Kasamatsu Training Center Academy, training grounds.
Oguri Cap was tearing across the track at astonishing speed, while Kitahara, acting as her Trainer, stood watching her run and recording data.
Just then, a somewhat deep voice called out from behind him.
"Yo, Kitahara. So this is your Umamusume, huh?"
"Hm?"
Hearing the vaguely familiar voice, Kitahara turned around and found a short, middle-aged man in sunglasses greeting him. The way he carried himself inexplicably made him look like a gangster.
"Roppei?"
"It's Musaka!"
The man Kitahara had called Roppei smacked him on the back with an annoyed look.
Ginjirou Musaka.
A veteran Trainer from Tracen Academy, the man who had pulled Kitahara back when he'd been stuck in a period of self-abandonment, then guided him onto the path of becoming an Umamusume Trainer. You could say he was the one who set Kitahara on this road.
"So this is the star you found out on the regional circuit?"
Musaka watched Oguri Cap running on the track, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Yeah! Oguri's amazing! There probably isn't any Umamusume in Kasamatsu stronger than her!"
"Is that so?"
Musaka turned to Kitahara and asked sternly, "Then what's your next goal?"
"The Tokai Derby, obviously! That's why I'm planning to have Oguri run in the Chukyo Hai this month! My boss already knows about it too."
Kitahara honestly told Musaka what they were planning to do next.
"Boss? Since when did you get a boss?"
Musaka looked puzzled. Wasn't Kitahara working as a Trainer now? Where had this boss come from...?
"Well... strictly speaking, Oguri wasn't actually an Umamusume I discovered. My boss was the one who found her. He pays me a salary to help train her."
"So you're basically hired help...?"
"Uh..."
"Forget it. You're old enough now. I'm not going to meddle in that."
Musaka waved it off.
"But I do have one suggestion. If your goal is the Tokai Derby, then skip the Chukyo Hai."
"Huh...? Why?"
Kitahara froze. He hadn't expected Uncle to give him that kind of advice at all...
"Just do as I say."
Musaka patted Kitahara on the shoulder, then turned and left, looking like he couldn't be bothered to explain.
Watching his uncle's back recede, Kitahara muttered to himself.
"If we want to run in the Tokai Derby, then building popularity through the Chukyo Hai is the obvious move, isn't it? So why doesn't Uncle want us entering...?"
Kitahara couldn't make sense of it.
...
Tracen Academy. Student council office.
And sitting in the largest executive chair in the office was the legendary Umamusume known as—the Emperor, Symboli Rudolf.
Her flaxen hair spilled loosely down her back, with a white streak falling through her bangs. Even dressed in her school uniform, she couldn't hide the aura of someone born to stand above others.
At the moment, though, Symboli Rudolf wasn't making any special effort to project that so-called imperial presence. She was simply looking over the documents in her hand with a trace of annoyance.
She had been a little busy lately.
Traveling all over the country to inspect racetracks, while also dealing with all manner of miscellaneous matters at Tracen Academy, had kept her spinning like a top without a moment to rest.
Next, she still had to go inspect Chukyo Racecourse.
"President, this is for you."
A girl with the same long flaxen hair as Symboli Rudolf handed her a set of documents.
"This is...?"
Symboli Rudolf took the papers, a puzzled look crossing her face.
"Someone's... promoting a foot-massage parlor at an academy...?"
She raised a brow at the report in her hand.
"Why would anyone be advertising something like that at an academy...?"
"I heard it's the kind of place with really expensive prices. And apparently, you have to make a reservation before you go..." Maruzensky said, resting a finger against her lips as she recalled the rumors making the rounds at school.
"And it sounds like quite a few girls are actually taking leave just to go there. I've also heard the owner's a handsome guy."
"Uh... where is this place?"
"Kasamatsu, apparently."
"Kasamatsu? A shop opened out on the regional circuit, but it's advertising all the way here at Tracen Academy...?"
Symboli Rudolf suddenly found herself a little interested in the owner of this place.
Running a foot-massage parlor within the an academy was already not the sort of thing an ordinary person would do.
And the business strategy behind it was so bizarre it was almost funny.
Just what kind of eccentric person would open a place like that?
She kind of wanted to meet him.
"Kasamatsu... sounds like it may be worth a trip."
"Oh, right. I heard there's been a pretty remarkable newcomer on the regional circuit lately. I think she's in Kasamatsu too."
Maruzensky suddenly remembered something and clapped her hands together.
"You mean Oguri Cap?"
"That's right~ That girl's gotten pretty famous out in the regional scene." Maruzensky smiled. "President, you're going to the Chukyo Hai because you want to see her race for yourself too, aren't you?"
Symboli Rudolf gently set the report down on the desk, her gaze calm and far-reaching.
She leaned back slightly in her chair, fingertips tapping lightly against the desk as though weighing something.
"For a regional Umamusume to cause this much of a stir in a place like Kasamatsu, enough for word of it to reach Central... that alone is no simple matter," she murmured, her voice carrying a seriousness that could not be ignored.
She lifted her eyes toward the window, as though she could see through the distance to the figure racing across a faraway regional track.
"If she really is as outstanding as the rumors say, then she shouldn't be left buried in the regional circuit."
A faint smile touched Symboli Rudolf's lips.
"Central is the stage where she can truly shine."
She rose to her feet and walked to the window, her eyes firm.
"When she comes to the Chukyo Hai, I'll judge her ability with my own eyes. If she really is promising..." She paused, and when she spoke again, her tone carried unquestionable resolve. "Then I'll bring her to Central."
At the side, Maruzensky laughed softly. "So the President's going scouting now?"
Symboli Rudolf did not turn around. She merely replied in an even tone, "Talent should not be limited by region. What Central needs is the strongest Umamusume—no matter where she comes from."
"Still, a newly risen star out of nowhere, and a strange foot-massage parlor on top of that..."
"Kasamatsu really is a curious place."
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T/N: hmmm this rudolf person seems super serious and totally a no jokes person! and this maruzensky person seems to be full of youth! she must be really young!