Chapter 454: 566

Both Kuroha and the Umamusume of Chasing Light had enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying New Year.

Yes.

In every sense of the word.

Only a few days into the new year, the URA Championship got underway.

Perhaps inspired by McQueen's campaign across the world the previous year, quite a few retired Umamusume had rediscovered their fighting spirit. This year's championship was far livelier than the inaugural event.

It wasn't just Chasing Light's retired racers, who already had plenty of time on their hands.

Legends from earlier generations, including Ramonu, Sirius, and Tamamo, were also eager to get back on the track.

The unprecedented turnout moved Yayoi, who had worked tirelessly to organize the event, to tears. She kept declaring that all her hard work had finally paid off.

She had certainly poured plenty into making it happen.

Apparently, Tazuna had recently given her a thorough dressing-down for throwing money around so recklessly.

Once the URA Championship concluded, the next major event was the central racing circuit's annual selection of a new Hall of Fame Umamusume.

Last year, that honor had gone to the original Gray-Haired Monster, Oguri.

Judged solely by her domestic record, she might not have measured up to March or Ardan.

But her unprecedented achievement of becoming the first to win an overseas G1 had been enough for the Central URA Association to make an exception and grant her the honor.

As for this year's recipient, there was never any question.

It was the second Gray-Haired Monster, McQueen, the Aurora of the Heavens!

Fourteen victories in fourteen starts!

An undisputed champion, unrivaled anywhere in the world!

Meanwhile, Suave Dancer and her companions had celebrated the New Year with Kuroha and the others, enjoying themselves to their hearts' content before Brave finally "forcibly escorted" them home.

Everyone went to see them off. Just before boarding the plane, Suave Dancer turned back and gave McQueen a playful wink.

"McQueen, don't forget to come visit me in France in a few months, okay?"

Then she winked at Kuroha and blew him a kiss, leaving McQueen speechless.

With that final bit of mischief, Suave Dancer was gone.

More than two months passed, and winter gave way to spring.

Then, on a perfectly ordinary morning, Brian reached her physical prime.

It wasn't yet time for morning practice at Chasing Light's training base.

Kuroha had only just left the cozy warmth of Maruzensky and Rudolf's embrace. He was leisurely eating a bowl of noodles when a shadow suddenly fell over him.

He didn't normally keep Divine Vision active around the clock.

So he simply looked up on instinct.

A girl stood before him, looking remarkably different from how he remembered her.

Black hair, golden eyes, and a taller, sturdier build.

She wore ordinary workout clothes, but her top was stretched tight across her torso.

She had clearly outgrown it.

The shirt was too short as well, leaving a strip of her midriff uncovered.

Below it, she wore a pair of snug athletic shorts, her legs noticeably longer than before.

Most distinctive of all was the small bandage across the bridge of her nose.

"Brian-chan?"

Kuroha stared at the girl before him, so familiar and yet so different.

She had already matured?

By his reckoning, it should have taken at least another year.

Could it have something to do with the buffs he'd been giving her while massaging away her fatigue lately?

"It's me, Trainer."

Brian's expression barely changed, but Kuroha knew her well enough to catch the trace of excitement in her voice.

"Congratulations, Brian."

He smiled. "I'll stop by the Student Affairs Office later and update your information. From now on, you're officially an active racer!"

"Mm."

Brian nodded solemnly, but a flicker of hesitation crossed her face. She seemed to have something else to say.

"What's wrong?" Kuroha asked.

"It's just…"

She took a moment to gather her words, then pointed at her tight shirt and the exposed strip of her waist.

"The clothes Maruzensky-senpai and the others prepared for when I matured seem too small. They're tight and uncomfortable."

"Trainer… can I have something bigger?"

Kuroha blinked.

Then it dawned on him, and he didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.

The problem probably had something to do with how Teio and McQueen had turned out after maturing.

Both of them had remained rather… petite.

Bourbon and Rice had grown a little more, but even they were still a long way from Rudolf, Maruzensky, or Creek.

As a result, the older members of Chasing Light, led by Maruzensky, who handled the team's supplies, had developed a fixed idea of what their younger teammates would look like after maturing.

They had assumed that all of them would settle into relatively small builds.

That was why the "grown-up" clothes they had prepared for Brian didn't fit at all.

Of course, she had also grown far more than they had anticipated.

"So that's it."

Kuroha smiled and beckoned her over. "Brian-chan… no, I suppose I should just call you Brian now."

"Brian, come here."

She instinctively stepped closer and even bent down toward him.

She wasn't exceptionally tall after maturing, but she wasn't a tiny thing like Teio, who stood around 150 centimeters. Brian was now closer to 160.

Yet as she stood before the seated Kuroha, she still seemed unused to finding herself above his eye level.

After all, until yesterday, she had still been a little girl.

It was understandable.

Despite having grown so much, Brian was still bending her head toward him like a child waiting for a pat. Kuroha chuckled and reached out to gently ruffle her hair.

It felt as soft as ever.

Patting his girls on the head had become second nature.

At a thought, a faint light glimmered in his hand.

Brian immediately felt the tightness around her upper body ease. The uncomfortable pressure of the fabric vanished in an instant.

She looked down.

The shirt that had seemed ready to split at the seams now fit comfortably. Even the tight waist had loosened to accommodate her new size without digging into her.

"There. That should do for now."

Kuroha withdrew his hand with a soft chuckle.

"Once morning practice is over, we'll stop by Student Affairs to update your information. Then I'll take you to get a few sets of training clothes and racewear made to fit."

"I'm afraid none of the sizes we prepared for you are going to work anymore."

Brian nodded. "Got it, Trainer."

Over the next two weeks, Brian's training results improved at an almost unbelievable rate.

Her speed, stamina, explosive power, race sense, and technique all advanced by leaps and bounds.

Finally free of the limitations of her childhood physique, she was beginning to reveal the astonishing potential of a future Triple Crown champion.

And she wasn't the only one.

The entire Chasing Light team was running like a finely tuned engine.

McQueen and Teio had begun preparing for their overseas campaigns.

Meanwhile, Bourbon and Rice, who would take their place on the central racing circuit, were demonstrating a terrifying level of ability that left the rest of their generation far behind.

They swept through the prep races for the Classic Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara with ease.

Their sights were set on all three crowns!

And so, time continued its steady march forward.