Stop being a trainer!

"Rudolph, here I come."

“…Are you here?”

The door quietly opened and a sound came from inside.

"You act like a trainer, Trainer-kun."

"You are the one who no longer looks like a Uma Musume, the symbol of Rudolph."

Looking at the high school girl in front of him with her hands on her knees, Kato Akira put his hands in his pockets, holding a cigarette, and looked at her with an indifferent expression.

Chapter 47: The Decline is a Lie (Please recommend! Please vote for the monthly ticket!)

“…It’s really not nice.”

Looking at the Rudolph symbol in the room, Kato Akira exhaled a puff of smoke and made a merciless comment.

Completely different from his usual amiable and humble appearance, there was no mercy in Kato Akira's eyes as he looked at the symbol of Rudolph curled up in the ruins with his legs hugged.

He is humble, honest and flattering because he believes that person can bring him a better life and make him live a good life. That's why he obeys and he is siding with such a person. Otherwise, why would he trust such a child?

Just because she was a horse girl? Just because she seemed to care about me? Such thoughts were wiped out by the instructor and so-called friends when I was in college.

However, since they have already decided to help each other and that this is the world of Uma Musume, he has to come.

Because Kato knew that he still had one last gamble.

"After all, you are still a high school student."

"Are you here specifically to laugh at me?"

"Ah."

"Then you've seen it."

In the ruins that were swept by a storm, Emperor Rudolf tugged at his torn black silk stockings and looked at Kato Akira in front of him with a wry smile.

"I have already failed. I can no longer go back to that time. Maybe I could have done it when the emperor was just injured, but now, I can't do it."

"Even if you want to change this environment, how can you not have the will to change this environment and the world? Where has your will gone? Why can't you do what Katsuragi Ace can do? Are you going to give up before the decisive battle?"

"I've tried so hard. But I just can't do it."

Sitting in the ruins with his knees hugged, the emperor's smile was no longer that aggressive grin, but had a gentle atmosphere.

"I can't fool myself. I tried to convince myself that I was running for all the horse girls in this world, but I just couldn't fool myself. I was just taking revenge. The decline period has come, and I can only rely on fighting spirit and skills. But now, even the fighting spirit is gone, what can I do?"

"Ace Katsuragi is standing in front of me out of anger towards me, and love for the people who support and help her. Representative Chiaki wants to have the final fight with me, hoping to wash away her shame. And me, why am I standing there?"

"There is no need to rush for reform. I arrived here only in anger because of the emperor's injury. Now, I find that I am not as angry as I thought. This is the recession period."

"Decline... Ha, since you can't control your thoughts, then let your thoughts control you."

Looking at the puzzled emperor, Kato Akira exhaled a puff of smoke and sneered.

"You have nowhere to go anyway, and I am tied to your chariot. If you fail, I will be lucky and pass the exam in three years. If I am unlucky, I will be deprived of the right to take the exam and will never be able to be a trainer again. So, you can treat my next words as the mad talk of a person facing despair."

Kato Akira, who had a cigarette in his mouth, put out the cigarette butt and threw it into the trash can.

This man, who looked different from the past and full of gambler's temperament, was no longer timid, but sat directly next to the symbol of Rudolf.

Looking down at the messy ground with her, it was as if two people had merged into one person. Alternating light and shadow shuttled between the two people, and finally condensed into a static symbol.

“I think the recession is a lie.”

Looking at the somewhat stunned Rudolph symbol beside him, Kato Akira said calmly.

"The Decline is the most gentle lie created by the former horse girls and humans to protect the horse girls."

"What did you say?"

"It's simple. I looked at your running and data. Ace Katsuragi ran better than when she was active. She broke her own record."

Faced with the incredulous Rudolph symbol, Kato Akira's expression became more serious.

“The team that first proposed the decline must have been a very gentle group of people. Faced with the horse girls who no longer wanted to run and who might be injured, they racked their brains and finally chose a reasonable answer that everyone could accept.”

"Just as people age and athletes decline, horsegirls also decline. They fall from their peak. Just like during their rapid growth period, it is a matter of course that they do not have the ability to reach their peak again. However, after looking up some information, I found that this is not the case."

"Your physical strength will gradually be depleted along with your fighting spirit and confidence. As long as you always maintain your passion and fighting spirit, your physical strength will quickly return to its peak."

"…Why do you say that? Do you have any evidence?"

"Of course."

Kato Akira gave the answer without hesitation.

“The representatives are the Longchamp Racecourse and the Arc de Triomphe. After being provoked, two legends emerged from the European and American horse racing world. At first, people thought it was a joke, but we all know the answer.”

"What do you mean, Trainer-kun?"

"You horse girls are a gift from the three goddesses. Isn't that clear enough?"

Holding down Rudolf's symbolic shoulder and pressing her forehead against his, Kato Akira looked into the emperor's confused eyes, and her strong will struck into her heart like a sledgehammer.

"You are unfettered elves. Believe in the souls that reside in you. Believe in the power of your emperor. Believe in everything that the name of Rudolf brings to you!"

"Run with your soul, and believe in the soul within you. Combine your fighting spirit and faith, the soul within you, and my desire, and use the Emperor's divine power against the enemy!"

"Believe in the power of the horse girls! Infuse your dominance, your will, and your spirit into your body! Your running is definitely not the powerless thing it is now, which is no different from the competition of human women, isn't it?"

"You are horse girls! Why are you doing such a feeble run?"

"… Weak? Are you talking about Uma Musume's run?"

“Yes. Because I have seen your souls running before. That’s why I have no feelings towards the current Uma Musume.”

Kato Akira stood up and patted the confused emperor's head, leaving her back in a windbreaker and a red scarf.

"So believe it, believe in your soul, believe in your beliefs, believe in my judgment, and then use the emperor's divine power on them!"

Chapter 48 Why can you still run?

A month later, at the Tokyo Racecourse, the Dream Cup finale was held.

No matter what pain and thinking there has been this month, no matter what relationships and actions have become, the battle has come.

"call……"

Walking out of the underground passage and looking at the cheering crowd in the stands, Ace Katsuragi felt the heat surging in his body, smiled and gave a thumbs up to the outside world.

The countless cheers and responses from the stands also proved that her original choice was not wrong.

She should stand up and put an end to all this ugliness and dissatisfaction.

'okay! ’

Katsuragi Ace thought to himself as he clapped his fists and produced a sonic boom that no ordinary person could possibly do.

"My stamina is the best, my strength is the strongest, and my status has been adjusted... This is my last battle."

Turning around and walking quickly to the grass field, Katsuragi Ace slowly stretched his body and did the final warm-up exercises. Then he looked up at the sky, savoring the changes that these times had brought to him.

During the recession, it disappeared.

The tiredness that once entangled his soul, the ennui that seemed to devour him, disappeared.

Because the burning rage and the strong desire to win have replaced the original decline and are burning fiercely in his body.

It's even more passionate and fierce than when I was still active. I even have the urge to jump up when walking on the grass. If it were me now, I would have won any game in the past.

The fighting spirit is more intense than that of the battle with the old enemy, the hostility is more intense than that of the previous competition. The hostility emitted by "herself" makes her stronger than ever before.

In previous competitions, the fighting spirit of the horse girls themselves was the main factor behind the performance, but now it is different.

It was Katsuragi Ace himself who wanted to win that made him stand here.

She wanted to stop this.

"You look completely clueless, Representative Chiaki."

Looking at the other figure walking out of the underground corridor, Katsuragi Ace rubbed his wrist with a hostile look on his face.

Of course, her greatest enemy was the popular emperor who was waiting inside the gate and was about to appear before her.

Ace Katsuragi swore that she had never thought of doing this before. Three months ago, she had never thought of performing the Dream Cup after retirement and attacking the Rudolph symbol.

But Rudolph deceived her and everyone. She stole the power of other adults in the school, just to cover up her own selfish desires. She used her power and ability to deceive everyone.

During the night run that night, after seeing Rudolph symbolically walk into the staff room, after hearing the sigh of Junchuan Reins when he was talking to the principal, and especially when she smelled the masculine scent on Representative Chiaki and heard her meaningful words about deciding the outcome with Rudolph, Katsuragi Ace realized that she had been deceived.

Rudolph, the symbol, was not fighting for the happiness of all the horse girls, and Chiaki, the representative, was not there to stir up the atmosphere. They all smelled like the same person.

The smell of a man.

The answer is already obvious.

Even if possible, Ace Katsuragi would like to think that it was his own hallucination.

Even when she gathered her companions to train again, Ace Katsuragi simply hid in the old school building, not yet making up her mind.

If it was false, if she had admitted her mistake, then she should kneel on the ground and beg for forgiveness from all the uncles and people who supported her. After all, Katsuragi Ace also knew that some things had to be done. Her judgment involved so many people, so she deserved to be beaten and scolded.

But, but, she kept smelling the masculine scent on both of them.

There was no concealment at all, and it even seemed like they were showing off to each other.

Others may not care. After all, the smell of each horse girl is very complex, and it is very impolite to smell other people's scent carefully.

But Katsuragi Ace saw it all. She saw how Emperor Rudolf sent everyone away and went to that room every night. She also saw how Chiaki ignored everyone else's gaze and dragged that man to eat.

The two did not even try to hide it, nor did they try to avoid it. It was just that the difference was too big and unlikely, so no one thought about it that way. But all of this was seen by Katsuragi Ace. So, when the truth was revealed, Katsuragi Ace was furious.

She didn't believe it at first, but the evidence and the actions were too real.

Action speaks louder than anything. Qianming drags him to eat every day, and Rudolph symbolizes his arrival every night, all of which are seen by Katsuragi Ace in the dark.

So she had to stand up. She didn't quite understand what was absolutely right and what was absolutely wrong. But if she said that all this was caused by a group of people's jokes and the selfishness of some people, then it was absolutely wrong.

Those in the stands who supported their team even held up a huge banner, and the sounds of cheering and blessing made Ace Katsuragi feel his soul slightly burning.

Well, that's enough.

It is enough to correct the mistakes and turn everyone back to the way they were before.

After entering the gate, Ace Katsuragi glanced at the Rudolph symbol who was lowering his head beside him, and then stared at the gate in front of him.

However, Rudolf, who was bowing his head beside her, suddenly spoke:

"Are we humans or horses?"

"Huh? We are horse racing girls, right? What's a horse? Are you crazy because you're afraid of losing?"

"Oh, yes."

Amidst the layers of grids inside the gate, Rudolph nodded symbolically.

"We are Uma Musume. We are neither human nor horse. That is the final answer."

"...?"

Looking at the man who slowly raised his head, it seemed that something had changed, yet nothing had changed. Rudolph symbolized that Katsuragi Ace suddenly felt that there were thousands of words piled up in his heart.

Why are you still running here? Your will should have been broken in the last race, why are you still here? Why did you do those things and hurt those who support us?

Finally, why are you able to stand on this field running for everyone’s dreams?

But it's too late.

All words are meaningless.

The gates have been completely closed, and they are now facing the first Dream Cup.

As long as I win, I can pour out my inner feelings. As long as I win, I can wash away all the stains.

Ace Katsuragi firmly believed this.

'All the horse girls have entered the gates! Next up is our final race of the year! The Dream Cup Horse Racing Grand Prix! Who will be the first true Dream Horse Girl? Let's wait and see!'

Listening to the sounds coming from the stadium, Ace Katsuragi quickly cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and stared at the moment when the gate opened.