“Stacelita bursts out from the inside!” “And Sea the Stars still needs to make up six or seven lengths to become champion!”
Although the young man was currently riding a horse, the voices of the commentators carried clearly on the wind.
“I’m going to charge here!” He realized this and chose to swing the whip tightly clutched in his hand.
“Go!
Let’s accelerate here!”
“Stacelita has taken the lead.
It looks like she’s going to win!”
Just as the live commentator made his professional judgment, the young man’s whip had already come down.
With just one flick, the excellent horse beneath him instinctively began to sprint.
It effortlessly erased the gap Stacelita had opened, as if it were nothing.
“Sea the Stars charges forward!
He catches Stacelita!
He overtakes her!
He’s still accelerating!
The lead instantly widens!” “Sea the Stars!
Flying like dust!
Perfect!
Impeccable!
A horse of a lifetime!”
After riding Sea the Stars across the finish line, the young man in the saddle suddenly lost his balance and fell straight off the horse’s back.
“!”
In an ordinary dormitory, Yugi, who had been quietly lying on the simple bed, suddenly sat up sharply.
He had been startled awake by that fall in his dream.
“Ouch!” Because he got up too quickly, his head bumped hard against the bed’s headboard.
“This time, I finally won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in my dream.” Yugi winced in pain as he rubbed his head with his left hand.
His right hand pressed firmly against his chest.
His gaze dropped to the floor as he muttered to himself, “But what exactly are these series of dreams?
From my debut race to this Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe…
what is the connection between the creatures called ‘horses’ that I partnered with and the Uma Musume in reality?”
These questions lingered in his mind and refused to fade away.
“Every night for the past six months since I resigned from the West Coast Tracen Academy, I’ve dreamt of this scene.
Did the Student Council President put a curse on me because I resigned and ran away?”
Just as Yugi was secretly complaining about the Secretariat, a strange voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
“Congratulations on perfectly clearing the novice dungeon ‘Sea the Stars’.
The reward ‘Basic Stat Viewer’ has been issued, and the novice dungeon-limited bonus ‘Jockey Moore’s Riding Skill’ has been saved as a unique skill.”
“What was that?!” Yugi was startled.
He looked around, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
“Am I hallucinating?” Yugi frowned.
The handsome young man thought in silence for a while, then shook his head.
“Never mind.
I’ll just treat it as a hallucination for now.
Time to go to work.
Tomorrow is the first day of the new semester, and there’s a lot to prepare today.”
As you can see, he is a respectable office worker.
“But ‘going to work’ is just sitting idly in the office.” The young man mumbled, “The Uma Musume here have absolutely no fighting spirit to improve.
That really matches the atmosphere of this academy.”
Uma Musume refers to a group of special girls.
They have long ears and flowing tails, and their foot speed far exceeds that of ordinary people.
Their destinies are sometimes difficult, sometimes glorious, and full of mystery.
They enjoy the favor of the three goddesses.
In this world, their destinies are still a mystery.
No one can predict the future of an Uma Musume.
And Yugi’s job is to provide help and companionship to those Uma Musume who embark on the path guided by destiny.
This job has a formal name: “Trainer.”
He is a new trainer belonging to Kasamatsu Tracen Academy in the rural town of Kasamatsu, Hashima District, Gifu Prefecture.
He has been employed for less than half a year, making him as new as can be at Kasamatsu.
Yet despite this, the young man now has plenty of complaints to vent.
“This is enough…” He muttered softly.
The training ground conditions were very crude.
They lacked even the slope roads that various local academies in America would build.
The Uma Musume at the academy were more concerned with so-called fashion trends than training every day.
During races, they even worried about whether their small accessories would fall off or if their clothes would get mud stains.
The average skill level of his colleagues was so low that he doubted how they had even graduated from trainer school.
Sometimes, watching those people guide their assigned Uma Musume with outdated ideas, he had to look away, afraid he would make the same mistake of speaking out as he did at the West Coast Tracen Academy.
Yugi forcefully slapped his own cheeks, using the slight pain to distract himself.
He then put on his casual clothes and rushed to the public water room with his toiletries.
“How can I leave this place…” On the way to the water room, he racked his brain for the answer to this question.
Kasamatsu was undoubtedly one of the most rural places in Japan.
And if he wanted to leave here and work at Central Tracen Academy in Tokyo, the only way was to get an offer letter from there.
Central Tracen Academy was the largest Tracen Academy in Japan, often abbreviated as “Central.” They also operated the Twinkle Series in cooperation with the URA Association.
It could be said that 99% of Uma Musume dreamed of winning the highest G1 registered series.
But for Yugi, getting an offer letter now was impossible.
Even more frustrating was that the reason had nothing to do with his ability.
“I’m sorry, Mr.
Yamoto…
I have high regard for your abilities, but I am currently unable to change the attitude of the big figures in the URA Association.
Please forgive me.”
Closing his eyes, Yugi could immediately recall the words spoken with an apologetic look by the “Emperor” in the Student Council room of Central Tracen Academy.
“Because I’m from America, they worry I’ll secretly use banned drugs on Uma Musume like those scoundrels on the West Coast…” He got a headache just thinking about this prejudice placed upon him.
“I was forced to come to Japan precisely because I refused to be associated with those scoundrels and got into a big fight.
But now I’m being implicated by the bad reputation they caused.
And I can’t immediately prove that I’m not one of those scoundrels.”
“However, it’s not like there’s no way at all.” He had been in Japan for nearly half a year and hadn’t just been idling away in Kasamatsu.
He had also found a way to guarantee an offer letter.
“As long as I train an Uma Musume at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy using entirely legitimate methods, who can win a G1…
no, a major race in the Twinkle Series at Central, thereby proving my ability, I can try to ask that ‘Emperor’ to issue me an offer letter from Central Tracen Academy!”
Although he had only toured Central Tracen Academy once, during that tour the number of Uma Musume he saw with visibly strong talent was probably many times that of Kasamatsu.
“Wait, zero can’t be a denominator, can it?” He muttered to himself.
It wasn’t that Yugi’s standards were too high.
It was just that the skill level of the Uma Musume at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy was truly eye-opening for him.
“So…” After a quick wash, the young man once again posed a question that had been bothering him for days.
“Are there any Uma Musume at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy who meet my minimum requirements?”
He, of course, knew the answer to this question, and thus felt even more powerless.
“The gap between ‘local’ and ‘Central’ is like heaven and earth.
This is an ironclad rule in the eyes of the staff at Kasamatsu…
no, all local Tracen Academies.”
“The only one who has broken this rule in so many years is Haiseiko, who came from Oi Tracen Academy and, as a local debutante, won multiple G1 victories at Central.”
“But that’s Oi, you know…” Yugi shrugged.
“It’s a local academy in Tokyo, after all, so the quality of its students must be much stronger than Kasamatsu’s.
If only Kasamatsu hadn’t been the only one to accept my job application…”
“I really want to go to Central…”
He wore a dejected expression and set off for work.
“Yo~ Good morning, Yugi-san.” As the young man jogged to the entrance of Kasamatsu Tracen Academy, a man wearing a beret greeted him.
“Good morning, Kitahara-san.” He nodded to the other person, then scanned his surroundings and asked curiously, “Who are you waiting for here?
Are you meeting a female colleague or an Uma Musume?”
“The former aside, how could it be the latter?” Kitahara-san gave a self-deprecating smile, then grinned.
“I’m waiting for you, Yugi-san.
Remember to come to my place this afternoon, along with Shibasaki.
We’ll watch the broadcast of today’s G2 Twinkle Series Nikkei Sho at Nakayama Racecourse!
That major race features the two-time Derby Uma Musume Mihono Bourbon!”
“A two-time Derby Uma Musume…” Yugi blinked, then agreed.
“Okay.
I don’t have anything to do this afternoon anyway, so I’ll watch the race with you, Kitahara-san.”
“Yugi-san is always so understanding.
Shibasaki said he needed to prepare materials for the Central exam and argued with me for a while before finally accepting my invitation.” Kitahara-san first pouted, complaining about another colleague, then gave a thumbs-up.
“As expected of Yugi-san!”
“It’s Sunday, yet we still have to come to work here.” Yugi changed the subject.
He didn’t want to join Kitahara-san in complaining about his colleague.
Unlike Kitahara-san, who had been here for many years, Yugi was a newcomer.
He didn’t want to leave a bad impression on other colleagues just for some idle gossip.
“Anyway, I’m just idle in the dorm,” Kitahara-san spread his hands.
“If I work, I get more overtime pay.
Isn’t that good?
Besides, tomorrow is the first day of the new semester.
If you get your materials in order, Yugi-san might find his first Uma Musume to be in charge of!”
He continued speaking to himself, narrowing his eyes and carefully scrutinizing Yugi again.
“Hmm…
Yugi-san is a trainer from America.
Both his education and ability are stronger than ours.
Why hasn’t he found a suitable Uma Musume at the academy in the past six months?”
“How should I put it…” Yugi pursed his lips and replied softly, “After seeing the Uma Musume in Central, the ones studying at Kasamatsu always feel a bit lacking to me.”
“But that’s the reality of Kasamatsu,” Kitahara-san pointed out the cruel truth.
“As a trainer, who wouldn’t want to train a talented Uma Musume?
But everyone here at Kasamatsu is like this.
As trainers, we can’t change the Racehorse Girls’ talent.
We can only make do with what we have and strive to let those with less talent still put on a wonderful performance for their fans.”
However, the next second, his expression changed.
He put on a mysterious look and raised an eyebrow.
“But this year, there’s an exception.”
“Hm?” A simple sentence immediately piqued Yugi’s curiosity.
His eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed, “What is the ‘exception’ you’re talking about, Kitahara-san?”
“New semester, new beginnings!
A new batch of Uma Musume will be enrolling tomorrow.
I heard that our Kasamatsu Tracen Academy has a specially invited gray-haired Uma Musume named ‘Fujimasa March’ this time, and her strength is outstanding,” Kitahara-san replied animatedly.
“They say she has a very good chance of winning even the Tokai Derby!”
The Tokai Derby was the most prestigious race in the Nagoya region where Kasamatsu was located.
The biggest dream of many trainers active in the Nagoya area throughout their lives was to train a Tokai Derby Uma Musume.
Yugi’s mind wandered for a moment, then he spoke.
“From the sound of it, Kitahara-san, you’re planning to invite her to join your team?
I remember the last Uma Musume you were in charge of is retiring from the Twinkle Series and graduating from the academy this year.”
Upon hearing Yugi’s question, Kitahara-san paused, realizing the implication.
He shrugged.
“Well…
I do have that idea.
But if you, Yugi-san, compete with me, I’m afraid I won’t have any chance at all.”
“But Yugi-san, you don’t mind gray-haired Uma Musume?” Kitahara-san was surprised.
“In Japan, we have a saying: ‘Gray-haired Uma Musume don’t run fast.’ I just thought that in the local Twinkle Series, this shouldn’t matter, which is why I was tempted.”
“Oh?
Is there really such a saying?” Yugi’s eyes widened.
“When I was in America, I saw a very strong gray-haired Uma Musume.”
“Is there any correlation between a Uma Musume’s coat color and her racing talent?”
Yugi felt that this inexplicable rumor was probably one of the reasons for the Japanese Uma Musume world’s weakness.
Perhaps he could use this to his advantage?
“If I train a gray-haired Uma Musume who can win a major race in Central, then everyone will definitely think my training skills played a huge role,” he mused.
Meanwhile, Kitahara-san showed an understanding expression and nodded.
“I see…
As expected of America, to have such powerful gray-haired Uma Musume.”
From Kitahara-san’s reaction, Yugi felt that he hadn’t taken his words to heart at all, which gave him a bit more confidence.
“As for Fujimasa March, I’ll probably observe her,” Yugi thought again, being honest.
After all, it was rare for a newcomer to be praised by colleagues at the academy.
“If Kitahara-san successfully persuades her to join his team during this time, then I’ll switch targets.”
“Alright, it’s a deal!” After making the agreement, Kitahara-san couldn’t wait to leave.
“I’m going to gather information about that girl.
Remember to come watch the Nikkei Sho with us this afternoon!”
“Okay, I won’t forget.” Yugi watched Kitahara-san’s retreating figure and shook his head with a smile.
“Kitahara-san is really eager.”
After watching Kitahara-san disappear from his sight, he took a step, preparing to head to his assigned office to organize the materials he would use tomorrow.
Suddenly, he felt something.
Yugi stopped, turned his head, and looked into the distance.
“Is that…?” He squinted, trying to discern the figure in the distance.
Yugi, confident in his eyesight, could tell that the Uma Musume charging towards the academy gate was gray-haired.
“I sense a very good aura…” he murmured to himself.
“Could she be the specially invited Uma Musume that Kitahara-san mentioned?”
===
And just as Yugi was wondering, the appearance of the Uma Musume speeding from a distance became clearer and clearer in his eyes.
Gray-haired, wearing the Kasamatsu Tracen Academy tracksuit.
She was a bit shorter than Yugi, but definitely considered tall among Uma Musume.
She looked dusty and quite disheveled.
But he wasn’t disappointed by her appearance.
On the contrary, Yugi’s eyes lit up.
“Amazing!
Although her posture seems to have many problems, the sense of bounce after each step is so comfortable!”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“The aura of talent is rushing toward me.”
Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, Yugi opened his eyes.
A brilliant smile appeared on his face as he proactively greeted the gray-haired Uma Musume who was about to reach him.
“Good morning—”
“Ouch!”
“Good morning!” The Uma Musume responded to his greeting, then bumped into Yugi’s right arm and, without pausing, rushed into the academy.
Yugi, who had been knocked to the ground, gasped.
“Hiss…
ouch, ouch, ouch…”
But the next second, he had no time to lament.
He was stunned by a form that appeared before him.
“Basic Attribute Check?” Yugi glanced at the name at the top of the form, frowned, then scanned downwards.
“Name not displayed, height 167 cm, bust…
size is B82 – W57 – H82.”
But looking further down, all the remaining items in the form — such as track adaptability, distance adaptability, preferred strategy, skills, and so on — were all marked with asterisks.
He was a bit disappointed.
“Well, this really is a basic attribute checker.
It only shows the most fundamental things.”
But this also confirmed to Yugi that the voice he heard after waking up this morning was not an illusion.
He propped himself up with one hand, quickly got up from the ground, and dusted off his clothes.
“Although there’s a lot of information not displayed, just by looking at that running gait, I feel like she must be the Uma Musume I’ve been waiting for!”
Yugi admitted he was tempted.
“I wonder if she’s the Fujimasa March that Kitahara-san mentioned.
If so, then I’ll certainly have to compete to win her over.”
With that thought, he no longer lingered at the school gate and quickened his pace toward his office.
“First, I need to confirm her identity.”
Although Kasamatsu Tracen Academy’s facilities were poor, the enrollment roster for Uma Musume was very well-made.
Yugi, relying on his excellent dynamic vision inherited from his mother, had captured the appearance of that gray-haired Uma Musume.
Now, he just needed to compare her one by one with the new student roster.
Soon, Yugi found the answer he was looking for in the roster.
“Is her name Oguri Cap?” he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“If it’s not Fujimasa March, then it’s easy.
My colleagues’ attention must be focused on her right now.”
Yugi clenched his fist.
“While everyone’s attention isn’t on other Uma Musume, tomorrow…
no, I’ll go to the classroom to find Oguri Cap later.
I must get her to join my team!
My dream of getting a Central Tracen Academy appointment depends on her!”
Thinking of it, he acted immediately.
He closed the roster and left the office.
Because of his slacking off for the past six months, his colleagues in the office just glanced at him and went back to their own work.
No one was curious about what Yugi was doing leaving the office during work hours…