Chapter 29: Hmph, Trying to Escape?
While Stardust Mirage and the others were eating and drinking heartily...
Inside the Student Council office at Central Tracen Academy.
"Ah... Air Grove, do you think those guys at the URA are all fools?" Rudolph Symboli massaged her temples, looking helplessly at the report document that had just been delivered.
The document detailed everything that happened at Oguri Cap's retirement ceremony, including the birth of the Second Oguri Cap and... that JRA reporter's disgraceful state.
"There's no helping it."
Air Grove sat at the side desk, quickly writing comments on documents without looking up as she replied:
"That reporter has been swiftly fired by the JRA. That should reduce the impact somewhat."
"If only it were that easy..." Rudolph sighed, leaned back in her chair, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes. In her mind, she recalled the dappled grey horse girl who had burst into her president's office two years ago, shouting, ["I need your power!"]
That was already two years ago.
"Second Oguri Cap... Do you really have such high expectations for her?" Rudolph seemed to be asking the Oguri Cap in her mind, or perhaps asking herself.
"This isn't a bad thing, is it? Didn't you, President, say before that you hoped Tokai Teio could have her own [Symboli Rudolf?]" Air Grove looked up, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear.
"That's true—but who could have expected Teio to push herself to that extent?! She strained herself in the second race today. It's a wonder she managed to endure the pain and finish the Winner's Ceremony performance!"
Rudolph covered her face and exclaimed. When she was only with close friends, it was a rare time she didn't need to maintain her formal demeanor. She acted very relaxed, completely unlike the dignified president she appeared as in public.
"So, you could have stopped Teio. Just told her not to run so hard. That child Teio would definitely listen to you." Air Grove's reply was monotone, devoid of emotion.
"How could I... Telling a horse girl not to run to her heart's content, what kind of thing is that?" Rudolph immediately retorted.
"So, it's just your old fatherly anxiety acting up." Air Grove covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
She had long seen that Rudolph Symbol just wanted to vent her worries about Teio through complaining, so she deliberately provoked her like this.
"Ah... You're right. Let's just focus on work. I need to free up time tomorrow to visit Teio in the hospital." Reminded by Air Grove, Rudolph finally realized what was really on her mind and could only helplessly collect herself, returning to work:
"About the JRA matter, have them prepare a press conference for me."
"Understood, I'll notify them immediately." Once Rudolph returned to work mode, Air Grove also immediately switched her attitude, replying seriously to the student council president.
The Emperor propped her cheek with one hand, tilting her head to gaze blankly at the empty doorway, her tone cold as she continued:
"At the press conference, we will announce that Stardust Shimmer has been specially recruited. This will prove that the central circuit has long held sufficient regard for her..."
"As for the rest, let those old men apologize. Bowing is what they're best at, after all."
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Early morning, 5 AM.
Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!
A series of forceful knocks suddenly sounded at the training ground dormitory door.
Stardust Mirage was abruptly awakened from her dream by the loud, heavy knocking. Seeing the sky outside was only just beginning to brighten, she couldn't figure out what was happening for a moment.
It took several seconds for her to fully wake up amidst the knocking. Still drowsy, she got out of bed, walked to the door, and opened it.
Standing outside were two figures, one large and one small.
"Old Man? And Oguri Cap-senpai? What are you doing here so early?" Stardust Mirage rubbed her eyes, utterly confused.
"We're leaving for our vacation tomorrow," Old Man Rokuhei said plainly.
"Uh, so?"
Standing in the cold wind of winter wearing only pajamas, Stardust Mirage shivered, feeling the chill.
She still didn't quite understand what was going on. Did they want to spend more time with her before leaving tomorrow?
"So, of course, we're taking you for a run today."
The old man checked his watch and smiled. "It's 5:04 AM now. I'll give you 6 minutes to get ready. Oguri and I will be waiting for you downstairs at 5:10."
"...Huh?" Old Man Rokuhei paid no attention to Stardust Mirage's stunned expression, simply turned around and walked away.
Oguri Cap immediately followed, but halfway, she turned back, made a fist, and said softly to Stardust Mirage:
"Ganbatte!"
Returning to her room in a daze, Stardust Mirage put on her clothes and washed her face with cold water, finally waking up properly.
But she was still a bit puzzled. Previous training sessions had always been during the day; she didn't understand why they were calling her out so early in the morning.
However, she knew Old Man Rokuhei definitely wasn't the type to joke about training. So, she quickly freshened up and rushed out the door, running downstairs.
Just as she reached the bottom, she saw Old Man Rokuhei straddling a small, pink moped. Oguri Cap, wearing a tracksuit, was stretching and loosening up her muscles nearby.
Seeing her come downstairs, Roppei waved directly and called out, "Let's go."
With that, he directly started the small motorbike, chugging and puttering forward.
Oguri Cap, seeing this, immediately broke into a light jog to follow. Stardust Mirage, though not quite sure what was happening, instinctively followed behind the motorbike as well, jogging alongside Oguri Cap.
"Where are we going?"
Seeing the old man ride off on this motorbike—which probably belonged to his daughter—without even looking back, leading them out of the training grounds, Stardust Mirage couldn't help but ask.
"To take the Shinkansen."
Old Man Roppei, driving the small motorbike, wasn't going particularly fast, maintaining a speed of about 10-20 km/h as he led the way.
It was just past 5 a.m., the sky hadn't fully lightened yet, and the streetlights on both sides of the road hadn't turned off. Stardust Mirage looked around; aside from the occasional breakfast cart already open for business, practically no shops were open.
"Where are we taking the Shinkansen to?" Stardust Mirage asked, but her breathing, arms, and legs showed little change, still maintaining the most comfortable posture as she jogged behind the motorbike alongside Oguri Cap.
"To go see Central Teisen Academy early. It's also a good chance for you to meet your future trainer."
After saying this, Old Man Roppei's motorbike sped up a bit again. Stardust Mirage hurriedly matched the pace and began to sense trouble—
Just how far was it from here to the Shinkansen station?
After running for about an hour, passing through one deserted street after another, the surroundings gradually began to show signs of people coming and going, and the sound of passing trains slowly reached their ears. A panting Stardust Mirage finally realized they were approaching their destination...
"How do you feel?" The old man stopped the motorbike, took out a towel, and handed it to Stardust Mirage as he asked.
"I can still handle it!" Although she already felt tired, Stardust Mirage stubbornly replied.
"Heh heh." The old man looked at her stubborn expression and smiled meaningfully.
Standing in front of the Shinkansen station, he fell silent for a moment before continuing:
"For top-potential runners like Oguri Cap, Tokai Teio, or you, the trainer's most important role is to provide training plans. This allows you to improve your physical fitness and experience more scientifically, achieving better results with less effort."
"Just like today. If I told you that running ten kilometers every morning would help further train your endurance, would you stick to that habit afterwards?"
"I would," Stardust Mirage replied without hesitation.
"I knew you'd say that." The old man raised an eyebrow. "To be honest, everyone says Oguri Cap is like a monster on the racetrack, but after training you for 17 days... in my opinion, you're enough to be called a monster on the training ground too."
"Stardust Mirage, looking at your training records and comparing results from the same time period each day, I actually couldn't find a single instance where your training results declined. This is something I've never seen before, and it's the main reason I believe you are fully capable of inheriting Oguri Cap's glory."
"After understanding the weight of victory, coupled with the trainer I'm about to introduce you to, I'm afraid you'll become more and more focused on basic training in the future, right?"
"But what I want to tell you is... you must never force yourself into destructive training. You must restrain your desire to train and not be fooled by the illusion that training alone can improve your basic fitness."
The old man spoke with deep feeling, his face full of the vicissitudes of experience:
"I've seen too many promising talents suffer injuries from overtraining, causing their public racing careers to plummet or even forcing them to retire outright. So, no matter what kind of training plan you get in the future, you must pay close attention to any warning signs your body might give. Absolutely never hurt yourself through training."
Stardust Mirage now understood what Old Man Roppei was trying to say.
The system she possessed could quantify training results into data, so during these days of training plans, it made it seem like her training efficiency was remarkably high.
Old Man Roppei was worried that she would be blinded by these seemingly significant results, forcing herself to overtrain and harm her body. That's why he had deliberately orchestrated this series of events this morning.
"Don't worry, old man. I want to win, but I'm not going to go crazy over it."
Stardust Mirage didn't tell Old Man Roppei about the system. Not only would it be hard to explain, but it would also make him worry unnecessarily. So, she could only answer like this.
"Good, that's best then. Next matter. Since we're going to Trecen Academy today, how about teaming up with Oguri to participate in the Dream Cup next year?" Having finished the first matter, the old man's expression relaxed.
"Ah?"
Stardust Mirage was momentarily stunned. Isn't racing an individual sport? What did he mean by 'teaming up'?
"Oh, you haven't heard about the Dream Cup, right?"
The old man suddenly understood and began explaining on the spot:
"The Dream Cup is a special cup race hosted by the Three Goddesses. Their divine power opens up a special space, materializing a track from a certain G1-level event there. Participants need to form teams of three for a team race. Points are awarded based on placement, and the team's total points determine advancement."
"There are also distinctions like A Group, B Group, Limited Class, Open Class, etc. Someone will explain it all when you get to the academy."
Stardust Mirage, with a look of shock on her face, was already cursing internally:
Three Uma Musume team up?
Limited Class and Open Class?
Random G1 track?
A Finals and B Finals?
Fine, fine, so that's how you want to play it.
Damn Three Goddesses, I've even escaped to the Uma Musume world, and I still have to grind in major tournaments?!
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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