Sitting in the audience seats, Symboli Rudolf handed a stack of documents to Platinum.
"Anyway, take a look first. Your passport and immigration records are still with me. You can pick them up next time you pass by the student council office."
Platinum didn't confirm or deny anything. She knew Symboli Rudolf couldn't speak too explicitly in public. Bad things had to be done discreetly.
She flipped through a couple pages before pushing the stack back toward Symboli Rudolf. "Can't read it."
'Yeah, right,' she thought. Being able to understand Symboli Rudolf's Japanese at all was only thanks to her years of watching anime, and even that required a fair bit of guessing.
Expecting her to read the text?
Might as well start learning from the hiragana chart.
"I know you can't read it..." Symboli Rudolf sat down beside Platinum, massaging her temples. "I never expected you to, honestly."
"I'll explain each document to you one by one. You just need to sign."
"Actually, since you're still a minor and not even a Japanese citizen, you don't have the capacity to exercise civil rights. You don't even need to sign much."
Symboli Rudolf pulled out a single, flimsy sheet from the stack and pointed to the bottom. "You only need to sign this one."
"Uh, can I ask what this document is?"
"It's basically acknowledging your parental identification, certifying that your parents are indeed your parents," Symboli Rudolf explained, rubbing her chin.
"Then, it's about consenting to all decisions made by your parents, agreeing to entrust the rights you hold—including image rights, authorship rights, and a whole series of others—to your parents for management and exercise on your behalf until you come of age. It's a guarantee to that effect."
Platinum glanced around, then pulled Symboli Rudolf's collar down and whispered through gritted teeth, "Aren't you basically selling me out here?"
"Handing over everything? If you sell me off to Southeast Asia, who would I even cry to?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't be so suspicious. This is a document every student must sign upon enrollment," Symboli Rudolf reassured her.
"Besides, if I really wanted to sell you, why would I bother getting your identification done? I could've just tossed you over my shoulder and sold you off already. Would I wait until today?"
"It's not that I don't trust you. It's these parents you found—I've never even heard of them. How can I feel at ease?"
"If you had heard of them, wouldn't that be a problem?"
The two of them huddled together, whispering with their heads close. Special Week, passing by, gave them a strange look before hurrying off to the training grounds.
"Just rest assured. This couple are employees at the Symboli family's branch in Poland. They're older, have no children of their own, and are very happy to help you."
"They?"
"Why do you think they have no kids? You think they didn't want any?"
Oh.
'Wow, foreign countries are really advanced, huh.'
"Your background will state that you were adopted by them from an orphanage, that you've lived in Warsaw your whole life, and only recently came here. Don't slip up."
"...Oh." After thinking it over, it seemed there really wasn't much to worry about. Platinum picked up the rollerball pen, but paused just before signing.
"Tell me, should I write 'Platinum' or 'Centaurea'?"
"Doesn't matter. For an Uma Musume, both names can be used as official names."
Without hesitation, Platinum signed the name [Platinum].
Taking the paper, Symboli Rudolf looked it over and praised, "Your kanji handwriting is pretty good."
Before Platinum could react, Symboli Rudolf laid out the remaining stacks of documents in front of her.
"Since you signed that first document, all the ones below are now in effect too."
"I had these other documents signed by your... parents... already. I'm just showing them to you so you know they exist. I'll file these away in your record and keep them with the other students' archives."
"This one is mainly about permission to use the school's facilities, plus a confidentiality agreement. Tracen Academy is, after all, the nation's top institution in this field. The methods the trainers and instructors use on you all are the most advanced and scientific. Some are specifically marked not to be shared externally, and some equipment must not be photographed."
Platinum raised her hand. "Suppose, just suppose, what happens if someone breaks the rules?"
Symboli Rudolf shot her a glance. "I'd advise you to drop that line of thinking."
"If violated, minor infractions could lead to expulsion and paying penalty fees."
"As for serious ones... especially for a foreign filly like you, the worst-case scenario could be being charged with espionage."
Platinum immediately shrank her shoulders in.
"Alright, you normally won't even come into contact with these things. It's just a precaution." Symboli Rudolf comforted her, then moved to the next document. "This one is an agreement related to the race outfits you'll use in the future."
"We have close collaborations with several tailor shops in the UK, France, and Italy. You need to remember, if one day you get your own race outfit, it's been meticulously drafted by highly respected old tailors with decades of experience, and stitched by hand, needle by needle. Those lightweight, fluttery clothes you wear are far more valuable than you might think."
"So, do we have to pay? We're not going to be paying off student loans later, are we?" Platinum raised her hand again.
"There's no such thing as student loans here. You fillies couldn't afford them anyway." Symboli Rudolf patted Platinum's head.
"This ties into the prize money topic I was going to explain next. Since you asked, I'll cover it now."
"If you truly have the ability to reach the G1 stage, the academy will cover the cost of your first race outfit. Meaning, you won't need to pay extra for it."
"Of course, that doesn't mean the outfit is free. The academy will take a percentage from the prize money you win, and combined with the high tax rates in this area... well, don't be too discouraged, but only about half of the prize money from a G1 race will actually make it into your hands."
Platinum's smiling face instantly fell. "What a rip-off school."
Seeing her expression, Symboli Rudolf couldn't help but laugh and scold her lightly. "Talk as if you're about to compete in a G1 race already."
"The school's cut isn't even that much. We run a deficit every year, relying entirely on state subsidies and aid. Where do you think the food you eat, the place you live, and the things you use daily come from? Only a tiny portion comes from your prize money. More comes from the school trustees and taxpayers."
"The prize money from winning a single G1 might seem like a lot, but when divided per student, it's really not much. For the school, it's a drop in the bucket. Your main income doesn't come from prizes anyway; it comes from all kinds of merchandise."
"And that involves this document." Symboli Rudolf pulled out another one. "Collaborations between students and manufacturers or advertisers can be arranged by the school, or you can find them yourself."
"If you find them yourself, you bear all consequences. For school-arranged deals, whether it's merchandise sales or advertising fees, the school won't take a cut, but they will charge a modest agency fee."
As each item was explained, Platinum gradually felt her head spinning. She'd never dealt with any of this in her past life either.
'In short,' she thought, 'everything's being neatly arranged for me.'
--+--
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.