Chapter 120. Simulated Race
Because he drove carefully this time, Shuta An arrived at Central Tracen Academy about half an hour later than usual.
After clocking in at the office, he had originally planned to leave immediately and return to the activity room to see where the so-called "encounter chance" would appear. Unexpectedly, he ran into Kitahara-san, who was usually busy in the mornings writing up a lot of material, just as he was preparing to head out.
"Kitahara-san, are you going somewhere for work?" Shuta An asked.
"Yes. The Academy's holding a simulation race today. A lot of Uma Musume who don't have a team yet will be participating."
Kitahara-san paused, then seemed to realize something. He turned to look at Shuta An.
"Come to think of it, Ann-san, you haven't really watched many simulation races before, have you?"
"Only once or twice," Shuta An said with a shrug. "I haven't recruited any Uma Musume through those races either. After all, the members of Team Sadalsuud are chosen by fate."
"Then Ann-san's fate really is extraordinary," Kitahara-san muttered. Then he asked, "Do you want to come with me today?"
At first, Shuta An did not want to agree. But then a thought flashed through his mind.
Could the so-called encounter chance be at the simulation race?
So he nodded.
"Anyway, there's nothing to do if I go back to the activity room. I might as well go with Kitahara-san and watch for a while."
"If Ann-san is there, the Uma Musume taking part today will definitely be very excited," Kitahara-san said seriously.
And he was telling the truth.
The Sadalsuud team's door was always there, but for the Uma Musume at the Academy, it was not easy to gather the courage to knock and submit an application. After all, if they were rejected, it would almost mean they had been judged as lacking talent.
Very few were willing to take that kind of risk.
But simulation race day was different.
Last time Shuta An had come, he had not recruited anyone, but he had said he was too busy. That meant even if they were not chosen, it would not damage anyone's reputation.
On that day, Kitahara-san had even recruited two Uma Musume, one of whom had recently won back-to-back races after her debut, taking both her debut race and a G3 title. She looked like a promising candidate for next year's Classic season.
As the biggest recruitment channel for many trainers at Central Tracen Academy, simulation race day was naturally held at the First Training Ground.
Uma Musume who were not participating in training today, regardless of their level, would dutifully go elsewhere.
But it was also common for curious Uma Musume to gather around the First Training Ground, eager to see how the applicants would perform.
Although Team Sadalsuud had never recruited anyone on simulation race day, in recent years, almost all the G1-winning Uma Musume in the Twinkle Series, apart from the Sadalsuud members and Silence Suzuka, had first made their mark here.
The same was true of the Rigil team.
So every simulation race day drew a huge crowd of curious Uma Musume, all packed around the First Training Ground in layers.
Walking through the Academy's secured passage, Shuta An followed behind Kitahara-san and looked around with some curiosity.
"Last time I came, there weren't this many Uma Musume watching."
"Maybe there's a promising new star today," Kitahara-san guessed. He came to every simulation race day, so he naturally had a few theories of his own.
"A promising star?" Shuta An raised an eyebrow. "Then I hope she doesn't disappoint us."
"Speak for yourself," Kitahara-san grumbled. "I'm not as picky as you are, Ann-san."
Still, he understood.
If that hypothetical "promising star" was actually someone his friend approved of, then she would no doubt become a real talent immediately — the same kind of treatment Tokai Teio had once received.
Kitahara-san could only hope that Shuta An would merely appreciate her from a distance and not try to recruit her.
After all, he had said earlier that he was too busy. That probably meant he wouldn't be adding any more Uma Musume to his team.
When they entered the training ground, they could see a large number of Uma Musume warming up in the center.
"It looks like there are more participants this time than last time," Kitahara-san said.
"That's natural," said Minamisaka, who happened to pass by and was just about to greet them. "This is the first simulation race the Academy has held since Tokai Teio won the Triple Crown. A lot of newly enrolled girls have been inspired and signed up."
"Then the overall level of the race might be a little lower," Kitahara-san said, his expression darkening slightly. "With so many newly enrolled junior division girls participating, it's hard to judge their true ability."
A girl who seems brilliant when young does not necessarily stay brilliant forever. That was not unusual at all among Uma Musume.
Trainers like Kitahara tended to prefer girls who entered the middle school division and had already shown clear signs of strong potential. At that stage, at least, the chances of that potential becoming real were much higher.
The downside was obvious: most truly exceptional talents already had teams.
So while Kitahara and Minamisaka looked disappointed, Shuta An remained unconcerned.
He was only here for the encounter chance.
If he did not run into Admire Vega today, then this simulation race day would mean nothing more to him than a way to pass the time.
But Shuta An's indifference did not mean the Uma Musume preparing to race were indifferent as well.
The moment the first girl finishing her warm-up noticed Shuta An arriving at the First Training Ground, the news spread through the entire field almost instantly.
"If I perform well today, maybe I can join Team Sadalsuud as a junior under Teio-senpai?"
"We have to seize this chance! Even if we can't join Team Sadalsuud, getting a good evaluation from Trainer Shuta would still help our future!"
"Joining Team Sadalsuud is too hard. Last time he came, not a single girl got an invitation."
As the chatter spread around them, a small elementary-school-aged Uma Musume with a childish face continued her warm-up with a cool expression.
She did not care.
Even if the student council president were here today, she had no intention of accepting any trainer's invitation.
"If my roommate hadn't signed me up, I wouldn't have come at all," she thought irritably.
She had tried to refuse, but when her roommate had made that face and pleaded with her, she simply could not say no.
And she knew exactly why.
Because if her sister were still here, maybe she would have looked at her the same way.