Yamato Akagi's Trial

Three mornings later, on the Academy grounds, Yasui Makoto and Hokubu Genkoma met a certain horse girl with twin ponytails... or rather, "triple ponytails."

As soon as she saw the horse girl, Hokubu Genkoma excitedly rushed forward and hugged her.

"Yamato-senpai! Long time no see!"

"A little late, aren't we, Xiao Bei? Don't tell me you overslept again?"

Returning the hug, the "triple-ponytail" horse girl wore an equally warm and nostalgic smile.

"No way! I'm a officially debuted Uma Musume now, I don't oversleep like I used to!"

"I saw your debut race, it was outstanding. You've grown, Xiao Bei."

"Hehe, thank you, Senpai... Oh, right, I haven't introduced you yet!"

Releasing her arms, Hokubu Genkoma eagerly grabbed Yasui Makoto's sleeve and pulled him over.

"This is my Contracted Partner, Yasui Makoto. I only won my debut race because of him!"

"I've heard a lot about you, Trainer."

Nodding with a smile at Hokubu Genkoma, the "triple-ponytail" horse girl gracefully extended her hand to Yasui Makoto.

"Hello, Trainer Yasui. I'm Yamato Akagi. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. Please take care of me."

After shaking hands with Yamato Akagi, Yasui Makoto looked at Hokubu Genkoma and smiled.

"Xiao Bei is exaggerating. I won't deny that I put a lot of thought into the training I arranged for her.

"But to win the race, her effort and talent were also indispensable.

"So, I'd say that victory was one we achieved together."

Yamato Akagi smiled with relief and looked at Hokubu Genkoma.

"Xiao Bei, your Trainer is truly excellent."

"Hehe, I think so too."

Scratching his head with a silly grin, Hokubu Genkoma then looked eager to start.

"So... can we start running together now? I'm completely ready, Yamato-senpai!"

"Still so impatient, huh... Don't rush, Xiao Bei."

Shaking her head with a smile, Yamato Akagi turned to Yasui Makoto, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"I have a few questions for you, Trainer Yasui. Is that okay?"

Yasui Makoto and Hokubu Genkoma were both taken aback. Yasui Makoto nodded.

"Please ask, Classmate Yamato. I won't hide anything I can answer."

Without any pleasantries, Yamato Akagi nodded.

"Before coming, I looked over Xiao Bei's race schedule.

"The Satsuki Sho in April, the Spring Stakes in March, and a condition race this month.

"Thanks to her debut race victory, Xiao Bei's fan count is approaching 10,000.

"However, that's still a long way from the 100,000 fans required for the Satsuki Sho's minimum entry standard, and also quite a bit short of the 50,000 needed for the Spring Stakes.

"These might be discouraging words, but it's not impossible for an Uma Musume.

"If, I'm just saying if.

"If she doesn't win the condition race, or the Spring Stakes, and her fan count isn't enough to enter the Satsuki Sho...

"Trainer Yasui, have you considered that possibility?"

Her tone was calm, but there was an underlying sharpness to her questioning.

Hokubu Genkoma immediately sensed it, becoming flustered and her gaze darting nervously between Yasui Makoto and Yamato Akagi.

"Yamato-senpai, this... and Trainer..."

"It's alright, Xiao Bei."

Sensing his Uma Musume's panic, Yasui Makoto gave her a reassuring glance before turning gratefully to Yamato Akagi.

"That's a very sharp question, especially right after Xiao Bei's debut win.

"Most people would probably spare her and my feelings and avoid such a topic.

"But precisely because of that, Classmate Yamato, you truly care about her.

"As you said, out of the dozen or so participants in each race, there's only one winner.

"Losing a race is genuinely not impossible for any Uma Musume.

"On the contrary, losing is the norm."

A glint of relief and admiration flashed in Yamato Akagi's eyes.

As an experienced Uma Musume, she had seen countless geniuses and mediocrities over the years, and witnessed innumerable races. She knew deeply that victory was only for the very few, and failure was the most common occurrence.

Whether geniuses or mediocre talents, many Uma Musume cannot withstand the pressure of failure and thus do not make it to the end.

It's fine if Xiao Bei doesn't understand these things, but if this young Trainer doesn't understand them either, she'll have to consider reporting it to her senior and old friend, Tokai Teio.

Looking at it now, Yasui Makoto's answer is quite satisfactory.

However, she didn't speak, instead meeting Yasui Makoto's gaze without flinching.

Understanding Yamato Akagi's meaning, Yasui Makoto calmly said:

"It's simple. It's called a prelude to the Satsuki Sho because the top three finishers in the Spring Stakes can ignore fan numbers and have priority entry into the Satsuki Sho.

"This year's Satsuki Sho is on April 19th, and there are still 2 months until then.

"There's enough time to add another OP-class race and replace the Spring Stakes with a lower-intensity OP race.

"With her debut race plus two OP-class races, the probability of entering the Satsuki Sho is very high.

"Moreover, I have other auxiliary methods besides the race, and..."

Smiling, he reached out and patted Hokubu Genkoma's shoulder beside him.

"I don't have 100% confidence for the Satsuki Sho, nor for the top three in the Spring Stakes. After all, those are graded races with very strong opponents.

"But I've compared the opponent data for all OP-class races in the next two months, and I don't think many of them are Xiao Bei's match.

"And this is the worst-case scenario. If even my worst-case scenario can gain classmate Yamato's approval, can I say...

"I don't believe Xiao Bei will lose her next two races, even the Spring Stakes."

Hokubu Genkoma became agitated, while surprise flickered in Yamato Akagi's eyes.

Before receiving Alice Speed's call, she had already been paying attention to Hokubu Genkoma's debut and had heard about this excessively young Trainer, Yasui Makoto.

In her opinion, that debut race was nothing like a race that a rookie Trainer could arrange or dare to arrange.

Despite having sufficient strength and stamina, he deliberately gave up the front-running strategy, which is the easiest way to win in a debut race, and risked being boxed in by placing the Uma Musume in the rear of the pack, thereby improving her adaptability for future races...

This was a tactic she had only seen with a few Trainers.

These Trainers were, without exception, well-known seniors in the industry. If they had guided Hokubu Genkoma to run like that, it would have been understandable. But for Yasui Makoto to have such ideas and courage made her unable to help but take notice.

She immediately felt satisfied.

It wasn't that Yasui Makoto's answer was perfect, but rather that his meticulous consideration reaffirmed her previous impression.

This Trainer appeared young, but his training philosophy and methods were unusually seasoned.

With such a Trainer, while she was secretly happy for Hokubu Genkoma, she also decided to completely follow his arrangements for the upcoming practice race.

"I'm already looking forward to the practice race later, and to Xiao Bei's next race."

Without directly praising Yasui Makoto, Yamato Akagi smiled, clasped her fingers together, and cracked her knuckles.

"Although it's been a long time since I've been on the track, I usually train regularly, so a few practice races with Xiao Bei should be fine.

"So please, feel free to give your instructions, Trainer Yasui."

(I really want to...)