The Reason for Crying

An expression of disbelief instantly appeared on Hokubu Genkoma's face.

Her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and though she tried to speak several times, her throat felt choked, rendering her speechless.

After a long while, she managed to stammer out, flustered:

"Termination... being fired... Why?

"Running classmate... her results are very good.

"The Trainer said she's won twice and been runner-up twice so far...

"Ah, now it should be three times runner-up, plus two third places.

"Top five finishes are always shown on the leaderboard, results like that... Why is her Trainer being transferred away?"

"Well..."

Vodka paused for a moment.

"Do you remember, on the day of the race, when Good Opera senpai was eating, she mentioned that Running classmate's Trainer... had 'also' been her Trainer."

She emphasized the words "also."

Hokubu Genkoma immediately took notice, but she didn't understand why senpai was deliberately stressing this point.

Vodka didn't keep her in suspense.

"You should know Good Opera senpai's results.

"Fourteen career victories, including seven G1s, making her one of the few 'Seven Crown' winners since the inception of the Shining Series.

"But before her debut, she was actually similar to you, with no one really having high expectations for her."

Hokubu Genkoma was astonished.

"No, no way? A senpai like Good Opera... encountered something like that?"

At this moment, Yamato Akagi interjected:

"That's not hard to imagine, Xiao Bei.

"There are similar cases, like Oguri Cap senpai.

"My main Trainer was once one of Oguri Cap senpai's Trainers; they knew each other from the local races.

"You should be aware of my Trainer's skill level; he's arguably one of the best Trainers currently active.

"Yet, even he didn't initially recognize Oguri Cap senpai's talent, nor did he expect senpai to win major races and G1s in the central circuit, let alone so many major races and G1s.

"Especially after realizing Oguri Cap senpai's astonishing talent, even knowing the honor that maintaining the Contracted Partner agreement would bring him, the Trainer was still willing to voluntarily terminate the contract and actively persuade her. It was only after that that Oguri Cap senpai came to the central circuit.

"So, it's not hard to imagine, nor is it rare, for talented Uma Musume to not get a stage to showcase their abilities. In fact, it's quite a common occurrence."

In the past, Hokubu Genkoma had never heard of such things, especially the various secrets of her seniors.

Upon hearing this suddenly, she was momentarily filled with astonishment, unsure of what to say.

"It's pretty much as Yamato said."

Vodka continued:

"After being rejected by numerous Trainers, Good Opera senpai didn't give up and searched for opportunities everywhere.

"It was then that she met the only person willing to support her."

Hokubu Genkoma fell silent for a moment.

"Was it her Trainer...?"

She didn't really want to use words like "also" or "once."

In her opinion, shouldn't the relationship between a Trainer and an Uma Musume be like hers and Yasui Makoto's—mutual trust, working hard together, and staying until the very end?

Vaguely sensing this, Vodka didn't press the point.

"Yes, that's right.

"However, she was still a student at the Trainer Academy at the time, assisting a few senior students who had just qualified as Trainers.

"I don't know the specifics of what happened between her and Good Opera senpai; probably only the two of them know.

"In short, through her efforts, one of her seniors agreed to sign Good Opera senpai and give it a try.

"You know the rest: Good Opera senpai went from obscurity to becoming a world-renowned Uma Musume, and the person who supported her later also obtained her Trainer License."

Hearing this, Hokubu Genkoma pondered for a moment, nodding and shaking her head as if she understood but didn't quite.

"I think I understand, but..."

She hesitated.

"If that Trainer knew a genius Uma Musume like Good Opera senpai before her debut, she must have learned a lot. Then she should be very accomplished now.

"If that's the case, why was she fired..."

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Because the three seniors before her wore extremely strange expressions in unison.

The expression was familiar. She quickly recalled that on the day of the race, around noon, after she had said something similar, Yasui Makoto, Yamato Akagi, and Vodka had worn that exact same expression.

"Xiao Bei, I have a question for you... or rather, I want you to guess something."

Taking a deep breath, Vodka suddenly changed the subject.

"In the years since that Trainer got his license, how many G1 races has he won with the Uma Musume he's guided... Can you guess?"

Although she knew nothing about these matters, Hokubu Genkoma could vaguely sense a pessimistic tone in her senior's voice.

So she pursed her lips, hesitated, and held up her palm.

"Good Opera senpai won 7 G1 races. Even if the Uma Musume he guided later weren't as strong, that Trainer... he must have at least led them to 5 G1 wins, right?"

Staring intently at her palm for a moment, Vodka gave a strange smile and shook her head.

"No. Try guessing again."

"Not even 5...?"

Hokubu Genkoma blinked in surprise.

"Then... 4? No, 3?"

She consecutively lowered two fingers. Seeing Vodka still shaking her head, she became shocked.

"Could it be... only one? That's too..."

Just as she was about to say "too much," her expression stiffened.

Because Vodka was still shaking her head.

"The correct answer is... zero."

Once again, Hokubu Genkoma fell silent.

She had absolutely not expected this answer, yet she knew Vodka wouldn't lie to her.

Especially when, upon hearing this, Yamato Akagi and Aunise Fuujin wore looks of deep emotion and remained silent as if in agreement, there was no need to question it further.

While shocked by this fact, she also understood why that Trainer had been fired by the Satomi Family.

Although they didn't talk deeply usually, she could sense from the Satomi sisters in passing remarks that the family had very strict requirements for them.

Especially coincidentally, just like the Trainer's experiences over the years, the Satomi Family had been aiming for the Shining Series for many years but hadn't won a single G1 championship. One could imagine the pressure on her friends.

This pressure didn't just affect the Uma Musume; it naturally affected the Trainer as well.

If they couldn't win races, they would just find a new person to guide them.

This was probably the Satomi Family's attitude towards the Trainer.

The resources controlled by such a family were enough to support such actions.

But even without winning races, that Trainer must have put in a lot for Satono Diamond, just like Yasui Makoto did for her.

Perhaps some of the previous victories were due to that hard work.

Then Satono Diamond must have been very grateful to that Trainer, just as she was grateful to Yasui Makoto.

Now that the Trainer was fired for one failure, Satono must be crying because of this...

Good Opera senpai, Crown-chan, and Light Diamond-chan must be comforting her...

Thinking of this, Hokubu Genkoma unconsciously thought of Yasui Makoto and vaguely began to understand something.

"...So, the Trainer..."

Looking in the direction of Yasui Makoto's rental house, the black-haired girl murmured to herself.

"He definitely knows these things.

"When I asked him that day, he didn't tell me, probably because he didn't want to put any pressure on me, or make me worry about him..."