Chapter 11:

(short chapter 957 word)

"Nee, Biscuit. Wait—can I call you that?" Gold Ship asked, adjusting her pace to walk alongside the smaller filly.

Seabiscuit paused to think for a moment, her tail giving a faint, contemplative flick before she gave a small nod. "Hmm… I guess you can."

Gold Ship nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a sly tilt of her head, she dropped a question that instantly shattered the quiet air between them.

"You like your trainer, right?"

Seabiscuit froze.

Gold Ship's face wore a smug, knowing grin, her eyes gleaming with playful mischief.

"W-What?! What are you even talking about?!" Seabiscuit stammered, her voice suddenly rising an octave. She tried to force a serious, indignant expression onto her face, but the deep, burning flush creeping across her cheeks completely betrayed her. "I just… I adore him as my trainer! That's all!"

"I see, I see~" Gold Ship nodded sagely, as if agreeing with a completely different confession. She folded her arms behind her head, her tone surprisingly grounded. "Well, good luck with that. Looking at his personality, you've got a long, hard road ahead of you."

Seabiscuit stopped dead in her tracks, her ears twitching as she stared at the taller umamusume. "What do you mean?"

Gold Ship turned her head back to look at her, her casual grin softening into something strangely perceptive.

"Eh? Can't you see it?" Gold Ship asked, taking a lazy step backward. "He's the type of guy who prioritizes his work over himself. That means even if he does notice how you feel, he'll just brush it aside and focus on his job as your trainer instead."

Seabiscuit stood completely still on the path, Gold Ship's words echoing in her mind....

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Ren's earlier comment about "betting" was, of course, complete nonsense.

In this world, legal gambling on horse girl races simply did not exist. The sport was heavily protected by strict regulations, and any underground betting operations were very much illegal. Ren had no desire to stain his clean record as a trainer—nor did he have any appetite for prison food anytime soon.

"Hey, hey! Hurry up!" Camarero shouted excitedly, grabbing Ren by the wrist and yanking him along.

"H-Hold on a second—!"

Ren tried to resist, but it was an utterly lost cause. The sheer physical disparity between a normal human and an Umamusume was profoundly unfair. Even a young, un-debuted horse girl like Camarero had more than enough force to drag him through the bustling crowd as if he weighed nothing at all.

In the end, Ren could only sigh and surrender himself to fate.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the makeshift dirt track where the event was taking place. The venue was far more packed than Ren had anticipated. Temporary wooden fencing enclosed the oval, surrounded by a dense crowd of tourists and locals that gave the area the lively atmosphere of a seaside festival rather than a serious athletic venue. The salty ocean breeze carried the aroma of fried food and boardwalk snacks, mixed with the loud, excited chatter of the audience.

"…There are way more people here than I thought," Ren muttered, scanning the sea of heads.

It occurred to him that Seabiscuit and the Gold family might be floating around somewhere in this chaos too. Though honestly, finding Dream Journey or Stay Gold in a crowd this thick would be virtually impossible, given how short the two of them—

Ahem!

Ren suddenly broke into a sharp cough as a violent chill ran down his spine.

He whipped around, eyes wide, but found no one behind him.

"…Must be my imagination," he mumbled, quietly wiping a bead of cold sweat from his temple.

Clearly, spending this much time around the Gold family was starting to inflict permanent damage on his survival instincts. Especially when it came to Gold Ship. Ren gave himself a grave, solemn nod. Yes. They are high-hazard individuals.

"Earth to Mars! Hello, Trainer Ren~"

Camarero waved her hand directly in front of his eyes, breaking his train of thought.

Ren blinked, regaining his focus. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here. So? Is the race about to start?"

"…I don't know," Camarero replied, her gaze instantly darting away toward a nearby food stall.

Ren narrowed his eyes. Suspicious.

"…Camarero."

"Hm?"

"You did register for the race already… right?"

"…Ehehe."

"…You didn't, did you?"

Camarero let out an awkward chuckle, scratching her cheek with a guilty grin.

Ren stared at her, utterly flabbergasted. "You're telling me," he said slowly, processing the absurdity, "that you dragged me all the way down here with the grand plan of racing…"

"Mm-hmm."

"…and you never even registered?"

"…Maybe?"

"And the race is literally about to start?!"

"Probably!"

Ren grabbed her by the shoulders. "Why are you looking so proud of yourself?!"

"E-Eeep!"

Before Camarero could process what was happening, Ren unceremoniously scooped her up under his arms.

"W-Wait! Trainer Ren?!"

"We are going to that booth and registering you right now," Ren declared, setting off at a fast stride.

"Eh?!"

"And if the entries are already closed, don't you dare blame anyone but yourself!"

Camarero stared at his determined face for a second before her tail began to wag frantically back and forth like a helicopter blade.

"Fastest registration speedrun begins now!" she announced dramatically, pumping a fist into the air.

"…You have way too much energy for someone who forgot the single most important step," Ren grumbled.

Yet, despite his deadpan complaints, he wove through the thick crowd toward the registration desk with genuine urgency.

After all, beneath his exasperation, Ren was genuinely curious. He wanted to see it with his own eyes just how much raw talent was hidden inside this umamusume who claimed she would one day surpass Kincsem.

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