The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

Under Xiu Xingmeng's expectant gaze, Anjiang Lingyin finished counting. She confidently wiped her nose and gestured a number to Xiu Xingmeng.

"If you include the teacher, then there are nine!"

Xiu Xingmeng remained silent, only turning her head to quietly tidy the bed. What was she hoping for?

"Besides Principal Haibara and you, whom I've already met, who are the rest of them?"

Xiu Xingmeng, who had already intended to end the conversation, found that Anjiang Lingyin was still standing at the door, looking at her expectantly, as if she wanted to chat. Helpless, she had no choice but to ask.

"The blonde one is called Minamino Sumire, the tall and well-built one is called Nishimoto Makikusa, and the one with twin tails is Kobayashi Kaze."

"Uh-huh."

As Xiu Xingmeng packed her luggage, she echoed Anjiang Lingyin's words. She didn't really care about those few people.

"There's another racehorse girl. She made her debut a couple of days ago and then went out to find a trainer. She was the first among our group of students to make a successful debut, and she's also the strongest among us—"

"And what is her name?"

"Oguri Roman".

"what?"

Upon hearing the name Oguri Roman, Xiu Xingmeng immediately thought of Oguri Hat, who had a similar name, and stopped what she was doing.

What is her relationship with Oguri Hat?

"I don't know, but she always admires Oguri Hattori and says she wants to be a racehorse girl who goes from the countryside to the capital, just like Oguri Hattori."

"She's really something, because she didn't like the trainers here and went out to find some."

Hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng sorted out the current personnel composition of Lisong Tresen and found that she only didn't recognize the teacher, so she simply asked.

"What about the teachers besides Principal Haibara?"

"Huh? That's all. Uncle Haibara is teaching all the academic subjects himself now. The remaining two are trainers."

Two? Principal Haibara only mentioned that her daughter was also a trainer, but didn't introduce the other one.

"One of them is trainer Sato Takeru Satoh. He doesn't have any demands on us. He's not even present for training. Most of the time, he's doing odd jobs for Haibara-san and filling out forms."

Xiu Xingmeng nodded. The other one is Principal Haibara's proud daughter. She should be different from this trainer Sato. Perhaps she will be a stricter trainer.

"The other one is Haibara Chizuru, the trainer. She is the uncle's daughter and I heard that she used to be a trainer in the central area."

"Uh-huh?"

Xiu Xingmeng, who had been subconsciously starting to think, was taken aback by Anjiang Lingyin's words, and then asked.

"Gone?"

"Gone."

Anjiang Lingyin shrugged and said helplessly.

"Chizuru spends most of her time either watching anime or sleeping. She's rarely seen on the playground. Even when Haibara forced her to come a few times, she would only stay for a short while before leaving."

Listening to her description, Xiu Xingmeng felt her temples throbbing.

Now she understood why Oguri Roman had gone out of his way to find trainers outside the school; both trainers were truly unreliable.

With a sigh, Xiu Xingmeng closed the empty suitcase and put it away before speaking to Anjiang Lingyin.

"I still need to go to Principal Haibara to complete some formalities. See you later."

"Oh, then I'll go back to cleaning."

Hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng raised an eyebrow and pulled the saddler Lingyin, who was walking out, to ask in confusion.

"They bullied you like that, and you still want to clean?"

Anzai Suzune scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly and said.

"Actually, it was my turn to clean today. Didn't you hear me when I said that?"

Xiu Xingmeng's eye twitched. "Then why did you look so scared that you couldn't say anything just now?"

Seemingly sensing Xiu Xingmeng's thoughts, Anjiang Lingyin quickly waved her hand and said.

"Actually, they never bullied me. It's just that I'm not used to their way of doing things."

"Not used to it?"

"They talk about things like nail art and makeup every day, which I don't understand at all. Minamino Sumire even dyed her hair blonde. They exude a very fulfilling aura, which makes me a little afraid to get close to them."

At this point, the saddler Suzune's words carried a hint of self-doubt.

"Besides, I'm the only one who studies the equipment for the competition every day. They must think I'm a big loner."

Just as she began to doubt whether there was something wrong with her hobby, Anzai Suzune suddenly felt a warm touch on the top of her head.

"you're not wrong."

Looking up, she found that it was Xiu Xingmeng stroking her head and looking at her with encouraging eyes.

Just then, a ray of sunlight shone through the dormitory window, illuminating Xiu Xingmeng's back and making her appear as if she were enveloped in light, radiating an eye-catching brilliance. The hand that was stroking Anjiang Lingyin's head also seemed to have the warmth of the sun, making Anjiang Lingyin unconsciously a little stunned.

"Don't worry about not understanding what they're saying."

"He was able to organize all those different kinds of equipment so clearly, and even I, who knew nothing about them, could understand it."

"You're already amazing enough."

After smiling at the saddler Lingyin, Xiuxingmeng waved goodbye and headed to the teaching building.

Only the saddler Lingyin remained standing there, muttering to herself.

"Am I that great?"

Chapter Fifty-Six Waste Residue

After saying goodbye to the saddler's bell, Xiu Xingmeng went to the teaching building to find Principal Haibara and completed the transfer procedures. After hearing that classes wouldn't start until tomorrow, Xiu Xingmeng, who had nothing to do, simply went to the playground to try out her skills.

Although it's called a mud track, it's actually made of gravel. Xiu Xingmeng stepped on the track and felt a hard vibration that was completely different from grass.

Seeing the dust stirred up by her actions, Xiu Xingmeng frowned slightly.

This was her first time trying such a track. She could stir up quite a cloud of dust with just a slight step. Xiu Xingmeng found it hard to imagine what it would be like to run on such a track.

All the racehorses were disoriented by the dust kicked up as they ran, and on this track, which was even more crowded than the grass track, they ran around like headless flies.

In such an environment, it would be impossible to use pursuit tactics.

According to Hsiu Hoshino's understanding, "chasing" means that the racehorse girl uses her intelligence advantage to determine when and where she can bypass the crowd and rush forward. Previously, because she did not have a trainer to help her collect information on the opponents, she could only rely on her concentration and intuition to find the direction on the track.

However, even if you have evolved intuition, you might not be able to find the right direction when faced with a track that your opponents can't even see.

Since she had not yet experienced the power of intuition firsthand, Xiu Xingmeng made the most conservative judgment for the time being.

To win in a mud race, one must at least be in the lead. Based on her limited investigation and understanding, Xiu Xingmeng came up with an idea that has not yet been verified.

Empty talk is useless. Xiu Xingmeng patted her cheeks, got into her starting position, and charged off like a sharp sword. On this deserted track on a rest day, she raised a rare cloud of dust.

"Ok?"

Just as Xiu Xingmeng was experimenting with the mud track running method, a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties passed by the track. She was wearing ordinary sportswear and carrying a plastic bag full of snacks. Her black hair was tied up in a messy knot, and her eyes, which were always surrounded by dark circles, looked at the track with some surprise.

She took her phone out of her pocket and became even more puzzled after checking the date.

"I remember Oguri Roman shouldn't be back yet? Those guys usually slack off during regular training, how come they're doing extra training on their rest days?"

In this Kasamatsu Tressen, where almost every day is unchanging, Chizuru Haibara felt a long-lost sense of curiosity.

Who exactly is the racehorse girl training on the track?

With this in mind, she gradually deviated from her original path and headed straight for the training ground.

The closer they got, the more intense the sound of footsteps on the track became. As sand and dust flew, a figure hidden in the dust was racing at a speed that Haibara Chizuru had never seen before.

"Wrong footsteps?"

"Too light a step, you'll slip on the mud."

Chizuru Haibara narrowed her eyes slightly; the keen eyesight she had honed in the center told her that the scene before her seemed increasingly strange.

"This kind of gait is something only racehorses accustomed to grassy fields would have."

"But the Kasamatsu Regional Race is almost entirely on dirt tracks, right? Even if you want to practice on grass tracks, there's no venue to practice on."

The knowledge she thought she had forgotten in her daily, passive life was now recovering at an astonishing speed. Even Haibara Chizuru herself did not expect that this insight could still be maintained to this day.

"The central government? Or a prestigious family? What is her purpose in coming here?"

Watching Xiu Xingmeng's unusual running style, Haibara Chizuru muttered to herself.

Just as she was watching Xiu Xingmeng, Xiu Xingmeng also noticed a figure appear beside the playground, who headed in that direction after rushing past the last bend.

"Hello?"

Once on the track, Xiu Xingmeng instinctively exuded an aura of her domain, a dangerous feeling that sent chills down one's spine, causing Haibara Chizuru to subconsciously shift her gaze away.

Facing Xiu Xingmeng, who was almost shrouded in smoke and dust, she could only see those sharp eyes that seemed to see through everything, with a faint red light shimmering within them. In a daze, she felt that what was in the smoke and dust was not the racehorse girl, but something much more terrifying.

"Are you a trainer here?"

Seeing that the woman in the sportswear in front of her did not respond, Xiu Xingmeng frowned in confusion. She took the lead and waved her hand in front of Haibara Chizuru's eyes.

Seeing Xiu Xingmeng suddenly emerge from the smoke and dust, Haibara Chizuru was first startled, but gradually calmed down after seeing Xiu Xingmeng's appearance clearly.

So it really was just a horse racer.

After regaining her composure, Chizuru Haibara finally spoke.

"I'm the trainer here. Are you from the central government or a prestigious family? What brings you to Kasamatsu Tressen?"

Hearing this, Xiu Xingmeng tilted her head and asked in confusion.

"I'm a student here."

"How could that be? I already..."

Halfway through her rebuttal, Haibara Chizuru suddenly seemed to remember something and tentatively asked a question.

"You're that legendary transfer student? I didn't expect Dad to actually be telling the truth this time."

Xiu Xingmeng twitched her lips speechlessly. How many times has Principal Haibara lied about this? Why does everyone have to say this to me?

Haibara Chizuru remained silent for a moment, then looked Xiu Xingmeng up and down completely before speaking.

"I suggest you stop studying here."

"Central Treson Academy, or joining a club founded by a prestigious institution, might be a better fit for you."

"What do you mean? Have I done anything wrong?"

Faced with Haibara Chizuru's blunt expulsion order, Xiuxing Meng's eyebrows furrowed. She hadn't even complained about Kasamatsu Tresson's unreliability yet, and now she was being disliked first.

Xiu Xingmeng's tone was a bit sharp, but Haibara Chizuru just shook her head and continued talking.

"You're not suited for this place. With your talent, you could have won the lucrative championship even in the Central Tournament, despite the competition from top teams."

"You see, there's nothing here."

Chizuru Haibara pointed to the surroundings: the training equipment that hadn't been maintained in a long time, the old buildings; if it weren't for the hard gravel track, there might not even be a complete training ground left.

"This is Kasamatsu Tresen, a place that is a refuge for guys who have no dreams and no talent."

"Those who had hope have either already left, or are on their way out; those left behind are..."

Chizuru Haibara paused for a moment.

"They're just a bunch of discarded scum."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: In This Land Without Dreams

Xiu Xingmeng was taken aback; she hadn't expected Haibara Chizuru to be so pessimistic.

"But isn't your father still trying his best to keep this place afloat?"

Upon hearing Xiuxingmeng mention Haibara Koutarou, Haibara Chizuru's expression darkened.

"So he's the idiot."

"Who else would care about a place like this besides him? Sato Takeru just wants to coast along. Apart from Oguri Roman and the saddler Suzune, those racehorse girls hardly ever go to class either."

"Recently, Oguri Roman even went out. Can you imagine a classroom with only one teacher talking to one student?"

"How can a place like this still be considered a school?"