I'm Ornn, and I'm about to be beaten to my knees by the Man-eating Horse Girl!

So they tacitly turned their attention to the arena and began to supervise the training of the female horses.

"Whoa, every time Gu Mei laughs like that, it means she's about to trick someone,"

Tamamo Cross, who was helping Oguri Hat stretch her legs, squinted her eyes and looked at the trainer waving at her from the stands. She sighed and said, "I just hope Komi doesn't screw that guy over. Although he's a bit annoying, I still respect him."

Little Chestnut Hat sat on the ground with her legs apart, her head close to her lower abdomen.

She asked, "Xiaoyu, just now... what was that white light on you?"

"Well... that's our territory!"

Tamamo Cross withdrew her gaze, staring at Oguri's back, and placed her hands on his shoulders, saying, "Oguri must have encountered this before, right? It's said that everyone's domain is different, you know?"

"Another theory is that the manifestation of the domain is related to the deepest dreams of the horse girl, and different wishes will blossom into different flowers,"

"Well, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration!"

Little Chestnut Hat's head was bowed very low; the tip of her nose even touched the grass.

She opened her mouth and took a bite of grass, then asked, "Xiaoyu, why is your domain lightning?"

"Why...? Perhaps it's because we want to become number one in Japan,"

Tamamo Cross gently placed her hands on Oguri Hat's shoulders and continued, "I want to be number one in Japan, even if it's just for a fleeting moment, even if it's as brief as lightning, I want to be number one."

"Because I made a promise to someone that even if he might not want me to get involved now, I must become number one in Japan."

"Absolutely, absolutely!"

Seemingly sensing that the topic had become too heavy, Tamamo Cross changed the subject, saying with a smile, "So, losing to Oguri in this mock tournament... I'm actually a little hurt inside!"

"Whoa! Why did you suddenly get up? You scared me!"

Oguri straightened up, turned to look at Tamamo Cross, and, seeing the other's similar blue eyes, said softly, "Tamamo, you told me back in the dorm that if you have anything on your mind, you should talk about it."

"Did you run into some trouble? Is that why you didn't tell me you were here too?"

Tamamo pursed her lips tightly. She hesitated for a moment, then finally shook her head and said, "No, it's not a big problem, but we did hide it from you."

"I'm sorry, Oguri."

"Our...our home is in Hokkaido."

Tamamo Cross eventually told Oguri Hattori about her background at Nonishiki Ranch. She didn't go into details, only mentioning the ranch's situation and why she didn't want Oguri Hattori to know.

"Heh, isn't it ridiculous? I kept it a secret from my roommates and friends because of that inexplicable sense of shame,"

The short, bushy-haired girl lowered her head and said with a bitter smile, "We were the ones who told you everything at first, that you could confide in us about anything. But in the end, we're the only ones keeping it from you."

"I'm sorry, little..."

Oguri Hat shook her head, interrupting Tamamo Cross's next words.

She reached out and grasped Tamamo's hand, her eyes serious, and said, "No, you don't need to apologize. As your roommate, it's my fault for not noticing your inner conflict immediately."

“Tuolai often tells us that admitting mistakes and correcting them is a good thing, and that kindness is as vast as Mount Mogan! So this is a good thing!”

Tamamo's eyelids twitched, and she said helplessly, "It should be 'To err is human, to forgive divine'!"

Oguri blushed slightly, but she maintained her previous posture and said, "Ahem, that's what I meant, so I'm partly to blame."

"So, Xiaoyu, can we... go visit the ranch where you grew up?"

Chapter 219 Free Labor

Oguri Hat's thinking was simple: since Tamamo Cross didn't want others to know about her family's situation because of her own inner conflict, she just needed to confront it.

As Orn once said, the best way to deal with difficulties is to face them with a smile!

Following this logic, if I want to break the inner conflict of Tamamo Cross, all I need to do is have Ornn take the rest of Dolan's team to the ranch!

Upon hearing this, Tamamo-no-Mae hesitated. Even though she had already prepared herself to tell Oguri about it, she had only planned to go for a stroll alone with Oguri's hat.

If everyone in Dolan's squad went to... Megumi Ardan, who comes from a prestigious family... wouldn't he feel...?

"Xiao Li, we...we..."

The short, bushy-haired woman's lips parted slightly, her throat bobbing up and down, but she couldn't utter the words she wanted to say.

"Hey! Tamamo-no-Mae, are you guys slacking off!?"

Komiyayama's shout from the stands interrupted Tamamo Cross's thoughts. She turned around and saw her trainer waving and saying, "Alright, it's already 2 PM. We need to get back to the hotel to prepare for the festival!"

Oguri Hat stood up, extended her right hand to Tamamo Cross who was squatting on the ground, and said with a smile, "It's okay, Tamamo. If you don't want to talk about it now, you can talk about it later."

"Just as you see me as both a friend and a formidable rival, that's how I see you too. This autumn, I will definitely go all out to defeat you, defeat you at your strongest!"

"So take this opportunity to adjust, Xiaoyu, I'll help you."

Tamamo-no-Mae stared blankly at Oguri-no-Mae's outstretched right hand, then closed her eyes, looked up at the sky, and sighed deeply.

"Hmph! You really dare to talk big, Koguri!"

She reached out and gripped Oguri Hat's right hand tightly, grinning as she said, "Beating us on the field won't be so easy!"

"Let's go back to the hotel first!"

After changing into their training uniforms, the group followed the two trainers out of the training facility and back to the hotel.

The guesthouse had changed completely; several strings of lanterns hung from the rafters, and many amulets-like items were displayed in the porch.

Horse girls were frequently seen galloping around the hotel lobby, seemingly celebrating the good news of no training that afternoon, prompting their trainers to sigh and rub their foreheads in exasperation.

Looking at the lively scene before him, Komiyayama said with a smile, "It seems like each training camp base is doing something different this year. In Wakkanai, they'll probably be setting off fireworks by the sea, right?"

"When I brought Xiaoyu here last time, it seemed like some parts of the hotels in Wakkanai weren't finished yet. This time, they should be better prepared, so it's going to be a lot of fun."

Upon hearing that it was fun, Shining Radiance immediately leaned closer and asked, "Then, Miyayama-senpai! You mean... there won't be any training for the next few days!?"

Komiyayama was taken aback by this question, clearly not expecting the newly radiant brilliance to pose such a quest.

But she still replied, "Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be any training, since there's a lot of preparation work before the festival."

"We are responsible for preparing the palanquin, setting up the stage, purchasing ingredients, arranging tables and chairs... all of these tasks."

Orn asked in confusion, "Us? Does this mean the horse girls who are going to train together will all help build it?"

Komiyayama shrugged and nodded, saying, "Yes, that's probably also to save on labor costs."

"Hiring a professional horse-themed transport team would be expensive, and in this heat, it could easily lead to conflicts with the students. It's better to let the students build it themselves."

"It can both expend their excess energy and save costs, killing two birds with one stone!"

New Glory added, "We can even skip training! It's a triple win! A triple win!"

After saying that, Little Deer Fur looked at Orn triumphantly, raised his eyebrows and said, "Benefactor, you won't make us train now, will you? Look, even the seniors are saying so!"

"As the saying goes, the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed! My benefactor, now you're out of options!"

With a smug, triumphant expression, the newly radiant woman defiantly asserted that Ornn had truly lost all power to restrain her.

But the clever little deer forgot one thing: training never requires setting aside separate time and space.

She's about to taste the bitter fruit.

Orn just sneered and said to Komiyayama, "Senior Komiyayama, I'll take them to tidy up where we keep our training equipment first, and then we'll meet up with you at the hotel entrance."

Komiyayama nodded and said, "Okay, Tamamo and I will wait for you here."

Ornn led the Dolan squad back to the coconut tree. He pulled a pair of iron boots from a nearby bag and threw them in front of the newly formed Radiance, creating two small sand craters.

"Radiance, put it on."

"Oh."

The brand-new, radiant figure nodded obediently and, as if by reflex, put on its boots.

After she finished putting on her shoes, she suddenly realized why she had listened to Orn.

"No, no! My benefactor! You wouldn't want to go against all reason and force us to train, would you!?"

"Let me tell you! Even if you arrest my brand new glory today and don't let me eat, I'm not training!"

With a friendly smile, Orn said, "Of course, since it's traditionally not a day for training, I naturally won't be training either."

Shining with relief, she grinned and said, "Haha, I knew my benefactor still cares about me. Well then, I'll take my shoes off..."

"Hey, Glorious, don't rush,"

Ornn took his hammer from his waist, and then, with lightning speed, suddenly struck out, hitting the brand-new shoes worn by Radiance!

"Huh!?"

"My benefactor! What have you done?!"

Orn sneered, "Hmph! Here, training doesn't require a special venue. As long as you wear those shoes, you can train anywhere!"

The newly radiant woman sensed something was wrong. She reached out to take off her shoes, only to be surprised to find that they seemed to be fused with her legs and she couldn't take them off at all!

Holy crap! Does this mean my benefactor wants me to run around in this stuff?! That'll kill me!

A cold sweat immediately broke out on Little Deer Hair's back. She quickly grabbed Orn's trouser leg and pleaded humbly, "No! If I have to wear these shoes all day to move things, I'll be exhausted!"

"My benefactor! You wouldn't want your beloved horse to die from exhaustion, would you?"

The newly radiant gloom's lamentation had little effect. Ornn, as if prepared, said, "Don't worry, I just adjusted your boots. Now they can adjust the training difficulty according to your own physical condition."

"When you're really tired, it won't put pressure on you; instead, it will make you feel like you're walking on air."

"But if you're pretending to be tired, heh heh, then it will double the weight! Making you use up all your energy!"

Shining Radiance sat dejectedly on the ground, muttering, "With such strength, why does my benefactor need to be a trainer? Wouldn't it be better to be a genius scientist at URA's research headquarters?!"

"Now you're actually using this high-tech stuff to torture my poor little pony girl... My benefactor, you're not human!"

Fujimasa, standing to the side, pointed to the cloth bag and asked, "Oun, do we have to wear boots too?"

"Wear it; this is a double training in strength and willpower."

Orn took out the remaining pairs of boots from the bag and said, "I won't restrict your boots. If you feel tired, you can take them off and rest. Don't push yourself."

The brand-new, radiant woman lying on the ground stared wide-eyed, and cried out indignantly, "My benefactor! You're being unfair! You're being unfair!"

Orn's eyes widened as he looked down at the newly radiant light, chuckling, "I'm being biased, aren't you lucky with steamed buns?"

Under that gaze, the newly radiant figure felt a surge of heat rush to his brain, and his body temperature rose steadily.

After holding it in for a long time, she finally sighed and said, "Float, float! I'll float, okay?"

The group returned to the hotel entrance, and Komiya nodded, saying, "You're all back? Let's go help set up the venue then."

"We have enough people to decorate the beach and set up the stage, let's go hang the lanterns!"

"Hanging lanterns?"

Megumi Ardan looked curiously at the pile of brand-new red lanterns next to Tamamo Cross, then looked up at the white lanterns hanging above everyone's heads and asked, "But aren't there already lanterns hanging in this hall? Where are these red lanterns hanging?"

Komiyama Komi sighed, "Those are last year's lanterns! What we need to do now is hang up the new lanterns!"

Fujimasa's eyelids twitched. Pointing to the 700-square-meter area above her head, she asked in a trembling voice, "No...no, you don't mean we have to replace all the lanterns on the roof beams, do you?"

Komiyama didn't speak, but simply nodded silently, tacitly acknowledging the harsh reality the march had revealed.

Shining Radiance felt weak all over. She grabbed Little Chestnut Hat's arm to steady herself and prevent herself from falling.

"Haha... Am I supposed to wear boots and climb up and down this nearly 1,000-square-meter lobby! And hang hundreds of lanterns?!"

Tamamo Cross added, "To be precise, it's 432 strands."

Upon hearing this despairing number, Little Deer Fur turned to Orn, grabbed his belt, and cried out, "My benefactor! No!! This will really kill me!!"

While shouting, she kept pulling at Ornn's belt, almost pulling his underwear out of his pants.

"Let go! Let go!!"

Ornn was mortified. He quickly ripped the brand-new Lux from his waist and then elbowed it onto the sliding ladder not far away.

Due to the immense external force pushing it, the ladder began to slide rapidly across the waxed floor.

"Ah?"

"My benefactor... This! This isn't right!! Help!"

Shiny, radiant, clung tightly to the ladder, watching helplessly as it hurtled towards the hotel entrance at fifteen meters per second.