Chapter 102. Unexpected Turn of Events
Mejiro Dober quickly returned to the academy.
After returning to her dorm room, she picked up her drawing board, intending to head to the courtyard and sketch for a while to calm herself down.
Although this year's Twinkle Series schedule had already concluded for her, final exams had not yet begun, so Mejiro Dober still had not left Central Tracen Academy. She planned to return home or go on vacation only after exams next month.
Carrying the drawing board in her arms, she arrived at the academy courtyard.
Facing the famous large tree stump there, Mejiro Dober took a deep breath.
This stump was often used by the academy's Uma Musume as a place to vent their frustrations. Many girls would come here to shout, complain, or release the emotions bottled up in their hearts.
But Mejiro Dober could not do such a thing.
As a member of the Mejiro Family, she had always been taught restraint and composure.
So she could only sit quietly before the stump, lift her pencil, and sketch it onto her drawing board.
Then, in her imagination—she quietly replaced the tree stump with her Trainer.
"Is he on a date with McQueen today…?"
No matter how hard she thought about it, Mejiro Dober simply could not understand.
—
Meanwhile, as Mejiro Dober turned and left earlier, Shuta An had actually caught sight of her back through the café window.
However, the young man did not think much of it at the time.
He merely continued chatting with Mejiro McQueen for a while longer before eventually standing up to leave.
Before departing, he settled the bill as well.
"Mejiro McQueen's actions were childish, but her intentions were ultimately good." Shuta An frowned slightly. "Unfortunately, they don't actually help my side very much."
"In any case, I still need to find a suitable excuse to directly negotiate with the Mejiro Family."
And ideally, it would be the Mejiro Family actively seeking him out rather than him taking the initiative himself.
Otherwise, he would face far too many disadvantages when discussing conditions.
"First, I should return to the office and finish the training plans I was supposed to complete this morning."
Silence Suzuka's training plan had already been finalized, while Mejiro Dober would not race again this year, leaving only Rice Shower, Kurofune, and Tokai Teio requiring adjustments.
As such, Shuta An's afternoon workload was not particularly heavy.
Rice Shower's and Kurofune's plans would remain mostly unchanged, while Tokai Teio's training would include additional explosive power exercises to prepare for the short final straight of the upcoming Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes.
—
As Shuta An passed through the courtyard, however, he unexpectedly noticed Mejiro Dober seated there with her back facing him, sketching the famous tree stump.
Curious, the young man quietly approached on tiptoe.
Then he lowered his gaze toward the drawing board in her hands.
The tree stump had been drawn with astonishing realism.
This itself did not surprise Shuta An very much. After all, he already knew Mejiro Dober possessed excellent artistic talent.
However—
"Miss Dober…"
Shuta An stared at the drawing and blinked.
"Why is my name written all over this tree stump?"
The entire stump was densely covered with the word "Shuta."
Every single stroke looked deeply carved into the wood, as though the person drawing it had poured tremendous force into each letter.
The young man estimated that the calories Mejiro Dober had burned this afternoon while drawing were probably equivalent to jogging one and a half laps around the track.
"Ah?!"
Mejiro Dober let out a startled shriek.
The moment she turned around and discovered the very person she had been venting about standing behind her, she immediately slammed the drawing board shut and attempted to flee.
But Shuta An reacted faster.
He grabbed her wrist before she could escape.
"What exactly happened?"
Fortunately, because he consistently trained his body, once he caught hold of Mejiro Dober, she could not immediately break free.
"Isn't Trainer the one chatting so intimately with McQueen?" she muttered softly in dissatisfaction. "Why are you asking me?"
Shuta An pursed his lips.
"So I really didn't missee it earlier. That back really was Dobe's…"
At that moment, the young man finally realized where the problem lay. He had merely been speaking with Mejiro McQueen at the café.
So why exactly was Mejiro Dober becoming jealous?
Grabbing her other wrist as well, Shuta An forced Mejiro Dober to look directly into his eyes.
"I invited Mejiro McQueen to the café because I was suspicious about her injury. I wanted to ask what really happened and whether it would affect Dober."
Without waiting for Mejiro Dober to respond, he continued speaking:
"If you're becoming jealous even over something like this, then—"
Right at that moment, Mejiro Dober's phone suddenly rang.
Shuta An released her wrists, allowing her to retrieve the phone.
"Hello… it's me. Ah— eh?!"
Mejiro Dober's eyes widened abruptly, as though she had just heard something utterly unbelievable from the other end.
"No, I can't possibly agree to that on my own!"
Her voice suddenly rose several levels louder.
Shuta An frowned slightly.
"If this is about an engagement, then I think Miss Dober is still far too young to discuss such matters."
"It's not that at all!"
Mejiro Dober's face instantly turned bright red as she glared fiercely at her Trainer before continuing the conversation.
"My race schedule is decided by my Trainer. I absolutely cannot agree to anything on my own!"
"If you want me to race, then please speak directly with my Trainer!"
At that point, Shuta An simply extended his hand calmly.
"Dober. Give me the phone. I'll handle it."
Without hesitation, Mejiro Dober passed the phone directly to him.
"Trainer, you talk to them."
Shuta An accepted the phone, which still carried traces of the Uma Musume's warmth, before speaking coldly:
"I am Mejiro Dober's Trainer. How may I help you?"
"If this concerns race scheduling, then I should be the one responsible for making such decisions, shouldn't I?"
At this moment, his tone was extremely impolite.
Although he still did not know the Mejiro Family's exact request, merely hearing that they intended to interfere with race scheduling was already enough to thoroughly irritate him.
Any Trainer would react the same way.
This was no different from completely disregarding the Trainer's authority, believing that because an Uma Musume belonged to their family, every aspect of her career should naturally remain under their direct control.
At this moment, Shuta An's hostility toward those old members of the Mejiro Family surged explosively, multiplying without restraint.
"Trainer Shuta, you should already know about Mejiro McQueen withdrawing from the Arima Kinen. We are also considering Dober's future, which is why we hope she can participate in this year's Arima Kinen."
"This year, Mejiro Dober has already competed in five G1 races and won every single one of them. The burden on her body has been extremely severe."
"I already planned for her first race next year to be postponed until late March so she could fully rest and recover. You should also understand that the Arima Kinen is a 2500-meter race held at Nakayama Racecourse."
"For Mejiro Dober, that distance is completely unknown territory."
"She is still undefeated in her career. If she loses to Special Week and Grass Wonder at Nakayama, then who exactly will bear the consequences afterward?"
"But isn't Shuta Trainer Shuta here?" the elderly woman on the other end replied. "As long as you arrange the tactics properly, there shouldn't be any problem, correct?"
"Heh."
Shuta An sneered openly.
"So if she loses, the responsibility lies entirely with me rather than the people demanding she run the race?"
"In that case, perhaps we should discuss this directly with the Old Madam herself and see what opinion she holds."
The elderly woman on the other end immediately fell silent.
Shuta An's eyes narrowed slightly.
At that instant, he realized that this was precisely the opportunity he had been contemplating earlier.
"Participating in the Arima Kinen is not impossible. However, before anything is finalized, I have several conditions. If those conditions are met, then everything can still be negotiated."
"But if your intention is merely to force Mejiro Dober into suddenly adding another race at the last moment—Then I refuse to participate in this discussion at all."
As the side of the Mejiro Family supporting Mejiro Dober agreed without hesitation, Shuta An did not immediately state his demands.
"Starting next week, Mejiro Dober will begin preparations for the Arima Kinen. We'll meet again at Nakayama Racecourse on race day." After saying that, the young man directly hung up the phone.
Mejiro Dober stared at her Trainer and whispered softly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged Trainer into the affairs of the Mejiro Family."
"This has nothing to do with Dober." Shuta An shook his head lightly. "The moment they proposed having you suddenly enter the Arima Kinen, I was already involved."
The young man met Mejiro Dober's gaze directly.
"Because everything concerning you in the Twinkle Series is my responsibility. No matter what they do, they should never interfere with that."
"But Trainer still agreed in the end, didn't you?" Mejiro Dober pursed her lips, her voice growing even softer.
"If I didn't negotiate, then what would Dober gain from suddenly running an extra Arima Kinen?"
Shuta An shrugged. "In any case, we'll prepare seriously for the race, and Dober will simply do her best while prioritizing her own health."
The young man paused briefly before continuing.
"As for everything else, leave it to me. I'll definitely obtain everything both you and I want on that day."
"Does Trainer know what I want?"
Mejiro Dober glanced around the courtyard. After confirming there were no other Uma Musume nearby, she quietly asked.
"It isn't me, right?"
That single sentence instantly dyed Mejiro Dober's cheeks crimson red.
"In any case, Dober, just focus on training properly, prepare properly, and leave the rest to me."
This time, the young man reached out and held Mejiro Dober's hand, gently patting her head as he continued, "I'll set Dober free."
"Not just me." Mejiro Dober looked directly at her Trainer. "Everyone."
"Now isn't the right time." Shuta An slowly shook his head. "This time, at most, I can only ensure that Dober no longer needs to worry about being restrained."
"Then when will that time come?" she pressed softly. "I don't want to be the only one receiving this gift."
"Within a few years, I suppose."
Shuta An was not a god, nor could he predict when the Old Madam of the Mejiro Family would pass away. Naturally, he could only give a vague answer.
"I understand."
Although she did not understand why he remained so ambiguous about this matter, Mejiro Dober was still willing to trust her Trainer.
Before leaving, Shuta An copied the call recording from Mejiro Dober's phone. Only then did he return to his office.
"I really envy Shuta-kun. By now, you only have two races left to prepare for this year, right?"
Kitahara complained the moment he saw his friend return.
"Meanwhile I'm practically dying over here."
"Then Kitahara-san should recruit fewer Uma Musume." Sitting down at his desk, Shuta An muttered, "Your team has races scheduled every single week. I honestly don't know how Kitahara-san manages to keep up."
"To save money." Kitahara shrugged helplessly.
"And a lot of those Uma Musume also need money badly—Prize money from Central races is far more generous than local races. If they can race once every month, then after retiring from the Twinkle Series, even an ordinary job would be enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives."
"After all, not every Uma Musume possesses the kind of overwhelming talent the girls under Shuta Trainer have," he added quietly.
"I know."
While drafting Mejiro Dober's Arima Kinen preparation plan, Shuta An replied calmly.
"But Kitahara-san should still recruit fewer Uma Musume in the future. Otherwise, not only will your own workload become too heavy, but the girls themselves also won't receive the best guidance possible."
Kitahara could only smile bitterly.
"Ann-san is right. I'll first guide this batch properly through the Twinkle Series. Over the next few years, I probably won't continue expanding the team on such a large scale."
"Although team size is one of the indicators used in the academy's Trainer rankings, its weight isn't actually that significant."
Shuta An looked up at his friend, who had temporarily stopped working.
"Just look at Miss Tojo's Rigil team. She has far more Uma Musume than my Sadalsuud team, yet barring accidents, I'll still surpass her in the rankings this year."
"In a sense, this academy actually encourages the elite route."
He looked directly at Kitahara and continued,
"In short, letting the Uma Musume who already joined your team leave now would be irresponsible. But from this point onward, Kitahara-san should be more cautious when recruiting."
"Thank you, Ann-san. I understand." Kitahara nodded before returning to his own work.
By the time Shuta An finished arranging the weekly training plans for every Uma Musume on his team, Kitahara's own work progress had only reached around thirty percent.
The young man glanced at the clock.
"It's time to clock out."
Thus, Shuta An simply clocked out and left the academy. He still needed to organize his thoughts after returning home.
Originally, today's plan had only been to ask Mejiro McQueen about her withdrawal from the Arima Kinen and persuade her not to continue sacrificing her own interests in the future.
Unexpectedly, not only did he first discover Mejiro Dober's jealousy, but he had also obtained the opportunity to formally negotiate with the old members of the Mejiro Family.
"The Arima Kinen will be Dober's first attempt at 2500 meters, and it's also at Nakayama Racecourse, which she's never raced at before. For the sake of her health, stability must come before anything else."
Shuta An himself did not place excessive importance on the title of "undefeated." After winning seven G1 races while remaining undefeated, that title had already become a burden upon Mejiro Dober in another sense.
"If she defeats Special Week and Grass Wonder, Dober's confidence will rise dramatically. If she loses, then losing to those two isn't something impossible to accept. In future races, she'll also be able to cast off the burden brought by the undefeated title."
"No matter what result the Arima Kinen produces, as long as Dober avoids injury, then for me, it's already a victory. Any benefit I can wrest away from the Mejiro Family at the negotiating table afterward—even the tiniest fragment—is pure profit."
In Shuta An's view, the most urgent issue was naturally freeing Mejiro Dober from the restraints of the Mejiro Family. However, such a condition would likely never be willingly accepted by those old people who had long grown accustomed to draining value from others.
"So I'll need to prepare some unconventional methods."
Lost in thought, Shuta An walked out through the main gates of Central Tracen Academy. At the corner of the street, he noticed several reporters lurking nearby.
"Perhaps...it's finally time to make use of those connections again."
That thought quietly surfaced within the young man's mind.
"If they dare expose even the Prime Minister and cabinet officials, then exposing the Mejiro Family probably wouldn't be impossible either."
However, exactly what should be exposed, and how far the scope should extend, still required careful consideration.
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