Chapter 28. Symboli Rudolf's Flash of Inspiration
(I'm sorry to inform you, but these last chapters of the week kinda short on word count than the regular chapters)
Waking up the next morning, Shuta An rubbed his forehead lightly.
Last night in the Dream World, Uchimura Masanori had chatted with him for quite a long time before finally revealing his true intention. As Tokai Teio's Horse Owner, he hoped she would be able to secure excellent treatment and breeding resources after eventually entering the Shadai Stallion Station. However, because he was not especially familiar with the Yoshida Family of the Shadai Group, he hoped Shuta An could help put in a good word for her.
Regarding that request, Shuta An could only answer honestly. Although he indeed had a good relationship with the Yoshida Family, he could not interfere in their business decisions.
Uchimura Masanori was visibly disappointed after hearing that, but he did not continue pressing the matter.
Meanwhile, the young man silently kept his own thoughts to himself.
Even though the offspring of Sunday Silence were currently receiving overwhelming attention, that did not mean Tokai Teio would lack resources after entering Shadai in the future.
—
After washing up, Shuta An walked downstairs. The moment he glanced toward the dining room, surprise appeared on his face.
"Why is Suzuka the only one here?"
He poured himself a glass of water, sat down opposite the Uma Musume, and casually asked the question.
Silence Suzuka lifted her gaze, blinked once, and replied calmly, "Tonight is the celebration party. Berno took Oguri and Dober-chan out to buy supplies."
"I see~"
Shuta An nodded lightly.
"I still have work at the Academy today. After I finish, I'll bring Teio and the others over."
Silence Suzuka did not continue that topic. Instead, she asked another question.
"Did going to Australia this time give you any new impressions?"
The young man could clearly hear the rhythmic tapping of her toes beneath the table. Without thinking too much about it, he answered naturally:
"Although the season wasn't the same as last year, I don't feel there was much difference. If I had to say something… I still prefer the spring over there."
"Hmph hmph~"
Silence Suzuka hummed softly a few times, and the small restless movements of her feet finally stopped.
—
That day, Shuta An clocked in later than usual. By the time he arrived at the office, Kitahara had already begun working.
"Ann-san, shouldn't you treat us?" Kitahara recognized him immediately from the sound of his footsteps. Turning around with a grin, he teased, "You won two G1 races last week."
"No problem. Just not today."
Shuta An smiled while replying.
"Let's do it the day after tomorrow instead. I still have a lot to deal with these next two days."
"Then I'll seriously look forward to it."
Kitahara turned back toward his desk.
"Ann-san's heading back to the activity room again, huh? Must be nice having your own activity room. Right now, only Minamisaka and I still don't have one."
"With your team's accumulated points, Kitahara, you should already qualify to apply for an activity room, shouldn't you?"
Shuta An sounded genuinely surprised.
"You've never submitted an application?"
"I can apply whenever I want," Kitahara answered with a sigh, stopping his work for a moment. "But you know how many Uma Musume are in our team. If the activity room isn't large enough, it's honestly worse than having none at all."
"So I'm thinking of waiting a few more years until some of the girls retire before officially applying."
"I see."
Shuta An did not comment further. He understood his friend's reasoning perfectly well.
—
After returning to Team Sadalsuud's activity room, Shuta An sat down in his office chair and stretched his body slightly.
"It's been a while since I felt this busy."
Muttering quietly to himself, he lightly nudged the host computer's power button with his foot.
Today, he had absolutely no intention of slacking off after coming to the Academy.
The workload piled on him was far from small.
Evaluating local Uma Musume race performances, arranging training plans and reports for Team Sadalsuud members, preparing Tokai Teio's post-race examination tomorrow—
As a frontline Trainer, once things became hectic, Shuta An was considerably busier than ordinary staff members. And beyond that, there were countless miscellaneous matters constantly interrupting his work.
For example—
Just after finishing a training plan, his phone suddenly rang.
Shuta An glanced at the number. It was unfamiliar, but he still answered immediately.
"Hello, this is Team Sadalsuud. May I ask who's calling?"
"Shuta-kun, if you're free right now, could you come to the Student Council office for a moment?"
Maruzensky's voice came through from the other end.
"Alright." Shuta An agreed directly. "I'll head over now."
In any case, he had just completed his current work, so there was no need to worry about losing his train of thought midway.
—
After arriving at the Student Council office and sitting down on the sofa, the very first thing Shuta An did was complain to Symboli Rudolf.
"Why did Miss Rudolph ask Miss Maruzensky to call me instead? When I saw an unknown number, I hesitated for a moment before answering."
"My phone disappeared together with my card holder."
Symboli Rudolf awkwardly shifted her gaze away, her expression rare and slightly embarrassed.
Hearing such unfortunate news, Shuta An immediately stopped complaining.
Instead, he changed the topic.
"So you're not asking me to recommend a new phone, right? I'm not a salesperson."
"No. I already asked Air Groove to buy one for me."
Symboli Rudolf shook her head before continuing:
"Shuta-kun, do you still remember the proposal you mentioned in Australia?"
"The idea about establishing a new Twinkle Series race through a joint charity organization?"
Naturally, Shuta An remembered.
"But didn't Miss Rudolph say it would be difficult to implement in Central?"
"In Central, yes."
Symboli Rudolf raised an eyebrow slightly.
"But what if it's done locally instead? The Ohi URA Association seems very interested in the concept."
"The problem is that they can only host dirt races," Maruzensky added from the side.
"But with Ohi's race schedule, squeezing in a new race would still be difficult, wouldn't it?"
Shuta An frowned.
"And more importantly, if Ohi establishes the race, then it'll probably end up restricted mostly to local Uma Musume."
He shrugged lightly.
"With all due respect, the appeal of local Uma Musume isn't exactly enough."
"Appeal?"
Symboli Rudolf's ears perked up instantly, her eyes brightening.
"That's right."
"Since we're talking about appeal, why not make it part of the Dream Trophy Series instead?"
Shuta An paused briefly before smiling as well.
"Indeed. If it's attached to the Dream Trophy Series, the influence would immediately surpass the Twinkle Series."
"In that case, we definitely can't let Ohi take advantage of such a good opportunity."
Symboli Rudolf grinned faintly.
"After all, the president of the Ohi URA Association openly claimed at the banquet that their Ohi Racecourse deserved to be called the real Tokyo Racecourse."
"That's outright disrespect toward Central~"
Maruzensky's tone remained leisurely and elegant.
And Shuta An instantly understood where Symboli Rudolf's "grudge" was coming from.
One only needed to look at Symboli Rudolf's Twinkle Series schedule to realize it practically radiated the phrase:
"Revenge must absolutely be taken."
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