"Wow… so fast!"
"How can she even run with her body pitched that far forward? I seriously don't get it…"
"No wonder they call her a monster."
At Central's training grounds, a group of Umamusume warming up by the track looked toward the gray figure streaking past and marveled.
That gray figure was none other than Oguri Cap, in the middle of training for the Japanese Derby.
"Her footwork is so light…"
"She's in great condition!"
"And as for speed… she should still have room to improve!"
Watching Oguri Cap fly down the track, Kitahara Jo could not help but marvel at how freely she ran.
It was now late April. There was still some time left before the Japanese Derby.
He still had enough time to take Oguri Cap's abilities to the next level.
The Japanese Derby.
That name carried far more weight than the Tokai Derby, the dream he used to chase.
And yet now, he actually had a chance to reach the Japanese Derby?
He had to think carefully about whether this might be the one and only chance in his life to guide an Umamusume he had trained to that trophy.
Because of that, from the moment he arrived at Central, Kitahara had not stopped absorbing every scrap of Trainer knowledge stored within Tracen Academy, all so he would not hold Oguri Cap back.
Unlike the extraordinarily gifted Oguri Cap, he was not a genius. If he wanted to keep up with her, the only thing he could do was study with everything he had.
And Oguri Cap had been performing even better than he had expected.
If things kept going at this pace… then the Japanese Derby would no longer be just a dream!
"Hey, Kitahara!"
A familiar voice rang out beside him. Kitahara turned and saw a black-haired young man waving at him from the entrance to the training grounds.
"Sakuraba-san!"
Joy lit up Kitahara's face.
"What brings you here?!"
"Well, Oguri's been building some pretty good momentum at Central, so I came to check on how she's doing."
As he explained, Sakuraba Ryo looked toward Oguri Cap, who was still training, and asked, "Looks like Oguri's in good shape."
"She is! If she keeps training like this, it's not like she has no chance of winning the Japanese Derby!"
Kitahara said it with bright, sparkling eyes, completely unaware that beside him, Sakuraba Ryo's mouth had already started twitching.
Oh no, bad news right out of the gate!
The Japanese Derby!
The freaking Japanese Derby!
The winner's purse is 200 million yen!
Damn it, if she wins that, how long is it going to take me to lose all that money again?!
If Oguri Cap took home a 200 million yen purse, then Sakuraba Ryo would have to invest 200 million yen into her just to keep his returns on her in the red.
If he did not turn this profit trend around, then the moment he ever failed to complete his loss KPI, the profit would trigger the System's special penalty.
That was absolutely unacceptable!
He had to find some way to cool off their training enthusiasm!
"Kitahara…!"
Suddenly, Sakuraba Ryo turned to him and spoke in a heavy tone.
At this point, the only thing he could do was use sheer pressure to suppress Kitahara a little!
"W-what is it?"
Kitahara was so startled by Sakuraba Ryo's abrupt seriousness that his reply came out shaky.
"Do you really think Oguri Cap is fine the way she is now…?!"
Take this, Kitahara!
This is an unreasonable dressing-down from your superior!
An unavoidable part of every salaryman's life—good old workplace bullying!
Sorry, Kitahara. For the sake of my grand loss-making plan, you're going to have to suffer a little!
"…Huh?"
Kitahara was completely baffled by Sakuraba Ryo's words.
What did he mean by saying Oguri Cap was not fine as she was now?
Was there something about the current Oguri Cap that Sakuraba-san was dissatisfied with?
Or had he done something to disappoint Sakuraba-san?
The moment he saw Kitahara waver, Sakuraba Ryo was overjoyed inside and immediately pressed the attack!
"Kitahara, do you really think it's enough for Oguri Cap to stay at this level?!"
"Kitahara, reflect on yourself!"
Throwing out those words, Sakuraba Ryo turned on his heel and strode away with a stern face, not giving Kitahara any chance to respond.
All Kitahara could do was stare after his back, his mind going into overdrive.
Reflect?
What am I supposed to reflect on?
Isn't Oguri Cap doing just fine?
She can even reach for a dream like the Japanese Derby now!
And Sakuraba-san still isn't satisfied with that?
"Kitahara, what's wrong?"
Having finished training, Oguri Cap noticed Kitahara's face had turned green and spoke up.
"…Sakuraba-san was just here. He said some really strange things."
"Huh? Ryo? He came to Central? Where is he now?"
The instant she heard Sakuraba Ryo's name, Oguri Cap seemed to brighten all at once. Her gray tail swished rapidly behind her, and she looked full of energy.
"Sakuraba-san just left. If you go after him now, you should still be able to catch him."
"Mm…!"
Oguri Cap was just about to run after him, but when she noticed how dejected Kitahara looked, she stopped and asked,
"Kitahara, why do you look so troubled?"
"…Sakuraba-san said something strange to me before he left."
Kitahara sighed.
"He said, 'Oguri, are you really okay staying the way you are now?' …Aaah, I just can't understand what Sakuraba-san was thinking!"
Even after repeating Sakuraba Ryo's words over and over, Kitahara still could not grasp their meaning, and he clawed at his head in frustration.
"Hmm…"
By contrast, Oguri Cap looked thoughtful when she heard that.
After thinking for a moment, she looked at Kitahara and said,
"Could it be that Sakuraba-san thinks I'm improving too slowly?"
"How could that be? Your rate of growth is already genius-level, Oguri—"
Kitahara got halfway through the sentence before something seemed to dawn on him, and he cut himself off.
That's right!
Sakuraba-san was clearly expressing dissatisfaction!
If it was Sakuraba-san—the one who had picked Oguri Cap out from among countless gray-haired Umamusume—then his eye for talent had to be far sharper than mine!
The best condition I think Oguri Cap can reach and the best condition Sakuraba-san envisions probably aren't even on the same level.
Sakuraba-san must believe Oguri Cap can still improve further. That must be why he said those words to me when he saw I was already satisfied with the way things were now.
But…
Can Oguri Cap really still improve?
To be honest, in Kitahara's eyes, Oguri Cap was already incredibly strong as she was now…
To make an Oguri Cap like this even stronger?
Or rather, to push an Oguri Cap like this into an entirely new realm?
How was he supposed to do that?
Was there really some new frontier in running that he still knew nothing about?
Kitahara's brow furrowed tightly, but as he realized there might truly be an entirely new realm out there, the expression on his face eased a little.
"Looks like you're okay now, so I'm going to go find Sakuraba-san."
Seeing that Kitahara at least looked a little better now, Oguri Cap tossed out those words and started off in the direction Sakuraba Ryo had gone.
"Go ahead."
Kitahara did not try to stop her. Right now, his mind was completely occupied with thoughts of how to push Oguri Cap into a new realm.
Truthfully, Kitahara had no idea what new realm might still await Oguri Cap.
But if Sakuraba Ryo had said so, then it had to exist.
That realm only the strong could reach…
"If I don't know, then I'll ask someone who does!"
With that thought in mind, Kitahara pulled out his phone, tapped twice, and placed a call.
"Hello? Uncle? There's something I wanted to ask you…"