Just as Yugi snapped out of his daydream and lightly tapped his forehead, a familiar sigh drifted over from the other side of the wall.
Yugi froze.
He immediately recognized the owner of that sigh.
It was the same chestnut-haired Uma Musume he had encountered during his morning run.
“Why is Silence Suzuka taking a hot spring bath?
Shouldn’t she be training during the summer camp?” Yugi frowned.
Even so, he didn’t dare ask the girl sitting on the far side of the wall.
Meanwhile, Silence Suzuka, with her usual gentle nature, soaked in the hot spring and muttered to herself, unknowingly answering Yugi’s question.
“The trainer told me to rest again.
But I only did a light morning workout.
There wasn’t any high-intensity training at all.” She hugged her chest with both arms, sounding rather unhappy.
“Everyone else is out training, yet I’m the only one without any assigned sessions.
What exactly does my trainer have planned for me?”
“It’s already been almost a year since I joined the team, but I still feel like I haven’t really become part of it.” She closed her eyes, her voice filled with helplessness.
Unaware that someone was listening on the other side of the wall, Silence Suzuka eventually fell quiet.
Yugi remained perfectly still on his side of the wall, not making a sound.
He thought to himself, “After a whole year, the trainer still hasn’t helped her feel like she belongs to the team.
Miss Tojo Hana really is something else.”
In Yugi’s opinion, Silence Suzuka possessed just as much potential as Oguri Cap.
She was clearly not lacking in talent.
Since she had not yet gone through her full awakening, he believed she still had plenty of room to grow in both her attributes and overall ability.
“I’ll have to ask Tojo Hana later what her real plans are for Silence Suzuka,” Yugi decided, giving himself a small side quest.
Although he now knew Silence Suzuka had some concerns about fitting into the team, he had no intention of trying to recruit her.
After all, she was a Tracen Academy Uma Musume, while he was just a local trainer.
Generally, fifteen minutes was the ideal time for a hot spring soak.
However, not wanting Silence Suzuka to realize he had overheard her, Yugi waited until she had left the bath before he finally stood up.
He let out a long breath.
A breeze carrying steam and a faint pleasant fragrance brushed past him from behind, stealing away some of the heat from his body and making him shiver slightly.
“It really makes me curious what kind of talents the other Uma Musumes have that would make Miss Tojo overlook someone like Silence Suzuka.” Yugi stepped out of the pool, still muttering to himself.
He carefully wrapped a bath towel around himself, dried off thoroughly, and left the hot spring area.
After changing back into his casual clothes in the Japanese-style room, he rested for a bit before heading down to the lobby.
There, he got a can of milk from Miss Sachiko.
“Prices just keep going up these days,” Miss Sachiko complained to him.
“Miss Tojo was chatting with me earlier and mentioned that a lot of her colleagues at the Academy are playing the stock market.
Apparently some of those who made big money aren’t planning to stay as trainers anymore.”
“Maybe for them, being a trainer is just a job,” Yugi said with a forced smile.
“If there are better ways to earn money, it’s normal that they wouldn’t want to continue.”
“Then what if you also make a fortune in the stock market, Yamoto-kun…” Miss Sachiko trailed off, blinking at him.
“That’s impossible,” Yugi shook his head.
“I don’t know anything about the stock market.
Besides, I only know how to train Uma Musumes.”
His eyes fell on the can of milk in his hand.
“Since I was little, I’ve been around the Uma Musumes my father trained.
As I grew up, I spent all my time learning how to be a trainer.
There’s no way I would ever give up this path.”
“Yamoto-kun, you care about Uma Musume more than those Tracen Academy trainers do,” Miss Sachiko sighed.
“If you ever plan to bring your girls here for another summer training camp in Hokkaido, just let me know in advance.
I’ll be sure to save you a good spot.”
“Thank you in advance, Miss Sachiko.” After thanking her, Yugi opened the can of milk and drank it all in one go.
“Ha…” He placed the empty can on the counter and grinned.
“I guess it really is Hokkaido, famous for its dairy industry.
The milk here is genuinely excellent.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Miss Sachiko replied with a warm smile.
“All our milk comes from our ranch in Biratori Town.
I heard they’re planning to bring in the latest overseas farming equipment.”
“With the yen getting stronger, buying equipment from overseas has become much more affordable than before,” Yugi said, nodding in understanding.
The effects of the yen’s appreciation went beyond just improving the quality of milk.
That afternoon, while reading the freshly printed local newspaper from Sapporo, Yugi noticed that the URA Association in the Hokkaido region had announced a subsidy program.
Starting in August, Uma Musumes participating in local exchange races would receive financial support.
“A subsidy of 1.7 million yen per Uma Musume?
Hokkaido really is generous,” he quietly remarked.
“It’s not just Hokkaido that’s doing well,” came Tojo Hana’s voice from beside him.
Yugi turned to see her sitting across from him in casual clothes.
She continued, “The entire country and its people have become quite prosperous.”
“If you throw money into the stock market right now, even a pig could turn a profit.” She pouted, clearly not fond of the current situation.
“Then I must be worse than a pig,” Yugi laughed.
“Since I arrived in Japan, I haven’t set foot in a stock exchange even once.”
Tojo Hana raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“For me, if I had extra money, I’d rather save some and use the rest to create better training conditions for the Uma Musumes under my care.
That seems far more meaningful than gambling it all on the stock market,” Yugi said.
Seeing that Tojo Hana’s attitude toward him was quite positive, he continued to share his thoughts.
“That’s true,” Tojo Hana nodded several times.
“Local trainers like you, Yamoto-kun, are really quite rare.
Why don’t you consider coming to Tracen Academy?”
Yugi was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected to be the one scouted before Oguri Cap.
===
He gave a wry smile.
“I did try to apply once, but I didn’t make it.
My position at Kasamatsu only came through a recommendation from the Emperor in Central.”
“You must have trained overseas before, Yamoto-kun?” Tojo Hana’s eyes flickered with interest.
She slowly adjusted her glasses.
“In that case, you really shouldn’t have been rejected.
The URA higher-ups are always desperate for new talent to join Tracen Academy.”
“I had to leave after only finishing my internship on the West Coast,” Yugi said with a shrug.
“So maybe they doubted my abilities.”
Tojo Hana’s mouth twitched.
“Those people…”
Whether or not she actually agreed with the URA and Tracen Academy’s assessment of Yugi’s abilities, the fact that she showed this kind of reaction was already quite friendly.
Yugi didn’t dwell on the topic.
Instead, he shifted the conversation to the Uma Musumes under her care.
“It’s impressive that someone as young as you, Miss Tojo, is already responsible for so many Uma Musumes.
You’re doing much better than I am.”
“I simply inherited the previous trainer’s team for Rigil.
Many of the Uma Musumes were already recruited before the former trainer retired.
To avoid letting them down, I feel nervous every single day, worried that I’ll make some kind of mistake.” Tojo Hana’s voice carried genuine solemnity.
Yugi could sense that the young Tracen Academy trainer before him truly felt the pressure.
He spoke gently to reassure her.
“But on the very first day, you only needed one sentence to quiet them all down.
That clearly shows how much respect and trust they have in you.”
After all, Uma Musumes possessed incredible strength.
If they didn’t listen to their trainer, most could only rely on school rules for discipline.
But this was Hokkaido, far away from Tokyo.
Even the influence of the Central Emperor couldn’t immediately reach here to punish rule-breakers.
“There are still a few who give me headaches,” Tojo Hana said with a wry smile, shaking her head.
She didn’t seem eager to continue on that subject.
Yugi tactfully let it drop.
During the rest of their conversation, Yugi carefully asked about Silence Suzuka.
This chestnut-haired Uma Musume was the first one Tojo Hana had personally recruited after taking over Team Rigil.
Similar to Oguri Cap, Silence Suzuka also had a tendency to overtrain.
Tojo Hana was quite concerned about this, which was why she had reduced her training intensity during this summer camp.
She also wanted to use this time to build up Silence Suzuka’s endurance so that she wouldn’t burn out by running at full speed from the start in official races.
The goal was for her to learn to conserve energy and maintain her pace when it truly mattered in the final sprint.
Yugi also agreed with Tojo Hana’s later points.
“For a front-runner like her, learning how to control her pace and build endurance is extremely important.”
“Suzuka is very obedient and follows my instructions well.
I believe things will only get better from here,” Tojo Hana said, lifting her head with clear confidence.
“Her official debut in the Twinkle Series is still more than three years away.
I’m confident I can shape Silence Suzuka into an outstanding lead runner.”
Tojo Hana sounded quite proud of her plan.
Yugi didn’t comment directly.
He simply replied politely, “Three years is plenty of time.
I believe you can polish Silence Suzuka into a bright new star of the Twinkle Series.”
“She definitely will be!” Tojo Hana clenched her fist with determination.
“I will prove that Team Rigil can be the strongest team in Tracen Academy even without relying on our predecessors’ achievements!”
“I wish you every success,” Yugi said with a smile.
He poured himself some barley tea, raised his cup, and gestured toward Tojo Hana.
At noon, Oguri Cap and Berno Light returned to the hot spring inn right on time for lunch.
Yugi didn’t wait for them and simply grabbed a serving of curry for himself.
After eating, he returned to his room to enjoy the cool air from the air conditioner.
A short while later, Oguri Cap and Berno Light finished their lunch and came back as well.
Sitting in the living room, Yugi lightly tapped the floor with his foot, turning his chair to face his two Uma Musumes.
“Oguri Cap, go take a nap first.
At seven tonight, you’ll be going out with me.”
Though she had no idea what the trainer had planned, Oguri Cap simply nodded.
Berno Light also received her afternoon assignment.
Yugi first went to his room and retrieved a messenger bag, then returned and handed it to her.
“Inside is Canon’s new T80 DSLR camera that was released this year.
I bought it for 130,000 yen in Nagoya before coming to Hokkaido.
All the film you’ll need is already prepared,” he explained.
“This is way too valuable…
I’m scared I’ll break it…” Berno Light’s hands shook slightly as she accepted the bag.
“You know how to take photos with a camera, right?” Yugi asked, ignoring her worry.
“Yes, I can handle it.” Berno Light nodded.
Although the camera was expensive, her family ran a sporting goods store, so she wasn’t unfamiliar with photography equipment.
“Good.” Yugi reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed her two Fukuzawa Yukichi bills along with some smaller change.
“I need you to head over to Monbetsu Tracen Academy right now and take photos of their training grounds.
Then, on Friday when you don’t have to go to the pool with Oguri Cap, go again.
You don’t need to photograph the actual training sessions.
I only want to see the condition and changes in the facilities themselves.”
“Understood, Trainer!” Berno Light accepted the funds without hesitation.
“I’ll make sure not to get caught by the Monbetsu students!”
“That doesn’t really matter.
If possible, just photograph the grounds when no one is training there.
I doubt the Uma Musumes would mind in that case,” Yugi suggested.
“Hmm…” Berno Light thought it over and nodded.
“Then I’ll follow your instructions!”
With that, she turned to leave.
“Wait,” Yugi called out.
“The sun is quite strong outside.
Make sure you apply sunscreen before you go.”
“I’m fine!” Berno Light shook her head with a smile.
“I’m really resistant to the sun!”
She took light steps and left the room, messenger bag in hand.
===
By around seven in the evening, Berno Light had just returned from Monbetsu Tracen Academy with her results.
“Go eat dinner first,” Yugi told the chestnut-haired support Uma Musume after taking the bag from her.
“What about you, Trainer?” Berno Light glanced at his stomach, guessing he hadn’t eaten yet.
“I’ll eat later,” Yugi waved his hand.
“I still have training with Oguri Cap tonight, and since she can’t eat right now, I’ll hold off with her.”
“Then I won’t eat either.
I’ll go to the training ground with you and Oguri Cap,” Berno Light said immediately.
“There’s no need, Berno Light,” Yugi shook his head.
“You spent the whole afternoon scouting at Monbetsu Tracen Academy, so you must be tired.
Go eat dinner and then relax in the hot springs.
You don’t need to push yourself like we do.”
“Alright, I understand,” Berno Light replied obediently, though she secretly planned to soak in the hot springs together with her teammates later.
After settling Berno Light’s schedule, Yugi changed into light training clothes and headed to the training ground in slippers.
Oguri Cap was already there warming up under the lights.
“You can do your morning runs here too from now on, Oguri Cap,” Yugi told the gray Uma Musume.
“There’s no need to go all the way to the park like you did this morning.”
“But this morning the training ground was full of other Uma Musumes.
I felt a bit out of place,” Oguri Cap stopped her warm-up and explained.
“There’s nothing to feel out of place about,” Yugi said, patting her shoulder gently.
“Everyone here is an Uma Musume.
The only difference is which academy we belong to.
No one is above anyone else.”
He added with a slight pout, “Tomorrow morning, just come here for your workout.
We’ve already paid for access to this facility, so we might as well use it.”
“Understood,” Oguri Cap replied softly, then returned to her warm-up.
Once she finished warming up, Yugi checked his watch.
The minute hand was exactly on the ten.
“It’s seven fifty,” he murmured, then looked at Oguri Cap.
“Go onto the track and get ready.
When I give the signal, run one full lap at race pace.
That’s four hundred meters.”
“Okay.” Oguri Cap nodded and stepped onto the training ground.
Yugi had specifically arranged for her to run a lap at this time because the Hokkaido Yushun Himba started at exactly 7:55 PM Tokyo time.
Although many major races took place at night, this would be Oguri Cap’s first night race.
Yugi wanted her to gradually adapt to this schedule over the next two months so she could switch into race mode more naturally.
The local Hokkaido Uma Musumes didn’t need this kind of practice.
Any of them good enough to enter the Hokkaido Yushun Himba had likely already experienced night races before.
“This is one of Oguri Cap’s current weaknesses,” Yugi thought to himself.
As Oguri Cap moved onto the track, Tojo Hana and Silence Suzuka quietly watched the pair from Kasamatsu from just outside the training grounds.
Every instruction Yugi gave reached their ears clearly.