After briefly chatting about the impact of the new economic policies on Central Tracen Academy, Shuta An set his phone aside and prepared to sleep.
He had always entered the Dream World quickly. The Young man closed his eyes, consciousness sinking as the real world faded away.
—
Within the Dream World, after obtaining his Central Jockey license, Shuta An's results were formally incorporated into the Central Jockey rankings. Although he had not been registered as a Central Jockey before February, his previous achievements were still listed in the records. Even so, last year's top position remained firmly in the hands of Yutaka Take.
But this year… Shuta An was clear about it in his heart. This is the year I compete for Jockey of the Year.
It was the year he would officially stand opposite Yutaka Take on the same starting line.
Their rivalry, however, would not affect their relationship. For instance—just like now.
"The Central race day is in two days. Are you heading to Nakayama this time, Shuta-kun?" At the Ritto Training Center's track, Yutaka Take asked while riding his partner for Sunday's race. "After the Yayoi Sho, you'll also have to decide your partner for the Classic Race, won't you?"
"Not Nakayama," Shuta An shook his head. "I'm going to Chukyo. I'll be riding in the Chunichi Shimbun Hai this weekend."
"Eh?!" Yutaka Take stared at him in disbelief. "Then what about your Classic Race partner? You'll miss the Satsuki Sho, won't you?!"
"I'll just see if there's an Racehorses who's lost their main jockey and take his/her," Shuta An replied indifferently. "I originally planned to go to the Yayoi Sho, but Assistant Ikee-kun—Trainer Setoguchi's assistant—asked me to ride the Chunichi Shimbun Hai for his younger brother."
"Assistant Ikee's younger brother—Trainer Ikee Taiju?" Since no one else was nearby, Yutaka Take spoke frankly. "His stable doesn't really have any strong horses. In recent years, he's only had one G1 Racehorse—and he burned out quickly. If you went to the Yayoi Sho, you'd definitely be riding a popular contender, wouldn't you?"
"A promise is a promise," Shuta An said calmly. "Besides, it's not like I can't enter the Classic Race, so I'm not worried."
He patted the neck of the Racehorse beneath him, Donkanjo. "This child may not be highly regarded, but I want to challenge myself."
Then he grinned. "Otherwise, if I went to Nakayama for the Yayoi Sho—Mr. Take would just lose again, wouldn't he?"
"That won't happen," Yutaka Take laughed. "I'm riding in the Pegasus Stakes at Hanshin this weekend, not the Yayoi Sho."
"Ah, right." Shuta An snapped back to reality. Just like him, even without riding prep races, Yutaka Take could still secure strong contenders for the Classics.
Changing the subject, Shuta An paused before asking, "By the way, Mr. Take—do you do any investing? Since the new economic policies came out, everyone seems to be lamenting. Luckily, I've always kept my money in overseas banks, so I'm not too worried about yen depreciation."
"I don't really think about it," Yutaka Take shrugged. "Same as you. I just have more places to spend money."
He chuckled. Shuta An rolled his eyes. The so-called "more places to spend money" obviously referred to Gion.
—
After finishing his training in the Dream World, Shuta An asked several friends the same question. Unfortunately, their answers were largely identical, offering little new insight.
Only Yoshida Katsumi reacted differently. Upon hearing Shuta An's question, he enthusiastically invited him to invest in the Sunday Silence stallion syndicate—only to be reminded, somewhat helplessly, that as a jockey, Shuta An was prohibited from participating in such investments.
Upon realizing this, Yoshida Katsumi could only let out a few awkward dry laughs.
Still, Yoshida Katsumi's words sparked something in Shuta An's mind. A few immature ideas quietly took shape.
—
At breakfast the next morning, Shuta An suddenly spoke. "Say—should we consider investing in Hokkaido?"
"In this situation?" Berno Light looked utterly confused. "What exactly does Ann want to do?"
"Something like—a ranch?" Shuta An blinked.
"Forget it," Berno Light waved her hands vigorously. "You're not expecting me to manage it, are you? I can't just leave it to outsiders either. Even if you'll be relatively free for a while, instead of daydreaming about this, why don't you look around nearby? Maybe we could even add a new Uma Musume to Team Sadalsuud."
"What kind of suggestion is that?" Shuta An shot back. "Did Berno see a particularly talented Uma Musume around here?"
"Not really," Berno Light stuck out her tongue. "Honestly, I haven't even explored the area yet."
"Me neither," Oguri Cap echoed.
Shuta An could only sigh. "Fine. While you two go boating, I'll head to nearby Tomakomai City and see if there's anything local I can bring back."
—
After breakfast, Shuta An changed into thick winter clothing and set off from Lake Tōya toward Tomakomai City. He had no masochistic tendencies—there was no way he would walk through the cold wind—so he took the JR Hokkaido train instead.
More than an hour later, he arrived.
Tomakomai was a well-known industrial city in Hokkaido, though it also had its share of tourist attractions. Traveling alone, however, Shuta An wasn't in the mood for sightseeing. He simply checked the map on his phone and headed straight for the souvenir shops.
After browsing for a while and discovering that Tomakomai's most famous specialty was Arctic surf clam, Shuta An left the shop with a sigh of regret.
"Bringing that back would be pointless—the hotel wouldn't even be able to prepare it—"
Giving up, he decided to wander around Tomakomai instead, hoping to find some local specialty goods or small souvenirs he could bring back to Lake Tōya.
Just as he passed by a small park, he heard a loud, childish declaration from inside—
"I'll definitely promote Tomakomai in the future! I'll let everyone in the country know how wonderful it is here!"
"Wonderful enough that the only specialty is Arctic surf clams?" Without thinking, Shuta An muttered the complaint aloud.
He hadn't lowered his voice, and the words were clearly heard by the child in the park.
"That's not true!" Accompanied by an indignant, youthful shout, the child who had just made that vow suddenly rushed out of the park.
When Shuta An heard the voice in the park refuting his careless muttering, his body reacted before his mind could catch up—he turned and ran. Arguing with a child was utterly unbecoming of an adult. Winning would be meaningless, and losing would be downright humiliating.
Thus, by the time the little girl rushed out of the park, all she saw was Shuta An's retreating back.
"Really—don't let me see you again next time!" She puffed out her cheeks in frustration, muttered indignantly to herself, then turned and walked back into the park.
After jogging a short distance and confirming that no one was chasing him, Shuta An slowed to a stop.
"That was embarrassing. Getting scared off by a kid," he muttered under his breath, rubbing his nose. "But I did bring it on myself. I'll need to be more careful next time."
—
Back in the park, the Uma Musume clenched her fists in regret.
"I was so busy hiding here and talking to myself that I forgot people outside could hear me—By the time I chased out, he'd already run away… waaah…"
Her eyes burned with determination.
"I need to train harder and get stronger! If I can run faster, I can promote Tomakomai properly—and I won't let people like that get away next time!"
—
Shuta An, entirely unaware of the storm he had left behind, simply stopped by a nearby supermarket, bought a few Hokkaido specialty desserts, and returned to Lake Tōya.
He placed the desserts neatly into the freezer in Oguri Cap's room, then went back to his own. Oguri Cap and Berno Light were still out boating on the lake. With no one around, Shuta An decided to make productive use of the time.
He sat down at the desk, opened his laptop, and began organizing recent intelligence on turf races in the American Twinkle Series, preparing for Oguri Cap's future expedition. At the same time, he needed to prepare his lesson materials—lately, Berno Light had been unusually distracted during their Trainer course studies.
"Did I mess something up in my lesson planning?" A rare flicker of self-doubt crossed his mind.
—
Meanwhile, out on Lake Tōya, Oguri Cap and Berno Light were enjoying the gentle rhythm of rowing. For Uma Musume, rowing required little effort and barely qualified as exercise. Before long, the two had grasped the technique and were free to enjoy the scenery surrounding them.
"The air really is much better than Tokyo's," Oguri Cap said softly. "If you want to take a break, you really have to leave the city and come somewhere like this."
"I actually thought about suggesting Okinawa before," Berno Light admitted. "But I gave up. Oguri can't swim, and if we went there, we'd definitely want to play in the sea. You'd just end up watching me."
"That's fine," Oguri Cap replied without hesitation. "In that case, I'd just sit on the beach in Ann's arms and watch you play."
Berno Light rolled her eyes. Continuing down that line of conversation would only hurt herself, so she decisively changed the topic.
"This year is your last year in the Twinkle Series," she said. "Starting next year, you'll enter the Dream Trophy Series. Do you have any thoughts about that?"
"Let's talk about the Twinkle Series first," Oguri Cap said after a moment's thought. "Ann wants me to go on an overseas expedition. As long as I win even one race, I'll be qualified to contend for the title of the strongest Uma Musume in Twinkle Series history—That's something I couldn't even imagine a few years ago."
Her gaze drifted across the shimmering surface of the lake.
"First suspensory ligament inflammation, then periostitis. Honestly, if I hadn't insisted, Ann probably would've preferred me to retire from the Twinkle Series already. After winning the Arima Kinen and collecting seven G1 titles, my career here was already close to perfect."
She paused, her voice growing quieter.
"Even if I recover from this periostitis, my condition will be affected. My undefeated record might even be broken—But I really want to finish this year. Like Symboli Rudolf did—completing a full three-year Twinkle Series career."
"As for the Dream Trophy Series…" Oguri Cap hesitated. "I understand it a little. Compared to the Twinkle Series, it's more commercialized and pays more. But even though it's called a race, isn't it more like a performance? The Trainer won't really be able to guide me anymore."
"That's right," Berno Light nodded. "That's why I'm planning to take the agent license exam during this period. Once you enter the Dream Trophy Series, I'll handle things on that side. That way, Ann can continue focusing on training Uma Musume in the Twinkle Series."
"Ann doesn't know yet, does he?" Oguri Cap raised an eyebrow.
"Not officially," Berno Light admitted, sticking out her tongue. "But he's probably figured it out. I've been caught spacing out during Trainer course study sessions more than once."
"Then Ann's probably blaming himself," Oguri Cap said flatly. "Thinking his lessons aren't good enough. When we get back for lunch, Berno, you should explain everything to him properly."
"Yeah. I will."
—
At lunchtime, Berno Light laid out her plans clearly for Shuta An.
"I see," he said calmly, unsurprised. "I don't really understand the Dream Trophy either. I've only dealt with Twinkle Series matters since I started studying Trainer courses. Thinking about it now, your idea makes sense."
He continued evenly, "Once Oguri enters the Dream Trophy Series, I definitely won't be able to handle all those affairs. In that regard, I'll have to rely on you."
After a brief sigh, he added, "In that case, you don't need to keep studying Trainer courses with me. Focus on passing the agent certification instead."
"Actually—it's fine," Berno Light said instinctively. She didn't want to lose an excuse to spend time alone with him.
"No," Shuta An shook his head. "Focus on what's urgent. Oguri enters the Dream Trophy next year. You only get one chance—if you fail, Oguri will have to manage everything herself. Instead of being distracted by me, go all out in the direction we need most right now."
"Since Ann says so," Berno Light pursed her lips, then nodded firmly. "I understand. I'll definitely get my agent license before Oguri makes her comeback!"
"Go, Berno!"
Oguri Cap, who had been quietly enjoying her fried shrimp tempura, finally spoke up. Even as she cheered, her gaze drifted toward the young man seated beside her—soft, steady, and filled with trust.
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