Because the expenses would be reimbursed this time, Shuta An chose a better hotel for Oguri Cap than the one they stayed in when preparing for the Yayoi Sho.
"This hotel's training facilities are superior to the previous one, though naturally the price is higher. But since the Tokai URA Association will reimburse it, there's nothing to worry about," Shuta An explained, showing Oguri Cap the hotel information before departure.
After returning to Kasamatsu from Hokkaido, Oguri Cap spent some time at the academy and at home. Now she was preparing to depart for Tokyo again.
"Sigh—" The Gray Uma Musume exhaled softly. "It feels like ever since this year started, I've hardly been home, always traveling."
"That's inevitable. We're not affiliated with Central. Challenging the Central Twinkle Series is practically an expedition every time," Shuta An said. "Even after you retire from the Twinkle Series and compete in the Dream Trophy Series, you'll still be flying everywhere—unless you stop racing entirely. Only then can you stay home all you want."
"That won't do," Oguri Cap said firmly, shaking her head. "To live up to everyone's expectations, I must keep running."
"It's not like you can never go home." Shuta An reached out and gently held her soft hand. "During training breaks, if you miss home, you can always take the Shinkansen back to Kasamatsu."
"Mm-hmm…" Oguri Cap responded with a soft nasal hum.
Meanwhile, Berno Light remained casual. "My mom hopes I don't stay home too much. She wants me to go out and see more of the world while I can. The family store doesn't need me to inherit it anyway— Even if it did, Mom thinks becoming Ann's assistant has more potential than taking over her business."
"Well, she already saw the newspaper with two photos," Shuta An said with a grin. "Having your daughter appear in a French newspaper—in a positive light, no less—is definitely something she can show off about to her friends."
"That's right." Berno Light laughed. "A few days ago, I went shopping with Mom and she ran into an old classmate. While they were chatting, Mom started showing off about how Oguri and I appeared in French media, and she even pulled out her phone to show them the report."
"Pfft—" Oguri Cap burst into giggles. She could easily imagine Berno Light's mother proudly showing off.
On the Shinkansen to Tokyo, Shuta An pulled out his phone and began chatting with Symboli Rudolf. He had received Tokai Teio's medical examination report some time ago, but couldn't fully interpret certain aspects on his own. So he sent it to a trusted doctor in America—and was still waiting for a reply. Thus, today's topic with Symboli Rudolf centered on the Gray Uma Musume sleeping soundly beside him.
"Even though you've repeatedly revealed that Oguri Cap's next race is the Autumn Tenno Sho, many people still don't know her schedule. Recently, even URA staff have asked me, wanting to know where she'll race next," Symboli Rudolf complained.
"Why are they so impatient?" Shuta An shook his head lightly. "If they just searched a little, they'd know I already planned everything."
"That's true" Symboli Rudolf sighed. "But plenty of people have terrible information search skills. They really need something absolutely clear and updated in real time—"
"So Miss Symboli Rudolf wants me to create a blog to post updates about Oguri Cap?" Shuta An immediately caught on.
"That's right," she replied. "You can post information about Oguri—and in the future, any other Uma Musumes you train. Occasionally uploading daily-life or training photos would also help boost Oguri Cap's popularity."
After a moment of thought, Shuta An nodded. "You're right. I'll accept your suggestion and create a blog."
"If you don't want to be bothered later, just disable the comments. Turn the blog into a one-way information channel," Symboli Rudolf advised.
"I know." At first, he hadn't thought it was necessary, but the more he considered it, the more reasonable it seemed.
There's no telling what kind of people appear online. If Oguri or Berno see negative comments and get affected mentally, that would be unacceptable. Better to 'inconvenience' the fans a little.
Registering a blog took almost no time. Shuta An finished the registration before the train even reached Tokyo. All that remained was to decorate the blog at the hotel before putting it to use.
Before decorating, he needed to choose a blog name.
"Although it's mainly for Oguri's information right now, I'll definitely post info about future Uma Musumes I train as well," he muttered. "If I enter Central someday, I'll also need a team name. So why not decide now?"
He began checking the team names used by current Central Tracen teams—collision would be troublesome.
"It seems everyone uses names of stars in constellations," Shuta An noted. "Then I'll use a star name too."
Every star has its own meaning. After browsing for a while, he settled on one choice.
"Why not use the English name of Beta Aquarii? Beta Aquarii—Sadalsuud—meant "luck of lucks."
In the Twinkle Series, luck was unavoidable. And Shuta An hoped that every Uma Musume he trained would be accompanied by as much luck as possible. After deciding, he immediately contacted Symboli Rudolf.
"I see," she responded. "I'll register Sadalsuud in advance so no other Trainer takes it."
"Thank you, Miss Symboli Rudolf." Relieved, Shuta An finalized the name on his phone:
"Sadalsuud's Notice Board."
When they settled into the hotel, he visited Oguri Cap and Berno Light's room and explained the new blog and team name.
"Local races don't usually use team names. While we're still locally affiliated for now, we'll definitely be joining Central and international Twinkle Series events eventually, so having a team name is necessary," he explained. "I created this one. Do either of you object?"
"No objections," Oguri Cap and Berno Light replied. For the two girls, an additional name didn't affect anything—and the meaning behind it was positive.
"In that case, I'll submit the name to the academy as well. Other teams may not have names, but ours will." With their approval, Shuta An proceeded.
After decorating the blog, he sat at the desk and drafted the very first announcement—
"Oguri Cap's Next Race Report."
"After winning the Prix du Jockey Club, the Trainer and Oguri Cap held an in-depth discussion and created a reasonable future plan. To fulfill Oguri Cap's wishes and meet fans' expectations, it has been decided that her next race will be the G1 Twinkle Series Autumn Tenno Sho, held at Tokyo Racecourse at the end of October.
"In the coming weeks, the Sadalsuud team will do everything possible to adjust Oguri Cap's condition, striving to enter the Autumn Tenno Sho in the best form."
A brand-new blog rarely gains attention on its own, but with the right promotion, things change. After Shuta An posted the announcement, Symboli Rudolf immediately "leaked" it to the press.
And then the media began promoting it in full force. For Central Tracen teams, using blogs to share race schedules and training status was nothing new. But for a locally affiliated team from outside Central, Shuta An was the first.
The next day, Shuta An noticed the number of followers passing five digits.
"That was fast" He narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "The promotional effect is much better than I expected."
But he didn't have time to keep an eye on the follower count; he had more important matters to handle—such as communicating with the American doctor about Tokai Teio's medical data.
Last month, after Tokai Teio completed her 1000-meter dash with an impressive stopwatch time, Shuta An arranged for Symboli Rudolf to take her for a medical exam. Although Miyagi Prefecture's medical capabilities lagged behind Tokyo's, there was no problem in conducting a basic examination for an Uma Musume.
Shuta An sent that report—along with one from six months earlier—to an old acquaintance specializing in sports science on the West Coast.
"Dr. Grace, did you find anything from the two medical reports I sent you?" he asked by email.
Not long after, the reply arrived—
"F***, why are you messaging me at this hour?!"
"Uh—" Shuta An rubbed the bridge of his nose awkwardly. "Then Dr. Grace, please go back to sleep?"
"Forget it, let's talk on Line." Moments later, a Line message came through—
"I haven't read everything thoroughly yet, but I need to confirm something first, Shuta." Dr. Grace's voice message was slightly slurred—clearly he had been woken up.
"What is it?" Shuta An replied.
"Did you really not falsify these two sets of data?" Dr. Grace asked. "The numbers look strange to me. Based on the growth, these two should practically belong to the same Uma Musume."
"Is the growth rate a problem?" Shuta An misunderstood.
"No. While the growth rate is amazing, it's not impossible. I recently dug up a monster named Arazi from West Coast Tracen Academy's medical records. I feel like that kid might become an American Triple Crown winner someday."
"That's impressive." Although Shuta An was skeptical. After Secretariat, decades had passed without another American Triple Crown winner. He doubted that this Arazi—likely years away from debut—could break the curse.
"Back to the topic." Dr. Grace quickly corrected himself. "Shuta, the muscle strength and bone strength of this child's legs don't match."
"Mismatched?" Shuta An frowned.
"I mean the child has incredible muscle power—explosive strength beyond normal—but her leg bone strength is only average."
"So that means…" Shuta An's expression tightened.
"If she unleashes her full explosive power, it's highly likely she'll fracture her legs. Her bones simply can't withstand the force." Dr. Grace stated it plainly.
"She can't go all out?" Shuta An exhaled, anxiety rising. The vague shadow he sensed when observing Tokai Teio was now becoming reality.
Still, he did not freeze. He immediately asked, "Then, Dr. Grace, is there a way to prevent that? Adjusting diet, training—boosting bone density? What else should be supplemented?"
"When you were studying on the West Coast, Shuta, there was an important Swedish paper about Vitamin K2's role in bone health. That vitamin needs attention."
"OK, OK." Shuta An agreed at once.
"And don't think strengthening bone density is something that'll show results overnight," Dr. Grace added.
"I understand." The young man closed his eyes, sinking deep into thought. "I'll think of other solutions."