A private training ground.
Trainer Okino of Team Spica sat on the grass beside the track, watching Suzuka run, and couldn't help but recall the first time he met her.
He glanced at the legendary figure seated beside him—a man no longer young but still full of vigor.
"Teacher Take Yutaka, what brings you here this time?"
He was somewhat uncertain.
Before becoming a trainer, Okino had quite a few encounters with Take Yutaka. In fact, back in his early days, it was partly because of Take Yutaka that he'd even thought of becoming a trainer.
Later, he'd been fortunate enough to receive some guidance from him, attending Take Yutaka's classes together with Toujou Hana of Team Rigil.
That was already many years ago now.
"You still love lollipops as much as ever, I see. You must have some idea why I'm here, don't you?"
Take Yutaka chuckled softly, still able to clearly remember how Okino acted during his classes—always doing things that made people want to facepalm, with a lollipop perpetually dangling from his mouth.
Back then, he'd thought Okino and Toujou Hana, who already had a somewhat ambiguous relationship, would start dating or even get married not long after becoming trainers.
But up to now, he hadn't heard a single word about it.
"It's because of Suzuka, isn't it?"
Okino said with certainty. Though Team Spica was full of promising talents now, Suzuka's joining had countless ties to Teacher Take Yutaka.
After all, the original Spica was a team that didn't even have enough members to qualify for G-series races, always on the brink of disbanding.
As a member of Rigil, even if her race results at the time weren't outstanding, why would Suzuka choose to join a team like Spica, which had no achievements to its name?
"That's right."
"That time, I happened to be in Hong Kong at Sha Tin as a special guest commentator for the Hong Kong Cup."
"I paid a little extra attention to Silence Suzuka from Hana's team."
A touch of nostalgia appeared on Take Yutaka's face. Though it was only last year, it felt like so much time had passed.
"Last year's Hong Kong Cup… I remember Suzuka finished fifth?"
Though Okino might seem unreliable, he had studied his Uma Musume carefully, researching their past races in detail. He could still clearly recall Suzuka's result from that time.
The Hong Kong Cup wasn't an exceptionally outstanding race, and last year's competitors didn't include monsters like Barbatos.
But for Suzuka, who hadn't achieved any notable results back then, it wasn't strange.
The only strange thing was that Suzuka, who'd managed to join Rigil last year, shouldn't have had only such results.
Rigil only accepted one new member each year, meaning Suzuka was the strongest among those who wanted to join at the time.
Yet after her debut, Suzuka didn't produce eye-catching results like other Rigil Uma Musume.
"Yes, it was fifth place."
Take Yutaka nodded with a smile. "But even so, I could see something different in Suzuka."
"As a special guest for the Cup that day, all I could think was that Suzuka…"
"was a monster."
Clack.
The lollipop fell from Okino's mouth, shattering into pieces on the ground. As a former student, Okino never expected Teacher Take Yutaka would give Suzuka such high praise.
After all, Teacher Take Yutaka had trained many Uma Musume whose names were still remembered by the world today. He was truly Japan's number one trainer in the horse racing world.
But he had never used the word "monster" to describe any other Uma Musume.
"Monster" was never a derogatory term among Uma Musume. It described one whose strength surpassed normal limits, an outlier among ordinary Uma Musume.
And when Teacher Take Yutaka called someone a monster, he was usually comparing them to the Uma Musume he had trained in the past.
Maybe he was reading too much into it, but Okino couldn't help but swallow hard, his eyes filled with deep shock.
Even Barbatos and El Condor Pasa—the strongest of this generation—hadn't received such an evaluation from Teacher Take Yutaka, had they?
"Heh, don't underestimate Suzuka."
Take Yutaka smiled kindly.
"I still remember that day at the Hong Kong Champions Cup. Even though Suzuka lost, I believed she was suited to run without deliberately holding back."
"Ah, if possible, I would have liked to become Suzuka's trainer myself."
"But I had already retired by then."
Okino could hear the regret in Teacher Take Yutaka's voice. "Then…"
"Why didn't you communicate with Hana and ask her to train Suzuka according to your methods?"
Running without deliberately holding back—that was Suzuka's current running style. The one everyone called the "Otherworldly Front-Runner," the one called the "Pegasus."
Since adopting this style, Suzuka hadn't lost a single race.
And changing a running style—he believed Hana could have managed that too.
The image of that tsundere face, the one that flushed red whenever they talked, surfaced in his mind. Then Okino shook his head, finally understanding why Suzuka had come to Spica.
Seeing Okino's expression, Take Yutaka smiled. "Seems you've figured it out."
"You both were my students. I understand your training philosophies well."
"Hana is an outstanding trainer. It's lucky for Rigil to have her. But her training methods and mindset just aren't suitable for Suzuka."
"She… doesn't want the Uma Musume under her care to get hurt."
Okino helped explain.
Take Yutaka raised a hand to stop him. "Of course I know that. But that very mindset would have limited the achievements Suzuka could potentially reach."
"She is a true monster."
"I believe she can run races worthy of being recorded in history."
"Heh, maybe I was being selfish too."
"So at the time, I spoke with both Suzuka and Hana. With Suzuka's own willing agreement, I recommended Spica."
"Hana is the most outstanding among my students. But being in Rigil would have meant more restraints for Suzuka."
"Your training philosophy, even if others see it as the most laid-back, happens to be the most suitable for Suzuka."
Okino scratched his head, unsure whether Teacher Take Yutaka was praising him or making fun of him.
He also hadn't realized that Teacher Take Yutaka played a part in Suzuka joining Spica.
"So, Teacher, are you here this time because of the Takarazuka Kinen?"
"That's a bit of my own selfish desire too."
"I want to see Suzuka achieve something historic. So, I wondered if my advice might be of some use to you and her?"
Advice? Teacher Take Yutaka's advice?
Okino's eyes lit up. If there were other remarkable retired trainers in Japan's Uma Musume Racing world, when it came to front-runners, Teacher Take Yutaka was undoubtedly number one.
He took a deep breath. "So, Teacher Take Yutaka also thinks that for Suzuka right now, Air Groove is a very difficult opponent to overcome?"
For the decisive race in the first half of the year, whether it was Okino or other racing fans, everyone considered Air Groove the absolute favorite to win. She was a legendary Uma Musume, after all.
Take Yutaka shook his head.
"The greatest enemy isn't Air Groove."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.