"Shibasaki, you bastard! Sneaking into Tracen ahead of us without a word."
As Shibasaki Koichi approached, Kitahara Jo promptly thumped him on the chest.
The man just laughed. After so many years as colleagues, how could he not know exactly what was going through Kitahara's mind?
"Sorry I didn't room with you, man. While March is using the grounds, being her trainer comes with a few little perks."
"Like what?"
"I get to stay in the academy's temporary dorm. Sure, the facilities are a lot more basic compared to what the regular trainers get, but it's still better than my old local apartment. All the daily necessities are provided."
Seeing the smug look on Shibasaki's face, Kitahara couldn't resist giving him another punch.
After a bit more casual banter, Kitahara turned his gaze to the track.
Fujimasa March was doing a long-distance jog with Oguri Cap.
"Her condition is better than I expected," Kitahara couldn't help but murmur as he watched her.
Catching his meaning, Shibasaki replied:
"Actually, when I saw her this morning, she wasn't like this at all."
Oguri Cap was sitting in the cafeteria, a table full of enough food for five people in front of her.
She looked like she was barely awake, her expression dazed as she mechanically spooned food into her mouth.
After clearing the table, she waved her spoon around a few times in the air before finally noticing the food was all gone.
Heading back to the buffet counter, Oguri Cap picked up another five servings of food, returned to her seat, and started eating again.
She repeated this process back and forth several times, her stomach visibly swelling.
But that wasn't the main point.
It wasn't until Fujimasa March came over to greet her that Oguri Cap finally stopped her whirlwind eating session.
"The only reason the other Uma Musume got to eat anything at all was thanks to March…"
"Huh? What was that?"
"Nothing," Shibasaki coughed a few times. "Anyway, after she saw March, Oguri Cap's mood improved a lot. So I figured I'd have them train together, you know, to help her get back some of that old feeling."
It was true. Just as Shibasaki said, Oguri Cap running alongside March looked genuinely happy.
"Ogu—rii!!"
Norn Ace and the others couldn't wait any longer, calling out to the girl at the far end of the training field.
Hearing their voices, Oguri Cap's eyes went wide.
"Norn, Mini, Rudy!"
A cloud of dust kicked up as Oguri Cap, unable to hold back, sprinted over and swept the three girls into a massive bear hug.
"My… my neck… It's gonna break…"
Mini the Lady kept patting the iron-like arm wrapped around her.
Just a little more force, and she'd be decapitated.
This girl… even after coming to the central circuit, her utterly clueless personality hadn't changed one bit.
But this feeling of zero personal space and sheer familiarity… that was the Oguri Cap they all knew.
Soon, the old friends, reunited after so long, were all chatting together.
--+--
Riiip!
A harsh, tearing sound came from the student council room.
As if she wanted to shred the contents to dust, the fierce-looking girl clutched the torn pieces of paper in her hand and ripped them apart again.
"Brian, remember to throw it in the trash," Air Groove reminded from the side.
The black-haired girl's ears twitched. She crumpled the shreds into a ball and tossed them into the bin.
"Sorry. When I saw it, I couldn't hold back," Narita Brian said, crossing her arms, her tone devoid of any real apology.
Air Groove's eyebrow twitched.
"Here of all places…"
"Let it go, Air Groove," Symboli Rudolf cut in, stopping the vice president from saying more. "I understand how Narita Brian feels."
It was a rare, significant rival, deliberately smeared by the central authorities, her hard-won victory twisted into something she'd achieved through underhanded means.
And plenty of people agreed with that view, taking to the internet and media to loudly condemn the so-called 'villain's' actions.
There were multiple versions of the messages attacking the Black Uma Musume alone.
They listed all sorts of dubious regulations, claiming the Black Uma Musume's physique was entirely the result of drugs and hormones.
They said she'd stolen her race wins by maliciously interfering with other Uma Musume.
It was pure character assassination, utterly baseless.
And because they couldn't find the girl herself, this kind of rumor and gossip would be nearly impossible to quell for a long time to come.
No wonder Narita Brian's mood had hit rock bottom.
If it were her own childhood friend, Sirius Symboli, or any of her other friends being treated with such prejudice, Rudolf knew she wouldn't be able to accept it either.
Even if the Black Uma Musume had done something wrong first, Rudolf found the central committee's tactic of fighting fire with fire deeply uncomfortable.
She'd even declined to participate in the Winner's award ceremony, politely refusing. Attending would have been an insult not just to Oguri Cap, but to the brighter future of the Uma Musume world that Rudolf herself dreamed of—a damage to her own ideals.
Letting this situation continue would help no one.
But she felt powerless to stop it.
She'd already voiced her objections once before. Now, it was difficult for Rudolf to openly oppose the central committee's decisions again.
So, all things considered, a bit of angry paper-shredding in the student council room was manageable. At least Narita Brian hadn't stormed into the central office to yell in the committee chairman's face. Rudolf counted that as a blessing.
She tried to comfort herself with that thought.
Hearing this, Air Groove could only nod.
She understood too—the central committee's actions were despicable.
But Air Groove had never raced against the Black Uma Musume herself.
She wasn't like Narita Brian, who saw her track rivals as lifelong sworn enemies.
Air Groove felt that instead of focusing all their energy on the conflict between the central committee and the Black Uma Musume, their time was better spent solving practical problems and helping students who were struggling with their training.
Like, for instance, the accommodation issues for Fujimasa March, who was now at Tracen temporarily using their grounds, and her trainer.
Or the question of how to manage and allocate resources when, in the future, more local Uma Musume entered Tracen.
Scheduling facility usage, maintaining relationships with other schools—these were the things the student council needed to consider.
If only Narita Brian could focus her mind on matters like these…
"President Rudolf, I'm going to step out for a bit."
After gathering the stray paper scraps and tossing them in the trash, Narita Brian spoke to Rudolf without turning her head.
"Understood," Rudolf nodded. "Go take a rest."
"Yeah…"
Narita Brian left the room. Just before the door closed, she added,
"Sorry—"
With a clunk, the room fell quiet again.
"She's had a tough few days, Brian has…"
"Obviously."
After a long silence, Air Groove couldn't help but ask,
"President Rudolf… isn't there anything we can do?"
If there were, she would.
But clearly, now was not the time.
She couldn't influence the central committee's decisions at this juncture.
She needed to wait for the right moment—a moment significant enough to potentially change the central committee's stance.
She just wondered what that Black Uma Musume herself thought, facing such a chaotic situation.
--+--
"So? How is it?"
"Barely passable."
Pages turned.
"Does this mean I'm halfway to being a trainer now?"
"You've still got a long way to go," the girl's voice reached his ears. "But no matter what… you've finally touched it…"
That path leading to the highest peaks.
Now, all that's left is to walk it with unwavering resolve.
That's all.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.