Tojo Hana couldn’t hide her confusion.
“Practicing four hundred meters with full competitive intensity at this hour?”
Silence Suzuka was equally puzzled.
She muttered quietly to herself, “Usually, you wouldn’t schedule normal training this late, would you?”
Both of them were quite confused.
Oguri Cap felt the same way, but after two months under Yugi’s guidance, she had come to trust his methods completely.
She had no intention of questioning him.
The moment the minute hand reached the eleven, Yugi gave the signal.
Oguri Cap reacted instantly, bursting out of her starting stance.
“So fast!” Tojo Hana’s eyes widened.
“That reaction time would be considered excellent even in Tracen Academy!”
“Is she a front-runner like me?” Silence Suzuka frowned slightly.
“Her intent to take the lead right after the gates open is very clear, and her acceleration is impressive.”
She tried to imagine herself on the track against the gray Uma Musume.
After a moment, Silence Suzuka shrank back a little.
“I don’t think I could steal the lead from her.” Though reluctant to admit it, she genuinely couldn’t see how she could handle the gray Uma Musume in her current state.
Tojo Hana’s expression grew serious.
“This isn’t just natural talent.”
While Oguri Cap’s explosive start was impressive, her sharp positioning sense and the technique she used to accelerate from a standstill were not things local Uma Musumes usually displayed during casual training.
In Tojo Hana’s view, all of this was thanks to the young trainer who had jokingly called himself “worse than a pig” during their conversation earlier that day.
“If he’s worse than a pig, then what does that make us Central trainers?
Pig feed?” She smiled bitterly.
“Even a former intern from the West Coast is this capable.
No wonder Symboli Rudolf struggled so much during her overseas expedition.”
“Indeed,” Tojo Hana murmured, biting her lip.
“Expeditions are still too difficult for Japanese Uma Musumes right now.”
===
Yugi had no idea that he and Oguri Cap were being secretly watched.
His full attention was on Oguri Cap’s form during the 400-meter run, and he was very satisfied with what he saw.
Before training began, he had noticed that the soil at the Yukara Hot Spring Inn’s training ground was almost identical to that of Monbetsu Racecourse.
“Since Oguri Cap can adapt to this surface, the race at the end of August should be no problem at all.” The thought brought a small smile to his lips.
Under the lights, Silence Suzuka noticed Yugi’s smile and was momentarily stunned.
Tojo Hana, standing nearby, also saw it.
She thought to herself, “If I had trained a local Uma Musume to this level, I would probably have the same confident smile on my face.”
Interestingly enough, even though Tojo Hana recognized Oguri Cap’s talent, she had no desire to try and recruit her.
She knew exactly why.
In her opinion, the true key to this pair was the young trainer himself.
===
After Oguri Cap finished the 400-meter run, Yugi called out to her.
“You can head back to the guest room now.
I’m sure Berno Light is waiting to have dinner with you before you both head to the hot springs.”
“What about you, Trainer?” Oguri Cap asked innocently.
The question made both Tojo Hana and Silence Suzuka feel a bit awkward for her.
“Aren’t you going to the hot springs?”
“I’ll stay out here and enjoy the night air for a while.
You two go ahead and soak,” Yugi replied, waving his hand.
“Don’t stay in too long.”
“Okay.” Oguri Cap realized her question had been a bit off and quickly nodded before hurrying away from the training ground, almost as if she were escaping.
Once Oguri Cap had entered the lobby of the hot spring inn, Yugi turned his head toward the corner where Tojo Hana and Silence Suzuka were hiding and smiled.
Although Tojo Hana had hidden herself well, Silence Suzuka’s distinctive green earmuffs were clearly visible.
Yugi assumed they had simply come to watch his and Oguri Cap’s training.
He didn’t mind at all.
He began walking, following the same path Oguri Cap had taken out of the training ground.
However, instead of returning to the inn right away, he decided to take a walk around the area and try some of Biratori Town’s local specialty foods.
Even though this was the countryside, the proximity to Monbetsu Racecourse meant both Biratori Town and Monbetsu Town were quite lively at night.
Yugi strolled along the road alone, lost in thought.
“The end of August will be the real test of whether we made good use of this summer vacation,” he reflected.
“If we fail, we’ll have to rethink our entire plan.”
Either way, Yugi needed Oguri Cap to earn enough prize money by the end of the year to qualify for Central turf stakes races the following year.
While waiting for his food, he noticed three Uma Musumes sitting at a table not far away.
He recognized all three of them as members of Tojo Hana’s Rigil team from Tracen Academy.
He had never interacted with them before and had no intention of approaching them now.
Yugi sat with his back to the group, quietly waiting for his meal.
Just as he was about to stop paying attention to them, one of the chestnut-haired Uma Musumes spoke up.
“It would be great if Dober-chan could have come to Hokkaido with us.”
That accent sounds American, just like mine, Yugi thought to himself.
“But Dober-chan isn’t part of our Rigil team, so there’s no way she could join our summer training camp,” the handsome dark bay Uma Musume to the left replied.
“I couldn’t even invite any of my own fans.”
“Exactly.
Besides, Dober-chan is from the Mejiro Family.
She’s definitely spending summer at their family villa.
Taiki Shuttle, stop dreaming about hanging out with her!” the dark bay Uma Musume on the right added, her tone a bit rough.
“But don’t you think the trainer staying at the same inn as us would be perfect for helping Dober-chan?” Taiki Shuttle protested.
“Even our trainer seemed really happy after talking with him earlier.
You know how Fuji Kiseki usually is, right?”
“Emmmm…” Fuji Kiseki bit her lip and stayed quiet.
Another Uma Musume chimed in, “That’s true.
Trainer was in a surprisingly good mood during afternoon training.
Maybe it really was because of that conversation with the local trainer.”
“Who knows what they talked about,” Taiki Shuttle pouted.
“Fuji Kiseki, do you have any idea?”
“I don’t know,” Fuji Kiseki said, shaking her finger.
“But if that local trainer can make our trainer warm up to him so easily, maybe he really could get through to Dober-chan.”
“Too bad there’s no chance to test it,” Taiki Shuttle said with a sigh.
“Dober-chan’s androphobia needs to be overcome before her debut, or it’s going to cause serious problems for her career in the Twinkle Series and Dream Trophy Series.”
“That’s something for the Mejiro Family to handle,” the unnamed Uma Musume shrugged.
“Dober-chan is your roommate, Taiki Shuttle, but she’s not part of our Rigil team.”
“Amazon…” Taiki Shuttle’s voice turned pitiful.
Yugi took in every word of their conversation.
“Androphobia, huh?” He narrowed his eyes.
“Seems like Uma Musumes are the same everywhere.”
During his time at the West Coast Tracen Academy, he had heard stories about Uma Musumes who became extremely nervous, unable to communicate, or even aggressive around the opposite sex.
Those girls were usually assigned female trainers and staff, with special arrangements made for their living situations.
“I wonder what type Mejiro Dober is,” Yugi thought curiously.
Based on what he had learned about Japan over the past six months, he guessed that Mejiro Family Uma Musumes were probably just very shy around men and struggled to communicate normally.
“It’s a shame I’m not short on money right now.
Otherwise, I would have seriously considered offering my help and charging a consultation fee to help fund Oguri Cap’s training.”
After quickly finishing his seafood fried rice, Yugi casually walked past the three Rigil team members and left the restaurant.
The three Uma Musumes, still deep in conversation, never realized that the local trainer Taiki Shuttle had been “coveting” had been sitting right behind them the entire time.
Yugi returned to the hot spring inn at a leisurely pace and opened the door to their guest room with his key.
“Ah—!”
A loud scream rang out.
Yugi instinctively slammed the door shut.
Even so, the image burned into his mind for a brief moment.
Oguri Cap and Berno Light, both wrapped only in towels, had just stepped out of the hot spring one after another.
The towels couldn’t fully cover their smooth skin, and water droplets traced paths down their collarbones before disappearing.
“Ahem.” Yugi cleared his throat, trying to push the image out of his head.
He waited a moment before opening the door again as if nothing had happened.
By then, the two Uma Musumes had already retreated into their bedrooms.
Only a trail of wet footprints remained across the living room floor.
===
The next morning, when Silence Suzuka curiously asked the young Kasamatsu trainer what had happened in their room the night before, Yugi was deliberately vague.
He hadn’t discussed with Oguri Cap and Berno Light how to explain the scream, so he simply replied, “It was just a small accident.
Everything’s fine now.”
“I see.” Silence Suzuka didn’t press the issue.
She simply continued leading the way at a gentle pace, perfectly in character with her name.
Yugi followed behind her, benefiting from her slipstream, which made his run feel noticeably easier.
However, his mind was elsewhere as he thought about the previous night.
“Even though I thought separate bedrooms would be enough, I still didn’t account for every possible accident,” he muttered to himself. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“At least I closed the door quickly enough.
It could have been much more awkward.”
Yugi had decided to handle the incident with the cold treatment approach.
He would simply pretend nothing had happened.
After all, it had been an accidental glimpse as they stepped out of the hot spring wrapped in towels.
He hadn’t seen anything too inappropriate, nor had he done anything wrong.
He believed he had a clear conscience.
Meanwhile, running ahead of him, Silence Suzuka also murmured to herself.
“Before the scream last night, I heard the sound of a door opening.”
She had a pretty good idea of what had likely occurred.
Even so, Silence Suzuka didn’t develop any negative feelings toward the young trainer because of it.
Given Kasamatsu’s more modest resources, she figured he had probably used his own savings to bring his Uma Musumes here to chase their dreams.
Compared to the Central trainers who were busy playing the stock market, she actually had a rather favorable impression of him.
Of course, in her heart, Tojo Hana — who had personally recruited her to the Rigil team — still ranked the highest.
“I really hope Yamoto-kun makes it to Central one day,” Silence Suzuka thought quietly.
After their run, Yugi and Silence Suzuka returned to the inn at slightly different times, as if by unspoken agreement.
When Yugi entered the lobby, he saw Oguri Cap already back from her morning workout and eating with great enthusiasm.
He noticed that many of the Tracen Academy Uma Musumes were staring at the gray Uma Musume he trained.
“Is it because of her eating habits?” Yugi wondered, but he kept quiet.
He first returned to the guest room to change into fresh clothes, then headed to the restaurant for breakfast.
As soon as Yugi left the restaurant, the Tracen Academy Uma Musumes turned their attention to his retreating figure.
“Did he really train a local Uma Musume to that level?” Taiki Shuttle whispered.
“That explosive power is honestly intimidating.”
“Yeah,” Fuji Kiseki agreed.
“If she adapts well to turf, I’m sure she’ll win a stakes race next year.
And she only debuted this year.”
“Then why doesn’t our trainer try to recruit her for Central?” Taiki Shuttle asked, genuinely confused.
“It feels like such a waste for someone that talented to stay local.”
“Go ask the trainer yourself,” Fuji Kiseki replied.
She was certain Tojo Hana had also noticed how impressive Oguri Cap was during morning training.
Tojo Hana listened to her team’s whispers but said nothing.
“If it were only Oguri Cap’s talent, I would definitely want to recruit her,” she thought to herself.
“But it’s clear that her trainer is also exceptionally skilled.
I don’t have the confidence that I could train her any better than he can.”
In fact, Tojo Hana even felt that if Yugi ever joined Tracen Academy, he might be the one poaching her own favored Uma Musumes.
“Is Yamoto-kun really just an intern who was let go from the West Coast Tracen Academy?” Tojo Hana frowned.
“I should call Symboli Rudolf later and ask.
Since she was the one who recommended him to Kasamatsu, she probably knows more about him.”
When Yugi returned to the restaurant, he sat down across from Oguri Cap.
His morning appetite was modest.
He only had a fried egg, a few slices of bread, and a cup of coffee.
Oguri Cap, who had been eating with her head down, paused and briefly met Yugi’s eyes before looking away again.
Beside her, Berno Light’s cheeks were flushed red.
Last night’s incident had clearly affected the two local Uma Musumes quite a bit.
Having decided on the cold treatment approach, Yugi picked up a slice of buttered toast and spoke casually.
“Today will be the same as yesterday, Oguri Cap.
You and Berno Light will go to the swimming pool in the morning, rest in the afternoon, and at 7:55 PM you’ll warm up and run another 400-meter lap on the training ground.”
“In short, same schedule as yesterday.”
“Understood.” Oguri Cap’s tone remained steady and normal.
If not for the brief flash of panic in her eyes earlier, Yugi might have believed she was completely unaffected by the previous night.
“Even though I’m choosing to ignore it for now, I still need to keep an eye on how they’re feeling,” he reminded himself.
“If this creates any psychological issues, especially for Oguri Cap, it would be a serious problem.”
But observing their mental state couldn’t be done in a single day, so Yugi set it aside as a long-term task.
In contrast, another matter deserved more of his attention today…
200 Stones – 1 chapter
400 Stones – 2 chapter
600 Stones – 3 chapters
And so on