Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Ten Meters Chapter 47: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Ten Meters [47]

A look of disbelief instantly flashed across Kitasan Black's face.

Her eyes widened, mouth opened wordlessly, and she tried to speak several tis, but the words caught in her throat, refusing to co out.

After a long mont, she finally stamred helplessly, "Contract terminated… Fired… Why?"

"Gallant-san... Her record is really good. Trainer ntioned she'd won twice before, and was runner-up twice… Ah, I think now it's three second-place finishes and two third-place finishes…"

"She's consistently in the top five on the bulletin board. With results like these, why would her trainer get transferred?"

"Well…" Vodka considered briefly. "Rember what Opera-senpai said at lunch on race day—that Gallant-san's trainer was 'kind of' also her own trainer?"

She heavily emphasized the words "kind of."

Kitasan Black noticed imdiately but didn't understand why her senpai intentionally stressed that point.

Vodka didn't keep her guessing. "You should know Opera-senpai's accomplishnts.

Fourteen career wins, including seven G1 victories. She's among the rare 'Seven-Crown' Uma Musu since the start of the Twinkle Series."

"But before her debut, just like you, nobody really believed in her."

Kitasan Black gasped in shock. "No...no way! Even Opera-senpai faced sothing like that?"

At this point, Daiwa Scarlet interjected gently.

"It's not that unusual, Kita-chan. A similar example is Oguri-senpai. My main trainer used to be one of Oguri Cap-senpai's trainers; they knew each other back in the local circuit."

"You know my trainer's level—he's one of the best active trainers right now. Yet even soone like him initially didn't recognize Oguri-senpai's potential. He never imagined that senpai could win central heavy stakes and G1s, let alone so many."

"Once he realized Oguri-senpai's astonishing talent, even though he knew continuing as her trainer could've brought him great fa, he voluntarily terminated their agreent and even encouraged Oguri-senpai to head to Central."

"So, talented Uma Musu not having a proper stage to showcase their skills—it's not unusual, Kita-chan. In fact, it's more common than you'd think."

Kitasan Black had never heard about this side of racing, nor these hidden histories of her seniors. Now, abruptly confronted with them, she was left speechless with astonishnt.

"That's about it, like Daiwa said," Vodka continued. "After countless trainers rejected her, Opera-senpai didn't give up. She kept searching everywhere for opportunities."

"At that mont, she t the one person willing to support her."

Kitasan Black fell silent for a mont.

"Was it…that trainer?" She felt reluctant to use words like "kind of" or "once."

In her mind, shouldn't trainers and Uma Musu be like her and Yasui Makoto, trusting each other, working together until the end?

Seeming to sense this, Vodka didn't dwell on it.

"Yes, exactly. But back then, that person was still a student at the Trainers' Academy, working as an assistant to several newly-certified trainers. I don't know exactly what happened between her and Opera-senpai. Probably only they know the details."

"Anyway, thanks to her efforts, one of her trainer-senpais agreed to sign Opera-senpai on a trial basis. You already know the rest. Opera-senpai went from complete obscurity to becoming one of the most famous Uma Musu in history, and the person who supported her eventually got her trainer's license."

Kitasan Black mulled over this for a bit, nodding slightly but still unsure.

"I think I understand, but…" She hesitated again. "If she knew a genius Uma Musu like Opera-senpai even before debut, wouldn't she have learned a lot and beco quite outstanding herself?"

"If that's the case, why was she fired...?"

Her voice trailed off, seeing the strange, awkward looks simultaneously appearing on her three seniors' faces.

That look was all too familiar. She quickly recalled their expressions at lunch on race day, when she'd said sothing similar—Yasui Makoto, Daiwa Scarlet, and Vodka had worn precisely that expression.

"Kita-chan, let ask you—or rather, have you guess sothing," Vodka abruptly changed the subject, taking a deep breath. "After that trainer got her license, how many G1 victories do you think her Uma Musu have won over all these years?"

Although she knew little about these matters, Kitasan Black sensed from her senpai's tone that the answer wouldn't be optimistic.

She bit her lip hesitantly, then cautiously raised her hand.

"If Opera-senpai alone won seven G1s…even if later Uma Musu she trained weren't quite as talented, then…at least five G1 victories, right?"

Vodka stared at her outstretched fingers for a long mont before smiling bitterly and shaking her head.

"Nope. Try again."

"Not even five...?" Kitasan Black stared blankly, stunned. "Then…four? No, three?"

She lowered two fingers in quick succession, but seeing Vodka shaking her head again, she grew increasingly shocked.

"It couldn't be...only one victory? That'd be too—"

She froze mid-sentence as Vodka shook her head once more.

"The correct answer is…zero."

Once again, silence fell over Kitasan Black.

She had never anticipated this outco, yet knew Vodka wouldn't lie to her. Especially when Daiwa Scarlet and Ines Fujin both wore expressions of heavy resignation, remaining silent as though confirming it, she saw no reason to doubt.

As she struggled to absorb the shock, she began to understand why that trainer was fired by the Satono family.

Though they didn't discuss deeply, she had always sensed from Crown-chan and Dia-chan's casual remarks that their family placed imnse pressure on them. Coincidentally, much like that trainer's career, the Satono family had been competing in the Twinkle Series for years but still hadn't achieved a single G1 win. She could easily imagine how heavy that burden was for her friends.

Such pressure wouldn't just affect the Uma Musu—it would inevitably extend to their trainer.

If they couldn't win, the family would simply change trainers.

That was probably the Satono family's attitude toward trainers, and with the resources they had, they could certainly afford it.

But even without G1 wins, surely that trainer had given her all for Gallant-san—just like Yasui Makoto had for her.

Perhaps so of her previous victories were precisely because of those efforts.

Gallant-san must have felt as grateful to that trainer as she herself felt toward Yasui Makoto.

And now, after just one failure, the trainer had been fired. That must've been why Gallant-san was crying…

Opera-senpai, Crown-chan, and Dia-chan were probably trying to comfort her…

Thinking of this, Kitasan Black found her thoughts drifting toward Yasui Makoto, slowly realizing sothing.

"…So, Trainer, he…"

Looking toward Yasui Makoto's apartnt in the distance, the black-haired girl murmured softly.

"He must have known about this all along. That day, when I asked him about it, he didn't tell …probably because he didn't want to feel pressured, and didn't want to worry about him either…"