Chapter 1953: with translation of chapter title

NO. 573: Belief is being tested.

Just as all things eventually end, the gravity-star enrichment zone built by those humanoid 'supergravity clumps' will also, with time, gradually grow desolate. Though some might wish to stay, feeling the pain of that parting and wanting time to stop, it is ultimately meaningless.

Whether it's occasional idle chatter or a long-planned goal seized at the right moment, everything eventually concludes with the announcement broadcast from the makeshift speaker in the corner.

"There are still thirty minutes before the official start; please, all competitors, get ready."

Thus the moment of parting arrived, and before that, the gravity stars had also collided with one another—although most were top-tier figures from different generations, the elite circle is usually small. When together, they inevitably exchanged friendly greetings, and also inevitably displayed overly aggressive sparks.

So at the moment of parting, many competitors' gazes were directed toward each other.

And it was hardly friendly.

At such a time, the Ophiuchus team was no exception; the only difference was that the four horsegirls' hostility did not rush to show itself, after all they had a trainer who arranged everything down to the smallest detail.

"The restrained fighting spirit has the value of a blade in its sheath; there's no need to release it as they do." Thus, speaking at the first moment after the broadcast ended, Aomo the trainer gave no chance for that sign to show: "Just hold on a bit longer; the internal competition should still be settled on the actual track."

Bai Ren: "Good."

Rudolf: "Hmm."

Qianming: "Sure~"

Tianlangxing: "No need to keep bringing up old talk."

"I'm willing to apologize, but I hope everyone will carry this through," Aomo picked up the coat on the rack, "After all, ah, thank you…"

It wasn't a blank stare, but he still couldn't help pausing; although he believed his desensitization training had been very successful, just as he lifted the coat he'd put on, the idol adjusted his collar… Aomo looked at Qianming, who gave a silent, hippie‑like smile, remained silent for a moment, then spoke again: "After all, I mentioned before that I won't be accompanying you to this pre‑race preparation room, and I also hope you all have a run with no regrets."

"Although after the race, during debrief, one can certainly find many details worth improving on the track, but regarding off‑track preparation… making sure you don't entertain thoughts like 'If I had improved here, I could have endured there' is precisely the trainer's responsibility."

"Hmph, the guy who once carefully consulted everyone when drafting the battle plan now can talk about responsibility without blushing or a racing heart?"

"I never expected Miss Tianlangxing to view me that way back then." Aomo shrugged.

"If you put it that way, Tianlangxing has always been paying attention to you~" Qianming interjected.

"Noisy!"

"Hmm, I recall that even before anyone else, the first to mention you to me was Tianlangxing, although back then she only said, 'I saw an interesting guy.'"

"Shut up! And don't you dare imitate me!"

Thus, not only was there no pre‑battle sharpness, but the overly cheerful atmosphere now even stands out as unique.

It was even somewhat glaring.

Who knows how many senior colleagues secretly criticized this young trainer's immaturity, actually carrying out this alternative mobilization that dulls their edge before battle.

But such impatient seniors would indeed find it hard to earn respect from Aomo.

Even so, despite their mutual dislike, there was no incident, because the only trainer who did not accompany the horsegirls to the athletes' preparation room was Aomo Lindun.

Although it was subtle and no one made the same choice, it is still understandable.

The Dream Cup Long Distance is like a top‑grade Kikuka Sho; likewise, as the only opportunity in a horsegirl's career, it also carries the full‑scale top‑grade spec above the Arima Memorial, answering the burning desire expressed in 'Morning heard the Way, evening may die.' Even trainers with extremely low industry passion cannot escape being swept up by this event's stature.

In pursuit of the utmost, in pursuit of perfection, just as he said—eliminating off‑track interference is also the trainer's core duty. This may sound vague, but simply put: keep the horsegirls in peak condition.

If one could go further here, imprinting that universally known yet hard‑to‑follow principle into the athletes' hearts—regardless of winning or losing, the trainer could boast about it for decades to come.

Although it sounds simple but is hard to achieve, even if one wanted to brag, they'd only get modest feedback from peers; yet once paired with the label 'Dream Cup athlete,' the added value bestowed can turn it into pure gold.

This, which for the athlete raises win rate, for the career enhances résumé, and can become a warrant of authority, is achieved directly by accompanying them to the athletes' preparation room for a talk‑therapy session.

Although monotonous, there's no alternative.

For the horsegirls, the most practical means of communication is to run a lap.

This is obviously difficult for a trainer to achieve.

Having extreme speed is one thing; being able to infuse will into the run is another.

The sports industry's act of conveying ideas through professional competition is essentially a kind of cryptography—broadly speaking, it's matching wavelengths; finely speaking, it's aligning thought processes; its core lies in their professionalism.

The more one receives professional education from childhood, the more they unconsciously develop emotional expression and decryption habits akin to a 'specific encryption logic.'

Such a thing is hard for most late‑comers to grasp, let alone learn, because you haven't received their educational content nor lived in their environment; even if you can think about 'how to win' as eagerly as they do, you can only achieve the most superficial mutual understanding.

Such as the strength of the will to win, or the determination toward some matter—these are extremely vague, to the point that even outsiders might notice them.

To achieve a deep, mind‑reading‑like resonance, one usually needs to understand everything about the other's environment—similar culture, similar education amount to a major shortcut in this link.

Thus horsegirls can reproduce that understanding seen in sports manga, thanks entirely to the federation's overly mature horse‑racing culture and training system.

But as a trainer, one has to go around in circles.

Make a big loop!

Since you can't hit (and might even lose), and scolding is bad for image (risking reports), the most common educational method still falls to talking.

Although a skilled trainer can substitute deeds for words, using events to provoke reflection, but in this sort of pre‑race segment—

It still comes down to talk‑therapy!

Seize every usable moment to talk! Try to finish before the horsegirls change clothes, ensuring they can face the battle unclouded and fully prepared!

Even Nishizaki Yutaka harbored this idea.

In fact, he ought to do this most of all, after all, in Aomo's information network he is also the most embarrassed among the trainers present.

Compared to solo‑competing horsegirls like Maruzeki and Rhia Amazon, and to those paired with closely affiliated trainers such as Noble Lady, American Pharaoh, and Fuji Kiseki, the combination of Dazhenhan and Nishizaki Yutaka appears middling, even somewhat cancerous.

—because Nishizaki Yutaka and Dazhenhan's relationship is strictly workplace, they are courteous but lack private warmth.

Thus, whether it's lecturing or anything else, it stays superficial; Nishizaki Yutaka's sense of unease should be stronger than that of Sai Luo, who keeps giving him meaningful glances.

Yes, Sai Luo.

Nominally a trainer of Gechengwangpai, but everyone knows Gechengwangpai actually has three trainers, all of them Ultramen—a fact already recorded in magazines like *Uma Musume Book* and *Weekly Shining*.

But this jerk Ace, even after returning home once, still has no intention of building a separate human form; he remains in Gechengwangpai's consciousness as a handy old uncle.

Lipiya could have come over, but since she'd also been looking after another horsegirl called Golden Light over the past few months, she too has received feedback from the gravity.

The responsibility thus fell back onto Sai Luo Ultraman, who, although he shares considerable overlap with a horsegirl named Faint Light Flying Horse, is not significantly restricted—registered under the name Iga Kurumero.

Although he also frequently gave the looks of 'request a call' and 'please open the mic for communication,' his actual work amounted to just pretending to be a parent attending a parent‑teacher meeting—merely going through the motions, completely not worth worrying about.

So Aomo's attitude remained firm from beginning to end.

Don't bother with him.

(End of chapter)