In the spring of April, sakura blossoms fell from the sky under the caress of a gentle breeze, forming a pink wave.
In this intoxicating warmth, two girls in dark blue uniforms ran quickly forward, stepping on the pink flowers covering the ground.
The high, erect ears on their heads and the tails swaying gently behind them revealed the identities of the two girls—
Umamusume.
Amidst their well-proportioned breathing, the girl with an eye-catching brown princess braid complained softly to the black-haired girl running in front of her.
"As I said before, when it's the night before an important day, you should go to bed early!"
"Because I was so nervous last night that I couldn't sleep at all!"
As soon as the black-haired girl finished speaking, the two of them had already run to the gate of Tracen Academy.
They stood at the entrance of the school, looking at the building with the silver hoof logo in the distance. Their two delicate faces were filled with youth, showing an expression of excitement.
"The day has finally come, Dia-chan."
Kitasan Black, who had shoulder-length black hair and a streak of white highlights on her forehead, spoke to her friend beside her.
"Well, let's work together, Kita-chan." Satono Diamond nodded gently.
"Like Teiō."
"Like McQueen."
The two of them said this almost in unison, and then ran side by side towards the campus.
--
Today was the entrance ceremony for Tracen Academy, the most advanced Umamusume training institution in Japan.
Starting today, Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond would study and train here as members of Tracen Academy.
After listening to the opening speech of Rudolf Symboli, the president of Tracen Academy—the first undefeated legendary triple crown winner in Japanese history, an Umamusume known as the "Emperor"—Satono Diamond also gave a speech to all the admitted freshmen as the freshman representative.
When the opening ceremony was over, the two went out to look for their idols, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.
"We don't know where Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen are."
The person who wore a long red and blue headband on her head, Tamamo Cross responded to their inquiries with a confused look on her face.
Kitasan Black's face was full of regret after hearing Tamamo Cross's words. She put her face close to Satono Diamond's ear and covered her mouth with her hands.
"Dia-chan, if you want to ask, you should ask a senpai Umamusume. She looks younger than us."
"Hey! I've heard what you said! I'm your senior! I'm just short!" Tamamo Cross also corrected loudly with a Kansai accent.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Do you know where their Trainer is?" Kitasan Black looked a little embarrassed and asked softly.
"Ah? You're actually looking for her? Why?"
Tamamo Cross had a strange expression on her face after hearing Kitasan Black's words. She looked around, leaned forward slightly, and lowered her voice.
"Let me tell you, that person is quite strange. You'd better not get close to her. You'll know after you stay here for a while."
"It's okay, senior. You just need to tell us where Sakura-san is. We are going to join Teiō and McQueen's team."
"I see... she should be being interviewed now. If you want to find her, you can go to the chairman's office and wait for her."
"Director... Chairman? Why did she go to the chairman's office?" Satono Diamond sounded a little surprised when she heard Tamamo Cross's words.
"We don't know why. She seems to have a pretty good relationship with the chairman. She will probably report to the chairman after the interview. Otherwise, you two might not be able to find her."
Tamamo Cross had a fake smile on her face. She gently scratched her cheek with her fingers and said to the two of them awkwardly.
--
In the lecture hall where the opening ceremony had just been held, a group of reporters were holding microphones and cameras, aiming at the tall, young-looking trainer with long black hair on the stage, constantly asking various questions.
"Ms. Sakura, could you please share your experience of training the Triple Crown Umamusume Tokai Teio for the first time as a trainer?"
"Talent, hard work, and luck are all indispensable for the Triple Crown. This is all due to Teiō's efforts." Trainer Sakura Baimu on the stage answered softly with a smile on her face.
"Ms. Sakura, what kind of efforts have you made towards Miss Mejiro McQueen, who is Japan's first consecutive Tenno Sho champion, three consecutive Tenno Sho (Spring) champion, and last year's Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn champion?"
"She was able to quickly adapt to the Medium-distance events of the Autumn Tenno Sho after winning the Long-distance event she is good at. This is inseparable from her arduous efforts. I personally played a minimal role."
"You are too humble." The reporter smiled.
"Miss Mejiro McQueen won the Arima Kinen at the end of the year immediately after the Autumn Tenno Sho. Many fans call her the 'strongest Long-distance Umamusume'. Miss Sakura, what do you think of this title?"
"McQueen is indeed dominant in Long-distance competitions, but she is far from the strongest. At most, she is considered to be relatively strong in the same period."
"Also, you have also won the title of the youngest genius trainer. No trainers can achieve such results—not even newcomers, let alone veteran trainers. What do you think of this?"
"I had better luck. I just joined Tracen Academy and met the two genius Umamusume, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen."
"Ms. Sakura, and..."
...
On the stage, Sakura Baimu, the "youngest genius trainer" in the reporters' mouths, calmly responded to countless reporters' questions.
Although she answered every reporter's question, she actually didn't reveal any substantive information to them.
Sakura Baimu's answers to the reporters can be summed up in one sentence:
"They are all genius Umamusume and have nothing to do with me."
Half an hour later, the reporters finally gave up their attack on the trainer, who could only answer questions with a quiet smile and a few recycled words.
Sakura Baimu watched the group of regretful reporters leave with a smile. She turned around and looked at the campus full of sakura trees. She saw many young faces she had never seen before and whispered to herself.
"Here comes a new round of Umamusume... Speaking of which, the two little fans of Teiō and McQueen will also join my team, right? I wonder how easy it is to train these two?"
She muttered to herself and walked quickly towards Chairman Akikawa's office.
Sakura Baimu's appearance naturally attracted the attention of many Umamusume in the academy.
When they noticed Sakura Baimu walking by quickly, some of the senior Umamusume who were touring with the juniors who had just entered school paused and stretched out their hands to protect the juniors behind them with vigilant eyes.
It was as if this trainer, who didn't look much older than them, would abduct their juniors at any time.
But today, Sakura Baimu obviously had no intention of teasing them.
She saw her slightly raised the corners of her mouth, staring intently into the air ahead.
Many Umamusume followed Sakura Baimu's line of sight but did not see anything there.
What appeared before Sakura Baimu's eyes was a translucent interface that could not be seen by anyone but herself.
The words "Mission Completed" and "System Level Improved" appeared on the interface.
"The reporter's interview just now finally gave me the last bit of experience. After three years, the system has finally been upgraded..."
Sakura Baimu was overjoyed and walked to Chairman Akikawa's office in the blink of an eye.
"Speaking of which, after the system upgrade this time, I can check the basic information of the Umamusume without physical contact. It's pretty good."
After knocking gently and getting a response from inside, Sakura Baimu pushed open the door of Chairman Akikawa's office.
There were a lot of people in Chairman Akikawa's office today—to be precise, there were two more cute Umamusume.
The moment Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond appeared in her field of vision, a translucent system interface floated above their heads.
[Kitasan Black: Ease of Training (B+)]
[Satono Diamond: Ease of Training (A)]
The higher the ease of training level, the easier it is to cultivate this Umamusume.
But accordingly, the points gained from training them will also be reduced.
The appearance of these two little ones was expected by Sakura Baimu. She had already met these two little fans when she was training Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.
Whenever there was a competition involving Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, these two little Umamusume could always be seen.
Sakura Baimu's eyes moved slowly, and when they settled on the "older girl" with orange hair and white highlights sitting behind the desk, she suddenly froze.
Because she discovered that the same translucent system interface appeared above the forehead of Chairman Akikawa, whom she had known for a long time and was very close to.
[Akikawa Yayoi: Training Difficulty (C)]