Pegasus? Actually, I'm a Doctor!

Instantly, they instinctively assumed Platinum was just filling in whatever, planning to choose one of the two GI races later.

Until—

A female staff member, after thinking it over carefully, spoke up.

"Could it be..."

"The Triple Crown of Transformation—Platinum is challenging a nightmare schedule that surpasses even the Undefeated Triple Crown?!"

In that moment, the entire room fell silent.

The Triple Crown of Transformation!

A relic of the past, always told to juniors by seniors as a display of their knowledge, a special triple crown no one ever thought would be claimed!

"Th-this is insane!!"

"Do we persuade Platinum to calm down, withdraw her application, and prepare for next year's Triple Crown? Or do we do nothing and let her take on the Triple Crown of Transformation—harder than even the Undefeated Triple Crown?"

Finally, the executive in charge made the call.

"For now... contact the Tracen Academy student council president and the chairwoman. Ask for their thoughts."

21. Open Day Prepared for Platinum

From the influence of that shining silver-white Pegasus—

From racegoers to countless Uma Musume, and even the URA as the event organizer, all came to know—and be shaken by—her existence.

The Triple Crown of Transformation! Once the race schedule was changed, it was unanimously recognized across Japan as an impossible-to-replicate "mythical, legendary Triple Crown"!

That triple crown, existing only in legend, the rarest of them all... had finally found its challenger in Platinum, hailed as the Pegasus!

Even within the URA, hesitation and deliberation set in, leading them to seek the opinions and advice of Tracen Academy's student council president and chairwoman.

And so—

The focus of the meeting shifted from Agnes Tachyon to Platinum, sparking intense debate!

The Pegasus's influence would only continue to spread.

The next day.

Inside the Tracen Academy chairwoman's office.

An incredibly petite and adorable loli sat at the desk, stroking a small cat.

Standing beside her was a mature woman, dressed in green from her clothes to her hat.

To an outsider who didn't know them, they might be mistaken for a "mother and daughter," assuming the mature green-hatted chairwoman had let her loli daughter sit in her seat.

It wouldn't be impossible to see it as some warm family scene.

But that wasn't the case. This petite, adorable loli was the top boss of Tracen Academy—famous across Japan and even Asia—the chairwoman herself!

This chairwoman was named Akikawa Yayoi, while the seemingly more mature green-hat woman was called Shunkawa Tazuna, serving as the chairwoman's secretary.

In the game, Shunkawa Tazuna was also known as the Green Demon! A terrifying demon in the hearts of countless players!

"Inquiry! Have you contacted Rudolf?"

Akikawa Yayoi continued petting the cat, asking her assistant Shunkawa Tazuna.

"Already informed. She'll be here shortly."

Clearly, some extremely important topic required the chairwoman and Japan's Strongest in History, Symboli Rudolf, to discuss together.

And that topic revolved around Platinum!

Not long after Shunkawa Tazuna finished speaking, footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.

Then, a soft knock came at the door.

"Come in."

Shunkawa Tazuna said, and saw Symboli Rudolf's hurried figure.

Long retired, Rudolf had long since become calm and composed in her actions, but this time, she rushed over for the first time in ages!

The Emperor pushed open the door and, without even sitting down, immediately asked.

"Miss Tazuna, Chairwoman, what are your thoughts... Do we agree to Platinum's choice?"

"Or should we first advise her to calm down?"

Rudolf didn't just ask Chairwoman Akikawa Yayoi; she also included Shunkawa Tazuna, the assistant secretary.

Because this mature senior in the green hat wasn't an ordinary staff member. Once known as Harvest Moment, she had competed in the early days of the track, with such formidable achievements that she was hailed as "Looking Down on All"!

She had broken numerous records at the time and was on a winning streak in the Classic Triple Crown, achieving two crowns with only the Kikuka Sho left... when an accident struck! An incurable injury appeared in her body, forcing her to end her career and retire early.

Thus, she earned another alias—the Phantom Triple Crown. Meaning, if not for the accident, if she had kept running, the Triple Crown would have been well within reach!

Agnes Tachyon, who had just won the Satsuki Sho, was similarly regarded by the public as a "monster who would surely claim the Triple Crown if nothing went wrong," compared to both Symboli Rudolf and Harvest Moment.

Such monumental achievements and overwhelming strength, combined with her status as a senior, meant even Symboli Rudolf the Emperor had to show respect.

The one who spoke first was the petite loli chairwoman.

"Hmm..."

"It seems! It's better to keep those two monsters apart, right?"

"Platinum is indeed very strong! But her debut is too recent—she's at too much of a disadvantage against Tachyon."

"On top of that, she's not entering the Derby first; she's running the Oaks before coming to the Derby. By then, her condition definitely won't be good enough."

"Even if her talent and strength might rival Tachyon's, under a state of fatigue from Experienced Battles, it'll be as hard as reaching the heavens."

In other words, Akikawa Yayoi wanted to look out for Platinum, hoping nothing would happen to this promising young talent.

If the Derby came first, Platinum might still have a fighting chance. But the Derby was a week later!

"Yeah, I see it the same way."

"The Triple Crown of Transformation—that's practically an impossible schedule, especially when the opponent is Agnes Tachyon, whose talent is so great she's etched into history and has the potential to go global."

Symboli Rudolf nodded lightly, voicing her own opinion.

Even if Platinum's talent was astonishing and her physical ability extraordinary, the combination of a nightmare-level schedule and a nightmare-level opponent made it basically impossible to achieve, right?

So it would be safer to aim for the Undefeated Triple Crown next year instead.

"But I think that child made this choice... it probably wasn't on a whim."

"Platinum might have a reason she has to challenge this. Neither we nor the URA have the reason or the right to stop her from competing."

The ever-smiling Green Demon, Shunkawa Tazuna, spoke up.

This made Akikawa Yayoi and Symboli Rudolf fall silent for a moment.

Yeah, as seniors, they could talk all they wanted about looking out for the younger generation, for the children... but they weren't really Platinum's mother or sister. They had no right to make decisions for her.

The next moment, the seemingly carefree loli chairwoman curled a faint smile again, hugged the cat on the table, and chuckled lightly.

"Then two days from now, let's find some excuse to hold a School Festival and open it to the public."

"Invite Platinum to come visit Tracen. Then you two can meet that little filly face-to-face and see if you can talk her out of it."

"If that doesn't work, we'll just have to look forward to an epic battle!"

And so, the deep-pocketed chairwoman made the call.

"Anyway, let's set up an open day for Platinum first and lure her here. After all... Tracen Academy isn't short on cash!"

One day later, morning.

Inside the infirmary, Lin Anran was performing the final treatment for his top client, Tokai Teio.

"Now... it's finally over!"

"Take the last medicine at the same time as before."

Lin Anran explained to Tokai Teio in front of him.

The petite Teio's eyes sparkled, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally!! Thank you, Doctor Lin!"

"Now I can finally focus on training for the race! Too bad I have to prepare for the School Festival open day today, so I can't train for too long..."

After expressing her thanks, Tokai Teio fell into slight regret.

Lin Anran beside her was stunned.

"Huh? Open day? What's that?"

22. Platinum, Bumps Into Agnes Tachyon

"Open day? What's that?"

Lin Anran's expression stiffened. He hadn't expected to hear that.

Over the past few days, aside from transforming into Platinum and competing twice, Lin Anran had plenty of free time.

After all, this was a top-tier super school, one of the best in Japan and even Asia. There were thousands of Uma Musume, plus a huge number of staff—the total flow of people was terrifyingly large.

So naturally, there couldn't be just one or two school doctors. There were regular Japanese school doctors, invited foreign doctors allowed to stay on campus, and plenty of others.

And for a certain quota of treatment costs for Uma Musume, Tracen Academy would cover or reduce the fees. With so many generous benefits and excellent training resources, it was no wonder it had become a giant in Uma Musume training!

With enough doctors on staff, most of the time things were pretty relaxed.

So in these past few days, whenever Lin Anran had free time, he'd been reading up on Japanese races, the opponents in the Triple Crown, and Tracen Academy's rules.

From the school rules he'd flipped through before, the School Festival date didn't seem to be tomorrow, did it?

"The President said it's to celebrate... celebrate the anniversary of her becoming the Undefeated Triple Crown!"

"Just don't know why they didn't hold it last year but are holding it this year. I really don't get it."

Tokai Teio tilted her little head, still sketching a smile—after all, Symboli Rudolf was her most admired idol.

"But that doesn't matter either. The President is the strongest Uma Musume in Japanese history, so she deserves a celebration every year!"

"And the President asked me to tell Doctor Lin that Tracen Academy will be open to visitors tomorrow. She hopes you'll invite Platinum to come."

"And, as the guide—Imperial Ruler herself!—I'll show Platinum around properly!"

After Tokai Teio finished speaking, the expression on the black-hearted young doctor before her turned subtle.

They didn't hold it last year—so why suddenly start this year?

And even if they were going to hold it, shouldn't it be after the Kikuka Sho? Why right before this Derby?

(Could it be... they're holding it just to get me to come?)

The thought had barely formed before Lin Anran himself snuffed it out.

How could that be?

Even if it was just a temporary open day, even if it was small-scale—only inviting outside Uma Musume and not ordinary people—the cost would still be nothing to sneeze at.

And Platinum was just a newborn foal who'd debuted barely a week ago, with only two races under her belt. Why would Tracen Academy spend that kind of money on her?

"Alright, I'll pass the message along."

"Welcome..."

Lin Anran nodded, then stood up to see off his number-one golden goose, Tokai Teio.

When he reached the door...