"No problem at all, everything will be revised according to your ideas—I have no objections whatsoever!"
Kitahara was already deeply impressed by the talent of his senpai, Kurokawa Miyu. She hadn't even read the original work, yet based on the information she knew and her skill in film production, she was able to raise the script he provided to the same level as the original.
In this way, the script became just as full of twists and turns as the original. And because in this world horse girls actually exist, the film would have an even stronger sense of realism and immersion. Adding in the fact that the horse girls involved were all celebrity-like figures, the finished product would surely be no worse than the original.
Beyond the advantage in scriptwriting, the funding side was also stronger in this world.
In the other world, the original copyright holder was essentially a gaming company, not a film studio. Their anime-related works varied greatly in quality. By contrast, Nishijin Productions focused exclusively on films, so not only were the levels of expertise different, but the strength was clearly unequal.
In other words, once this "Shinzan: The Movie" was released, public opinion wouldn't just be diverted away from Oguri Cap. The hype surrounding the entire URA competition would probably cool down too.
Kitahara couldn't help feeling excited, wanting to ask how the script would be further revised, or even how the casting would be arranged, so that the project could advance more quickly and he and Oguri Cap could train in peace without interference.
Almost as if she anticipated his thoughts, Kurokawa Miyu, having received his agreement, continued:
"In that case, I think I'll write the script myself."
"It's not that I don't trust you, Kitahara, but I admit I'm more skilled in this area. And since you'll be busy with training and racing, it's better you focus on your main responsibilities. Once the script is done, I'll have Inuko find people to handle the drafts and subsequent processes. All you'll need to do is review and sign off."
After pausing, she added:
"As for the film crew, our company already has one, so don't worry about that."
"For actors, I plan to directly contact Rudolf, CB, and Shinzan, and ask them to take some time to play themselves."
She chuckled. "Come to think of it, when they were little and used to play at my place, they were always begging me to make a movie for them. I agreed back then, but I hesitated for a long time, never knowing what kind of script to write. With time, they probably forgot. But now, thanks to your script, Kitahara, I can finally fulfill that promise."
"As for acting—during their careers, they've often performed on the winner's stage. Their singing and dancing fundamentals are better than many of Nishijin's stars. And I'll personally coach them, so there will be no problem."
"Well then, if there are no objections, we'll proceed like this. How does that sound?"
You've already arranged everything—what could I possibly say?
Utterly convinced, Kitahara nodded vigorously—even if Miyu couldn't see it over the phone. "No problem at all. I'm very grateful, Ms. Kurokawa."
"No need to thank me. I simply… love the horse girls deeply."
There was a brief silence on the other end. Then she said, "This might be a bit impolite, but if you have time, Kitahara, I'd like you to look over a script I wrote some time ago and give me your thoughts."
Kitahara froze. He knew his experience in film only extended to horse girl topics, and was about to refuse, but she spoke again.
Her tone was slightly nervous, even hesitant:
"This script… is called Phantom Horse. I hesitated for a long time, not knowing if it was good enough. Many peers who saw it privately praised it, but I know there are still many problems."
"Kitahara, you have talent, and you love the horse girls and understand them well, so…"
Her tone grew almost pleading. "I'd like you to look it over. Please."
Then, speaking more quickly:
"Ah… I'm getting old, I can't stay up any longer. Sorry, Kitahara, I need to rest… Masato, please talk with Kitahara a bit more."
Kitahara didn't immediately realize the voice had changed on the other end—he was too shocked.
In the parallel world, the protagonist of Phantom Horse was Tazuna—or rather, Tokino Minoru.
The producer of that film was extremely famous: Nagata Masaichi, one of Japan's top film producers. He was known for overseeing films such as Kurosawa Akira's Rashomon, the Zatoichi series, and monster films.
And Nagata Masaichi was precisely the owner of Tokino Minoru.
Kitahara knew this. He'd even followed this line of thought in his research, but no matter how much he dug, he found no information linking these films or producers. So he had never been able to confirm Tazuna's true identity.
But now—he was certain. Tazuna was Tokino Minoru. Only, for some unknown reason, she retained the speed and physique of a horse girl, yet no longer had their appearance—she looked like a human woman.
And the reason for this must be related to Kurokawa Miyu. Because now it was clear: the famous filmmaker's identity matched, the Phantom Horse script matched, only it hadn't been filmed. This "genius woman of film" corresponded directly to Nagata Masaichi in the parallel world.
That meant she likely knew Tazuna personally.
So—what happened back then, that severed their connection so completely? Why was Tazuna now like this? Could horse girls truly turn into humans?
And if something really had happened back then, the reason he couldn't find anything in the records was likely because it was deliberately hidden—covered up by Kurokawa Miyu or Nishijin Productions.
A conglomerate of that level certainly had the power to erase records, or even persuade the URA to hide information…
As these thoughts swirled, Kitahara was struck with the urge to ask directly. But then he realized the voice had changed—it was now Kurokawa Masato.
"Hello? Is the signal bad, Kitahara? Are you still there?"
"Ah—yes, I'm here. Sorry, I was distracted."
Collecting his thoughts quickly, Kitahara realized even if his suspicions were correct, there were too many questions. And likely too many complications. Better not to ask now—it would be impolite.
At the very least, he would wait until he had read the Phantom Horse script.
Resolving himself, he continued: "Masato, I was surprised that your mother would ask me to review her script. But since a senpai requested it, and it's not a difficult matter, I have no reason to refuse. So if you could bring the script to me, I'll study it carefully."
Masato didn't doubt his words—he was simply happy Kitahara agreed.
"Thank you, Kitahara. My mother sometimes gets a little fixated on these artistic matters—I apologize for troubling you."
Then, like his mother, he quickly got down to business.
"I'll personally deliver her script to you. In the meantime, I'll begin arrangements for your own script."
"Although it will take my mother some time to refine hers, there are things we can start early, like publicity and partnerships…"
He thought for a moment. "I recall you valued Fuji the reporter from Shining Communications. I know him too. We can commission him to handle the promotional planning."
"As for Kawawan Enterprises, I'll have staff negotiate with them. Since you haven't registered your script's copyright yet, I'll also have Ms. Konan assist with the paperwork. Please don't worry."
"Oh—and don't think you're troubling me. Honestly, I don't have much talent in art; at heart, I'm still a businessman. From a business perspective, if my mother values a script, it must have immense commercial potential. That's why I'm eager. You don't need to worry about any of that—just focus on training."
He chuckled. "Don't forget, the whole point of this is to ensure you have a calm environment for training. Isn't that what matters most to you?"
"Well then, Kitahara—how do you feel about my arrangements?"
"Ah… you've already covered everything, both in reason and sentiment. What else could I say?"
Kitahara laughed too. "Then I'll gratefully accept. I'll entrust everything to you, Ms. Konan, and Fuji the reporter, while I focus on training."
"No problem—you can expect good news from us. We won't let you down," Masato promised with a smile.
Though the Phantom Horse script added an element of personal curiosity, the outcome of these negotiations was 100% satisfactory.
The successful launch of the Uma Musume Season 2: Adaptation script would surely bring huge returns, more funding for the team, and closer ties with Nishijin Productions and the Kurokawas. Most importantly, it would generate massive public interest during promotion and release, drawing attention away from Oguri Cap and allowing the team to train in peace.
On the Nishijin side, both Masato and his mother would gain what they wanted—business and art. Kitahara only needed to cooperate with the process and review Phantom Horse, without disrupting training or races.
A true win-win.
Content with the results, Kitahara didn't forget the evening banquet. He returned to the hall and relaxed happily with the others.
The relaxation lasted until the next day. After morning training, Kitahara thought for a moment, then decided to move the evening's summary meeting forward and give the team one or two days of rest.
"These past weeks, in preparation for the Satsuki Sho trial, everyone has worked hard—especially Oguri, Creek, and Ardan, who raced. So it's time to rest for a day or two."
He had barely started his speech when Komiyama cut in, perhaps because they were outside the office and everyone was more casual.
"Wait, wait, senpai! Aren't you forgetting Tamamo and Inari still have a race?"
"That's right, Kitahara. Rest is important, but Oguri and the others can rest. Tamamo and Inari need to keep training."
Yuzuhara chimed in: "As for us, a little break is fine, but we didn't run ourselves to exhaustion. No need for a long rest."
"Exactly! Watching three races in a row yesterday made my legs itch—I wanna run too!"
Tamamo Cross stretched one arm across her shoulder while spinning the other like a windmill. "Right, Inari?" she teased with a wink.
"Of course! My legs itch too, I feel awful, I wanna race so bad—if I don't, I'll die of frustration~"
These two little ones from the Eisei Team were so used to bickering, they now did it in sync. As soon as Tamamo said her line, Inari copied her in an exaggerated Kansai accent.
"…Can you two let me finish? You want to run? How about doing ten laps around Central Academy's walls right now?"
Kitahara rolled his eyes, joining in the lighthearted mood. "And whoever's last—no lunch for you."
"Ehh? That's too cruel, Kitahara!"
Before Tamamo or Inari could respond, Oguri yelped in alarm: "No lunch after skipping breakfast? That'll kill us!"
"Don't exaggerate, Oguri. And didn't you realize Chief Kitahara was joking…?" x5.
Her innocent outburst drew a group retort from the other five horse girls, who then all laughed.
"Alright, alright, I was joking. But seriously, let me finish first."
Kitahara smiled warmly.
"Tamamo and Inari's next race is the G2 Hanshin Daishoten, 3000m turf. This will be our team's first long-distance race, so we have to prepare carefully."
"Also, in the Classic Triple Crown, the last race—the Kikuka Sho—is also 3000m. Once you two run Hanshin, you'll gain valuable experience to pass on to Oguri, Creek, and Ardan. So…"
"Hey, hey, Oguri, did you hear that? We're your senpais!" Tamamo elbowed Oguri's side with a grin, then straightened her posture proudly.
"Cough! Come on, call me Tamamo-senpai!"
"Oh, oh, me too! I'm a senpai too!"
Inari leapt up beside Tamamo, puffed out her chest and pointed arrogantly.
"Ahem! You too, Creek, Ardan, Light—you all call me Inari-senpai!"
"Yessir! Hello, Tamamo-senpai! Hello, Inari-senpai!" x4.
Having trained together for so long, Oguri and the others knew Tamamo and Inari were joking. They were lively girls themselves, so they cheerfully played along.
"…You three also want to do those ten laps? Last place gets no lunch."
Kitahara, amused, teased again. But this time, even Oguri knew he was joking, so no one replied.
"Alright, enough horsing around. Let me finish."
He repeated with a smile. This time, everyone settled down, still smiling but focused.
"As for rest: Tamamo and Inari may not have raced recently, but they've run 2000m+ races before, and they've been training alongside Oguri and the others for a month without slacking. So while Hanshin Daishoten is longer than their past races, their basic ability is fine."
He analyzed: "That means although the race is only a few days away—March 27—we don't need to rush. Rest for 1–2 days, then spend the remaining days focused on long-distance adaptation training. It'll be fine."
"Alright, that's settled. Kyoko, Light, stay behind. Everyone else, you're free."
Outside of training and racing, Kitahara was always easygoing. So the girls cheered and ran off happily. Yuzuhara and Komiyama, knowing the discussion ahead was technical, didn't linger either.
Once the others had gone, Kitahara turned to Kyoko and Hikari.
"I want to ask—can we manage to put together a basic wind tunnel simulator?"
The two blinked, then Kyoko quickly realized.
"You mean for testing Tamamo and Inari for the 3000m, Kitahara?"
"Yes, exactly." Kitahara nodded.
"For long-distance training, one of the difficulties is that even routine sessions consume much more stamina than other races. That means longer warm-ups, longer recovery, and fewer training cycles per day. Which reduces the amount of data we can gather."
"And since the Eisei Team was founded on the principle of training through reliable data, a drop in data volume would weaken results. So we need to find a way to keep it high."
Miyamura Kyoko agreed.
"True. Usually, to get statistically meaningful results, you need hundreds of samples. For distances under 2000m, with our five active horse girls, we can collect enough in about a week. But for longer distances, it might take half a month, or even a month or more."
"With wind tunnel equipment, we could collect much more detailed data. It can simulate wind speed across all distances and conditions, and most importantly, it saves time. A single simulation produces a huge amount of useful data for analysis."
"With such equipment, not only would Tamamo and Inari's chances improve for Hanshin Daishoten, but later this year Oguri and the others would also have a greater advantage for the Kikuka Sho."
(End of Chapter)