After Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky left the hospital, Maruzensky suddenly spoke.
"I feel like that Golden Crown Eagle has suddenly become a bit strange. She seems very reluctant to mention Ogura."
"I don't know," Symboli Rudolf said softly. "But we got quite a bit of information this time, and overall, I'm satisfied."
"That Golden Crown Eagle said that after the first night's match, Ogura threatened her not to continue harming the Umamusume at the academy..."
Maruzensky tapped her chin, recalling what Golden Crown Eagle had just said.
"On the first night, Ogura wasn't summoned by Chairman Akikawa or Ms. Sakura. She probably sneaked over to train, like she did at Tenno Sho in the spring. Unexpectedly, she was entangled by Golden Crown Eagle."
"That's right," Symboli Rudolf nodded.
"Rudolf, how did she know on the first day that a Umamusume was injured because of that Golden Crown Eagle? To outsiders, Rice Shower's injury would seem like Rice Shower's own fault, right? There was also a newly enrolled Umamusume who was sent to the hospital that day due to emotional trauma; surely that wouldn't have been known to outsiders?"
"Could it have been Chairman Akikawa who told her? That Ogura tracksuit was probably obtained by Chairman Akikawa. If Chairman Akikawa knew a student was hospitalized, it seems quite normal for her to tell Ogura," Symboli Rudolf analyzed.
"But she's clearly not a Umamusume from Tracen Academy, yet she gets angry when a Tracen Academy Umamusume gets hurt," Maruzensky chuckled. "What a kind and adorable Pony-chan!"
"Actually, I think that since Ogura has the mentality of protecting our academy's Umamusume, she must also have a sense of belonging to Tracen Academy. Perhaps her connection with Tracen Academy is deeper than you and I imagine. You and I are probably overlooking something…"
Symboli Rudolf lowered her head and thought for a while but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.
"It's so pitiful that she feels a sense of belonging to Tracen Academy, yet can't join due to some unavoidable circumstances. Maruzen, I'm so conflicted about the reason why Ogura can't join our Tracen Academy."
"Why don't you go ask Chairman Akikawa?"
"It's better to ask her in person when Ogura comes to the academy for training again. At least we'd know what she looks like or her real name is, right?"
"That makes sense." Maruzensky nodded.
--
The next day, Sakura Baimu went home, took a shower, and then went to the academy.
She had spent the night at the hospital and didn't foolishly go to the academy for training again.
It wouldn't be good if Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky caught her again.
Sakura Baimu was also quite curious about the gap between herself and the Emperor and Hotrod.
However, she still didn't want to risk being exposed by trying.
When Sakura Baimu debuted, both of these athletes were already household names in Japan.
They weren't even from the same era; there was no comparison.
The afternoon consisted of regular practice and friendly matches.
After the TCB races yesterday and the day before, no more Pluto Academy Umamusumes challenged TCB.
They seemed to have realized that the gap between themselves and the TCB Umamusumes was too large, and had little chance of winning.
But something was strange.
It seems that the one the American Umamusumes feared most in TCB wasn't Mejiro McQueen nor Tokai Teio.
It was Smart Falcon.
Sakura Baimu, as usual, brought a few teammates to the trackside to watch the races for a while.
However, there was one difference: Smart Falcon wasn't racing today; she was there as a commentator.
The class representative, Sakura Bakushin O, announced the upcoming match in her booming voice.
"Friendly match, Pluto Academy Abyss team versus Tracen Academy's Rigil."
Upon hearing this, not only the Tracen Academy Umamusume watching but also several TCB Umamusumes began to discuss it.
After all,
Rigil was Tracen Academy's strongest team.
Whether in average or overall strength, Rigil was undoubtedly number one.
"Someone actually dares to challenge Rigil? Who is it? Grass-senpai? Condor-senpai? Or T.M. Opera O, Amazon-senpai? Could it be the president?"
Tokai Teio was incredibly excited. This was the first time in so many days that she had encountered an American Umamusume challenging Rigil.
Sakura Bakushin O announced loudly:
"Now, Abyss's Skitty and Rigil's Duramente, both Umamusumes, have entered the gates. The match is about to begin."
Hearing this, many were confused.
"Duramente, who's that? Does Rigil even have such a person?"
"Never heard of her."
Most of the Umamusumes at Tracen Academy had never heard of Duramente.
However, they vaguely guessed that this Umamusume was likely a new trainee, someone who had just joined Rigil.
"Could she be a newbie?"
"Really? Didn't the president say we're not allowed to challenge newbies? All the Umamusumes at Pluto Academy have been enrolled for over a year. How can a newbie who's only been there for three months compete?"
"If the trainer agrees, then it's fine, right?"
The crowd buzzed with discussion, all curious about the first new Umamusume to accept a 1v1 challenge in so many days.
But then, Kitasan Black slowly spoke up.
"I remember, she's from the next class."
"The next class?" Tokai Teio asked, puzzled. "Doesn't that mean she's not as strong as Kita-chan and Dia-chan? Why would she dare accept the challenge?"
"I don't know, but I heard she lost her debut battle," Satono Diamond said, equally puzzled.
"Lost her debut battle?"
Sakura Baimu immediately perked up upon hearing this.
She only dared to let Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond, who debuted with record-breakingly large margins, participate in team competitions like relay races.
But Tojo Hana actually let an Umamusume who lost her debut match have a 1v1 match against Pluto Academy, a well-established Umamusume group.
It's true that Umamusume can gain experience by competing against strong opponents, but the skill gap can't be too large.
Otherwise, it would simply be a blow to an Umamusume's confidence.
As Rigil's trainer, Tojo Hana naturally understood this better than Sakura Baimu.
So, her reason for continuing the race—could it be that she thinks Duramente's strength is enough to rival Abyss's Umamusume, who hasn't even debuted yet?
"Interesting," Sakura Baimu thought, finding it increasingly intriguing.
Her doubts would soon be answered.
"The 1800-meter turf mile race, the race now—"
"Start!"