Kitahara suddenly became excited, so much so that he forgot to respond to the two little girls' "goodbyes." It wasn't until Oguri Cap and Belno Light reminded him that he realized Haykawa's reins had already taken the two little ones away.
…Ah, why am I spacing out at a moment like this? What a perfect chance to abduct—cough, recruit them…
"Kitahara, why were you daydreaming just now?"
"…Uh, nothing," Kitahara shook his head upon hearing Oguri Cap's question, pretending to be casual. "Let's go sit in the waiting area next to the infirmary for a while."
Suppressing his inner emotions, he walked toward the waiting area, suddenly finding it hard not to chuckle.
The reason for his excitement was that he hadn't expected to meet two top-class horse girls in their loli forms today—TM Opera O and Meisho Doto.
In another world, they were both top-tier horse girls, shining so brightly among other elite stars that they couldn't be ignored.
TM Opera O had a career record of 26 races, 14 wins, and her worst finish was only fifth place.
She dominated the classic races, won the Autumn Triple Crown, achieved 7 G1 victories, went undefeated in 2000, became the Horse of the Year, broke prize records, and entered the Hall of Fame.
She could race and win without needing a whip—completely automatic victories.
Even in the 2000 Arima Kinen at year-end, when she was once surrounded and her jockey had nearly given up, she found the only path to victory on her own, broke through the encirclement, and claimed the championship.
Truly the "End-of-Century Overlord."
What's even more absurd is that despite amassing such brilliance, TM Opera O's initial value was less than one percent of her total prize money, and her training team was either complete novices who knew nothing about racing or rookies fresh off the track!
A star like this couldn't help but shine.
As for Meisho Doto, her record was also impressive: 27 races, 10 wins.
But what left a deeper impression on Kitahara and made him chuckle wasn't her victories, but her "bad luck."
It stemmed from "TM Opera O's" inverted luck.
June 25, 2000, G1 Takarazuka Kinen: Meisho Doto 2nd, TM Opera O 1st.
October 29, 2000, G1 Tokyo Autumn Emperor's Prize: Meisho Doto 2nd, TM Opera O 1st.
November 26, 2000, G1 Tokyo Japan Cup: Meisho Doto 2nd, TM Opera O 1st.
December 24, 2000, G1 Nakayama Arima Kinen: Meisho Doto 2nd, TM Opera O 1st.
April 29, 2001, G1 Kyoto Spring Emperor's Prize: Meisho Doto 2nd, TM Opera O 1st.
Five confrontations, five losses to TM Opera O, always finishing second.
Even those unfamiliar with horse racing could understand that Meisho Doto was extremely memorable.
Facing a peak champion like TM Opera O, repeatedly finishing second proved she was absolutely on the same level. Not to mention that in the June 24, 2001, Takarazuka Kinen, she finally managed to beat TM Opera O once.
Yet, repeatedly being second evoked the inevitable sigh: she was truly unlucky, almost like "Why must Yú exist alongside Liàng?"
Because of her extraordinary record and experiences, she naturally left a strong impression. Many horse enthusiasts even gave her a nickname:
"End-of-Century Executive Vice Overlord."
…What a coincidence. Wandering here with Oguri Cap and Belno Light, he actually ran into TM Opera O and Meisho Doto…
While waiting outside the infirmary for Hayakawa to return, Kitahara thought amusingly.
Could it be that fate had already been determined at this moment? That these two would later still face off against each other?
In fact, if destiny were to be mentioned, Oguri Cap and TM Opera O did have some connection.
In the other world, Oguri Cap couldn't participate in the classic Tokyo Derby series due to JRA rules. The association changed its rules as a result, and TM Opera O was one of the beneficiaries.
Before the Satsuki Shō, one of the classic races, there were internal disagreements within the team. It was Oguri Cap's trainer, Seguchi Tobu, who stepped in to strongly support TM Opera O's late entry, allowing her to claim her first G1 championship.
In this world, fate… seemed to be subtly expressing itself in this way?
Kitahara couldn't help but glance at Oguri Cap.
Oguri Cap and Belno Light were chatting, and coincidentally, their topic was TM Opera O and Meisho Doto.
Noticing his gaze, Oguri Cap paused and turned to look at him. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Kitahara, have you heard of those two kids?"
"Uh… no."
Thinking, I really haven't seen them in this world before, Kitahara shook his head. "Why?"
Oguri Cap looked thoughtful. "I can't help but be curious about that child wearing earrings…"
"My intuition tells me that even though she's young now, she will definitely become very strong once fully developed."
So she's interested because she'll be strong in the future? Her intuition is still sharp…
Speaking of which, in the anime, TM Opera O and Meisho Doto appeared as 16–17-year-old girls, already in their full-grown forms.
Now they were still lolis. Doing the math, it seemed… their ages lined up perfectly with the other world's timeline.
It really seemed so.
Oguri Cap was born in 1985, while TM Opera O and Meisho Doto were both born in 1996—a nine-year gap.
So in this world, when Oguri Cap was active as a teenage horse girl, the other two were still 7–8-year-old lolis.
This meant… if one wanted to recruit horse girls, timing was crucial.
Those of Oguri Cap's generation—Tamamo Cross, Super Creek, Inari One—were surely already fully developed.
The next generation, born 1987–1988—Mejiro McQueen, Mejiro Ryan, Agnes Tachyon, Tokai Teio, and others—were presumably ready for the track.
The following generation, 1989–1990—Rice Shower, Sakura Chiyono O, Winning Ticket, Narita Taishin, etc.—the same.
But the two generations after that, and even later—Narita Brian, Hishi Amazon, Air Groove, etc.—might not yet be fully developed, possibly without trainers, making recruitment far easier than for active stars.
The later, the easier!
TM Opera O and Meisho Doto were still little lolis. Then those born before 1996—Taiki Shuttle, Silent Suzuka, El Condro Pasa, Special Week—and those born after 1996—Agnes Digital, Seiun Sky, Air Groove, Manhattan Cafe, etc.—all still little lolis!
Little lolis are much easier to abduct—uh, I mean recruit.
My focus doesn't need to be limited to active Uma Musume… no, it must not be limited to active ones!
What I'm planning will change the entire world of Uma Musume, so relying on just one generation is completely insufficient!
The next few generations, the generations after that… I want them all!
Thinking of the countless talented horse girls made Kitahara increasingly restless with excitement, wanting to go see the little Uma Musumes who might be at the academy.
However, the evening sky outside the infirmary reminded him it was late. If he, a grown man, tried to go find little Uma Musumes in the dorms now, he'd likely be mistaken for a pervert and sent to the police.
Being annihilated on the spot was also a possibility.
Moreover, Hayakawa, who had just taken TM Opera O and Meisho Doto back to the dorm, happened to return outside the infirmary at this moment.
[Holy shit, it took a long time to make sure the names are right and Im still not sure if the names for born after 1996 is correct or not]
(End of chapter)