Ikezoe's arrival undoubtedly attracted the attention of many Uma Musume present who were about to participate in the race, and the familiar way Ikezoe and Orfevre interacted immediately sparked discussions among the Uma Musume.
"Oh? Who's that?"
"It seems to be that Uma Musume's Trainer..."
"No way?! So young?"
"Isn't that even better? Young Trainers mostly lack experience, so we might actually win!"
The surrounding gossip also fell into Orfevre's ears. However, Orfevre almost subconsciously furrowed her brows, and with an unfriendly look, she turned her head to face those Uma Musume.
Wearing a mask, Orfevre's gaze, subtly emanating her Aura, instantly scared those few Uma Musume away from the scene. Soon, only Orfevre and Ikezoe were left.
"You're getting targeted, Orfevre." Ikezoe also noticed the behavior of those Uma Musume and couldn't help but say with emotion, "The second most popular in this Debut Race. It seems that even you, just starting out, are already more dazzling than ordinary Uma Musume."
"Who do you think this is because of?! Idiot Ikezoe!"
However, Orfevre was somewhat flustered, pulling at her hair with a tearful expression, saying in a panicked voice, "I'm just a mediocre Uma Musume! I haven't even trained much! How am I supposed to win?! I don't even know what running style I should use!"
"What should I do?! What should I do?!"
"...If you can't decide, why not try running as an End Closer first?"
Ikezoe was also taken aback by Orfevre's panicked appearance, finding it a bit amusing. He had ridden Orfevre for almost his entire racing career, remembering his many antics, resistance, lack of cooperation, and his ferocity when galloping on the track.
Now in this world, Ikezoe also saw another side of Orfevre for the first time—her anxious, uneasy, and insecure appearance. Watching Orfevre like this, Ikezoe first found it amusing, but then became serious.
His Orfevre wasn't such a timid Uma Musume. She was, in his heart, the strongest Uma Musume capable of conquering the world!
"Orfevre, you don't need to agonize over which running style to use. If I were to recommend one, you could run as an End Closer. That should be the most suitable running style for you. But even if you don't run as an End Closer, this victory is yours for the taking; there will absolutely be no other outcome."
"End Closer... But I've never run as an End Closer before..."
However, the indecisive Orfevre's ears drooped slightly. She even subconsciously forgot that it was Ikezoe who was talking to her, and said uneasily, "Back when I was at home, I did run with my older and younger sisters... but we were just running around aimlessly... Oldest Sister never guided us on how to run."
"I always got last place; what should I do? Is running as an End Closer really okay?"
Older sister, younger sisters... does she mean Dream Journey and Gold Ship? Ikezoe was also a bit unclear about who the members of the Gold Family in this world truly were. However, based on his experience, the Racehorses of the Gold Family were all quite troublesome, especially good at troubling him.
If it really was Dream Journey... Ikezoe would seriously consider throwing himself in front of a truck that very day to transmigrate again.
Ikezoe immediately shook his head, clearing these distracting thoughts from his mind, then looked down at Orfevre and said:
"Orfevre, you need to have confidence in yourself. The Orfevre I know isn't such a timid Uma Musume."
"I still remember the aggression you had when you kicked me. How did you do it back then?"
"It..."
Orfevre opened her mouth, wanting to say, "It was just an accident," but when she thought about how she had kicked Ikezoe hard twice, she couldn't bring herself to say it was an accident.
Strange... why do I have a conditioned reflex when I see Ikezoe, but not with others?
It shouldn't... just be because I don't like his face, right? Orfevre looked at Ikezoe's face suspiciously, but her legs started to feel eager again... "Y- you stay away from me. I'm afraid I'll kick you again."
"It's fine; I'm used to it." Ikezoe didn't stay too far from Orfevre. Instead, he said to Orfevre, "Orfevre, you have a fierce power inside you. When it's unleashed, no Uma Musume in all of Japan will be your opponent."
"But the only one who can unleash that power is yourself. At most, I can only help you to ignite it. Ultimately, everything still depends on you."
"—If all else fails, just imagine that I am standing at the finish line! Just pretend you're getting a running start to kick me!"
Finally, Ikezoe joked, as if throwing caution to the wind, then handed the box he was holding to Orfevre and said with a smile, "I'm going back to the stands. That staff member was easy to fool and let me in, but if they check your file later, they'll probably kick me out... I'm leaving first."
"Orfevre, you must win this race!"
With that, Ikezoe waved goodbye to Orfevre. Orfevre, holding the box in her hand, watched Ikezoe leave in a daze. After a long time, she finally turned her gaze back to the box in front of her.
"...It's quite heavy; what's inside?" Orfevre muttered to herself as she opened the box on the spot. Soon, she saw a pair of new sneakers with horseshoes inside.
They were new sneakers, but they looked no different from what Orfevre usually wore during training at school. They even had the tags still on... "One hundred thousand yen? Where did that guy even get so much money from?! These shoes look pretty much the same as mine! Why the hell are they so expensive?!"
Orfevre was startled by the price of the shoes. Although she didn't know Ikezoe very well, from his usual attire when they met, he didn't seem like a rich person at all. Curren Chan hadn't even participated in her Debut Race, so there was no prize money to speak of. Where did he get the money to buy such expensive shoes?
Could it be that he borrowed it? Orfevre couldn't help but think this, then picked up one of the shoes, looking at it from left to right, muttering:
"Are these shoes really that expensive? I don't see anything special about them? Could the horseshoes be plated with platinum or something..."
However, Orfevre's voice gradually faded as she finally discovered the difference between these shoes and other Uma Musume-specific athletic shoes... It turned out that on the side of the horseshoe, there was a faint engraved mark, forming a series of characters. Orfevre, using the light, read the words engraved on the horseshoe... —[Japan's Strongest Uma Musume].
And on the other side of the horseshoe, Orfevre saw the owner of this title. Without any hesitation, the name [Orfevre] was imprinted with a mark similar to gold.
"Japan's Strongest... Orfevre... Me?"
Seemingly in disbelief, Orfevre only recovered from the shock after a long time. Her eyes shone with a peculiar brilliance at this moment. Looking at the pair of shoes in her hands, she suddenly felt them to be somewhat heavy... Huh... Why do my eyes suddenly feel... so itchy... "That idiot... Japan's Strongest... an Uma Musume like me... how could I be worthy."
"B- but since you believe in me so much..."
Orfevre muttered to herself, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled into a slight smile, which was quite at odds with the tears welling up in her eyes.
But in the end, Orfevre wiped away her tears, slowly squatted down, took off her shoes, and put on the new pair personally given to her by Ikezoe.
After tying the laces of the second shoe, Orfevre stood up again. She adjusted to the new shoes on her feet, and whether it was psychological or not, she felt as if the shoes were custom-made for her, fitting perfectly.
"Japan's Strongest, huh... Perhaps I'm not worthy of such a title, and I might not be cut out for it."
"But this Debut Race—I'll win it for you to see, Ikezoe."
"I'll show you how the Japan's Strongest Uma Musume, as you perceive her, will win the race!"
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Bro is just a masochist.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.