Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 388 I don't know if she can accept it
I felt a little guilty for a moment.

"But although it was specially prepared, in fact..."

Kitahara scratched his head. "I didn't find it in the shrine next to the Tokyo stadium, but...

"I just saw it by chance next to the stadium..."

Pointing outside with some embarrassment, he said awkwardly: "It seemed like a coincidence that I took it off, but then I put it in a folder and forgot about it..."

Seeing Maruzenski looking down at the clover again, Kitahara became even more embarrassed and couldn't help but want to change the subject.

"Well...it should be considered luck, or a blessing..."

He thought about it and decided to find a topic he was good at. "So, since we are going to compete, then in terms of tactical running..."

He wanted to ask about Maruzenski's preparations, but unexpectedly she suddenly reached out, pulled his hand over, and put a cool, hard object in it.

"Let's make a small agreement~"

Just like Kitahara, Maruzenski suddenly changed the subject and laughed softly, "Although I vowed before the game that I would definitely win this game.

"I also have enough confidence that no matter what kind of opponent I face or what kind of situation I face, I will never lose.

“But in the world of Uma Musume, nothing is absolute, right?

"So, the agreement I want to make with you is...

"If I win this fight, give it back to me.

"What if we don't win..."

With a smile, as if there was no competition next, but just going out for a run or a drive, the horse racing girl withdrew her hand, waved, and walked towards the stands.

"Then wait until I win the competition as your horse girl~"

Before the last sound of her words had completely faded, the horse racing girl had already walked onto the stands amidst the gradually growing crowd of people paying attention.

Like her, the horse girls who were drawn as runaway contestants also gathered around the Ludor symbol, replacing the representatives who had drawn lots before.

Compared to the younger generations who just finished competing in the Japan Cup, all those standing in the stands at this moment are without exception the well-known horse racing girls.

After their names and gate numbers appear on the screen and they themselves appear on the stage, what follows is the pre-race interview and warm-up preparations before entering the gates.

For such a group of horse racing girls, both reporters and other visitors would be familiar with their professional careers.

For this reason, after knowing what level of competition was coming up, reporters from all walks of life took advantage of this interview time which was much shorter than usual and rushed to ask questions as if they wanted to stuff microphones and cameras onto the stage.

Even those who did not have an interview assignment could not help but raise their voices like the reporters, asking the horse racing ladies what they thought about the upcoming race, or simply expressing their surprise at seeing the figures in their memories walking on the track again.

Looking at this scene, Kitahara finally came back to his senses from his trance and looked at the palm of his hand again.

When Maruzenski had just left, his attention was on his palms.

What the horse racing girl handed him was a golden horseshoe hairpin.

Just like the previous clover, this hairpin also looked familiar to Kitahara.

After recollecting it for a while, I vaguely remembered that I seemed to have seen it in a jewelry store during the date after the chrysanthemum viewing.

I can't quite remember the name of the accessories store, but I'm sure it was a Uma Musume-themed store.

In such stores, there are too many accessories of the same style as hairpins. Kitahara can only be sure that this kind of hairpin is definitely sold there, but he has no way of confirming whether the one Maruzenski gave him came from that store.

…I remember that I didn’t buy anything when I visited that store…

Is it...

Who did she go to that store with afterwards?

Or did she go there and buy this hairpin herself?

In addition...

He raised his eyes from his palm and looked towards the stands.

I happened to see Maruzenski being surrounded by reporters in the audience and being asked questions.

In excitement, the reporters' questions were loud and could be heard clearly.

Maruzenski's answer with a smile seemed to be faintly audible.

"Excuse me, is there any special meaning for a horse girl like you to choose to participate in this event?"

"Special meaning? Hmm... maybe I think it must be fun to participate in such a competition, um, that's about it, huhu~"

"Then may I ask, what tactics do you have for this trip? Facing an opponent different from before, what kind of running style will you consider?"

"Yeah, this is a secret. Look, no one is talking about this topic~"

"Sorry! I'm sorry to ask you a question. Your performance and victories during your career were among the best, but you have never experienced a middle-distance event like 2400 meters. Aren't you worried about your adaptability to this distance?"

"Of course I'm worried about this... Well, don't worry. I have no experience in 2400-meter races, and I'm worried about my adaptability. But didn't I just say that this is fun~"

It has to be said that as the "senior" of all the contestants in Tresen College and even in the stands, Maruzenski handles things like reporter interviews with ease.

No matter who asks, no matter what the question is, even if it is somewhat targeted and tricky.

She always maintains a natural and hearty smile, and answers questions in an orderly and patient manner.

This is another side of Maruzenski that Kitahara rarely sees.

In the past, when Central Tresen College faced this kind of interview, it was usually Luduo who came forward as a representative, which was a different style.

Or like what we talked about in that jewelry store during our date that day.

As a retired horse girl who has retired for a long time, such interviews often do not belong to Maruzenski, but to the younger generations who are active in the Shining series and are shining.

So, she must have also faced this kind of enthusiastic interview back then?

Can you handle it so easily?
Or a little awkward, a little nervous... ?
Now I feel the spotlight again, and the upcoming events will be similar to those that attracted much attention...

She should be very happy...

In addition...

His eyes involuntarily moved away from the stage and returned to his palm. He stared at the shining hairpin for a while unconsciously. Kitahara silently clenched his fist and put it in his pocket.

She said that agreement...

Saying to return the hairpin to her or something...

Are we just talking about the game?

I don’t know if it’s because none of the horse racing girls I coached ever made a promise with me.

Or maybe it was because during this period of time, he always felt that Maruzenski seemed to be with him often, intentionally or unintentionally.

All in all, even though he wasn't sure if he was overthinking it, this horse girl seemed to be in line with her usual straightforward and casual style, which made Kitahara feel a little puzzled.

He wasn't sure what this feeling was, and didn't know what it could be if not the game.

But in addition to this feeling, he suddenly felt a little impulse.

When I took my hand out of my pocket after clenching it, the hairpin had already quietly disappeared.

When he took out his hand, he also took out his cell phone.

After hesitating for a while, he opened the address book, found a contact number, and entered a message.

He put away his phone and looked around for a moment.

He stared at the stands for a few final seconds, then walked out of the venue, going against the crowd that was so enthusiastic about the stands.

There were staff members in charge of maintaining order outside the venue. After a brief negotiation and waiting for a while, he came to a relatively remote office.

The affairs hall of the Tokyo stadium is quite large, and some rooms cannot even be fully utilized.

Like this one, it’s called an office, but it’s actually more like a storage room.

There are indeed computers, printers, pen, ink, folders and other things used for office work, and there is no dust. It seems that someone comes here to work and cleans up.

But most of the room was filled with banners, signboards and other miscellaneous items, which seemed to have received little attention, and there was visible light grey dust on them. I didn't pay much attention to the cleanliness of the room, and sat in front of the computer. After starting it up, I downloaded a series of programs online and received some emails.

Facing programs and emails, sometimes I would type on the keyboard, and sometimes I would take out a pen and paper from the desk to write and draw.

After a period of time.

"Please ask the contestants of the International Exchange Cup to go to the competition venue and warm up."

Although this office is remote, it can still receive the broadcast from the stadium.

As soon as the broadcast sounded, Kitahara stopped operating the computer and writing, took out his mobile phone and checked the time.

Compose a text message and send it out.

Open the mailbox again.

A few moments later, several more emails arrived.

Continue to operate the computer, write and draw.

Some time passed.

"Excuse me... Why are you working in a place like this, Kitahara?"

There was a knock on the door, accompanied by a funny voice, which gradually approached.

Without looking up, Kitahara knew it was the Ludo symbol.

The second text message he sent was to give the horse girl the address of his office, hoping that she could come over.

"and……"

Walking to the desk, Lu Duo casually glanced at the documents scattered on the desk, startled, and then looked at the computer screen, "You...

“I’m really working…

"This is a bit... I haven't been so sleepless...

"and……"

She hesitated, her tone uncertain, "This is...

"The exchange cup at this moment...?"

"To be precise, it's the exchange cup that's about to start."

There was no greeting, and he spoke faster than usual, quickly picking up a few pieces of paper covered with scribbled words from the table, and began writing and drawing on them. Kitahara said hastily, "To make a long story short.

“I know that with you, your competition experience and talent, there will be no big problem in preparing for this exchange cup.

"But you also saw the result of the draw just now... You were the one in charge of the draw, so you must be aware of it.

“The situation in the game is more complicated than expected.

“If you only consider playing for the sake of subsequent events, your previous preparations must be sufficient, and collecting information related to the event should not be a problem.

“But if you want to win, it’s not enough.

“At least, I don’t think it’s enough.

"So what I'm thinking is... Ludo?"

After saying a lot, Beiyuan paused when he noticed that Luduo was a little dazed. "Are you... listening?"

Luduo symbolically listened.

But she was very confused at the moment.

She was very familiar with the various draft-like papers and program interfaces on her desk and computer screen. The Eternal Club had always prepared for battles in this data-oriented manner.

She had not thought of the content at first, but from some parameters that clearly represented the race distance and the contestants, it was easy to tell that these were undoubtedly aimed at the "ongoing" exchange cup.

It is said to be "in progress", but there is actually no big problem.

On the stadium side, the warm-up phase has already started for some time, and the next step is to enter the gate.

Then the competition started.

But if it is as Kitahara said, "the exchange cup is about to begin", it doesn't seem to be a problem.

After all, the gate has not started yet.

What she didn't understand was why Kitahara suddenly had the idea of ​​planning for this competition.

You know, the overall arrangement of the event was definitely the work of this trainer.

However, considering his limited energy and the fact that he had important events such as the Chrysanthemum Award and the Japan Cup to prepare for when he proposed the plan, the actual preparations for the Exchange Cup were symbolically presided over by Lu Duo himself.

If a different trainer did this, Luduo might be dissatisfied.

What's the point of doing this kind of last-minute pre-match preparation, and calling me over specifically, it's obvious that they want to "teach" me how to train and how to compete.

If this kind of thing were to be told to others, I'm afraid many people would find it funny.

Because horse girls like Rudo, whether active or retired, actually rarely rely on trainers.

Relying on her talent, she can complete a lot of training by herself and arrange most of the competitions by herself.

But the problem is, it was Kitahara who did this.

It is clear what level this trainer has demonstrated along the way to the present, what achievements he has made, and what potential he has in the future.

So, even though she thought what she saw was strange, she still responded patiently.

"I am listening."

After answering, Lu Duo put aside the idea of ​​trying to find out what Beiyuan was planning at the moment and began to think along his lines.

“As you said, the situation of this competition is indeed more complicated than we initially thought.

“Or rather, we were negligent.

“We should have thought that, facing the Peak Cup and the Youth Cup, even Yongwu… no, even Lifar and the presidents of URA associations in other countries would want to get involved.

"So they should have sent out runners who are more adaptable to the field and have more diverse running styles, like us."

With his experience in managing various competitions and student unions, Luduo could also think of what Beiyuan could think of.

"So what you mean is that in the face of this more complicated situation, do you have a way to increase our chances of winning?"

Feeling that he had almost guessed Beiyuan's thoughts, Lu Duo's eyes lit up, but then he frowned again.

"But in such a short time..."

She hesitated.

In any case, Kitahara was not fully involved in the preparations for this exchange cup.

In other words, without knowing much about the runaway Uma Musume, relying solely on this temporary idea at this moment may not necessarily improve the chances of winning.

It might even have the opposite effect.

However, as he was hesitating, the eyes of the symbol of Luduo suddenly widened.

"I……"

After hesitating for a moment, Kitahara scratched his head, touched his nose, and suddenly felt embarrassed.

“I didn’t actually think of a way to improve your chances of winning. After all, I don’t have a detailed understanding of your previous preparations.

"But with some extraordinary information I just received, I think...

“Perhaps there is a tactic that Maruzenski can try.

“It’s just that I don’t know how to tell her, and I don’t know if she can accept it.

"So... um? Ludo, are you... are you listening now?"

(End of this chapter)