Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 398 Take the initiative, Brother Beiyuan
A few days after the Japan Cup, at Manai Natural Hot Spring in Oi.

This is a chain of hot spring hotels, and is most famous for its open-air hot springs and large public baths.

The hot spring center is decorated in a very traditional Japanese courtyard style. Evergreen plants such as pine and cypress are scattered inside and outside the courtyard, and the hot spring pools are mostly made of materials such as cypress.

This natural style design is one of the main selling points of the entire store.

On the other hand, there are a wide variety of baths, including rock baths, carbonated springs, kettle baths, saunas, etc., which can meet the various needs of customers.

Coming out of the sauna room in the men's bathhouse, shirtless, wrapped in a bath towel, with steam steaming all over his body, Kitahara was in a trance for a while.

After getting used to the dizzy feeling brought by the steam, he soon saw Taro Yusuhara, who was dressed for a bath like him and sitting at the stone table beside the bathtub, waving at him.

"It's very comfortable, Brother Kitahara."

After waving, Yusuhara Taro pointed to the table, then pointed to the side of the table, and said with a smile: "How about having a drink?"

Only then did Kitahara notice that there were several small ceramic pots on the table, and next to them were cups that were less than the size of a fist.

If nothing unexpected happens, this ceramic pot should be filled with sake.

There is also a barbecue grill or barbecue stove on the ground next to the table, the kind commonly seen on Japanese beaches.

There must be a fire burning under the stove, and there is a browned grilled squid on the rack.

"Grilled squid would be better with beer, right?"

There are also social events after work on weekdays. This seems to be a feature of working in Japan. Kitahara still knows a little about drinking and eating snacks.

In particular, I remember that when my uncle was a child, he seemed to like to grill some squid and drink it with beer.

"Huh? Is that so?"

Although they were Japanese, Yusuhara Taro looked surprised, "My mother told me to just watch and entertain them, I thought this was how I was supposed to drink...

"Then I'll ask the waiter to bring some beer." He changed his words and stood up.

"Don't bother. I don't care about these things."

Smiling and waving his hands, Kitahara came over and sat down, "That's fine."

"OK then."

Taro Yusuhara didn't say much, he poured sake into the cup in front of Kitahara and poured himself some more, "This temperature is just right.

"Try it, Brother Kitahara. This is the flower and fruit sake that is a specialty of Oi."

"Well, thank you."

Picking up the wine glass, Kitahara clinked glasses with Yusuhara Taro, took a sip of sake, and savored it, "...It seems to only taste like fruit?"

“That’s why I said the temperature is just right.”

He smiled and nodded, poured himself a glass, sipped it slowly, and Yusuhara Taro showed an intoxicated expression, "Well, I haven't drunk like this for a long time, it feels good.

“After soaking in hot springs or taking a sauna, your body will be very hot and your metabolism will be very fast.

“If you drink sake at this time, the alcohol will evaporate faster, and it will taste more fruity, and you won’t taste the alcohol as easily.

“I don’t get drunk easily.

“Before I went to England, I often drank like this with my friends.”

Just as he was about to take another sip, Kitahara was stunned.

"Before going to England? Wouldn't you still be in high school? You wouldn't be old enough to drink, right?"

Japan's drinking age limit is written in the Civil Code. At this time, the drinking age is 20 years old.

If this law is violated, minors themselves will not face any punishment, but parents and businesses selling alcohol have considerable responsibility.

"Brother Beiyuan, have you forgotten?"

Yuhara was also stunned. "I went to university in China first, and then I took the entrance exam to study abroad and continue my studies."

"Ahem...it seems..."

Kitahara was embarrassed. He did get the time mixed up. "I seem to be a little drunk... Just kidding, sorry, I forgot... Drink, drink."

Yuhara didn't care about this little episode. He smiled when he heard it and clinked glasses with Kitahara again.

"I remember that before I invited Brother Kitahara to come to Oi, Brother Kitahara seemed to have said that he wanted to discuss something with me."

After pouring wine into Kitahara's glass and placing the grilled squid on the table, Kitahara made a "please" gesture.

“Is it a training arrangement?

"Or is it about the Arima anniversary at the end of the year, or the overseas expedition next year?"

Hearing this, Beiyuan became speechless before even taking a bite of the squid.

In your eyes, I can only discuss work matters with you.

Just as I was about to ask this question, I suddenly realized that since I met Yuhara, the thing I communicated with him the most seemed to be work-related matters.

It's not that there is no other contact at all. For example, there are a few times when we have a drink together in our spare time.

From my memory, it was probably Yusuhara who took the initiative to invite me, or my former friends or classmates heard about me and admired my achievements in training and competition and wanted to meet me.

Or they could be fans of Oguruma and the others, who want to use Yusuhara's connections to see if they can meet their idols, take a photo with them, get their autographs, etc.

There are also friends and classmates from when I studied abroad, and the reasons why they want to see me are similar.

In a sense, this kind of contact seems to be related to work.

"…It's not that kind of thing, it's…"

Beiyuan was speechless for a moment because of the stereotype formed by his past behavior. Thinking back to what he had said, he hesitated a little, "How should I put it..."

The person he wanted to talk about was, of course, Maruzenski.

Before the Japan Cup began, he had a vague feeling that this horse racing girl seemed to have been with him intentionally or unintentionally for the past month or two.

At that time, he thought he was overthinking, but he was not sure.

As for the person who is familiar with the matter and can talk about it, Taro Yusuhara seems to be the most suitable one in terms of age, experience and other aspects.

So, when Yusuhara said that he and Oguruma would come to Oi after the game, he briefly mentioned to them that he wanted to discuss something.

Now, we have indeed come to Dajing.

Xiaolimao and her friends also came and had a lot of fun during the past two days.

At this moment, the women's bathing pool is a little further away next door, and even though there is a little distance, the laughter of the girls there can still be heard.

But the so-called "negotiation" can be said to have changed completely.

Kitahara could never have imagined that Maruzenski would say something like that on the winner's stage after the game that day.

It's... a confession, right?
He really asked this question in a daze at the time, because he was completely unprepared and couldn't believe it.

So, what is it about me that you like?
He wanted to ask this question then, and he wants to ask it now.

But I never asked.

At that time, he had just asked the first question and saw Maruzenski nod with his neck as stiff as rusty, then turned his face away and handed the golden hairpin to him.

No, it was almost stuffed into his face.

If he hadn't taken it subconsciously, the next second, the hairpin would have been stuffed into his nostrils by Maruzenski, who was looking away in panic.

Then, as if with a paralyzed mind, she followed her instinct and put the hairpin on Maruzenski's forehead.

Maybe at that moment, he felt that he had experienced a confession.

And my reaction seemed to be an agreement.

But after that, neither himself nor Maruzenski acted like they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

It was the same as when we went to Tokyo, and the same as before, or in the past month or so.

After watching the winner's stage and dealing with various matters, we got on Maruzenski's sports car and returned to the college. Then we said hello, good night, and went back to our respective dormitories.

Then there is no more.

Or to be more precise, he then sent a text message to ask Maruzenski if he wanted to come to Oi to play together.

He felt that if they had confessed their love and were now boyfriend and girlfriend, then... they would go on dates and hang out together.

As it turned out, Maruzenski did come.

He should be in the women's bath right now, playing with Oguruma and the others.

But during this period, or starting from that confession whose truthfulness was not sure, Maruzenski seemed to not recognize himself.

Apart from replying "yes" to the text message inviting her to come to Dajing, she had no further contact with herself.

When she took the bus to Dajing, she always sat far away in the last row of seats.

and so……

What on earth is going on… ?
Recalling what happened in the past few days, Kitahara couldn't help but sigh.

"…This isn't a training session, nor is it a competition. Why are you putting me in such a difficult position, Brother Kitahara…"

After waiting for Kitahara to explain the situation for a long time, he only received a sigh. Kitahara frowned slightly and muttered to himself for a while in deep thought.

Then, taking advantage of the slight intoxication, he started joking, which was rare.

"It's not a relationship thing, haha."

"Um...eh? How did you know?"

"See, I told you it wouldn't happen..."

There was a sudden silence for a few seconds at the wine table next to the bathtub.

He stood up suddenly, grabbed Kitahara's shoulders with both hands, and while shouting, he shook Kitahara with an expression of disbelief.

"What?! Brother Beiyuan, are you serious?!"

“Uh uh uh…So you were just guessing, but…uh uh uh, don’t get so excited first.”

Being shaken so much that he couldn't speak clearly, Kitahara was speechless for a while. He pushed Yuhara's hands away with his backhand and looked around nervously.

"Also, please...keep your voice down."

"...OK, OK, no problem..."

Although he said it was no problem, Yuhara still had a shocked expression on his face. He slowly sat down, was stunned for a long while, and suddenly picked up a porcelain cup on the table and started drinking it in gulps.

"Ah--good, I'm calm."

He must have been a little drunk from drinking a whole bottle of sake in one breath. Although he said to calm down, Yusuhara, with a flushed face, didn't seem to be able to calm down at all.

"So, Brother Beiyuan, what's bothering you is really..."

He didn't finish his words immediately, but put his thumbs together, and then continued: "...this kind of thing?"

"... Although, uh... that's right." After hesitating for a moment, Kitahara admitted it honestly.

After a moment's silence, Yuhara once again picked up a bottle of sake and gulped it down.

Seeing this, Kitahara wanted to say something to persuade him.

The alcohol content of Japanese sake is very low. If you have a good alcohol tolerance, you can drink seven or eight bottles of this amount without getting drunk.

But if you drink so much in one breath, you will still feel dizzy, and it may also affect your health.

"Because that's why," However, before Kitahara could speak, Yusuhara Taro put his hands on the table and looked straight at him, "What's going on?"

Clearly reading the gossip in the other person's eyes, Beiyuan realized that it wasn't just girls like his junior sisters who liked gossip, men were actually quite interested in gossip as well.

Especially people I know.

He originally wanted to tell these things to Yusuhara. Although the development at this moment was not within his expectations, he hesitated for a moment, then followed Yusuhara's example, took a bottle of sake on the table, drank half of it, and spoke while recalling the past.

"Let me start from the beginning..."

There's nothing to hide.

The initial discovery of Maruzenski's abnormality, the events before and after the Peak Cup, especially the uncertain confession during the winner's stage, and the lack of contact recently.

Kitahara spilled the beans out of a bamboo tube.

"...That's it, so I want to ask..."

"It must be a confession, there is no doubt! It is undoubtedly a confession!"

Expressing his confidence in a mixture of Japanese and English, Yusuhara muttered three times and slammed the table, "I swear on my future career as a trainer, based on my experience...

"Ms. Maruzen, that was definitely a confession to you, Kitahara-nii!"

Initially, Kitahara was surprised by Yuuhara's confidence.

He had never expected that his friend was so sure that he was even willing to risk his career as a trainer.

In a flash, he suddenly realized that he also liked gossip.

"……etc."

Kitahara asked suspiciously, "You mentioned experience... But, Yuhara, where is your girlfriend?"

Unlike the time when he went to England, Kitahara was very sure that there would be no confusion, as Yuuhara did not have a girlfriend at the moment.

Since you don’t have a girlfriend, where do you get the experience?

"Ah, in England... I should say ex-girlfriend."

There was no "ton ton ton" this time. As if it was a long story, Yusuhara picked up the fourth bottle of sake and picked up a squid tentacle from the table with his other hand, and drank and chewed it slowly.

“Although she’s not a horse girl, she’s a very cute British girl.

"She and I didn't make it to the end, otherwise, Brother Beiyuan would be able to see her now, and I could take her to see my mother.

"But she, like Miss Maruzen, was born in England, right?"

Kitahara then realized that what Yuhara wanted to talk about was still about his own affairs.

"I'm surprised that Miss Maruzen would confess her love to you, Kitahara-san... Ah, I'm not saying that Kitahara-san is unworthy of you, please don't misunderstand me."

Nodding vigorously towards Kitahara, Yuhara then shook his head and said, “What I mean is that Kitahara-san has never had such an impression on anyone before… or maybe before Miss Maruzen.

“But I think everyone can see how outstanding Kitahara-san is, and it’s not surprising that Miss Maruzen would like him.

“So from my experience, girls are that proactive… and of course Umamusume is the same.

"If he's so proactive, he must like her and he must have confessed his feelings."

Perhaps it was because he drank too much sake, although Yusuhara's pronunciation was still clear, his logic was a little confusing.

But his next words touched Kitahara a little.

"In short, Brother Kitahara..."

Reaching out and patting Kitahara's shoulder, Kitahara blushed and spoke with a serious look. "Ms. Maruzen has already confessed her feelings, but you are still here worrying about her not taking the initiative these days...

"You are not manly enough, not gentlemanly enough.

“Have you ever thought that your knowledge of Uma Musume would amaze even the most experienced and established trainers?

“But could it be that because of this, when you faced Uma Musume, you weren’t as proactive as you thought.

“You don’t understand that well?

“So, this time, today, why don’t you take the initiative and get to know Miss Maruzen?

"For example, I remember when my mother arranged for a hot spring stay, Miss Maruzen had a separate room."

(End of this chapter)