Although Kitasan Black wasn't entirely willing to transfer schools, she didn't want to disappoint her parents, so she came to Uma Musume Development Elementary School anyway. Unlike her previous school close to home in the countryside, this one was in a distant big city—and it was a boarding school, no less.
She hadn't even officially entered yet, but walls of prejudice had already been built in her heart. She was convinced she wouldn't last long here.
(A month at most. No, maybe just a week.)
With that thought, a cute smile spread across Kitasan Black's face.
Her old man had no idea what she was scheming. Seeing the happy expression on his daughter's face, he assumed Kita-chan was looking forward to her upcoming school life.
(I knew it. Kita-chan really does dream of becoming an uma musume after all. I really need to thank Osamu for this.)
After parking the car, her father walked with Kita-chan to the school gates and presented their documentation to the guard.
Looking at the uma musume before him, her father couldn't help but marvel internally. As expected of an elite school—even the guards are uma musume.
"Mr. Kitakami Saburo and his daughter, Miss Kitasan Black, correct?"
"That's right."
After verifying the documents and receiving confirmation, the uma musume spoke: "Hello, Mr. Kitakami. I'll be Miss Kitakami's guidance counselor from now on."
Kitakami Saburo hadn't expected the 'guard' to actually be a teacher and immediately felt embarrassed about his earlier assumption.
"So you're a teacher... I didn't expect you to be waiting here. Thank you for your hard work."
"It's all part of my duties. Now then, please allow me to give you a tour of the academy."
"Of course."
Although it seemed a bit unusual for a teacher to go this far, neither father nor daughter knew if this was simply the school's tradition, so they followed along with her arrangements.
During the campus tour, the Kitakami family learned about the teacher's background. She was indeed a retired uma musume—a Graded Stakes-level competitor who had fallen just short of becoming a GI uma musume.
Even so, neither Kitasan Black nor her father recognized her.
After all, only GI uma musume could leave their names in history. Those who couldn't achieve that rank were usually forgotten completely after retirement—and even some GI uma musume weren't necessarily remembered.
With so many uma musume in the world and so many races, leaving your mark on history was incredibly difficult.
While Uma Musume Development Elementary couldn't match Central Tracen Academy in scale, its training facilities and resource allocation actually surpassed many regional Tracen academies.
Just one glance at the training track told Kitasan Black this school wasn't all talk.
(The track conditions are excellent. They must do a lot of running practice, and the maintenance is clearly frequent.)
This was something many regional Tracen academies couldn't achieve.
Some regional academies couldn't even provide a proper turf track. Daily track maintenance and renovation costs were simply too high, and without producing results, regional academies couldn't secure the funding.
The school also had an independent swimming pool and gym. All the necessary facilities were present, and while smaller than Central Tracen Academy, it far surpassed what regional academies could offer.
By the end of the tour, Kitasan Black had seen enough.
This academy truly lived up to its reputation as a school for young ladies and elites—all the facilities and equipment were state-of-the-art.
If the entrance requirements weren't so impossibly high, every young uma musume would want to study here.
But if you were a late-bloomer type without family connections, getting in was basically impossible.
In some ways, the Development Elementary School's entrance requirements were even more demanding than Central Tracen Academy's, and far less fair than Central Tracen's entrance exams. After all, she—someone who had been rejected in the examination—had managed to transfer in through the Satomi family's connections.
That would never happen at Central Tracen Academy.
For Tracen Academy, failing meant failing. No amount of connections could get you in.
Clearly, this place operated on a complete elite system.
They looked at talent, bloodline, background—which was why most uma musume who came out of here were exceptional.
Yet even with such an educational philosophy, not every graduating class produced GI uma musume. Sometimes, an entire cohort would graduate without a single one.
Surprising?
No.
In fact, this was quite common.
Every year in Japan, at least a hundred thousand uma musume entered the profession, but only dozens—or fewer—would rise to become GI uma musume. The world of uma musume was cruel. Behind all that glory lay countless blood, sweat, and quiet departures.
(So this is the world of uma musume...)
Kitasan Black truly couldn't understand why uma musume would rather burn themselves out than avoid entering such a cruel world. With an uma musume's physical capabilities, they could excel in any other industry without becoming uma musume.
But in this world, there wasn't a single uma musume who didn't aspire to race. She even knew of some who had given everything but never even made their debut before fading away. That was simply too heavy to bear.
Looking up from below, Kitasan Black increasingly felt that becoming an uma musume was something heavy.
This was something she couldn't see in her senpais' memories.
Because those senpais of hers didn't care about such things. Perhaps only Teio-senpai paid attention to those below.
But Teio-senpai had the resolve and confidence to shoulder that weight. She was like an undying sun, illuminating that world.
But as for herself...
Kitasan Black truly didn't have the confidence to carry all of this.
(I just want to become an uma musume to make money!)
Kitasan Black had never once thought about becoming a star.
She wasn't "Kita-chan." She was just an ordinary, vulgar person.
"This is the dormitory building. From now on, you'll be living here with your classmates."
Finally, the teacher brought the Kitakami family to the dormitory.
However, her father had to stop here—as a man, he couldn't enter the girls' dormitory.
"Miss Kitakami, please follow me. I'll take you to your room."
Arriving at the far end of the second floor, the teacher knocked on the door. Hearing no response, she used a spare key to open it.
"Your roommate doesn't seem to be back yet. Please note her name—it's below the room number."
The teacher pointed to the name beneath the room number.
Kitasan Black looked over and, unsurprisingly, saw Satono Diamond's name. When she'd heard that the dormitory assignments here were the same as at Tracen Academy, she'd had a feeling about this—but she hadn't expected it to really be the young lady.
"Your luggage has already been delivered. You can ask the dormitory manager to help you organize it later. Don't try to do everything by yourself, understand?" The teacher reminded her seriously.
There had been shy, stubborn children before who were too embarrassed to ask adults for help, resulting in spending the entire night unable to finish organizing—not only losing sleep themselves but inconveniencing their roommates too. So now, teachers made a point of mentioning this to all new students.
"Understood."
Kitasan Black had never planned to organize her luggage by herself anyway. Even if the teacher hadn't mentioned it, she would have asked her father to call for the cleaning staff later. While her family didn't have much power or influence, their financial situation was quite comfortable.
"This is your bed. You can use this desk and wardrobe too. Uniforms and training clothes are already prepared in the wardrobe, and your textbooks are on the desk. Don't forget to wear your uniform and bring your textbooks to class."
"Got it."
Looking at the mountain of textbooks on the desk, Kitasan Black immediately felt her future suffering was guaranteed.
The teacher took note of Kitasan Black's reaction. Her current assessment: an obedient child who lacked drive. As for whether Kitasan Black actually had talent—that would only become clear once proper training began.
Regarding Kitasan Black's previous exam failure, those results could be referenced but not fully trusted. An uma musume's talent before reaching Maturity was always unstable, and teachers misjudging potential wasn't uncommon.
So the teachers here generally didn't doubt any student's talent, even those who had gotten in through connections.
An uma musume's talent held infinite possibilities before Maturity. Only in actual races could you catch a glimpse of it.
"Let's head out now. We shouldn't keep Mr. Kitakami waiting."
After showing Kitasan Black around the dormitory, the teacher led her back to the building entrance.
Her old man leaned close to Kita-chan's ear and whispered, "How is it?"
He figured it couldn't be bad, but he hadn't seen inside himself, and what mattered most was Kita-chan's own opinion.
"Haha... It's okay, I guess."
Kitasan Black's smile was a bit forced. The dormitory itself was fine—it was the sheer number of textbooks that was terrifying.
If it weren't too embarrassing to leave now, she would have already wanted to back out.
That was just the academic textbooks. Who knew how horrifying physical education would be.
This place was hell.
Although her father could tell Kita-chan seemed a bit dispirited, he knew her personality well. If she really couldn't handle it, Kita-chan would never force herself to endure. After all, she was so precociously mature that she didn't seem like a child at all.
"That concludes our tour of the campus. Next is the meeting with the principal. Mr. Kitakami, are you certain you want to entrust your daughter to our school?"
"Yes, I have no objections."
(You don't, but I do!)
Kitasan Black thought for a moment and ultimately just sighed.
Her father and mother both loved her very much. Even if just to make them happy, she needed to stick it out for a while.
(Old man, you really didn't need to send me to a place like this.)
Her father's current wish was simply to see her become a GI uma musume.
She wasn't bragging—that would be effortless for her.
After meeting with the principal, Kitasan Black officially completed her enrollment.
The teacher also took her to the cafeteria to introduce her to the staff there. After all, eating was an important matter for uma musume.
Kitasan Black could sense that her teacher seemed to be giving her special attention. She didn't know why.
Shouldn't a student who got in through the back door be looked down upon instead?
During the meal, the teacher spoke to her earnestly: "Miss Kitakami, you should treasure this hard-won opportunity. I don't know what Mr. Kitakami had to sacrifice to get you in here, but for you, this might be a chance to change your destiny. If you truly want to walk the path of an uma musume, you must seize every opportunity!"
Without noble bloodlines or exceptional family background—for a grass-roots uma musume to achieve her dreams on this path was incredibly difficult. That's why she had to seize every chance and possibility, betting everything she had!
(So that's how it is...)
Kitasan Black could see regret and unwillingness in the teacher's eyes.
Not becoming a GI uma musume before retiring must have been a deep regret for her.
And if she wasn't mistaken, the teacher probably wasn't from a prestigious family either, which was why she was giving her special attention.
(So heavy...)
Kitasan Black suddenly found the food in her hands no longer appealing.
Unlike her senpais, so far the uma musume profession had given her nothing but awful impressions.
This was no longer about being genuine or fake.
"Uma musume run on the track carrying the wishes of many—"
Now she was beginning to understand what that phrase meant.
Her parents' expectations, the teacher's regrets, and in the future, possibly having to face the feelings of the defeated...
Uma musume had to carry all of this and race toward the track.
(What is all this? Senpais, why didn't you warn me that racing was such a heavy thing?)
Kitasan Black complained internally about how unreliable her senpais were.
But in reality, McQueen and the others had never expected Kitasan Black to think about so many things.
After all, most of them simply enjoyed racing for its own sake without considering all this. And the only one who understood these things—Teio—was a genius with absolute confidence who had never once felt pressured.
But for Kitasan Black, who already believed herself to be a "fake," this pressure was simply too terrifying. She just wanted to make money, but everyone kept forcing dreams and hopes on her.
Seriously, who even understands that stuff?!
She was just a fake without dreams. Stop placing so many expectations on her.
Faced with the teacher's enthusiasm, Kitasan Black chose to ignore it.
Sorry, but she couldn't empathize with those feelings.
And she really had no confidence in meeting those expectations.
...
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