"How the heck am I going to handle this..."
Maya was, without a doubt, a certified genius. She possessed the rare talent to flawlessly cycle through multiple running styles, and as long as she was taught the proper tactics, she could execute them perfectly. But a nagging, anxious doubt whispered in the back of Rampage's mind: Is even that enough to beat a monster like Brian?
And then there was Laurel. While dealing with Laurel felt marginally more manageable mentally, you absolutely couldn't discount the terrifying caliber of an Umamusume who had just taken second place at the Arc de Triomphe. Rampage knew that overthinking it this early was entirely useless, but her mind simply refused to shut off.
"Stressing over something?"
"Huh...? Ah, you can tell, Ue-chan?"
Rampage looked up to see her fellow trainer sitting down in the chair next to her. She gave an honest nod. As a trainer for the same team, Ue-chan surely shared some of her anxieties, yet he always seemed to maintain a far more grounded, level-headed composure.
"I mean, it's pretty obvious you're thinking about Brian," Ue-chan said with a gentle smile. "But honestly, there's no point in losing sleep over the Senior class right now. If you're going to stress about opponents, you should be focusing on Maya's own generation."
"...You're entirely right."
If she was going to be hyper-vigilant, it was far more logical to keep her eyes on Maya's immediate peers—powerhouses like Fuji Kiseki, Marvelous Sunday, Tayasu Tsuyoshi, and Genuine. The time to agonizingly dissect Brian and Laurel would come when they were actually standing at the same starting gate. For now, she needed to redirect 100% of her mental bandwidth toward Maya's immediate next challenge: the Kyoto Junior Stakes.
"My bad, Ue-chan. I think I let myself get a bit too ahead of the game."
"Hey, I get it. I'm incredibly anxious too," Ue-chan reassured her, leaning back. "But when I remind myself that the absolute earliest we'd ever have to face them is the autumn or winter of next year, it makes it a lot easier to just focus on the task at hand."
"Good grief, stop making sense, it hurts my ears. I guess the recent workload's been making me impatient."
With the year-end Finals and the upcoming Legend Races drawing close, her daily administrative and training duties had been skyrocketing.
"In that case, how about I give you some good news to lighten the mood?"
"Oh? What's that?"
"A fantastic candidate for our sub-trainer position is arriving at the Tracen office today."
"Seriously? At this time of the year?"
Rampage tilted her head in confusion. A trainer arriving this deep into the autumn usually meant they were transferring from a regional branch alongside a specific Umamusume, or perhaps they were returning from an extended leave of absence. Before she could voice her theory, the heavy doors to the staff room swung open.
"As of today, I have officially returned to active trainer duty. Thank you all so much for your patience, and I apologize for any worry I caused."
The moment the man stepped through the door and bowed, the entire room erupted into warm applause and enthusiastic cheers of welcome. It was immediately clear that his return had been eagerly anticipated by everyone on staff.
As the situation finally clicked in her mind, a massive grin spread across Rampage's face. She stood up, walked over to the crowd of welcoming staff, and extended her hand. The returning trainer's face lit up with genuine happiness as he firmly grasped it.
"Your official return was today?! That's low, man! If you had just told me, I would've gone out to the front gates to welcome you properly."
"You've been looking after things for so long in my absence," he replied with a warm, determined smile. "I figured the best way to make it up to you was to jump straight back into the trenches and help carry the load. So, tell me—is that sub-trainer slot for Team Pleiades still open?"
"Open? It's practically got your name engraved on it. Welcome back—Trainer Sakahara."
Rampage felt a profound wave of relief wash over her. That's right. As Mayano Top Gun charged forward into her chaotic, legendary future, Rampage didn't have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders alone. She had an incredible team, and now, she had her reliable partner back by her side.
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