Umamusume's days are numbered

Ok.

The strange light silently put the astronomer down.

The astronomers stubbornly stared at the strange light, as if they would never give up until they could offer some explanation.

But what should I say to the astronomer? Asking her to go back to being a coach are all minor details that I want to tell her later. Before that, what should I say to her? What do I want to say?

How did it turn into me having to explain things to astronomers? The strange light started to give me a headache; that wasn't the point of our initial argument.

My initial goal... my initial goal was...

The strange light shifted its gaze to the astronomer's tearful face. This face, usually that of a mischievous boy always plotting pranks, now appeared pitiful. Tears clung to her eyelashes like scattered diamonds, her expression a complex mix of hurt and a forced bravado; her lips were tightly pressed together, and her cheeks were puffed out as if something was stuffed inside.

What I absolutely must say, what I must say first and foremost, what I must say at the very beginning is—

The strange light lowered its head, opened its arms to embrace the astronomer, and gently pressed its lips to hers.

It was a cool, moist touch, refreshing in the sweltering summer heat, instantly dispelling all gloom. Perhaps because the astronomer had just enjoyed a cocktail, the strange light detected a rich rose aroma within it.

The strange light had never tasted a rose; she only felt that this was what a rose should taste like.

The astronomer stared wide-eyed in disbelief, quickly pushed the strange light away, touched his lips, looked at himself, then at the strange light, then at himself again, then at the strange light again.

"I...you...are not..." the astronomer stammered.

The strange light licked its lips, looking as satisfied as if it had just finished eating ice cream: "Didn't you want me to say it? Here's what I wanted to say."

The astronomer clutched his chest in horror: "You want to sleep with me?"

She was still savoring the strange light when the astronomer's posture and words made her laugh in exasperation. But then she gave the astronomer a serious look and nodded just as seriously.

"you're right."

Episode 332 A Narrow Encounter

What's the situation now...?

Platinum stood blankly on the beach, looking around in bewilderment, completely at a loss.

Where did I end up? Is this still America?

A hidden darkness enveloped Platinum; had it not been for her excellent night vision, it would have been pitch black. The roads and streetlights had vanished without her noticing, and any light had disappeared without her noticing. The only thing visible was half of the beach shimmering silver in the moonlight.

No, this shouldn't be happening... Platinum stretched out her right hand to cover half of her face, slowly squatting down on the beach. She clearly remembered walking along the beach to get here. She could see the return bus soon along the road. It was probably too late to take any more buses, but running back along the road wouldn't be far.

Where exactly did things go wrong?! Just along the road...

Platinum held her head, wailing silently.

It was wrong from the very beginning!

Because the astronomers were relentlessly pursuing him, he could only run towards the beach by the roadside. By the time he had shaken them off, he was completely lost and couldn't tell which way was which. Logically, as long as he found his way, he should be able to find his way back... but he had absolutely no sense of direction! He couldn't even remember the streets in front of Treson College, let alone tell which way was which by looking at the moon.

"I wonder if there's any internet here, or if I can open Google Maps..." Platinum squatted on the ground, holding up her phone, watching the screen spin in circles, and letting out a series of sighs.

Sigh... I don't know how to get along with the astronomer anymore. I really want to continue being friends with her, or rather, not being friends isn't an option either, but seeing each other again after such a firm rejection of her confession... is really awkward.

But I can't entirely blame myself, can I? I already gave her a way out, but she just kept pursuing me so relentlessly!

In short, we can just pretend nothing happened the next time we meet, right? This is a little secret between the two of us, so please don't tell anyone else.

There's always a way out, Platinum thought optimistically.

Just then, Bai Jin suddenly felt something flash past her. She quickly took her phone down to see if she had a signal so that the carp could leap over the dragon gate to rescue her, but the phone was still spinning.

It wasn't a phone... Platinum's gaze shifted to the shimmering sea. Was she seeing things? Or was there something in the ocean?

Something flashed by again, and Bai Jin raised her phone, turned on the flash, and took a picture. On the tranquil sea, silvery ripples spread across the surface like a soft veil, and on this veil, she indeed saw a dark shadow.

Is it a fish? I've heard there are sharks in the water around here. Platinum took a few steps toward the beach, her sandals landing on the damp sand. If she were a person, she could at least ask for directions, to at least distinguish east from west and north from south.

If it really is a shark... come on, it's a shark! A wild shark! I'm not even in the sea, so there's nothing to be afraid of. If I could film a wild shark, preferably a deadly three-headed shark or something, then the trip would be worthwhile. Platinum suddenly became very excited.

Perhaps having seen the flash of light, the dark figure moved closer. Platinum took a few more steps forward, full of anticipation, only to find it even steeper than she had imagined. After just a few steps, her calves were submerged in the seawater.

The shadowy figure was very close. Platinum was right; it was a person. At such close range, and with Platinum's excellent eyesight, he could already clearly see the curves of the other person's body.

At this point, Platinum became somewhat apprehensive. She wasn't afraid of fish, but people were a bit frightening. Swimming in the sea at night was quite dangerous, wasn't it? She couldn't see the shore at all, and after a while, she'd lose her sense of direction. This probably wasn't a designated open beach anymore; there were sharks swimming in the sea…

It's fine if he's a professional diving athlete, but I hope he's not some kind of ghost who was bitten to death by a shark... She shivered and shrank her neck.

However, Platinum's doubts were quickly dispelled. Platinum was absolutely certain that what was in front of her was a living, breathing human being.

Because I could hear my own heartbeat. A heartbeat coming from the sea.

For a fleeting moment, Platinum almost doubted that the figure swimming in front of her wasn't human, but a large mammal like a blue whale or humpback whale. The sound of that heartbeat was simply too overwhelming, pounding so violently it was like drumbeats. This was too strange; to hear a heartbeat from this distance was definitely not something a human could do—

Platinum recalled the scene from the Hong Kong Special. At the back of the line, one could hear the thunderous hoofbeats of the cheaters and the whistling breaths of Golden Gun Sixty.

Unless it's a racehorse girl, and a top-tier racehorse girl at her peak!

The dark figure stepped ashore a few dozen meters to Platinum's left. Platinum was now certain it had swum here following her flashlight, but because it had only flashed a few times, it had strayed quite a bit. She saw a slender, dark figure slowly emerge from the water, its form bathed in a pale, luminous glow from the moonlight. The figure effortlessly pulled open its tight-fitting wetsuit, revealing bare skin and a swimsuit, dazzlingly pale.

This is a woman's body, its curves fully revealed by the form-fitting swimsuit. Water droplets meander down from her collarbone, past her firm breasts and flat abdomen, and onto her thighs, which are as smooth as fish skin that has been peeled off.

Even with such a breathtakingly beautiful figure, few could resist temptation. She was incredibly slender, so slender that the outlines of her ribs were clearly visible. Furthermore, she was deathly pale. Not the kind of fair skin most people aspire to, but an industrially processed white, like plaster. Her deathly pallor and extreme thinness made her resemble a sinister vampire.

Standing behind her, you can see a horrific scar that almost splits her body apart, stretching from her thigh to her neck, close to her entire spine.

There was also that very conspicuous white highlight, a pair of diamond-shaped ears on her head, eyes like black holes, and sharp, bright lips. She was breathing heavily, the seawater around her was evaporating into steam, leaving a thin layer of salt crust on her body.

She, she is—Platinum's pupils suddenly contracted.

Who is she...? She looks familiar, but I just can't remember her name.

Episode 333 is too early.

What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

For someone with a high social status, the most awkward thing is being rejected after confessing their feelings. Closely following is being confessed to and having to find a way to reject them. And right after those two is meeting someone you recognize but not being able to remember their name.

Today, Platinum encountered two very embarrassing things: one was just becoming a thing of the past but still pending completion, and the other was in the present continuous tense.

Looking at the pale-skinned, tall racehorse girl in front of him, Platinum was racking his brains to find her name from his memory.

When was it? It feels like such a distant memory... Could she be a classmate from Treson Academy? After all, Treson Academy has quite a few foreign racehorse girls, even Alice Digital is practically half-American. And it wasn't until after White Valentine's Day that Platinum matched the names and appearances of Ibuki Mai, Kagura, and Leodeban one by one, so it's normal that she only vaguely recognizes the faces of other classmates she doesn't know well.

While Platinum was lost in thought, the pale-skinned, bright-lipped racehorse girl walked step by step onto the beach. As she removed her wetsuit, even in the darkness, the grotesque, winding scars on her back were still very conspicuous, almost like a centipede crawling on her back sucking spinal fluid.

The pale-faced horse girl had strands of black hair clinging tightly to her forehead, seawater trickling down her brow. She wore a waterproof lining around her neck and, surprisingly, carried a cell phone. Looking into the pitch-black night, she dialed a number.

"I don't know why there's no signal here." Platinum crossed her arms and decided to ignore the form of address for the time being, pretending to know her and striking up a conversation.

Besides, people only recognize her face; maybe it's just one person who knows her. Even when Fujikoji is out shopping, people often recognize her, but they just mistake her for Daiki Kuaiche.

No matter what, I'm determined to stick by her side tonight, no matter what. If I let her go, I'll really have to spend the night on the beach.

The racehorse girl, pursing her lips, glanced back at Platinum, seemingly hesitant about whether to respond, before finally sighing, "There's a satellite phone."

She paused, then squeezed out, "Thank you."

A few seconds later, Platinum realized she was thanking the camera for the flash.

"I'll send you my location, come pick me up." The call seemed to be connected, and the racehorse girl in front of Platinum said into the phone, "I'll walk to the side of the road."

Then, he glanced at Platinum again before reluctantly saying, "Platinum was with me too. I went astray, and she helped me get back to shore. Yes, she helped me."

Bai Jin was overjoyed. She was overjoyed because she finally had hope of getting back. If she could just follow her to the roadside, she could walk along the highway—although there was still a possibility that she would be going in the wrong direction. But the kind person in front of her seemed to be thinking of giving her a ride.

What's surprising is that...they actually called me by name. This isn't just a one-sided acquaintance or familiarity; it's certain that they know me, and I know them too.

When you suddenly meet again, it's awkward for the person who can't remember the other's name.

The most awkward situation has been updated; it's now when you meet someone whose face looks familiar, and they call out your name.

After finishing the call, the girl smoothed her wet hair and walked into the darkness without looking back. Bai Jin quickly turned on her phone's flashlight and followed her.

"Why are you swimming in the sea?"

"I never expected to run into you here."

Are you also coming to the youth training base for the summer training camp?

Along the way, Platinum, with a crooked smile, had to overcome her social anxiety and barely manage to strike up a conversation with the person opposite her, trying to get the other person's name through subtle probing, and then say with an air of matter-of-fact, "Of course I already know you're so-and-so's little one, I even held you when you were little."

Unfortunately, the girl just pursed her lips tightly, showing no intention of replying. She completely ignored Bai Jin, not even glancing at him, and kept walking into the darkness. It made Bai Jin wonder if the conversation he had just heard was just a hallucination.

When did I offend her? Did I upset her?

In this tense atmosphere, Bai Jin saw the streetlights and the neon lights of the town still flashing in the distance. It turned out that she had been walking on a slope, which had blocked out all those lights.

A short honking sounded from the roadside, and a Ford car stopped not far away. The pale-faced girl walked straight towards the car, and just then, the window rolled down, and the dim yellow lights inside the car turned on at the same time.

The girl stopped, stood up straight with a stiff air, and still tightly pursed her thin, bright red lips: "Teacher, you've arrived."

"Hmm, it's good that you're alright." A woman's voice came from inside the car window. Bai Jin had assumed that someone called "teacher" would be an older man, or a trainer in his prime like Nishizaki Ryu, but the voice inside sounded very young. Even so, Bai Jin frowned, sensing something was off.

Normal people's speech has emotional fluctuations; there are rises and falls in tone when speaking a sentence. Even a robot like M.P. Bourbon, when it becomes sentient, has emotional color in its speech. However, the voice coming from the car window, although full of energy, has no emotional fluctuation at all, like a news report played at half speed.

Isn't the atmosphere a bit ominous right now? Platinum belatedly realized this and then tiptoed away, trying to sneak away during the wonderful time of their reunion.

"Hinterlea, get in the car. I've wanted to see you for a long time...hehe." A flat, emotionless voice came from the car window again, and Platinum stopped in her tracks.

It wasn't that Bai Jin was obedient; she looked incredulously through the car window.

She had never told anyone the name "Cintraya"!

To date, only a handful of people, including Miss Surukawa, Rudolf, and Shin-Universe, know this name. She writes "Platinum" directly on her public appearances, competition registrations, and even her student ID.

How did she learn about this name?

The back door of the car opened without anyone noticing, partially obscuring the face of the person in the back seat; only the lower half of their face was visible. The woman, whose features were obscured, was covered with a thick blanket, and the air was filled with a sweet, cloying fragrance.

"Since you're waiting here, it means you also want an opportunity to talk to me face to face, right? Then I'll give you that opportunity."

(Hedgehog Cat's current list of prohibited words is just as sensitive as Xiaochun's; no words are allowed at all.)

Episode 334 Feeling like sitting on pins and needles

Today is absolutely a very special day for Platinum. Her list of memories that she finds so hard to recall that she wants to roll on the floor and forget them has been refreshed one after another today.

Even if you're incredibly slow-witted, it's really hard to believe you wouldn't recognize the two people in front of you. If you could just fool them, Platinum would probably tap his head, stick out his tongue, and say, "Oh, I really can't remember who you are, so I'll be going now."

Sadly, there's no way to fool anyone now; it's impossible for a racehorse not to recognize the person in front of her.

As Alice said before, you might not know who the current president of the United States is, but you've definitely heard of the title "Emperor of American Horse Racing." For a female horse racer to not know her is like a mathematician not knowing Leibniz—it's quite amusing.

Secretariat...and flight routes!

Platinum suddenly remembered the description of this highway in the annihilation interface of his system, which had an almost non-existent presence.

【Hawaii Island Loop Highway】(5-star recommendation)

"On the roads of a resort paradise, just drive. Buses can run, and racehorses can run too."

"Visiting during the summer increases the chances of encountering world-famous celebrities. It's advisable to prepare a shirt and marker that you'd like to get an autograph from beforehand."

Platinum is sitting right next to a star... and right next to the secretariat of the most famous international superstar!

What else could she say? She could only press her hands against her knees, stand expressionless in the back seat of the car, and hope that the journey would end soon.

If it were a regular celebrity, Platinum would be quite excited and might even ask for an autograph. However, after being brainwashed by Alice's hatred, which portrayed the two as rivals, Platinum's attitude towards the Secretariat is hard to be friendly.

He recklessly abused his power, mercilessly toyed with opponents on the field, and after becoming a trainer, he used insidious methods to end the professional careers of countless people...

A long list of misdeeds and countless offenses—that's Bai Jin's impression of the Secretariat.

The invitation from the secretariat, personally signed by the secretary, already cast an unsettling shadow over Platinum's summer training camp. And now, with the secretary suddenly appearing before him and calling him by the name "Hinterlea," it was all too much.

What does this mean? Is she trying to provoke me, to tell me that I'm always under her surveillance?

Let's give it a try.

Platinum sat beside the secretariat, her eyes fixed straight ahead, letting the cloyingly sweet scent of aromatherapy waft into her nostrils.

I'm sorry, but Platinum has never been afraid of threats or demonstrations. Those who know her well, like Koi Leaps Over the Dragon Gate and Alice, know very well that dealing with Platinum's persistence is more effective than reasoning, and even more effective than coercion or bribery.