Uma Musume no Nama no Nichijou (Horse Girl), First and foremost

Chapter Ten: The Emperor: The Little Chestnut Hat Must Be Mine...

"Unwilling to accept it?" The horse girl with the goose feathers murmured the words she had just heard.

Being directly confronted with this kind of question can be very off-putting to someone who has just experienced failure; anyone with a weak mindset would likely perceive it as sarcasm.

However, Oguri didn't feel there was anything impolite about it: "Indeed, I'm not willing to give up. I still have the energy to keep running in this race."

But right after saying that, Oguri Hat looked at the horse girl who had spoken to her with a blank expression: "But... who are you?"

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

"Ah..." Kitahara, who had originally planned to find a few more words to comfort Oguri Hat, now just wanted to find a wall and bang his head against it a few times.

"As expected of Oguri Hat..." The newly radiant brilliance could only offer a somewhat helpless and awkward smile.

"This guy really is an idiot..." For a moment, Fujimasa regretted making this person his nemesis.

"Hmm..." Maru Zenki, who thought he only needed to be a background character, couldn't help but cover his mouth and suppress his laughter after hearing Oguri Hat's answer.

However, one could vaguely discern from between her slender and alluring fingers the slightly upturned corners of Maruzensky's mouth and her subtly undulating, beautiful figure.

It wasn't until Rudolf gave her a symbolic glance that Maruzensky quickly suppressed her somewhat inappropriate smile and transformed back into a gentle, virtuous, and caring older sister.

"Ahem, this child is quite interesting. President, I think you should introduce yourself first."

The sensible student council secretary quickly changed the subject.

"Ah, I see. My apologies, it was indeed my mistake." Rudolf Symbol didn't seem to care much about Maru Zensky's little scheme and nodded in acknowledgment of his error.

"I am Rudolf, the student council president of Central Teresen Academy. Nice to meet you, Oguri-hat."

"Hello, Miss Rudolph, my name is Oguri Hat, and I am a student at Kasamatsu Tressen Academy. Nice to meet you."

Hearing the other person's formal self-introduction, Oguri Hat responded seriously as well.

She then pointed to Kitahara and continued, "This is my trainer."

Pointing to the brand-new Radiance next to him, he continued, "And this is the brand-new Radiance from my team."

After speaking, the horse girl with the tuft of hair looked at the other party with a slightly serious and very formal expression.

Yes, Mom said that when you're out and about and you encounter someone who's serious, you have to be just as serious. It's a matter of respect for others.

As if he had accomplished something, the chestnut hat, which had been somewhat dejected, suddenly perked up, and his ears no longer drooped due to his low spirits.

"I know all that... Let's get back to the main topic. Are you dissatisfied with this match?"

When the matter was brought up again, Oguri Hat's tone was much calmer: "Losing is losing, isn't it? We can win it back next time."

"Let's win it back next time, okay...?"

The emperor was more surprised than anything else by Little Chestnut Hat's answer.

This wasn't something said in a fit of emotion.

Judging from the other person's breathing, heart rate, and speech speed, their words are most likely sincere.

"White Disaster, Oguri Hat is not suitable for you. No, you should say you are not suitable to have this racehorse girl with a competitive spirit."

"It has to be me, Oguri Hat, the racehorse girl of Central Teresen Academy."

Despite having already made up his mind, Rudolf symbolically made an objective assessment with a calm expression.

"That's certainly true in normal races. If you're not as skilled as your opponent, you should analyze the reasons for your defeat and then take revenge in the next encounter. That's the competitive spirit that every race girl should have."

Perhaps those horse girls who were about to debut or had just won their debut battles were able to maintain such a good mindset.

However, there are not many people who can maintain this virtue through multiple wins and losses in various competitions.

"Victory makes people confident, while defeat makes people reflect on themselves."

"But if there are other reasons for your defeat besides your own problems, then you should look for the problems elsewhere."

Oguri Hat: "???"

Little Chestnut Hat just tilted his head, looking a little dazed, when he heard this.

Rudolf symbolizes: "..."

Fortunately, Rudolph had seen this kind of look before, so she coughed lightly and changed her explanation to something else.

"To put it more clearly, this Fujimasa March's trainer also had a mid-level trainer by her side, and that's why you lost."

"Although I'm not entirely sure about that trainer's actual abilities, he's definitely far superior to your current trainer."

Local trainers, even if they are top-tier within their groups, are still no match for central trainers in Rudolf's opinion.

It could even be said that Uma Musume Girls might produce another miracle where Oguri Hat breaks free from the theory of bloodline and defeats other strong opponents with her talent.

However, when it comes to the accumulation of knowledge and theories and the inheritance of learning experience, central trainers are bound to be superior to local trainers, and this is almost a certainty nowadays.

As for those local trainers who enter the central government through examinations?

Unfortunately, this same rule applies to them before they formally begin and graduate from the Central Trainer Training Program.

Upon hearing this answer, Kitahara looked at Shibasaki with surprise: "Wait! You guys sought guidance from trainers at Central Teresen Academy?!"

"How could I not know?! You bastard, you actually used such a despicable tactic as hiring outside help! Give us back our championship!"

Even though Rudolf had just been praising Oguri's carefree attitude, Kitahara Yutaka was not Oguri. When he heard that there had been unfair situations in the competition, he decisively grabbed Shibasaki's collar to express his dissatisfaction.

However, he did not commit any further acts of violence after he captured the other person.

Kitahara, leaning his forehead against Shibasaki, murmured dejectedly, "If only I had..."

Kitahara stopped mid-sentence, choking back his complaints and regrets.

If he were to actually seek advice from Rokuhei Ginjiro, the latter might offer some guidance.

But should I ask them for help guiding me on how to make a chestnut hat?

He felt he would be rejected or even yelled at, and he didn't want to do that.

Upon hearing this, Oguri Hat then inquired about Fujimasa's March:

"Central trainers? Did you guys at March ask any central trainers for help?"

“Yes…” Even though Oguri’s tone and expression didn’t seem malicious, she was still a little embarrassed to be asked about Fujimasa’s march by him.

"She's a racehorse girl with a trainer's license. She said that if I want you, Oguri-chan, to stay in Kasamatsu, I have to ask her for help."

However, despite all that talking, Oguri Hat didn't listen very carefully.

After hearing Fujimasa's reply, she turned to look at Rudolf.

"A formidable racehorse girl? Is she even better than you, Miss Rudolph?"

Rudolph symbolizes his knowledge of the existence of the racehorse girl who also works as a trainer.

Little Chestnut Hat understands this basic principle.

The Rudolph before him seemed incredibly powerful to Oguri, except for the well-proportioned lady next to him who was propping her cheek up with one hand and watching the show with an amused expression.

No racehorse girl present could compare to her.

But if it's that pure white figure we saw after the Youth Crown Cup... who's more powerful?

Subconsciously, this question suddenly popped into Oguri Hat's mind.

Even though she wasn't sure whether this had anything to do with the trainer's ability or whether it had anything to do with the racehorse girl's performance.

But just as she asked that question, the atmosphere fell silent again.

The other students at Central Teresen Academy instantly developed an extremely negative impression of the local racehorse girl in front of them.

You should know that even if such things could be determined through a comparison of grades, they are not things that can be said in public.

"President..." "It doesn't matter, I can roughly understand her thoughts."

Having quelled the discontent of the other racehorse girls, Rudolph symbolically continued to explain to Oguri-hat:

"It depends on how you judge it. In terms of results, my record is undoubtedly better than hers. For example, she has only won two classic races at most, while I am a triple crown horse girl. I also have a longer winning streak than her."

"As for the number of wins in other tournaments, I have more wins in G1 alone, but if we consider the total number of tournaments in the bounty tournaments, then I am not as good as her."

Rudolf's nonchalant response, however, immediately aroused some doubt among the female racehorses behind him.

Even now, they still don't know the true identity of the mysterious racehorse girl with trainer qualifications mentioned in the information in the president's and secretary's hands.

Uma Musume, who has won the triple crown in the Satsuki Sho, the Japan Darby, and the Chrysanthemum Sho, three classic races that can only be entered once in a lifetime, is a legendary figure recorded in books.

The problem is that most of the female racehorses that can win two titles in classic races are not unknown.

Seemingly noticing everyone's confusion, Maru Zenki couldn't help but find the scene rather amusing.

After all, the student council members they brought to broaden their horizons were not very old, and they hardly ever witnessed that person's active period on the field.

Even though Golden Victory was still active later on, she faced frequent suspensions and disqualifications. Her name was practically forcibly hidden or even sealed away by the association, becoming a dark chapter in the history of Japanese horse racing.

If one day they could personally experience the brilliance of this senior on the field, the ending would probably be wonderful...

Chapter Eleven: The Bad Woman's Golden Victory

"I understand, thank you." Nodding, Little Chestnut Hat didn't offer any further response.

She couldn't tell who was stronger or weaker for the time being.

What is a triple crown?

What is G1?

A high-reward competition, I think I've heard of that?

What should we do? Should we continue asking this symbolic racehorse girl named Rudolph?

Rudolph noticed the hesitation in Little Chestnut's eyes and knew that the girl was still thinking about what she had just said, so she stopped trying to guide the conversation and steered it back on track.

However, Rudolf believes that Oguri's doubts are more about "the definition of a strong person"...

"It's normal not to be able to tell the difference right away. As long as you focus on the competition and study hard, you'll naturally understand these things."