Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 227 Relay Race Arrangements
After all, it was because of his negligence that Miura Bourbon and Miyu didn't have enough to eat at noon. After taking them to a restaurant near Nagoya Station, Kitahara felt less guilty.

The shop has a long English name on its sign, which translates to "Wakashashiya". It is famous for its signature curry udon and has more than 40 branches across Japan.

The reason why we chose this place is not because of its fame, but because compared with other similar restaurants, this restaurant not only has longer business hours but also serves more generous portions.

Kitahara knew that although Miura Bourbon was slim and Miyu was small, they were both big eaters with huge appetites.

Miura Bourbon's performance may not be obvious, and her taciturn personality makes her rarely noticed by her classmates.

However, Kitahara, who has played the mobile game, remembers that she had a "record" of eating 50 kinds of desserts in one breath in the game.

And with the strength to use its tail to support itself, it doesn't seem like it has a small appetite.

Miyu is famous for its edible food.

She has just entered Central Tresen College and her reputation is not yet prominent enough.

After a long time, especially when another big eater, Special Zhou, was admitted to Central College.

The world will know that the three horse girls, Oguruma, Special Week and Miyu, will firmly sit in the top three positions of "Tresson Big Eater".

Perhaps this is the reason why the first two of them are "big eaters" in the game and the last one is "nutritional supplement".

“You can order whatever you want. I’ve been to this restaurant before and all the dishes are very good, especially the signature curry udon, which I highly recommend.”

After finding a seat in the corner of the restaurant and waiting for the two horse girls to sit down, Kitahara flipped through the menu on the table and handed it over while saying:

"Or if you're not very good at ordering, you can just pick some set meals. Believe me, the cooking skills of the chef of this restaurant will not disappoint you two."

"Thank you. I'll have some curry udon noodles then."

Without reaching for the menu, Miura Bourbon quickly responded.

On the other side, as if afraid of falling behind, Mi Yu hurriedly said: "Then, then Mi Yu will also have a bowl of curry udon noodles. Mi Yu is not picky about food..." After saying that, she lowered her head quickly as if she was shy.

Then, the table fell into silence.

…It seems that these two children have some difficulty in communicating.

In this case, we need to spend more time and effort to guide them. It doesn't necessarily mean that they will become cheerful or anything, as long as they can communicate freely with other companions.

Thinking about it, Kitahara called the waiter, and after ordering the food, he tentatively started the conversation.

"I want to apologize to you two first. I was too focused on work today and didn't pay attention to you two."

In a very formal tone, with his hands on his knees and his head bowed, Kitahara apologized, "It was my negligence to let you follow me around the Transportation Bureau without having a full meal at noon."

"I hope you can forgive me."

Many people think Kitahara is a very old-fashioned trainer with a fatherly style based on his words, actions, training and competition style.

Kitahara himself also thinks so, otherwise he would not be like many fathers who ignore many things around them when working.

Including the way he treats the horse girls in his team, he also somewhat thinks that he still has that mentality.

However, this does not mean that he will put on airs and preach in front of horse racing ladies.

On the contrary, especially because of his character of liking to do things in a methodical manner, when he was communicating with Oguruma and the others, if he accidentally discovered their ideas, he would think and analyze them seriously and try his best to help them realize those ideas.

When he realizes that he has been negligent, made a mistake, or made an error, he will apologize sincerely.

Just like it is now.

However, after spending so much time together, Oguruma and the others have become accustomed to Kitahara's style of doing things, but Miura Bourbon and Miyuu in front of them obviously did not expect this.

"Ah? Ah! No, no... this... well, it seems that Uncle Kitahara didn't do anything wrong, right? As a trainer, it's reasonable for him to focus on his work, right?"

Instead, as if he had done something wrong, Mi Yu raised his head with a pair of slender, furry black ears standing up straight like flying hair, swaying above his head.

"Or, maybe it's just that Mi Yu was unlucky. I didn't eat much in the morning... Wow, actually I seemed to be full at that time, but it seems that I was wrong..."

Mi Yu's ears are the longest in the Umamusume mobile game plan, and the same is true in this world.

It seems that if those long, furry black ears are pulled down, they can be pulled close to the mouth.

When such long ears sway, the visual effect is too obvious, and it also makes her anxious mind more clearly revealed.

"Maybe you're just not used to the training here, Miyu. If you're not used to it, then there's nothing wrong or unfortunate about it."

After hearing what Miyu said, and seeing Miura Bourbon looking at him without saying a word, as if thinking about something, Kitahara patiently said, as if to comfort him:
"I just wanted to tell you that the training at the training camp is usually much more intense than that at school."

"In school, you have to study in addition to training, so it is difficult to increase the intensity even if you want to, unless you take time off for special training."

Asking for leave for special training is quite common in Central Tresen College.

For example, in this classic year, horse girls such as Sakura Chiyoou would occasionally ask their teachers for leave and leave school to participate in relevant special training.

In the anime, Mi Yu also had this situation, which was before the Emperor's Spring Viewing Scene where he fought against Mejiro McQueen.

The process and results of that special training were witnessed by Miura Bourbon, who had become her good friend at the time.

After Mi Yu retired, these two horse girls also served as seniors and provided special training to Kita no Xuanju, who also took leave to prepare for the Emperor's Spring Viewing Ceremony.

The main reason for this situation is that Japan's training system basically does not arrange targeted training in the academy curriculum, and lacks sufficient resources.

This means that if trainers want to bring out the full talents of horse girls, they have to find time to arrange relevant training.

In a sense, the Eternal Team's usual parachute sprints, specialized weight-bearing, wind training, etc., can also be considered a type of special training.

"If we go to the training camp, it's just training."

Kitahara continued:
"Of course, we will make precise calculations of your physical limits so that they will not affect your physical development and health."

"And in order to keep up with the training, the team's Kyoko... is the sister who introduced herself as a doctor at the welcome party yesterday."

"She will design a corresponding diet plan based on your situation, so don't worry too much about your three meals, just eat until you are full."

In fact, the core of Kitahara's introduction lies in the last part.

He wanted to quietly hint to the two horse racing girls in front of him that they should not feel embarrassed about their large appetites and should just eat as much as they should.

Perhaps it was because he had started to think about the thoughts of horse racing women during this period, and he felt that he had some kind of epiphany.

For example, there are still only a few horse girls like Oguruma who can eat as much as they want at any time and in any state without caring about other people's opinions. The vast majority of horse girls are like Kobayashi, Aldan, Tamamo Cross, and Inariichi. They are either afraid of getting fat and affecting their figure by eating too much, or they are worried about whether they will be laughed at if they eat too much.

The descendants of the East China Sea Emperor also have this worry to a greater or lesser extent.

Mejiro McQueen, in particular, was often torn between his instinct to eat sweets and his fear of getting fat.

By analogy, a horse girl like Miura Bourbon who looks expressionless and emotionally cold but actually has her own thoughts in her heart, and Miyu who is timid, introverted and sensitive, may be afraid of being laughed at for eating too much in the morning.

If they really have such thoughts, on the one hand, we must not expose them, and on the other hand, we must make them understand the importance of eating well for the subsequent training.

Then we can only use hints.

After giving the hint, Kitahara couldn't tell from the expressions of the two horse girls whether they understood, especially since one of them continued to remain silent and the other nodded and lowered her head repeatedly.

After the waiter brought the curry udon noodles, the two of them started eating without any hesitation. This behavior made Kitahara very happy, and he felt that his persuasion just now must have worked.

However, apart from the sound of slurping noodles, the table was still very silent, which made Kitahara want to bring up some more topics.

"Has Master Kitahara already planned the relay race that will be held later?"

At this moment, Miura Bourbon, who had been eating noodles for a while, suddenly raised his head from the bowl and spoke expressionlessly.

Beiyuan couldn't tell what she was thinking from her usual expression, and after pondering for a moment, he simply nodded directly.

“There are about three options.”

Recalling the information he got from the Transportation Department and past experience, Kitahara explained:
"The ideal plan would be to hold it next week or the weekend after next, centered in the Chikusa district and combined with nearby streets."

"Nagoya University and many other schools are located in Chikusa-ku. So although the western and northern parts are commercial and residential areas, a considerable part of the rest is cultural and educational."

"It happens to be a holiday right now, so there are fewer vehicles and pedestrians on the streets in this area than in other places. Plus, the Transportation Department has mentioned that they can consider cooperating, so there shouldn't be any problem holding the race in this location."

After thinking for a while, he added:

"Of course, if President Lu Duo can come forward, the attitude of the Transportation Department should be that they will definitely cooperate, rather than just considering it."

"But this arrangement will be more troublesome. If it takes up too much space, it will be difficult to avoid the attention of fans. In that case, it may not only require the cooperation of the Transportation Department, but also require the involvement of other departments."

"However, we should still ask President Luduo for help in this regard. After all, this kind of venue arrangement is the most conducive to the relay race."

The relay race format is different from the URA Shining Star Series, and the race schedule is often much longer.

The length of a typical shinning event is less than 4000 meters, while each leg of a relay race may exceed this distance.

Because they have teammates in the same group, the horse racing girls will consider cooperation and more continuous distribution of physical strength, which allows them to run longer distances.

Once the distance becomes longer, the venue must be as large as possible, just like most of the relay events in Japan are currently held on highways outside the stadium.

Talking about the schedule of the competition, Kitahara unconsciously regained his working mentality. After talking about one schedule, he continued:
"Another form is along the seaside, which is near our current training area."

"This is also a good choice. There is a road outside the resort, and there is also a parallel highway."

"If you hold the competition directly there, you can practice on the field at any time, and the preparation will be smoother."

"Of course there are troubles."

"It's the peak holiday season now. We are temporarily using the beach near the manor, but not the highway."

"If we want to hold a competition there, we will have to restrict traffic for a period of time. Even if the Transportation Department is willing to intervene, it will probably be troublesome."

"Also, once they know there will be a competition there, tourists who are on holiday nearby will probably flock there, which is also a problem."

"besides……"

Kitahara started touching his chin unconsciously at some point and mentioned the last arrangement.

"Then only the Zhongjing Arena remains. Not only is it close, but you will also go there to train frequently, so it's very convenient."

"The problem is that the stadium is small, so it might be difficult to design for a relay race."

"Tokyo or Hanshin would be more suitable venues, but this relay race is not a formal competition after all, so it is not convenient to look for a suitable venue for it, and it might clash with a formal competition."

"It's also because of the same reason that we may not be able to communicate with the Zhongjing venue."

"So, although I can think of these three options, the specific arrangements still need to be discussed later."

At this point, Kitahara realized that he had inadvertently mistaken this corner of the restaurant for an ordinary meeting room, and what he said just now was as serious and formal as in a meeting.

"Oh, sorry, I accidentally said so much. I guess it made you feel boring."

Nodding apologetically, he was ready to change the subject, "So..."

"It's okay. I really like the way Master Kitahara speaks."

Before he could finish, Miura Bourbon suddenly nodded, and there was a rare emotion in his eyes, looking like he was happy.

"It's very distressing. I mean, in the academy, I rarely find people as organized as Master Kitahara, whether they are classmates or teachers."

“I like this way of communication. It’s clear and there are no mistakes.”

"Don't worry, Master Kitahara. I will do my best no matter what kind of competition we are in."

Very suddenly, as if responding to some order, she stood up from her chair, bowed very formally and said, "Especially this one."

"I will definitely do my best to compete with the Triple Crown Horse Girl, the Triple Crown Horse Girl, and the undefeated strong man."

She repeated again.

"Ah, this..."

“Mi, Mi will do her best too…!”

Before the stunned Kitahara could say anything, Miyu stood up quickly, as if inspired by Miura Bourbon, with his long and thin ears erected, and bowed:

"Although, the rice bath may not have much effect..."

“But, but Mi has always wanted to change this. She wants to be a horse girl who can bring happiness to everyone, so Mi will definitely work hard…!”

(End of this chapter)