Staring at the comments on her phone, envy flickered through Rizumu Hikari's heart again. Then she glanced at her total number of followers and froze.
"310 followers... That doesn't seem like very many..."
"Hm? Light Diamond-chan, what did you say?"
Still caught up in the joy of finally having a racing account, Hokubu Genkoma was focused on her phone and hadn't heard what her roommate said.
After a moment's hesitation, Rizumu Hikari shook her head and asked with concern,
"It's nothing... I was saying, now that you have an assigned Trainer and a racing account...
"Have you and your Trainer thought about what your career will look like from here on, Xiao Bei?"
Hokubu Genkoma's finger stopped scrolling. The excitement faded from her face, and her expression grew solemn.
Besides being roommates, Hokubu Genkoma and Rizumu Hikari had been childhood friends.
They'd known each other since they were very young, attended the same elementary school, and entered Central Treisen Academy together when they were about to reach Full Bloom.
Yet in all the years they'd known each other, Rizumu Hikari could hardly remember seeing her friend look like this.
Oh no, did I ask about something I shouldn't have...?
Rizumu Hikari anxiously clenched her fingers.
Silence settled over the room. After a long while,
"I've made up my mind..."
Unlike her usual lively, energetic self, Hokubu Genkoma drew a deep breath, as though she'd made a momentous decision.
"I'm going to challenge the Triple Crown."
Rizumu Hikari's eyes widened, and her mouth fell slightly open.
In the Shining Star Series, G1 Races were the highest level of competition, and also the rarest. There were only twenty-five each year.
Among those twenty-five premier races, three were especially unique.
The year an Uma Musume reached Full Bloom was called her "Classic Year." The years after that were collectively known as her "Older Horse Years."
Satsuki Sho, Japanese Derby, Kikuka Sho.
These three special G1 Races were open only to Uma Musume in their Classic Year.
For that reason, the races were collectively known as the "Triple Crown."
In other words, every Uma Musume had only one chance in her life to compete in them.
Each year, around ten thousand Uma Musume across Japan passed the entrance exams for Tracen Academy branches around the country.
The Triple Crown was held just once a year, and each race had only one winner.
Winning any one of those three G1 Races was an achievement worthy of being called one in ten thousand.
Yet Rizumu Hikari clearly remembered that just a few days earlier, her friend had been troubled and lost.
She'd been troubled because so many Trainers had said she should focus on sprint races.
And she'd been lost because she didn't know what to do.
The Triple Crown races were 2,000, 2,400, and 3,000 meters—all middle- to long-distance events. If she focused on sprints, she'd have no chance of entering them.
Her friend had dreamed since childhood of stepping onto the Triple Crown stage, just like her idol. Faced with the conflict between her dream and reality, Rizumu Hikari thought she would have felt just as troubled and lost in her place.
But how had her friend reached a decision so suddenly in just a few days—and set her sights on the racing circuit every Uma Musume dreamed of?
...Could it be because of her Trainer?
Once the thought occurred to her, Rizumu Hikari considered it and grew more certain.
After happily telling her that she'd gotten an assigned Trainer, her friend had hardly seemed troubled or lost at all.
Or rather, she'd forgotten all about it, completely immersed in the joy of having an assigned Trainer.
And since school let out that afternoon, her friend hadn't come back once.
At dinner, her older sister had said she'd spent the whole afternoon training in the dance studio, under the guidance of that very Trainer.
Rizumu Hikari remembered the Trainer, who seemed almost absurdly young.
An eighteen-year-old qualifying as a Central Trainer was unheard of. It had caused a sensation a few months ago, and people at school still brought it up from time to time.
But judging from the gossip she'd heard, the Trainer didn't intend to start out as an assistant like the older Trainers. He wanted to sign an Uma Musume as his assigned trainee as soon as he debuted.
In the past, Rizumu Hikari would have thought that was a little far-fetched.
Knowledge alone wasn't enough to train someone; experience mattered too. Her older sister and the others felt the same way.
So when she first heard that her friend's assigned Trainer was this person, she had to admit she'd been worried.
But now, it seemed this Trainer really was a little different.
He wasn't just teaching her friend those unusual gestures and postures.
At dinner, her older sister had also said that the special training in the dance studio that afternoon seemed to have a lot of thought behind it.
It was too soon to say how effective it was, but Hokubu Genkoma had looked like she was enjoying herself during training. She'd clearly taken well to this new approach.
That was impressive. Finding a training method that suited an assigned Uma Musume was already difficult, let alone one she could take to immediately.
It showed that the Trainer's abilities were as outstanding as his exam results.
If even her older sister thought the Trainer was exceptional, then maybe...
After thinking it over, Rizumu Hikari tentatively asked,
"Xiao Bei, was it your Trainer who suggested the Classic circuit?"
"Huh? Hehehe, no..."
Like a soap bubble being popped, Rizumu Hikari's question instantly turned Hokubu Genkoma from solemn and hesitant to sheepishly scratching her head.
"He only asked me what kind of Uma Musume I thought could be called outstanding and dazzling. He also asked if I'd thought about what races I wanted to run in the future.
"I... Hey, Light Diamond-chan, do you remember the dream I had when I got into Central Academy?"
Her friend had suddenly changed the subject. Rizumu Hikari paused, then nodded.
"Yeah. You wanted to become an Uma Musume as miraculous as Senior Emperor."
"Yeah, Senior Emperor..."
Hokubu Genkoma nodded, her gaze full of admiration, but with a hint of hesitation. Then she fell silent for a moment.
"That's what I told my Trainer at the time, too.
"Then he asked me what I thought a miracle was.
"And all of a sudden, I didn't know how to answer."
Though she said she didn't know how to answer, the black-haired, red-eyed girl went on murmuring to herself.
"Then I suddenly understood what he was really asking.
"Outstanding, dazzling, miraculous—none of those things can be clearly defined.
"Compared to things like that, which are so vague and hard to pin down, my Trainer probably cares more about what he can see and touch.
"I don't understand what he's been doing for my training these past few days, especially today.
"But whether he's watching me train, adjusting my stride, or calculating all those numbers, those are things you can see and touch.
"So as his Uma Musume, I should think about things I can be sure of, too.
"I don't even know what it means to be outstanding, but every race is clear.
"And Senior Emperor's miracles came from running one race after another. So..."
She drew a deep breath.
"I'm going to be like her and start with the Triple Crown.
"People can say what they want. I believe in my Trainer. He said he'd help me make my dream come true.
"And I believe in myself. I won't let my Trainer down.
"I won't let down the fans who are already supporting me, either."
After a quiet moment in the dorm room, gentle applause rang out.
"Light Diamond-chan..."
Looking at her friend applauding her, Hokubu Genkoma was surprised to see Rizumu Hikari smile, pull out her phone, and tap the screen a few times. Then she showed her the page indicating that she was following her racing account.
"I believe in you, too. I believe you won't let me down as your fan, Xiao Bei."
Before you continue