Chapter 132. Tojo Hana's Headache
After Miss Mejiro Dober and Shuta An exchanged brief pleasantries with their rivals, they each went to meet the reporters for interviews.
"The usual rules," Shuta An said, raising one index finger in the interview area. "One question per person. You know the drill."
The first to speak was a local reporter.
"Congratulations, Mr. Shuta, on winning this year's Hong Kong Cup. This isn't the first time you've won this race. How does this year feel compare to previous ones?"
Shuta An gave a faint smile.
"The Hong Kong Cup is a high-level race with a very strong international reputation. Every time I win it, I feel deeply honored and proud. If the opportunity comes up in the future, other Uma Musume from my Team Sadalsuud will also come here to challenge the Hong Kong Cup."
"We noticed Mr. Shuta was already chatting with other Trainers before Miss Mejiro Dober crossed the finish line. Could you tell us what you were discussing?"
That question made Shuta An pause for a moment.
"We were just talking about some casual things," the young man said with a grin. "For example, Trainer Neil Drysdale sincerely invited the Uma Musume I train to take part in dirt races in the United States. I don't have that idea for now, but maybe in the future we really will go. Of course, it definitely won't be Tokai Teio and Mejiro Dober going to challenge."
"Does that mean there's an Uma Musume in Team Sadalsuud who will be aiming for US Twinkle Series in the future?"
Shuta An pressed his right index finger to his lips.
"That's not something to talk about right now, is it? Next."
"Which race is Mejiro Dober's next target?"
The young man raised an eyebrow.
"It's a bit early to talk about that now. I don't have a draft plan yet, and I need to discuss it with Dober. Personally, I'm leaning toward choosing a G1 race before May. I'll decide carefully after next week's Arima Kinen."
"We'd like to know whether this year's Undefeated Triple Crown, Miss Tokai Teio, might come to Hong Kong to race in the future."
This time, the question came from another local reporter.
Shuta An spread his hands.
"The Hong Kong International Races are certainly worth challenging. But as you know, the timing conflicts with both the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen, so I think the possibility is small. After all, for an Undefeated Triple Crown, the Japan Cup and Arima Kinen are both very important races."
After the interview ended, Shuta An went to the underground passage. Mejiro Dober was also about to finish her own interview.
While waiting for her to return, he took out his phone and replied to congratulatory messages from his friends.
The funniest part was that Kitahara, who was clearly still in the box, was also sending him congratulations on Line.
"Tell Tojo that tonight we're going to Lei Garden nearby. My treat. Consider it a celebration," Shuta An typed, adding, "This time, all of us got satisfactory results."
As for the return time, everyone had already agreed to depart tomorrow afternoon, so there was nothing else to discuss. The three Trainers had already confirmed that before coming to Hong Kong.
"No problem!" Kitahara didn't know what kind of food they would eat, but he assumed it would be delicious and immediately agreed.
Tojo Hana nodded as well.
"Miss Mejiro Dober won by another three lengths, so it's only right for Shuta-kun to treat us. Air Groove already gets a headache just thinking about the potential new G1 next year."
"Ah haha..." Kitahara gave a dry laugh, but inwardly he was full of suspicion.
"What new G1? How come I haven't heard anything? Tojo's reaction makes it sound like it's already confirmed. What's going on? Am I the only one who doesn't know? Does Ann-san know?"
His thoughts raced, and he decided to ask about it at dinner that night.
"Cheers!"
The six of them raised their glasses, filled with juice or low-alcohol drinks.
Shuta An held Dober's hand under the table with his left hand and said,
"This time's results were all within expectations, and we all earned prize money. Overall, it's definitely a profit."
"Indeed," Kikousazan nodded repeatedly. "Compared with staying in Japan to run G2 and G3 races, getting third place this time makes me very happy."
Sabuno Hana Park nodded silently.
Although she had not earned much prize money, after this Hong Kong Sprint she felt she would be able to perform better in Japan's major short-distance races next year.
"Um, Ann-san," Kitahara said, remembering the question he had had in the afternoon. "Is Japan going to set up a new G1 next year?"
"Eh?"
The ears of the Uma Musume at the table, except for Tojo Hana, immediately perked up.
"Yes. A new G1 major race, a 1600-meter Turf Classic, will be established at Tokyo Racecourse in the first half of next year, exclusively for Triple Tiara Series Uma Musume," Shuta An said, pointing to himself. "Incidentally, I was the one who proposed that G1."
When "1600-meter Turf Classic" was mentioned, Kikousazan became excited, thinking she might have a chance. But when she heard the rest, her ears drooped.
Unfortunately, she only held a victory in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, so she was not eligible for this newly created G1.
Sabuno Hana Park, on the other hand, had no thoughts at all when she heard "1600." She only wanted to focus on short-distance races now.
Tojo Hana had already been surprised. Air Groove's frustration was related to this as well.
For this 1600-meter Triple Tiara-only G1, neither Mejiro Dober nor Air Groove could avoid the battle.
But Air Groove also truly felt that it would be difficult for her to challenge Mejiro Dober.
A certain bald European football coach once wrote in his book that "a head coach only spends 30% of his energy on football, and the rest is spent elsewhere."
Although Tojo Hana had not read that book, she felt that the same was true for Uma Musume Trainers. The most troublesome parts of Team Rigil were always outside training.
It was not just Air Groove's fear of Mejiro Dober, but also the various personal matters of the other Uma Musume.
"Sigh..."
Tojo Hana could not help sighing as she thought of one of them.
"What's wrong?" Kitahara noticed her expression and asked.
"Nothing. I just suddenly thought of T.M. Opera O from our team,"
Tojo Hana said, pressing her forehead.
"That child still needs time before she fully matures, but her personality feels very restless, and I'm a little worried whether she'll be able to race properly in the future."
"Haha, Admire Vega, who I just recruited into the team, has a very melancholic personality instead. I even wish she could be a bit livelier,"
Shuta An said with a smile, taking over the conversation.
This was the first time Tojo Hana had heard the name Admire Vega from Shuta An.
At that moment, she had no idea what that name would mean to her and to T.M. Opera O.
—
After returning to the hotel, Mejiro Dober pushed Shuta An into his room and then closed the door.
"Don't come out yet!"
Hearing his lover's order, Shuta An simply sat on the bed, took out his phone to browse the news, and waited to see what Mejiro Dober was going to do.
"For the local media, even Dober winning an overseas G1 isn't being reported with the same enthusiasm anymore," the young man muttered. "They've really been spoiled, haven't they? They wouldn't think winning an overseas G1 is easy, would they?"
"No," he immediately denied his own guess. "They probably just think it's relatively easy for Uma Musume from Team Sadalsuud to win overseas G1 races."
Shuta An strongly disliked that way of thinking.
He did not want that kind of inertia to gradually become pressure on Team Sadalsuud's Uma Musume.
Races are not 100 percent winnable. A small accident can change the outcome drastically. Excessively high expectations always make Uma Musume nervous, and can even genuinely affect their performance.
But as he thought that, Shuta An suddenly thought of Teio.
If he had to choose the Uma Musume in Team Sadalsuud most likely to encounter that kind of situation, it would definitely be Tokai Teio.
He had even already thought of which race it would happen in: naturally, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
In reality, the timeline of the Dream World was different. In the real world, after El Condor Pasa was caught near the finish line by Montjeu and painfully finished second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, all of Central Tracen Academy—not to mention all Japanese Twinkle Series fans and industry insiders—became fixated on that race.
Even Shuta An himself, who had long considered sending his trained Uma Musume to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, became even more eager to fulfill that expectation after El Condor Pasa's failed attempt.
And now, Shuta An felt Tokai Teio had a very good chance of doing it.
After all, in the Dream World, he had already successfully achieved this with that world's Tokai Teio.
It was a pity that Japan in the Dream World had not experienced El Condor Pasa's heartbreak. Otherwise, Shuta An was sure that his and Tokai Teio's reputation there would have instantly reached the ceiling.
"So... if it were Teio, what kind of reaction would she have?"
Thinking of that, he quickly opened Line and asked Tokai Teio:
"Teio, what do you think it would feel like to carry the expectations of all Japanese Twinkle Series fans and challenge an extremely difficult race?"
Tokai Teio almost immediately showed "Read," then hesitated for a long time before replying:
"Is Trainer registering me for some race?"
Seeing her Trainer's question, she could not help asking back.
Facing Tokai Teio's question, the young man calmly explained:
"No, I just suddenly thought of this question and was curious about Teio's opinion."
"As for me—I guess it doesn't really matter,"
Tokai Teio thought for a moment and gave her honest answer.
"Trainer, you should know me. Fans' expectations have never been pressure for me, only motivation. If I have to carry everyone's expectations in this country to race—"
Tokai Teio thought for a moment, then sent a voice message instead of typing.
The young man played the message, and Tokai Teio's serious voice came through the phone:
"I am willing to burn everything I have to achieve a performance beyond my limits."
"That's why she's Teio—"
Shuta An closed his eyes, played the voice message again, and could not help but sigh.
He knew he did not need to worry about Tokai Teio.
As for Rice Shower, who would definitely be racing abroad in the future, Shuta An knew she would not have the same chance as Tokai Teio to become the chosen protagonist of several generations, so there was naturally no need to worry about such a difficult problem arising.
"Otherwise, with Rice Shower's performance, her mental resilience would be hard-pressed to withstand too much pressure."
Unlike Tokai Teio, Shuta An knew that for Rice Shower, he still needed to use the same approach as with most Uma Musume: reduce pre-race pressure as much as possible.
Uma Musume like Tokai Teio, who are happy to embrace more pressure, are too rare. Even so, Shuta An doubted he could bring himself to deliberately increase Tokai Teio's pressure before a race.
While the young man was lost in thought, Mejiro Dober's voice came from outside the door.
"May I come in?"
Before he could answer, this year's Hong Kong Cup champion had already carefully pushed the door open a crack, peeking her head in.
Looking toward the voice, Shuta An noticed Mejiro Dober wearing a Christmas hat, with her two ears poking out through holes at the lower edge of the hat.
Although he could not see the full outfit, he could already imagine it completely.
Noticing her lover staring at her, Mejiro Dober's cheeks flushed, and the courage Ardan had given her a few days ago seemed about to vanish again.
Seeing her hesitating at the door, Shuta An simply stood up and pulled her into his arms.
"Oh!"
Mejiro Dober let out a soft cry as she fell into his embrace.
At last, he could see her outfit clearly. To be honest, Shuta An had originally thought it would be something rather revealing, based on her reaction. But aside from a hint of cleavage visible from his angle, the outfit was actually quite modest: a shawl, and then a Christmas-style long bustier dress with a belt.
What he cared about most were the short silk evening gloves she wore. To be honest, he really liked little accessories like that.
Holding Mejiro Dober in his arms, the young man slowly moved to the bedside and leaned back, so that Mejiro Dober ended up lying on top of him.
She was already very familiar with this position. She quickly adjusted herself and said softly,
"Although Christmas is still more than a week away, I want to wish Ann a Merry Christmas in advance."
"So my Christmas gift is Dober, then?"
Shuta An was about to continue teasing the lover in his arms, but Mejiro Dober suddenly pecked him hard.