“You’re not living in the dorms yet, are you?” Yugi pressed Oguri Cap, his expression serious.
“I moved back after the simulation race,” Oguri Cap replied, looking regretful.
“Actually, I thought the place I was staying before was quite good.”
===
Even though Oguri Cap answered that way, Yugi still planned to return to the academy tomorrow and have a good chat with Norn Ace’s trainer.
“As a trainer, if the Uma Musume under my care did something like this, you at least owe me an explanation.”
But he didn’t mention it, only vaguely saying, “Never mind, I’ll think of another way for this.
I won’t trouble Miss Fujimasa March.”
Fujimasa March guessed Yugi’s thoughts and could only nod silently.
“When I get back to the academy tonight, I should definitely tell them to apologize properly to Oguri Cap,” she made a mental note.
Kitahara-san, seeing the atmosphere turn somber, quickly spoke up.
“This is my first time at this restaurant — or rather, my first time eating Chinese cuisine in a place like this.
Yugi-san, you should know about these things, right?”
“I’m ashamed to say, I only spent some time in my father’s hometown after resigning from the West Coast Tracen Academy, so I’m not very familiar with these things…” Yugi scratched his head.
“I always feel like I let the old man down.”
“Well — Yugi-san, don’t be so negative.” Kitahara-san patted his friend’s shoulder.
“To be able to establish yourself in a foreign land, I believe your father would also be happy for you.”
“I hope so,” Yugi pouted, muttering softly, “Though even if he isn’t happy, there’s nothing he can do about me now.”
Kitahara-san didn’t quite catch his friend’s words and didn’t press the matter.
But Oguri Cap, who was very close by, twitched her ears… Although it wasn’t a celebration, Yugi and Kitahara-san still had a few drinks.
Oguri Cap and the others originally wanted to try the pear-apricot specialty baijiu, but were jointly refused by the two trainers.
“You can’t drink alcohol now.
It greatly affects your competitive state,” Yugi said righteously, shaking the wine glass in his hand.
“Only those of us who don’t need to compete can drink.”
“And the academy explicitly forbids active Uma Musume in local races and the Twinkle Series from drinking,” Kitahara-san chimed in.
“Even the ‘Emperor’ of Central only dared to endorse sake after retirement.”
“Hmm.” Oguri Cap obediently gave up her idea.
However, despite saying they’d only have a few drinks, Yugi, who didn’t drink much to begin with, still became a bit muddled later on.
At this point, he finally revealed another side of himself that he hadn’t shown in front of others.
Leaning back in his seat, Yugi spoke to his friend.
“I remember Kitahara-san was very curious about my family situation before, right?”
“Indeed, very curious.
Everyone at the academy is curious, aren’t they?” Kitahara-san was also slightly tipsy now.
“After all, Yugi-san, you’re a top student who studied in America.
There’s no reason for you to come work at Kasamatsu.
Even if you couldn’t stay in America, going to Europe surely wouldn’t be a problem, right?”
At the dining table, the three Uma Musume all focused their attention.
“If I wanted to go, I certainly could, but whether I could become a trainer after going is another question,” Yugi waved his hand.
“No matter which country, they generally wouldn’t give me a trainer’s license.”
“Why?” Kitahara-san grew even more curious.
“Did Yugi-san offend some big shot in America?
I think your abilities are perfectly fine.”
“Europe’s Uma Musume competition system isn’t controlled by America.
Their reason for refusing me is simply that they’re not confident in my bloodline,” Yugi took another sip of baijiu and continued.
“Today, Oguri Cap ran the 800-meter dirt race in the 49-second range, which really startled the Kasamatsu commentators and spectators.”
“Ha—” A hint of sarcasm entered his tone.
“That kind of data… I can do that too.”
“Eh?!” Oguri Cap’s eyes widened.
Her trainer’s words clearly defied common sense — how could there be ordinary people in this world who could run as fast as an Uma Musume?
Even Kitahara-san didn’t believe it.
“Yugi-san, are you drunk?”
“I… I’m not drunk!” Yugi shook his head vigorously.
“I’m telling the truth.
If I were an Uma Musume, Kitahara-san, you’d probably only see me on TV.”
“For example,” he raised his index finger and pointed at the ceiling, “if the ‘Emperor’ from Central had an Uma Musume daughter, wouldn’t all of you pay attention to her?”
“Yugi-san means…” Kitahara-san thought for a moment.
His friend was right, but connecting it to what he had just said, he shivered.
“If I were an Uma Musume,” Yugi paused, “it would probably be that kind of situation.”
“Then the URA Associations in Europe would have even less reason to refuse a trainer, wouldn’t they?” Berno Light muttered softly.
“A Triple Tiara Uma Musume’s child becoming a trainer… I’d think Europe would be begging for something like that.”
“How could that be.” Although Yugi was drunk, his ears were still sharp, and he boasted proudly.
“My maternal grandmother is Sea Bird.”
“Eh!?” Kitahara-san was instantly sobered.
“The strongest Uma Musume of the century with a Timeform rating of 145?!”
“Exactly,” Yugi revealed everything.
“That strongest of the century, who had 7 wins in 8 starts in the Twinkle Series, and won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Epsom Derby, is my maternal grandmother… although we’ve never met.”
“No wonder Yugi-san didn’t go to Europe…” The now-sober Kitahara-san shook his head.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t go either.”
“Why do you say that?” Fujimasa March didn’t understand at all.
Oguri Cap and Berno Light looked like they wanted to speak but held back — it was clear they were both very curious.
“Senior Sea Bird has already passed away…” Kitahara-san explained to the Uma Musume he was training, while formulating his words.
“No wonder Yugi-san studied in America.
He probably moved there from Europe, right?” He sighed, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Unable to go to Europe, and not wanting to stay in America, it’s either Australia or here.”
Kitahara-san turned his head, surveying Oguri Cap and Berno Light.
“To be fair, you two are really lucky.”
“A Triple Tiara Uma Musume’s child becoming a trainer…” After Yugi revealed his maternal grandmother’s name, Kitahara-san had already guessed who his friend’s mother was — Allez France, the third Triple Tiara Uma Musume in French history, who, like her mother, also won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
He bit his lip, feeling regret for his friend.
“It’s a pity Yugi-san isn’t an Uma Musume.
The great feat of three generations dominating the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe won’t be realized.”
“Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe…” The name of this race was too distant for the three Uma Musume present.
===
The next day, when Yugi slowly woke up in bed, all the events from last night came flooding back.
“Tsk.” He tapped his head.
“As expected, I can’t drink alcohol.
Once I drink, I can’t keep things to myself.”
Yugi wasn’t going to continue discussing his family background with Kitahara-san and the Uma Musume under his care.
He decided not to bring up this topic again after arriving at the academy.
After breakfast, Yugi first took the train to Kasamatsu Racecourse to pick up his car, then drove it to the academy’s parking lot.
Instead of going back to his office to start writing the post-race reports for yesterday’s two races, he went directly to Norn Ace’s trainer’s office.
Seeing it empty, he simply waited by the door… It wasn’t until past 7:50, less than ten minutes before the Uma Musume were to start class, that Yugi finally met Miss Kawamura Hiyori, Norn Ace’s trainer, there.
To his surprise, before he could even speak, Kawamura Hiyori bowed deeply.
“Yugi-san, I’m so sorry!”
This made Yugi, who was ready to demand an explanation, stammer.
“I didn’t know until last night that Norn Ace and the others had targeted Oguri Cap.
I’m truly sorry!
They’ve already gone to apologize to Oguri Cap,” Kawamura Hiyori continued to explain.
“Norn Ace told me that she wanted to teach Oguri Cap how to sing and dance, but because she had bullied her before, she was afraid she would be rejected if she went again.”
“Then go teach her,” Yugi replied dryly.
“Uh — I believe Miss Kawamura didn’t know about this before either, as I only found out yesterday.
Indeed, as trainers, we still know too little about the lives of the Uma Musume.”
“Yes,” Kawamura Hiyori agreed repeatedly.
“It’s also my first time knowing that the Uma Musume I’m responsible for did such a thing.
I’m truly ashamed.”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Seeing the other party proactively take responsibility, Yugi also felt awkward continuing to press the matter.
“It’s good as long as this kind of thing doesn’t happen again in the future.
As trainers, we really should care more about the Uma Musume under our care.
This isn’t just Miss Kawamura’s fault.
I haven’t done well either.”
“Thank you, Yugi-san,” Kawamura Hiyori bowed deeply again.
“I will make sure Norn Ace teaches Oguri Cap well.”
Yugi, who had originally intended to demand an explanation aggressively, received an unexpected reaction.
He walked back to his office, a conflicted expression on his face.
Passing by Kitahara-san’s office, Yugi heard his friend’s wailing from inside, so he stopped and stood by the door, wanting to hear what had happened to Kitahara-san.
“Waaah — the Uma Musume Yugi-san is in charge of eats way too much!
The normal per-person spending at Lixing is at most 5,000 yen, but I spent over 40,000 yen yesterday!”
“Serves you right for betting with him,” another trainer scoffed.
“The gray Uma Musume he’s in charge of made the cafeteria give up and prepare to cancel the buffet system.
Kitahara-san, you were brave enough to challenge her appetite.”
“No wonder Yugi-san told me a regular family restaurant would be fine back then.
I even felt bad about it,” Kitahara-san said, shrinking in his seat.
“I lost a lot this time.”
“What did you lose?” the trainer retorted.
“Even though Fujimasa March didn’t win yesterday, you still had money left over from your share after treating everyone, didn’t you?
Yesterday, there were only two races limited to debut-year Uma Musume.
The biggest winner was Yugi-san, followed by Kitahara-san and Mr.
Shibasaki.
Now, every time I think that the Uma Musume I’m in charge of is in the same generation as Oguri Cap and Fujimasa March, I get a headache… How should I arrange these races in the future?”
“You’ll all have your chances later,” Kitahara-san mumbled vaguely.
Meanwhile, Yugi, who had been standing outside the door, had already started walking again and left… Returning to his desk, he sat down, picked up a pen, and began writing the report for yesterday’s race.
This report not only had to describe the race in detail but also highlight the strengths and weaknesses shown by the Uma Musume he was in charge of during the race — though the latter could, of course, be omitted.
“I remember my father’s comment for the Student Council President’s Belmont Stakes was ‘a once-in-a-lifetime run, a flawless performance,'” Yugi murmured to himself while meticulously writing Oguri Cap’s race report.
He wrote many lines for strengths.
When it came to weaknesses, Yugi initially wanted to playfully pay homage to his father, but then he remembered that Oguri Cap’s race was just her debut at Kasamatsu, so he reined in that thought.
“Insufficient distance adaptability.” But in the end, he only wrote down this one issue.
“I guess after this report is submitted, the academy will probably speculate whether I plan to have Oguri Cap challenge opponents in Nagoya,” Yugi chuckled to himself.
When writing Berno Light’s race report, he also wrote a great deal of praise.
However, after finishing, Yugi attached Berno Light’s retirement application to the report.
“The academy higher-ups are probably going to have a massive headache,” he thought, wanting to laugh out loud as he imagined the expression of the person reviewing the report when they saw the attachment.
In the afternoon, Yugi met with the two Uma Musume he was in charge of at the training ground.
As soon as Oguri Cap saw him, she complained to him in front of her teammate.
This morning, I tried to get her to go for morning practice, but she just kept sleeping soundly.”
“Um, Oguri, listen to me,” Berno Light explained weakly.
“Because—”
Yugi interrupted the chestnut-haired Uma Musume and explained to Oguri Cap on her behalf.
“Because Berno Light has decided to retire and no longer be an Uma Musume.”
“Huh?” Oguri Cap’s eyes widened.
“Why?”
“Because I feel like I’ve reached the end of this path, and I can only be confined to this small world of Kasamatsu,” Berno Light had already thought about how to explain to her good friend.
“But if I switch to being Oguri’s support Uma Musume, I believe Oguri can definitely take me to places I wouldn’t even dare to imagine in my dreams.”
“Places I wouldn’t even dare to imagine in my dreams?” Upon hearing Berno Light’s words, the first thing that came to Oguri Cap’s mind was Kitahara-san’s lament from the dinner yesterday.
“‘It’s a pity Yugi-san isn’t an Uma Musume.
The great feat of three generations conquering the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe won’t be realized.'”
“That must be the place I wouldn’t even dare to imagine in my dreams,” she closed her eyes, unable to conjure up the image of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as it should be in her heart.
===
Let alone the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, even an ordinary race in France was beyond the imagination of Oguri Cap, who had just successfully debuted at Kasamatsu.
All her current imaginings would only be “the emperor’s golden carrying pole” — how could one get an accurate impression without actually seeing it?
Yugi also understood this, so he didn’t want the Uma Musume he was in charge of to continue thinking about such issues.
Therefore, he cleared his throat, preparing to have Oguri Cap begin her relaxed recovery training.
“Since you just raced yesterday, today’s training intensity will be reduced.
Keep your time per 200 meters to 20 seconds, run three laps around the academy’s training ground, and then do a set of stretching exercises using the academy’s equipment.
Today’s training can then conclude.
For the remaining time, I hope Oguri Cap, you can learn singing and dancing with Norn Ace to improve your performance in Winning Live.”
After reciting Oguri Cap’s entire afternoon schedule, Yugi waved his hand, signaling Oguri Cap to leave.
He intended to talk to Berno Light next about what she needed to do in the future.
Oguri Cap saw the trainer’s gesture, but she didn’t obediently turn around.
Instead, she looked up, staring at her trainer.
“Trainer, can I run with you once?” Oguri Cap asked.
This was something she had wanted to try since last night.
“The trainer said he could also achieve the data I ran in the race… I want to know if that’s true.”
“I can, yes,” Yugi chuckled awkwardly.
“It’s just that if I run like that, I’m afraid you’ll only see me in the hospital for the next few months.”
“But if the trainer said that, he must have run before, right?” Berno Light chimed in, supporting her.
“Indeed, I have,” Yugi raised both hands, giving a French military salute.
“When I was interning in America, the Uma Musume assigned to me for training wasn’t very convinced, so we competed once on the training ground.”
“What was the result?” Oguri Cap blinked, pressing for an answer.
“I lost!” Yugi said with a righteous tone.
“You can’t expect me to beat a West Coast Tracen Academy Uma Musume, can you?
The standard there is even higher than Japan’s ‘Central.'”
“Hmm—” Oguri Cap pouted, realizing once again that she seemed to have a long way to go to achieve the goals of her trainer and herself.
It was late at night on the West Coast of America, but Los Angeles, the capital of California on the West Coast, was a famous city that never sleeps.
Several West Coast Tracen Academy Uma Musume chose to come here for a night out during the summer vacation when there were no races, even bringing along the Uma Musume who was set to debut this year.
“Pay Butler ~” Squirtle Squirt, walking at the front of the group, called out the name of the junior member.
“Don’t hang your head.
It’s okay if you haven’t escaped the maiden race yet.
There will always be opportunities later.”
“Thank you, Senior.” The brown Uma Musume, trailing at the very back of the group, looked up and replied weakly.
“But I’ve already run five races, and I always feel like I’m getting further and further from victory.”
“How could that be?
You have to trust our trainer’s judgment.
He said that Pay Butler, you are an Uma Musume who can win a G1!” Squirtle Squirt smiled and reached out, ruffling the junior’s neatly arranged hair into a mess.
“But he also said that the Chinese trainer in charge of Senior would definitely make a name for himself at our academy,” Pay Butler pouted.
“But he still resigned and left, disappearing without a trace.”
Squirtle Squirt’s face turned grim, but she defended the trainer who had trained her for a while.
“That guy is actually very good.”
“How good?” A.P.
Indy, walking beside Squirtle Squirt, asked with a grin.
“You are an Uma Musume with two G1 victories in dirt sprints.
When he trained you, Squirtle Squirt, you were already a big favorite for the Breeder’s Cup, so I don’t think he played much of a role.”
“A.P.
Indy, you can’t say that.
Actually, Yugi-san played a big role…” Squirtle Squirt could only mumble softly to refute her teammate, who had four G1 victories in her Twinkle Series career, including major wins like the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders Cup Classic.
“And his speed is also very fast.”
Although the Uma Musume present caught the entire sentence, they instinctively ignored the first part.
“Very fast speed?” A.P.
Indy showed an interested look.
“How fast?”
200 Stones – 1 chapter
400 Stones – 2 chapter
600 Stones – 3 chapters
And so on