It wasn't until this moment that Kitahara subconsciously recalled a certain fact.
The one beside him was the first "undefeated Triple Crown" winner and the first "G1 Seven Crowns" champion since the founding of Japan's URA—a horse girl bearing the title of "Emperor," the symbol of Rudor, and currently the closest thing Japan had to a world-class horse girl.
Suddenly, he was no longer stunned. Perhaps even things he hadn't fully expressed could be perceived by such a horse girl through small, daily observations of his true thoughts.
No longer hesitating about how to explain himself, he said calmly:
"Actually, the initial reason was because of Oguri Cap. I mean, the reason I had those somewhat childish ideas in the first place."
"Later, it gradually became because of all the horse girls I met. I hoped they could all step onto a stage to showcase themselves, so more people would know they are outstanding and adorable."
His gaze wandered between the beach in front of him and the distant shoreline. He looked briefly at the backs of Mejiro Ardan and Mejiro McQueen, then at the horizon, and continued:
"I always felt that if I didn't do something, they wouldn't just miss out on more stages—they might even lose what they already had."
"For example, if I hadn't thought of taking Oguri Cap to Tokyo and only focused on performing well at Kasamatsu, she might never have had the chance at the Classic Triple Crown."
"Maybe Rudolf and the others would see her potential while overseeing local races and bring her to the central stage."
"But what if you didn't?"
"Or even if she reached the central stage, could she still, for some reason, miss the Classic Triple Crown?"
As Kitahara gradually approached the final Kikkua Sho of the Classic Triple Crown with Oguri Cap, he didn't pay much attention to possible past regrets.
Yet at this moment, wanting to share his thoughts with Rudor, he inevitably considered that very possibility.
If Oguri Cap entered Trasen Academy in the central region alone, her experience growing up in Kasamatsu would still be too limited, and the novelty of her brilliance too raw.
Perhaps she wouldn't need anyone to tell her—the latter would understand the importance of the Classic Triple Crown to every horse girl.
But Oguri Cap's naturally airheaded personality could truly make her unaware, causing her to miss registering for the Classic Triple Crown and never participating in those races.
That wasn't impossible. On another timeline, reality unfolded just like that.
Not only that, but Creek, Mejiro Ardan, and others Rudolf mentioned also had many regrets in parallel dimensions.
For example, missing most of their peak races due to injuries—this could almost be considered their norm.
After refining these thoughts slightly, Kitahara shared them one by one with Rudolf.
It was only after expressing all this that he clearly felt the persistent worry he had been carrying.
What he wanted to do wasn't complicated. He just wanted to bring era-leading training methods into this world. Naturally, it involved many challenges, but he was determined to walk that path.
And the purpose of doing so was simply to minimize regrets in this world.
Those childish, "playing house" ideas were, in essence, just various means to fulfill this wish.
Kitahara poured out his thoughts for a long time—long enough that the Mejiro sisters had finished a phase of training and had come to wait about ten meters away.
Listening to his words, Rudolf initially maintained a thoughtful and serious expression, arms crossed, nodding occasionally.
Later, she fell silent, making no movements.
"Phew… In that case, everything makes sense."
Her silence was only broken long after Kitahara finished speaking. She took a deep breath and smiled in relief.
"It seems that although you have ambitions similar to what I imagined, you are not a schemer or a opportunist."
"…A schemer?"
Never expecting such an evaluation, Kitahara was both surprised and puzzled. "Why would you say that…?"
"Ah… Now that I mention it, it's a bit embarrassing. You could call it my suspicion."
While saying it was embarrassing, Rudolf's expression was calm. She straightforwardly explained:
"It's because of people like Kurokawa Masato and Satomi Haruki. When communicating with them, I gradually realized your business talents exceeded my expectations."
"Perhaps because you are busy with training, you aren't fully aware, but the new horse girl projects under their companies had already raised the entire group's stock prices to unimaginable levels even during the initial release phase."
"And I didn't know this at first. Later, I realized that much of the core planning originated from you, Kitahara."
Kitahara had actually anticipated this result even before it happened.
The horse girl industry in this world did not involve gambling, especially not the races.
The URA's Twinkle series races produced almost no revenue. Even if VIP tickets at Tokyo, Hanshin, and Kyoto were expensive, more than half were priced affordably.
Revenue from tickets alone was basically nonexistent, and expenses exceeded income.
Maintenance of venues, turf care, lounge facilities, and other costs required long-term, enormous funding—something the races themselves couldn't cover.
This wasn't a secret; a simple calculation of ticket prices would make that obvious.
Most people thought the Twinkle events were supported mainly by Winning Live, merchandise, and so on—but that wasn't entirely accurate.
Winning Live tickets were more expensive and didn't require watching races.
Some fans were not interested in racing at all, only in seeing horse girls perform.
So Winning Live venues were generally larger than the race audience seating, with more attendees.
Broadcasting fees, merchandise income, etc., were handled by the URA.
But this revenue, though not negligible, would all be spent on the races, leaving nothing left.
The real profit went to major corporations licensed by the horse girls and URA.
Although these companies invested according to the licensing agreements, pure profits went directly to them.
For example, in the parallel timeline, when the official Umamusume mobile game was released at the end of February, the parent company's total market value exceeded one trillion yen in less than a month.
This was the first time in over 20 years that the company's stock market value had surpassed that figure.
In this world, Kitahara's horse girl mobile game concept was primarily realized by Kurokawa Masato's Nishijin Corporation and the Satomi Group of Satomi Haruki.
These corporate giants' influence was no less than the official URA, perhaps even greater.
Kitahara was not surprised by the enormous profits such a venture could generate.
At this point, Kitahara understood what Rudor had meant earlier.
"You're worried that, knowing about Kurokawa-san and Satomi-san's business profits, I might be tempted to become a businessman like them instead of a trainer."
Without phrasing it as a question, Kitahara directly asked.
"…It seems you already know the situation there. Indeed, you also have a rising enterprise under your name."
Rudolf was silent for a moment, then nodded:
"I, too, like Ardan, McQueen, Oguri Cap, and Teio, focused solely on training and races.
Only after taking the position of student council president did I realize the races we valued were seen differently by others."
She didn't specify who "others" were, but Kitahara understood it mostly referred to Kurokawa Masato, Satomi Haruki, and similar figures.
"Many trainers are like this," she continued in a flat tone, as if emotionless.
Yet those familiar with her knew such a tone indicated strong internal turbulence—negative and intense.
"Because the horse girls under their care were outstanding, they accepted numerous commercial requests. Confronted with unimaginable sums, they lost themselves and ultimately abandoned their horse girls."
"I don't oppose trainers seeking higher income. In fact, the URA and the Academy Council gradually improved trainers' compensation.
But some people's greed can never be satisfied."
Her tone softened.
"Fortunately, trainers like I mentioned… well, maybe they can no longer even be called trainers.
In any case, their outcomes weren't good, and I'm glad to see that result."
A faint smile appeared in her voice.
"What I want to admit to you, Kitahara, and also apologize for, is that I once doubted you."
Looking straight into Kitahara's eyes, she bowed slightly and spoke softly but solemnly:
"I doubted that you might become that kind of person.
The sums I learned from Kurokawa-san and others, as well as my own research, shocked me deeply.
To be frank, I never imagined that our races, once turned into a game, could generate such amounts of revenue just from the concept presentation."
"That's why I doubted you."
"But what you just said showed me my doubt was wrong."
"I trust my eyes and my intuition—you weren't lying."
"I'm sorry, Kitahara."
Again, she bowed, even more deeply than before.
Honestly, the topics Rudolf discussed were completely unexpected for Kitahara, yet he felt gratitude rather than shock.
Even with suspicion, he was touched that Rudolf ultimately chose to trust him.
"…Ah, well, thank you for your trust. And…"
He thought for a moment, deciding to ease the solemn atmosphere.
"In fact, the profits from both partner companies and Kawawan go directly to the Eisei Team's account, and are used entirely for Oguri Cap's training and races."
"So…"
Spreading his hands to the sides, Kitahara forced a smile and said as calmly as possible:
"I've never touched the money. I'm not interested in it."
"I… can probably believe you, but…"
Rudolf's gaze at Kitahara became peculiar.
"Why do I feel like you're trying not to laugh?"
"Ah… must be an illusion, an illusion, certainly your illusion, Rudolf. Anyway…"
After denying it several times, Kitahara quickly changed the topic and calmed down.
"My happiest moments are watching them train wholeheartedly and compete with all their might.
This is also sincere."
He looked again at the Mejiro sisters, then at the distance, and whispered:
"…I believe."
Rudolf nodded and looked as well.
"In that case, I don't need to think about testing you anymore."
"…Huh?"
Surprised, Kitahara turned sharply. "Testing?"
"Hmm… Since you've forgiven my doubt, the test can be skipped as well."
Rudolf turned her head and smiled.
"It's not like I was hiding it… well, I'll explain briefly.
I brought CB and the others here, quickly accepted the relay race invitation, originally to test you.
We wanted to observe Oguri Cap and the others' training and competition up close to confirm their actual strength, then…"
Her smile subtly changed.
"…Assist their upcoming competitors to face them in stronger form."
Kitahara's eyes widened.
This was easy to understand.
Just like previously giving Oguri Cap special training, Rudolf now had a similar plan.
Only this time, the "special training" target was the opponents.
At this point, Kitahara wasn't worried about Oguri Cap's challenges.
According to current information, outstanding horse girls like Sirius Symboli and Akitsu Teio were likely participating in this year's Daily Crown.
[What's Daily Crown]
During the European exchange training, Sirius Symboli trained alongside Eisei Team, gaining enough understanding of each other's abilities despite not participating in the initial plan.
Based on the data, Oguri Cap's chances weren't small against such a senior.
As for Akitsu Teio, she had faced Tamamo Cross in the Takarazuka Kinen. Data showed limited threat to Oguri Cap.
But if Rudolf intervened, the outcome could change.
Previously, even Rudolf herself might not have helped Sirius Symboli much.
As fellow symboli horse girls who grew up together, they had spent a lot of time training and racing. If they could mutually enhance abilities, they would have done so already.
During the camp, a special training called Domain Inheritance was conducted, known to both Eisei Team and Rudolf.
To study all aspects of the domain quickly, Kitahara formally communicated with academy professionals and legendary horse girls in the student council about such training.
"The hypothesis is that horse girls with good compatibility could learn each other's domains," which Rudolf also knew.
Sirius Symboli, being familiar with Rudor's running style and tactics, could efficiently inherit the domain.
If successful, she could maintain domain status for nearly 800 meters in a race.
Rudolf's domain allowed a significant speed boost after overtaking three times in the final stretch.
If a horse girl could master both domains and apply them, she could maintain domain status for almost half the Daily Crown's 1800 meters.
Although real races might not be ideal and domain inheritance may fail, the mere possibility of 800 meters of domain status was thrilling.
Furthermore, Rudor's plan implied that Chiaki, Maruzensky, Mejiro Takamine, and Katsuragi Ace intended to do the same.
With proper timing, five opponents could be trained to maintain two domains during a single race.
If prepared, training to counter such opponents was manageable.
If unprepared, winning chances could be slim.
"…I understand now why other trainers rarely share their techniques," Kitahara muttered.
"This could easily create strong opponents for oneself."
"Exactly. As the saying goes, it's like 'sending salt to the enemy.'"
Rudolf explained, referencing a Sengoku-era story where Uesugi Kenshin sent salt to rival Takeda Shingen during a siege, resulting in his own defeat.
"But because your focus is entirely on the horse girls, even the staggering sums didn't tempt you, I can fully trust you."
After the story, Rudolf smiled.
"As for the previous test, it was merely my meaningless doubt—or fear.
I was genuinely afraid that someone as excellent as you could be blinded by other things and lose your true self.
That's why I wanted to test you, and since it's a horse girl test, the best choice was a race."
"Fortunately, you're not that kind of person."
"So, the test…"
"Proceed as you intended."
"Treat it as if it never happened… eh?"
Rudolf froze.
"I mean, go ahead with your original plan to strengthen Oguri Cap's opponents."
Looking seriously at Rudolf, Kitahara said:
"I'm not worried about strong opponents because I'm confident the horse girls I train won't lose to anyone.
If anything, my concern is that without this information, I might neglect Oguri Cap's training—that's what scares me."
"The recordings of the Takarazuka Kinen, Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Meitetsu Cup, Chukyo Kinen, and Chukei Championship should all have been viewed by you."
Understanding why Kitahara suddenly mentioned these races, Rudor only nodded.
"Yes, I've seen them—outstanding performances."
"Not just outstanding," Kitahara corrected.
"I can confidently say that, among current Japanese active racers, there are few who can threaten Oguri Cap.
For this reason, I'm also thinking about the team's future, including improvements in training style."
Rudor glanced toward the Mejiro sisters waiting ten meters away, deep in thought.
"But it's not enough for Eisei Team's horse girls to be strong on their own.
What I hope for is a better world, plainly put—I want all horse girls to have more opportunities and fewer regrets.
At least, first make Japanese horse girls strong."
"The kind of test you mentioned is precisely an opportunity."
"Since you guessed my thoughts before, let me guess yours."
Looking at Rudor, Kitahara spoke plainly:
"You must have been frustrated at the St. Louis Championship back then, right?
If I'm correct, maybe you don't personally seek world-class victories, but you hope a successor can fulfill your unfinished dreams?"
"…I used to think there was no trainer capable of guiding me, at least in Japan."
Rudor was silent for a moment, then exhaled deeply:
"But now, if I still have a chance to step onto a real racecourse, outside of relay races…
Perhaps I'll invite you to be my trainer, Kitahara."
Kitahara realized Rudolf was implicitly confirming his guess. A trainer who didn't understand horse girls' thoughts might still be excellent but could never reach legendary status.
Previously, Kitahara had underestimated the importance of horse girls' emotions.
Recent experiences had made him start to value them.
"Really? What an honor," Kitahara said with a smile.
"So, I was right—you do have such a dream."
"If so, do you think it's enough for only this generation of horse girls to be strong?"
Although a question, Rudor's next words clearly reflected her thoughts:
"In the upcoming training and preparation, I will give my all.
Only then can I, Ardan, and McQueen perform better in the relay race.
I will also understand all the training details of Eisei Team.
CB, Maruzensky, and the others will do the same—I will instruct them.
Perhaps before the Sankei Sho, Keisei Cup, and Tazumo Cross races, we won't have enough time to train their opponents.
But for the Daily Crown, Kobe Shimbun Hai, and St. Leger, the opponents they face won't disappoint.
I think they are also looking forward to it."
Kitahara responded calmly to Rudolf's almost challenging words.
In that instant, the team's future direction became clear.
On the surface, it seemed like just tighter training.
In reality, it meant understanding the horse girls' intentions more clearly and striving toward their dreams.
Eisei Team's horse girls were no longer rookies with vague ideas.
Day by day, training and racing had taught them the meaning of each race and instilled expectations—or ambitions—for the future.
This would naturally create stronger internal competition.
But internal competition alone is insufficient; stronger opponents are needed.
Rudolf's generation of horse girls could be trusted—they only cared about making the horse girls stronger, not their own profits.
Humans must eat and live, and few, like Kitahara, are indifferent to money.
So, letting Rudolf and her team guide horse girls ensured focus purely on their strength.
Kitahara felt such pure, stronger opponents were not only what he expected but also what Oguri Cap and the others desired.
Of course, this required more communication with his own horse girls—a part of sharing intentions.
However, this joy didn't last long. Kitahara soon realized a somewhat troublesome fact.
Having Rudolf and the other team captains in charge made training easier for the trainers.
But Kitahara's team hadn't been idle either.
The results of the training camp so far, the data from the previous races, the team's future development direction, changes in style, as well as the detailed adjustments for this relay race, venue applications, and personnel coordination — all of this was being handled by them.
Originally, when Kitahara went to find Rudolf, besides checking on the training progress, he had also wanted to make use of her "unlimited authority."
But now it seemed that until the relay race actually started, she probably wouldn't have any free time at all.
Sigh… The problem is that for a horse girl like Rudolf, not having to deal with student council affairs and being able to focus purely on training and racing is probably a rare kind of rest. I can't exactly ruin her mood…
Thinking this, Kitahara kept his expression as calm as possible, greeted her briefly, and prepared to go attend to his own work.
However, as if she had noticed his thoughts Rudolf suddenly stirred, pulled out her phone, unlocked the screen, and glanced at it.
"Ah, right. I originally planned to help you handle the venue matters."
Looking at her phone, she spoke casually.
"I've dealt with this kind of event scheduling before."
"On the big picture side, it's not too troublesome, since there are established precedents."
"But the details are very tedious and mentally exhausting, especially when the venue is at a resort beach and the timing happens to be during a holiday."
"I'm going to focus on training next, so I won't have time to help."
"So… how could that be? Wasn't this supposed to be the agreed time…?"
She suddenly started muttering to herself in confusion.
From what she said at first, Kitahara thought she was about to apologize.
But what followed clearly showed that she had already entrusted many of the affairs to someone else.
Or rather — to other horse girls.
Someone who could handle all sorts of affairs in place of Rudor…
Just as he thought that, Kitahara suddenly heard a loud noise coming from above.
Whrrrrrr — whoooooosh —
Like something spinning violently.
The noise rapidly approached from far to near, accompanied by a howling, swirling wind.
The wind whipped up the sand on the beach, blew back the seawater like a retreating tide, and sent sand and pebbles flying. Kitahara, Rudolf and the Mejiro sisters all raised their hands to shield their eyes and squinted.
Then, almost simultaneously, they looked toward the source of the sound and whirlwind.
That is — the sky.
High above, a helicopter with rapidly spinning rotors was descending quickly.
"Surprise! Hahaha! Everyone — for this relay race, whatever affairs are left, just leave them all to me, the chairman!"
Well then — the only person even more "unlimited in authority" than Rudolf was the short-statured chairman Akikawa Yayoi, who was now clinging to the side door of the helicopter without the slightest fear of falling.
It was obvious that Akikawa Yayoi had arranged this with Rudolf beforehand — otherwise Rudor wouldn't have muttered things like "Wasn't this the agreed time?"
Kitahara was initially surprised by the chairman's arrival, but soon felt it was natural.
After all, he believed he cared deeply about horse girls — even at the level of the industry's future.
But if there was anyone in Japan who cared even more, besides Rudolf, it would be Akikawa Yayoi.
She was the kind of chairman who would personally drive a road roller to expand training tracks for horse girls.
So with three generations participating in the relay race, her "personal arrival" made perfect sense.
Moreover, Kitahara remembered her own ambitions.
As early as when he first met Mejiro Ardan, he had suspected that the chairman shared similar ideas with him.
Ideas such as improving the treatment of local horse girls, easing restrictions on races, increasing the number of competitions, and introducing advanced foreign training and racing philosophies.
Even concrete ideas like the "Dream Cup," a race that did not yet exist.
Although relay races were usually considered entertainment events, even if this one was also relatively relaxed in format, the lineup of participants was fundamentally different.
Tokai Teio's junior generation had yet to emerge, so they could be set aside.
But Rudolf was the first undefeated Triple Crown winner, CB was also a Triple Crown winner, Maruzensky had eight wins in eight races, Katsuragi Ace was the first Japan Cup champion, and Mejiro Ramonu was the first Triple Tiara filly.
These horse girls didn't even need to race — just appearing together was enough to shake the entire industry.
Oguri Cap and her peers were even more extraordinary — within their generation alone, they already stood at the very top of Japan.
With that level of talent, no one would truly believe this was just an "entertainment race," no matter how much it was emphasized.
And after accepting Akikawa Yayoi's help, Kitahara had more time to observe training.
It was obvious that every horse girl participating in this relay race — including Tokai Teio's group — was preparing with the mindset of a formal race, even a G1 or Classic.
The venue and logistics reflected that as well.
One week before the race, Akikawa Yayoi had already fully coordinated all three course segments.
Originally, Kitahara only planned minor adjustments and negotiations with the authorities.
But with Akikawa Yayoi, the courses were rebuilt entirely to official race standards.
Some sections were even personally rolled flat by the chairman herself — using her signature pink road roller.
Negotiation? That simply didn't exist.
"Don't worry! I'll make them fully cooperate with us!"
She used the word cooperate — as if negotiation was unnecessary.
Stands, fences, and security were all put in place.
Three-tier stands were erected along both sides of the course.
They were simple steel and metal constructions, but solid enough.
Fences were reinforced, and security teams from Tresen academies nationwide were deployed.
The chairman's exact words were:
"Believe it! There's no chance of a disturbance — you just race in peace, hahaha!"
Large screens were installed at intervals so spectators could follow the race.
Commentary arrangements were also carefully planned and adjusted for the relay format.
"Heavens! This time the commentary booth will be in the sky — with me and Kitahara-san!"
On race morning, beside the helicopter, Akikawa Yayoi laughed.
"This is a 9,000-meter race over a huge area."
"Relying only on cameras might miss a lot."
"But a helicopter is different!"
"From the air, we can follow the entire race and give live coverage without missing anything!"
"Yes! I've always wanted to try being a commentator!"
"I heard from Lyphard-chan that she often does guest commentary — I was really jealous!"
"But now I get to try it too!"
Rifar was the chairman of the British Tracen Academy. They had met during the international association conference.
Kitahara found the nickname "Lypahrd-chan" coming from someone of her age a bit surreal.
"Alright then, Rudolf, you all go warm up at the start. Kitahara and I will get used to the commentary setup."
The stands were already overflowing with spectators — beach tourists and fans from all over Japan.
Everyone held flags, banners, flowers, balloons — all cheering for Rudor and the others.
Just one non-official race had gathered such a crowd.
It showed just how legendary these horse girls truly were.
Kitahara felt relieved that Akikawa Yayoi had taken charge.
Otherwise, Eisei Team could never have handled this scale.
He then asked Yuzuhara to check on Special Week, Opera O, and the Gold Ship family.
"There are just too many people today…"
Yuzuhara assured him and encouraged him not to feel pressured.
"This is going to be an amazing race."
"Just commentate calmly."
He patted Kitahara's shoulder firmly.
"This will definitely be a wonderful race."
(End of chapter)