It was a crisp, sunny autumn afternoon.
Inside Spica's training room, it was quiet and peaceful.
Gold Ship sat on a chair with her legs on the table, absentmindedly toying with a Rubik's cube in her hands.
Gold Legend stood in front of the blackboard, holding a book, her posture calm and elegant, her aura perfectly on point.
"I say, Oba-chan." Gold Ship spoke up.
"Speak." Legend replied without looking up.
"That application, what were you thinking?"
Why would it be approved? There's no reason!
Golshi fell into deep thought.
"What application?"
"The one I applied for."
"...I don't recall saying the application was approved, right?"
Besides, the Student Council hasn't even announced it yet; how did you know?
"I don't know, why would it be approved?"
Golshi didn't answer Legend's question, asking to herself instead.
Legend didn't press the issue; after all, this was Gold Ship.
"Simply put, we need something absurd yet eye-catching to act as a cover."
It just happened to be a coincidence.
Gold Legend said concisely.
"Eye-catching? Can't you just do something yourself, Oba-chan?" Gold Ship said with some surprise. "For example, releasing a photo book or something."
"It's not that simple." Legend looked at her as if to say, "What do you know?"
"...I think you have absolutely no idea about your own popularity, Oba-chan."
Gold Ship had a subtle expression.
Undoubtedly, Gold Legend was the most popular Uma Musume in recent years, bar none.
Excellent pedigree, noble family background, outstanding appearance.
Powerful strength, gorgeous running style, perfect results.
The first Triple Crown Horse Girl since Symboli Rudolf.
Not only that, because it coincided with the retirement of the idol Oguri Cap, Japan set off an unprecedented Uma Musume craze.
And Gold Legend was the brightest star among them!
Circumstances make heroes, and Legend had basically caught all the good opportunities.
The whole country, basically everyone knew Gold Legend's name.
She was a national-level Uma Musume.
But disproportionate to this popularity was her exposure rate.
What Gold Legend was most famous for among the public now was her mystery.
Let alone compared to Symboli Rudolf, who was also a Triple Crown Horse Girl, and the idol Uma Musume Oguri Cap, even compared to other active Uma Musume, Gold Legend's exposure rate was in the lowest tier.
She avoided press conferences whenever possible, interviews were basically non-existent, and sponsorships or commercials were unheard of.
Although she had a UmaTube account, other than using it to post photos of Uma Musume she liked as a cloud storage, Gold Legend basically ignored the thing.
There was basically no interaction; the fans who followed her were following nothing... probably?
Other than during races and the Winner's Stage, it was only on that fleeting live stream that one could see Gold Legend's face appear on camera.
So much so that when Gold Legend was in casual clothes, basically no fans could recognize that this Uma Musume was Gold Legend.
This also stirred up the public's curiosity, and fans had expressed their hope for Gold Legend to appear on camera more than once.
They didn't have any high demands; they just wanted to see Gold Legend's figure in newspapers or on TV, even if it was just a photo.
The public's curiosity about her had reached the point where they would click on anything that had the four characters "Gold Legend".
A genuine traffic magnet.
But even things like gossip news were completely devoid of Gold Legend.
It was as if someone was deliberately targeting her.
Aside from merchandise sales, she didn't seem like a popular Uma Musume at all.
"I think if you released a photo book or something, Oba-chan, all of Japan would go crazy."
Gold Ship said with a subtle expression.
"It's not that exaggerated. Look at me, I walk down the street and don't even have a single fan asking for an autograph."
Legend laughed; that was a funny joke.
I'm serious, that's a conservative estimate...
Gold Ship thought for a moment, but decided not to say it, changing the subject.
"By the way, Oba-chan, you're already a Triple Crown Horse Girl, why haven't I seen any interviews or commercials or anything like that coming for you?"
Gold Ship was still quite curious about this.
"There are, why wouldn't there be? It's just that I found it troublesome and threw them to my secretary."
"You have a secretary?"
I haven't seen it!
Gold Ship leaning back.jpg.
"Well, she works part-time as my secretary and is usually busy outside."
"Then she's not very qualified; I've never seen you, Oba-chan, filming commercials or receiving fans."
Besides prize money, the biggest source of income for Uma Musume is from merchandise and idol activities.
"That's my choice. It's too much trouble, and I'm not short on money anyway."
Legend said indifferently.
"I see. Then, Oba-chan, how do you prevent gossip?"
"I buy them out."
"Huh?"
"Whoever dares to write scandals about me, I buy their newspaper company, and then I fire them."
"...Uh, this."
Alright, mystery solved.
Gold Ship chose silence.
With a "bang," the training room door opened.
The Trainer, disheveled and panting, slumped into the chair in front of Gold Ship, his expression looking like he was wearing a mask of pain.
"What's wrong, Trainer? You look terrible."
Gold Legend walked over to Gold Ship, patted her leg off the table, and pulled up a chair to sit down.
"What I'm about to tell you, you must not be afraid."
The Trainer sat up straight and placed his hands on the table.
"We are Uma Musume, we won't be afraid. Speak."
Legend said seriously.
"I was just notified to participate in a race."
Legend and Golshi adjusted their sitting postures seriously.
"With an Uma Musume?"
"No, not that. It's with other Trainers."
Gold Ship picked up paper and a pen and drew a person with a soulful hairstyle.
"No, it's not a Shadow Game. It's just a race."
The Trainer said.
Gold Ship tore off that piece of paper and drew a motorcycle instead.
"No, it's not a Riding Duel either."
Gold Ship blinked and turned the picture upside down.
"Where are the legs? I told you it's not Yu-Gi-Oh!"
You can actually understand what she draws?
Legend looked sideways.
Gold Ship drew a rabbit and a tortoise.
"This!"
Gold Legend reached out to stop the Trainer, took the paper and pen, and drew a racetrack under the rabbit and tortoise.
"A race."
The Trainer was exasperated and swiped the drawings away.
"A race! Have you ever seen an Uma Musume? It's that track and field event, understand?"
The Trainer shouted while gesturing.
"Understood. Continue."
Legend made a soothing gesture.
"Just now, the Chairman suddenly called all the Trainers for a meeting. She started by saying that we Trainers are all skilled, and then she announced that we are going to hold a competition that only Trainers can participate in, right here at the Tracen training ground! And they're opening the campus, opening the campus! Letting outside Uma Musume fans come to watch! And they won't let us refuse, I was like a..."
The Trainer was gesticulating excitedly.
"Pfft!"
Gold Ship laughed out loud, then quickly controlled her expression, barely managing to show a dangerous look.
Legend reached out to cover the lower half of her face.
"...What are you laughing at?"
The Trainer asked, spreading his hands.
"I remembered something happy."
"What happy thing?"
"The interesting application I submitted to the Student Council was approved."
Legend couldn't hold it in anymore and raised her hand to cover her face.
"What are you laughing at now?"
"Uh... I approved an interesting application."
"...Are your applications the same one?"
"Yeah, yeah..."
Legend and Golshi struggled to control their emotions.
"Uh, no, it happened on the same day."
"I'll reiterate, I'm not joking."
The Trainer slapped the table, making a loud sound.
"Right, right."
Golshi echoed.
Legend covered her mouth.
Then she couldn't hold it in again.
"Hey!"
"Ahem, let's get back to the point. Is this race you mentioned long?"
"It's not a question of length! It's really that kind of, that kind of rare..." The Trainer thought of a description, "It's limited to human Trainers, no gender restrictions, no age restrictions, very open. Unfortunately, I left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to ask about the prize money..."
Gold Ship broke down again.
"You've bullied me too much, I've endured you for a long time!"
"My application was approved."
"You're clearly laughing at me, you haven't stopped!"
"Trainer, we have undergone rigorous Guts training. No matter how funny it is, we won't laugh." Golshi turned to look at Legend, "Unless we can't help it."
"How about this, Trainer? You go to the training ground first to help McQueen and the others train. I'll go to the Student Council and ask. As soon as I have news, I'll come back and inform you."
"Alright, hurry up and go. Make sure to ask clearly what's going on!"
The Trainer got up and walked out of the training room.
"Hahahaha!"
The training room erupted in wild laughter.
Turning back to look.
"...Trainer, do you have anything to add?"
Golshi asked seriously.
The Trainer stared silently for a moment, then turned and closed the door as he left.
"Hahahaha!"
The Trainer opened the door again.
"Trainer?"
The Trainer remained silent and left indignantly.
The sound of laughter continued for a while.
"What do you think, Oba-chan?"
Gold Ship wiped away tears from laughing.
"I'll watch from the audience."
Legend rubbed her stomach, which hurt from laughing.
"Aren't you planning to cause some trouble? Like a scavenger hunt, obstacle course, or something?"
Gold Ship instigated.
"Forget it, the Trainer is already having a hard time, I won't cause trouble." Legend waved her hand, "However, a scavenger hunt or something, that seems doable, right?"
"...You're not actually planning to do that, are you?"
"No, I mean, why don't we just hold a sports festival? Let the students and fans play together!" A lightbulb lit up over Legend's head.
"Uh, this... can I set up a stall? How much do I have to pay the school?" Gold Ship blinked.
"No problem! I'll cover the expenses!" Gold Legend waved her little hand and took out her phone to call the Chairman.
"...Long live Oba-chan!"
Blinking, Gold Ship, feeling that there was nothing wrong with it, raised both her hands.
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