Chapter 31: I Can’t Let Them Down

Chapter 31: I Can’t Let Them Down

Early Monday morning, in the living room of Makoto’s single apartment, a gentle mix of classical strings and experimental electronic beats filled the air. Intertwined with the music, two delicate and youthful voices softly echoed throughout the room.

One voice came from a videotape, the other from Kitasan Black herself.

The song they were singing? Naturally, it was 打上花火 (Uchiage Hanabi), the piece Makoto had composed just a few days ago.

Compared to his memory of the original arrangement, the version from the tape had no issues with the composition. From the audio quality to the rhythm, it was clear the work had been handled by professionals. The tone was clean and precise.

But... the mixing, along with a few other details, felt a bit rushed—undeniably bearing the marks of a tight deadline.

Still, that couldn’t be helped. Even with Kitasan Black’s family being as experienced and high-level as they were, producing a flawless track in just over a day was impossible.

Yet curiously, the vocals stood out as something special.

Not because Kitasan Black's singing was technically amazing—far from it.

In fact, she only began formal vocal training after entering Tracen Academy. Before that, she’d simply picked things up through passive exposure from her family.

It gave her a natural sense for music, but her technique? At best, it was decent—enhanced only by talent and family tradition.

And yet, that very rawness, the gentle awkwardness unique to a young girl standing at the edge of adolescence, was exactly what Uchiage Hanabi was meant to convey.

A dreamlike feeling that flickers in and out of reach—tangible before you touch it, vanishing the moment you do.

That fragile emotion… is not something that a technical skill could replicate.

“—Kono yoru ga tsuzuite hoshikatta...”

As the final note faded, the black-haired girl bowed with practiced grace, like a seasoned performer taking her curtain call.

But the moment she straightened up—

“Trainer! Trainer! How was it, how was it!? Didn’t I sing super well?”

Her usual boisterous energy snapped back in full force.

Makoto clapped lightly, half-joking and half-serious.

“Very well done. I definitely owe you a concert ticket now, Kitasan.”

“Hehehe! It wasn’t that good, come on!”

Giggling as she scratched her head, she carefully removed the cassette from the player and gently returned it to its case. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“But really, I think it’s your song that’s amazing, Trainer!”

“After I got home, I sang it for my dad first. I thought just having him help would be enough, but right after listening, he didn’t say anything—he just went and called Grandpa over!”

“Then Grandpa listened, and he didn’t say anything either—he called everyone in the house to come listen too!”

“I started panicking, thinking something was wrong with your song...”

She puffed her cheeks a bit at the memory.

“Turns out, they all thought I wrote it. They thought I was some kind of musical prodigy or something!”

“Seriously! I mean, I just like singing—that’s all!”

“If anyone’s a musical genius, it’s you, Trainer!”

She huffed.

“Anyway, Grandpa and the others were super shocked. No—extremely shocked. They kept asking me over and over if it was really true.”

A slight frown formed on her face.

“They didn’t believe me at first, you know?”

“They asked so many times I almost didn’t want to let them help with the recording anymore!”

“But I guess they eventually went and checked around with their contacts. After confirming no one had released a song like it before, they finally believed me and helped record it.”

Her tone softened.

“So, Trainer... if you think this demo sounds okay, I’ll go in for a proper recording next week.”

Makoto leaned back, quietly considering her words.

The fact that her family would react so strongly to Uchiage Hanabi, even going so far as to doubt he was the composer... well, honestly, he wasn’t all that surprised.

After all, in his previous life, the popularity and musical quality of this song needed no introduction.

Uchiage Hanabi was a chart-dominating anthem two years after its release, showered with accolades from the moment it debuted.

Among its many honors, the most prestigious were the Gold Disc Award—essentially the Oscars of Japan's music industry—and a live performance at the year-end Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

In other words, just by writing this one song, he’d already qualified to stand on the same stage as Kitasan Black’s grandfather—a summit of Japan’s musical elite.

And yet, he was only eighteen. The youngest central trainer in history.

That alone was enough to make people raise their eyebrows. Add musical talent on top of it? Of course people would start to get suspicious.

Still, Makoto wasn’t particularly bothered.

Uchiage Hanabi didn’t exist in this timeline yet. There was no risk of plagiarism claims, and no one could find anything to dispute.

More importantly, he never even meant to make a name for himself through music.

He’d written this song for one simple reason: to help his Umamusume gain more fans before her race. That’s it.

Not for fame, not for awards. Just a practical move.

In his view, Kitasan Black might be facing a rough time in her upcoming races due to one simple issue—lack of fan support.

It couldn’t be helped. The industry placed a lot of weight on pre-debut performance—so much so, it often crossed into outright bias.

In a way, it was all about resources, pedigree, and luck.

Some girls were just born into privilege. Born in Rome, as the saying goes.

Same talent, same effort—but an Umamusume from a powerful lineage or a top-tier academy like Tracen would always have better access to resources.

And those born into ordinary households, with no racing lineage, or raised in smaller towns... even with talent, they could easily be overlooked and forgotten.

Makoto didn’t have any grand plan to overturn this system.

He just believed in preparing everything he could for Kitasan Black.

In fact, thinking ahead, maybe he should prepare a few more songs for after this next race—just in case.

So hearing that her family had given their approval to Uchiage Hanabi, Makoto gave a small nod.

“Recording next week? That’s perfect timing.”

He continued, “You’ll still have a week before the race. The Association will be doing their usual promotional push then—highlighting each contestant and trying to give them some attention.”

“If the track is finished by then, we can publish it through the official race account. That should be enough to meet the entry fan quota.”

“Mm-hmm! That’s exactly what Grandpa said too!” Kitasan Black nodded enthusiastically, then her expression turned a little regretful.

“Too bad it only counts for 30,000 fans though… Right, Trainer?”

“Yeah,” Makoto confirmed. “Anything past 30,000 doesn’t get added to the official count. The Shining Star Series still puts competition results first.”

He gave a calm nod.

“But for you, it should be more than enough. The music’s just an extra boost.”

“True,” she agreed after a moment’s thought, nodding with a satisfied smile.

“Do you need help with anything during the recording?” she asked brightly.

Makoto pondered for a second, then asked with some hesitation, “Since I already troubled your grandfather and the others… I really should go thank them in person. But they must be quite busy, right?”

“Hmm, maybe not too busy… I’m not really sure how they usually work,” she admitted, shaking her head.

“Actually, they wanted to come meet you, Trainer. But I was worried you’d be overwhelmed, so I told them they could just come watch the next race instead.”

She pouted slightly.

“It’s a shame they only saw my debut race on TV…”

“But it’s okay!” she declared, clenching her fists with determination.

“Next time, I know they’ll be there to see me win—right there in person!”

“Oh?” Makoto raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Your family’s coming to the next race in person?”

Kitasan Black nodded firmly.

Seeing that, Makoto gave her a small smile.

“Then we’d better give it everything we’ve got. We can’t afford to let them down.”

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