Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 494 The Demon in the Mansion

"Blocked... Ah! I see!"

After repeating it with a blank expression, the Miqi Rocket finally realized what had just happened.

Then, she turned to the northern black horse, her face full of guilt, and quickly apologized:
"I'm sorry, Senior Northern Genko, I shouldn't have called your name so loudly and caused you trouble."

"Well, it's okay, Miki-chan, you don't need to worry about it."

He casually took off his hat to wipe his sweat, and Northern Black Horse smiled and waved his hand, comforting him:

“We didn’t know things would turn out this way, and we got on the bus without any problems.”

"That...that's true."

Miqi Rocket nodded slightly, then couldn't help but sigh:

"Speaking of which, Senior Northern Xuanju is really popular right now. I didn't expect that just calling your name would cause such a sensation."

Upon hearing this, the Northern Black Steed's heart stirred.

She had always cared about popularity.

When she first debuted, she would lie in bed every day, holding her phone, repeatedly refreshing accounts on various platforms and keeping track of the number of followers.

She gets extremely excited whenever the number of followers on an account increases, and she becomes less sleepy.

If my fan count drops, I'll also have trouble sleeping, but not because I'm excited, but because I'm frustrated.

I will pay attention during the game, and I will pay even more attention.

Pre-match promotion, appearances in the gaming community, commentary and analysis from commentators... these are all aspects that reflect popularity.

If you're very popular, you'll hear your name everywhere.

Conversely, it will take a long time before they see their own poster or hear people talking about them.

But at some point, I inexplicably stopped caring about popularity.

Training, skills, venue, opponents... there are so many things to care about that make popularity seem insignificant compared to these.

Especially as she gained more and more experience in the Shining Series, met and competed with more and more racehorse girls, and heard all sorts of anecdotes from more and more seniors.

She has come to understand that popularity is often an elusive thing.

High popularity can lead to a loss, while low popularity can result in an upset; these things can happen.

And in a sense, this uncertainty is probably what makes the Shine Series so fascinating.

I've only recently become aware of the importance of popularity again.

For example, in the Takarazuka Memorial, the right to leave the competition depends on the fan vote, so you can't ignore popularity at this time.

Then there's the simulated chrysanthemum appreciation event.

That match gave her a strange feeling. She's thought about it a lot these past few days and realized that it was probably the first time she'd ever understood how popularity could affect a match.

Or, one could say, the changes brought about by a shift in identity.

She is no longer just a racehorse girl chasing after her seniors and competing with her peers, but also a senior to many of her juniors.

She wasn't entirely sure, but a hunch told her that Xingmu, Miqi Rocket, Milan Hai, and perhaps many more juniors from that day's mock competition were all pursuing her because of this change.

This even includes his childhood friend, Hikari Satomi.

Realizing this, she realized that she needed to discuss with Yasui Makoto how to deal with the impact of this change on the competition, as only she, as the trainer, was good at this.

Outside of competitions, she wants to do more because of this change in her daily life.

For example, like today, I agreed to meet with Miqi Rocket.

The invitation before the match was just a simple one, but she already had some suspicions at the time. After making some inquiries, she came to her own conclusion. So, what Miki-chan probably wanted to know was how to get along with the trainer...

But how can we develop this kind of topic more naturally?
As Beifang Xuanju pondered this, a young woman with a low ponytail walked over, looking around as she entered the last carriage.

Upon seeing the Northern Black Steed, the young woman's eyes lit up. She quickly approached, took out a business card from her pocket, and handed it to him with both hands while bowing.
"Hello, Ms. Northern Genko! I am Shizuko Ota, a reporter from the monthly magazine 'Flash'. Nice to meet you!"

"Eh...? Ah, hello, I am Northern Black Horse..."

Northern Black Horse paused for a moment, and when he responded, he subconsciously took the business card.

Seeing the name and magazine information printed on it, she couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

How come you just managed to avoid a group of fans, only to run into reporters again?

She initially wanted to decline the interview and enjoy this rare day off, but looking at the reporter's expectant eyes, she couldn't bear to.

"Oh! It's the monthly magazine 'Flash'!"

At this moment, the Miqi Rocket's eyes lit up:
"That must be the most famous magazine in the Shining Series, right? The senior from the North is really amazing, to be able to get an interview like that!"

"It can only be said that it is one of the most famous; saying it is the most famous is too much of an exaggeration."

The young woman named Otome Fumiko smiled gently, humbly saying something, and looked the Miki Rocket up and down for a moment before glancing at Almond-eyed:

"If I'm not mistaken, you two are Ms. Miqi Rocket and Ms. Almond Eyes, right?"

"I'm so lucky to see so many famous racehorse girls here. It seems that bringing lucky charms before going out today was the right decision!"

"Huh...? Am I... am I famous?"

After a moment of surprise, Miqi Rocket became somewhat embarrassed:
"Probably not... I feel like my trainers and seniors are definitely more famous than me..."

"I think so……"

Nodding, her almond-shaped eyes then turned confident as she said:

"But that's because I haven't officially debuted yet. Once I step onto the Shining Series stage, I'll definitely become very famous! Even more famous than my seniors!"

Wow, Almond Eyes, you...you're really amazing!

"Hmm, I see. Ms. Almond is very confident about her future achievements..."

While Miqi Rocket was still in surprise, Otome Fuyuko quickly pulled a notebook from her pocket and started scribbling on it:

"Is there anything wrong with how I'm recording this?"

"Ah...no problem! Of course you can record it like that!"

She spoke confidently again, her almond-shaped eyes turning to look at the black horse to the north:
"But weren't you here to interview Senior Xiao Bei? Are you interviewing me too?"

"Of course, as a professional and qualified journalist, I can never miss any interview opportunity!"

Without hesitation, Otome Futsuko looked intently at Genko in the north:

"So, Ms. Northern Black Horse, may I have a moment of your time?"

"Don't worry, it won't take too long. I just want to ask you a few simple questions."

"You see, you performed exceptionally well in the previous Takarazuka Memorial. Everyone is curious about your goals and plans for the upcoming official matches."
"For example, the most well-known event in the fall season should be the 'fall triple crown'. Have you considered it?"
"If we were to consider the 'Three Crowns of Autumn,' the first stop would be the Emperor's autumn viewing."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you should be number one in popularity at that time, in which case..."

She paused, her expression turning somewhat serious:

"'Demons within the manor'... have you considered this?"

(End of this chapter)