[Urban Ocean]:So? Did you get to meet Teacher Kagura?
After returning to the hotel and flopping onto the bed, Galileo picked up her phone and saw the message her mother had sent not long ago.
[Astronomer]:I met Teacher Kagura and also asked whether she'd be interested in coming to Europe to develop here. Teacher Kagura's attitude is still pretty cautious, though. It looks like she hasn't made up her mind yet.
[Urban Ocean]: If Teacher Kagura doesn't want to come study at Europe, there's no need to force her to transfer. You could try inviting her to come race in Europe instead. Compared to the closed-off little games over in Japan, the European Triple Crown carries far more weight.
Galileo could tell her mother was genuinely thinking about nothing but Inari Kagura's future. It suited her perfectly, really, as someone from the older generation—and a victim of Japan's domestic decision-making, at that.
But the reason Galileo wanted Kagura to come study in Europe was, of course, not just for Kagura's future. She also wanted to bring fresh blood into Europe. More or less the whole of Europe had already been influenced by Galileo herself, and her standing there was extremely high. Precisely because of that, she wanted to see something new.
Still, what her mother said was a workable idea. She might not be able to get Inari Kagura to agree to join European Tracen just like that anytime soon, but having her come to Europe for a few races first—and then taking her around to see things between races—wasn't a bad approach either. If Kagura got to know this side of the world first, maybe she would start to take an interest in it.
[Urban Ocean]:Oh, right. I heard a bit of news recently. A princess from Europe has headed over to Tracen in Japan for study and observation. Weren't you saying you wanted to see something fresh and interesting? If you've got time, go take a look at Tracen. You might even run into that princess.
"A princess, huh…"
Seeing the message from her mother, Galileo's mind started spinning fast. It wasn't as though she had never dealt with members of Europe's royal families before, so the moment the word "princess" came up, one person immediately sprang to mind.
There's only one household left with a princess right now, isn't there… Fine Motion?
After thinking it over, Galileo recalled that Queen Elizabeth's family currently had no princess, and she had not heard of any princesses from the other countries either. Princes, sure, there were plenty of those. So if there was anyone in Europe who could be called a princess right now, there was only one. She had heard that princess had long yearned for this place as well, so it was hardly strange that she would set out for it now.
"All right. One more interesting stop added to the itinerary. When I've got the time, I'll head over to Tracen and see if I can catch Her Highness the Princess!"
After adding that to her memo, Galileo thought for a moment before picking up her phone and sending another message.
[Astronomer]:Oh, right. I ran into Seattle Slew from the U.S. today.
[Urban Ocean]:That retired undefeated Triple Crown winner? What was she doing in Japan?
[Astronomer]:She looked like a tourist passing through. Affirmed came with her too. But that's not the important part. The important part is that she ran a race with Teacher Kagura at Tracen, and Teacher Kagura caught her off guard and passed her.
[Urban Ocean]: ?
...
Over in Europe, Urban Sea had just finished coaxing her younger daughter to sleep when she saw the message from her eldest. Several question marks nearly popped up over her head on the spot. She rubbed her eyes and double-checked to make sure she had not misread the sentence structure.
[Urban Ocean]:Are you sure you didn't mix up who did what? Teacher Kagura hasn't even started honkaku yet, and she passed an undefeated Triple Crown winner?
[Astronomer]:Why would I lie about that? It's absolutely true. Teacher Kagura crossed the finish line half a head ahead. Seattle probably did underestimate her a little, sure, but Teacher Kagura's strength is beyond question.
Urban Sea knew Inari Kagura's talent was frighteningly strong, but even so, this was a little absurd. Even if Seattle Slew had chosen the wrong track, and even if some non-subjective factor had forced her to hold back a little, she was still an undefeated Triple Crown winner no matter what. Inari Kagura, meanwhile, was just a child who had not even entered honkaku yet.
I think I finally understand why Elizabeth and the others are so focused on this child… It's not just that she looks alike. This talent of hers… if anything, it surpasses that one's.
Inari Kagura was not only astonishingly gifted in terms of raw ability; even in terms of personality and the way she handled herself, she had shown herself to be outstanding. Urban Sea still remembered the photo of Kagura she had seen before. She remembered that Kagura wore her earring on her left ear too, and she could not help marveling to herself that this was truly a rare and precious seedling.
[Urban Ocean]:Oh, right. You saw her in person today too, didn't you? Let me ask you something. What do you think Teacher Kagura is like? What kind of personality does she have?]
...
[Secretariat]:I saw you sent me a message yesterday during what should've been your morning over there. What was it? You sounded awfully frantic. Did Seattle stir up trouble again?
[Affirmed]:It's been a whole day! Big Sis, you finally got back to me! This whole thing is seriously unreal!
[Secretariat]:I just got off work. Go on, tell me.
It took a bit of space, but Affirmed finally gave Secretariat a detailed retelling of everything that had happened yesterday.
Originally, this report should have been Seattle's job, since she was the one who caused the trouble. But Seattle had completely shut down. Ever since checking Kagura's race record yesterday, she had curled up into a ball in the corner and stayed there, shrinking into herself. Every so often, they could even hear things like—
I'm finished. I can't even outrun a GIII Support Umamusume. My reputation for the rest of my life is done for.
A support champion passed me? Then what kind of champion does that make me?
Dirt… turf… aaah… a dirty Umamusume, aaahhh!!
Her muttering filled the whole room. Even while sleeping last night, Seattle jolted awake several times with miserable cries, saying she had dreamed about getting passed all over again. In the dream, she had apparently even been blown out by a huge margin. Affirmed, who had gone to bed later than she had, was already speechless from dealing with her friend's breakdown. It looked like Seattle was not going to recover anytime soon, so Affirmed had stepped in to report the situation to Secretariat in her place.
There was silence on Secretariat's side for quite a while. Affirmed had even started wondering whether she had fallen asleep from overwork and was considering whether to give her a call when the reply finally came.
[Secretariat]:I think I get it. To put it simply, Seattle got so turned around she couldn't tell up from down after being passed by a Support Umamusume who debuted less than half a year ago and has only won a GIII, right?
It was a concise summary, sharp enough to draw blood, and one that would instantly make Seattle crack again if she heard it. Affirmed could not help wanting to laugh, but it felt like actually laughing would be a little too schadenfreude-filled and bad for her karma, so she held it in.
[Affirmed]:Big Sis, please don't say that in front of Seattle. I'm afraid she'll finally start recovering, and then one line from you will break her all over again.
[Secretariat]:Ha! For Seattle to still be unable to recover, she must've taken a really huge hit. Oh, right, did you get a picture of that opponent? Send me one, I'm pretty curious when Japan managed to cultivate a super Umamusume like that.
[Affirmed]:Sorry. Things were chaotic at the time, and I didn't manage to get a photo of the young lady.
It was only after Secretariat pointed it out that Affirmed realized she had forgotten to take a picture of Inari Kagura. She had originally wanted to see whether she could dig up any news related to Kagura, but faced with a screen full of Japanese she could not understand at all, she had ultimately chosen to abandon the idea.
[Secretariat]:What a shame. Then did you at least apologize to her properly? You guys barged in on her and even used your Zone to attack. Don't go ruining our image in the eyes of another expert. Yesterday I saw you asking me for funds—how much did you pay out?
[Affirmed]:A few ten-thousands, I guess. I'm fine either way. I used Seattle's card, and it's not like she's short on money.
[Secretariat]:Don't just pay and call it done, either. When you've got the time, treat her to a meal at one of the good hotels over there and build some rapport. It never hurts to know more experts.
[Affirmed]:Oh, right… Good! I'll see if I can ask that young lady out sometime!
[Secretariat]:Mm. When you go meet her, remember to leave Seattle at the hotel. Don't bring her along to ruin the atmosphere.
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