Chapter 91. Symboli Rudolf Approval
While Nishizaki Ryu and Tojo Hana were each busy preparing for the Arima Kinen, Shuta—whose team had no Uma Musume participating in this year's race—spent his days idling at Central Tracen Academy.
He clocked in on time every morning, wrote routine training reports, and occasionally went to observe Tokai Teio and Kurofune during their training sessions. Shuta An had already designed a strength-training program specifically for Kurofune.
After all, if the goal was to compete in dirt races in Japan, physical strength was indispensable.
Even so, the young man had no intention of letting Kurofune focus exclusively on strength training. Every day, he still arranged for her to train together with Tokai Teio.
As for Mejiro Dober, Shuta had not yet assigned her a formal training plan. For the time being, she continued with low-intensity recovery training.
Once the morning training session ended, Shuta would usually head to the staff cafeteria for lunch with Kitahara.
Kitahara had already discussed matters with Hayate Fubuki and decided to give up on the Tokyo Daishoten, instead setting their sights on the February Stakes. That meant Hayate Fubuki would have nothing to do for more than a month. As a result, Kitahara simply gave the Uma Musume on his team a month-long vacation.
Now he was even more idle than Shuta An.
Originally, Shuta had assumed that he too would simply keep clocking in every day and wasting time until the beginning of next year.
However, after finishing lunch with Kitahara and walking back to his office, he suddenly received a LINE message from Mejiro Dober.
"Trainer! Can you accompany me to the Tokyo International Exhibition Center on the 29th of this month?"
"ComicMarket?" Shuta An immediately guessed the reason for the invitation.
"Just the two of us, or should we invite Agnes Digital as well?"
"I've already made plans with Digital," Mejiro Dober replied. "But I felt really comfortable going with Trainer last time, so I wanted to invite you again."
"The 29th…" Shuta An pondered for a moment. "Good thing Suzuka's discharge date is the 30th. Otherwise I really couldn't accept."
After carefully checking his schedule, the young man finally replied:
"No problem. Just send me the meeting time and place on LINE once you've decided."
"Mm-hm!" Mejiro Dober responded, even attaching a particularly cute emoji.
—
On the Tuesday one week before the Arima Kinen, Miss Grace contacted Shuta An and sent him two demo tracks.
"That fast?" The young man was genuinely surprised. "It hasn't even been half a month, has it? And the demos are already done?"
As far as he knew, composing a song usually took far longer than half a month.
"Actually…it's not just the demos," Miss Grace replied.
"Mr. YOSHIKI has already completed the lyrics as well. Once the boss approves them, we can begin preparing for recording."
"Oh! that's even faster than when I write opponent analyses for Nishizaki Ryu and the others."
Shuta An raised an eyebrow and downloaded the demos from his email.
However, instead of listening immediately, he forwarded them separately to Silence Suzuka and Mejiro Dober, briefly explaining the situation. He intended to hear the two Uma Musume's opinions first.
By evening, both Silence Suzuka and Mejiro Dober had responded positively.
"Then I have no objections," Shuta An nodded.
After confirming that Miss Grace should be awake by now, he sent his reply.
"So regarding the recording—will it be done in Los Angeles, or somewhere else?"
When Miss Grace asked this question, she already had an answer in mind. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to fly all the way to Los Angeles just to record a single song.
Shuta An's response matched her expectation perfectly.
"Of course, we'll record in Tokyo. Please help book a recording studio here as well, Miss Grace. Let's aim for early January next year."
"Understood!" Miss Grace replied immediately. "I will contact Sony Music right away!"
In fact, the individual singles produced by the URA Association for Uma Musume were also released through various Japanese record companies.
Oguri Cap's first solo single had been handled by JVC Victor Entertainment. This time, however, since Sony Music's connections had been used to invite a national-level musician like YOSHIKI to produce the songs for Silence Suzuka and Mejiro Dober, it was only natural that the singles would be released through Sony Music.
Before this, Shuta An had also given the demo tracks to Symboli Rudolf.
"The Emperor" didn't bother reading the accompanying information; she simply listened to both songs once.
"Very good," she said after a moment. "But…isn't the atmosphere of both songs a little too melancholic?"
"Silence Suzuka and Mejiro Dober both think they're very suitable," Shuta An replied calmly.
That single sentence effectively ended the discussion.
"Very well. Then I have no objections," Symboli Rudolf said. "I'll have the URA Association begin preparing promotional work."
She clearly understood why Shuta An had come to see her.
"Not so fast," Shuta An waved his hand. "The recording won't happen until early January. Considering Suzuka and Dober's singing ability, it'll probably take until mid-January to finish recording."
"As Uma Musume, none of them sing poorly," Symboli Rudolf reminded him.
"They sound good because their voices are naturally sweet," Shuta An shrugged. "But in recording, it's not just about the tone."
"In any case, this commission cost quite a lot of money. Naturally, I want them to polish the songs to a higher level of completion."
"Cost quite a lot?" Symboli Rudolf frowned.
She lowered her head and skimmed through the documents. Then she saw the name of the lyricist and composer.
"YOSHIKI?!"
For a moment, her voice rose in pitch.
"How did you even find him? Didn't he announce his retirement? I remember reading in the newspaper that his mental state deteriorated after the death of a close friend."
"Through Sony Music's connections," Shuta An replied. "I don't know how they convinced him—or how much it cost. And frankly, I don't care."
He spread his hands slightly.
"The important thing is that Suzuka and Dober both really like the songs. And since Sony Music's connections were used, the singles will also be released through them. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"If the URA Association had produced them, they would definitely have gone to JVC Victor Entertainment," Symboli Rudolf said, tapping lightly on her desk.
"But since Shuta-kun produced them personally this time, even if the URA Association objects, we can use that reason to shut them down."
"In any case—leave it to me."
"Then I'll trouble Miss Rudolf," Shuta An said with a slight bow.
"No trouble at all," Symboli Rudolf replied with a faint smile.
Her narrowed eyes remained fixed on the man standing before her.
"If Teio ever releases a solo single in the future, I sincerely hope Shuta-kun will give her the same treatment."
"Naturally," Shuta An answered without hesitation.
In the Dream World, after the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Shuta An also rode in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. He partnered Yamanin Miracle and finished second, losing to the favorite Mihono Bourbon by half a head—a result that left him with some lingering regret.
Still, he didn't dwell on it.
After all, Yamanin Miracle's primary jockey wasn't him. Shuta An had only stepped in as a temporary substitute. Besides, judging from Mihono Bourbon's pedigree, it didn't look like a horse that would run the Classic Triple Tiara route next year.
For Shuta An, the real focus remained next year's Classic races.
"Shadai doesn't seem to have any horses capable of competing seriously on the Classic Triple Crown circuit either," he muttered to himself. "Looks like I'll have to ride more prep races and find a suitable partner myself."
Today, in the Dream World, he was scheduled to ride Disco Hall in the TV Tokyo Two-Year-Old Filly Stakes.
A G3 race—1600 meters on turf at Nakayama Racecourse.
"You just ran the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies two weeks ago, and now you're running again," Shuta An said as he sat in the saddle, patting Disco Hall lightly on the back of her neck.
"But I still need to help you win a graded race. It'll make things easier for you when you retire to the breeding farm later."
For this race, Disco Hall's trainer, Yamauchi Kenji, had handed the tactical decisions entirely to Shuta An.
Shuta An didn't complicate things.
He simply pushed DiscoHall into second position, pressing the front-runner from close behind.
When they entered the final turn, Shuta An suddenly grew far more aggressive.
The whip came down in a relentless windmill motion, driving Disco Hall forward again and again. Monte Come On, who had been trying to close the gap from behind, was forced back.
Two lengths.
That was the margin when DiscoHall crossed the finish line.
After the race, as they returned to the underground passage and Shuta An dismounted, he spoke to Yamauchi Kenji.
"Yamauchi-sensei. I've done my part for Disco Hall."
Yamauchi Kenji immediately understood the implication behind those words. He nodded repeatedly.
"I'll speak with Mr. Yoshida. He also said he would try his best to find you a suitable partner for the Classic races."
Shuta An shook his head slowly.
"I want to make a breakthrough in the Triple Tiara. After all…I've already completed the undefeated Classic Triple Crown."
"And besides…" His eyes hardened slightly. "I still have a score to settle."
"That Nishiyama fellow—" Yamauchi Kenji muttered quietly. He didn't know Shigeyuki Nishiyama personally, but he instinctively sided with Shuta An.
"Shuta-kun, don't pay too much attention to him."
Shuta An clenched his fist.
"I have to defeat his Racehorse. On a grand stage."
"Once."
"Twice."
"Again and again."
"I really dislike this kind of baseless malice aimed at me."
"There will be opportunities," Yamauchi Kenji said firmly. "There will definitely be opportunities."
—
The next morning, Shuta An woke up early.
After breakfast, he drove Oguri Cap and Berno Light to Central Tracen Academy, picked up Tokai Teio, Mejiro Dober, and Kurofune, and headed for Nakayama Racecourse to watch the Arima Kinen.
"The last G1 race of the year," Tokai Teio said with a sigh. "Too bad our team doesn't have anyone running this time. Oguri-senpai even achieved three consecutive wins in the Arima Kinen. She probably understands this track better than anyone."
Oguri Cap quickly waved her hands.
"I'm not the one most familiar with it. Ann is."
"Oh—right." Tokai Teio immediately caught on.
Shuta An kept his eyes on the road while speaking calmly.
"The 2500-meter course at Nakayama Racecourse—in the future, the only one on our team I might send to the Arima Kinen is probably Teio."
"As for Dober—" he added casually, "personally, I think the distance might be a little too long for you. If you want to try, we could enter next year."
"No," Mejiro Dober replied immediately. "I'll just follow Trainer's arrangement. I trust Trainer's judgment. I don't want to add unnecessary losses to my record."
Kurofune blinked.
"What about me? Is it because I run on dirt that the Arima Kinen isn't even considered?"
"Not necessarily," Shuta An said, waving a hand.
"But your distance range is probably even shorter than Dober's."
"So my judgment is that you should focus on races between 1600 and 2000 meters."
Kurofune pursed her lips.
"So races like the Japan Cup are out of the question too…right?"
Shuta An raised an eyebrow.
"Most major dirt races overseas fall within that distance range. And if we're talking about prize money—the Dubai World Cup actually offers more than the Japan Cup."
That single sentence instantly lifted Kurofune's mood.
"Exactly!" And I'm the only Uma Musume on Team Sadalsuud running the dirt Twinkle Series. Every result I achieve is a brand-new step for our team!"
"In Japan, there are very few dirt G1 races," Tokai Teio added with a shrug. "Most Uma Musume at the academy only switch to dirt if they really can't survive on turf."
"I get it," Kurofune said, sticking out her tongue. "Dirt races make your clothes dirty, and you look like a mess after running."
"But I don't mind. I just want results. And in the entire academy, I know my Trainer can help me achieve them."
—
When the group arrived at Nakayama Racecourse, Oguri Cap waited for Shuta An to finish parking before asking:
"We probably can't get into the VIP seats today, right?"
"Who said that?"
A faint smile appeared on Shuta An's lips.
"I borrowed a VIP box from Nishizaki-kun of Team Spica."
"He plans to watch the race from the VIP section in the grandstand with his team, so we'll use the box."
"You can even get a VIP box like that?" Tokai Teio blinked in surprise. "How did Trainer manage that?"
"I helped Nishizaki-kun with something before," Shuta An replied casually.
He didn't elaborate.
If Tojo Hana found out about it, today's Arima Kinen would lose half its entertainment value.
Meanwhile, Berno—who knew exactly what Shuta An had helped with—was practically biting her lip to keep from laughing. Just imagining what might happen between Special Week and Grass Wonder on the Nakayama track later this afternoon was already making her want to burst out laughing.
"Come on," Shuta An said as he stepped forward. "The first race exhibition is about to start."
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