Uma Musume: To The Top!!

Chapter 331 331: 442

Ireland, County Kildare, Gildune Manor.

It was a patch of pure land surrounded by emerald pastures.

The morning mist had yet to fully disperse when the rapid, rhythmic sound of hooves broke the silence over the manor's private training grounds.

"Hah... hah..."

A girl with long brown hair like silk streaked down the straightaway like a gale.

Sweat flew backward with every stride, scattering crystalline points of light beneath the sun.

Even though her stamina was already near its limit, her gaze remained sharp as a blade, fixed firmly on the finish line ahead.

At the side of the track, a solemn-looking middle-aged woman stood steadily in place. The stopwatch gripped tightly in her hand gave a crisp beep the instant the girl crossed the line.

Riko lowered her head and glanced at the screen. "One kilometer in 65.3 seconds."

"Mm. Being able to run that time when your stamina's nearly bottomed out is... acceptable, I suppose!"

"Of... hah... of course it is..."

After crossing the finish line, the brown-haired girl seemed to have every last ounce of strength drained from her body. Without the slightest regard for appearances, she collapsed straight onto the grass.

Sweat soaked through her training clothes like running water, dripping in large drops into the soil.

"Just this thousand-meter... stamina run alone... I've already done... ugh... five sets!"

"Not to mention... all the training before that!"

Riko ignored her uma musume's complaints.

She turned her head, intending to get water from the bench, only to find that a tiny figure was already sitting there.

It was a petite little uma musume who looked somewhat adorably blank. She was swinging her slender legs, holding a phone in both hands, and staring at it without blinking.

"Star, stop playing on your phone. Come here."

When the little girl heard that, her large, starry eyes blinked. Then she obediently put away the phone, picked up the water bottle, and hopped down from the bench.

"What were you watching? You were completely absorbed."

Riko took the water bottle and leaned against the railing, looking at Haitoshi in the distance as she braced her hands on her knees, panting violently and clearly unable to recover for a while.

"Kuroha-oniisan."

Haito Star's clear voice rang out, her tone very flat.

"You were watching the Istanbul Cup footage again? How many times have you watched it these past few days?"

Assuming at once that Haito Star was still watching footage of that race, Riko shook her head helplessly.

"Their next race is in Britain. They won't be coming here for a while. If you really miss him, you might as well call him directly. That's much faster than watching videos."

"..."

Haito Star stood on tiptoe expressionlessly and glanced at her sister, who looked as though she had burned herself out completely. Then she suddenly said, "Kuroha-oniisan is already on his way here."

"Mm?" Riko froze, unable to react for a moment. "What do you mean, on his way?"

At that moment, Haitoshi also dragged her heavy steps over, and Riko casually handed the water bottle to her.

"On his way to the manor," Haito Star said concisely.

"..."

Riko immediately fell into an eerie silence. Only after a long while did she ask somewhat stiffly, "Where is he now?"

"He got off the plane and into a car half an hour ago."

"...Then he's almost here, isn't he?"

Riko took a deep breath, rubbed her forehead, and sighed. "I'll call and ask."

With that, she walked off to the side and dialed a number.

Over here, Haitoshi, who had just chugged several mouthfuls of water and barely recovered a little energy, wiped the corner of her mouth and leaned over in confusion.

"Who just got off a plane? Who are you talking about?"

Haito Star quietly glanced at her sister and did not answer right away.

Instead, she looked at Haitoshi's face and thought for a moment. Then, for some reason, she shook her head seriously.

"Sister, you don't need to know."

"What the heck!"

Haitoshi's face instantly fell. She vaulted over the railing and leaned right in front of her sister. "Star, you've changed! You're hiding secrets from me now. You don't love your sister anymore!"

Haito Star's little face tightened slightly, and she said with solemn seriousness, "I love Sister."

"Hehe. Good."

After receiving her sister's confession, Haitoshi instantly threw the question of who was coming completely out of her mind.

Seeing that Riko was still on the phone, she casually stretched her supple body, clasped her hands behind her head, looked up at the sky, and sighed.

"Training every day is so boring. I really wish my debut race could be moved up by a month. Then I'd be able to show off to Hane and let him see my real strength."

A breeze swept past, lifting Haitoshi's waterfall-like, silky hair and revealing the irrepressible smugness on her face.

Beside her, the little girl looked up and caught sight of that expression. She pressed her lips together thoughtfully.

"Ah! You're really coming?"

Just then, Riko's irritated voice came from the side. "Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

"What do you mean, it's a surprise? It's more like a scare!"

"...Fine, I know."

"Did you reserve the manor house? Because of all the races on the islands lately, quite a few expedition teams are here. I don't want you arriving with the team and ending up in a hotel..."

"You booked it? Fine. How long until you arrive?"

"All right. We'll head over now."

Haitoshi and Haito Star stared blankly as Riko kept firing words into the phone. Only after she hung up did Riko look over at them with a complicated expression.

"They'll be here in ten minutes. Let's go wait at the entrance."

"...Riko -nee, who exactly is arriving?" Haitoshi scratched her head, still failing to understand.

Riko looked at her in confusion. "Your Kuroha-oniisan. Who else? Didn't Star tell you just now?"

"Wh-What do you mean, my Kuroha-oniisan!"

In an instant, Haitoshi jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her pretty face flushing bright red.

Then she abruptly reacted, her voice rising by an octave. "Riko-nee! Who did you just say? Hane?"

"Uh..."

Riko gave Haito Star, who stood calmly beside her as if this had nothing to do with her, a strange look.

The wisdom of age allowed her to understand something instantly.

But she was too lazy to expose it. She simply waved a hand and said, "Yes. Kuroha is bringing the team over soon. Let's go receive them."

"That jerk. Coming here without even telling me..."

Haitoshi grumbled under her breath in dissatisfaction, but the corners of her mouth refused to stay down.

She excitedly took her sister's hand and followed Riko toward the manor gate with light steps.

Behind her, Haito Star obediently followed her sister, watching her back as her eyes flickered faintly.

But very soon, a troubled expression appeared on the little girl's delicate face.

...

"The manor up ahead is the one I stayed at last year when I accompanied Oguri on her expedition."

On the road leading to Gildune Manor, Kuroha was driving a rented business van. He smiled at the black-haired girl in the passenger seat and said, "Until the Irish Champion Stakes ends, we'll be staying here."

Mejiro McQueen looked curiously at the grand building faintly visible on the horizon ahead.

"Trainer, I remember Oguri-senpai mentioning that you seemed to know two young uma musume here who have yet to debut?"

Kuroha nodded, his tone carrying a trace of nostalgia.

"Mm. Their names are Haitoshi and Haito Star. They're both very talented uma musume. I'll introduce you to them once we arrive."

"Still, Haitoshi should be making her debut sometime soon. Little Star is still very much in her playing-around phase, though."

From the back row came Folkqueen's teasing voice. "I'm starting to feel like you really do know uma musume all over the world..."

"...That joke has already run its course," Kuroha replied somewhat speechlessly.

But after thinking about it, he realized Folkqueen was not exactly wrong.

There was no need to even mention Asia. Central Tracen was his home base.

In Oceania, there were Folkqueen and Ellerslie Glory.

In the Americas, there was Obey Your Master.

In Europe, he had recently come into contact with Show Dancer, and now he was about to reunite with the Haito sisters.

As for Africa...

Kuroha subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror inside the car.

Godolphin, who was sitting in the back row, smiled, pursed her lips, and tilted her head, wearing an adorably blank expression that seemed to say she knew nothing at all.

As for Godolphin herself, her ancestral roots were in Africa.

Kuroha could not help calculating silently in his heart.

Good grief. Looking at it this way, aside from Antarctica not having any uma musume, my network has already spread across every major continent in the world...

(End of Chapter)

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