"So, why am I here?"
Gold Legend sat in the Student Council President's exclusive seat with a pained expression, dutifully processing documents.
"This is the President's wish. She needed some time and applied for a long vacation, the first one she has ever requested since taking office."
Air Groove sat to the side, not even lifting her head, as she processed her own work.
"During her vacation, you have been designated to act as the Student Council President."
"What does the President taking leave have to do with me acting as President?"
Gold Legend's face twisted even further.
"The President only applied for leave after watching your race," Air Groove said matter-of-factly. "Besides, you are an undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl."
"What?"
"Only a Triple Crown Horse Girl is qualified to become the Tracen Student Council President. This is a rule that has been in place since the first Student Council President, Saint Lite."
Although it is an unspoken rule, Air Groove explained.
"...Aren't there still Senior CB and Sister Hakuren?"
"Are you serious?" Let those two act as President? Air Groove raised her head.
"...Setting aside Sister Hakuren for a moment, hasn't Senior CB served as Student Council President before?" Legend asked weakly.
"That is why she resigned on the spot immediately after Symboli Rudolf completed her Triple Crown in the second year."
To be able to resign from the position of President so easily, one can imagine how poorly she performed; no one even tried to make her stay!
"..." Legend was speechless.
"The position of Student Council President is second only to the Chairman at Tracen, and it is a top-tier position of real power within the entire japanese horse racing world. Only those with sufficient achievements and prestige are qualified to sit in this seat."
"..."
"And after Symboli Rudolf became the Student Council President, the Chairman chose to step back, making the authority of this position even greater. Although it hasn't been explicitly stated, for now, you are the only one who is also an undefeated Triple Crown winner qualified to act in this role."
"...Are there really no other substitutes?" Legend tried to struggle.
"No. The position of President is one where it is better to have a vacancy than to fill it with someone unqualified. In the current situation, if President Rudolf resigns, barring any surprises, you will be the next one. Just consider this getting familiar with the work in advance."
"..." The pressure is immense!
No, I have to find a way to dump this position! Otherwise, sooner or later I'll get a stomach ulcer from the stress!
Should I learn from Senior CB?
"Also, Legend, although you are only acting, you are indeed exercising the powers of the Student Council President, so be mindful of your conduct. The year Mr. C.B. was in office was the worst year in the entire history of Tracen; you must not emulate her," Air Groove added.
It seems there is no hope. Gold Legend rapidly spun her rarely used genius brain.
Come to think of it, isn't Deep also an undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl? Legend suddenly thought.
Although it is a bit early now, that doesn't matter! Sister Luna should be able to serve as Student Council President for a long time, and by then Deep (Deep Impact) should have already enrolled.
Although I don't know if my existence will cause any butterfly effect, I can't worry about that anymore!
Deep, don't blame your Sister Legend for being heartless. For the sake of my freedom, once you enroll, I will train you personally!
Before that, I have to go get a Trainer certificate. By the way, can an Uma Musume be a Trainer? Legend fell into Deep thought.
"Your pen has stopped. What are you thinking about?" Air Groove, who had been quietly watching Legend, asked.
"Nothing, I was just wondering, can an Uma Musume become a Trainer?" Legend asked out loud.
"...Why are you asking this?"
"Just a little curious." Legend waved her hand awkwardly.
"Theoretically, it is possible for an Uma Musume to become a Trainer; it could even be considered the optimal solution."
"Theoretically? That means in reality, it doesn't happen, right?"
"There are some, but very few," Air Groove said while efficiently processing documents. "The position of Trainer requires more than just work capability. Most importantly, it requires empathy for the Uma Musume and, the ability to restrain the Uma Musume."
"Empathy and restraint?"
"Only by understanding the emotions of an Uma Musume can one better bring out their talents." Uma Musume are actually quite idealistic creatures. A smile appeared on the corner of Air Groove's mouth.
"So, is an Uma Musume Trainer the theoretical optimal solution?" After all, no one understands Uma Musume better than another Uma Musume.
"Yes, if you look at it from the first point," Air Groove suppressed her smile, returning to her usual demeanor. "But the second point is much more important than the first."
"Restraint of the Uma Musume, huh."
"Uma Musume are creatures whose emotions far outweigh their rationality. For an Uma Musume, the power of emotion is far greater than ordinary people imagine. By the same token, the danger is also much greater." In other words, Uma Musume are easily carried away.
"And the greatest function of a Trainer is to guide the emotions of the Uma Musume, to restrain their behavior, and to prevent them from causing huge, or even irreversible, harm to themselves due to impulse. When necessary, one must even be hard-hearted enough to deny their dreams."
Denying the dreams of an Uma Musume—what a cruel thing that is! And the reason most Uma Musume Trainers cannot take office is precisely because they cannot bring themselves to do such a cruel thing.
"So, Trainers are basically all humans?"
"Yes, the empathy of Uma Musume causes them to fail at the final hurdle," Air Groove shook her head.
"I see." Legend nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright, that's enough idle chatter. You still have many things unfinished and cannot rest yet, Acting President."
"..." Sister Kitasan Black, why are you starting to bray like a donkey too? Legend lowered her head miserably and continued processing the documents.
After a while, a knock on the door interrupted the silence of the Student Council.
"Come in..." Legend shouted listlessly. She now especially admired Symboli Rudolf, who could remain calm and composed while processing documents.
"Excuse me." Miss Hayakawa's iconic green clothing appeared before their eyes as the door opened.
"Oh?" Legend looked up, sensing something.
"Miss Hayakawa? What's the matter?" Air Groove stood up to greet her.
"It's like this. The Chairman heard that Gold Legend has taken on the position of Acting President and is very happy, so she decided to delegate more authority."
Miss Hayakawa calmly handed the stack of documents in her hand to Air Groove.
Gold Legend's eye twitched, and an ominous premonition welled up in her heart.
Air Groove took the documents and looked at them carefully.
"...These are tasks that the Chairman is responsible for reviewing, right?"
"Now they belong to the Student Council." Miss Hayakawa said without changing her expression.
"The Student Council can no longer handle any more work!" Air Groove said calmly, but one could tell from her trembling tail that she was not calm.
"It doesn't matter. Before the Student Council gets familiar with the work, I will assist the members of the Student Council in my capacity as Tracen Secretary General."
Upon hearing this, Legend raised an eyebrow and stared carefully at Hayakawa Tazuna's face.
She could feel the anger hidden beneath Miss Hayakawa's gentle exterior, and this anger was gradually turning into murderous intent.
...I hope the Chairman is okay afterward. Legend prayed silently in her heart.
"...I understand. I will go and arrange your seat now."
The Secretary had put it this way; what else could the Vice President say?
Requisitioning another Vice President's desk that was basically still brand new and arranging a comfortable chair, Hayakawa Tazuna sat down and began to help process the documents.
The Student Council became quiet again.
Ah, my hand is shaking! My heart hurts! Legend looked at the application for holding a Tracen gambling tournament in her hand with a twitching eye, unable to help but grit her teeth.
"Why can an application like this even end up on the Student Council's desk?" What is the auditing department doing? Oh, Tracen doesn't have that position? Then never mind.
No, I must strike back hard. It's already difficult enough to govern the Student Council with this bunch of pests (except Air Groove), and I still have to spend time dealing with this kind of unreliable nonsense?
If it goes on like this, I won't be able to last until Deep grows up! Or rather, at this rate, it's a question of whether I can even last until Sister Luna returns.
Reform, I must reform!
"Unfortunately, it's unlikely." This thought had just been spoken out loud when it was vetoed by the Vice President.
"Why?" Legend asked, puzzled.
"The power of the Student Council comes from these tasks," Air Groove said.
"Huh?"
"The volume of work determines the Student Council's power, the Student Council's power determines its say in Tracen, and the say in Tracen determines the status of the Student Council President in the japanese horse racing world."
"Where did this British-style democracy come from?" Legend retorted.
"In short, if you want to reduce the workload, it's unlikely. Although we don't mind, the people at the Japan Racing Association won't allow it."
"Why? Isn't a decline in the status of the Tracen Student Council President a good thing?"
"Then they'll have to face the pressure from the international horse racing world directly."
That bunch of losers wouldn't be able to handle it at all.
Miss Hayakawa remarked, her expression unreadable.
"Simply put, the japanese horse racing world needs a strong, capable leader to withstand the pressure from the international side. It used to be the Chairman, and now it's the Student Council President."
Air Groove Senior explained, also wearing an unreadable expression.
"So then they can just continue to leech off the system and hold their positions without doing any work with a clear conscience?" Legend understood. "Didn't they say they were reforming? Did that have no effect at all?"
"There are many compromises to be made in reform. In fact, it still hasn't finished even now."
You have some idea of what's going on in your heart.
Miss Hayakawa hinted.
"What about the President? What does she think?"
How can we revitalize the japanese horse racing world while being with this bunch of actual parasites?
"The President wants to change this place using a gentle approach."
At the very least, it can't get any worse than it is now.
"Damn it! I finally see it now. The japanese horse racing world is in such a terrible state because the root of the problem lies with the Horse Racing Association!" Gold Legend slumped back in her chair dejectedly. "Can't we find a way to impeach them?"
"It's difficult." Miss Hayakawa shook her head. "Everything else is fine. The race systems, events, publicity, and the Uma Musume are mostly in the hands of the Uma Musume, or rather, in our hands. The various heads of families don't mind contributing to the japanese horse racing world, but the core issue is the economy."
Most of the economic sources for Uma Musume races are in the hands of these people.
"...In other words, it's a money problem?"
Gold Legend grasped the main point.
"That's right. Why?"
"If the money problem is solved, will the Student Council's work be easier?"
"If there were sufficient funds, we could replace eighty percent of the current Japanese Horse Racing Association personnel and push for comprehensive reform," Hayakawa Tazuna said.
"At that point, the Student Council's workload would be reduced by at least ninety percent," Air Groove added.
"Then I have no more questions!" Legend took out her phone and sent a message.
"However, that's basically impossible. To completely replace those guys, the required scale would have to be at a conglomerate level. Nowadays, there aren't any conglomerates in Japan that focus on the horse racing field," Air Groove said worriedly.
"There is one now," Legend said.
"Huh?"
"Big trouble! Hayakawa, we've got big trouble!"
The Chairman's small feet kicked the Student Council's main door into several pieces, scattering them across the floor.
"What's wrong?" Hayakawa looked at the flustered Chairman in astonishment.
"Suddenly! The person in charge of that emerging conglomerate just called me, asking how much funding they would need to provide if they wanted to enter the field. That's the gist of it!"
The Chairman said concisely.
"..."
Hayakawa and Air Groove turned their heads to look at Gold Legend.
Gold Legend gave a thumbs up.
"How is it? Can you handle it?"
"Confused? Handle what?"
The Chairman tilted her head in a daze.
Miss Secretary and the Vice President exchanged a look.
"Yes, President."
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