Riko Kashimoto felt she needed to clarify a few things.
She’d already pulled Silence Suzuka’s file and reviewed it thoroughly.
“So you’re saying you believe Suzuka is strong enough to win her next race?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“And are you planning to change her running style like Trainer Tojo did?”
“No.
I’m not going to make her change how she runs.”
“…”
Riko paused, then decided to add one more thing.
“Managing an Uma Musume’s health is a trainer’s duty.
You’re aware that this running style will drastically shorten her career lifespan, right?”
In an era where overall racing standards were skyrocketing, sticking with a pure front-running strategy was practically reckless.
“At most two years… No, maybe even one year if she’s lucky.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware of that.”
“Looks like you’ve prepared yourself completely.”
“That’s right.”
Kenji spoke with absolute confidence.
He hadn’t just been completing tasks with Suzuka; he’d spent his free time in the archives watching race replays, focusing heavily on past legendary front-runners.
One Uma Musume in particular had left a deep impression on him: Maruzensky.
Career record: eight races, eight wins.
Many of them were won by a massive margin, she’d beaten second place by a total of sixty-one lengths across her career.
A true front-runner among front-runners, earning the nickname “Supercar.”
“Winning by a landslide” was often used to describe victories where she pulled away by more than ten horse-lengths.
One horse-length was roughly 2.5 meters, supposedly the span of three goddesses’ arms outstretched.
In his original world, it literally meant a horse’s body length.
In other words, Maruzensky could leave second place trailing by over twenty-five meters every time she raced, crushing opponents with overwhelming dominance.
That was exactly the ideal silhouette for Suzuka’s future self.
Having studied Maruzensky’s races, Kenji already knew precisely what gaps Suzuka needed to fill.
System-granted skills were certainly a shortcut to growth, but developing an Uma Musume involved many layers of consideration.
It wasn’t about mindlessly stacking abilities.
Riko nodded.
If he was this certain, pressing further would just be nagging.
Anyway, whether he was a thoroughbred or a donkey, you’d find out once they were put to the test.
She only had one lingering concern left.
Since she now had a chance to speak with him alone, she decided to probe a bit.
“To be honest, I’m still wary of you.
You’ve probably noticed, across the entire academy, you’re the only trainer not allowed to freely recruit an Uma Musume.”
Kenji scratched the back of his head.
He still didn’t know why the academy had specially hired him as a Central Tracen trainer under these conditions.
Wasn’t it because they lacked confidence in him due to no track record?
“The reason the academy won’t let you freely recruit an Uma Musume is that we’re worried you might not have become a trainer out of genuine love for racing, but rather…” to chase young girls.
Riko didn’t finish her sentence, it was still just suspicion after all.
Miss Hayakawa had been quietly monitoring Kenji’s behavior behind the scenes.
In over a month at Tracen, he hadn’t done anything inappropriate.
But that might only be because there weren’t many Uma Musume on campus right now anyway.
“Rather what?”
Kenji’s curious gaze made Riko realize he genuinely didn’t know about his special “blessing.”
She hoped that when he eventually found out, he’d stay as pure as he was now.
“Never mind.
It’s better if you don’t know.”
“Uh… You saying that just makes me even more curious.”
Riko dropped the subject and looked him straight in the eyes.
“For my part, I want to try trusting you once.”
“Uh… Thank you for your trust?”
“If you can guide Silence Suzuka safely through her three years without breaking her down, I’ll propose lifting these restrictions on you to the director.”
She left out any mention of performance metrics.
No need to pile extra pressure on a rookie trainer.
“Really!
That’s fantastic!”
Kenji was overjoyed.
Miss Kashimoto was truly a lifesaver, she’d just solved his biggest worry right then and there.
“Honestly, it’s inefficient to have a trainer assigned to only one Uma Musume anyway.
If you deliver results, the academy has no reason to waste top talent.”
Trainers had long careers; they couldn’t possibly train just one charge over their lifetime.
Meanwhile, an Uma Musume’s career was as fleeting as a shooting star.
An Uma Musume’s prime spanned ages sixteen to eighteen, known as “The Golden Three Years.” These three years were divided into Junior Year, Classic Year, and Senior Year.
The most critical phase was the Classic Year, featuring the Triple Crown races that could only be challenged once in a lifetime: Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun (also called the Japanese Derby), and Kikuka Sho.
The well-known student council president at Central Tracen Academy, Symboli Rudolf, had claimed the Triple Crown title.
She’d even done it as an undefeated Triple Crown winner, meaning she hadn’t lost a single race while capturing it.
A true miracle.
Of course, her career wasn’t completely flawless; even an emperor takes losses sometimes.
You could say the racing world was filled with stars and never lacked geniuses.
Still, within domestic races, Rudolf’s record was terrifying: sixteen starts, thirteen wins, one second, one third.
Her only race outside the top three was her final career start, the Saint Louis Ray Stakes, an overseas Graded race.
In Japan, Symboli Rudolf had never finished outside the top three.
Anyway, Uma Musume who surpassed their Golden Three Years were labeled “older horses.”
That didn’t mean they couldn’t compete after turning eighteen.
It just meant they would have to run fewer races for precautionary reasons, and it’d be nearly impossible to stand out in the fiercest competitions.
So instead of forcing themselves to keep racing, many chose to retire at their peak, better than risking a disgraceful late-career decline.
Even if an Uma Musume insisted on staying in the ring, the public rarely praised her spirit.
Instead, they’d call her shameless for clinging to her spot like an old mare refusing to step aside.
Older horses should make room for new ones.
The cycle of succession was a natural law in racing.
If you couldn’t prove your strength during your prime, especially in the Classic Year, and still dreamed of becoming stronger as an older Uma?
Delusional.
That’s why many Uma Musume, after graduating from Tracen Academy, chose to transition into full-time idols or research and logistics roles.
Some went overseas to compete in ageless races abroad.
In countries where the racing industry wasn’t as developed, there were plenty of open divisions, no need to worry about running out of races.
As for Uma Musume who became trainers… it hadn’t never happened before, but cases were extremely rare.
Mainly because established stars struggled to empathize with rookies.
They’d say things like “Why can’t you even do this?
Back in my day…” and unintentionally crushed young runners’ spirits.
Beyond that, thanks to their superior physical conditioning, some Uma Musume branched out into other sports.
Swimming, gymnastics, even MMA-style fights had seen Uma Musume competitors.
They didn’t seem great at team or ball sports, though, so they hadn’t made much impact there.
Of course, Uma Musume wouldn’t compete directly against normal humans, that’d be completely unfair.
Any sport featuring them separated them into their own category.
But none of those other sports rivaled horse racing in popularity.
Racing was an unquestioned national treasure.
In short, Uma Musume in this world were free.
Running was etched into their souls as instinct, but some unconventional ones could override that instinct and integrate into human society to pursue what they truly loved.
Of course, retiring early to marry and become a devoted wife… wasn’t exactly a bad option either.
Assuming you met the right person.
Because an Uma Musume’s constitution was unlike ordinary humans’, most men struggled to keep up, making married life less than ideal in certain areas.
Rumor had it some retired Uma Musume would blow all their prize money at host clubs, then end up as criminals attacking men when they ran dry…
Thinking about it, that horse-faced auntie who’d attacked him probably turned criminal after burning through her savings too.
“Anyway, as long as you’re a good trainer who truly cares for your Uma Musume, I’ll stand firmly by your side.”
Riko’s lips curved into a faint smile, the most obvious one she’d shown so far.
“Understood!”
“Race registration is at the central lobby in the main teaching building.
I’ll take you there shortly.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
“Your coffee’s getting cold.
Drink while it’s hot.”
“Ah, thanks.”
Riko nodded to herself.
She actually admired Kenji quite a bit.
Not relying on innate blessings, but determined to carve out his own path with his own hands… How could anyone not be excited about a trainer like that?
(TL: Ha)
Keep pushing forward, rookie.