Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 468 Doctoral Dissertation
Yasui Makoto suddenly felt a headache coming on.

To be honest, the Northern Black Horse's grades weren't bad. They weren't among the top students in the class, but they weren't at the bottom either. They usually hovered in the middle.

However, from the beginning of the tutoring, her math, or rather, her math, physics, chemistry, and biology were not very good. If the quizzes and exams were more difficult, she would indeed be at risk of failing.

If you really fail a course, the association and student union will definitely have something to say.

After all, Northern Black Horse is now one of the most famous racehorse girls in the Shining Series, and even has a certain international reputation.

Just like when I was on the train, getting off at each stop along the way, I could see a lot of related reports or things around me.

Such a famous racehorse girl failed her final exam. While her fans might not necessarily make things difficult for their idol, her trainer will certainly face criticism.

Even as a trainer, academic grades... are actually not within his responsibility.

In addition, it will definitely affect training.

Failing a course requires a retake, and whether you can pass the retake is another matter, but the trouble is that it takes time.

After the final exams comes a summer training camp, and he has already developed many training programs.

If the Northern Black Horse needs to retake the test, not only will all those plans have to be challenged, but it will also delay the progress of many missions.

The problem is, if you really don't know a subject like math... there's not much he can do.

People can do anything when they're pushed to the limit, like the racehorse girl, but she really can't do math.

He didn't know if he had revealed his inner turmoil.

In short, after Beifang Xuanju's seemingly unconvinced assurance, Xingmu stopped folding the origami crane and offered words of comfort:

"It's okay, Senior Xiao Bei. My math is pretty good. Although I'm not so good at applying it, I know everything that the school teaches, and I've always been the top student in the class."

"So I will try my best to help you, senior. Besides, didn't Yamato-senpai just say he would help?"

Upon hearing this, Northern Genko was filled with gratitude, while Yasui Makoto's spirits lifted.

Unlike her somewhat "unreliable" senior, Genko Kita, Anzu's academic performance is indeed excellent, probably because she is very competitive and unwilling to admit defeat in any aspect.

It's not that I was "always" the best in the class; after all, I did slip up sometimes, like accidentally coming in second.

Then the little guy will be so sad that he won't be able to sleep for several nights, and he will definitely be back in first place in the next exam.

And there is no doubt about Yamato Akaki's achievements.

Based on what I've heard from friends like Vodka and Special Week, Yamato Akaki is just as competitive as Alimei, and he consistently ranked first in his class and even the entire school back in school.

And now that she is a highly educated individual, she can certainly teach mathematics at the middle school level without any problem.

As Yasui was analyzing the situation, just as she was about to speak, Alice across from her suddenly stopped folding paper and looked at Kita Genko and Apricot with amusement:
“I said, it’s just math, is it that difficult?”
"Although I didn't expect it at first, Koki, you are now one of the most famous horse girls in all of Japan. How come you even have problems with your final exams?"
"And they need help from younger generations? And they need to believe in superstitious legends like the Qixi Festival?"

Upon hearing this, Northern Genko was momentarily embarrassed, while Yasui Makoto was somewhat speechless.

It's important to understand that people are different, and so are racehorse girls.

In terms of racing talent alone, in his opinion, even compared to a senior like Elise Soko, Kita Genko wouldn't be much worse, and might even surpass her in long distances.

But when it comes to academic performance, there's really no way to compare.

After all, Alice was a genius who could develop her own potions while still in service. Not to mention Northern Genko, probably no other racehorse girl could reach that level.

Just as he was about to explain for Kita Genko, Yamato Akaki, standing next to Alice, stiffened, looking somewhat awkwardly at the origami crane in his hand, and spoke with the same lack of confidence as Kita Genko:

"Legends... can we still believe them, right, Senior Hayako...?"
"No matter what, the three goddesses really did exist, and..." She became more and more dejected as she spoke:

"Aside from praying during the Qixi Festival, I really can't think of any other way to advance my doctoral dissertation..."

A doting smile instantly appeared on Alice's face as she gently patted Yamato Akaki's shoulder:

“Your situation is different. A doctoral dissertation is not so easy to write, and the field you chose has very few references.”

"Besides, it took me a long time to write my doctoral dissertation."

As she spoke, her eyes were full of understanding and tolerance for Yamato Akaki, but Yamato Akaki lowered his head slightly, becoming increasingly embarrassed as he said:

"Senior Suko, if I remember correctly, you... finished writing your graduation thesis in just over a year, right?"

"For a doctoral dissertation, this kind of time... isn't even considered long, is it...?"

"Uh, this..."

Trying to ease the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Alice coughed lightly and quickly changed the subject:
"Anyway, let's continue folding origami cranes."

"I was just joking. I already said from the beginning that I would pray with you."

As she spoke, she picked up another piece of colored paper, folded it with a slightly embarrassed expression, as if the conversation had never happened.

Seeing this, Yasui felt increasingly speechless.

The difference in Alice's attitude before and after was just... too obvious, too hypocritical...

Given her intelligence, learning ability, and grades, she probably genuinely believes that Kita Genko's math scores are poor and that it's very difficult for her to understand...

However, Yasui Makoto also knew that Alice had a very good relationship with Yamato Akari when they were still in school, so this favoritism was not surprising.

After a somewhat deliberate attempt to change the subject, Alice clearly sensed that the atmosphere was still a bit dull, so she simply turned her gaze to Yasui Makoto and asked:
"By the way, Yasui-kun, are you and Koki and the others going on a date? Or do you have something to discuss and need us to leave?"

"Huh? This..."

Coming to his senses, Yasui Makoto quickly shook his head:

"No need for that. I came here mainly to confirm Xiao Bei's intentions regarding overseas competitions."

"...Eh—? The sea, overseas?"

Upon hearing the mention of overseas competitions, the Northern Black Horse's initially low spirits vanished instantly. First, there was surprise, then a flicker of excitement and confusion in its eyes.

"Ah Zhen means... my next competition is overseas? But... why haven't you mentioned this before?"

When she asked the question, Alice and Yamato Akaki were both taken aback, and then stared intently at Yasui Makoto.

The two racehorse girls didn't say anything, but Yasui Makoto still noticed their expressions.

A slight thought crossed his mind. He pondered for a moment, then recounted his previous conversation with the Emperor of the East Sea in detail, and continued:
"...That's roughly it. I didn't mention it before because I wanted you to focus on the current game, and there were many things I wasn't sure about."

"Right now... I still have many things I'm not sure about, but I feel it's time to have a formal discussion."

"If you agree with my ideas, a lot of the subsequent training, especially the upcoming training camp, will be based on this."

"Because this is related to your future career path and your final evaluation in tournament history."

(End of this chapter)