Becoming a Miracle Uma Musume

At Tokai Teio's request, Hokubu Genkoma stared at Yasui Makoto in astonishment.

"Eh—? You want Mr. Yasui to train me? But..."

Yasui Makoto didn't answer. Instead, he gazed at Tokai Teio thoughtfully.

After meeting his eyes for a moment, Tokai Teio turned to Hokubu Genkoma.

"What's wrong? You don't think he can?"

"Trainer Yasui might not look much older than you, but he's an outstanding trainer.

"He passed the Central Trainer exam at eighteen. That's never happened before...

"No, actually, nobody could even have imagined such a thing. It's as impossible as three runners crossing the finish line at the same time in a G1 Race.

"With his abilities, he'll be able to bring out all your talent and potential."

"My talent... and potential?"

Hokubu Genkoma pressed her lips together and lowered her head, fists clenched on her knees.

"But a lot of trainers have said that I... I'm only especially strong. I'm ordinary in every other way...

"With my kind of aptitude, it'll be hard for me to achieve anything in races beyond short distances...

"If Mr. Yasui is really that capable, would I..."

"Then would you be willing to become my assigned Uma Musume?"

"I'd be willing, but... Eh?!"

She answered without thinking, then realized that Yasui Makoto had been the one to ask. Her ears twitched as she stared at him in surprise.

Tokai Teio also looked at him, taken aback.

"Then I guess there's no problem."

Yasui Makoto nodded to Tokai Teio.

"I'm confident I can train Hokubu Genkoma well, and she just agreed. I'll leave the next steps to you, President.

"There's something I'd like to ask, though.

"As you said, I've spent the past few months looking for a suitable Uma Musume.

"But the ones I thought were a good fit didn't believe I was ready to train them.

"A lot of senior trainers have also told me I should start out as an assistant, learn the ropes for a few years, and only then consider training an Uma Musume on my own.

"So why does President Emperor think I can train Hokubu Genkoma well?"

Hokubu Genkoma, still unable to process what had happened, also looked at Tokai Teio.

"Well, heh..."

Tokai Teio chuckled, then suddenly lifted her head and raised her chin.

"Because I think Xiao Bei and I are both Uma Musume who can't be restricted by boring things like convention and common sense.

"And you're not the kind of trainer who would be, either.

"If you want to create a miracle, shouldn't you cast aside all conventions and common sense?

"What do you think?"

"Senior Emperor..."

Her eyes shining with admiration, Hokubu Genkoma clasped her hands together, her ears trembling.

Yasui Makoto nodded to himself.

Tokai Teio's words fit the impression he had of her perfectly.

She'd won the Satsuki Sho and Japanese Derby, two top-tier races, without a single loss.

She'd suffered broken bones several times over her career and gotten back on her feet every time. She hadn't raced for an entire year before her retirement, yet she'd miraculously defeated a whole field of opponents in their prime and won the championship, ending her career on a perfect note.

Her career truly deserved to be called a "miracle."

It was no surprise that an Uma Musume like her didn't play by the rules.

Or rather, Uma Musume like her were born to break so-called conventions and common sense.

In his memories just now, he'd realized that Hokubu Genkoma seemed to be the same kind of Uma Musume.

Extreme Sports included Limit Special Skill, and Trick Equestrianism was one of those skills. In his previous life, he'd learned a bit about horse racing.

For some reason, many Uma Musume in this world had the same names as racehorses from his previous life. Tokai Teio was one of them.

So was Hokubu Genkoma.

He knew a little about her from his previous life. The racehorse named Hokubu Genkoma had an impressive record.

If the two worlds were connected somehow, then from a mystical perspective, this world's Hokubu Genkoma should also become very strong.

But the two shared another similarity: neither Hokubu Genkoma had been highly regarded before her debut or in the early stages of her career.

In the other world, it was because her bloodline wasn't particularly good. In this world, it seemed to be a matter of her aptitude.

Yasui Makoto wasn't a jockey or a trainer, so he didn't know how the Hokubu Genkoma of the other world had gone from being underestimated to becoming the Horse King of her generation.

But he had a general idea why no one had recognized Hokubu Genkoma's potential in this world. After all, unlike him, they couldn't cheat by knowing the answer in advance.

Of course, knowing the answer without knowing the process was useless, too.

If he'd been asked to train racehorses in his previous life, he would've wasted even the best horse.

This world was different. He believed in everything he'd quietly accumulated over more than a decade.

For example, he knew the stats of past and current Uma Musume, as well as those about to debut. He also knew quite a bit about Hokubu Genkoma.

First was her outstanding strength.

Uma Musume underwent all kinds of physical examinations when they enrolled. Whether it was grip strength, pushing strength, or simply leg strength, Hokubu Genkoma's scores ranked near the top.

Second was her physical health.

Like human athletes, Uma Musume had intense competitions and heavy training loads, so injuries were common.

Aside from minor illnesses like colds, Hokubu Genkoma had never suffered a serious illness or injury. Her medical records were practically nonexistent. That was exceptionally rare among Uma Musume.

Last was her explosive power.

Whether it was when she'd rescued that child earlier or when she'd carelessly yanked the doorknob and the entire door panel off, both were the best proof of it.

With those fundamentals and his guidance, Yasui Makoto was confident that Hokubu Genkoma could achieve results on par with her counterpart in the parallel world—and even surpass them by far.

With that in mind, he nodded.

"As expected of the 'Miracle Emperor.' Then I'll try to create a new miracle with Hokubu Genkoma...

"No, I should say I'll create a new miracle with Xiao Bei."

He looked at Hokubu Genkoma, whose expression was full of hope and nervousness.

"Is it all right if I call you that?"

"Mm-hmm! Of course!"

Hokubu Genkoma jumped to her feet in excitement and bowed deeply.

"Then I'll be counting on you, Trainer Yasui..."

Thud!

"Ow!"

Yasui Makoto glanced at the dining table wobbling beside them, then at Hokubu Genkoma, who was clutching her forehead with tears in her eyes, and sighed inwardly.

Besides her lack of control over her strength, he'd probably have to find a way to fix her careless personality, too...

Seeing that both people in front of her had agreed to her request, Tokai Teio smiled without realizing it.

Just then, the server brought over the drinks they'd ordered earlier. Tokai Teio thanked him and took them, setting the coffee and a honey special drink in front of Yasui Makoto and Hokubu Genkoma. Then she raised her own extra-large special drink with a smile.

"Great! Let's celebrate Trainer Yasui finding his assigned Uma Musume and Xiao Bei finding her trainer. Cheers!"

"Yeah! Cheers!"

A little flustered but mostly delighted, Hokubu Genkoma raised her honey special drink as well.

Yasui Makoto just smiled and lifted the coffee on the table slightly.

That evening, in Yasui Makoto's apartment.

"Trainer, these are the documents President asked me to bring over. Is there anything else you need?"