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

"It was so much fun... Everyone wanted to play again afterwards, but Sister Hua strictly forbade us from playing on that tricycle, what a pity—"

Shining brightly, her eyelids twitched. Looking at Orn sitting on the tricycle by the door, she felt even more uncertain.

"Haha! Don't worry too much! Go on! Your trainers have already seen you!"

Fujiki reached out and patted Oguri Hat and Mejiro Ardan on the shoulders, gently pushing them around the corner.

With a sigh, Xin Guanghui finally followed the others out.

Ornn waved to them, then patted the tablet behind him and called out, "Hey! Everyone's here! Get in the car!"

Shining brightly, she squatted on the outermost side of the flatbed cart. She could only sit with her hands wrapped around her knees, looking like a prisoner about to be beheaded.

After confirming that everyone was on board, the somewhat dilapidated tricycle headed towards the school's north gate.

Little Chestnut Hat shrank to the innermost position, looking at Orn's back and asking, "Torena, what happened to that tricycle? Was it sent for repairs?"

Orn replied, "Ah, more or less. I guess it'll be fixed by the time we have our training camp."

Fujimasa asked, "So where are we going now?"

"Let's go to the market! The market!"

Orn pointed to the shopping street that could be faintly seen in the distance and said, "We need to buy our own clothes and some equipment for the training camp. The school will only provide accommodation. We need to prepare our own clothes, shoes, sunscreen, and fishing rods."

"When we get to Hokkaido, the shops there won't have as many things as here! So it's best to buy everything in one go this time."

"Don't worry, I'll reimburse you for everything. You can choose whatever you like."

Upon hearing that he could choose which items to buy, the brand-new radiance immediately became interested.

She opened her phone and said, "Ah! I've wanted that underwater camera for so long! It's on sale right now! It's only 194888 yen!!"

"And that cosmetic set! It's supposedly specially made for girls with deer fur! You can buy it for only 15600 yen!"

"And more..."

Listening to the brand-new Glorious reciting numbers behind her like a menu, Orn suddenly interrupted her, saying, "Wait a minute, Glorious, where did you learn about these luxury brands? It wasn't from those books I keep in the corner of the bookshelf, was it?"

The newly radiant figure replied somewhat awkwardly, "Hey, my benefactor is truly a genius! I did indeed learn it from that."

"But since my benefactor is going to reimburse me anyway, when else am I going to take advantage of them!?"

Ornn was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Indeed, no matter how clever I am, I can't outsmart my ancestors. Zhu Xi was right. Apart from the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections, there are only miscellaneous books. The harm these things do to young girls is immeasurable!"

"Once this purchase is over, let's burn all those miscellaneous books!"

"Ah!! My benefactor! Have mercy! Have mercy!! I haven't learned how to do the horoscope readings on that screen yet!!"

The newly radiant woman was getting anxious, but there was no use in doing so. Sitting on the far side, her short arms couldn't possibly reach over the others to poke Ornn in the back.

She could only emit sharp, piercing cries to beg them to spare the precious books.

Amidst the clamor and noise, the somewhat dilapidated wooden cart rushed into the shopping street.

Chapter 142 Leaping Over the Shopping Street

"Hey! Little Nechika's out of school! What brings you here so early today?!"

The uncle at the grocery stall waved enthusiastically, then picked up a neatly folded tablecloth in front of him and said, "Here! This is the tablecloth you said you wanted last time, I found it for you! Take it!"

A girl with fluffy red braids tied behind her ears turned around in surprise. She smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Ah, Uncle Ningchuan, you don't need to go to so much trouble! I just mentioned it briefly, there's no need to go to such lengths for me!"

The middle-aged man, known as Ningchuan, patted his round belly and said with a smile, "Haha! What's the big deal! After all, Xiao Neiqia often brings his classmates from school to patronize my business! Consider these little items as a gift to my little customer!"

"Here you go! Catch it!"

Having said that, without waiting for the girl's reply, he tossed the tablecloth that was in front of him to her.

"Ah, thank you, Uncle Ningchuan!"

The girl took the tablecloth. Although she had initially declined, she couldn't suppress her joy. Uncle Ningchuan chuckled, "That's what makes Xiao Neiqia so endearing! Looks like she's doing alright at school."

The girl with fluffy twin tails shrugged and said self-deprecatingly, "Haha...maybe not so bad? But an ordinary horse girl like me can only ever be in the middle of the pack no matter what I do...sigh..."

"Hey! That's not right!"

Uncle Ningchuan shook his head, puffing out his belly, and said, "Little Neiqia, you shouldn't underestimate yourself! Achieving a mid-level position in the central government is already a very good result! You're just setting your expectations too high!"

At this point, the uncle's eyes lit up with gossip again, and he chuckled, "Oh! By the way, does Xiao Nei have a crush on someone at school?"

"Hey, back in high school, I managed to win over my old lady! If you happen to have similar thoughts, I can share all my experiences from back then... Ouch! That hurts!!"

"You're never serious! Don't you realize how old little Necha is?! Do you still think you're in your childhood?!"

A slightly hunched figure emerged from behind Uncle Ningchuan. The girl immediately recognized her and said happily, "Grandma Quwan! Are you feeling better?"

Grandma Qu put away the cane she had been using to tap Ningchuan, and nodded with a smile, saying, "I'm much better, much better. At least my cloth shop can keep going."

"Don't let my hunched back fool you, my needlework skills are still top-notch!"

After saying this, she came to the girl's side and advised her like an elder: "You, don't listen to that brat Ning Chuan's strange talk. Girls should be more reserved!"

"Come and tell your mother-in-law, have you taken a liking to anyone at school? Let her give you her opinion!"

The girl's cheeks flushed bright red. She shook her head and said, "No... that's not true! Everyone around me, including my trainers, is a girl!! Where would I get a boyfriend! Don't listen to Uncle Ningchuan's nonsense!"

Ah... (disappointed)

Grandma Qu Wan's face showed a visible look of disappointment, but she quickly composed herself and smiled kindly, "Since that's the case, then don't worry, just focus on your studies first!"

"By the way, Kouchi, I'll tell you a little tidbit. Yoshino, who runs a fruit stand, just told me that his fruit stand is having a daily raffle for the 100th customer! And just now, his 99th customer came in!"

"If you go now, you might be able to snag the 100th spot!"

Uncle Ningchuan complained, "Isn't this blatant cheating?! No wonder I never managed to get the reward from Yoshino before!! What a joke!!!"

Granny Qu snorted coldly, raised her hand to pat the red-haired girl's head, and said smugly, "If it's a little bastard, then this back door is open! I'll just do it behind the scenes! So what!"

"Little Necha! What are you waiting for? Go now!"

The red-haired girl clutched the tablecloth tightly to her chest, then bowed to Uncle Ningchuan and Granny Quwan before hurrying towards the fruit stand.

The person with excellent qualities has always had doubts about their name: Am I really that excellent?

Unbeknownst to her, being able to attend Central Tereson School, and being praised by her family and neighbors in her hometown for surpassing 70% of all female students in Japan, made her an enviable top student.

Therefore, she believes she is indeed very good, and she wants to become even better.

But a year after she arrived at the central government, she compared herself with her classmates and realized that she wasn't so outstanding after all.

In his debut match, he only managed second place, and in the next two OP tournaments, he came in third. Recently, he participated in a G3 tournament, and again only managed... third place.

Okay, okay, at least third place in G3 and third place in the OP tier is a big improvement! But... I'm still third...

'Although Turner kept encouraging me and even said she wanted to teach me some kind of skill that enhances endurance, I think it's called "Steel Will"?'

'Does an ordinary horse girl like me really have the ability to learn skills at this level? Haha... Maybe you shouldn't waste resources on me,'

'As a senior, I don't have the perseverance of the new junior, Miko. Could I really become a burden to Na's beloved horse...?'

She seemed somewhat lost, clutching the tablecloth embroidered with intricate patterns in her hand, then let out a heavy sigh.

Lately, she's increasingly felt like she has a knack for the number three. Coming in third place in the competition is one thing, it's just a result of a series of coincidences.

But in her daily life, she often encounters the number three. For example, she's the third to leave the cafeteria, the third to arrive at the classroom, goes to the restroom at 3 PM, weighs her phone (which still has 33% remaining), and has three coins in her pocket...

Even the academy's fortune teller was amazed. After fiddling with the crystal ball for a while, she could only offer a prophecy that was utterly perplexing.

"Hmm... According to the prophecy, you will soon encounter something that will leave you physically and mentally exhausted, but also very exciting. After that, things related to the number three will gradually decrease."

Thinking of this, the woman with excellent qualities comforted herself, "Well, at least I won't get third place at the restaurant later. I'll either be 101st or 100th. That way, I can definitely break this curse..."

Just as she was thinking this, a strange clanging and clattering sound came from not far behind her, followed by the sound of an argument.

"Radiance!! Let go!! The brakes on this car are very prone to failure! Don't pull on it!!"

"No!! My benefactor!! If you swear you won't throw those books away, I won't touch them!!"

"Impossible! You've been deeply corrupted by those heretical teachings! We must strike hard!!"

"Then I'll throw a powerful punch right now! I... Ouch!"

Holding the brake lever, which had separated from the car body, the brand-new radiant figure said somewhat awkwardly, "Um, I accidentally pulled it off, my savior, what should I do?"

Orn reached out and squeezed the brakes, but finding that the speed showed no signs of decreasing, he could only sigh helplessly and say, "What else can I do? Hold on tight to the handrail, and I'll see if I can stop it in a bit."

Fujimasa glanced at the scenery rushing past outside the car and quickly asked, "Oun! Do you have a way to stop the car?!"

"Yes, there are, but you need to drive to a relatively flat road first,"

Orn looked at the bumpy road beneath his feet and shrugged. "The ground here isn't good enough for me to use my feet as brakes. And instead of discussing how to brake, I think we need to discuss why there's a red-haired horse girl ahead of us charging at us without avoiding us."

Meguro Ardan gripped the handrail beside the cart and speculated, "I think she might be terrified?"

"There's no time to dodge! Oguri Hat! Get ready to receive the goods!!"

Ornn tilted the handle slightly to the right, reached out his right hand, and scooped up the completely stunned red-haired horse girl. In that brief second, her excellent qualities were completely suspended in mid-air!

"Eee-ya--!!!!"

Little Chestnut Hat, who was on the back of the cart, immediately understood and reached out to catch the red-haired horse girl. The cart, suddenly struck by a forty-kilogram weight, began to lurch and sway.

The tricycle roared into the depths of the shopping street, then flew straight toward the fruit stand at the end of the street! Less than thirty meters away! The tricycle was about to crash into the pile of oranges that looked like a small mountain!

"Now's the time! Buckle up!!"

Orn spread his legs wide, placing them straight on the now-flattened asphalt surface. A smell reminiscent of burning rubber filled the air, and two plumes of white smoke, mixed with a piercing screeching sound, echoed throughout the shopping street.

The cart's speed dropped to a minimum in an instant, and due to the powerful inertia, the rear half of the tricycle tilted uncontrollably to one side. Four figures were thrown from the back seats and landed hard on their backsides on the fruit stand's tiles.

"Oh my... hiss—"

Shining Bright rubbed her bottom. Because she had bounced the most on the cart, she had also flown the farthest. The second farthest was Little Chestnut Hat, since besides Shining Bright, she was the only one whose hands couldn't hold onto the edge of the cart firmly.

The third furthest was the Fujimasa March. To make room for Oguri Hat to catch someone, she only held onto the railing with her left hand. During the final braking, she was also thrown out.

As for the fourth farthest, it was the unlucky girl who got on the train halfway through. Because Little Chestnut Hat was holding onto her, she actually fell the shortest distance.

"Wow, that's quite a unique way to enter, little Nechia."

Yoshino, the fruit stall owner, took a puff of his cigarette, pointed to the brand-new brilliance, and said, "You are the hundredth."

He then pointed to the bewildered Fujimasa March and Oguri Hat: "You are the 101st and the 102nd."

Finally, he looked kindly at the red-haired girl and said with a smile, "As for Little Nechia, you are our 103rd customer today!"

Chapter 143 The Invisible Power of Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives

"Uh... what, 103rd place?"

With her hands braced against the ground, she felt as if her head and stomach had undergone a displacement reaction, as if her brain and stomach acid had been reversed.

She struggled to sit up from the ground, but then she found that her limbs were completely unresponsive to her commands.

Although during previous competitions, her limbs would sometimes move backward against her owner's will, shouting "Oyster~~", at least she was able to maintain a steady arm swing at that time.

Now, however, she was completely unable to move. She could only support herself on the ground with her hands, quietly feeling the turbulent waves in her stomach and the churning in her mind.

Just twenty seconds earlier, when she saw the vehicle, which looked like a performance art piece, hurtling towards her, she was completely stunned.

No, although her body was frozen, her mind was still working quickly.

'Can that cart really carry five people? That's seriously overloaded, isn't it?'

'Sigh, I really envy them being able to mess around with their trainers. That trainer has such a good attitude; even though that deer had already pulled the brake lever and steering shaft out, he still had a cheerful expression on his face.'

What a happy five-person team!

"Huh? Wait a minute...? The brake lever!!!"

Excellent quality stared wide-eyed, frozen in place, only able to watch helplessly as the young man in the driver's seat, smiling, drove straight towards her.

She desperately wanted to move, but in that split second, her excellent sprinting ability, which was naturally suited to a mid-range running style, completely vanished. Her nerves weren't yet able to get her body moving in that instant.

The man driving towards them also looked puzzled, as if asking, "Knowing there was danger, why didn't you avoid it?"

But the scene she saw was no longer the speeding flatbed truck and shopping street; in a daze, she seemed to see all the scenes from her birth to the present.

This situation is commonly known as a "carousel."

Faced with this shocking scene, she seemed to forget that the average horse's physical strength was three times that of a human, and that even if she were hit by this tricycle, she wouldn't be seriously injured. Instead, she became immersed in her own world.

From her early childhood babbling, to receiving praise and encouragement from caring elders in kindergarten, to her determination to become a racehorse girl in junior high, and finally, the scene of her first meeting with her trainer when she entered Central Trason…

As those images flashed by like film reels, her excellent qualities swept around her, and after reviewing her entire 17 years of life, the most memorable scene appeared before her eyes.