"A new realm?"
Musaka sounded surprised when he heard Kitahara's question over the phone.
"Aren't you in the middle of special training with Oguri Cap? Why are you suddenly asking about that? Did sothing go wrong with the training?"
"Ah, Uncle Musaka, to be honest, I thought training her like this would be enough too… but Sakuraba-san ca by, and after seeing the results of my training, he didn't seem very satisfied…"
"Oh? That investor has a problem with you?"
"Not exactly, but if I'm not mistaken, Sakuraba-san probably thinks I could be doing better."
"…So that's why you ca to ask about this new realm?"
"Yeah."
Musaka thought for a mont, then answered Kitahara's question.
"I haven't heard people use the phrase 'new realm' very often, but I do know one thing. The Umamusu who stand at the very top of the world all possess sothing special."
"It goes by a lot of nas—zone, flow state, things like that—but I prefer to call it a domain."
"An Umamusu who possesses a domain will, without question, beco a top-tier Umamusu. More than that, the line between 'impressive' and 'elite' is whether or not she has a domain."
"If she doesn't have one, then no matter how good she is, she'll probably only ever remain at the level of 'a very good Umamusu.' If she wants to compete with the ones who truly stand on the highest stage… then she has to beco one of the elite first."
"In other words, if I had to give you an answer for this 'new realm' you're talking about, then my conclusion would be this: a domain is the new realm you need to explore."
Musaka's words hit Kitahara hard.
"A domain…!"
He had no idea such a trump card even existed. If Sakuraba-san had not tipped him off, he really might have taken Oguri Cap into the Japanese Derby without any domain at all!
And if soone in the Japanese Derby had already learned how to use a domain… then Oguri Cap's undefeated record could easily be broken in that race!
"No wonder Sakuraba-san warned like that! So that's what he ant!"
It was true.
If he had gone forward with his previous line of thinking, there really was a good chance he would have led Oguri Cap straight into a wall.
"Still, the race you're preparing for now is the Japanese Derby… logically, the requirents for the runners shouldn't be quite that high yet."
Musaka sounded a little puzzled.
The Japanese Derby was the most important race of the Triple Crown, but because it was limited to the Classic year, the domain usually consisted only of the best of the new generation.
And since the Japanese Derby was held in the first half of the Classic year, it stood to reason that not many Umamusu at that stage would have mastered a domain yet.
And yet that investor was demanding that Kitahara raise an Oguri Cap who had already reached the level of a domain before the Japanese Derby…
Could it be that he knew another Umamusu in this year's Japanese Derby had already mastered one, and that was why he was setting the bar so high for Oguri Cap?
Interesting.
"That's about all I know about domains, but as for how to obtain one, I'm not especially sure…"
"Still, if that investor wants Oguri Cap to take another step forward, then he must also have so clue about how to help soone break through into a domain."
"Maybe that guy is just waiting for you to ask him."
After hearing Musaka's analysis, Kitahara suddenly felt as if the road ahead had cleared.
That's right!
If I don't understand, then I can just ask Sakuraba-san, can't I?
If Sakuraba-san could even recognize the existence of a domain, then he should probably know how to help Oguri Cap reach that level too!
At that thought, Kitahara felt a little confused as well.
If Sakuraba-san really understood Trainer matters too, then why had he hired him in the first place?
With Sakuraba-san's ability, if he had trained Oguri himself, surely the results would have been even better than they were now…
Could it really just be because he thought well of , so he entrusted the Umamusu he invested in to …?
In Kitahara's mind, Sakuraba-san's image only grew more and more complicated.
From a kindhearted angel investor, he was becoming so hidden master living quietly in the city!
"…No matter what, I really should go ask him!"
After hanging up with Musaka, Kitahara settled on his plan.
...
anwhile, where was the very Sakuraba-san Kitahara could not stop thinking about?
After baffling Kitahara with that string of inexplicable remarks, Sakuraba Ryo had planned to wander around Central a little more—only to get caught by the Oguri Cap who ca after him.
How was a human supposed to outrun an Umamusu?
Getting caught by Oguri Cap was only natural.
"Ryo, Ryo! Why did you co see Kitahara and then leave without talking to ?"
"Uh… well, you were still training, weren't you? I didn't want to disturb you too much…"
"It's not a disturbance if it's you, Ryo."
"Ahaha…"
Looking at Oguri Cap clinging to his arm, Sakuraba Ryo guiltily shifted his gaze away.
After all, he had co here intending to interfere with Oguri Cap's training, so getting caught by the person herself really did make him feel a little like a thief caught in the act.
"So, Ryo, aren't you going to say sothing?"
Oguri Cap looked at him seriously, those sapphire-clear eyes fixed straight on him.
"Mm… good work?"
"Mm. That's not what I wanted to hear…"
Oguri Cap took his hand of her own accord and said earnestly,
"At a ti like this, shouldn't you be saying, 'Long ti no see, I missed you'?"
"It hasn't really been that long since we last t, has it? And we've been keeping in touch over the phone the whole ti."
"Talking on the phone and saying it face to face aren't the sa."
"All right, all right."
Out of options, Sakuraba Ryo obediently went along with what Oguri wanted.
"Long ti no see."
"Why did you stop before the rest?"
Oguri Cap had clearly been waiting for him to say he missed her.
"Co on, don't sweat the details. Since I ca all this way, let's go get sothing to eat~ My treat!"
Sakuraba Ryo directly chose to change the subject.
Saying sothing as direct as I missed you out loud was just too embarrassing.
"Mm…"
Oguri Cap was a little dissatisfied with how he changed the subject.
She was annoyed.
But Sakuraba Ryo said he was going to treat her to food.
So she would forgive him for that.
Hehe.
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T/N: hmmm sothing seems a bit different with oguri recently... im probably just imagining it
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