Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 415 Me? Racing against a horse girl?
Makoto Yasui doesn't really like the "guess what" topic.

In the Shining Series, the variety of variables is arguably the greatest in competitive games.

Many times, racehorse girls who have performed well in previous races and are highly popular may lose a highly anticipated race if they are not in good condition on race day or encounter other unexpected events.

Conversely, it's not impossible for an underdog to perform exceptionally well in a match and pull off an upset.

In addition to these, there are unexpected heavy rains, changes in competitors, and unforeseen tactical strategies... In short, the competition is inherently full of uncertainties.

Therefore, as a racehorse trainer, uncertainty brings a sense of unease, and he dislikes that feeling.

If he encounters a situation where he has to "guess" something, he usually chooses not to guess or to find out the answer directly.

But at this moment he suddenly felt that uncertainty is often not a bad thing.

Male trainers are not allowed to enter the racehorse girls' dormitory, and they do not go to the classroom except when required by their teachers.

He hadn't paid attention to these things before, but now he realized that apart from training, competitions, and related matters, he knew nothing about the daily life of the Northern Black Horse.

He followed Kita Genko all the way to this gym, or perhaps it was only since last night that he discovered another side of Kita Genko's thoughtfulness.

This kind of attentive care is different from the care I received before the New Year because of my injury.

When he was injured, he felt overly enthusiastic concern and a lack of concern for the fact that a man and a woman were alone together in a room.

The attentiveness I feel now is that they even consider the taste of a beverage.

Besides, the sadness evoked by the story of "Hachiko," signing autographs for fans he met by chance, and the mysterious smile on his face right now—these are all things I've never seen before.

And these are perhaps the surprises that come from the uncertainty.

So, as he walked towards the gym, meeting Kita Genko's expectant gaze, Yasui Makoto thoughtfully considered for a moment before tentatively asking:

"If we're talking about spokespeople, it should be Megumi Ryan and the others, so... they didn't all come, did they?"

He had only guessed casually, but unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the Northern Black Steed was startled and exclaimed in surprise:
"Huh—? No, really? The trainer... guessed it right away!"

"Uh, this..."

Despite having guessed it, Yasui Makoto showed no joy; instead, he felt inexplicably embarrassed by Kita Genko's surprise.
"Generally speaking, assuming everyone has come is a pretty normal line of thinking, right?"

After thinking for a moment, he added:
"It's like predicting the list of players leaving a competition; I would definitely guess that all the players will be there."

"That's true..."

Concealing his surprised expression, Northern Black Horse smiled and said, "However, the trainer guessed a little wrong... well, not entirely wrong, but it's just a little different from what you expected."

Upon hearing this, Yasui was about to ask when he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice coming from ahead.

"Welcome everyone to today's 'Uma Musume Chase'! Welcome... Eh? Kita-kun? Mr. Yasui?"

Without prior arrangement, both of them looked in the direction of the sound and said in unison:
"Fengshen classmate?"

"Eh—? Senior Fengshen?"

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the entrance of the gym.

The store is located on the second floor, and the entrance is a staircase sandwiched between a jewelry store and a burger shop.

Near the jewelry store on the stairwell, the woman with her hair styled in a side ponytail and freckles on her cheeks was none other than Ennis Wind Goddess. She was dressed in loose casual wear, with a banner hanging over her red sweatshirt that read "Gym," and she was holding a large stack of flyers in her hands.

With just one glance, Yasui Makoto understood that this famous "workaholic queen" among horse racers was most likely working another job. Kita Genko, on the other hand, unexpectedly stepped forward and asked in confusion:
"Senior Fengshen... what are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm working here."

As expected, Yasui gave the same answer, and Ennis Fuujin smiled and leaned closer, handing him a flyer:
"However, there are a few other reasons... Anyway, would you two like to take a look at this and consider participating in today's event?"

"Oh, okay... Ah! Actually..."

After a blank reply, Northern Black Horse exclaimed excitedly, "I came here with my trainer today, and I'm definitely going to try this activity later!"

Just as he was about to look at the flyer, Yasui Makoto became interested after hearing what Kita Genko said. He couldn't help but look at the contents of the flyer carefully, wanting to know what event had made Kita Genko head straight here as soon as he arrived in Shibuya.

But after only a few glances, his expression turned strange.

As expected, the gym invited its brand ambassadors to the event today.

The event is called "Horse Girl Chase Battle". As the name suggests, participants have to find a way to chase their opponents under specified conditions in order to win and win prizes.

Among the opponents were Mejiro Raine, Miura Bourbon, and Ryūke.

In addition to advertising and boosting popularity, the event also aimed to promote the Japanese derby. Therefore, in addition to the three spokespeople, the event also invited many past derby horse girls.

For example, there are familiar names like Special Week and Vodka, who are also familiar to him and Northern Genko, as well as Victory Ticket, Admiring Orihime, and Glory Shining.

And the Ennis Wind Goddess before us happens to be Derby Horse Girl.

"So, the challengers are going to chase after these top-tier racehorse girls...?" Having roughly understood the situation, Yasui couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"With this kind of opponent lineup... who can possibly win?"

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard excited voices coming from the direction of the Northern Black Steed:

"Okay! Thank you so much for helping me sign up, Senior Wind God! Yes, I'll be with the trainer."

Startled, Yasui Makoto looked over and saw Ennis Wind God smiling and nodding as he turned to walk upstairs, saying:

"Then I'll take you up there. There's an event going on up there, you can watch it."

Yasui Makoto was stunned again. Before he could say anything, his wrist was tightened and he was pulled along by Kita Genko.

"...Wait a moment," Yasui Makoto said, glancing at the retreating figure of Ennis Wind God as he followed him upstairs, then looking at the Northern Black Horse with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean by 'watching' and 'signing up'? And... what do you mean by 'we'll go together'?"

"Huh? Oh, is that even a question?"

At first, he didn't react, but then Kita Genko quickly smiled, pointed at Yasui Makoto, then at himself, and said expectantly:

"Of course, we should all sign up for this 'Uma Musume Chase' together!"

Yasui Makoto froze for the third time. Then, after a long silence, he looked at Kita Genko in disbelief and pointed to himself:
"You mean... I'm going to race against you racehorses?"

(End of this chapter)