The group chatted for a while outside the hospital. After learning that Rice Shower hadn't woken up yet, Symboli Rudolf and the others abandoned their plans to visit.
They were unaware that Sakura Baimu possessed a system that could accelerate Rice Shower's recovery and naturally assumed it would take a long time for her to wake up.
This time, Rice Shower's behavior had clearly angered this "Emperor." Judging from Symboli Rudolf's expression, it seemed she wanted to capture the Umamusume who had essentially ruined Rice Shower's life before Rice Shower even woke up.
After hearing Symboli Rudolf mention the cost of revealing Zone knowledge, Sakura Baimu was equally furious that someone had given Rice Shower Zone knowledge without emphasizing the consequences.
Therefore, she planned to wait until Rice Shower woke up to find out exactly what had happened.
"Trainer-san, are we going back to Tokyo today?" Tokai Teio asked.
"I'm not going back. I'll stay here and take care of Rice Shower. GG, you take the younger members back," Sakura Baimu instructed Smart Falcon.
"Huh?"
The TCB members were all surprised to hear Sakura Baimu's words.
Because Sakura Baimu wasn't Rice Shower's trainer at all.
"Trainer-san…" Satono Diamond whispered a reminder, "Falco-senpai's match against Crown is in two days."
"Oh right, and that's it…"
Sakura Baimu suddenly felt a headache coming on. She had to help treat Rice Shower and definitely couldn't leave.
If she couldn't speed up Rice Shower's recovery, then Rice Shower couldn't be transferred back to Tokyo. She certainly couldn't keep going back to Hyogo Prefecture every few days; this was Kansai.
Sakura Baimu thought for a moment, then made up her mind. She walked over to Mejiro McQueen and, amidst the confused looks of the surrounding team members, patted McQueen's shoulder several times, then spoke earnestly.
"McQueen, I'm appointing you as the team leader of TCB. You'll take them to Hakodate for the GG Dirt Mile race. I'll stay here to look after Rice Shower."
"Oh, well, there's no other way then. I guess I'll just have to reluctantly accept the responsibility of team leader."
Mejiro McQueen tossed her long hair, secretly pleased that Sakura Baimu had appointed her as the team leader.
"Wait a minute," Sakura Baimu spoke, rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a red sash resembling a doormat, with the words "I am the TCB Team Leader" written on it.
"Here, McQueen, the team leader needs to wear this the whole time," Sakura Baimu said, reaching to put it on Mejiro McQueen.
Unexpectedly, Mejiro McQueen, like a startled rabbit, blushed and jumped back a step, yelling at her:
"I… I won't wear it! What is this? It's so embarrassing!"
"Sweetie, put it on!"
"Are you trying to coax a child?!" Mejiro McQueen jumped back again as Sakura Baimu approached.
"I'm an Umamusume from the Mejiro family! Wearing something like this out in public is too embarrassing!"
"If McQueen doesn't want it, Teiō, how about you be the team leader?"
Sakura Baimu said, reaching the sash in her hand toward Tokai Teio, but before she could even extend her hand, the sash signifying the team leader was snatched away.
Then she heard Mejiro McQueen mutter.
"I… I'll take it."
"Heh, McQueen, you should have done this sooner," Sakura Baimu chuckled.
"Um, Trainer-san," Smart Falcon suddenly spoke up, "Isn't this competition arranged with Diamond's Father? Wouldn't it be inappropriate if you didn't go?"
This competition was arranged by Sakura Baimu and Diamond's Father. If Smart Falcon lost, Sakura Baimu would have to agree to Satono Crown joining the team.
"It's okay. You can't lose anyway; it doesn't matter whether I go or not." Sakura Baimu waved at Smart Falcon. "GG, even if you don't believe in yourself, you have to believe in me. Don't you believe what I say?"
"What if Falco loses? Then the trainer will really be…"
"Alright, GG, if you say such insecure things in front of me again, I'll stop giving you cupcakes," Sakura Baimu interrupted Smart Falcon.
"You've lost too many times, which has eroded your confidence. You even hesitated to look the audience in the eye when performing in front of the station. You desperately need a win to bolster your confidence."
"So, what tactics should Falco use this time? Like Kita-chan, or the dominant front-runner style we discussed before, like Sirius-senpai?" Smart Falcon asked.
"Whatever. No tactics. Run however you like. In an OP-level competition, what tactics do you need?"
Smart Falcon was speechless, feeling a slight unease at Sakura Baimu's extremely unreliable statement.
The crucial point was that she believed all the Umamusumes present had trained with Sakura Baimu for a long time, while she herself had barely trained, spending her days running around watching matches.
Adding to her woes, Smart Falcon had only won one match since her debut, further eroding her confidence.
In Smart Falcon's eyes, Sakura Baimu's current trust was completely unfounded and blind.
However, she didn't dislike her.
In fact, Smart Falcon rarely gained the trust of others.
Now, with the arrival of Sakura Baimu, though often unserious and seemingly unreliable, she brought Smart Falcon an unusual sense of security and gratitude.
Smart Falcon clenched her fists in front of her chest and raised her head; her orange eyes suddenly hardened.
She nodded emphatically. "Falco understands, Trainer-san. Falco won't lose."
"Yes, and it would be best if you broke another record."
Smart Falcon: "????"
Smart Falcon suddenly realized that being trusted too much might not be a good thing.
The pressure was immense!!
—
The next day, a nurse came to Rice Shower's room to begin her routine check-up.
She stared at the petite Umamusume with incredibly pitying eyes for a while, a wave of sympathy washing over her.
"Poor thing, so badly injured, she'll never be able to run again…"
The nurse muttered to herself as she checked the various readings on the monitor for Rice Shower, then suddenly froze, rubbing her eyes hard.
"How could she recover so quickly?!"