Kitahara had been about to keep explaining, but Oguri Cap had already figured it out.
"I see. So situations like being boxed in—I'll be running into them a lot once I enter Central, won't I?"
Oguri Cap pinched her chin, her eyes flashing with clever light. "Once or twice, I can deal with using the outer-lane tactic. But if it happens a lot, the opponents will come up with countermeasures against me."
"No, actually—they probably already have ways to deal with outer-lane tactics. So I need to prepare ahead of time."
"If they herd me into the inner-lane congestion, I'll cut to the outside. If they shove me wide, I'll cut back in. Either way works."
"Kitahara, you had Light and Kyoko set up the track that way because you want me to develop the ability to switch at any position, right?"
After seeing Oguri Cap come up with tactics on her own in the previous meeting, Kitahara no longer felt surprise at her talent—only admiration.
"Correct. That's exactly what I'm after."
He then looked over at Super Creek. "You'll need to master this too. With Oguri Cap leading the way, the two of you can exchange notes and help each other. That way, you'll pick it up faster, and Oguri Cap can refine it even more."
"Got it. I'll do it."
Super Creek nodded firmly, then looked puzzled.
"So, Kitahara-sensei, do you have something on tomorrow? From what you said earlier, it sounded like you won't have time to watch over me and Oguri?"
Kitahara nodded.
"Tomorrow's the UAA Gala. A few days ago, I received an invitation from Maruzensky—to go accept an award."
Only then did he realize he hadn't told Oguri Cap and the others about it yet.
"Eh—eh?! Kitahara-sensei got invited to the UAA Gala? C-Can you take me with you to see it?"
Belno Light blurted out, eyes wide.
"I'd like to go too. My grandfath—uh, no, my teacher took me once, but that was just to listen to some seminars. I've never been to the gala banquet itself."
Even now, Miyamura Kyoko had never mentioned her true identity in front of Kitahara and the others.
She didn't want people to know she was Kubo Ren's granddaughter. Her family felt that she should achieve things on her own merit, not under her family's shadow.
Having slipped up in her excitement, she quickly corrected herself and carefully glanced around. Seeing no one react, she let out a silent sigh of relief.
The others' attention was all on Oguri Cap.
"Hm? U…U-what now? What's that?" Oguri Cap looked completely blank.
"It's the Uma Musume world's annual grand event—second only to the URA Awards at the start of the year," Super Creek said with a smile. "The UAA announces awards for the year's most outstanding horse girls and trainers."
"It's different from the URA Awards. The URA Awards name the horse girls and trainers most anticipated in the upcoming year."
"In other words, if Kitahara-sensei got invited to the UAA, he's already considered one of the Central Association's top trainers."
Oguri Cap's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Really? That's amazing! Kitahara was already super strong, so of course that… what's-it-called… Yoo-Ei-Ei thing should invite him!"
She still couldn't get UAA right, but she had no doubt Kitahara deserved the honor.
"It's nothing big. Honestly, I'm not that interested in the awards I've gotten so far."
Kitahara shook his head with a small smile. "What I want is for our results to prove everything—not trophies."
"If there are awards worth anything, I want us to go on stage together to claim them—not me alone."
The room went quiet. Belno light was the first to show a look of longing.
"M-me? I could go on stage at the UAA Gala to accept an award? I—I…"
She stammered, then her expression dimmed a little. "But I probably won't be going to the track in the future… so in that case… huh? Kitahara-sensei?"
Before she could finish, Kitahara reached out and gently patted her head with a smile.
"The UAA has a 'Technological Excellence Award.' It's for people—and horse girls—who've made outstanding contributions in the technical field."
Looking at her with encouraging eyes, Kitahara said sincerely, "I believe, Light—you'll definitely win that award someday."
"Kitahara-sensei…"
Her eyes wavered, her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
"I believe in her too—Light will definitely get that award," Oguri Cap said, stepping forward, taking Lighti's hand seriously.
Super Creek and Miyamura Kyoko also gave her warm, encouraging looks.
"Not just Light—I believe in all of us," Kitahara said. "Including Tamamo, Komiyama, Inari, Taro… We may not have all gathered in Central yet, but by this time next year, we'll be at the UAA together."
Following Kitahara's arrangements, the next day, after handing Oguri Cap and Super Creek's training over to Belno Light and Miyamura Kyoko, he set off alone for Tokyo.
His plan was to pick up the award and leave. If train schedules worked out, he'd return to Kasamatsu that same night.
Oguri Cap's race was only nine days away, and while his own exam schedule hadn't been officially announced, it would likely be around the 10th. There was no reason to waste time on anything else.
Leaving the station, Kitahara thought for a moment and called his uncle, Roppei Ginjirō.
Roppei had long since finished his family visit to Kasamatsu and returned to Central, so there was no need to trouble Suzukawa Tazuna like last time.
"Yo, Uncle Roppei—"
"Call me Musaka, you thick-headed brat!"
They exchanged their usual opening jab before Roppei continued on the other end:"Look at you, making waves now. 'Best Local Trainer,' 'Rookie Trainer of the Year'—I didn't even get either of those back in my day. That one went to Nansei, that… ahem…"
He cleared his throat, then changed the topic.
"Anyway, you got off the train, right? Come by Central Academy, to the Board of Directors' office. Someone wants to meet you. Dress properly—don't embarrass yourself."
"Huh? Who wants to meet me? Uncle, I—"
Before he could finish, the line went dead, replaced by the steady beeping of a disconnected call.
"…What the hell? Not even going to explain, huh?"
Still, if it was the Board office, then it probably wasn't Symboli Rudolf calling him over. Otherwise, it'd be the Student Council office.
Which meant…
Kitahara's heart skipped a beat.
The Chairwoman?
A mental image popped into his head: snow-white bangs framing her temples, light-brown long hair, a sun hat perched on her head—and a tiny kitten lounging on top of it.
The "loli" herself: Central Tracen Academy's Chairwoman, Akikawa Yayoi.
Like Tazuna, Akikawa Yayoi presented herself as a "legal loli"—a human. But from all sorts of hints, fans speculated her true model was also a horse.
And not just any horse—one of the most important in Japanese racing history: Northern Taste.
Northern Taste had a respectable racing career—born in Canada, raced overseas, with a record of 20 starts, 5 wins, 1 second. But more famous, and far more important, was what came after.
As a sire, Northern Taste had 1,009 offspring, its bloodline spread across Japan—an absolute titan in a very specific field.
Perhaps it was for that very reason that the official lore made her the Chairwoman of Central Tracen Academy—after all, most horses in Japan could trace their lineage back to Northern Taste somewhere.
And as a "horse girl"—or perhaps "suspected horse girl"—this legal-loli Chairwoman's love for the horse girls was obvious to all.
She personally drove steamrollers to smooth tracks for them, helped trainers upgrade facilities, granted horse girls attribute boosts and skills, carefully prepared victory banquets—she covered it all.
…Still, if the Chairwoman herself really wanted to see him at this moment, then what could it be about?
Thinking back, Kitahara suddenly found himself curious.
(End of Chapter)