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Chapter 34: Aren’t You Going to Run?

Chapter 34: Aren’t You Going to Run?

After T.M. Opera O left, Kitasan Black kept staring in the direction she’d gone.

For a long moment, she didn’t move—until her head turned stiffly, almost like her neck had rusted, to look at Makoto.

To her, T.M. Opera O was one of the legendary "Seven Crown" Umamusume in history—a Hall of Fame-level Umamusume, undefeated for an entire season.

Even though she hadn’t paid much attention to Opera O’s trainer before, anyone responsible for guiding a legend like that had to be amazing… right?

Which only made her more anxious.

“Tr–Trainer— is this for real?”

“You mean… the one training Rasen…”

“Is actually the trainer of Opera-senpai…?”

Kitasan Black froze.

Because at that moment, she realized Makoto, Daiwa Scarlet, and Vodka all had strange looks on their faces.

“…Trainer? Senpai? What’s wrong with you guys?”

Without saying a word, Scarlet and Vodka exchanged a glance, then silently turned to Makoto.

“Don’t let it get to you,” Makoto said calmly, shaking his head.

“Even the best trainer in the world can end up with an Umamusume that’s… hard to describe.”

“And even the worst trainer might somehow bring out the best in a girl.”

“That kind of unpredictability… That’s exactly what makes the Shining Star Series so fascinating.”

He looked her in the eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking, Kitasan. So let me ask you something.”

“Now that you’ve found out your opponent’s trainer is someone incredible… Does that mean you’re not going to run?”

“Or should we skip the race altogether and just hand the trophy to whichever trainer’s the most impressive—what do you think?”

Kitasan Black shook her head without hesitation.

“Of course not!”

She exhaled deeply. Her nervous eyes steadied, a sense of resolve slowly lighting them up.

“I get what you’re saying, Trainer.”

“I’ll do my best in this race. I won’t let you down!”

“And besides, I already told you, didn’t I? Grandpa and the others are on their way—I have to win and show them what I’ve got!”

Makoto smiled, satisfied. He pointed at the plate in front of the black-haired girl.

“Good. That’s the spirit. Now then—”

“Time to eat first! Hehehe~”

Before he could finish, she cut in cheerfully, put her hands together in a quick “Itadakimasu,” and dove straight into her meal with serious gusto.

Chuckling again, Makoto also picked up his chopsticks.

Next to them, Scarlet and Vodka shared a quick glance, then subtly pointed to their pockets. Without missing a beat, the two of them pulled out their phones while starting on their meals.

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: No way—seriously?! That trainer’s really a rookie?? ∑(Дノ)ノ

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: Told you Trainer Yasui’s not normal~ ̄へ ̄ Though yeah, I was shocked at first too.

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: How could you not be?! ヽ(ー_ー)ノ Even veteran trainers mess up pre-race mental prep sometimes. You’ve seen what happens when girls throw tantrums right before a race.

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: You mean Goldshi? ( ̄_ ̄)

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: I didn’t say any names! ヽ( ̄▽ ̄) That’s on you. I’m screenshotting this and sending it to her later.

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: ψ(`ー)ψ You’re still such a troll!

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: Just kidding~ Ehehe (<ゝω)☆ But honestly, this trainer’s got me curious now.

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: Curious? What do you mean?

[_?]

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: Being a dorm manager won’t be hard, right?

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: What, are you trying to copy me again?

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: I’m not making jokes. I’ve been thinking for a while now whether my research would be better conducted here at the Academy. If you can do it, why can’t I?

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: That’s fair. Now that Fuji-senpai’s applied for a transfer and Amazon-senpai’s thinking about it too… I’ll ask around for you.

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: Knew I could count on you. Thanks a ton.

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: It’s no trouble. But you’ll have to talk to Teiou yourself.

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: Got it. Oh, by the way—looks like Kita-chan didn’t know anything about Opera-senpai.

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: Probably not. Totally normal—we didn’t know either when we first enrolled.

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: True… But the trainer probably knows what happened back then, right? Which means he chose not to tell her?

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: Most likely. Kita-chan’s got talent, no doubt about that. But she’s kind of silly like you. Giving her just the right amount of pressure for this race—it’s a smart move.

[Tracen’s Hottest Umamusume]: EXCUSE ME?! (╬ ̄皿 ̄)=○ What do you mean ‘silly’?! It’s called being cool—carefree and charismatic! You wouldn’t understand!

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: (﹁"﹁)

[Tracen’s Prettiest Umamusume]: Anyway, enough chatting. If we keep going, someone’s going to notice.

Daiwa Scarlet quickly tucked her phone away, ignoring the grumbling glare beside her. Smiling with the smugness of victory, she dug into her lunch in high spirits.

Kitasan Black finished eating the fastest.

Her meal consisted of high-energy, low-fat foods like bananas, oats, corn, and carrots—carefully chosen to provide sustained energy and fullness while being easy to digest.

Basically, she ate quickly and processed the food just as fast.

That way, her blood wouldn’t remain pooled in her digestive system the way it would with heavy carbs, fat, or protein—perfect for preparing her body for the race ahead.

“I’m done eating!”

She stood up with her tray in hand and looked to Makoto, who had also just finished his ramen. Then she turned toward Scarlet and Vodka.

“Senpai…?”

“No need to wait for us,” Vodka said with a smile before she could finish.

“Your race starts in an hour. Go to the prep room and get yourself ready.”

“Scarlet and I will be cheering you on from the stands.”

“By the way, Trainer Yasui—where do you usually watch the races from?”

“The very front, of course,” Makoto replied naturally.

“That’s where I can get the clearest view of Kitasan. And after the race, I can review her performance and tweak training accordingly.”

“Pretty sure that’s common sense for trainers, right?”

Vodka briefly met Scarlet’s eyes and chuckled.

“Fair point… We’ll head over to the front stands then. We’ll leave Kita-chan’s in your hands.”

The two waved goodbye. Once Makoto and Kitasan Black were out of sight, Vodka lowered her hand and nodded thoughtfully.

“He’s really not like most Japanese trainers, is he…”

“Hm? What do you mean?” asked Scarlet, puzzled.

“I met a lot of foreign trainers and Umamusume while I was in Europe,” Vodka explained.

“Things over there are much more straightforward.”

“For example, when it comes to trainers—if you’ve got the skill, you’ll get promising new Umamusume, and the Academy will support you with more resources.”

“But here… everything depends on seniority, connections, weird unspoken rules.”

“If I’m not mistaken, your trainer struggled with that in the beginning, right?”


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