The next day, the Mejiro Family party arrived at the hotel.
Shuta An did not go out to greet them.
While Oguri Cap and the other two headed outside to chat with the Mejiro Family's Uma Musume—planning to formally welcome them at the restaurant later—the young man remained in his guest room, absorbed in work. On the screen before him played the Mejiro Family's most recent training videos. He watched carefully, replaying key moments, organizing his thoughts before compiling detailed evaluations and sending them to Mejiro Ramonu.
Spring break lasted ten days in total, and the Mejiro Family's Uma Musume would stay here for seven of them. Not long after sending his assessments, Shuta An received clear instructions from Mejiro Ramonu: supervise a minimum level of training during their stay, ensuring their bodies would not grow lax or lose their conditioning over the week.
"Phew—it's already past two o'clock." After finishing his work, Shuta An finally looked up and glanced at the clock. "I haven't even had lunch—I'll just go down and grab something now."
He changed into casual clothes, stepped out of his room, and nearly collided with someone hurrying down the corridor.
"Suzuka-san, is this—?"
Shuta An raised an eyebrow. Before him stood Silence Suzuka, carrot hair neatly arranged, a trench coat worn over a fleece shirt. From her appearance alone, it was obvious she was about to head out.
"Good afternoon, Shuta-kun." Silence Suzuka bowed lightly. "I'm accompanying everyone from the Mejiro Family for a stroll by Lake Toya. It's their first time here, and they're very curious about the surroundings."
"They're going sightseeing right after eating, without resting?" Shuta An looked genuinely surprised. "They're really energetic."
"Senior Oguri and Miss Berno are going as well." Silence Suzuka tilted her head slightly. "Are you also heading out, Shuta-kun?"
"No, I just finished work. I'm only going down for a late lunch," he replied, waving his hand.
"Then I won't delay you any further." Silence Suzuka covered her mouth and laughed softly. "But Shuta-kun, please take care of your health. Keeping regular meal times is important. After all, you are the pillar of Team Sadalsuud—you cannot afford to fall."
"All right, Suzuka-san. I'll take your advice." Shuta An returned her words with a faint smile.
He watched Silence Suzuka leave through the hotel entrance before turning toward the restaurant himself.
———
After choosing a seat at random and sitting down to wait for the menu, Shuta An casually scanned the restaurant—and immediately noticed a familiar figure.
Lavender hair, refined posture, several empty plates set neatly before her.
But it was not Oguri Cap.
It was Mejiro McQueen.
"Afternoon tea—?" Shuta An muttered quietly.
He did not go over to greet her. Although Mejiro McQueen would be partnering with him in the Dream World, he still had no clear idea how to interact with her in reality. Their communication outside of training had been minimal at best.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Mejiro McQueen paused, turned her head, and met Shuta An's eyes.
"Ah—"
Her eyes widened slightly. She hastily picked up a napkin, wiped her mouth, and stood up.
"Is she coming over?" Shuta An wondered briefly, already considering how he should greet her.
But Mejiro McQueen did not approach him at all. Instead, she turned and trotted straight out of the restaurant.
"So she wasn't approaching me—she was running away?" Shuta An smiled wryly and shook his head. "She's a bit like Dober. Or maybe it's just that the Mejiro Family's young ladies aren't used to interacting with men, so they come off as distant."
Even after finishing his meal, Shuta An still hadn't found an answer.
He stood, straightened his clothes, and prepared to leave.
But just as he stepped outside the restaurant, someone suddenly grabbed his collar.
"Hmm?"
Shuta An reacted instinctively, gripping the wrist of the person who had seized him, ready to pull it away.
The moment he made contact, however, he felt it—a softness, delicate and unmistakable.
"Ah."
Realization dawned.
He looked closely.
Standing before him was Mejiro McQueen, her hand still raised from where she had grabbed him.
Shuta An let out a helpless smile and released her wrist. Mejiro McQueen quickly withdrew her hand as well, stepping back several paces.
"So," Shuta An said, tilting his head with a half-smile, "what's going on here? If Miss McQueen doesn't give me an explanation, I'll have to ask Miss Ramonu myself."
Mejiro McQueen lowered her head.
"I told Ryan and the others that I wasn't feeling well," she admitted. "That's why I didn't go out with them."
"But in reality," Shuta An continued calmly, "you came here to secretly enjoy afternoon tea?"
"Yes." Mejiro McQueen bowed repeatedly. "Please, Shuta-kun, keep it a secret. I'm truly sorry!"
"Is that all—?" Shuta An deliberately dragged out his words.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to agree. Rather, watching Mejiro McQueen's anxious expression, he felt there was still something more he could draw out of her.
The silence stretched on.
Mejiro McQueen grew increasingly uneasy.
If Shuta An revealed her feigned illness to Sister Ramonu, she didn't need to imagine what would happen next—stern lectures upon returning to Tokyo, followed by additional training without mercy.
"What else can I offer—?"
She racked her brain desperately.
Then, at last, an idea surfaced.
"This should work. After all, he also—yes, it should be possible."
After several moments of internal struggle, Mejiro McQueen made up her mind, raised her head, and spoke:
"I can provide Shuta-kun with information about Dober. Any kind you want."
"Huh?"
Shuta An nearly cried out in surprise. He had no idea why Mejiro McQueen suddenly brought up Mejiro Dober. After suppressing his reaction, he considered it briefly.
This was probably the limit of what Mejiro McQueen could think of.
Unfortunately, it was useless to him. Compared to learning Mejiro Dober's secrets, she might as well have offered him money.
"Never mind. That's enough." Shuta An waved his hand. "I'll keep your secret."
But when those words reached Mejiro McQueen's ears, they carried a very different meaning. If she didn't actually give him Dober's secrets, he wouldn't keep quiet.
"I see." Mejiro McQueen silently steeled herself. "Luckily, I have Shuta-kun's Line. I'll organize everything tonight and send it to him."
And as her thoughts drifted to Mejiro Dober, the first thing that came to mind was Dober's other identity.
"Shuta-kun probably only knows that Dober-chan likes to draw," Mejiro McQueen thought, growing more confident by the second. "There's no way he knows her other side."
So that evening, after Shuta An finished showering and soaked in the hot spring for a while, he dried himself and was preparing to turn in when a Line notification popped up.
It was from Mejiro McQueen.
Shuta-kun, you can try searching for an artist named "Rubeto." I think you'll find it—very familiar.
"There's no need to search at all." Shuta An muttered to himself as he lowered his phone. "Just recalling what Miss McQueen said this afternoon is enough to confirm who this person really is."
Even so, his honesty betrayed him.
He opened his browser, typed in "Rubeto," and began searching.
When the results appeared on the screen, Shuta An instinctively scrolled downward.
"Wow…"
After a brief pause to steady himself, he couldn't help but let out a low exclamation.
"I really didn't expect Miss Dober to be this—uninhibited in private."
When he had gone to Comic Market with her before, Mejiro Dober had been browsing what looked like perfectly harmless, all-ages art books. Yet the works now displayed before him—signed by Teacher Rubeto—were unmistakably the kind that would be filtered out by any search engine's safe-search settings.
As for why he could still see them—
Well, that hardly needed explanation.
"I'll keep this to myself," Shuta An decided quietly. "I'll just pretend I don't know."
He shook his head slightly, a wry smile forming.
"There's no way I'd use this as leverage to make Miss Dober do this or that. That'd be far too cruel. I'm not that kind of person."
But then, another thought surfaced—and froze him in place.
"Speaking of which." Shuta An frowned. "Miss Dober used me as a model before. What exactly was she planning to draw me as?"
That question lingered stubbornly in his mind. As a result, Shuta An went to bed far later than usual that night—and it had absolutely nothing to do with "appreciating" Teacher Rubeto's artwork.
———
Over the following days, his routine settled into a steady rhythm.
During the day, he accompanied Oguri Cap and the others on shopping trips. When he wasn't out, he remained in his guest room, soaking in the hot springs, working, and gathering various materials he would need later.
At night, taking advantage of the time before race day, Shuta An devoted himself in the Dream World to weight control. Perhaps due to his exceptional talent—or perhaps sheer discipline—he quickly adjusted his condition back to the level mandated by the JRA.
"Unfortunately, there are no graded stakes rides this weekend."
As he reviewed his schedule, Shuta An sighed softly.
"The only graded race next week is the Derby Duke Challenge. I'll be riding Scarlet Ribbon, from Shadai Race Horse Club."
Scarlet Ribbon was not a stranger to him.
Two years earlier, Shuta An had ridden a filly named Canadian Lady out of her maiden race. At the time, Canadian Lady's Trainer had believed he would receive a promising offspring from Shadai in the future and had promised to appoint Shuta An as her main jockey.
That offspring had indeed arrived.
But Shadai Race Horse Club had assigned her to another Trainer.
That filly was Scarlet Ribbon.
During the period when Shuta An was not her main jockey, Scarlet Ribbon had still managed to secure a G2 victory. However, after that triumph, she had gone two full years without another win.
Now, at last, the reins had returned to Shuta An's hands.
"If Scarlet Ribbon wins the Derby Duke Challenge, she'll announce her retirement afterward," Trainer Sawamineji had told him. "She'll return to Shadai Farm in Hokkaido and become a broodmare."
The sincerity in Sawamineji's voice had been unmistakable.
To him, Scarlet Ribbon was more than just a racehorse. She was the first graded-stakes filly he had personally trained—and the one he had once believed could reach G1 glory after Dyna Universe.
Of course, reality had been cruel. Scarlet Ribbon's performances in G1 races could only be described as disappointing.
"This time, I'll leave everything to you, Shuta-kun," Sawamineji sighed. "Perhaps my expectations were too heavy and ended up holding her back."
"I'll do my best," Shuta An replied.
He had ridden Scarlet Ribbon in her final training session a week earlier. Her condition was good. A win was never guaranteed, but he was confident she could at least fight for a top-three finish.
When Sawamineji heard those words, hope lit his eyes.
Among Trainers, Shuta An's reputation was clear—when he gave his word, it carried weight. To them, his promise was reassurance itself.
For Sawamineji, the most important matter was Scarlet Ribbon's race next week.
For Shuta An, however, something else weighed more heavily.
He still needed partners for this year's colt and filly classic races.
Because he had missed key prep races like the Yayoi Sho and the Tulip Sho, most strong contenders had already secured their main jockeys. Meanwhile, he found himself stuck in an awkward position—capable, proven, yet temporarily without a clear path forward.
It was while he stood absentmindedly outside the stables of Setoguchi Tsutomu Stable that someone suddenly called out to him.
"Shuta-kun! I've been looking for you!"
Shuta An snapped back to reality. Turning around, he saw Yutaka Take approaching—accompanied by an unfamiliar young man.
"Take-kun?" Shuta An greeted him. "What's going on?"
"Didn't Shuta-kun mention before, when talking with Ikee-kun and the others, that you were looking for a riding agent?" Yutaka Take raised an eyebrow. "I think I've found someone very suitable for you."
Shuta An sighed, rubbing his forehead as he stood.
"Take-kun, you understand, right? The reason I didn't bring this up with you is because I didn't want to use the same Manager as you. That's better for both of us. I appreciate your kindness, but let's forget about it."
"I'm not Mr. Take's Manager."
The young man behind Yutaka Take stepped forward.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but I'm also a newcomer—less than two years in the industry. I only heard that Shuta-kun was looking for a Manager, so I took the risk of approaching Mr. Take, hoping for a chance to introduce myself."
"I see."
Shuta An regarded him calmly, then spoke.
"Let's set compensation aside for now. What can you offer me? You should know that even without a Manager, I still have access to excellent riding opportunities."
"If Shuta-kun signs with me," the young Manager said carefully, "I can immediately provide you with a riding commission for the Oka Sho—for a strong contender."
"A commission for the Oka Sho?"
Shuta An tilted his head.
"To be honest, if I wanted to ride in the Oka Sho, I could just speak with the Shadai owner. They have a Racehorse eligible this year. She may be slightly weaker, but I'm confident I could ride her into the top five and secure qualification for the Oaks."
He smiled faintly.
"One ride isn't enough to impress me."
The young Manager bit his lip, falling silent for a long moment.
Then, at last, he spoke again.
"My father works at the JRA," he said. "He's involved on the judging side."
Shuta An's eyes widened slightly.
Then—slowly—his lips curved into a grin.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
For anyone interested, or just want to support me. Hit the membership button to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ModerateCitizens