Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 129: Perfect Figure

The racehorse ladies suddenly became even more boisterous, and the audience area was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Kitahara, who had been subconsciously paying attention to Oguruma and the others from the beginning, suddenly heard Fujii's apologetic smile again.

"Hey, Kitahara, look, they are very satisfied with their titles."

He rubbed his hands at Kitahara who turned away, looking ingratiating.

"Look, how about you be flexible and let me explain to them the origins of these titles?"

Kitahara almost laughed out of anger, thinking that this reporter was really too enthusiastic and wanted to get close to Uma Musume whenever he got the chance. He couldn't help but want to ask him what was going on.

Just at this moment, the exciting commentary sounded.

"First up is the debut segment! Let us welcome the most anticipated and popular contestant of this year, the eldest daughter of the Mejiro family, and the hottest rising star of the Eisei team, Mejiro Aldan!"

Upon hearing this explanation, Kitahara immediately put aside his other thoughts and looked towards the appearance circle.

From a distance, on a semicircular platform with a radius of several meters, a tall and elegant horse girl with long sky-blue hair could be seen slowly walking out from behind a crimson curtain. It was none other than Altan Mejiro.

Click, click, click, click!
Before he could look down at Mejiro Aldan's actions, Kitahara was attracted by the continuous sounds beside him.

Turning around, I saw that Fujii Izumisuke, who had a playful look on his face just now, now looked extremely serious and solemn, with even a hint of caution and solemnity in his eyes.

He was holding a Canon camera as big as a brick, and the lens as thick as a fist was extended and shortened from time to time. The clicking sound was made by him pressing the shutter button continuously when the lens was stable.

While taking pictures of Aldan in the appearance circle, he took many angles and didn't care about the eyes of people around him at all. He stood on a chair, leaned most of his body out of the audience, and occasionally leaned his body to the left and right.

It seems that Fujii Izumisuke is extremely serious at this moment, and people simply cannot bear to disturb him.

...It seems that I was a bit harsh on him before. Although he is indeed too fanatical, his professionalism is really commendable.

After secretly praising her a few times, Kitahara suddenly realized that Aldan was still making an appearance, but when he turned around, he found that the next Uma Musume had already made her appearance.

He couldn't help but look at Fujii, who was staring at the camera screen, with some regret and embarrassment, and pondered for a moment.

"...Um, Fujii, can you let me see the photos you just took?"

"This photo seems a little underexposed... This one should be adjusted to a wide angle, but it doesn't matter, this can all be fixed... huh?"

After mumbling a few words to the camera lens, Fujii finally reacted, looked at Kitahara blankly, and then suddenly realized something.

"Oh, look at the pictures, right? No problem."

He lowered his head again and operated the camera for a while, then walked over with the camera, with the screen facing Kitahara.

"Beiyuan, look, I think these are good. They can be typeset with a simple processing. What do you think..."

Just after saying this, he patted his forehead and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I forgot that these are things I need to talk to the editor-in-chief. Just look at the photos."

Kitahara smiled and looked at the photo as he was told. He nodded at the clearly visible white eyes of Aldan and thought for a moment.

"I'm not stopping you from interviewing Oguruma and the others, I just hope their lives can be simpler."

Seeing Fujii startled and looking over, Kitahara smiled and said, "Just like what they did just now, just be happy and train and compete simply."

"I know you want to report it. I can promise you that with the capabilities of our team, you will have a steady stream of news, and all of them will be eye-catching and first-to-be-released news."

"Just like the 'Cute Monsters' press conference after the game, you see, didn't I just tell you about your Flash News Agency?" He finally lowered his voice.

Fujii was stunned for a moment, then chuckled.

"... Kitahara, I think you must have misunderstood."

This time it was Kitahara's turn to be stunned.

"Actually, I just simply love Uma Musume."

Looking in the direction of Oguruma and the others, and then looking at the horse girls who were entering the gates one by one in the stadium, Fujii Izumisuke's eyes revealed a fiery and restrained look, like a volcano hidden under the black ice.

"If I start from the beginning, this should be a story about a jerk with nothing to do being attracted by the figure of a horse girl and thus changing his life."

He said calmly but fiercely: "To put it simply, Umamusume changed me. Now, I want to do something for them."

"Journalist is just a career and a way for me to realize this wish. It's the same for other things."

He suddenly looked at Kitahara and smiled.

"Come to think of it, I wanted to try to be a trainer at first, but I didn't have the physical fitness to get into the local Tresen College, so I became a reporter."

"So, don't worry, Kitahara. I know I can be a little, uh... overzealous sometimes. Anyway, I'll be more careful in the future."

"I believe that I am like you, we are all people who want to do something for these simple and kind horse racing ladies."

I was indeed too harsh on him before...

After thinking this for a moment, Kitahara wanted to apologize to Fujii Izumisuke, but he was interrupted by the loud commentary.

"So all the horse girls have entered the gate..."

"Start!"

"Very good! All the runners in this race had a great start!"

Without having time to think about anything else, Kitahara turned his head and looked towards the starting line. The same thing happened to Fujii Izumisuke. As he turned his head, the camera was already placed in front of his glasses, like a magic trick.

The exciting commentary continues.

"The person currently in first place is No. 7 Kayla, the second most popular contestant! This horse girl chose the escape tactic and left her opponents behind as soon as she left the gate! She currently has a 4-length lead. Can she expand this advantage?"

"In second place is Shishia, who is ranked sixth in popularity. It seems that the fans seem to have underestimated this horse girl. Her position is very good. While keeping close to Kayla in front of her, she seems to have suppressed other opponents who chose to run ahead!"

"Next up is our most popular player, Aldan Mejiro, who is the most anticipated player in this match! She lives up to her title and fame. She may seem to be only in third place, but those who are familiar with the match should know that she is in the inner lane!"

“That’s the most labor-saving and quickest location!”

"You've grabbed such a favorable position right from the start. You're worthy of being the daughter of the Mejiro family and a member of the Eternal Team!"

"So, what kind of strength can she demonstrate? Is it a stunning last kick like Oguruma and Inari Ichi? Or the lightning-fast unpredictability of Tamamo Cross? Or a stunning escape like Super Cove?"

"let us wait and see!"

...None of them. What Aldan is good at...

Beiyuan raised the corner of his mouth silently and was about to go on when he suddenly heard a series of clicking sounds coming from the side, mixed with a sigh.

"She is indeed very powerful... This kind of delicate running tactics, just based on this point, she should be considered the most talented in the entire Mejiro family, right?"

The one whispering was Fujii Izumisuke. He kept taking pictures, his eyes fixed on the stadium through the camera, but his words were obviously directed to Kitahara.

"Not only her running tactics, but also her outstanding... calmness? Her overall view? Or her mentality? In short, she is different from the other horse girls in your team."

"I've noticed, Kitahara, that every horse girl in your Eternal Team has incredible characteristics, Oguruma's three-stage acceleration, Inariichi's one-breath burst, Tamamo Cross's unpredictable lightning running style, Super Kobayashi's strong endurance..."

He couldn't help but raise his eyes from the camera lens, glanced with emotion, and then quickly looked back.

"Each of the Eternal Team's horse girls has unique tactical running advantages."

He repeated it with more emphasis, "But Mejiro Aldan is different from them all."

“At the beginning of the race, especially during the start phase, it is the most crowded and chaotic time of the entire race. At this time, it is difficult for most horse girls to remain completely rational, and they are more likely to rush in based on their trained instincts.”

"Even if the four of Oguruma are powerful, they can't avoid this."

"I have watched all their public competition videos at least 50 times. I know very well that their starts are all based on trained instincts, because their expressions when they start are all panicked or nervous for a moment."

"but……"

He took a deep breath and tapped the camera screen a few times, aiming it at Kitahara.

"Mejiro Ardan didn't have that kind of expression. Her expression was too calm, without a single ripple... No, that's not right. You can't say she had no expression. In the chaos of the start..."

Fujii was silent for a moment, with a strange expression on his face.

“She’s actually laughing.”

As he said this, Kitahara had already seen the camera screen clearly.

In the center of the screen, her long sky-blue hair was lifted, her clear amethyst-like eyes were tilted slightly toward the inside of the runway, and her light-colored thin lips were slightly raised.

Mejiro Aldan was indeed smiling.

…Although the “Waltz on the Field” tactic was not fully completed, but…

Have you found the feeling yet, Aldan...

As if responding to the smile on the camera, Kitahara also slightly curled up the corners of his mouth. He glanced at Fujii who was full of emotion, and then looked at the competition field.

"...Ah, yes, she is indeed smiling."

Staring closely at the figure with long sky-blue hair on the runway, Kitahara said softly:
"She must have found her own game..."

While Kitahara and Fujii were communicating, the race had already passed the early stage and entered the early middle stage.

The clear purple eyes roamed in a peculiar rhythm, and the corners of Aldan's already upturned mouth became even more upturned.

...It turns out that this is what the "Waltz on the Field" tactic should really look like.

She has not received any blindfold training yet, so her ability to collect information on the field is not that good. She relies on her sight to continuously collect information about her opponents, and she compares it one by one with the various deductions before the game.

...Simple deduction and data cannot fully predict all situations on the field, but through the summary of various deduction results, you can come to the conclusion of what you must do.

For example, after leaving the gate, use the track switching technique to avoid crowded opponents.

Similarly, in order to maintain the advantageous inside position when cornering, I need to slow down to a certain extent. Although this will cause me to fall behind in the rankings slightly, the time and energy saved in the subsequent race will allow me to take the lead in the end.

In other words, the "Waltz of the Arena" is not about predicting the opponent, but...

Predict yourself!

Fully understand your own limits, make decisions and take actions within that line, and run the race within your own limits. This is my unique tactic!

As the name suggests, after rehearsing the stage countless times in advance, you don’t have to worry about any audience or opponents when you go on stage. It’s like dancing gracefully alone on a huge stage...

This is the waltz on the field, a tactic that is unique to me.

Thank you, Chief Kitahara, and everyone, for allowing me to be a little willful and monopolize this tactic for a while.

Because I will do my best to make this tactic perfect, and then teach it to everyone.

Just as Mejiro Aldan was thinking about something, a puzzled voice came from the commentator.

"The competition has become tense! Perhaps influenced by the performance of other members of the Eternal Team, the horse girls in this competition have unanimously targeted Aldan Mejiro!"

"Aldan Mejiro certainly stuck to the inner lane, showing an excellent and delicate running tactic!"

"but!"

"She has opponents in front of her, behind her, and outside her!"

"These opponents are like a bowl, firmly 'locking' Aldan in the inner path!"

"Did you miscalculate?! Mejiro Aldan and the Eternal Team?!"

"If this restriction continues to the end... Mejiro Aldan will never be able to break out!"

"Is she going to lose her debut battle?!"

"Will this be the first defeat of the Eternal Team since its establishment?!"

Under the commentator's questioning, the audience seats had gone from cheering in the beginning to becoming somewhat chaotic. Most of the audience were indeed still cheering for the horse racing ladies on the field, but doubts similar to those from the commentator were clearly rising one after another.

"What's going on? This young lady of the Mejiro family... doesn't seem to be on the same level as her companions?"

"It's so strange. Why doesn't she react to the actions of the other horse girls? Does she want to be restricted like this until the end?"

"How can she break through this restriction?! Ah! I know! She must have the same skills as Oguruma and Inari! She must want to break through on the last straight!"

The voices of doubt also reached Kitahara and the others. Kitahara remained expressionless, but Oguruma and the others seemed a little restless.

"how so……"

Oguruma was the first to frown. "Although Aldan's leg strength is also excellent, I'm afraid that Inari and I can't break through this restriction... Inari, can you?"

"That's impossible. If this is the case, how can I get out unless I really turn into a fox and squeeze out of the gap?!"

Inari fidgeted with the fox mask on his face, and said in a depressed tone, pouting, "This is different from what we agreed on before. We clearly thought of a strategy specifically for Aldan... How could this happen?!"

Tamamo Cross bit his lip, looked left and right at Oguruma and Inari, and finally looked at the super small bay.

"Hey, Xiaowan, you are the only one besides Aldan who has exclusive tactics. What do you think of Aldan's situation?"

"I...I can't explain this clearly."

Super Bay looked solemn, she held her chin tightly and stared at the runway.

"The areas that Aldan and I are good at... no, she is good at different things than us. My tactical thinking, skills, and required abilities are completely different from her 'Waltz on the Field'. I can't figure out what's going on with her..."

"Could it be that because the 'Waltz on the Field' tactic itself has not yet been perfected, she was unable to anticipate this situation in advance?"

This made Oguruma and the others stunned, and also made Komiya and others who were also anxiously discussing the matter listen to the conversation. They all looked at Kitahara at the same time.

Then they were stunned.

Because Kitahara was holding the telescope himself, and Fujii Izumi beside him was holding the camera, and the two of them were staring at their respective lenses with a very serious attitude. However, the raised corners of their mouths showed that they were very relaxed at the moment.

"Hey? Mr. Kitahara..."

Xiao Haiwan couldn't help but move over there, and so did the others. Xiao Haiwan was about to ask Kitahara what he saw, but heard him and Fujii chatting casually.

"It seems that my guess is correct. Aldan has mastered the tactic of 'Waltz on the Field' through actual combat, otherwise it wouldn't be so easy." Kitahara said with a smile.

"Yeah, look at her smile, it seems like she is attending a party instead of a competition."

Staring at the camera screen, Fujii also chuckled and agreed: "Hey, Kitahara, the 'Waltz on the Field' you just mentioned, is it the unique tactic of your Eternal Team?"

"Yes, but don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, I know the rules and will never report anything like this. I don't want to lose my press card."

Xiao Haiwan and others didn't pay attention to the latter sentence. Their attention was on Beiyuan's first two sentences.

Eh? Aldan... is she smiling?
This thought occurred to everyone, and then Oguruma and the other horse girls shook their ears and looked at Komiyama and Yusuhara in tacit understanding.

As a trainer, binoculars are basically a must. Racehorse girls have very good eyesight and generally don't need them. Kyoko Miyamura generally relies on instruments to observe the racecourse and doesn't bring a binoculars. Apart from Kitahara, only Komiyama and Yusuhara brought binoculars.

No matter how good the horse girl's eyesight is, it is difficult for her to see the expressions of her companions who are moving at high speeds, so...

"Xiaogongshan, can you lend me your telescope?"

"Xiaoyu, let me see it too!"

"Alang..."

"Hi, hi...for you..."

"Xiao Haiwan, you use this side and I'll use this side." So, Oguruma and Tamamo Cross, Inari and Super Xiao Haiwan worked in pairs, each with a telescope barrel, looking at the stadium from afar.

However, they seldom used the telescope and were not very experienced at the moment. Moreover, two of them were operating it together, so it took them a long time to aim it at the scene and find Aldan Mejiro.

At this moment, the commentator's voice, which had been full of doubt, suddenly turned into surprise.

“The playing field has changed dramatically!”

“The third turn! The third turn! We have just passed the third turn! All the horse girls are heading towards the fourth turn!”

"The one running away first is still No. 7 Kayla. She is currently leading by two lengths! This distance is very dangerous! She is likely to be overtaken!"

"The first one to take action was No. 8 Shishia! She had fallen to fourth place in the previous competition! This position happened to be outside Mejiro Aldan!"

"but!"

"Shishia has accelerated! Her speed has increased significantly! A group that surrounds Mejiro Aldan has appeared..."

"Mejiro Aldan rushed out!"

"Oh my god! Shishia only leaned out for a moment! Mejiro Aldan seized this opportunity and rushed out!"

"Hishia is trying to get closer to the inner lane! But it's too late, Mejiro Aldan has already rushed out! She chose this moment to speed up and rushed out in one breath! Rushed out!"

"She left behind the third and fourth horse girls! Aldan Mejiro left behind the other opponents in one go and rushed straight towards the fleeing Keira!"

"The last straight line! The last straight line!"

"Will it become a one-on-one duel?! Will it become a one-on-one duel between Keira and Mejiro Aldan?!!!"

"Kayla is running desperately! She still has some strength left, she's still running! But the distance is shortened! The distance is visibly shortened by Mejiro Aldan!"

"Shishia finally rushed back from the outside lane! She's catching up! Can she catch up with the two horse girls in front?!"

The entire stadium was boiling in an instant!
In just one or two hundred meters of the race, Shishia accelerated and leaned outward, and a gap appeared around Mejiro Aldan. The conflict between Mejiro Aldan and the one-on-one situation turned into a three-way dispute, and this series of changes happened in an instant!

Kitahara was also in an uproar. Kitahara and Fujii, who had some anticipation for this, were fine, but Komiyama and the others started shouting almost instantly.

"Go! Aldan! Win your debut match! Let's go to the Classic Triple Crown together!"

In excitement, Oguri threw away the telescope that had not yet been focused, accurately memorized the name of the classic triple crown, and pounced on the fence of the audience seats, leaned out half of his body, raised one arm high, clenched his fist, and cheered excitedly to the stadium.

Tamamo Cross also jumped up and stepped directly next to the railing that Oguruma was pressing on. Relying on his good balance, he was not afraid of falling down. He didn't even use his hands to support himself. He put his hands to his mouth, opened his mouth, and revealed a pair of pointed little fangs.

"Aldan! You can definitely win! Come on!"

Inariichi followed suit, throwing away the telescope and then rushing to the side of Tamamo Cross. He put his hand to his mouth in the shape of a trumpet and cheered for Mejiro Altan with all his might.

Only Super Xiaowan was busy borrowing two telescopes and carefully placing them on the seat. Then he turned around and was frightened by the dangerous actions of Tamamo Cross and Inari Ichi. He rushed over and picked them up from the railing one by one.

"Hey! What are you doing, Little Bay? We need to cheer for Aldan!"

"Wow! You scared me, Cove!"

"Of course I know I have to cheer for Aldan..."

Xiao Haiwan smiled bitterly, "But you also have to pay attention to safety..."

She looked at Xiaolimao who had half of his body leaning out, "Xiaoli, it's too dangerous for you to do that. Hurry up and stand back, or you won't get a share of the curry next time."

Mejiro Aldan on the track was unaware of the sudden farce that happened to his companions.

She was only clearly aware of the loss of her physical and mental strength, silently watching the figure of Kayla getting closer and closer in front of her, and listening to the breathing and footsteps of Xixia which were gradually slowing down from behind.

Kayla...is about to stall, just like in the preview.

Xixia's leg strength... is still enough to support her to continue to speed up. If I want to speed up, it's also possible, but...

The corners of her mouth rose again, and she did not choose to speed up, but ran towards the inner road as if to avoid it.

The commentator exclaimed again at this scene.

"Contestant No. 7, Keira, has clearly lost speed! She has dropped in speed! She has crashed into Mejiro Altan behind her..."

"I didn't hit Mejiro Aldan! No!"

"It's like he anticipated the gap! Mejiro Aldan seemed to know that Keira would lose speed!"

"She leaned towards the inner path ahead of time!"

"And the one affected by Kayla's stall is...Shishia!"

"Shishia obviously wanted to overtake Mejiro Aldan! But Keira, who was stalled in front of her, affected her progress, so she had to go around a little further!"

"But this little distance! It determines Mejiro Aldan's victory!"

"I can't catch up! There are only 100 meters left! All the opponents can't catch up! Mejiro Aldan can definitely..."

"Ah! Mejiro Aldan is speeding up! She's speeding up without any opponent being able to catch up!"

"2 horse body!"

"3 horse body!"

"4 horse body!"

“Cross the finish line!”

"Congratulations to Altan Mejiro for his perfect debut! He won by a huge margin of 4 lengths!"

"Perfect, so perfect! This is the only description I can think of!"

“Whether it’s occupying the inner lane at the start of the race to save enough energy, or facing encirclement and accurately seizing the opportunity to break out, or finally avoiding the stalled horse girl and engaging in clever offense and defense with the opponent, and finally sprinting with all your strength, all of this…”

"It's perfect! She totally deserves the title of the daughter of the Mejiro family and the strong one of the Eternal Team!"

"Let us...congratulate Aldan Mejiro again!"

Amidst the tsunami-like cheers, Mejiro Aldan felt that his current condition was even better than during the competition.

It's not about physical strength. She was already out of breath and was walking slowly along the track to recover her breath.

The final 100-meter sprint on the straight was the most ideal scenario she had calculated for the race.

That is to say, you have control over yourself, all your opponents, and all the circumstances of the race. You can keep a cool head during the competition with motivation that your teammates don't have, and reserve enough physical strength and speed to deal with everything.

This reserve can deal with any situation, such as the escaping horse girl does not lose speed and has to compete with other horse girls who are ahead.

However, if none of the other situations arise, she can give it her all at the end of the track.

...Because, even if I can't win as beautifully as Oguri and the others, I will try my best in every game.

Because, this is me, Altan Mejiro's game.

After thinking silently and calming down, he was about to go to the backstage to wait for the Winning Live segment when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

"Hello, Miss Mejiro Aldan!"

Although there was only one voice shouting, the multiple rapid breathing indicated that there was more than one person coming.

Turning his head in surprise, Mubai Aldan saw that almost all the opponents he had just competed with had surrounded him.

There was crystal sweat on their faces that had not been wiped clean, they were breathing slightly, their cheeks were flushed, and they looked at me with longing in their eyes.

"Hello everyone, is there anything I can do for you?"

Bowing slightly, Ardan never forgets the dignity of the Mejiro family. This is her habit and her upbringing.

"Ah, no, not to help or anything, actually, we want to trouble you!"

The voice from before spoke again, and Mubai Aldan recognized it as Kaira, who had been leading the escape.

"Please, Miss Kayla, if there is anything I can do, I will seriously consider it." She bowed again.

"That's right! We are all fans of Mejiro Takamine-senpai, all of us here!"

Kayla was delighted and stretched out her hand to circle all the horse girls around her.

Following this action, the other horse girls kept nodding their heads.

"We all really want to get Gao Feng's autograph, but we don't dare to go at school. So today when we found out that we were going to compete with Miss Mejiro Altan, we all brought Gao Feng's postcard!"

Kayla bowed, and the other horse girls also saluted in unison.

"Could you please help us get Gao Feng-senpai's autograph? Thank you very much! Please!"

...Looking for my sister's autograph? Well, my sister doesn't seem to particularly like autograph sessions, and her autographs are rarely circulated...

Then it should be okay for me to ask her for help, right? Especially since I won the debut competition...

After thinking for a while, Megumi Aldan didn't think too much and nodded with a smile.

"Okay, I promise you, I will take the postcard to find my sister. The only uncertainty is that if my sister refuses, I may not be able to do anything."

She tilted her head slightly in distress, then smiled again, "But I will help you persuade them, don't worry about that, I promise."

They all stood up together, and Kayla and the others smiled in surprise.

"I am really grateful to you, Miss Mejiro Aldant! And..."

She suddenly blushed and scratched her cheek as if a little embarrassed. "I am very happy with today's game. I am very happy to see Miss Mejiro Altan's elegant and perfect figure, so..."

The expectation in her eyes became stronger. "Can you please sign as well?"

After these words were spoken, Altan Mejiro was stunned, and so were the other horse girls, but they soon showed the same expectant look as Kira, and looked straight at Altan Mejiro.

As a horse girl of the Mejiro family, it is normal for her to be watched by all kinds of people, but Aldan does not feel uncomfortable because of these eyes.

But she had other reasons to be uncomfortable.

"Well, it's not that I want to reject you..."

She was a little embarrassed and folded her hands on her belly, bowing slightly, "It's just that, have you forgotten that I... just like you, I hadn't debuted before this competition..."

"In this case, how can there be any special photo albums..."

Kira and the other horse racing girls were stunned again, and soon, looks of loss appeared on their faces one by one.

Seeing this, Mejiro Aldan felt a little uncomfortable. Unlike her sister, she did not hate trouble or fame, nor did she like it. She just thought that since the Mejiro family was very famous, it was the duty of the Mejiro family's horse girl to take it calmly and respond to every expectation as much as possible.

She originally wanted to comfort Kayla and the others, but suddenly something happened to her.

...Hey? After today's game, isn't there going to be a press conference for the "Cute Monster" project?

Wouldn't it be possible to take this opportunity to send them some postcards?

For a project like this, there will definitely be activities like photo postcards, right?

After a while, the information came out and Aldan spoke with a smile.

"Don't be disappointed, I have a solution."

Facing the gradually surprised and delighted looks of Kayla and the others, she bowed again and chuckled:
"Thank you very much for your support to me, the Mejiro family, and the Eisei team. As for the postcards, I will ask you to prepare them."

"Just give me the postcards from Sister Gao Feng that you prepared. When I'm done, I'll hand them out to you one by one."

After promising Kayla and the other horse girls, Mejiro Aldan took the matter to heart. After the Winng Live ended, she removed her makeup and changed into casual clothes. She did not rush to rest, but went straight to the backstage waiting room and called out Kitahara who was waiting inside.

"Hey? Aldan, you're out now. Don't you want to rest over there for a while?" Kitahara was very confused, but then he thought of something funny and couldn't help laughing.

"Come to think of it, you should have noticed that Xiao Limao and the others are not very good at singing and dancing. They dance well, but every time they finish Winng Live, it's like they've run 3000 meters in a row. They're paralyzed and can't move."

"I think dancing is very tiring. Maybe even more tiring than competing. Don't you really need to take a break, Aldan?"

"Oguruma and the others...Pfft—"

Aldan covered his lips instantly and couldn't help laughing.

"Hehe, Chief Kitahara, your mention reminds me that we have practiced dancing together before, in dance class."

"Then, for some reason, Oguri said that after she won her debut match, she didn't know how to dance Winning Live, so she danced Kasamatsu Ondo instead."

"Then, Inari said that she was like this the first time too, she also couldn't dance, and what a coincidence, she danced the Edo Ondo dance."

"Xiaoyu got a little anxious and said it was a shame that she hadn't danced the local dance from Kansai, so she started dancing right there."

"When she jumped, Oguri and Inari also jumped up."

"As a result, all the classmates in the class ran to watch the three of them dance, leaving the teacher aside. The teacher was almost furious at the time."

This was something Kitahara didn't know, but just by listening to Aldan's description, he could imagine the hilarious scene of the three horse girls dancing their own local tunes at the Central Tresen Academy, and he couldn't help but laugh.

And after hearing about what happened during Oguruma's debut battle, Kitahara couldn't help but realize that it had been almost a year.

…It feels like it was just yesterday when I decided to recruit Oguribo and met her for the first time.

As a result, in almost the blink of an eye, we arrived at the center.

Around her, there's not only Oguruma, but also Kouki, Tama, Inari, Kobayashi, and Aldan.

There are also my junior sister Komiyayama, Yusuhara, Kyoko and others.

It’s really fast.

Eh? Can you find some time to go back to Kasamatsu? Hmm... Unfortunately, I can't get away from all the upcoming competitions, especially the Classic Triple Crown.

I kind of understand now, how it felt when my uncle came back to Kasamatsu to visit his family all these years...

After being slightly melancholy for a while, Kitahara remembered that Mejiro Aldan might have something to say, so he collected his thoughts.

"By the way, Aldan, if you don't plan to rest, there must be something wrong, right?"

Still covering her mouth with her hands and giggling, upon hearing this, Aldan quickly rubbed his cheeks, which were a little red from laughing, with the back of his hand and took a deep breath.

"Ah, there are some things, it's like this..."

After explaining the situation of Kayla and the others, she took out a stack of palm-sized postcards from her pocket. Without exception, the postcards all had pictures of the horse girl named Mejiro Takamine on them.

"So, I want to see if Xizhen Company has made such postcards, and then sign them for Kayla and the others and send them over."

"Postcard..."

Kitahara thought for a moment, "Probably not. The press conference for the 'Cute Monster' project will be held later. According to the process, peripheral products such as postcards will not be put into production until the project is about to be officially launched. Xizhen Company should not have any at the moment."

Then, without waiting for Aldan to be disappointed, he smiled and said:
"It doesn't matter if you don't have it. I think we can use the original painting from Xizhen Company as a substitute."

Aldan was about to express his disappointment and say that he would think of another way, but his eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Original painting? Are there any paintings like this?"

Beiyuan nodded. "The Mesra based on you, Aldan, was sent to Xizhen Company a long time ago. Of course, they have made relevant improvements and will also have the original painting."

"Generally, this kind of company will not have just one original drawing, but many backups. You can just ask for one."

"This kind of original painting still has a certain collection value. I think Kayla's children will be even happier."

After thinking for a while, he added, "Of course, if you really need postcards, you can ask Hewan Enterprises or other companies to make them, but then they can only be collected and cannot be used for mailing."

“The original painting will do.”

Mejiro Aldan nodded happily and stretched out his fingers to form a square the size of a photo.

"It's about this size, 6 or 7 will be enough. I don't want to trouble too many people."

After saying that, seeing Kitahara nodding with a smile, Aldan's expression changed again.

"By the way, Chief Kitahara said the press conference will start soon, so what time exactly is it?"

"When you're ready."

Kitahara smiled and said, "The original schedule was to go there after your game was over, Winning Live was over, and you had a good rest."

"Little Limao and the others are waiting. If everything is ready, we'll go over right away."

Mejiro Aldan had come to Kitahara specifically to discuss the request of Kira and other horse girls. Naturally, she had handled everything. After listening to Kitahara's words, she nodded without any hesitation. So, the two of them went to the lounge, called up Oguruma and others who had been waiting for a long time, and set off for the press conference venue.

The venue was chosen to be the Xizhen Yingshi Building. The entire building with dozens of floors is the property of Xizhen Company and is all used as a venue for meetings, offices, filming, etc.

The press conference was held in a hall on the first floor, which was not the largest in the building. The largest hall was located on the top floor, leading directly to the rooftop, and was generally used as the venue for the most important planning press conferences.

However, choosing a relatively small hall on the first floor does not mean that Xizhen Company does not attach importance to the "cute monster" project. On the contrary, judging from the identity of the leader who welcomed Kitahara and others, they attach the highest importance to it.

There were a group of professional elites in suits at Xizhen Company, but the leader was wearing a traditional white kimono and looked like a traditional person.

He was very young, no more than 30 years old, with a neatly combed back hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and a calm and gentle smile on his face. He had broad shoulders and long legs, which gave people a sense of stability.

Kitahara recognized this person almost immediately. He did not expect that the current president of Xizhen Company, Masato Kurokawa, would come to greet him in person.

"Hello, Chief Kitahara. I have long admired you and your Eternal Team. It is an honor to meet you, an outstanding trainer, in person."

Kurokawa Masato looked very friendly at the beginning with polite greetings, but he soon showed his power as the helmsman of Japan's top film company and a world-renowned enterprise.

"You help the members of the Eternal World team familiarize themselves with the venue and procedures. I will have a private chat with Chief Kitahara."

He gave the order without consulting anyone, and without waiting for Kitahara to respond to the greeting. Then, he looked at Kitahara with a questioning look:
"Is that ok, Chief Kitahara?"

...I guess I can't refuse it.

Beiyuan wanted to shrug, but unfortunately the formal occasion did not allow it, so he just nodded.

"It's me who should be honored to meet President Kurokawa."

Then he tilted his head slightly and looked at Yusuhara, "Yusuhara, thank you for leading Oguruma and the others to cooperate with us. I will come to you after I talk to President Kurokawa."

Kitahara had only met people like Kurokawa Masato from afar before, and he knew very well that these people did not like to make decisions on their own, but they ran a large business group, and many times the most important ability was decisiveness. Over time, such an environment would make these people develop a somewhat arbitrary character.

In fact, in a sense, he is also this kind of person, but the things he needs to be responsible for now are mainly training and competitions, which requires communicating with team members and patiently exchanging ideas with Oguruma and the others. If he were directly in charge of Hewan Enterprise, he would probably be similar to Kurokawa Masato.

Taro Yusuhara had also studied abroad and had seen a lot of things. After hearing Kitahara's instructions, he didn't say much. After nodding, he took Oguruma and others towards the venue. The same was true for the men in suits behind Kurokawa Masato.

After everyone else on both sides left, Kurokawa Masato spread his hands to the side, slightly turned his body, and then walked in that direction first.

After Beiyuan followed him, he saw that he didn't speak. He felt that he might want to find a quiet place to talk about things, so he also remained silent.

So, the two of them left the lobby on the first floor of the building in tacit understanding, walked deeper along a corridor on the side, entered an elevator that looked a bit simple, and went down to the third underground floor.

The decoration on the first floor of Xizhen Yingshi Building is very luxurious. It is not magnificent, but various decorations look simple and plain. In fact, any one of them is worth a lot of money. You can feel the exquisiteness just by looking at the workmanship. For example, the carpet in the corridor on the elevator side feels like stepping on cotton when you step on it. It is purely handmade as expected.

The third underground floor is actually very simple. Not only is the space a bit small, but you can also clearly feel the difference when you step on the carpet. The carpets here are probably the wholesale welcome carpets, and the color is also a very common pure red.

Masato Kurokawa was obviously very familiar with this place. He walked along the basement floor to a pure black wooden door with ease. After pushing the door open and entering, he seemed like a different person. His whole demeanor relaxed.

"I think Chief Kitahara shouldn't be surprised."

He sat on a sofa in the room, his body completely shrunk into it, and his obviously extremely expensive kimono became wrinkled, but he didn't care. He just casually stretched out his arm and began to grope in a cabinet next to the sofa.

"I've observed Chief Kitahara, and I feel like we're the same kind of people."

He raised his hands and rubbed his cheeks as if he was tired.

"Work is work, life is life. If possible, we all hope to separate the two completely. Unfortunately, there are too many things to deal with and we can't have our own life."

"In this case, Chief Kitahara should be hoping for such a space, just like me..."

He raised his hand higher, and there was indeed a hint of fatigue on his exposed cheek, and he pointed to the room.

"You can do what you like more easily, right?" He asked back with a chuckle, but in an affirmative tone.

Kitahara was indeed not surprised by Kurokawa Masato's transformation. His friend who had worked with him had almost the same personality. There was a small compartment in that friend's house that was filled with comics, figures, and game consoles. During college, his friend would invite him to the small compartment to read comics, show off figures, and play games together.

So, when Kurokawa Masato was speaking with emotion, Kitahara just silently looked at this room, or rather, the "spiritual sanctuary" for the former to relax.

Then he was quickly surprised.

Everything in this room is related to Uma Musume.

On the wall, there are various photos of the horse racing girls winning championships. The photos are well preserved and the materials of the photo frames are definitely high-end products. There are also signed postcards or limited edition stamps in the glass, which I think are handwritten by the horse racing girls in the photos.

Just by taking a quick glance, you can see many legendary horse girls and photos of classic races.

There are both black and white ones, such as Nian Teng, Mu Ling, and Ming Rui, these are all black and white photos, and the photos also show the most classic events.

Like Nian Teng's photo, the scenes of winning the "Triple Crown" are arranged in sequence, namely the Japanese Derby, Oaks and Chrysanthemum Appreciation.

Due to the timeline issues of this world, subsequent photos of Uma Musume are basically in color.

Shenzan, Symbol of Speed, Takeshiba King, Tanizu Mujie... As long as the name and event can be left in the history of URA, there must be a corresponding name here.

Later on, the photos showed not only Umamusume herself, but also a young woman. However, for some reason, the woman's face and most of her clothes were blurred, and her gender could only be distinguished from her outline.

Later, a little boy appeared next to the woman. The little boy was a baby at first, then a child, and gradually grew up until he looked exactly like Kurokawa Masato.

…It seems that the woman must be Kurokawa Masato’s mother. Both of them love Uma Musume so much that they have all kinds of photos together…

With a little attention, Kitahara could see that from then on, Kurokawa Masato's mother no longer appeared. In photos like Kurokawa Masato's group photos with Ten O'clock, Tengzheng Boys, Green Grass, Maruzenski, etc., he was the only one besides Uma Musume.

Judging from the degree of preservation of the photo frames, the latest part is undoubtedly the photo of Kurokawa Masato with Representative Chiaki, Katsuragi Ace, Hinamikaze Winner, etc., and the photos of Ludo Symbol, Sirius Symbol, Mepu Shenzan and Mejiro Peak are also prominently listed.

After looking through the photos, Kitahara soon discovered that there were various shelves in the room, on which were collections of models, medals, stamp collections, dolls, etc. made of various materials. Each collection had been specially treated to prevent dust and wear, and without exception, they were all related to Uma Musume.

In addition to the photos on the wall and the collections on the shelves, there is also an old-fashioned projector in the corner of the room, the kind that requires cassettes to play. The cassette shelf next to the projector is full of videos, and there are a few cassettes scattered on the ground around the shelf.

...is a Umamusume fan who is even more fanatical than Fujii Izumisuke. It can even be said that Fujii's level of fanaticism is nothing compared to this mother and son, or Kurokawa Masato himself.

After making a silent comment, Kitahara suddenly realized that he seemed to be paying more and more attention to this room and thus neglecting Kurokawa Masato. He quickly collected his thoughts and turned his head away.

"I'm sorry, President Kurokawa, I..."

Before he could finish his words, Kurokawa Masato raised his hand and interrupted him.

"It's okay. I believe that anyone who likes Uma Musume will be unable to help but look around when they see this room."

Masato Kurokawa chuckled. "In fact, Chief Kitahara hasn't cried out in surprise yet. I am surprised, because no one who has entered this room before has not cried out in surprise."

...So, only those who love Uma Musume very much can enter this room? At least, this is one of the conditions?

While Kitahara was thinking, Kurokawa Masato spoke again.

"Let's not waste time on idle chatter. Chief Kitahara and I will officially start our cooperation after today's press conference. We will have many opportunities to communicate in the future."

He changed his slumped state, stood up from the sofa, and began to pace around the room as if patrolling.

"Before the press conference officially starts, I would like to ask Chief Kitahara for a favor."

Hearing this, Beiyuan's spirits perked up.

He had thought about it a long time ago, and Kurokawa Masato called him into this room on purpose, not only because he wanted to relax, but more importantly, he had something important to discuss.

However, he had no idea what the matter was, and when he heard the opening remarks, he immediately became fully focused.

"Chief Kitahara should have seen the photos on this wall. To be honest, the ones taking photos with these legendary horse racing girls are my mother and me."

Pointing at the rows of photos, Masato Kurokawa's face flashed with a complex expression of admiration and sigh, "It's true that the last president of Xizhen Company was my father, but the rapid development of the company over the past few decades should be attributed to my mother."

"My mother is a very talented filmmaker. She is very good at acting, directing, editing, and producing. When she was young, she produced many films that received international attention."

Hearing this, Kitahara nodded secretly.

Of course, he did his homework before cooperating with Saijin Company. As Masato Kurokawa said, his mother Mihiro Kurokawa was once a world-class filmmaker. When she first debuted, she produced outstanding works with her own ability without any funding, and won the Japan Film Directors Association Newcomer Award. She was then hired by Saijin Company with a high salary and became one of the company's most outstanding directors.

Later on, probably because they had been together for a long time and fell in love with each other, Kurokawa Masato's parents met, fell in love, and got married on the set or in the company. The well-known Ms. Miyu in the industry became Kurokawa Miyu, and then she gradually faded out of the film and television industry, probably to focus on taking care of her husband and raising her children.

As Kitahara pondered the Kurokawa family's affairs, Kurokawa Masato sighed:
"Originally, compared to being a businessman like my father, I wanted to be an artist like my mother. I think my mother's achievements in film should qualify her as an artist, right?"

As he said this, he looked towards Kitahara, as if seeking confirmation.

"You can definitely say that."

Receiving his gaze, Kitahara said sincerely, "I don't know much about movies. I've only watched some Godzilla movies with Oguruma and the others. That's why a layman like me has heard of your mother's name. Your mother is undoubtedly the most outstanding artist."

"Thank you for Chief Kitahara's recognition. Actually..."

Nodding gratefully, Kurokawa Masato pondered for a moment and then laughed, "The Godzilla series is one of the best series produced by Saijin Company, but few people know that it was my mother who first came up with the idea and even produced some of the most classic Godzilla movies in the early days."

Kitahara was stunned for a moment. He didn't know this because a lot of information in this world was different from that in the parallel plane. For example, Xizhen Company did not exist at all in another world. So even if he had checked the information, he didn't know what Kurokawa Masato was talking about.

According to the information publicly available in this world, there is no report about any connection between Mihiro Kurokawa and Godzilla.

"Then your mother really has a wild imagination." Kitahara praised with respect.

"Thank you, Chief Kitahara."

After thanking him again, Kurokawa Masato's expression became serious. "It is precisely because my mother has an outstanding artistic talent that she saw the extraordinary potential of the 'Moe Monster' project at first sight and urged me to take it."

"That's why this cooperation went so smoothly. Otherwise, according to the general planning and cooperation process, we would have to wait a long time."

This was also something Kitahara didn't know. Hearing this, he thought for a moment and said gratefully, "Well, I really want to thank Ms. Kurokawa for her recognition and promotion."

"Chief Kitahara, please don't thank me yet. I was just about to tell you what I want to ask of you."

Kurokawa Masato's expression was already very serious. "There's no rush to express your gratitude after Chief Kitahara has finished listening."

"My mother told me about the whole 'cute monster' project. Whether it was the first mentioned Mothra, Ghidorah, Inahon, Mega Mothra, or Mesra, they were all excellent and imaginative ideas."

"Especially the four-frame comics you provided, which are excellent ideas that can be directly developed into production."

"According to my mother, this kind of idea can only be thought of by a genius, and the genius who came up with these plans must have more brilliant ideas or even a complete script."

"Well, you mentioned in your project proposal that these ideas were what Chief Kitahara thought of in his spare time. So my mother, or I, on behalf of Xizhen Company, would like to ask..."

There was a gleam of anticipation in Kurokawa Masato's eyes.

"Chief Kitahara, do you really have a better script that you haven't come up with yet?"

…It seems that if I say that I have a complete set of Uma Musume scripts, especially the hit anime season 2, you guys at Xizhen Company won’t be surprised at all…

Kitahara suddenly became conflicted.

He could already tell that Kurokawa Masato or Saijin Company seemed to have recognized that he had similar or even better ideas like "cute monsters" and were interested in further cooperation.

Such cooperation is obviously extremely beneficial to both Xizhen and the Yongshi team, because even if we don't talk about the other secondary creations related to Uma Musume that Kitahara has, the hegemonic-level script of "Uma Musume Anime Season 2" alone is enough to cause a sensation in this world, at least in Japan.

If this script can be successfully launched, with the capabilities of Xizhen Company, it can completely turn it into a huge source of money, not only allowing the other party to make a lot of money, but also the Yongshi team can benefit endlessly.

You have to know that behind the Eternal Team is the URA Association, and they also have a newly started River Bay Enterprise. With the support of multiple resources, it is hard for this script project not to make money in this world where horse girls are popular.

When that step is truly achieved, the training and competition conditions of the Yongshi team will surely be a qualitative leap.

Not only the wind tunnel, gravity cabin, biokinematics simulation modeling, OmegaWave and other systems mentioned in the past within the team can be considered for research and development and production, but tactics similar to Aldan's "Waltz on the Field" can be further optimized, and there may be sufficient resource redundancy to further build new training facilities.

That's right, facilities, not equipment.

For example, the "natural track training ground" is completely based on European and American venues.

Kitahara thought of this almost instantly.

Because URA was established later in Japan, in order to make the horse girls' results look better on paper, the texture of most grass tracks is harder than that in Europe and the United States. Although it has not reached the exaggerated hardness of "a layer of mud and grass on the concrete ground" in another world, the situation where European and American horse girls are not able to adapt here still exists.

Correspondingly, Japanese horse girls also find it difficult to adapt to the "natural tracks" in Europe and the United States. The Sirius symbol is a classic example. This is because the speed achieved on the hard track appears to be very high, but it is only high. If the environment is changed, it is difficult to achieve that kind of speed. It can be said that the speed is just paper data.

Kitahara once considered changing this situation, but he soon gave up temporarily.

Not to mention that the old-timers at the URA Association are difficult to persuade, just to provide the Japanese horse girls with a "natural track" training environment, they have to select a new site, build, improve, and train. This all requires resources and money, and any one of them requires an investment of hundreds of millions or even billions of yen.

He even considered that if he could develop the Hewan Enterprise within ten or twenty years, he could just build a smaller "natural running track training ground" instead of being so unrealistic.

As a result, Kurokawa Masato immediately gave a method that could be implemented quickly.

Kitahara is really confident that with the revenue from the script of "Uma Musume Season 2", even if he can't build a complete "European and American style arena", a smaller arena that is large enough for the Eternal Team to use will definitely be enough.

...If a European and American style competition venue could be established now or before the end of the year, we could even consider letting Oguruma and the others adapt in advance.

He couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

With their talents, it is only a matter of time for them to adapt to a different venue and raise their performance to a certain level. If all goes well, they may have enough ability to try their hand at international competitions within a year or two, and by then they will still have time to develop their character.

It doesn't matter even if the time is a little later. In the next one or two years, with the help of legendary horse girls like Maruzenski and their own talents, they can completely master the field. Even if they don't become authentic by then, they don't have to worry about the intensity of the competition.

In this case, it might be completely feasible to further cooperate with Xizhen Company...

Just as Kitahara thought of this, Kurokawa Masato spoke impatiently.

"How about it, Chief Kitahara, have you thought of a specific script?"

As the head of a top film and television company, Kurokawa Masato has a strong ability to read people's expressions. He can clearly see the changes in Kitahara's expression, from hesitation and entanglement to excitement and joy, and finally to complete contemplation and approval. He feels that this outstanding trainer in front of him must have thought of some incredible plan.

"If that's the case, we can talk about it in detail here. I've already made arrangements for the press conference. Even if we don't show up, there are enough professional people to take care of it. You don't have to worry about that."

"Also, I'll be honest with you. You've seen this room. Both my mother and I love Uma Musume. If there's a project like 'Cute Monsters', we'll support it as much as we did this time."

He said with some anticipation.

These words brought Kitahara back to his senses, and he realized that even if the plan for "Uma Musume Animation" was good and would definitely have excellent returns, there were still many problems.

For example, he thought of the project plan as animation, but Xizhen Company's main business was still movies, so he needed to change his thinking.

It’s not that Xizhen Company doesn’t have animation talents, but compared to animation, movies can obviously bring more revenue, and the horse girls in this world are real, so anime can be turned into a "live-action movie", which will bring better profits, and it will take more time to change ideas and modify the script.

For another example, the protagonist of the second season of the anime is the Emperor of the East Sea. In this timeline, this horse girl should have just started to become an authentic character like Mejiro McQueen, and is still in the elementary department of Central Tresen Academy and has not made her debut.

So considering this realistic issue, whether to make up a horse girl or not, it takes time to think about it.

In addition to these, there are many other influencing factors. In order to ensure that this plan does not lose any value in this world and even has a greater impact, Kitahara decided to consider it more after today's press conference.

"I have completely understood what your mother and President Kurokawa meant. I will seriously consider this matter."

After carefully choosing his words, Kitahara said sincerely, "It's not that I'm being vain. In fact, I already have a rough idea, which is a plan for Uma Musume."

Hearing this, Kurokawa Masato's face lit up with joy, but he looked at Kitahara patiently, waiting for what came next.

"But President Kurokawa also knows that I am a trainer myself. Even if I have an idea, it may not be able to be used directly as a script for a film or TV work. It will take some time to think about it."

Kitahara explained: "Also, I'm usually busy with training and arranging competitions, so I can't be sure how long it will take."

"So, I can only say that I have accepted President Kurokawa's commission. Please wait for a while. When I am sure of the plan, I will naturally hand it over to you."

Hearing this, Kurokawa Masato was not discouraged, but nodded with satisfaction.

"It seems that what mother said is indeed correct. Chief Beiyuan does have some ideas... Oh, I am not doubting Chief Beiyuan's ability. I am just once again amazed at mother's vision."

He sighed, "Just based on a preliminary plan, we can conclude that Mr. Kitahara has enough talent. I can't even envy him enough for this ability."

"If I had this ability, I think the development of Xizhen Company would be even greater."

"President Kurokawa, you don't have to say this. It may be a bit presumptuous, but in my opinion, you are already a rare genius at such a young age to be able to manage a top group like Xizhen Company." Kitahara said sincerely:

"If it were anyone else, they would probably be completely confused just figuring out what it takes to run a group." Having previously run a much smaller business, he knew very well that someone like Kurokawa Masato was no ordinary person.

"Chief Kitahara, you are one of the few talents I have seen in the country who can lead a complete team of Uma Musume."

After returning the compliment, Kurokawa Masato started laughing.

"Okay, let's stop bragging here. Since Chief Kitahara has already agreed, we won't waste time here."

"We will go to the press conference now and officially start the first round of cooperation."

Following Kurokawa Masato back from the third underground floor to the venue on the first floor, the place had become quite lively.

Just like the press conference of "Beyond Team" on that day, facing the gate was a spacious press conference stage, and below the stage was a stepped auditorium like a movie theater. The entire venue was packed with people, and every seat was occupied by excited audience members. Media reporters at the front of the auditorium and official media personnel from Xizhen Company had their cameras set up and were filming, and even people from Hewan Enterprise were there.

Kitahara could see that a special seat was arranged for Hewan Enterprise at this press conference. Tomomi Konan was busy there with several reporters. With a little observation, it could be seen that those reporters were celebrities who often appeared on TV programs in Nagoya and Kasamatsu.

The people these Tokyo and local journalists and media were facing were Oguruma, Miyamura Kyoko and others on the podium.

Kyoko Miyamura and others had been interviewed by the media before, so although they were a little surprised by the scale of this scene, they were not too shocked.

Surprisingly, no one knew what Oguruma and the others were thinking. They had been in the academy all along, and even the reporters had only seen Fujii Izumisuke. However, they did not show any signs of panic in such an occasion. Instead, they were chatting leisurely among themselves.

...Is it because you have been on Winng Live so many times that you are not afraid of the stage? Or is it because you are influenced by the innocent Oguruma?
He was surprised by the performance of Oguruma and the others, but after a moment, Kitahara thought about it secretly, smiled and shook his head.

Then he noticed something even more unexpected.

Or a group of people.

In the corner of the audience seats, two tall and strong figures were clearly visible. One was wearing a martial arts uniform, with white hair and beard, and a solemn expression. The other was wearing a suit and tie, with broad shoulders and a serious expression.

With just one glance, Kitahara could tell that it was the chief consultant of the Beyond Team, Di Ye Yixing, and the chief nutritionist, Kouchi Tadashi.

Looking to the side, Chaoyue's chief trainer Nanase Fumino, Umamusume Sakura Chiyo, Aotake Yumi, Yae Invincible, and Dido Shooter Coefficient were all there, sitting in that inconspicuous corner.

...Why are they here?

Slightly stunned, Beiyuan stared at that place blankly for a moment.

Perhaps he had been staring for too long, for Nanase Fumino, who was in the corner and was stroking her chin and looking at Oguruma and the others on the stage with a serious expression, suddenly changed her expression and looked towards Kitahara.

When their eyes met, Kitahara was stunned, and so was the other party. Then, Nase Fumino nodded slightly, as if to say hello. Then, she patted the horse racing girls beside her and pointed in this direction. Now, the entire Chaoyue team looked over, and after being stunned for a moment, they all waved or nodded with different expressions, greeting everyone one by one.

Seeing this, Kitahara had to respond with a slight salute. Then he thought for a moment, then looked at Kurokawa Masato beside him with a wry smile.

"President Kurokawa, Trainer Naise and the others...you must have invited them here, right?"

He could only think of this possibility. He had gone to the last press conference of the Transcendence Team with Oguri Hata, Tamamo Cross and Komiyayama. Although Nanase Fumino had finished the introduction very neatly and left the venue, the enthusiasm of the reporters, media and fans afterwards was self-evident.

Fujii Izumisuke also said that when there was only the Eternal Team, all the major newspapers were able to focus on reporting, but now that the Transcendence Team has emerged, almost all the Umamusume-related media are so busy that their legs are almost broken, for fear of missing any news. Under this kind of popularity, even if there is no need to deliberately collect information, news related to the latter can be said to be overwhelming and affect all aspects.

Given Kurokawa Masato's passion for Uma Musume, it was certainly impossible for him to miss such news. In addition, the press conference that day and subsequent public opinion implicitly regarded Yongshi and Chaoyue as equal opponents. It was not surprising that he deliberately arranged today's press conference for the two parties to meet.

Especially when three horse racing girls from each side signed up for the "Classic Triple Crown".

However, in response to Kitahara's question, Kurokawa Masato just smiled and shook his head.

"Chief Kitahara misunderstood me."

He smiled as if to explain, "Although I personally look forward to the competition between your team and Team Beyond, especially on such an exciting stage as the Classic Triple Crown, it is somewhat inappropriate to deliberately invite Trainer Naise and the others to come."

"After all, I'm just a filmmaker. I can like Uma Musume, but it's a bit unreasonable for me to get involved in the competition."

"but……"

He looked towards Nanase Fumino, then at Kitahara beside him.

"Since Trainer Nase's father, Mr. Nase Hideto, who is also known as the 'magician', has some connections with my mother, I also know Miss Nase Fumino. We went to the same junior high school, so I can be considered her senior."

"In this case, when preparing for today's press conference a few days ago, my junior sister learned about it through some channels and asked me, the senior, to arrange a seat for her."

His expression became teasing, "Chief Beiyuan, tell me, can I refuse such a simple request?"

...Not only that, I'm afraid you yourself are also looking forward to our two teams meeting.

After giving a bitter smile to himself, Beiyuan thought for a moment and sighed helplessly.

"Well, I know many people are looking forward to the showdown between the two teams of horse girls, and I'm sure President Kurokawa is the same."

"Besides simply letting us meet, I'm afraid you have other ideas, right?" He looked at Kurokawa Masato steadily.

The mockery on Kurokawa Masato's face became even stronger, but he only smiled for a while before becoming serious again.

"Of course, I do think so. I think Eien and Chaoyue are probably the best horse girl team in Japan this generation."

"That's why, in addition to wanting to see what happens when the two sides meet, I also want to facilitate a conversation between you two."

His tone became more serious. “This is somewhat interfering with the affairs of your trainers, but my mother, I, and many other people who love Uma Musume want to see how far Japan can go in the world now.”

"I think Chief Kitahara should have considered that in addition to the classic triple crown that will last for more than half a year, there is also a challenge called the 'Japan Cup' waiting for us."

“Eien and Chaoyue are the most promising forces to compete with the world-class foreign horse racing girls in the Japan Cup.”

Kitahara was really surprised this time.

It was not the first time he had heard about the Japan Cup. When he met with Symbol Rudo, Representative Chiaki, Maruzenski and others in the Student Union Office before, these three legendary horse girls and the important student union presidents of Central Tresen College reminded him.

Later, when Maruzenski assisted the Nagayo team in their research field, Akikawa Yayoi arranged and instructed them on some things. During this period, they talked about international-level G1 events such as the "Japan Cup" many times, and even talked about first-class international G1 events such as the "Breeders' Cup", "British Champions Stakes", "Arc de Triomphe", and "Le Jingjie Stakes".

The purpose of talking about this is simple. Whether it is Kitahara's team, seniors like Maruzenski, or chairman like Akikawa Yayoi, they all hope that Japanese horse racing girls can catch up with the international level.

Right now, Umamusume enthusiasts like Masato Kurokawa are also paying so much attention to it, which shows that this is something that almost all Japanese people are looking forward to.

"…Team Beyond, is this what you want to talk about this time? I mean, the 'Japan Cup'."

After thinking for a moment, Kitahara asked.

Masato Kurokawa smiled and shook his head.

"It's not that complicated. After all, you are all from Central Tresen College. If you really want to talk about this, you should have more time and opportunities in the college."

His eyes began to wander around the corners of the venue and Kitahara again. "So compared to discussing the competition and other things, my junior sister should want to take advantage of this press conference to meet with Chief Kitahara in a more relaxed setting."

"After all, if it was at the academy or on the field, I'm afraid the atmosphere would be a little awkward between us, right?"

"So, for a relaxed atmosphere, I have arranged a simple banquet after the press conference. No one else is invited, only the two of you and your teams. I will be the host. Is this arrangement okay, Chief Kitahara?"

...Just want to meet in a different place? I'm afraid this genius trainer may not have it that simple.

After silently glancing at the corner of the venue and thinking for a moment, Kitahara didn't say anything. He just looked at Kurokawa Masato and nodded with a smile.

"no problem."

(End of this chapter)