In just two short days, Sakuraba Ryo had already locked in both the Umamusume and trainer parts of his money-losing plan. His execution speed was honestly impressive.
After signing the contract with Kitahara, Sakuraba took him to meet Oguri Cap.
Oguri Cap was quite happy to learn that she now had a trainer to teach her how to run.
Kitahara's feelings, on the other hand, were a little complicated.
If he remembered correctly... the advice Sakuraba had gotten from him back then was that gray-haired Umamusume couldn't run fast, right...?
Then why had he still picked a gray-haired Umamusume?!
Was Sakuraba planning to drag him straight into a pit of fire?
As a trainer, Kitahara naturally knew exactly what mattered most for an Umamusume.
Talent.
An Umamusume with great talent could do whatever she wanted on the track!
It wasn't that effort was meaningless in this field.
But when everyone was working hard, talent was the single most important factor in determining the gap in ability between Umamusume.
Granted, Kitahara didn't agree with the blanket claim that gray-haired Umamusume couldn't run fast, but it was also true that none had ever produced notable results...
Did this Umamusume named Oguri Cap have the talent to overturn that claim...?
"Hello, Trainer-san. I'm the Umamusume Sakuraba-san invested in, Oguri Cap."
With an open smile, Oguri Cap extended a hand to Kitahara Jo.
"Uh... I'm Kitahara Jo. Nice to meet you."
Kitahara took her hand and gave a simple reply.
The moment he saw the troubled look on Kitahara's face, Sakuraba burst out laughing internally.
That's exactly the look I wanted to see—!
Sorry about this, Kitahara-san. I may have hired you on a high salary, but I've got no intention of having you raise some amazing Umamusume, okay?
"Kitahara-san, if you need anything for training, just let me know. If money can solve it, then it's no problem for me."
"O-okay..."
Kitahara Jo wiped at the nonexistent sweat on his forehead. At this point, Sakuraba was basically his boss now. Since this was the Umamusume his boss had personally chosen, he could only train her according to his wishes...
"All right, you two go ahead and train. I've got things to do."
With that tossed over his shoulder, Sakuraba turned and ran off.
He'd already spent money, and now they wanted him to spend time hanging around training too?
As if!
Slacking off, hell yeah!
Being a hands-off boss, hell yeah!
And just like that, Sakuraba dumped the two of them there...
"Sakuraba-san really is..."
Watching Sakuraba leave without the slightest hesitation, Kitahara Jo couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.
As a boss, was Sakuraba really not worried that an employee like him might slack off or skip work?
Or did Sakuraba genuinely trust his character that much?
"That's too much trust..."
Kitahara scratched his head and let out a sigh, then turned to Oguri Cap.
"Let's head to the training grounds first. I want to see your running form..."
To be honest, Kitahara Jo hadn't had very high expectations for Oguri Cap...
If what Sakuraba said was true—if he really was an investor who knew absolutely nothing about the Umamusume world—then the Umamusume he'd chosen was probably pretty ordinary too...
That thought vanished the instant Oguri Cap took off on the training track.
On the emerald-green track, the gray-white girl lunged forward at an extreme angle, tearing through the air with the stride of a wild beast!
"???"
Holy shit!
What am I looking at???
Kitahara Jo was dumbstruck...
Her running style still wasn't especially polished yet, but—
That power in every step! That burst of speed in her acceleration!
Even in Kasamatsu—no, even across all the regional circuits—it would be hard to find an Umamusume with such a razor-sharp final spurt—!
"A star... she's the star of tomorrow!"
Kitahara's eyes instantly filled with passion and excitement.
The star of tomorrow he had searched for so desperately had appeared right in front of him at a moment like this!
If it was Oguri Cap, then even the Tokai Derby wouldn't be just a dream!
Wait...
Could it be that Sakuraba-san had already seen the kind of Umamusume I wanted, and that's why he chose Oguri Cap?
Maybe Sakuraba-san saying he knew nothing about the Umamusume world had only been modesty.
You couldn't possibly pick out such an outstanding Umamusume in one shot without exceptional judgment!
An investor...
Of course. If you were an investor, then naturally you'd need incredible insight and a keen nose for opportunity.
Sakuraba-san really was a qualified investor!
At that moment, a whole bunch of things that hadn't made sense to Kitahara suddenly did.
What Sakuraba had invested in wasn't simply Oguri Cap as an Umamusume, or Kitahara Jo as a trainer...
What he had invested in was the boundless future those two could create together!
"So he believes we can really do it?"
"Then again, someone like Sakuraba-san has probably weathered more than enough storms in the investment world... For him, believing is probably just the most basic move there is."
From the bottom of his heart, Kitahara Jo admired Sakuraba's courage.
If it were him, he never would have made such a risky move.
"As expected of Sakuraba-san. Looks like I'll have to do something worthy of his expectations!"
Thinking it over carefully, Sakuraba had found him a suitable Umamusume, offered him a high salary to hire him, and even said he'd cover all the training expenses himself...
Damn it, how could someone this good even exist?!
If there really was such a thing as an angelic investor, then it had to be someone like Sakuraba-san!
At this point, Kitahara's heart held nothing but gratitude for having met such a benefactor.
Sakuraba-san, I truly admire you!
"Kitahara, what's wrong?"
At that moment, Oguri Cap, having casually run a lap, came over to him. Looking at the crying-and-laughing expression on the trainer Sakuraba had found for her, she was thoroughly confused.
"Nothing. I was just thinking Sakuraba-san has been a little too good to me..."
"Mhm. Well, Sakuraba-san is a good person."
Oguri Cap nodded, agreeing with him.
In Oguri Cap's heart, Sakuraba hadn't just treated her to lots of delicious food—he had also found her a trainer...
What a good person!
"Oguri Cap, after watching you run just now, I saw a possibility!"
"Hm?"
"The possibility that, once we join forces, we can conquer everything!"
Kitahara Jo leaned down towards Oguri Cap and made his earnest request.
"Let's conquer everything together, and then hand that glory to Sakuraba-san!"
What a strange person, saying strange things...
Oguri Cap couldn't help but think that to herself.
But if it meant repaying Sakuraba...
"Okay!"
The gray-haired girl nodded crisply, a fresh, bright smile on her face.
...
Elsewhere in Tracen Academy, where he was slacking off in some corner, Sakuraba suddenly sneezed hard.
"Huh...? Don't tell me I'm catching a cold?"
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T/N: wait whats happening... this was supposed to be a loser uma....
maybe its just a fluke...?