Thank You, Trainer

At the very front of the spectator stands, Yasui Makoto finally lowered the binoculars he had been holding up the entire time, letting out a relieved and delighted chuckle.

"Heh, making a big fool of yourself right after crossing the finish line for the win... I really don't know what to say about that."

Hearing this, the astonished Satono Crown and the delighted Rizumu Hikari both turned to look at him.

Satono Crown sighed. "...Trainer Yasui, isn't it a bit inappropriate to talk about your own Uma Musume like that?"

Meanwhile, the delighted Rizumu Hikari grew worried. "Sis, let's set that aside for now... Trainer Yasui, Xiao Bei took a fall... aren't you going to check on her?"

From a rational standpoint, Yasui Makoto wasn't worried about Hokubu Genkoma's fall causing any issues. He kept a close eye on all kinds of data every day and knew very well that his Uma Musume had a frighteningly strong constitution. Moreover, a few things he'd overheard her mention while eating in the cafeteria further proved this point. Back then, when the topic of physical fitness came up, Hokubu Genkoma said she'd been tough since childhood—she almost never got sick or injured. Whether climbing mountains, trekking through forests, or hiking by the sea, her companions would all be exhausted while she still had the energy to run around joyfully. In elementary school, she once climbed a tree with her classmate Rizumu Hikari to rescue a kitten that couldn't get down. She slipped and fell from the third floor. The result was just a scratch. And she left a shallow crater in the ground. In short, she was fine, but she scared Rizumu Hikari half to death. She ended by saying that her usual training intensity wasn't high enough and hoped Yasui Makoto would increase it. Yasui Makoto certainly wouldn't change the training schedule casually. In his plan, the intensity would increase gradually—there was no rush. But rationality aside, seeing Hokubu Genkoma fall with his own eyes made his worry impossible to suppress. So, upon hearing Rizumu Hikari's words, he nodded slightly and quickly walked toward the back of the spectator stands.

Rizumu Hikari followed worriedly for a couple of steps, then felt her wrist being grabbed. "Sis...?" She looked at Satono Crown in surprise. "What's wrong...?"

"...There's something I want to ask." Satono Crown looked at the Race Information Board. "Look at the race data up there. 1 minute 51.9 seconds, 34.1—that's Xiao Bei's finishing time and final three-furlong split."

Rizumu Hikari also looked at the board and, after confirming her sister was right, grew even more puzzled. "That's correct, but I haven't debuted yet, so I can't really tell much from these numbers."

Satono Crown pondered for a moment. "What if I told you that my debut race finishing time was 1 minute 50 seconds, my final three-furlong split was 33.5 seconds, and it was also on this same 1800-meter track? Does that give you any ideas?"

Rizumu Hikari was stunned. "Wait, so that means Xiao Bei... isn't actually as fast as you were? But then why does it seem like... she looked so much faster than you back then?" On the day of her sister's debut race, she had of course gone to cheer and had watched the entire race. Her sister had won beautifully, and the race data was excellent. But for some reason, she felt that her friend, who had a longer finishing time and a slower final three-furlong split, intuitively seemed faster than her sister.

"I don't know either. And since you and Xiao Bei are roommates, I thought you might understand, so I wanted to ask you. But you're right—if I can't figure it out, you, who hasn't even debuted yet, will have an even harder time." Satono Crown shook her head and looked in the direction Yasui Makoto had gone. "Xiao Bei is in our class, and we've always been able to see her training. But in the past month, her special training has been handled by that trainer. Clearly, that trainer, who looks very young, uses methods that are... very different from others. It seems that the thing neither of us can understand might have its roots in that Trainer Yasui."

Yasui Makoto found Hokubu Genkoma in the infirmary, but it wasn't because anything was wrong with his Uma Musume.

Every race is intense, and routine physical checks are required before and after each one.

Especially after the previous race, when everyone saw Hokubu Genkoma take a hard fall, the staff certainly wouldn't take it lightly.

The examination results matched Yasui Makoto's expectations—his Uma Musume was perfectly healthy, as if the one who fell on the track wasn't her at all.

The moment she spotted Yasui Makoto, Hokubu Genkoma displayed an unbelievable burst of energy, nothing like someone who had just run 1800 meters. She bounded over in a few steps and threw her arms around him.

"Trainer! Did you see that?! I, I... I won!"

"I... cough cough... I saw you win, congratulations... but could you let go of me first...?"

"Ah? Oh, sorry, sorry, I, I was just too excited..."

Stunned for a moment, Hokubu Genkoma noticed Yasui Makoto's face was a bit flushed. She quickly let go, stepped back a few paces, looked him over, and guiltily panicked.

"A-are you okay, Trainer...?"

Moving his body, he found only a slight numbness in his arms. Yasui Makoto breathed a quiet sigh of relief and shook his head with a wry smile.

...What incredible strength. If he hadn't known some techniques to deflect force, that hug alone would've at least dislocated his arm, right?

"I'm fine. Congratulations, Xiao Bei, you've won your first career championship."

As he shook his head, he offered another round of congratulations.

Then, leading the excited Hokubu Genkoma, he thanked and bid farewell to the doctor before heading toward the lounge area.

Along the way, the black-haired girl chattered on excitedly.

One moment she was saying how she hadn't felt anything at the finish line, that she'd won in an instant, and only realized she'd won when she heard the cheers.

The next, she was saying she should have let her grandparents come watch in person, though they were probably watching the live broadcast on TV.

Then she mentioned that Senior Emperor might have watched too, and whether she had or not, she was going to call her idol to share the good news later.

After that, she brought up the "Winner's Stage."

This was an indispensable part of Uma Musume events.

Like other idol industries, Uma Musume didn't just race—they also sang and danced, and the Academy Dance Hall was specifically designed for that purpose.

There were also solo concerts, endorsements, merchandise, and other projects.

Additionally, a performance was held every race night, with all participants taking the stage.

The star of each performance was the champion of that race—hence the name "Winner's Stage."

When the topic turned to the Winner's Stage, the black-haired girl suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her ruby-like, clear red eyes fixed steadily on Yasui Makoto.

"Hey, after all that talking, I suddenly realized I haven't said what I really wanted to say, hehehe..."

With her habitual silly laugh, she walked over.

Just like in the infirmary, she reached out her arms and hugged him, pressing her cheek against Yasui Makoto's chest.

Compared to last time, her movements were noticeably slower, and her strength much gentler.

"I thought of a lot of thank-you words. I even wanted to write them down in the infirmary.

"But I thought for a long time, and even tried typing a bit on my phone, only to find I had no idea how to say it.

"Hehe, anyway, Trainer probably knows I'm pretty dumb.

"So, taking someone as dumb as me to win a race must have been really tough.

"So, thank you, Trainer."