After Trainer Imanami enjoyed some breakfast at the Mejiro Estate, he formally introduced himself to several of Mejiro McQueen's sisters. Finally, under their concerned gazes, he was solemnly entrusted with the wish, "Please fulfill McQueen's (my big sister's) dream." Only then did he return to Tracen Academy with McQueen and Gold Ship.
Upon returning, Imanami and McQueen immediately went to the Student Council to officiate their relationship, and Gold Ship, who had been completely unaware of this, suddenly caused a huge commotion, rolling on the floor in the Student Council office and shouting:
"No no no! Why did McQueen suddenly jump the gun?! I was supposed to be the old man's first Uma Musume!"
"I'm sorry, Gold Ship, but this is the decisiveness expected of a member of the Mejiro Family." Mejiro McQueen, who had already prepared for such a reaction, felt no shame. Her inner guilt had already been resolved during her previous conversation with Imanami, and now that they were in an official Trainer-Uma Musume relationship, McQueen naturally stated without hesitation:
"To find a truly excellent Trainer, an Uma Musume needs to actively search for them. Just lazing around won't help you achieve anything, Gold Ship; you still have much to learn."
"Then I want to be the old man's Uma Musume too! Right now, in fact!"
Hearing this, Gold Ship was quite indignant. She immediately scrambled up from the floor and approached Symboli Rudolf, slapping the table as she declared, "I want to be an Uma Musume too! President, quickly give me the agreement!"
"Are you sure, Gold Ship? Tracen Academy has a rule which states that all Uma Musume who signed an official agreement with a Trainer must regularly participate in training and participate in Debut Races until they get at least one win. Are you sure you can do that?"
Symboli Rudolf, however, looked quite amused at this moment, with an expression that clearly showed she was enjoying the spectacle. She smiled and asked Gold Ship, "Though I am the Student Council President, I'm still not entirely sure when you enrolled in Tracen Academy, nor do I know why you can skip classes and trainings whenever you like, and why you aren't urged to participate in Debut Races despite not doing so for so long. However, it's the Chairwoman's will, thus I can only accept it."
"But if you sign the agreement, you must abide by Tracen Academy's rules. Even you cannot do whatever you please entirely within Tracen Academy. Do you understand?"
"Of course I understand!"
However, Gold Ship showed no hesitation. Under everyone's gaze, she boldly slung her arm over Imanami's shoulder and affectionately said to him:
"Hey~ old man, you'll be very enthusiastic in training me, right? You definitely won't be biased towards McQueen, right? You definitely think I'll never lose to McQueen, right?"
"Gold Ship… you're making Trainer quite uncomfortable."
McQueen, however, really couldn't bear to watch anymore. She had never imagined what it would be like to be on a Team with Gold Ship… If it were Tokai Teio, McQueen would feel that having a rival and friend on the team would surely motivate her to strive for higher goals.
But Gold Ship… what could she gain from her? What motivation could she get? To be as idle as her?
"…Trainer Imanami, what do you think?" In the end, Symboli Rudolf also handed this question to Imanami to resolve, as he was the ultimate decision-maker.
"…Gold Ship is very talented. If she can commit to training, she will definitely achieve accomplishments that are no less inferior compared to other top-tier Uma Musume." (T/N: Potential Uma?!)
Imanami was hesitant at first, but Gold Ship's pitiful gaze, even though Imanami could tell at a glance that it was feigned, still made him compromise—after all, Gold Ship was his favorite Racehorse, and it was no different now that she was an Uma Musume.
Because of this, Imanami agreed to almost all of Gold Ship's requests. Furthermore, this Uma Musume wasn't as troublesome as she seemed. Although she was incredibly playful, she had her own sense of boundaries and wouldn't do anything too outrageous.
"Although it might be a bit tiring, I think I can handle it."
"In that case—please sign this agreement as well."
Soon, this matter, which was originally set to be "finding an Uma Musume within one week," dragged on for a month until all three Trainers had completed it. And Trainer Imanami, the last one to finish, not only found a single excellent Uma Musume, but two at once.
More importantly, Gold Ship finally had someone to discipline her, truly ridding Tracen Academy of a great menace (A/N: Literally).
From that day on, Tracen Academy would not only enjoy some peace and quiet for a while, but the Student Council's workload also significantly decreased—few people truly know how much energy Symboli Rudolf had to expend daily to deal with the messes caused by Gold Ship's pranks.
"Today is a goo—no, great day, Air Groove. How about we do something to celebrate?" After seeing Imanami and his group off, Symboli Rudolf turned to Air Groove and suggested with interest.
"It truly is a day worth celebrating. How about I get some ice and champagne?" Air Groove understood Symboli Rudolf's meaning and followed her lead.
"Hmm, good. And I haven't told a joke in a long time. How about we take this opportunity to make up for lost time?"
"…I think we probably won't need ice." (T/N: Damn... that's a cold line, Air Groove.)
…Meanwhile, within Tracen Academy's training grounds, Hana Toujou was still meticulously training her Team's active members. While Symboli Rudolf and her group were all members of her Team, they had already achieved their fame and success, and generally did not need or intend to participate in races unless under special circumstances.
Hana Toujou held a stopwatch, watching the results of her Team's parallel running training. Everything so far made her very satisfied, except for… "—Alright, that's it. El Condor Pasa, Taiki Shuttle, Fuji Kiseki, go rest with Grass Wonder."
"Okay~"
The Uma Musume dispersed as Hana Toujou's words fell. Hana Toujou, as a Trainer, was quite strict, and because she was the Trainer of the strongest Team, few dared to question her, which caused Hana Toujou's image in her members' eyes to be quite intimidating.
"T.M. Opera O, stay." Hana Toujou stopped T.M. Opera O as the others left, standing in front of her and asking with a hint of inquiry in her tone:
"T.M. Opera O, do you have anything to explain about the Yukinayanagi Sho?"
"—Hahahaha! Trainer, as the Overlord, no matter what method I choose to race, I will not fall behind. My victory at the Yukinayanagi Sho also proves this point~"
T.M. Opera O, of course, knew what Hana Toujou wanted to ask, but at the moment, she found it difficult to answer. She then immediately used exaggerated gestures and expressions to try and gloss over it.
"Moreover, Trainer, you saw it, didn't you? At the Yukinayanagi Sho, whether it was the track, the distance, or the situation at the time, if I hadn't changed to a Pace Chaser style midway, I might have faced an insurmountable predicament. Therefore, I believe my judgment was completely sound~"
"—That's the problem, T.M. Opera O. Though the fact that you also have talent as a Pace Chaser is somewhat unexpected, your Pace Chaser running style is not yet matured. At least, it's not as mature as your Late Surger style."
Hana Toujou, of course, knew that T.M. Opera O's judgment during the Yukinayanagi Sho was correct. She had also been there personally to watch the entire race. It wasn't that T.M. Opera O couldn't win if she ran as a Late Surger; it was just that her victory would not be as absolute as it was. According to Hana Toujou's judgment, the difference between T.M. Opera O and second place would have been about one-third of a length; a single misstep could have truly led to a loss.
And during the Yukinayanagi Sho, T.M. Opera O's sudden switch from Late Surger to Pace Chaser, and her subsequent undisputed victory, indeed showed Hana Toujou that T.M. Opera O had the potential to run as a Pace Chaser, and perhaps, T.M. Opera O might even be more talented as a Pace Chaser.
But the biggest problem now was that they truly had no time to train a new running style. The Mainichi Hai was already around the corner, and Hana Toujou's bet with Wada was imminent.
"T.M. Opera O, you may have immense talent as a Pace Chaser, but I hope you can first solidify your Late Surger running style. Only when we win the Mainichi Hai can we then explore your Pace Chaser talents."
"…I understand, Trainer."
T.M. Opera O's nod slightly reassured Hana Toujou, who then added, "At your current level, Meisho Doto's chances at beating you are very slim. Although I haven't seen the mock race, to be capable of almost beating Mejiro McQueen... I have to say, that newcomer Wada does have some skills."
"But Doto is still a bit behind your level, T.M. Opera O. To win races, especially one this soon, you must solidify your strengths. Come back here tonight; I'll give you extra training to help you consolidate your Late Surger running style."
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Meet, Potential Uma! (Gold Ship)
She'll go crazy when she starts training!
No one would be a match for Gold Ship if she gets serious!
'Ifs' and 'Whens' never 'Is'
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.