"That's Smart Falcon!"
Smart Falcon's chestnut-brown twin ponytails and pink-and-black ribbons were too conspicuous.
Curren recognized her at a glance.
Curren warily watched the whimpering Smart Falcon from afar. She genuinely felt that Smart Falcon's every move exuded cuteness.
As an expert in cuteness, Curren could tell at a glance.
Smart Falcon's actions weren't deliberate; they were entirely part of her natural personality.
Authentic, unpretentious.
Flawless!
Just as Curren Chan's crisis level rose two levels again, she suddenly noticed something.
Inside the cafeteria, quite a few people were also casting their gazes in Smart Falcon's direction.
Almost all the Umamusume at the table where Smart Falcon and Eishin Flash were sitting stopped what they were doing and looked in their direction.
This puzzled Curren Chan.
"Is Falcon-senpai really that popular in the academy?"
Curren Chan wondered, so she quietly got up and went to another table. Admire Vega, who was also looking toward Smart Falcon, was sitting there.
Curren Chan whispered in her ear:
"Sister, is Falcon really that popular in the academy?"
Admire Vega was Curren Chan's roommate, but she had entered the academy much earlier and was a High School Division student.
"Falcon... she only hosts events at academy functions. She's not that popular in the academy," Admire Vega said.
"Then why is everyone looking at her?"
"Oh, you mean that..." Admire Vega glanced at Smart Falcon again, then spoke, "It's less about looking at her and more about everyone looking at the trainer."
"The trainer?"
Curren Chan looked at Sakura Baimu, and after seeing Sakura Baimu's beautiful young face, she was still a little puzzled.
"Even Tojo Hana from Rigil doesn't get this kind of treatment when she comes to the cafeteria, right? What's so special about that trainer?"
"She's Teio and McQueen's trainer, Sakura Baimu."
"Curren has heard of that name. She's supposedly the youngest genius trainer in the academy, right? But her fame still can't compare to Tojo-san's, so why does she get so much attention?"
Admire Vega paused for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"That's because you enrolled later, Curren. Almost every Umamusume who enrolled before you was bothered by her."
"Could it be that you were bothered by her too, Ayabe-chan?!"
"Yes. I was walking around the academy when she suddenly came up to me and asked me to go stargazing. It was so strange."
"Doesn't Ayabe-chan love stargazing?" Curren Chan asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, but the thing is, I don't even know her! I don't know how she knew I liked stargazing. It's really weird."
Admire Vega was also the aloof type; besides Curren Chan and TM Opera O, almost no one else dared to talk to her.
Sakura Baimu, however, was completely unfazed by Admire Vega's aloofness.
Was she simply oblivious, or had she realized Admire Vega wasn't truly cold-hearted?
Curren Chan, puzzled, returned to her seat.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Smart Falcon indeed didn't seem very popular at the academy.
As for Sakura Baimu...
Curren Chan sensed that the attention she received at the academy might not be for positive reasons, so she abandoned the idea of trying to get attention by sticking close to Sakura Baimu.
With no classes in the afternoon, Curren Chan secretly followed Smart Falcon to the TCB training area.
After witnessing Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black emerge from the TCB activity room, Curren Chan was quite surprised.
"So, Dia-chan and Kita-chan's trainer is Ms. Sakura!"
Curren Chan exclaimed in realization.
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond were arguably the two most outstanding students among the newly enrolled Umamusume.
Both of them crossed the finish line in their debut races with record-breaking margins.
Their strength was unbelievable.
Curren Chan had noticed before that many classmates wanted to join Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond's team, but they had all been turned down because the team was already full.
Curren Chan had only recently joined Tracen Academy and wasn't yet familiar with the academy's operations.
Now, learning that Smart Falcon's trainer was none other than Sakura Baimu, who had coached the undefeated three-time champion Tokai Teio and the top long-distance Umamusume, Mejiro McQueen, Curren Chan felt she might have been too complacent.
"Kita-chan and Dia-chan both crossed the finish line with record-breakingly large margins in their debut races, and after being trained by Ms. Sakura, Falcon-senpai has also reversed her dismal Turf performances, achieving large margins in her finishes..."
"It seems like Falcon-senpai might dominate the Dirt races! There aren't many Dirt Umamusume in Tracen Academy; she has virtually no competition!"
At this moment, Curren Chan suddenly felt a surge of urgency.
There are too many champions in Turf races; it's simply impossible for others to compete on equal footing with Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen in middle- and long-distance events.
However, Dirt races are a different story. There are very few outstanding Dirt Umamusume to date.
With Sakura Baimu's guidance, Smart Falcon's potential is practically limitless.
Furthermore, considering Smart Falcon's years of idol activities, her singing and dancing skills are far beyond what a newly enrolled Umamusume can match.
Curren Chan could almost foresee that Smart Falcon's fame was only a matter of time.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Curren hasn't even debuted yet, and Falcon-senpai is already in the top prize bracket! This is terrible, terrible, terrible!"
"Curren needs to debut quickly! Curren needs to stand at the top of the Twinkle Series! We need to let more people know how cute Curren is!"
"But if she doesn't join a team, she can't participate in the Twinkle Series... I heard Rigil is already full. Crown and Duramente got into Rigil..."
"But even if Curren gets into Rigil, Rigil's active-duty Umamusume results don't seem to compare to TCB's at all..."
"Since Tojo-san's Rigil is already full, then..."
Curren Chan, hiding behind the wall, muttered to herself, her gaze suddenly fixing on Sakura Baimu beside Rice Shower, who was constantly calling out "onee-sama."