Chapter 138: He, She, and the Season of Takarazuka

April 26 — Wilm’s Tenno Sho (Spring) ended in a dead heat for first place with Tokai Teio.

With that, our camp effectively entered a brief lull.

For this season, only two races remained for my trainees.

The next was May 31 — the G1 Japanese Derby, where Bourbon would aim to claim her second crown.

Then, one month later on June 28 — Wilm’s Takarazuka Kinen, where she would challenge history by attempting the first-ever consecutive victory.

From Bourbon’s Satsuki Sho to Wilm’s Tenno Sho had been only one week apart — an absurdly packed schedule right up until yesterday. Because of that, I finally felt some of the tension leave my shoulders.

…Though perhaps this exhaustion wasn’t just relief after finishing work.

In any case, it wasn’t just me — the other three members of our team also seemed noticeably calmer.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t only the Satsuki Sho and Tenno Sho.

It started with Bourbon’s Spring Stakes, then the following week Wilm’s Osaka Hai, two weeks later Bourbon’s Satsuki Sho, and one week after that Wilm’s Tenno Sho…

Since I had taken on two trainees, the past month had been nothing but race after race after race — unbelievably hectic.

And now, for the first time, we had more than a month before the next race.

It was only natural that everyone would relax a little.

No one can maintain constant tension forever.

Well… no, that’s not entirely true. There are ways to extend it by borrowing against your lifespan. I used to do that myself.

But setting that aside, if you want to maintain healthy focus, you also need periodic moments of release.

Everyone had worked hard this past month…

It might be best for all of us to pause for a moment here.

So, the day after the Tenno Sho — the 27th.

After holding strategy meetings for each trainee’s next race, we decided to take half a day off.

I made a point to briefly check how each of the three planned to spend their break.

The reason was simple: if left alone, Wilm would almost certainly throw herself into self-training like she always did. In those cases, I needed to create an appropriate plan to keep things from becoming excessive.

As for Masa, working in this field meant unexpected emergencies could arise anytime. It was better if we at least knew each other’s general whereabouts for smoother coordination.

First, Bourbon — aiming for the Classic Triple Crown.

Like a certain senior she resembled, she said she wanted to do self-training, so I drafted a rough schedule with time and distance limits and handed her the memo.

Statistically speaking, Uma Musume around her age usually spend their days off going out or hanging out with friends.

Especially since I possess “App Reincarnation,” I often push their stamina right up to the edge of accidents during training, so it wouldn’t be strange at all if my trainees chose to spend an entire day sleeping.

And yet…

Both of mine had a tendency to love self-training — or rather, they were simply too passionate about running.

Well, as their contracted trainer, I couldn’t ask for anything better. As long as that passion didn’t spiral into recklessness.

My younger sister Masa, who served as my sub-trainer…

Apparently planned to catch up on some hobbies she’d been putting off.

When I asked what hobbies, she gave me such an unpleasant look that I decided not to pry further. It sounded like she’d be staying in her room, so probably something indoors.

Masa might not look it, but she’s surprisingly into subculture stuff. Maybe it was something along those lines.

Come to think of it, she once mentioned something like, “I’ll get by on ad revenue until my paycheck comes in,” so maybe she runs some kind of website or channel.

…Man, that’d be awkward. What if my little sister turned out to be some shady affiliate marketer? We might need to have a talk.

Lastly, Wilm — the one expected to achieve the Spring Senior Triple Crown.

Her plan… surprisingly, wasn’t self-training. She said she’d rest in her room today.

Honestly, I doubted my ears. Then I doubted my brain. While I was still processing it, Wilm looked at me with half-lidded eyes and said:

"Is it really that strange for me to rest?"

So I nodded vigorously.

She sulked a little.

I mean, it was surprising… This girl had never rested unless I told her to.

When I bluntly asked:

"What are you plotting?"

She puffed her cheeks and replied, slightly offended:

"No, yesterday’s race was pretty intense, so I’m letting my body recover."

An absurdly rational answer.

"Wow… you can suppress the urge to train and actually rest now. I’m proud of you."

Deeply moved, I patted her head.

She looked a little happy… and then punched me.

Now then, as for me.

After the three of them left, I stayed behind in the trainer’s room to finish some work.

Because there was something I needed to do before my senses dulled from distraction.

So, alone in the trainer’s room, I watched the footage of yesterday’s Tenno Sho and began converting the race progression and each runner’s movements into data…

And once again, I ended up clutching my head over how utterly abnormal Tokai Teio was.

Let me say it clearly.

I don’t understand it.

I’ve watched tens of thousands of races.

Not just casually, either.

I compared the conditions of the runners, studied how their stats and skills affected race outcomes — desperately, obsessively.

Because of that, I can predict race developments.

I can estimate who will focus on whom, what strategies they’re likely to use, and who will move closest to victory — I can even calculate it numerically.

…Or at least, I should have been able to.

No matter how many times I watched it, Tokai Teio’s run this time was outside my understanding.

Overwhelmingly so.

Her racing intuition was so sharp it almost felt like she possessed a bird’s-eye perspective. Her feints and timing were forceful yet elegant, and even when analyzed frame by frame, there were virtually no wasted movements.

The talent to read a race. The physical coordination to execute. The body capable of keeping up with it all.

As Wilm once put it — “a true genius.”

But that wasn’t the frightening part.

“…Maestro of the Curve. Cooldown. Indomitable Spirit. Three others… no, four?

No — stamina aside, more than anything, this acceleration… how is she accelerating this much on the Yodo incline? That’s downhill inside a corner with over four meters of elevation change.

No, I get it. I understand why she can do it… eliminating inefficiency with Professor of Arcs and Connoisseur of Curves, then Speed Star, Furious Surge… and another five? No… probably six.”

I counted on my fingers the high-tier skills Tokai Teio must have used — ones I vaguely remembered seeing in footage before.

If I hadn’t miscounted…

The number easily exceeded twenty.

“…………”

I believed I had trained Hoshino Wilm perfectly, using every technique I possessed.

With the best possible plan, I had refined both her stats and skills to near perfection.

As a result, she currently possessed ten high-tier skills, including Three-Step Leap — evolved into an original skill.

Considering Tokai Teio still only had five, it was obvious how extraordinary that number was.

…And yet.

The number of high-tier skills Wilm actually activated during the race — excluding the failed Escape Technique — was nine.

Meanwhile, Tokai Teio…

Over twenty…?

“…Seriously… I don’t get it.”

A rough mutter slipped from my mouth.

Wow. It had been a while since I’d spoken like that. Maybe the last time was when I first saw Wilm.

Wilm herself had been shocking at first meeting.

Mysterious condition values, absurdly high stats, an overwhelmingly powerful yet strangely hard-to-evaluate running style.

That had been shocking enough to make me want to deny the very concept of blood sports…

But Teio’s brilliance this time rivaled even that Wilm.

She’s a relatively volatile runner — so this Tenno Sho was probably close to her upper limit.

…Hopefully. I really didn’t want to believe she could go beyond this.

But even so…

To stand alongside Wilm — my beloved partner, Hoshino Wilm?

Not behind her, but beside her?

Another Uma Musume existing next to Hoshino Wilm…?

I felt my mental state waver.

Was this confusion? Agitation? Anxiety? Frustration?

Regret that I couldn’t make my trainee win — now of all times?

…Idiot.

You ended in a tie and you’re acting like some proper trainer?

What value do I even have if I can’t make her win…?

“…Ah.”

I stopped my thoughts, pressed a hand to my forehead, and forced myself to cool down.

…No good.

Masa and Wilm had both told me to stop the self-deprecation.

Don’t belittle yourself excessively. Eventually, it becomes an insult to others, they said.

I pulled my hands away from the keyboard, leaned back, and stretched.

Then I closed my eyes and spent about thirty seconds reflecting inward.

…Yeah.

I was pretty cornered right now.

Naturally, the past month hadn’t just been busy for the three of them.

As the main trainer for both Wilm and Bourbon, I’d been pushed hard too.

Optimizing Bourbon’s running was one thing, but even though it ultimately proved meaningless, I’d prepared double — no, triple and quadruple — countermeasures against Tokai Teio.

Well… I hadn’t been getting much sleep lately.

And on top of that, just as my physical condition — and mental state — were starting to dip slightly, the result came: Wilm, whom I had prepared perfectly, failed to secure a decisive victory for the first time.

When Wilm lost at the Arima Kinen…

Honestly, it hadn’t felt real.

From my perspective, I lost consciousness the night before Bourbon’s Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, and when I woke up, Wilm’s Arima was already over.

I truly felt sorry for her, but subjectively, her defeat had already been decided without any chance for me to intervene.

Half anger at myself for sleeping through something important, half helpless frustration at reality — but the shock of the loss itself had been faint.

But this Tenno Sho was different.

The perfectly prepared Hoshino Wilm…

Her perfect run as “racehorse Hoshino Wilm”…

Didn’t lose — but also failed to carve out a singular victory.

Apparently, that fact had hit me far harder than I realized.

I had believed that if it was Wilm and me together, we wouldn’t lose to anyone.

Hoshino Wilm’s overwhelming talent and durability, combined with the strange power and accumulated abilities that Horino Ayumu somehow possessed.

Together, they should have been unbeatable.

There had been arrogance there.

…No. Not arrogance.

I had believed I evaluated both Hoshino Wilm’s strength and Tokai Teio’s threat fairly.

That was exactly why I hadn’t relaxed even for a moment, and had done everything possible.

So this wasn’t arrogance.

Then what was it?

Why was my heart shaken now?

“…Hmm.”

Difficult.

Even though it was my own heart… or maybe precisely because it was my own heart.

I couldn’t put this psychological state into words.

Staring up at the familiar wood-grain ceiling, I let my thoughts drift.

What I needed to focus on now wasn’t identifying this emotion — but calming it.

Starting tomorrow, I’d be back to managing Wilm and Bourbon’s training, full-scale race preparation, and investigating other teams.

I couldn’t afford to stay in this state.

In the end, understanding your psychology is just a means to stabilize it.

But staying here in the trainer’s room wouldn’t solve anything.

If I kept thinking about yesterday’s Tenno Sho, the mental resources I needed would just get swallowed by the fog.

For now…

I should distance my thoughts from Uma Musume and racing altogether.

If that’s the case… then there was only one thing I should do today.

"Guess I’ll go fishing."

---

It had been a surprisingly short interval since my last trip to the sea.

Bathed in sunlight filtering through the clouds, I headed toward my usual spot with my rod and gear in hand, the slightly damp wind brushing against me…

…and found that, for the first time in a while, someone was already there.

"Oh? Hey there, big bro. Long time no see~"

An Uma Musume in overalls waved lazily, her hand swaying back and forth.

Her name was Seiun Sky.

She had been my favorite horse in my previous life — and in this life, she was my fishing buddy and friend.

I was a little surprised by the sudden reunion, but I tossed back a reply.

"Long time, huh…? I mean, just a few days ago I asked you on LINE about fishing gear."

"Yeah, yeah, but we haven’t met in person for months, right? That counts as a long time~"

"Fair enough."

Standing around felt awkward, so I set my cooler box down beside her, unfolded my chair, and sat. Then I cast my line out toward the sea.

"Oh. You’ve gotten pretty used to it~"

"Well, yeah. I’ve been taking fishing seriously for the past few months."

"'Taking it seriously'… you’re still such a try-hard."

"That’s my only redeeming quality."

"So? Have you started catching anything yet?"

"...Well, if they’re small ones, maybe three or so."

"Nya-ha♪"

We chatted lightly while letting our lines hang in the water.

A quick glance showed two fairly large fish already sitting in Sky’s bucket.

As expected… though honestly, I didn’t even feel impressed. There was no way I could beat Sky at fishing anyway.

…Hmm.

This was a clear loss in both skill and results…

…but it wasn’t shaking me mentally here.

Which meant I probably wasn’t upset simply because I had failed to win.

Man, my own psychology was annoyingly complicated.

"...Big bro, something bothering you?"

Had she read my expression…? No — she probably didn’t even need to look.

Still facing the sea, Sky asked casually.

"Ah, no, it’s just…"

For a moment I considered dodging the question, but realistically there was no fooling Seiun Sky’s perception.

More importantly, right now I wasn’t a trainer — just Fisherman A.

Talking to Fisherman Friend S about my problems should be fine, right?

"...Well, it’s embarrassing to admit, but yeah. A little."

"Hmm. What happened?"

Sky glanced at me briefly.

There was already a look in her eyes that suggested she had guessed quite a bit.

But that was only her speculation.

This was something I needed to put into words myself.

I tightened my grip on the rod, organized my thoughts, and spoke.

"You being you, I assume you watched yesterday’s Tenno Sho?"

"Of course. Wilm-chan ended up getting away with the win again, and I need to be ready for when she shows up in the Dream Trophy, you know?"

"Then you know the result too."

"It was amazing, right? First time ever. A dead heat is rare enough, but a first-place dead heat in a G1 race?"

"...It’s embarrassing to say, but that’s what’s messing with my head right now. And I don’t even understand why."

"Ahh…"

At my awkward confession, Sky gave a wry smile and gently flicked her rod.

"Yeah… I think I kinda get how you feel."

"You do?"

"Sorry, that’s a lie. I don’t actually get it — but I can imagine, I guess."

She laughed lightly, teasing me a bit.

But her eyes weren’t laughing at all.

Maybe it was because I knew her so well — one-sidedly, at least.

Through her usual carefully constructed smile, I could see faint traces of frustration and emptiness.

"You know, Sei-chan’s had plenty of setbacks and failures. Unlike you, big bro."

"I’ve had plenty too, you know? Tons."

"No, no, yours are different, right? They’re outside your specialty. Like… not trainer ability, but communication skills, personality, that kind of thing."

"...Wait. Are you stalking me?"

"As if. You can just tell from watching… kinda."

She added that she didn’t really know why she could tell, then fell silent.

Looking over, I saw her rod trembling.

She gave it a practiced tug, reeling it in smoothly—

…but unfortunately, what came up was just a clump of seaweed.

"Oh. Snagged something, huh."

"Wakame?"

"Aosa. …Big bro, you know Sei-chan’s Twinkle Series record, right?"

"Satsuki Sho and Kikuka Sho champion — a two-crown winner. Tenno Sho (Spring) winner. Three G2 victories as well. Eight wins from thirteen starts, with a 76% top-two finish rate.

And among those races, if I had to pick the two greatest achievements…

First, the Kikuka Sho — that runaway victory by six-tenths of a second. A winning time of 3:03.2, smashing the 3000-meter world record at the time.

And second, the Tenno Sho (Spring), where you defeated Mejiro McQueen after an absurdly long year-and-a-half hiatus.

Personally, I like the former more, but the latter was an unbelievable feat too."

"Ah… yeah… Wait, do trainers usually remember the records of Uma Musume who’ve already left the series that well?"

"I told you — I’m also one of your fans."

"...Ugh. That makes this harder."

She scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed as she removed the seaweed from the hook.

As always, she was weak against straightforward compliments.

That part of her really was cute.

Sky cleared her throat dramatically and returned to the topic.

"Anyway, back to what I was saying. Sei-chan’s worked pretty hard, and, well… I’m fairly confident in my running.

…Oh, I’m only saying this because it’s you, okay? Don’t tell anyone. Promise with Sei-chan."

"Of course. And I understand. I like that pride you keep hidden inside."

"Ugh! …No, not that — that part right there!"

"Huh?"

Sky raised her voice slightly, as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

That part…? The part where I said I liked it?

Well, I do like her — both as a racing Uma Musume and as a person—

Apparently that wasn’t what she meant.

Pointing straight at me, her cheeks slightly red, she said:

"Pride! That’s the problem right there!"

"…Huh?"

Pride?

"Big bro, up until now you’ve basically never failed as a trainer, right? Ah—well, setting aside the small slip-ups.

While you’ve been active, there’s never been a time when your trainee couldn’t win a race, has there?"

"…Well, that’s true enough. Wilm and Mihono Bourbon are both strong."

"Sure, those two are strong, but that’s beside the point.

…So I was thinking, maybe somewhere along the way, pride naturally formed inside you, big bro.

And when that got hurt… maybe that’s what this is?"

"Pride…"

Pride, huh.

Did I really have something like that inside me?

Masa and Wilm tell me all the time that my self-esteem is way too low.

Lately, I’ve at least become self-aware enough to admit I probably do have that tendency.

Someone like me… taking pride in myself…?

…No. That’s not it.

I see. I think I understand now.

"It’s a little different."

"Oh? It is?"

"I don’t believe in myself. After all, I don’t have any talent to speak of."

"Ehh…? Really?"

"Yeah. And because I don’t have confidence, what I take pride in isn’t my own skill."

That’s right.

If there’s something I’m proud of, there’s only one thing.

"I take pride in the ‘running of the racing Uma Musume Hoshino Wilm’ — the run that Wilm and I created together.

The one and only, unparalleled, ultimate run in this world that we built side by side.

That’s the one thing I probably never want to yield, no matter what."

And that was exactly why, when Tokai Teio nearly caught up to us this time, I felt frustration.

What Wilm and I had painstakingly built together had almost lost. I wouldn’t say it was dragged through the dirt, but it felt like our efforts had been denied.

That was why… I had simply been frustrated.

That was the true nature of the emotional turmoil I’d gone through these past two days.

"…But when I think about it like that, one complaint does come to mind."

"A complaint?"

I felt a light tug in my hands and almost reflexively lifted the rod, starting to reel.

The result… ah, the line snapped.

Thinking, I’m still not very good at this part, I continued speaking.

"Well, not really a complaint — more like plain ego. …If anything, I guess I kind of wished Wilm would’ve been just as frustrated as me."

Right now, Hoshino Wilm’s top priority is having fun races against strong rivals.

Well… not just right now. I’m the one who shaped her that way in the first place.

As a result, to put it bluntly, victory has become just one of the means toward that goal for her.

If she aims for victory and runs faster than anyone else, the other Uma Musume around her will grow faster and chase after her.

The stronger she becomes, the more the races keep escalating without end — that’s the idea.

Of course, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel frustration when she loses.

Back during the Arima Kinen, when she lost decisively, she was so upset she practically threw a tantrum.

But even so, compared to me — someone who only managed to grasp a tiny bit of pride after decades, including my previous life — her sense of frustration feels much smaller.

Because we’re partners moving as one, trainer and runner united, I want us to feel the same things and share them.

I can’t help thinking that way, but…

"Well, I don’t know about that."

Apparently, Sky didn’t see it that way.

When I glanced at her, she was already looking back at me.

"Well, I get how you feel, okay? Because they’re your precious partner, you want them to share the same thoughts, the same tastes, the same hobbies. I understand that part."

Those words were probably hinting at her own hobby.

Seiun Sky’s hobby, needless to say, is the fishing we’re doing right now.

But the trainer she’s probably closest to doesn’t particularly share that hobby.

A few months ago, she told me, "I wanted a fishing buddy, you know."

From that, I could guess she had invited her trainer into it several times before, only to be turned down in the end.

But…

"But even so, I think that’s fine too — Sei-chan really does."

Just before turning her gaze back to the sea, her eyes carried deep affection.

"Like I said, I get the feeling. But at the same time, I think it’s nice when those things are different too.

Because, you know, trainers and Uma Musume are partners — their strength comes from covering each other’s weak spots, right? If everything’s the same, then both what you can fill in and what you lack end up being the same.

So it’s better if trainers and Uma Musume are similar… but also total opposites. …Probably."

…Heh.

She’s really showing off her love there, isn’t she?

It wasn’t that I had no thoughts about it… but more than that, I remembered that girl’s words.

『We’re partners, aren’t we! If there’s someone you’re bad against, Ayumu-san, I’ll handle them — and if there’s someone I’m bad against, you handle them!』

…Honestly, it’s embarrassing.

I’m supposed to be the one teaching and guiding them, and yet I’m constantly the one learning from them instead.

"I see. …Yeah. You’re right. I hope that’s how it is."

"Mm-hmm. Sei-chan’s happy you’ve become more reasonable compared to before, big bro!

Well, if your trainee isn’t that frustrated, then you can just be frustrated enough for both of you, right?

That’s what putting the right person in the right place is all about."

Putting the right person in the right place… yeah, she’s right.

There’s definitely something I can do, in my own way.

Things Hoshino Wilm can’t reach — areas that fall within a trainer’s domain.

What I should be doing now isn’t sitting around brooding over what I can’t do…

It’s reaching out, little by little, from the places within my grasp.

"For now, I’ll just take this irritation out on the fish!"

"Yeah, that’ll just make them stop biting, you know?"