The mediocre trainer doesn't want to reopen

However, these words from the "Holy King" once again stimulated the Holy King's halo. The Holy King refused without even thinking, but he forgot that now he was the only one who could talk to the "shadow", and no one else could see it at all.

Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, the Holy King's aura recently seems more like a person who often talks to himself and may suddenly lose his temper and become frustrated at any time. This is very abnormal for the Holy King, whose personality has become much calmer during this period.

Facing the suspicious yet somewhat unsurprised gazes of the people at the training ground, the Holy King blushed slightly. He spoke inwardly, still glaring at the Holy King, "That guy is my trainer-san! And the one I love! You're just my 'shadow'. Once I surpass you, I'm afraid your existence will truly be just a shadow!"

"Oh? Really? Then why can't the dignified Master even outrun his own shadow? Isn't this the most shameful thing?"

The Holy King was also merciless, especially towards the original body he disliked. He looked at the Holy King with a hint of contempt and said lightly, "Besides, do you dare to say those words again in front of that person?"

"Woo——"

However, these words from the "Holy King" really hit the sore spot of the Holy King's halo, and she really didn't dare to tell Kitano in person - although she had already admitted in her heart that Kitano was indeed the person she liked and loved so much that she couldn't be separated, she still didn't dare to confess to Kitano in person.

After all… the Saint King's current mentality is like that of a childhood sweetheart who has known each other for many years. Back then, the distance between them was almost zero, and he had even boasted that he absolutely disliked the other person, but now he has changed his mind and wants to rely on the other person…

Awkward, more than just awkward, it was embarrassment. The Saint King didn't know how to bring this up. She could only hope that Kitano would, like he had done in the past, get a little closer to her... That way, she could go along with it.

But the Holy King was not in a good position to confess her feelings. She couldn't do it... But even so, the Holy King didn't want to lose to her "shadow" in terms of momentum, and immediately retorted stubbornly: "Don't you dare? If you and I are the same person, you should like that guy too, right? Do you dare to confess to him?"

"I'm not afraid of anything. Do you have any misunderstandings about me being a first-rate person?"

However, the Holy King thought that once she said this, this "shadow" who looked very much like her past self would instantly break down. However, she was wrong. Upon hearing this, the "Holy King" shook his hair with a hint of disdain and replied calmly;

"As a top-notch person, I'm top-notch in both love and competition. I'm just not at the point where I need to lower myself, but if I were to do that, I wouldn't hesitate."

"I won't be like you, hesitating for a long time without being able to say anything. If I want to do it, I will definitely confirm the relationship that day and jump into it right away. That way, I won't have to worry about anything."

"Boast!" However, seeing his "shadow" so shamelessly saying the horse jumped, the Holy King blushed, but still said stubbornly: "I don't believe you!"

"What? You don't even believe in yourself?"

However, the Holy King smiled upon hearing this, looked directly at the Holy King and said softly, "How about we make a bet? After the Japanese Derby, if you win and want to confess your feelings to that guy but can't, then give me the initiative of your body. I will directly control your body and let you jump with that guy. What do you think?"

"Don't even think about it!!"

Chapter 408: Are you particularly bad at not sticking to Suzuka?

There is only one month's break between the Japanese Derby and the Gaoyue Sho, so the schedule is very tight, but it is exactly the effect they want to achieve.

It is said that "the luckiest horse racing girl wins the derby". This kind of battle-like arrangement is, to a certain extent, intended to test the horse racing girls' skills and recovery abilities. After all, the Japanese Derby is one of the most representative events in Japan. In other words, every country's own "derby" can be said to be the most representative event.

Perhaps in order to ensure the quality of the horse girl who wins the Japan Derby as much as possible, the Japan Derby is specially set up after the Satsuki Award of the Classic Triple Crown. In the first stop of the Classic Triple Crown, in order to compete for the honor of "Triple Crown Uma Girl", all the horse girls will definitely give their all in the Satsuki Award, the first stop.

After all, most of the horse girls who are eligible to participate in the Classic Triple Crown have absolute confidence in themselves. Very few of them are like the Holy King, who set their sights on the "Japan Derby" from the beginning and gave up the temptation of the "Triple Crown Horse Girl".

Even the Holy King, with the experience of the previous round, had a much clearer understanding of himself, so he chose to give up the fantasy of becoming a Triple Crown horse girl and instead focus on the Japanese Derby.

Therefore, in most cases, the competition of "The Luckiest Horse Girl Wins the Derby" is not about how much the participating horse girls have grown within the month, but more about which horse girl can recover her condition as quickly as possible within the month and thus have enough physical strength to challenge the Japanese Derby.

——Or, within this month, there will be another lucky horse girl who, after failing to obtain or missing the qualification for the Gaoyue Award, unexpectedly obtains the qualification to participate in the Japan Derby and can participate in the competition in better condition than other horse girls.

This is what "the luckiest horse girl wins the Japanese Derby" means. The horse girls who can pass the test of battle can also ensure the quality of the "Derby Horse". Although there will be occasional accidents, the ability of most horse girls who have defeated Japan can be guaranteed.

During this month, Kitano spent most of his time accompanying Saint King Halo, in order to supervise Miss "Shadow" so that she would not over-stimulate Saint King and make him overly tired, which resulted in Saint King dragging his tired body to the Japanese Derby.

Or maybe... Miss "Shadow" doesn't like me and is trying hard to provoke the Holy King to do something wrong... That would be even more troublesome.

Fortunately, perhaps because of Kitano's presence, Miss "Shadow" did not dare to be too presumptuous. After all, she had tacitly promised not to be too harsh on the Holy King. As she and the Holy King were one in character, she would not break her promise.

Therefore, after confirming this, Kitano felt a little relieved, and then he focused more on Qingyun Tiankong and the others.

After April, in addition to the Gaoyue Sho, Kitano's team also has another event that is worth paying attention to, which is the GI long-distance Spring Emperor Sho in which Kusagami Hi participated.

This Spring Emperor's Award was just as Kitano had thought at the beginning, because basically none of the long-distance horse racing girls who could threaten Kusanagi, and were familiar to Hermes like Kitano, showed up.

The only competitor for Cao Shangfei in this Spring Emperor's Award is another long-distance runner on her team - Te Bie Zhou.

In fact, Kitano did not plan to participate in the Spring Emperor's Award at the beginning. After all, Special Week had already won the Osaka Cup GI. It seemed a bit too tired to participate in the Spring Emperor's Award after more than a month of rest.

But Teikoku Suzu still insisted on his own idea and wanted to participate in the Japan Derby - perhaps it was the shadow left by the Gaoyue Award that made Teikoku Suzu determined to compete with Kusagami Hijiki, but in the Japan Derby and the Kikuka Award, either Kusagami Hijiki was not there or she was absent-minded... making Teikoku Suzu always feel that he had the strength but nowhere to use it.

And this time, there is finally a field that both she and Kusama Fei are good at. In particular, Zhou can't wait to have a real head-to-head showdown with Kusama Fei at the Spring Emperor Award!

And then... at the Spring Emperor's Award, Tokugawa Suzu lost to Kusagami Hi by 5 centimeters.

Yes, just five centimeters. It was as if Cao Shangfei had specially set the distance for Te Bie Zhou, but it became a chasm that Te Bie Zhou could never cross.

Oh, by the way, in that Spring Emperor's Award, when Kogusa was fighting against Special Week, just like when she was fighting against Shenying in Arima Kinen, she unleashed her powerful but extremely targeted "domain". Otherwise, it would be hard to say how difficult this Spring Emperor's Award would be.

After the match, Tokusho, who always cared deeply about winning and wanted to become "Japan's number one horse girl," burst into unprecedented frustration at defeat after being defeated by Kusanagi Hi. This made her burst into tears, and Kitano barely managed to comfort her...

Afterwards, Kitano also gave Tokugawa Shu special psychological counseling and answered the question of why Tokugawa Shu lost to Kusanagi Hi.

"In fact, it's time to return. Xiao Te, you didn't do anything wrong this time. Your performance is absolutely stable. This time, you performed very well in the Spring Emperor's Award. It can be said that you performed exceptionally well."

"Your talent in long distance is actually just as great as your middle distance. You're definitely capable of winning the Spring Emperor's Prize, and you might even have a chance to win the Spring and Autumn Emperor's Prize consecutively in the future."

"But, unfortunately, your opponent this time is Xiaocao. If it weren't for Xiaocao, you would definitely win."

"Wow... So what Trainer-san means is that I really can't beat Xiaocao?"

Special Zhou, who was currently receiving psychological counseling from Kitano, was somewhat dissatisfied with Kitano's explanation. He pouted and asked, "Isn't it because you, Trainer-san, like Xiaocao more? So you're partial to Xiaocao and think she's better than me?"

"What are you thinking? I'm your trainer, and my evaluation of you is fair."

Kitano was speechless at Tebuki's words, but couldn't help but laugh. The affair between him and Xiaocao was truly known to everyone in the team, even a child as innocent as Xiaote.

"If nothing else, I actually think the highest of you is Elu. But if Elu and you, Xiao Te, were to participate in the Spring Emperor Award together, I'd say you, Xiao Te, would have a better chance of winning, but Xiao Cao wouldn't."

"Xiao Te, you and Xiao Cao are actually very similar. You are good at the tactics of going first and then losing, and Xiao Cao is also good at the tactics of going first and then losing. Xiao Te, you are good at medium and long distances, and Xiao Cao happens to be particularly good at long distances. It's just that in terms of medium distance, he may be slightly inferior to you."

"But Xiaocao is indeed stronger than you, Xiaote, in terms of strength. This has to do with her bloodline. After all, Xiaocao is a racehorse with American blood. Over there, muddy ground is more respected than grass, so most racehorses there have exceptional strength."

"So, Trainer-san, what you're saying is that if I were to choose an occasion to compete with Xiaocao, I should choose a distance race?"

And Tebi Zhou was not stupid. After Kitano's detailed analysis, she understood what Kitano meant - in fact, she and Xiaocao were of similar strength. Xiaocao's only advantage over her was not that Tebi Zhou had trained less than Xiaocao, but that Xiaocao's starting point was higher than hers.

In terms of bloodline, Zhou Tebi was also very clear that there was nothing that could be done about such a gap... After all, she was a horse racing girl born in the countryside, and she had never even seen her biological mother... She had no reason to complain about losing to Xiaocao in this regard.

On the contrary, Zhou Yi was particularly cheered up when she heard that she only lost to Xiaocao in terms of bloodline. She thought that she lost to Xiaocao because Xiaocao and Kitano had a good relationship, so Kitano gave Xiaocao more "special treatment" - it seems that Trainer Sang is really fair!

Although he knew that Xiaocao had better talent and that she had a better relationship with Trainer-san, Trainer-san didn't hide anything from her... When Zhou Te thought of this, he felt a little relieved that he had a trainer like Kitano. He then asked, "Okay, it's decided! Next time I want to duel with Xiaocao, let's choose the Takarazuka Memorial Hall!"

"Then you have to be careful, Xiao Te. It's not just you and Xiao Kusa who will be attending the Takarazuka Kinen. Elu will also be attending. And your roommate, Suzuka Musashi, will also be attending the Takarazuka Kinen."

Kitano saw that Tokujuu had quickly recovered from his disappointment and chuckled as he reminded Tokujuu, "The 2200m is where Suzuka will show her prowess. If nothing unexpected happens, Suzuka will win that race."

"Hehe! But I'm not afraid of Suzuka-san at all! I'm not even afraid of grass, so I definitely won't be scared by Suzuka-san!"

However, this week surprisingly didn't feature Silent Suzuka. When he heard he might face Suzuka at the Takarazuka Kinen, he was full of fighting spirit, his eyebrows raised as he said, "I don't know why, but the thought of facing Suzuka-san makes me so excited—don't worry, Trainer-san! I'll definitely do my best!"

"I believe in Xiao Te."

Seeing Tokui Shuu so eager to fight, Kitano suddenly began to wonder if he had turned on some magical switch in Tokui Shuu... I heard that Honma Tokui Shuu really disliked chestnut-haired horses because of his adoptive mother, especially the reddish ones...

As luck would have it, Suzuka really is a chestnut horse with reddish hair, which happens to be the type that Special Week hates the most... But in the world of Uma Musume, there doesn't seem to be such a situation in Special Week.

But unexpectedly, in this round, Xiao Te did not stick to Suzuka, but still became a rival of Xiao Cao. A Xiao Te who does not stick to others... well, then he will not become a scumbag.

With this thought in mind, Kitano quietly spent this April. The day of the Japan Derby was approaching day by day, and the next challenge of Shengwang and Xingjiang was also about to come.

Chapter 409: The Holy King’s Reward Before Going into Battle

"Welcome to the Japan Derby! Here, we gather the best horse racing girls from all over Japan! And here, we will also tell our audience and fans about the most exciting horse racing girl competition of the year!"

The Japan Derby also arrived as scheduled, and this year's Japan Derby was unexpectedly popular. Obviously, the popularity of Qingyun Tiankong and Shengwang Halo was not inferior to the "Top Three" who were their predecessors. On the contrary, they gained more popularity because of the "Top Three".

Perhaps it was because most of the competitions that Kitano chose for Xiaote, Ailu and Xiaocao in the past few months were played by GI and GII, and they all won beautifully. Now, the activeness of the top three of the "Golden Generation" has made all the audience have greater expectations for Xingchan and Shengwang, who are known as the "continuation of the Golden Generation."

What's more, the momentum of the two girls now does not seem to be a disgrace to their title. Everyone still remembers the fierce confrontation between the two girls during the Gaoyue Award period. Obviously, the two girls, who are both burdened with the "Golden Generation", are still the strongest among their contemporaries.

This is similar to the dimensionality reduction attack that Tokushou, Kusanagi, and Condor launched against other horse girls of the same period last year. Everyone knows that in this Japanese derby, the victory will most likely be decided by the two girls, and there is almost no third possibility.

"So many people—as expected! The Japan Derby is the most noteworthy match of the year!"

In the audience, the Emperor of the East China Sea, who had officially debuted this year and whose mentality was very different from last year, was also a little surprised by the liveliness of this year's Japan Derby. Of course, she also knew very well why it was so lively this year - because Kitano had already explained it to them all.

Before the Japanese Derby began, Kitano had already told everyone that the level of attention to the Classic Triple Crown events in recent years would definitely be unprecedented compared to previous years - because after the impact of the "Golden Generation", as expected, Japan's horse racing girls will show an upward trend, and the overall quality of horse racing girls will become stronger.

The stronger the horse racing women become, the more enthusiastic the audience will be. Who doesn’t like an intense race? This will naturally make the classic Triple Crown during this period, especially the already highly watched events like the Japanese Derby, even more popular.

The horse racing girls of the team who received this news all had different expressions. Some, like Shanxin and Miyu, who still had doubts about their own abilities, were worried, while others, like Bourbon, didn't care. Of course, the emperor was extremely excited when he heard the news.

"Next year! My Lord Emperor, I will also embark on the Classic Triple Crown! My Lord Emperor, I will become the most popular horse girl, and in the most popular Classic Triple Crown, I will become the strongest undefeated horse girl!"

The fact that his opponents will become stronger and the pressure he will face will be greater has nothing to do with the Emperor of the East China Sea!

A stronger opponent would only make her victory more glorious! And when she overcame greater pressure, victory would become even more precious! It was as if—as if she had always intended to pry a piece of Trainer-san's flesh from the president's mouth. She had to persevere to the end to get what she wanted!

If one were to say that going against his favorite guild master and engaging in intrigue for a whole year had given the Emperor something, then undoubtedly it had made him fully understand that if he wanted something, he had to fight for it with all his might!

Only by persisting can one achieve victory. Just like her and the president, if she had not persisted to the end, how could the president have knelt down in front of her and begged for her forgiveness?

From that day on, the Emperor of the East China Sea understood that as long as she did not give in and continued to persevere, she would surely see the dawn of victory - even the president could not crush her, so who else could be her opponent?

"Hehe, Mr. Emperor is really full of confidence. Is this the margin of genius?"

Next to the emperor, at this moment, a believer who was of the same generation as the emperor also smiled gently. She thought that she was not as good as the emperor, but not much worse.

Kitano has warned Shanxin many times about this, and it has finally worked. Although Shanxin now feels that he is not as good as the emperor, the lack of confidence that lingers around him has been eliminated a lot. He just feels that he is not as talented as the emperor, but he is not without the ability to fight.

Kitano has always felt that Zenshin's current mindset is theoretically the best state for a Uma Musume. She respects her opponent, but won't lose confidence just because they're strong. Consequently, she'll be more cautious, not letting her underestimate the opponent and giving her all when she has a chance to win!

Therefore, Kitano feels that there is no need to help Shanxin become more confident with her current mentality... Although it is a good thing for Shanxin to be more confident, it may not be good for active horse girls. Therefore, Kitano also plans to continue to consolidate Shanxin's mentality.

Of course, Shanxin didn't know any of this yet. She was just envious in her own way, but she was also concerned about Di Wang, her future rival. She said softly, "However, no matter how confident Di Wang is, he must follow Trainer Jun's instructions. Trainer Jun recently gave Di Wang some medicinal food and some pork bone stew. Did you enjoy them?"

"It's delicious! After all, it's made by Trainer Sang himself, right? And it's delicious!" The Emperor of the East China Sea nodded as a matter of course. She was quite proud and complacent when she spoke of this. With her hands on her hips, she said, "Trainer Sang said that eating more of this can help you grow fast. I always eat it up. Hehe, Trainer Sang also said that I'm the only one in the team who can enjoy such a set meal. It's a special treat for me!"

Obviously, being treated as a favored party by Kitano made the emperor, who had already set his sights on Kitano, very complacent. However, whether it was the believers beside her, or Bourbon and Miyu beside her, everyone looked at the Emperor of the East China Sea with a subtle look.

Apparently, matters concerning the Emperor were no longer a secret to the other members of the current team. Kitano had more or less secretly told them about this matter – after all, if others discovered that he was going to give the Emperor "special treatment", and if he explained it again, there would be a greater risk of the Emperor finding out.

"Yes, Teikoku-san is indeed very popular with Trainer-kun."

Shanxin hadn't revealed this little secret of the Emperor's that she herself hadn't noticed. At that moment, after the Emperor's complacency faded, he looked around curiously and asked, "By the way, Trainer Sang took an unusually long time down there this time."

"After all, they are Sheng Wang and Xing-chan. Trainer is very worried about them." Shanxin said as a matter of course, and everyone knew that Kitano was more worried about Sheng Wang's performance this time.

After all... it's the Japanese Derby. Although she doesn't know why the Holy King is so obsessed with this goal, she and her trainer have an agreement on this point.

Trainer-kun must also want to fulfill this long-cherished wish... This, perhaps, is a long-cherished wish to change "fate".

……

In the lounge, at this moment, Kitano was standing in front of Xingjiang and Shengwang, giving them final instructions before they went on stage - but obviously, he was now in a more worried situation than the two horse girls. He was more worried about the next development than the two horse girls who were about to go on stage.

"Xing-chan, remember, this Japan Derby is all about your recovery. You've recovered very well this month. Keep the same pace as during the Gaoyue Sho. And pay attention to the extra 400 meters in the Japan Derby. Xing-chan, it should be easy for you to win the Japan Derby."

"Remember, Xing-chan, just play it safe this time. The most important thing is not to get injured in the Japan Derby. You still have games to play in. Don't use up too much of your energy in the Japan Derby and affect your schedule later."

"Alright, alright, Xing-chan, I already knew that. Trainer-san is such a nagging person—"

As for Xingjiang, although she said that Kitano was overprotective of her, she felt very touched by Kitano's repeated warnings and was very worried about her safety.

Because Xing-chan no longer has any secrets in front of Kitano, Xing-chan is also very clear about her own strengths and weaknesses, and how high her chances of winning this Japanese derby are - it can only be said that it is much lower than during the Gaoyue Award.

Because although her recovery is good, she is not in the best condition yet. She can play now, but for the Japanese derby, which has a heavier burden, her physical fitness has not fully recovered, which is a taboo.

But she still insisted on coming. Kitano didn't say anything about it, but could only remind her to be careful.

Even though Kitano could have suggested that Xing-chan avoid the fight, especially since he obviously hoped that Sheng Wang could win the Japanese Derby, he never said such words to Xing-chan from beginning to end, nor did he ever persuade Xing-chan to give up.

"Alright, alright, let Trainer-san and Sheng Wang spend the rest of the time together. Xing-chan, I'm leaving first—"

Qingyun Tiankong also has a high EQ and did not take up too much of Beiye's time. He took the initiative to walk towards the tunnel exit.

At this moment, after Xingjiang left, Kitano and Shengwang looked at each other. They both opened their mouths slightly, wanting to say something, but then closed their mouths again.

"Are you going to do it?"

"Yeah, time to go."

Everything no longer needed words; the simplest words were enough to prove their mutual determination. Looking at the Saint King with his gleaming eyes, Kitano nodded and said softly, "This time, give it your all. The rest is up to you. Just remember, I'm always by your side."

"Won't forget it."

The Holy King smiled faintly when he heard this. The next moment, the two of them smiled at each other and hugged each other tacitly. After a brief and tender moment, the Holy King suddenly put his arms around Kitano's neck and pulled him down slightly.

At that moment, Kitano felt a light kiss on his lips, but soon, the two separated quickly in the next moment. The Holy King also suddenly took a few steps back with his cheeks flushed, covering his mouth in extreme surprise.

"Holy King?"

"Nothing! I, I got on!"