Tokyo in August was still wrapped in sweltering heat, the air above the training grounds seeming to ripple faintly in the high temperature.
On what seemed like any ordinary afternoon, Tracen Academy suddenly posted a striking announcement on its official website and associated media platforms.
"Comprehensive Evaluation Ranking of Outstanding Active Umamusume at Tracen Academy (Provisional Top Three)."
The ranking itself was not especially outrageous. The academy occasionally recognized or listed exceptional current students in various forms.
But this time was different. The list only included the top three, and they were arranged in a clear order, making it feel more like a symbolic roll call.
What drew even more discussion was the birthplace information that seemed to have been deliberately attached after each name.
The list was as follows:
First: Oguri Cap (Kasamatsu)
Second: Super Creek (Central)
Third: Inari One (Oi)
Almost no one questioned Oguri Cap being ranked first.
This Umamusume, who had charged all the way from the regional circuit to Central and repeatedly displayed overwhelming strength in graded races, had long since proven her status as a "monster" through her results. The word Kasamatsu after her name—the name of that somewhat remote regional academy—now looked on the ranking like a shining medal, silently telling the legend of someone who had risen from the bottom.
Ranked second was Super Creek, marked as Central.
She was the model product of Tracen Academy's own training system. Her elegant yet tenacious style and consistently excellent results made her a representative of the academy's orthodoxy and strength.
Whether it was her outstanding performance in last year's Kikuka Sho, or the sight of her chasing after Oguri Cap in the Arima Kinen, placing her second was both an acknowledgment of Super Creek herself and, seemingly, a declaration of Central's confidence in its own training system.
The one that invited the most speculation was third place—Inari One, marked as Oi.
This fox-masked Umamusume had risen like a comet in the first half of the year, winning the Tenno Sho (Spring) and the Takarazuka Kinen, two G1 races in a row. Her explosiveness at crucial moments had left a deep impression.
Putting her in the top three was perfectly reasonable. But deliberately marking her birthplace as Oi, taken together with the markings after the first two names, felt deeply suggestive.
For a time, all kinds of guesses and analyses spread through Umamusume fan communities, forums, and even among trainers.
"Two of the top three are from the regional circuit!"
"No, look at the order. Oguri Cap is first, Inari One is third, and Super Creek from Central is sandwiched right between them... There's something to this arrangement."
"They deliberately marked their origins. It feels like an official acknowledgment that top-class Umamusume can come from regional academies too. Maybe they're even subtly trying to promote regional origins as a kind of trait or honor?"
"Is this telling everyone that no matter where you come from, as long as you're good enough, Central will recognize you and give you the highest evaluation?"
"As expected of Tracen Academy! Now that's magnanimity!"
Amid all the discussion, Inari One's own reaction was rather subtle.
When a classmate asked her what she thought of the ranking during a training break, she only let out a few lighthearted "uhee~" sounds from behind her fox mask, her tone making it clear she was in a fairly good mood.
"Third place, huh... Not bad."
She shook her head, and the red lines on her mask caught a glint of sunlight.
"But there are still two people ahead of me. Especially... first place."
Her gaze turned toward the far end of the training grounds, as though it could pierce through the walls and see that gray figure sweating somewhere else.
"Kasamatsu... Oi..."
She murmured the two place names under her breath, then smiled and turned back to her training, though her steps seemed a little lighter than before.
...
Meanwhile, at Kasamatsu Academy, the principal, who had learned the news online, was so excited he nearly burst into tears.
He refreshed the official page again and again, staring at Oguri Cap's name on the ranking as though he were watching the academy's golden signboard being polished until it shone across the nation.
"Good... good! Central has acknowledged us! They've acknowledged that we, Kasamatsu, trained a top-class Umamusume!"
He muttered to the computer screen. Then, thinking of Sakuraba Ryo's unfathomable planning and efforts behind all this, emotion surged through him.
"Sakuraba-san, was all of this... part of your calculations?"
...
As for Sakuraba, the central figure at the other end of the storm, when he happened to glimpse the news on his phone, he first froze. Then the corner of his mouth twitched.
"A ranking? With placements? And they even included origins?"
He felt a headache coming on.
"What are they trying to do now?"
Sakuraba frowned and repeatedly swiped through the news page on his phone, trying to find some logic between the lines.
"What is this ranking... even for?"
To promote Oguri Cap?
Don't be ridiculous.
After Oguri Cap's excellent performances on the track last year, her title as the Gray Monster had already resounded throughout the entire Umamusume world.
Add to that the recent phenomenon-level manga Cinderella Gray fanning the flames, and Oguri Cap's popularity and name recognition had already reached a point where even a behemoth like Tracen Academy would have a hard time adding anything meaningful.
"Who in all Japan doesn't know Oguri Cap now? Who doesn't know she fought her way out of that little place called Kasamatsu?"
Sakuraba muttered into the air, his tone full of confusion.
"Promote her? Does this level of popularity still need Central to make an official announcement? Isn't that completely redundant?"
He kept thinking.
Was it to elevate Super Creek's status?
Put her alongside Oguri Cap and use the opportunity to reinforce Central's orthodox training brand?
That seemed to make a little sense. But Super Creek's own strength and results were solid enough, and everyone already recognized that she was top-tier. She did not seem to need such an obviously deliberate ranking to prove it.
"As for Inari One..."
Sakuraba said the name aloud, his fingers unconsciously tapping the tabletop.
"They put her in third and specifically marked her as from Oi. Do they think she has potential and want to invest early in a future star?"
"But this is called a ranking of outstanding active athletes, not a future potential ranking... And if they really wanted to invest, wouldn't private contact and resource allocation be more effective?"
"Why make such a big show of putting out a ranking and draw everyone's attention?"
The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.
To Sakuraba, a public ranking that listed placements and even marked origins was simply a foolish act that muddied the waters.
It would not produce any real promotional effect. Instead, it might trigger pointless comparisons and controversy, and even throw some more sensitive Umamusume off balance.
"Those people at Central... don't seriously think this kind of ranking can make their academy more attractive, do they?"
"Or do they think that with just the name of a ranking, they can credit themselves for geniuses from the regional circuit through their own training system? That's way too... full of themselves, isn't it?"
An even more absurd thought flashed through his mind.
"Wait... could it be..."
Sakuraba's expression turned strange.
"Is Central... seeing Oguri Cap and Cinderella Gray getting too popular and trying to ride the trend?"
The moment that thought appeared, even he found it ridiculous.
Tracen Academy, the absolute peak of Umamusume education in Japan, needed to ride the popularity of a regional-born Umamusume and a manga?
Who would believe that?
And yet... after eliminating every impossible option, the remaining one, however absurd, seemed to be the only explanation.
Otherwise, why would they deliberately put Oguri Cap in first?
Why emphasize Kasamatsu?
Wasn't this telling everyone:
Look how broad-minded we Central are. We even acknowledge a top-class Umamusume from the regional circuit as number one!
"I can hear that abacus clacking all the way from Nishikino."
Sakuraba could not help but snort, shaking his head.
"If you want to ride the trend, then ride the trend. But you still have to dress it up so grandly. Fine, fine. Ride it all you want."
Although he felt Central's move was a bit undignified, it did not seem to hurt his grand loss-making cause.
No matter how much the ranking promoted anyone, everything would ultimately depend on race results.
As long as Oguri Cap, on the track... Uh, wait. If Oguri Cap kept winning, wouldn't her popularity get even higher? Wouldn't his investment returns become even more...
Sakuraba sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly cut off that dangerous thought.
"No, no. I can't think like that."
He patted his own face, trying to clear his head.
"If Central puts out a ranking like this, maybe it'll actually stir up the fighting spirit of other Umamusume. Like Inari One, for example. If she goes all out on the track to snipe Oguri Cap, then wouldn't that..."
At that point, Sakuraba's eyes lit up again.
"That's right! Maybe this is a good thing! Central is training a loss-making assistant for me!"
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
Inari One had been officially listed as third, and her "Oi" origin had been specifically pointed out. They had deliberately found another Umamusume from the regional circuit to compete on the same stage as Oguri Cap.
Central was trying to support a powerful Umamusume and push her to the top.
Not a regional Umamusume trained by the regional circuit becoming the strongest.
But a regional Umamusume personally supported by them becoming the strongest.
They were both from the regional circuit, but the main credit could remain with Central.
In other words, this was actually Tracen Academy throwing down a challenge to the regional academies!
Wasn't this the perfect way to prove that Central's training standards were superior?
As long as a regional Umamusume supported by Central defeated a regionally trained Umamusume, wouldn't that prove Central's strength exactly?
Inari One was clearly Tracen Academy's choice.
And the best stepping stone was, of course, Oguri Cap—the regional-born Umamusume ranked ahead of her in first place.
"Good! Perfect!"
At that thought, Sakuraba felt an indescribable rush of delight surge from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull, even making his breathing feel lighter.
"I get it! I get it all now!"
He slapped his thigh and nearly jumped out of his chair. The gloom and confusion on his face were swept clean away, replaced by radiant ecstasy.
"This isn't Central riding the trend at all. They're sending me warmth! Sending me a fair wind! Sending me off—cough, sending me the ultimate gift package!"
All his earlier entanglement over the meaning of the ranking and Central's motives became incomparably clear and beautiful in his eyes.
"Support Inari One and snipe Oguri Cap... I know this script!"
Sakuraba paced excitedly around the dorm room, gesturing in the air with his fingers.
"Isn't this the classic 'demon king and hero' setup? Oguri is riding so high right now, she's absolutely getting treated like the Great Demon King."
"If Central wants to prove itself, wouldn't the best way be to train a 'hero' who can slay the demon?"
"And that 'hero' is Inari One!"
He stopped, his eyes shining.
"Officially named third, born in Oi, another tough character who fought her way out of the regional circuit. She has talent, she has fighting spirit, and now she's carrying the burden and resources of a 'Central representative'... This setup is practically tailor-made for challenging Oguri Cap!"
Most importantly, what did that mean?
It meant that in Oguri Cap's second-half schedule, there was a very high chance she would run into a powerful rival that Central had poured its full effort into training, one whose clear goal was to defeat her!
It meant Oguri Cap's path to victory would no longer be smooth sailing, but covered in thorns and variables!
It meant that he, Sakuraba Ryo, might finally no longer have to watch those damned race winnings flow endlessly into his account!
"Inari One! Go for it! I believe in you!"
Sakuraba could already picture it: Inari One bursting out from behind like a ghost on the track, overtaking Oguri Cap by the barest margin at the final moment, and crossing the line first.
That image... was so beautiful it intoxicated him.
"As long as Inari One can win once—no, even if she just keeps Oguri Cap from taking first and makes her settle for second or third..."
Sakuraba counted on his fingers.
"Then wouldn't the prize money income shrink dramatically? Wouldn't my grand loss-making cause finally see the light?"
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He even started humming a little tune.
"Tracen Academy, what good people! Symboli Rudolf, what a saint!"
Sakuraba praised them from the bottom of his heart.
"Not only did they send me such a high-quality loss-making tool, they even thoughtfully packaged her, built momentum for her, and supplied her with ammunition... This service is way too considerate!"
His previous worries about reputational damage and runaway popularity all seemed insignificant before the immense joy of losing money.
"Ride it! Ride it hard! Push Inari One's popularity up too! Hype her up as much as you can! That way, when she beats Oguri Cap, the topic will be big enough, and it'll help me even more!"
Sakuraba could almost see it now. With Tracen Academy's divine assist, Inari One would become a meticulously sharpened blade pointed straight at Oguri Cap, the gray demon king.
And he himself could finally hide behind the scenes, happily looking forward to that beautiful future where prize money slipped away and his account sank into losses.
"Yes! That's the plan!"
He could practically see piles and piles of prize money that should have belonged to him turning into bubbles under Inari One's desperate interception.
And his loss-making account, like parched fields finally meeting sweet rain, would at last welcome a trace of hope.
"I'm so happy today!"
Sakuraba hummed an off-key tune and decided to add an extra dish to dinner that night, to celebrate this wonderful turn for the better.
As for whether Tracen Academy's side was really as simple as he imagined, and whether Inari One could truly shoulder this heavy responsibility...
At this moment, Sakuraba, whose head had already been swept away by joy, could no longer be bothered to dig into it.
Drink today while today's wine is here!
What could possibly go wrong?
---
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