinking, Kotobuki Toru grabbed Hitoko's tail and threw her into the bathroom, saying, "Clean her clean before you come out!"

But just as Kotobuki Toru sat back down in his chair to start working on his problems, Hitoko Amber ran up to him again with the hairdryer, saying, "I have a great idea!"

Kotobuki Toru suddenly remembered a saying—when your best friend says they have a good idea or "I have a plan," nothing good usually happens.

However, just as Kotobuki Toru was hesitating about how to refuse Hitoko Amber, this incredibly proactive racehorse girl had already shoved the hairdryer into Kotobuki Toru's hand.

"I just realized that blow-drying my hair while looking in the mirror is really troublesome. I can't control the angle well, and I don't know which parts are dry and which parts aren't. Since you're here, why don't you come and help me?"

Kotobuki glanced at the hair dryer in her hand, then at the ballpoint pen she had just uncapped, and said speechlessly, "You really don't want me to get into the Central Academy of Drama..."

"No, that's not true. It's all about balancing work and rest..." Fei Tu Hu Po stood by Qin Fuki Tou's table and thought for a moment before reaching out and picking up Qin Fuki Tou's problem set. "How about this, you help me blow-dry my hair, and I'll read the problems to you while you answer them!"

Kotobuki glanced at Hitoko Amber, suppressing the urge to ask her if she could read.

To be fair, Hitoko's advice was indeed valuable, although from an efficiency standpoint, Hitoko reading the questions to herself would definitely reduce her own review efficiency.

However, doing so also brings another benefit: when Hitokohaku asks questions, this racehorse girl, who lacks common sense, can learn a considerable amount of knowledge about racehorses during the question-and-answer process.

Although she may not understand some of it, as the saying goes, reading is always beneficial, so it's definitely not a bad thing for her to become more familiar with and learn more about horse racing.

Kotobuki nodded slightly, moved his chair, stood up, and gestured with his chin for Hitoko to sit down in his seat.

Fei Tu Hu Po didn't stand on ceremony. She sat down lightly on the chair and plugged in the hair dryer to help Qin blow dry.

"Whoosh..."

The hair dryer is turned on.

"TouTou, do you know how to blow-dry hair?"

"I'm still better than you, aren't I?"

Kotobuki Toru reached out and lifted Hitoko Amber's hair. The moment he touched it, Kotobuki Toru was certain that he had never seen hair of such good quality in his life. It felt as soft and smooth as silk in his hands. When he loosened his grip slightly, the fine strands of hair would flow out from between his fingers like fine sand and then slide down.

In his memory, some women are even willing to spend millions of yen to maintain their hair quality, but no matter what kind of technology or technique is used, it is impossible to achieve the same effect as Hito Amber...

"Amber, what kind of shampoo do you usually use?"

"The shampoo I usually use? I forgot, I think it was a free gift with the laundry detergent?"

Look, this is true "natural" beauty.

Hitotsu Amber didn't care about any of that. Seeing that Kotobuki Toru was blowing her hair quite smoothly, she held up the questions in the test book that she hadn't answered yet and started asking them questions.

"The first question is about which is more valuable: the traditional Triple Crown, the Mare Triple Crown, or the variant Triple Crown. This question has been debated for a long time. Please discuss your understanding based on the history of female horse racing over the past decade. The key points should be complete, the content specific, and the logic clear. The answer should not exceed 500 words... Wow, this looks difficult."

Just looking at this so-called "Three Crowns" made Hitotsu Kohaku dizzy, but Kotobuki Toru only pursed his lips and thought for a moment before opening his mouth to answer the question: "I think we should analyze and compare it from four aspects..."

Kotobuki Toru, while holding the hairdryer and supporting Hitoko Amber's hair, began answering the questions, multitasking as she did so.

Although her hair was being blown on and she didn't have a chance to look up and see Kotobuki Toru's expression, listening to Kotobuki Toru's smooth and concise narration, Hitobuki Kohaku felt that if this guy could wear a suit and give a speech on stage, he would definitely be able to easily capture the hearts of a lot of female students...

"In conclusion, I believe that the difference in gold content makes no difference to horse girls. The best one is the one that is most suitable for the horse girls and is chosen by them."

What's even more surprising is that Kotobuki Toru read the entire 500-word passage in one go, without even a single stumble or mishap...

If it weren't for Kotobuki Toru grabbing her hair and drying it for her, and if she could feel Kotobuki Toru's hand touching her scalp or the back of her neck from time to time, Hitoko would really suspect that this guy was reading from a script.

Hitoko Amber glanced at the answer key again, and just as Kotobuki Toru had said, the most valuable three crowns were those that best showcased the strength of Uma Musume. The arguments recommended in the question were also very similar to what Kotobuki Toru had described...

Fei Tu Hu Po shook the exercise book in her hand, not holding back her praise, "Wow, you're so amazing! You didn't even make a draft! Looking at it this way, you're really good at talking."

Flattery never fails. Being praised is something to be happy about in itself, but to be praised by your racehorse partner and establish a trustworthy image is even better.

"Haha, I'm a graduate of a formal academic program, after all. I've spent the last few years of university studying this. A slight increase in difficulty is all I need to get used to. Otherwise, why would I tell you I'm confident I can pass the exam?"

The trainer exam at Central Tressen consists of two parts, which also represent two major challenges: a written exam and an interview.

The written exam focuses on testing the mastery of knowledge points, which is undoubtedly an insurmountable hurdle for those students who are not academically proficient.

However, Kotobuki Toru's situation is different. After all, he is still a university student, and the horse racing program at Hokkaido University is considered one of the best in Japan.

Although he had forgotten some basic subject knowledge due to not reviewing it for a long time, he could recall the relevant content of the horse racing girl major with ease. Now, when reviewing, he only needed to tackle some difficult problems and focus his energy on studying the practical aspects.

As for the interview, to be honest, if I pass the exam, this will really be Kotobuki Toru's first time participating in an interview as a test taker... But I've watched other people's interviews countless times.

Therefore, getting into Central Teresa or something similar after two months of preparation is not an unattainable dream.

"I checked the scoring criteria in the answer key, and you can probably get 95 points. The remaining 5 points are for handwriting, which I can't award."

Hitoko gave Kotobuki Toru a near-perfect score based on the answer. After giving the score, Hitoko asked, "Then may I ask, what exactly does this 'triple crown' mean?"

As expected, Hitotsu Amber had absolutely no concept of a triple crown.

"It's a bit complicated, let me write it down for you."

Kotobuki Toru put down the nearly dry hair of Hitoko Amber in his hand, dragged the chair that was originally used to watch the night view from the window, placed it next to Hitoko Amber, picked up a pen and began to write on the draft paper.

"The Triple Crown, as the name suggests, is the championship of three matches. Of course, it does not mean that every match championship can be included as one of the Triple Crowns."

Kotobuki Toru wrote down a series of competition names on a piece of paper, such as the Satsuki Sho, the Japanese Derby, the Sakura Sho...

Just looking at them can be a bit overwhelming, but these competitions are definitely quite well-known.

After all, Sapporo, the city where Hitsukoha lives, promotes itself every year as actively applying to become a host city for the top-tier G1 tournament, and the names of the aforementioned tournaments often appear in the announcements...

But so far, Sapporo doesn't seem to have hosted any decent G1 events.

Kotobuki tore the competition items on the draft paper into small pieces, and in a few quick movements, he separated and rearranged the competitions on the table, dividing these prestigious competitions into several groups.

One group consists of three events: the Satsuki Sho, the Japanese Derby, and the Chrysanthemum Sho; the other group consists of the Sakura Sho, the Yushun Oak Tournament, and the Akika Sho…

Of course, there were also English competitions like Kentucky Derby on the side, which made Fei Tu Hu Po dizzy, so she didn't pay much attention to them.

However, Hitotsu Amber understood: "So, the Triple Crown Tournament... actually doesn't just have three matches, right?"

"There are usually five of the Four Heavenly Kings."

Kotobuki Toru made a joke, then pulled aside most of the competitions, leaving only the two triple crown events held in Japan, which were written in Japanese. "Let's not talk about the other American triple crowns for now. To keep it simple, we'll only talk about the two most famous triple crowns in Japan."

"The Triple Crown race, consisting of the Satsuki Sho, the Japanese Derby, and the Kikuka Sho, is known as the Classic Triple Crown. Generally speaking, a racehorse that can win the Classic Triple Crown can be called the strongest racehorse in Japan."

Fei Tu Hu Po nodded, equating the classic triple crown with the top of the top in her mind, and then continued to ask: "What about the other group? Judging from the name, it sounds even better than the classic triple crown. It has cherry blossom, handsome, and autumn flowers."

Kotobuki Toru nodded: "This group is indeed a competition that emphasizes elegance and splendor... If the classic Triple Crown is the king's crown, then these three races are like the queen's crown, so they are also called the Triple Crown... Long ago, the folk saying was that these three races were called the Marsh Triple Crown or the Mare Triple Crown or something like that."

Hitotsu Amber raised an eyebrow slightly: "Why are you mentioning mares with triple crowns separately? Do male racehorse girls really exist in this world...? I feel awkward even saying this myself, is this human language?"

Or is it based on personality?

Like Kinkakuji or the noblewoman, those super-masculine racehorse girls who always want to settle things with strength and establish their authority by lifting a heavy tripod right from the start are generally called masculine? So, was my previous attempt to stab Kotofuki Toru a bit of a super-masculine act...?

But Kotobuki Toru's next words interrupted Hitsu Kohaku's runaway thoughts: "So this isn't about distinguishing genders or anything. The real meaning of the Triple Crown for a Mare is that the racehorse girl who finishes this race is absolutely the most beautiful of all, the ruler of racehorse girls in terms of appearance... Of course, the term 'mare' is now used because 'mare' and 'female' don't sound elegant or pleasant enough."

Fei Tu Hu Po found this extremely novel: "Wow... does this mean that there are requirements for appearance when participating in a competition?"