[Since Mclaren got DSQ'd, Here's an extra chapter I promised you guys]
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When the subject of the Mejiro family head—her grandmother—was brought up, Mejiro McQueen's expression became solemn.
"Grandmother once said she hoped I could fulfill the Mejiro family's wish of achieving three consecutive generations dominating the Tenno Sho (Spring). It's also the reason I've been working so hard."
"Besides that, she hopes the Mejiro family can prosper for generations to come."
"To display the elegance and strength of Mejiro racehorse girls on the international stage, to lead the family from Japan onto the world stage—whether it's grandmother, my elder sisters, or us younger ones, it's something we all yearn for."
With one hand pressed gently over her chest, she glanced at Tokai Teio beside her. Seeing Teio's startled expression, a faint look of pride flickered across her eyes.
But that pride faded quickly, her brows knitting slightly.
"However, I still have a question regarding the overseas expedition—Chief Kitahara, I hope you can clarify something for me."
"Clarify?"Kitahara thought for a moment, then his expression showed he understood what she meant.
"You're referring to the conflict between your debut timing and the European expedition, right?"
Mejiro McQueen nodded.
"Yes. We recently completed the end-of-term physical examination."
"Judging from the results, by next year I should reach the standard to officially begin racing."
"If that's the case, by the second half or end of next year, I'll need to start preparing for my debut race."
"The Classic races and the Spring Tenno Sho are events I absolutely must take part in. For my debut, I definitely need to race in Japan."
"If I spend most of next year in Europe, it may affect my adaptability to Japanese tracks."
"Perhaps saying this is a little rude, but…"
She hesitated briefly, looked to her sister Mejiro Ramonu—who gave a small confirming nod—then straightened, her expression firm.
"I want to ask: During the European expedition, how do you plan to maintain training for Japanese track conditions? Has Chief Kitahara considered this?"
"When I talked with Sister Ramonu and Sister Ardan, I didn't hear anything regarding this issue."
Indeed, this must be what it means to be a racehorse girl with exceptional talent—Mejiro McQueen's ability to judge situations was extremely sharp.
And she was correct—regarding how to handle track adaptation after moving to Europe, neither Kitahara nor Eisei had yet planned things in such detailed layers.
Such long-term overseas adaptation arrangements were unprecedented. Normally, European expeditions were short-term tasks.
Many of the details simply could not be immediately solved. Eisei had originally planned to spend the later half of the year slowly perfecting the plan.
But while full plans weren't completed, there were initial concepts.
"McQueen's point is very good. Track adaptation is indeed something that must be considered. Simultaneous training for both Japanese and European track types is quite necessary."
Kitahara praised her. As McQueen brightened proudly, he couldn't help but smile.
"Eisei doesn't have a detailed plan yet, but we do have the general direction."
"And since you brought this up, now is a good time to explain briefly to you and Teio. Ramonu probably isn't aware of this either."
Sweeping his gaze around the room, he continued:
"In terms of track facilities, Eisei intends to make use of certain opportunities to establish a track in Europe that closely matches Japanese course conditions."
"That way, even when in Europe, you can train for both course types."
What he referred to was of course the European manor purchased by Satomi—but not only that.
Although they had not yet finalized whether they would use the existing facility, Kitahara felt that using a similar approach would still be viable.
For example, Eisei could eventually buy their own large training estate in Europe.
The difficulty was not lack of prize money nor inability of Kawawan Corporation to fund it.
Up to now, Oguri Cap and the others had participated only in major stakes: the Classic Triple Crown, the Spring Tenno Sho—top tier Grade 1 races.
The prize money for champions was in the tens of millions. Even placements down to fifth earned multimillion payouts.
Trainers' shares and allowances were also sizable.
Meanwhile, Kawawan Corp's business expansion was thriving—their fixed assets and working capital continuously rising, practically booming.
The only problem: pulling such a huge sum at once could exert dangerous pressure on the company's cash flow.
In business, fixed assets matter far less than liquid capital.With liquid capital, projects can move, generating profits that circulate back into other ventures.
But if cash flow breaks, not only current projects but even new ventures collapse—and the company is affected.
Hence the need for half a year to arrange this carefully.
There were also upcoming large revenue projects: the Uma Musume game, film production, etc.
With those projects, preparing funds before next year should be realistically manageable without harm.
Since such matters involved heavy business planning and legal structuring, only Kitahara and Tomomi Konan handled them.
To the racehorse girls like Oguri Cap? They only knew that their earnings somehow kept increasing.
How it increased, how it was divided—they were not concerned.
So Kitahara spent some time explaining it simply.
"...I don't fully understand everything," Mejiro McQueen admitted thoughtfully with a small smile, "but it's clear you've planned a lot, Chief Kitahara."
"If that's the case, then it shouldn't be a major problem."
"If it's the Eisei team, I believe you can definitely solve the adaptation issue."
"Perhaps unlike Emperor, I don't even need to hesitate—I think I can start joining Eisei's training immediately."
"Once I reach full racing readiness next year, I can officially enter as a pre-debut racer."
"So, then—"
"W-wait! Who said I need to hesitate? I want to do it too!"
Before McQueen finished speaking, Tokai Teio cut in fiercely, refusing to lose.
"Since McQueen said so, then I'll join Eisei's training right now too!"
"Don't worry, Uncle! No matter how tough the training is, I'll finish it beautifully! I won't lose to a certain someone!"
"Eh…? A certain someone? Who are you talking about?"
For some mysterious reason, Mejiro McQueen always struggled to maintain her elegant lady-like composure in front of Tokai Teio. Being interrupted like that made her visibly flustered.
"And—and stop copying the way I speak!"
"I'm not copying you! These are all my own thoughts!"
Teio shot back defiantly.
"But I said it first. If I said it first, then if you say it after, that means you're copying me—!"
"No no no! I'm not listening! I'm not listening! I'm not copying McQueen at all!"
Teio clamped both hands over her ears, winked one eye, stuck out her tongue, and made a silly face.
"You—! You little—!"
Clearly furious, Mejiro McQueen looked about to lose her refined lady composure entirely.
"All right, all right, don't fight, you two… honestly…"
Feeling a sense of déjà vu watching the two argue, Kitahara instinctively tried to mediate.
"Coincidentally, that was exactly my thought as well."
Then his tone shifted slightly:
"Whether it's about your personal future plans, or the team's adaptive strategy—none of these are matters that can be figured out in a single moment."
"The best approach, of course, is to try it in practice—come to Eisei personally and give it a test."
"After the Takarazuka Kinen and Takamatsunomiya Kinen, we'll begin the joint training camp. The two of you can use that period to adapt together."
"If everything goes smoothly, then we can proceed using this arrangement."
"Ladies, do either of you have any objections to this plan?"
At this final question, Kitahara looked toward Symboli Rudolf and Mejiro Ramonu
These two legendary racehorse girls now carried a sort of parental presence. At this moment, they were completely like parents bringing children for a consultation with a teacher.
No matter what the children thought, the ones who made the final decision were always the adults—so their opinions were extremely important.
"I don't see any issue. If anything—"
Hearing Kitahara's inquiry, Symboli Rudolf glanced at Mejiro Ramonu, and when the latter returned a confirming look, she smiled gently and turned back to Kitahara.
"This was our original intention from the beginning."
"Even though the Eisei team was only recently established, it has already demonstrated many refreshing and innovative training methods."
"And a joint training camp is a first for Eisei as well."
"It's not that I'm worried you won't handle it well—on the contrary, I believe during this period, you'll likely come up with additional excellent methods."
"So bringing Teio and McQueen early, before the camp begins, is precisely so they can elevate themselves through this training opportunity."
"Therefore, for the upcoming period, I'll entrust these two children to you, Kitahara."
Finishing her statement, Symboli Rudolf bowed formally to Kitahara, and Mejiro Ramonu followed suit with the same respectful posture.
"Then there are no major problems. In that case—"
Seeing Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen hurriedly bowing and saying 'Please take care of us,' Kitahara laughed softly.
"Let's start adapting from this strategy meeting."
"We're just about to begin the Takarazuka Kinen race planning, which is also an important aspect of Eisei training."
"You two can start here—experience how we normally approach training and racing."
After chatting with the two pairs of "parents and students," the original race-planning meeting had been delayed slightly. However, the members waiting inside the conference room had been patient.
Once they entered, Kitahara briefly summarized what had been discussed outside, and immediately the room buzzed with excitement.
"Ohhh! Teio and McQueen are planning to join Eisei? That's fantastic!"
Oguri Cap exclaimed in excitement, then gently patted the head of young Oguri Roman beside her.
"That means from now on, Roman will have friends her age to run with."
"That's something I've been worried about."
"Roman runs very well, but she's still too young. When she trains with us, she can't keep up and it's too exhausting for her."
Hearing her big sister's concern, Oguri Roman instantly displayed a blissful smile.
She grinned at her sister for a moment, then quickly bowed to Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen:
"G-good afternoon, senpais. If we train and run together later, I'll do my best. Please take good care of me."
"Oooh! Roman has changed so much!"
Tokai Teio, naturally outgoing, behaved just as confidently and relaxed in the meeting room—neither nervous nor shy in self-introduction or greetings.
She even playfully teased Oguri Roman:
"Last time I showed you around campus, you were still super timid!"
"Now you speak confidently and train confidently too—very impressive!"
"Right? Isn't that right, McQueen?"
This sudden question caught Mejiro McQueen completely off guard—she didn't expect her friend to suddenly throw the topic to her.
"Eh? What…?"
But perhaps accustomed to being teased, she reacted quickly.
"Ah, yes. Roman has matured a lot and grown remarkably."
Smiling, she leaned closer and shook Roman's hand.
"And there's no need to call me 'senpai.' Since you joined Eisei before I did, you should technically be the senpai."
"…Tsk, she actually caught that. Shame…"
Tokai Teio muttered in a vague tone.
Oguri Cap and Oguri Roman had known Teio and McQueen for quite some time, and the others had met them during the earlier "Big Eater Challenge," so after some casual introductions, the horse girls quickly warmed up to each other.
Meanwhile, Kitahara was thinking about another matter.
For Eisei's future development, they would need more and more racehorse girls.
From a training and team development perspective, continuous racing and training would raise overall standards.
And for the horse girls themselves, training with similarly skilled peers or rivals was often far more effective than solo practice, a fact already proven through Eisei's past training results.
Additionally, industry-wide considerations were also important.
Previously, to adjust Tamamo Cross's physical condition, they specifically contacted Gold Ship.
With Oguri Cap and Oguri Roman, that gave them four grey-bloodline racehorse girls at different growth stages.
Through long-term analysis of their data, they had gradually built a basic framework.
Now Mejiro McQueen—also a grey bloodline—was joining.
So that made:
Gold Ship — not yet fully developed
Oguri Roman — just entering full development
Mejiro McQueen — early development
Oguri Cap — classic year
Tamamo Cross — Senior Year
This formed an extraordinarily complete "Grey Bloodline Racehorse Girl Development System Data Source."
What results these comprehensive data would lead to was uncertain, but there was no doubt the outcome would benefit their long-term growth and all other grey-bloodline racehorse girls.
Similar long-term projects existed throughout the Eisei team.
And with Oguri Cap's earlier suggestion about matching training partners by age, Kitahara suddenly felt that perhaps, taking advantage of this opportunity with Teio and McQueen, they could begin recruiting more members while adjusting the camp schedule.
He remembered many girls liked to visit Eisei for practice earlier—so after Takarazuka Kinen and Takamatsunomiya Kinen, they could begin arranging it.
Thinking that, Kitahara clapped his hands, drawing the lively room's attention.
"Alright, save casual chatting for after the meeting—and after the race there will be plenty of time. For now, the priority is the race."
After the opening statement, everyone except Teio and McQueen quickly shifted focus, sitting straight and looking toward the projected display—an instinctive reaction.
Of course Kitahara noticed the two newcomers' delay in responding, but his intention was precisely to have them experience Eisei's environment firsthand. Once they felt it, discussions could follow—so he didn't intervene.
He pulled up the prepared slideshow and switched to the list of competitors.
"For this Takarazuka Kinen, the opponent we must pay the most attention to is—"
"Akitsu Teio."
"Three-time G1 winner. In last year's Tenno Sho Autumn and Mile Championship, she won by a total margin of five lengths."
"And in the mid-distance Hakodate Kinen, she broke the race record."