They're a Perfect Match?!

Half an hour later, in the cafeteria at Tracen Academy.

"...So that's how it is. Good thing I didn't say that in front of Trainer Yasui. That would've been so rude."

Sitting at the table, Aunise Fuujin sighed.

"When I was delivering the package, I never imagined he was already a trainer at such a young age. And he's already led Xiao Bei to two consecutive wins."

"Xiao Bei, you're really lucky to have met such an amazing trainer."

"Mm-hmm! I think I'm really lucky, too!"

Hokubu Genkoma said excitedly and gratefully, "I only came to the academy this year, so I haven't taken a lot of the classes yet. There are so many things I don't know, and my training results haven't been very good, either.

"But Trainer has never looked down on me. He's always been so patient, whether he's teaching me during training or at races.

"I'm so glad I met a trainer like him!"

Yamato Akagi and Vodka, who were sitting at the table as well, laughed.

"You can't say it was all luck."

Yamato Akagi reached out and patted Hokubu Genkoma on the head.

"You're kind and warmhearted, too, Xiao Bei."

"Warmhearted... and kind?"

Hokubu Genkoma blinked. "Why do you say that, Yamato-senpai...?"

"I think so, too."

Picking up where Yamato Akagi had left off, Vodka said with a smile,

"I was talking with Yamato the other day, and she told me that you and Anzai-kun only met after you bumped into him."

Hokubu Genkoma's face turned bright red.

"Senpai, w-why are you bringing that up all of a sudden...?"

"Don't worry, Xiao Bei. I'm not making fun of you."

Vodka waved a hand with a smile.

"Afterward, I checked with Yamato and found out that you and Anzai-kun were both trying to save a little kid, and that's why you accidentally ran into each other.

"Come to think of it, Anzai-kun's pretty tough. You bumped into him that hard, and he was practically fine.

"But the point is, Xiao Bei, you're kind and warmhearted.

"Think about it. If you hadn't gone to save that kid, you wouldn't have run into Anzai-kun.

"And if you hadn't taken him to the hospital to get checked out afterward, you wouldn't have found out he was a trainer, and you two wouldn't have signed an agreement later.

"Maybe your enthusiasm rubbed off on him, and that's why Anzai-kun wanted to become your trainer."

Hokubu Genkoma nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah. When Senior Emperor said a trainer would be coming to coach me, I thought he'd turn me down like all the other trainers. I never expected him to agree right away."

Summing it all up, Vodka nodded with a smile.

"So you see? Luck, kindness, warmth, and a whole lot of other things brought you two together."

Then she paused, looking thoughtful.

"But speaking of luck...

"Xiao Bei, meeting Anzai-kun really was lucky.

"Which means the Japanese Derby...

"You might actually have a good shot."

The sudden shift to the Japanese Derby might have seemed abrupt, but none of the four Uma Musume at the table found it surprising.

The fastest Uma Musume won the Satsuki Sho.

The luckiest Uma Musume won the Japanese Derby.

The strongest Uma Musume won the Kikuka Sho.

This was a saying widely passed around among trainers and Uma Musume.

And there was good reason for it.

The Satsuki Sho was a 2,000-meter race, the shortest of the Triple Crown. Both pacing and the final sprint demanded exceptional speed.

The Japanese Derby had been called "the race that determines the strongest of the generation" ever since it was established. In practice, it meant more than the other two races.

No Uma Musume with a chance to compete in it would ever give up that opportunity.

That made the qualifying rounds and competition leading up to the Japanese Derby exceptionally fierce. The Uma Musume who made it to the starting line were undoubtedly among the strongest of their classic year.

But in their classic year, the competitors hadn't yet gained much experience. And at 2,400 meters, the race was a full 400 meters longer than the Satsuki Sho. Without a bit of luck, it was easy to fall just short of the win.

The Kikuka Sho was a much simpler matter.

Not everyone could run 3,000 meters, let alone compete against a field of formidable rivals. The challenge was easy to imagine.

"The Japanese Derby, huh..."

At the mention of the race, anticipation and excitement shone in Hokubu Genkoma's eyes. But she quickly took a deep breath and shook her head.

"I'm definitely looking forward to that race.

"But Trainer always tells me that instead of thinking about the future, I should focus on finishing each training session and running well in every race.

"And as for luck... Trainer doesn't seem to care much about that. He cares more about things you can see and touch.

"If it were up to Trainer, instead of worrying about luck, he'd rather spend his time working out all kinds of training methods.

"Like that... that machine... Huh? What was it called?"

"Drone. The drone," Vodka supplied, unable to hold back a laugh.

Beside her, Yamato Akagi and Aunise Fuujin were both grinning. Then Yamato Akagi said thoughtfully,

"True. Anzai-kun seems really down-to-earth... And Xiao Bei has always been the practical type, too. The two of you really are a perfect match."

"Yeah! I think so, too..."

Hokubu Genkoma nodded excitedly, but Vodka suddenly jumped to her feet.

"They're a per—perfect match?!

"Yamato?! What are you talking about?!

"That kind of thing is... way too soon for Xiao Bei!"

Before anyone else could react, the usually frank and easygoing Uma Musume blushed bright red and suddenly clapped a hand over her nose.

Soon, a thin line of red began to seep between her fingers. She'd clearly gotten a nosebleed.

"N-no, I can't. This topic's too much for me... Yamato, what were you thinking...?"

"Senpai?! W-what's wrong?!"

As Hokubu Genkoma panicked over Vodka's nosebleed, Aunise Fuujin and Yamato Akagi both sighed in exasperation.

"...Vodka, you still haven't gotten over that?"

"Shouldn't you be asking what you were thinking?"

One of them took out a tissue and handed it to Vodka, while the other explained to Hokubu Genkoma.

"Your senpai's always been like this. She can't handle romance at all. Whenever she hears people talking about it, she gets so worked up that she gets a nosebleed.

"We took her to the hospital to get checked out several times when we were at the academy. I can't believe she's still like this..."

After explaining, Yamato Akagi shook her head helplessly and went over to Vodka with concern.

"Hey, Vodka. Are you feeling any better?"

Hokubu Genkoma, meanwhile, was stunned.

Romance? They hadn't been talking about romance just now...

Oh! Was it what they'd just said?

A perfect match?

H-how did that have anything to do with romance?

They'd only been saying that Trainer and I had similar personalities...

Honestly, Vodka-senpai had the strangest ideas... Huh?

She'd been about to laugh at her senpai's bizarre leap in logic when Hokubu Genkoma suddenly felt her heart flutter.

Without thinking, she glanced guiltily at the other senpai.

When she saw that no one was paying attention to her, she lowered her head and looked at her feet, her toes curling ever so slightly.

Come to think of it, on the day of my Debut Race, there were so many people watching, but Trainer acted as if no one else were there when he helped me change my shoes...

He... doesn't seem to worry about that kind of thing, usually. So...

He probably doesn't think about romance the way Senpai does... right?