After a brief recovery session, Shuta An sent them to lunch—but Berno lingered.
"Trainer, you must've guessed, right?" she asked, no longer pretending.
"I'm guessing it's about logistics," he replied with a knowing smile. "You seed interested when we talked about prize money."
"Well…" She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I already know my limits. Competing in the Twinkle Series will be tough."
She took a breath. "Trainer, tell honestly—if I follow your plan exactly, what's the best I can reach?"
Shuta An hesitated, weighing his words. "If we both give it our all, you'll win several local races at Kasamatsu—and maybe one or two major stakes."
The top prize there was only five million yen.
"No need to hesitate," Berno said, extending her hand. "Trainer, will you let be the team's logistics Umamusu?"
"Of course," Shuta An replied. "But I want you to race once—feel the track yourself. Otherwise, your story as a Racehorse Girl will feel incomplete."
"I'll listen," Berno agreed easily. "I'll still train seriously before my debut."
"Good. I'll treat you the sa as Oguri Cap," Shuta An said, raising an eyebrow with a half-smile.
As she left, he exhaled quietly. From the mont he saw her stats—all but one below average—he'd been searching for how to help her. Initially, he'd hoped her Dream World self might yield a way to strengthen her, but that failed. Later, discovering her family owned a sporting goods store, he conceived the idea of assigning her a logistics role.
Yet he hadn't dared suggest it first. "A Trainer must always consider the emotional health of his Racehorse Girls," he reminded himself—a principle learned both from school and hard experience.
Now that she'd brought it up herself, he was relieved. "Even if she's in logistics, I won't let her fade into the background," he thought. "I already have plenty of ways she can shine."
After lunch, Shuta An t the two girls again at the academy gate.
"Good afternoon, Trainer~ The teachers don't know what you're up to, but they told us to be careful," Berno joked, waving her leave slip.
"I'm not taking you anywhere dangerous," Shuta An replied, turning. "Follow ."
They followed him to the parking lot, where he opened the door of a compact Alto. "Get in."
"Trainer, where are we going?" Oguri asked.
"To Nagoya Racecourse," Shuta An said, starting the engine. "Today's the Tokai Cherry Blossom Prize—an SP1 local major. You're going to watch."
"Eh!? Not training, but watching?" Berno exclaid. "What kind of training is that!?"
"Have either of you ever attended a race in person?" Shuta An asked mildly.
Both shook their heads.
"Exactly. You need to feel the atmosphere yourselves," he said. "Especially you, Oguri Cap—if you want to achieve your dream, you'll one day stand on even grander stages."
He recalled the overwhelming cheers of Takarazuka Kinen—the roar that could shake even the strongest hearts. "If your spirit isn't steady, that pressure can crush your focus."
"That sounds scary…" Berno murmured.
"Is it really that intense?" Oguri asked softly.
Shuta An smiled inwardly. His decision to bring them had been right. Nagoya Racecourse, built over thirty years ago, was like most local tracks—dirt only. The circuit asured 1,100 ters with a final stretch of rely 194 ters. After buying tickets, Shuta An led them to the closest stands.
"There are still two hours before the race," he said. "Observe the others carefully."
His gaze turned to Oguri. "Especially you. Once you win at Kasamatsu, I'll bring you here to compete. So pay attention to their form."
"Will they be my future opponents?" Oguri asked.
"No," Shuta An replied. "But your opponents will be of their level—and to reach Hokkaido, to challenge the best of your generation, you must first surpass these."
After hearing the Trainer's answer, Oguri Cap bit her lip, lifted her head, and t his gaze. Her voice was firm. "I understand. To reach a bigger stage, I will win!"
Berno Light chid in cheerfully from the side. "I'll cheer for Oguri too!"
"Mm." Oguri Cap didn't think much of it—she rely turned to her teammate and nodded.
After the two C-group races concluded and the display segnt for the next, higher-level B-group race began, Oguri Cap suddenly spoke to Shuta An.
"I feel that after the Trainer's coaching, I had the chance to win both of the last two races."
"Is that so?" Shuta An's tone remained flat, his expression unchanged. "The next race will be of a higher standard than the previous two. Oguri Cap, keep observing."
Half an hour later, Oguri Cap gave the sa answer.
"The next race is today's main event here in Nagoya—the Tokai Cherry Blossom Prize." Shuta An was silent for a mont before continuing. "Like the Tokai Derby, it's an SP1-level race. You can benchmark their standard against next year's Tokai Derby."
In truth, the comparison wasn't entirely accurate, but Shuta An believed that for Oguri Cap, such an analogy would be easier to understand.
"So, if I can beco stronger than them, I can win the Tokai Derby next year?" Oguri Cap blinked, genuinely curious. In fact, she wanted to know what she needed to achieve to realize her dream—and the Trainer's.
"Our goal isn't the Tokai Derby." Shuta An didn't answer her question directly. "If possible, I hope we can challenge Central's major races, even the G1, as early as next year."
He shrugged lightly. "But you have to take one step at a ti, eat one bite at a ti, right?"
"I can eat it all in one bite," Oguri Cap muttered under her breath.
Berno Light and Shuta An both burst into laughter. The chestnut-haired girl laughed openly, while the young man tried to suppress his laughter, his shoulders trembling.
"The twenty-seventh Tokai Cherry Blossom Prize is about to begin." The announcer's voice echoed through the racecourse, and the large screen at the center of the track displayed the real-ti positions of the participating Uma Musu.
"Oguri Cap, you need to pay attention to this." Shuta An quickly reminded the gray filly. "When you step onto the stage of a major race, don't act oddly when entering. The photographers in the venue will have their lenses pointed at you, and your every move will be projected onto that big screen."
"Oh, oh, oh, I got it," Oguri Cap replied casually while glancing at the big screen.
"She'll rember, right?" Shuta An felt a twinge of unease, but the pre-race display for the Tokai Cherry Blossom Prize soon ended, and the Uma Musu began preparing to enter the gates. He turned his attention toward the starting line.
"The pre-race favorite is Waido Seiko, who's achieved six consecutive wins here in Nagoya—she's in peak form." As the Uma Musu entered the gates one after another, Shuta An explained the relevant race details. "Her preferred tactic is Pace Chaser, but she can also do an escape run (Front Runner). For her, the key to victory in this race is securing a strong lead or controlling the pace from the front."
Noticing that both Oguri Cap and Berno Light seed puzzled, he frowned. "I'll explain these things before your races in the future—what your main opponents will do to win, and what you must do to win. Once a race reaches a certain level, formulating strategy in advance becos crucial."
"I will listen carefully to the Trainer," Oguri Cap said earnestly.
"This is much less trouble than dealing with those ancestors on the West Coast," Shuta An muttered to himself—though that was also partly because he had only been an intern trainer back then.
The race unfolded exactly as Shuta An had predicted. Waido Seiko, after securing the front-running position, maintained her control of the pace and won the Tokai Cherry Blossom Prize with ease.
"Waido Seiko crosses the finish line! Seven consecutive wins achieved! After Haiseiko at Ōi, are we in Nagoya about to welco our own Haiseiko?!" The comntator's voice brimd with excitent.
Shuta An's lips curved faintly. Though Waido Seiko's performance was impressive, in his eyes it still fell short of comparison.
"That one, after transferring to Central, won the Satsuki Sho. This one has only just won the Tokai Cherry Blossom Prize and hasn't challenged Central yet."
While Shuta An was analyzing Waido Seiko, Oguri Cap's eyes were not on the winner.
She turned instead toward the stands—larger and louder than those of Kasamatsu Racecourse.
At that mont, the crowd erupted in cheers, their voices echoing in celebration of Waido Seiko's victory.
"Waido Seiko! Waido Seiko!"
"The strongest Uma Musu in Tokai!"
"Is this what a major race is like?" Oguri Cap murmured. Having grown up in the countryside of Hokkaido, this was the first ti she had witnessed such a scene in person.
Waido Seiko, standing proudly on the track during her interview, was also swept up in the atmosphere. She took the microphone from the reporter and declared loudly to the cheering crowd—
"I'm going to Central! I'll bring honor to Tokai! I must continue winning there!"
Oguri Cap turned her head, her gaze locking on Waido Seiko.
"Does every Uma Musu go to Central after dominating the local races?" For the first ti, the idea of "Central" began to take shape in her mind.
User Comments
0 comments from readers