(Orginal Author’s ps: This is just a small lore dump chapter.I originally didn’t want to post this on its own, but since there are too many time skips let me write this out in detail..)
(TL:But damn, after doing this chapter….I realized….Uma Musume was that deep huh?)
An era of chaos naturally implies inadequate management structures and incomplete facilities.
It’s just like how, right now, Uma Musume have to choose their own songs and choreograph their own singing and dancing for their post race concerts.
The concept of the “Winning Live” has been formed, but the specific, standardized songs and dances seen in the games haven’t been firmly established yet.
Now that Central and Local racing events have been separated and the grading system is being fiercely debated, the rules for the Winning Live and the fixed lyrics and choreography for G1 races are being discussed and voted on nationwide.
It is precisely this chaotic yet vibrant transitional moment that gives a nobody like Kato Akira a chance to climb the ladder.
If this weren’t the case, the gap between a Trainer and an ordinary person would be an insurmountable chasm.
According to the latest drafted regulations, an aspiring Trainer must undergo three years of mixed junior trainer education, three years of general Trainer and Uma Musume contact training, three years of instructor apprenticeship and joint selection, followed by a three year observation period, and finally a one year probationary period.
Only after surviving all of that would they be awarded a formal Trainer’s License.
(TL:Holy hell)
Under those rules, even the most fortunate and talented Trainers wouldn’t become truly independent until they were around thirty years old.
Similarly, the roles of the massive support teams—such as Uma Musume horseshoe crafters, nutritionists, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and groomers—are being strictly separated.
All of them are being forced to undergo rigorous professionalization.
Incidentally, this massive overhaul was conceived by the Emperor, Symboli Rudolf, while she was meditating in front of the Fountain of the Three Goddesses.
She firmly believed this would effectively close the dangerous loopholes of the old system.
The old Uma Musume support system was massive, bloated, and entirely inefficient.
A farrier, for instance, typically only customized running shoes for a single horse girl.
This was because if they handled multiple horse girls without a perfect surveillance system in place, they could easily leak highly targeted physical data to rival teams.
And this flaw didn’t just apply to the farriers.
In the early days of Uma Musume racing, a fully matured Uma Musume was supported by a dedicated operational team of dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of staff members.
They all ate on the URA’s dime while constantly debating, arguing, and tweaking race plans.
Diet, sleep, running form, training routines—everything was managed by specialized personnel.
It sounded incredibly powerful on paper, but in reality, the constant internal conflicts and clashing egos produced extremely unstable results.
Symboli Rudolf’s current reforms aim to drastically slash this headcount and consolidate these functions into a comprehensive URA Uma Musume Support Association. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
Functions like horseshoe crafting, nutrition, physical conditioning, and public relations would be transferred to relevant URA departments for unified, objective management.
Meanwhile, the practical aspects of an Uma Musume’s daily training and emotional management would be streamlined and handed over entirely to a single person: the Trainer.
This would quickly free up vast amounts of unnecessary staff and wasted funds, reallocating the money to purchase new turf tracks, land, and training facilities for the declining URA and Tracen Academy.
Most importantly, an Uma Musume would no longer have to live under the crushing, constant pressure of being dragged along by the massive chariot of her own support team—a systemic flaw that had previously led to tragedies like the physical breakdown of Sakura Star O.
In the old system, everyone acted with good intentions.
But those countless good intentions ended up dragging each other down, ultimately leading to incompetent internal conflicts and ruined careers.
Professional management focused on macro adjustments and preventing physical breakdown could stop these tragedies from ever happening again.
The Trainer would bear the emotional responsibility for the Uma Musume, while the competitions themselves were clearly divided into local races, graded stakes races (G3, G2, G1), major central tournaments, and professional singing and dancing stages.
This was to answer the boiling enthusiasm of the audience, but mostly, it was born from the hope that the horse girls could run more freely and happily on the turf.
It was a heavy, agonizing burden to carry, but it had to be done.
This was the true, original intention behind Symboli Rudolf’s comprehensive reforms.
However, in the eyes of the thousands of laid off staff members, this was seen very differently.
To them, Symboli Rudolf and the shady URA were acting as ruthless, ambitious tyrants, callously cutting off the veteran contributors who had built the industry from the ground up.
Inside Tracen Academy, the atmosphere remained peaceful and calm.
But the moment you stepped off campus, you could see numerous former team members participating in sit ins and waving protest flags.
Although everyone had implicitly agreed not to interfere with the horse girls living on the campus, the staff’s lost livelihoods were the true targets of this bitter struggle.
Countless white flags and protest slogans waved in the distance, and assembly areas blaring loudspeakers were set up just a few kilometers away from Tracen Academy.
This chaotic, turbulent era was exactly the right time for a nobody like Kato Akira to rise.
No one knew how many people were seizing the opportunity to leap over the dragon gate in this chaos, nor did anyone know how many were falling from high places in disgrace.
But many knew that this was actually their one and only chance.
Because after this first, rushed batch of Trainers was established, all future applicants would be subjected to the strictest education and management imaginable.
Future Trainers would become rigid, standardized perfect human templates. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Under these circumstances, the opportunists had no choice but to push forward right now, or be left behind forever.
And that was exactly Akira’s goal.
Within the wave of chaos stirred up by Symboli Rudolf, this window of opportunity actually wouldn’t stay open for long.
Considering the strong will of the URA, Symboli Rudolf’s own terrifying capabilities, and the default stability of Tracen Academy, this chaotic window would likely only last a little over a year.
Sneaking into the Trainer ranks in such a short timeframe was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.
It allowed a lowly janitor like Kato Akira to become a Trainer through exceptional test performance and modern ideas.
He didn’t even need to become a full time Trainer immediately.
As long as he became a Sub-Trainer (trainee), he could skip countless hurdles, pass a simple interview, and successfully secure a spot at Tracen.
After all, Akira had the gift of foresight, finding hidden, immensely powerful horse girls who hadn’t bloomed yet would be incredibly easy for him.
In the midst of the chaos, a nameless man succeeds in seizing the crown.
He would get recommended by ordinary horse girls, become a Trainer, take charge of legendary Uma Musume, climb the ranks step by step, and ultimately make a fortune with his “Dark Trainer” techniques.
This was Kato Akira’s master plan.
Clear steps, solid ideas, and zero unstable or uncertain factors.
It was all a matter of pure profit and execution.
Sure, the actual race performance of the horse girls might fluctuate, but so what?
The ones he planned to choose were all highly promising, legendary Uma Musume.
Even if they didn’t place first, the generous prize money from taking second or third place would still be massive.
Kato Akira never prioritized victory for the emotional sake of victory.
He valued the prestige and wealth that came with it—the absolute foundation needed to live a perfect, comfortable life in this world.
He was genuinely grateful for the chaos Symboli Rudolf had brought.
However, even amidst this chaos, there were always rebels dissatisfied with this turbulent era.
For example, a certain warrior, an ace.
A warrior who had tasted defeat time and time again.