Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 362: Crisis Caused by Public Opinion

"Two juniors? Do you mean Tamamo Cross and Inari Ichi?"

Maruzenski nodded quickly, and the blush on his cheeks due to shyness gradually faded, returning to his usual working state. "I was just about to tell you something like this."

When she mentioned to Kitahara that she was going to come to Nagoya, she had already thought about talking to Chiaki about the issue of the two horse girls in the Japan Cup.

Or to be more precise, there may be problems.

Indeed, under Kitahara's training, Tamamo Cross and Inari Ichi's abilities do not have any obvious shortcomings.

Even if there are, they are tactical shortcomings that only arise in specific competitions and against specific opponents.

Without getting into too much detail, the two horse girls are now fully prepared to handle most aspects of the event.

In view of the Japan Cup and the corresponding opponents, they also have corresponding training, such as the truck training that is being carried out recently.

But there are some things that are difficult for human trainers to grasp, such as the mood of the racehorses when facing extremely individual races or some special situations.

A trainer who has no real competition experience cannot empathize with such things, even if he is a very senior and experienced trainer.

But Maruzenski has now become increasingly clear that Kitahara is a trainer who is not very good at understanding the thoughts and emotions of racehorse girls.

It’s not that there have been any problems in previous competitions. On the contrary, solid training has put the horse racing ladies of the Eternal Club in a very good mental state and there have never been any problems.

However, since the inception of the Japan Cup, only Ludo Symbol and Katsuragi Ace have won as Japanese horse girls, and it is one of those very rare events.

This was exactly what Maruzenski wanted to discuss with Representative Chiaki.

But she didn't expect that Representative Qian Ming shook his head.

"Tamamo and Inari? No."

Qian Ming was a little surprised and confused. "Strange, how did you think it was them? Lu Duo and I thought you knew what we were going to say, so we just briefly explained it to you over the phone.

"It's Tamamo and Oguruma."

Now it was Maruzenski's turn to be surprised.

"Oguruma? Didn't she already say she gave up the Japan Cup? Why is she still involved?"

"It seems you really haven't considered it."

Representative Chiaki looked at Narita Bairen, who had his head buried in the pillow, as if he had a headache. "But it doesn't matter. The two of us brought some information this time. Bairen, help Maruzen get it."

Narita Shirahito was stunned for a moment, "Ah...?"

During this period, Narita Bairen learned a lot about the Student Union from Luduo and others.

During this period, she followed Luduo's symbol the most, and her familiar work and office style was closer to the latter.

She was also very familiar with the dignified and rigorous demeanor of the Emperor President. In comparison, the casual tone of the two seniors in front of her in changing the subject made her a little uncomfortable.

She thought that the two seniors were planning to talk about love all night and were thinking about how to pretend to be asleep.

But after a moment of stunned silence, she quickly reacted.

"Okay, I'll get it right now."

Representatives Narita Shirahito and Chiaki did not bring much luggage, just a small backpack each, and Shirahito brought a student's backpack.

While Bai Ren went to get his schoolbag, Qianming looked at Maruzenski who had a puzzled expression.

"If I'm not mistaken, since you've been training with Kitahara and the others during this period, you don't know much about the outside world, right?"

"This……"

Maruzenski thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be true. Before I stayed in Nagoya, I discussed with you that we should focus on the training of Tamamo Cross and Inari Ichi.

"During this period, in addition to my own training, my main focus was also on the training of the two of them.

"so……"

She looked at Representative Qianming, who had a somewhat silent expression, and then unconsciously looked at Narita Shirahito, who came over with a stack of newspapers or information.

“What happened…?”

"If you want to know what happened, it's not complicated."

Just as he said this, seeing that Bai Ren had already brought the prepared materials over, Representative Qian Ming did not take it over. Okimaru Zenski raised his chin, motioned for him to pass it over, and then said:
"You'll know after reading these newspapers and web screenshots."

He had a bad feeling in his heart, so he took the stack of newspapers and printed paper and just glanced at the top content. Maruzenski understood what Representative Chiaki was talking about.

Why didn't Japan's best horse girl participate in this year's Japan Cup?

This is the main headline written in English on the first edition of the clipping at the top.

The subtitle is "Japan's new undefeated triple crown champion avoids battle."

With Maruzenski's level of English, he could easily understand what this English newspaper was saying.

And because she lived in England for a long time as a child, she is quite aware of the implications of some terms.

For example, the phrase used in the title alone actually has a double meaning.

"The best horse girl" and "the new undefeated triple crown champion" obviously refer to Oguri, and the words used not only refer to the fact that Oguri did not participate in the Japan Cup and avoided the battle, but also imply the meaning of "cowardice".

This made Maruzenski frown.

She certainly understood that such reports were clearly provocative and were also something journalists often wrote.

Umamusume’s competitions and reporting are not exactly the same thing.

The news will definitely not write nonsense about the game situation, contestants, and wins and losses.

But it is difficult to say about the hype and judging before and after the game.

Maruzenski was well aware that Kitahara had returned to Tokyo some time ago and had specifically issued a statement of withdrawal from the competition, in which he clearly stated that Oguri Hatano, Super Kobayashi, and Mejiro Altan had to give up the event because the post-match burden of the Kikuka Sho was too great and they needed a longer period of rest.

Moreover, given Kitahara's rigorous nature, he also specifically provided some physical examination data, as well as medical predictions and analysis of the intensity of the Chrysanthemum Viewing Competition, and the subsequent recuperation plan.

This is done, firstly, to support the idea of ​​burden, and secondly, to reassure the fans who care about Oguruma and the others.

Umamusume is still considered an idol to a large extent, and there are a large number of fans following her in both competitions and daily life.

It is very common to send blessings before the game or cheer on the spot, and send many seasonal gifts after the game.

Therefore, if fans were simply told that the horse racing girls needed to rest, without explaining the situation in detail and indicating that there was nothing serious, most fans would be dissatisfied and might even make a fuss.

But despite such a detailed explanation, it seemed that Maruzenski was completely unaware of the reports and related online comments in his hands, and only mentioned that Oguri had given up the Japan Cup.

"…So, if you just take a look at what this year's Chrysanthemum Festival looks like, there's no way you can think that giving up the Japan Cup is giving up, right?"

Maruzenski's brows furrowed even more, "Those who report this and say things like cowardice don't care about Uma Musume at all, they're just here to join in the fun, right?

"So... ah, I see. Luduo must have done something to prevent these reports from spreading widely in Japan, right?
"So you want to come and discuss with me and Kitahara how to tell Oguruma and the others about this?"

In response to Maruzenski's speculation, Representative Chiaki nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, if it weren't for Luduo suppressing it, the news would have spread far and wide."

Speaking of such formality, Representative Qian Ming was rarely as casual as before, and instead was as solemn and formal as Lu Duo.

"That's why you didn't pay much attention to these things." Of course, Luduo and I felt that Beiyuan might have learned about this matter. After all, he had been paying attention to international news for a long time, so it was not surprising that he could bypass Luduo's blockade.

"Now that we've come to this point, you should understand what Luduo and I want to talk to you about, and why I, who usually doesn't get involved in other matters, am the one to discuss this matter, right, Maruzen?"

Maruzenski was silent.

"Well... because you were in a similar situation back then."

As soon as he said that, Maruzen sighed, "The horse racing girl industry in Japan developed very late. In order to build up the scale of the competition, they initially introduced quite a number of horse racing girls with foreign ancestry like me to participate in the competition.

"The prize money and competition system are much higher and easier, of course, compared to international level competitions.

"In a sense, this is why my family initially considered entering the Japanese competition."

As she spoke, she looked straight at Representative Qian Ming.

“The two Triple Crown seniors before you, Senior Saint-Leit and Senior Shenzan, both have a certain overseas ancestry.

“Even Rudo, she’s of Irish descent.

"However, Chiaki, your parents and ancestors are all Japanese, Japanese horse racing girls, and they are Japan's own horse racing girls.

“So, you encountered a similar situation after you won the Chrysanthemum Award.

“That time it wasn’t just overseas, because at that time overseas actually didn’t pay that much attention to Japan. The real attention came after you and Lu Duo became famous.

“Even the reports in Japan were questioning and complaining about why you, as the strongest horse girl in Japan, didn’t participate in the Japan Cup.

"So, with this experience, it would be best if you come and talk to Kitahara and Oguruma about this."

Hearing that Maruzenski was about to draw a conclusion, Qianming representative was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, he also sighed.

“Yes, Luduo and I both think so.

"Of course, that's no problem for her.

“Winning the Satsuki Sho, the Japan Derby, and the Kikuka Sho, especially winning all three of these games without losing, would be too much of a strain on the body.

"This is the case with Ludo, who could have entered her classic year in Japan Cup in better shape if it weren't for the competition burden.

"If that's the case, Katsuragi will probably have a hard time winning, and I'm afraid I'll lose even more miserably because of the distance?"

Representative Qian Ming spoke openly of his past defeat and shrugged his shoulders. A casual smile flashed across his face before he returned to his serious expression.

“In short, in the past competitions, it’s not that Ogurume and her team didn’t win well, especially Ogurume.

“But the grandeur of fame takes time, and the burdens that come with fame take time.

“Just like Lu Duo back then, even though she was the first undefeated triple champion in Japanese history, people still didn’t trust her and only ranked her fourth in popularity during the Japan Cup.

“Maybe Xiaolimao is in a good mood, so we don’t need to worry about her.

“Or maybe Kitahara is very good at this kind of counseling, so we don’t have to worry.

"But..."

She suddenly smiled playfully.

"Xiao Limao's mentality should be really good. I have only seen her care about winning or losing, and she seems to have no reaction to other aspects.

"As for Beiyuan, he doesn't understand our little thoughts and ideas at all."

Listening to his good friend talking about serious matters and suddenly teasing him, Maruzenski felt amused but also had a headache.

“Okay, let’s not talk about that for now, we’re planning to discuss this with him anyway.

"Besides, I think the ones we should be most worried about are Tamamo Cross and Inari, right?"

To some extent, Maruzenski agreed with Chiaki's words.

Oguruma's personality is very natural, and he really is the type who doesn't care about that many things other than the competition.

Of course, eating is something that I definitely care about.

Because of this, she had not worried about this junior in this regard until Qian Ming brought her the news of her negligence.

She also agreed that Kitahara should know some information, and even the purpose of coming to see Qianming was the same.

But the key point is that during this period of time she has become more and more aware of how emotionally dull Kitahara is, so she really needs to think carefully about how to communicate with him.

And, Tamamono Cross and Inari Ichi.

"Well, indeed, the important thing is the game itself."

With a flash of hesitation on his face, Qianming pointed at the newspaper clippings in Maruzenski's hand and frowned, saying, "You can see that the reports inside are not only about Oguri Hat, but also about Tamamo Cross.

"《Win the peak match between Lu Mao and others without fighting?》

"This topic is clearly a reference to Tamamo Cross and Ogururo Hat, right?

"This... I understand how you feel, Maruzen, don't be so impatient or angry."

Seeing that her friend's face turned a little ugly halfway through the conversation, Chiaki knew that Maruzen had been in contact with Kitahara, Oguruma, Tamamo Cross and the others more and more recently, and it was easy for him to get emotional because of this, so she couldn't help but comfort him.

"We all know that both Tamamo and Oguruma are excellent and top-notch horse girls, and they don't need such fabricated reports to prove anything.

“Also, what we have to do is not to target these reports.

“After all, with Lu Duo here, those who wrote these messy reports will have to give an explanation sooner or later.

“The most important thing is how we discuss with Kitahara and how to make sure these things don’t affect Oguruma, Tamamo Cross and the others.

“Especially Tamamo.

“We can talk about reports like the one about Oguruma later.

"Tamamo Cross is going to participate in the Japan Cup, and pre-match interviews are unavoidable.

“Ruduo can give the reporters and media in Japan an irresistible reason so that they won’t ask random questions.

"In Europe, the United States, and Australia, there is really nothing we can do.

“If a reporter were to ask, ‘Tamamo Cross, what do you think of becoming the strongest Umamusume Ashigao without fighting?’, given Tamamo’s personality, she’d probably get mad right there.”

As he was talking, Representative Qian Ming sighed again, "From my impression, he is a really hot-tempered junior, and he might really lose his temper.

“Maybe it’ll bite people.

“Going crazy and biting people is a small matter.

"If you violate the rules of the game and are punished or disqualified or have your results cancelled, you'll be in big trouble.

"so……"

Although her expression was serious, there was a joking look in her eyes, and she came over and patted Maruzenski's shoulder.

“Don’t rush into love affairs.

"Think of something first. With your better understanding of Beiyuan during this period of time, think about how to discuss these matters with him."

(End of this chapter)