"A new realm?"
Musaka sounded surprised when he heard Kitahara's question over the phone.
"Aren't you in the middle of special training with Oguri Cap? Why are you suddenly asking about that? Did something go wrong with the training?"
"Ah, Uncle Musaka, to be honest, I thought training her like this would be enough too… but Sakuraba-san came by, and after seeing the results of my training, he didn't seem very satisfied…"
"Oh? That investor has a problem with you?"
"Not exactly, but if I'm not mistaken, Sakuraba-san probably thinks I could be doing better."
"…So that's why you came to ask me about this new realm?"
"Yeah."
Musaka thought for a moment, then answered Kitahara's question.
"I haven't heard people use the phrase 'new realm' very often, but I do know one thing. The Umamusume who stand at the very top of the world all possess something special."
"It goes by a lot of names—zone, flow state, things like that—but I prefer to call it a domain."
"An Umamusume who possesses a domain will, without question, become a top-tier Umamusume. More than that, the line between 'impressive' and 'elite' is whether or not she has a domain."
"If she doesn't have one, then no matter how good she is, she'll probably only ever remain at the level of 'a very good Umamusume.' If she wants to compete with the ones who truly stand on the highest stage… then she has to become one of the elite first."
"In other words, if I had to give you an answer for this 'new realm' you're talking about, then my conclusion would be this: a domain is the new realm you need to explore."
Musaka's words hit Kitahara hard.
"A domain…!"
He had no idea such a trump card even existed. If Sakuraba-san had not tipped him off, he really might have taken Oguri Cap into the Japanese Derby without any domain at all!
And if someone in the Japanese Derby had already learned how to use a domain… then Oguri Cap's undefeated record could easily be broken in that race!
"No wonder Sakuraba-san warned me like that! So that's what he meant!"
It was true.
If he had gone forward with his previous line of thinking, there really was a good chance he would have led Oguri Cap straight into a wall.
"Still, the race you're preparing for now is the Japanese Derby… logically, the requirements for the runners shouldn't be quite that high yet."
Musaka sounded a little puzzled.
The Japanese Derby was the most important race of the Triple Crown, but because it was limited to the Classic year, the domain usually consisted only of the best of the new generation.
And since the Japanese Derby was held in the first half of the Classic year, it stood to reason that not many Umamusume at that stage would have mastered a domain yet.
And yet that investor was demanding that Kitahara raise an Oguri Cap who had already reached the level of a domain before the Japanese Derby…
Could it be that he knew another Umamusume in this year's Japanese Derby had already mastered one, and that was why he was setting the bar so high for Oguri Cap?
Interesting.
"That's about all I know about domains, but as for how to obtain one, I'm not especially sure…"
"Still, if that investor wants Oguri Cap to take another step forward, then he must also have some clue about how to help someone break through into a domain."
"Maybe that guy is just waiting for you to ask him."
After hearing Musaka's analysis, Kitahara suddenly felt as if the road ahead had cleared.
That's right!
If I don't understand, then I can just ask Sakuraba-san, can't I?
If Sakuraba-san could even recognize the existence of a domain, then he should probably know how to help Oguri Cap reach that level too!
At that thought, Kitahara felt a little confused as well.
If Sakuraba-san really understood Trainer matters too, then why had he hired him in the first place?
With Sakuraba-san's ability, if he had trained Oguri himself, surely the results would have been even better than they were now…
Could it really just be because he thought well of me, so he entrusted the Umamusume he invested in to me…?
In Kitahara's mind, Sakuraba-san's image only grew more and more complicated.
From a kindhearted angel investor, he was becoming some hidden master living quietly in the city!
"…No matter what, I really should go ask him!"
After hanging up with Musaka, Kitahara settled on his plan.
...
Meanwhile, where was the very Sakuraba-san Kitahara could not stop thinking about?
After baffling Kitahara with that string of inexplicable remarks, Sakuraba Ryo had planned to wander around Central a little more—only to get caught by the Oguri Cap who came after him.
How was a human supposed to outrun an Umamusume?
Getting caught by Oguri Cap was only natural.
"Ryo, Ryo! Why did you come see Kitahara and then leave without talking to me?"
"Uh… well, you were still training, weren't you? I didn't want to disturb you too much…"
"It's not a disturbance if it's you, Ryo."
"Ahaha…"
Looking at Oguri Cap clinging to his arm, Sakuraba Ryo guiltily shifted his gaze away.
After all, he had come here intending to interfere with Oguri Cap's training, so getting caught by the person herself really did make him feel a little like a thief caught in the act.
"So, Ryo, aren't you going to say something?"
Oguri Cap looked at him seriously, those sapphire-clear eyes fixed straight on him.
"Mm… good work?"
"Mm. That's not what I wanted to hear…"
Oguri Cap took his hand of her own accord and said earnestly,
"At a time like this, shouldn't you be saying, 'Long time no see, I missed you'?"
"It hasn't really been that long since we last met, has it? And we've been keeping in touch over the phone the whole time."
"Talking on the phone and saying it face to face aren't the same."
"All right, all right."
Out of options, Sakuraba Ryo obediently went along with what Oguri wanted.
"Long time no see."
"Why did you stop before the rest?"
Oguri Cap had clearly been waiting for him to say he missed her.
"Come on, don't sweat the details. Since I came all this way, let's go get something to eat~ My treat!"
Sakuraba Ryo directly chose to change the subject.
Saying something as direct as I missed you out loud was just too embarrassing.
"Mm…"
Oguri Cap was a little dissatisfied with how he changed the subject.
She was annoyed.
But Sakuraba Ryo said he was going to treat her to food.
So she would forgive him for that.
Hehe.
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T/N: hmmm something seems a bit different with oguri recently... im probably just imagining it