Fujimasa March and Inari One each held onto their newly purchased training gear, occasionally pulling out an item to curiously inspect it.
Meanwhile, Kuroha wore a pained expression as he stared down at the receipt in his hand.
Nearly 500,000 yen.
Absolutely ridiculous—equipment for Uma Musume was outrageously expensive.
And this was just mid-tier gear. He couldn't even imagine how absurd the premium-tier equipment must cost.
This single trip to the shopping district had wiped out nearly a tenth of his savings.
"But for the future of my girls... this isn't something I can skimp on."
"Just need to get through these next two weeks. Once Inari One finishes the Tenno Sho in April, everything will be fine!"
Kuroha gave himself a silent pep talk.
Before he'd transmigrated, he thought being a trainer would be fun—relaxing job, hang out with adorable horse girls, live the dream.
Then he actually became one—
And it turned out… he wasn't wrong.
Trainers in this world gave their Uma Musume an enormous amount of autonomy.
Running styles, training plans, schedules, intensities—trainers just gave suggestions. Sometimes they didn't even analyze race strategies. Everything was left to the Uma Musume themselves.
Take Obey Your Master—during the 1988 Japan Cup, she personally gathered all her opponents' intel by herself.
Tamamo Cross? She once overhauled her entire race strategy without even telling her trainer.
Oguri Cap, Tamamo Cross, and countless other top-tier Uma Musume—their trainers barely provided any actual guidance. At most, they gave vague advice.
Kuroha had seen it himself at the Pegasus Special when he took March to watch Oguri Cap. Her victory came from pure stat superiority.
But Kuroha wasn't like those trainers.
In his eyes—
These adorable girls had only a few short years to chase their dreams. Letting them figure everything out alone was nothing short of negligence.
Even Central Uma Musume only spent a few years—often just three in elementary division—before triggering True Blooming.
And once they bloomed, within six months they were thrown into the fire of professional racing.
How to train scientifically, how to boost their performance effectively, how to analyze each opponent, pick the ideal running strategy…
Most of them didn't even understand a fraction of it.
Yet they were expected to shoulder all of it—on top of performing in races. No wonder their energy was constantly drained.
This era's Central stars were frequently plagued by leg injuries or burnout. Most didn't even make it to their Senior Year before being forced into retirement.
There was a saying from Kuroha's past life:
"First-rate racehorses, second-rate jockeys, third-rate trainers."
And having crossed into this world, he'd found it painfully accurate.
Even at Central Tracen Academy—
First-rate Uma Musume. Second-rate strategy. Third-rate trainers.
Kuroha refused to be one of them.
So—
Nutritious meals, detailed training plans, recovery care, race strategy analysis—and now, even selecting and purchasing proper training equipment…
He would personally handle it all.
His girls didn't need to bear burdens they never should've been given. All they had to do was run—freely and joyfully, just like their hearts desired.
At the end of the shopping street, Kuroha took the gear from both March and Inari One and loaded it onto his electric scooter.
He might have G1-tier physical stats, but he was still human. Transportation was a necessity.
"Alright, it's only 4:30. Still plenty of time—we're not wasting it!"
He gave a light knock on Inari One's head as she tried to sneak onto the back seat.
"Ten kilometers of light jogging. Destination—Oi Tracen Academy! Let's go!"
"Yes, Trainer!" Fujimasa March responded instantly.
Inari One groaned and muttered a half-hearted reply before dragging her legs into motion.
With March setting the pace, she followed suit in a slow jog.
Kuroha rode the scooter behind them.
...
Central Tracen Academy, Elementary Division—school was just letting out.
The courtyard and hallways were filled with young Uma Musume joyfully racing about.
"Yay! School's out!"
Tokai Teio let out a cheerful yell.
"Teio, are you going to visit President Rudolf again today?"
A refined Uma Musume with a shoulder bag approached her gracefully.
Her large eyes sparkled under neatly combed lavender hair. Calm and composed, she was the polar opposite of the hyperactive Teio.
"McQueen! I visited Prez at lunch. I wanna train now—wanna come?"
Teio eagerly invited her friend for a jog.
"Train…?" McQueen brushed a hand over her neat bangs.
Mejiro McQueen—the young heiress of the prestigious Mejiro family.
Like Teio, she hadn't undergone True Blooming yet and was currently attending Central Tracen's elementary division.
They weren't in the same class, but they were good friends and often hung out together.
"But the teachers said we shouldn't train too hard before True Blooming—it's easy to get hurt. We're not allowed to train alone."
McQueen, ever the model student, offered a logical objection.
"Don't worry about it, McQueen~"
Teio leaned in close, pouting cutely.
"We'll just do some light jogging. A loop around the school. Then we'll get some honey water after. That's it!"
She grabbed McQueen's hands, shaking them wildly. "Please? Pretty please~~?"
"Just for drinks?" McQueen paused, then nodded. "Alright."
"McQueen's the best!"
Teio pounced in delight, and the two lolis giggled their way to the school gate.
...
After confirming their bags were packed, Teio and McQueen headed out toward their favorite milk tea shop.
Then, just as they turned a corner—
"BAM!"
"Eek!"
"Whoaaa!"
A very excited little horse girl slammed right into the waist of another Uma Musume with brown hair and twin-tails.
Teio bounced off the seasoned veteran's rock-solid body and fell flat on her butt. The one she hit groaned dramatically and clutched her side.
"Are you blind?! Flying down the sidewalk like that in a blind spot?!"
The older twin-tailed girl stormed over, picked up Teio like a misbehaving kitten, and scolded her.
"S-Sorry! We weren't watching—really sorry!" McQueen tugged on her sleeve, apologizing repeatedly.
Even Teio lowered her head in shame, knowing she was at fault.
"Inari, what happened?" came a calm voice nearby.
Inari One puffed out a breath and let go of Teio.
"It's nothing, Trainer. Just a couple of kids bumped into me."
As a Senior Year Uma Musume, Inari One's stats were nearly eight times that of a rookie—let alone a pre-Bloom loli like Teio.
The bump may have stung a bit, but it didn't even qualify as a scratch.
"Everything okay?" Fujimasa March had double-checked her teammate's condition and now approached the two flustered lolis, kneeling down.
"You two…"
Teio and McQueen both braced for a scolding, squeezing their eyes shut—
Only to be met with a warm, gentle smile.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Huh? Oh—nope! We're fine!" Teio waved her hands quickly.
Realizing these older girls weren't angry, McQueen gave a polite bow. "We're sorry for the trouble."
Kuroha had seen the entire thing from the scooter.
"These kids… dashing around at thirty kilometers per hour…"
If that twin-tailed missile had hit a regular human instead of Inari One… they might've been sent flying straight into another world.
March continued to soothe the two lolis, while Inari One, now aware of her own overreaction, joined in the conversation, a little awkwardly.
Kids being kids, they quickly moved on and began chatting cheerfully.
Their route even happened to match, so they all walked together for a bit.
"You two are from Central Tracen Academy's elementary division, right?" Kuroha asked, noticing their uniforms.
"Yup! I'm Tokai Teio!" Teio grinned and raised her hand high.
"I'm gonna be the next undefeated Triple Crown winner!"
"I'm Mejiro McQueen. Pleased to meet you, senpai." McQueen bowed gracefully to the three older figures.
Tokai Teio? Mejiro McQueen?
Hearing those names, Kuroha froze for a moment.
(End of Chapter)
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