Chapter 45. Old-fashioned
Shuta An selected several replies at random and responded to them one by one. The engagement velocity far exceeded his expectations. The platform's activity density was on an entirely different level compared to blogs.
Without further commentary, he forwarded his full chat history with Symboli Rudolf to Oguri Cap.
"I think you should consider registering an account as well," he typed. "As an active Uma Musume in the Dream Trophy Series, maintaining public visibility is strategically important."
Oguri Cap replied with a single "?"
Before he could question it, another message followed.
"So Ann never had Twitter before? I thought you just didn't want me to know."
"I only registered today after Miss Rudolf approached me," he replied. "I originally agreed out of courtesy, but the engagement metrics are significantly higher than blog traffic. It would benefit you."
A voice message arrived.
"Ann, check your follower list."
He opened Twitter and immediately saw a verified account with a carrot burger as its avatar. The name left no ambiguity. Clicking in confirmed it—Oguri Cap's account.
He followed her at once. From her following list, he quickly located Berno Light's verified account and followed that as well. Operational completeness mattered.
"This is Sadalsuud's official account, right?" Oguri Cap messaged again. "Ann could also create a personal secondary account to share daily life."
"Understood," he replied.
He had intended to advise her, yet somehow ended up being advised instead. He chose not to mention Twitter to Silence Suzuka or the others immediately. After this exchange, he had a suspicion he might already be behind the curve.
That suspicion proved correct.
That evening, when they regrouped, Silence Suzuka brought up his Twitter activity on her own initiative. He explained again that it was the team's official account.
Tokai Teio blinked. "Then shouldn't Trainer follow the team members' accounts too?"
He paused.
Fortunately, he had already followed Oguri and Berno earlier. If he had delayed, today would have involved four consecutive losses of face. He promptly followed the accounts of Tokai Teio, Silence Suzuka, and Mejiro Dober as well.
Instead of putting his phone away, he turned to Suzuka.
"Did you take photos today? Select a few and send them to me. I'll process and upload them. It counts as promotion."
"Teio took a lot," Suzuka replied calmly, glancing at Tokai Teio.
Tokai Teio stuck out her tongue. "I took so many because I wanted to choose some for Umastagram."
"Umastagram?" He searched briefly, brows tightening. After reviewing it, he dismissed the idea internally.
"Lower information density than Twitter. Photo-mandatory posts. Not suitable for official updates."
That night, each of the three Uma Musume sent him three selected photos via Line. He blurred out bystanders to protect privacy. No retouching was necessary—the girls required no enhancement. He uploaded the images with a simple caption:
"Had a great time exploring Hakodate today!"
Afterward, he put his phone down and enjoyed the open-air bath.
He did not check Twitter again until the following morning.
In the Dream World, he chose to remain in Hokkaido for the summer lull in major races. Taking Tokai Teio's remarks to heart, he thoroughly explored Hakodate in that realm as well.
Upon waking, he frowned faintly.
"What is this…subconscious synchronization?"
He let the thought go and checked Twitter.
The engagement had multiplied overnight. Retweets, replies, and likes climbed rapidly. The positive feedback loop was immediate and visible—far more stimulating than blog comments, which often felt obligatory.
"It seems this requires proper management," he muttered. "Team popularity has measurable leverage."
Still, performance remained paramount. Social media was auxiliary. He limited himself to one to three posts per day and redirected most of his cognitive bandwidth toward the Hakodate Nisai Stakes.
After three consecutive days of being dragged across Hakodate by Tokai Teio, Mejiro Dober finally gathered her courage on the fourth morning.
"These past few days, while we've been sightseeing, Trainer has stayed in the hotel working," she said carefully. "Shouldn't we invite him out with us today?"
Tokai Teio covered her mouth dramatically. "Wow…I didn't expect Dober to say that."
"Why?" Dober asked, genuinely confused.
"Because you're nervous around the opposite sex, aren't you? Even with Trainer, it's just less severe. Being alone with him would still be difficult, right?"
Dober's gaze shifted slightly.
"But Suzuka-senpai and Teio would come too," she replied softly. "And…I can't feel at ease knowing Trainer is the only one not enjoying a vacation."
Tokai Teio grinned immediately.
"Then let's bring him along! Suzuka-senpai definitely won't object."
So, Shuta Trainer—who had originally planned to research Super Dress training conditions today—was dragged out of the hotel by Tokai Teio.
Their first stop was Goryokaku Park. Its predecessor had been a star-shaped fortress built by the Edo Shogunate in the late Edo period, on what is now the outskirts of Hakodate City. Nearly a century ago, it was converted into a public park and opened to visitors free of charge.
A thirty-minute tram ride from the hotel brought the group of four to Goryokaku Park. Tokai Teio, having skimmed its Wiki introduction beforehand, remarked, "Come to think of it, we've been staying in the suburbs of Hakodate these past few days, haven't we?"
"That's right." Shuta An's mouth twitched. "It's very close to Hakodate Racecourse and is one of Hokkaido's famous hot spring resorts. Otherwise, why do you think our hotel has 'Yunokawa' in its name? It's located in Yunokawa, one of Hokkaido's three major hot spring towns."
"What are the other two?" Though born and raised in Japan, Tokai Teio didn't actually know—since childhood, she had preferred playing by the sea to soaking in hot springs. In places like Yunokawa, which combine 'hot springs plus seaside,' she would always choose the ocean.
"Noboribetsu and Jozankei," Shuta An replied. "When Oguri was recuperating, I took her to the former for a while and happened to meet Miss Tamamo Cross's family. Jozankei is near Sapporo. If anyone on the team signs up for a race there, we can consider visiting."
"So that means not until at least next summer," Mejiro Dober thought. Shuta An had already finalized the team's race schedule for the year; it was impossible for him to return to Hokkaido for just one person.
At the center of Goryokaku Park stood the reconstructed Hakodate Magistrate's Office. The restoration had employed numerous traditional techniques, aiming to "restore the old as it was."
However, Shuta An, who had little interest in architecture, simply followed behind the Uma Musume, making sure Tokai Teio didn't dash off on her own.
After a brief tour, they headed to Goryokaku Tower at the edge of the park. Despite its corner location, the area was bustling. The first floor housed a souvenir shop, the second a restaurant and dessert shop, the third an observation deck, and the fourth a bronze statue of Hijikata Toshizo.
Uninterested in the Shinsengumi, Shuta An let the Uma Musume explore the historical corridor and the statue upstairs. Carrying a bag of souvenirs, he settled onto a sofa on the observation deck to rest.
As he idly scrolled through his phone, he noticed tourists in one corner of the deck dispersing. Looking up, he saw a familiar figure standing beside a photographer, the camera trained on a petite, gray-haired Uma Musume.
Coincidentally, he had seen her just the night before while browsing umastagram; the official recommendations had shown him her selfie taken on a bus. While "cute" was often a polite compliment for ordinary girls, he felt the word suited her perfectly.
Are they filming something and asking tourists to clear space? he wondered. They convinced everyone awfully fast—impressive.
As he watched, the Uma Musume standing beside the photographer casually scanned her surroundings and noticed him. She raised a brow, turned, and walked over.
Meeting her gaze, Shuta An recognized her at once—it was Kurofune, whom he had coincidentally encountered in Hokkaido, Paris, and Tokyo.
"This is truly—" He shook his head with a smile. "A little too coincidental."
"Indeed," Kurofune replied as she approached. "I didn't expect to meet you here, Shuta Trainer."
"It looks like you're traveling in Hokkaido with a friend?" His gaze shifted past her shoulder to the Uma Musume in the corner—Curren Chan formerly known to him as Kirin through Kurofune accents.
"Something like that. Kirin needed to shoot some photos and short videos in Hokkaido. My academy is on summer break, and I had nothing better to do, so she dragged me along to look around." Kurofune spread her hands lightly.
"You're studying at Central Tracen Academy?" Shuta An blinked at her phrasing.
"Yes. I've heard quite a lot about you there." She covered her mouth with a soft chuckle. "I never expected to have crossed paths with the Academy's recognized strongest Trainer even before enrolling."
"Fate works in curious ways," he said, smoothly guiding the conversation onward. "Have you chosen a team yet?"
"I'm not in a hurry." She tilted her head. "I'm still in the elementary division; my debut is some time away. Most teams prefer recruits whose full-fledged training is about to begin or has already started. Team funds are limited, and someone like me would be a long-term burden."
She wasn't wrong—for most teams. But Sadalsuud was different. With high team points, ample academy funding, substantial prize winnings, and his own savings, it was the wealthiest team at Central.
With that in mind, Shuta An opened his attribute viewer. Even the most basic data would suffice.
Ignoring irrelevant details like height and weight, his eyes went straight to her track adaptability.
"Turf A, Dirt S—?"
It wasn't the first time he had seen an Uma Musume equally suited to both surfaces. Even Oguri Cap, who had claimed major victories on turf and dirt, didn't possess A-rank dirt adaptability. And Kurofune's S-rank dirt compatibility required no additional training. He would never forget Oguri Cap's explosive improvement once her Mile aptitude reached A+. The thought of an innate S in dirt was—tempting.
Her distance aptitude showed Mile A, Middle Distance B, and both Long and Short Distance at G. The Middle Distance B likely reflected limitations at 2400 meters; she was probably closer to B+ at 2000.
Over time, he had learned not to rely entirely on the viewer—Silence Suzuka's Middle Distance rating had been A as well, yet her performance at 2400 meters told another story. As for running styles, her lowest was C-rank Pace-Chaser, while Front Runner and Sashi (Late and End Closer) were both A.
The decision formed in an instant.
"Miss Kurofune," he said, "if you're interested, once the holiday ends—or rather, when I return to the Academy in October—come to me for a test. If all goes well, my team would be more than happy to welcome you."
Before she could respond, Curren Chan finished her shoot and trotted over. "Kurofune-oneesan!"
She had been about to complain about Kurofune slipping away mid-shoot, but the moment her gaze met Shuta An's, she froze.
"Eh?"
The sparkle in her eyes vanished instantly.
(Puzzle solved. Kirin was Curren Chan. But I won't change the name before this as it was supposed as misdirection)
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