After paying their respects at the grave, Rice Shower took Kouki on a tour of the school campus, showing him what it truly meant to be ‘small yet complete’.
It had to be said—while it couldn’t begin to compare with the massive scale of Tracen Academy in Tokyo, this local school still possessed all the necessary basic facilities.
What’s more, the student meals here were completely free, just like at Tracen Central.
This was actually quite impressive for a small local Umamusume academy.
Offering free meals meant high annual operating expenses.
If the Umamusume they trained didn’t produce solid racing results, the school’s budget would quickly run into the red.
Since this school could guarantee a free dining program, it proved that it could consistently produce capable Umamusume.
Case in point—hadn’t Rice Shower successfully qualified for Tracen Central?
Even though she hadn’t officially run her Debut yet, her acceptance into Central alone secured government funding and grants for the school.
Chatting as they walked, the two made their way toward the school’s training tracks.
Compared to Tracen Academy, this place was tiny—possessing only two 1,000-meter dirt tracks, both completely flat without any incline or slope design.
Dozens of Umamusume trainees were practicing on the tracks in crowded groups, resulting in very low training efficiency.
‘This is probably one of the main reasons why small local venues rarely produce legendary Umamusume…’ Kouki thought to himself.
Each track had a local Trainer overseeing the practice sessions.
According to Rice Shower, local races were quite frequent, so Trainers often had to travel to distant circuits with competing athletes.
When a Trainer was away, they would hand over their training plans to a colleague to supervise their runners.
At first glance, the school seemed wonderful: complete facilities, consistent track records, government funding, and strong harmony between humans and Umamusume.
Kouki had even planned to exchange coaching insights with the local trainers here.
After all, small local venues relied heavily on dirt tracks, and their practical experience with dirt track conditioning was bound to be more specialized than his.
Although Japanese central racing circles tended to look down on dirt tracks—treating them as places where untalented runners rolled in the mud, with hardly any G1 races hosted on dirt…
According to Kouki’s future roadmap, he was definitely going to lead his team to challenge the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France, and he might even take his trainees to compete in the United States.
American racetracks were quite unique, often featuring dirt surfaces surrounded by turf courses.
In his previous life on Earth, real horse racing history recorded famous champions struggling or suffering career-ending injuries due to unfamiliarity with dirt surfaces.
While it might sound harsh, the local Trainers here spent their entire careers managing runners on dirt tracks (competing in local dirt races for small crowds).
If Kouki asked them for practical advice on dirt maintenance and footwork, he would surely gain valuable knowledge.
So Kouki chatted pleasantly with Rice Shower by the track.
When the Trainers called for a break, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes he kept on hand and offered them to the two local Trainers, striking up a casual conversation.
Kouki didn’t smoke himself.
Carrying a pack of cigarettes was a social habit he had picked up during his working days back on Earth—though he had ultimately despised that corporate environment and quit to become a full-time streamer.
Even though he hadn’t been a megastar streamer back then, he had managed to secure a decent agency deal, and with a loyal fanbase of generous supporters, he had lived quite comfortably.
Kouki didn’t flaunt his identity as a top Tracen Central Trainer.
He simply introduced himself as a student from a trainer academy.
Seeing how young he looked, the two local Trainers suspected nothing.
Enjoying his polite deference, they happily poured out all their hard-earned knowledge to him.
Kouki even pulled out a small notebook to jot down key points.
The two local Trainers praised Kouki for his eagerness to learn and even called over a few promising Umamusume to demonstrate specific drills right then and there.
It was that simple: a cigarette, a few respectful words, and people would open up their hearts to you.
Kouki was genuinely touched.
Just as he was about to invite the two senior trainers out for dinner, he happened to glance over toward Rice Shower—only to see that she had been surrounded by a group of local Umamusume trainees.
Kouki’s brow furrowed.
He helped the two trainers light another cigarette, excused himself politely, and walked over toward the group.
As he approached, their harsh, sneering voices carried over clearly.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our ‘elite Central student’!
What brings you back to a small place like this?
Don’t tell me you got kicked out of Tracen already?” The girl leading the group was wearing sports attire, but her jacket was unzipped wide, flaunting a low-cut sports bra underneath in a flashy, attention-seeking manner.
However, the cruel words coming from her mouth were thoroughly nasty, making Kouki’s blood boil.
“Hey, Shinjo, don’t be so harsh!
You know she’s our school’s great benefactor.
Thanks to her getting accepted into Central, our academy got extra government funding and better training gear!” another dark-skinned, short-haired Umamusume added sarcastically.
“Even a weak little bean sprout has her uses, after all!” Her venomous words pierced straight into Rice Shower’s heart like a dagger, causing the rest of the gang to burst into loud, mocking laughter.
Rice Shower stood there with her head bowed low, her ears drooping miserably.
With every cruel taunt thrown at her, her small frame trembled.
At this moment, she wasn’t just scared—the familiar bullying had triggered painful childhood memories, making her react with the same helpless submission as before.
It was true that Rice Shower was only 145 cm tall, looking like a helpless child compared to some of these local girls who stood nearly 170 cm tall.
But…
Kouki subtly scanned their stat panels using his system.
In terms of actual physical conditioning and latent potential, these bullies couldn’t even hold a candle to Rice Shower!
Trainees who lacked true dedication and drive were, as expected, stuck at this weak level.
“Have you girls said enough?” Kouki’s voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the air with icy clarity.
“Onii-chan…!” Rice Shower looked up at Kouki, a glimmer of relief shining through her tear-filled eyes.
The group of girls instinctively straightened up and turned around, expecting a school teacher or Trainer—only to see a handsome, sharp-looking young man they had never met before.
The ringleader, a gal named Shinjo, suddenly perked up.
She puffed out her chest, flashed a suggestive smile at Kouki, and cooed: “My, my~ Hey there handsome, are you talking to us?” Kouki didn’t bother answering her.
He walked past them with an indifferent expression and pulled an official business card from his pocket, handing it to her.
Shinjo was about to toss out another witty flirtation while eyeing Kouki up and down, but the moment her eyes hit the text printed on the card, her expression froze: *Tracen Academy — Team Lord — Nationally Certified A-Rank Trainer — Kouki* She gasped in shock.
The other girls craned their necks to peek at the card, their faces instantly turning pale and confused.
After handing over his card, Kouki walked up to Rice Shower, gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, and stroked her head reassuringly.
This time, however, he didn’t offer any gentle words.
Instead, he turned around and faced the arrogant group of girls with a cold, piercing glare.
“As the valedictorian of the Central Trainer Institute, I was granted A-Rank Trainer certification the moment I entered the academy.” “I have over ten years of theoretical mastery and practical coaching experience, holding official national certification.” “Who gave you the audacity to speak so rudely to the Trainee under my personal contract?!” “Rice Shower is the runner that Mr.
Kiyoshi Iguchi treasured most, and she is the runner I have personally chosen to guide to the top.” “When you insult her, you insult Mr.
Iguchi’s legacy—and you insult me!” “You dare disrespect a Nationally Certified A-Rank Trainer?!” “In my eyes, you girls are nothing more than a bunch of rotten oranges!” “Flashy and bright on the outside, but completely rotted and worthless on the inside!” “Not convinced?
Fine.
I’ll give you a chance to prove yourselves.” “I’ll contact the local racing association right now to arrange an official exhibition match.
Just you few against Rice Shower.” “2,400 meters, turf track, featuring a steep incline on the final stretch.” “If Rice Shower cannot cross the finish line with at least a FIVE-LENGTH lead over every single one of you…
then we forfeit.
And I will personally recruit the second-place finisher among you into Tracen Central under my contract.” Hearing the mid-race conditions, the girls’ faces flushed with anger.
*A five-length lead?!
If she wins by four lengths, we still get recruited?!* Kouki’s terms were an outright humiliation to them.
However, processing the second half of his words, their anger instantly turned into greedy excitement!
In their minds, this handsome A-Rank Trainer actually took a liking to them, but because he was bound to Rice Shower, he couldn’t recruit them directly—so he set up an impossible condition for Rice Shower to fail so he could sign them instead!
As long as they beat Rice Shower or kept the margin under five lengths, wouldn’t they get a free ticket straight into Tracen Central?!
“And if you lose…” Kouki paused, his eyes narrowing into cold slits as he delivered each word like a frozen blade: “Then every single one of you will kneel down and apologize to Rice Shower!” The terrifying, suffocating aura radiating from Kouki’s eyes sent a violent shiver straight down the spines of every single girl present.