After spending a simple day readjusting in Hokkaido, Mejiro Dober departed once again from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, flying to Paris, where she would continue her preparations at Longchamp. The day before, Shuta An had already instructed his LLC assistant to reserve a hotel there.
"Dober doesn't need to rush into training after arriving at Longchamp. She should spend the first week resting."
As always, that was his first instruction. During that week, Shuta An would also finalize Mejiro Dober's pre-race conditioning program.
This year's Prix Vermeille was expected to feature ten competing Uma Musume, including Mejiro Dober. Judging from the projected field, the young man estimated that she would once again employ a patient mid-pack stalking strategy.
"By the time Dober begins training in Paris, there'll be fewer than twenty days left until the Prix Vermeille."
Glancing at the calendar, Shuta An gained an even clearer picture of the busy schedule awaiting him.
"Once the Breeders' Cup Series is over, I'll basically only need to make a few trips between Hong Kong and Japan."
Neither Tokai Teio nor Rice Shower had any overseas racing plans this year.
Next year, however, Teio was expected to campaign overseas during the first half of the season. As for the second half, Shuta An had no intention of sending her abroad again.
Rice Shower, meanwhile, would unquestionably complete the Classic Triple Crown campaign first. Afterward, if circumstances permitted, he planned to target the Hong Kong Vase, doing everything possible to avoid overlapping her schedule with Tokai Teio's. Unless Rice Shower herself insisted on challenging the Arima Kinen and facing Tokai Teio head-on.
"But I really don't want to see that happen," Shuta An muttered.
Rice Shower might want to measure herself against Tokai Teio, but from the perspective of Team Sadalsuud, he had no desire to see his own Uma Musume fighting one another in the same race. Having everyone pursue separate objectives and accumulate prestigious achievements independently was the philosophy he valued most.
He neither wished to imitate Western Trainers who sacrificed one Uma Musume to execute team tactics for another, nor did he want to end up like Kitahara-san, whose team members frequently collided in the same major races.
Central Tracen Academy's summer vacation came to an end on the final day of August.
Since everyone needed time to prepare for the new semester after returning to Tokyo, on August 29—six days after Mejiro Dober had departed for Paris once again—Shuta An boarded a flight back to Tokyo with Tokai Teio, Rice Shower, and Kurofune. Curren Chan returned with them as well.
Throughout the journey, however, Curren Chan remained by Shuta An's side, bombarding him with questions about the Twinkle Series—subjects she had long wanted to learn but had never found an opportunity to study at the Academy.
The young man did not answer every question.
Given Curren Chan's current grade level, Shuta An knew very well that exposing her to too much information too early would only make it difficult for her to settle down and build a proper foundation through training. After all, she was completely different from Tokai Teio, who had been personally taken away for special instruction by Symboli Rudolf immediately after enrollment.
"It's hard to find a second Uma Musume like Teio anywhere in Central Tracen Academy," Shuta An had always believed.
After returning to Tokyo, Shuta An first dropped the Uma Musume off at Central Tracen Academy before preparing to hail a taxi home.
Before he had even reached the school gate, however, a Line notification appeared on his phone.
The message was from Mejiro Ramonu.
The current acting head Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family invited him to meet at a familiar café.
Shuta An readily accepted. Although he didn't know the exact reason behind the invitation, he already had a rough idea.
"It should be because of Dober's performance at York Racecourse. Winning by eighteen lengths must have had a tremendous impact on the Mejiro Family."
Regardless, he was certain of one thing.
Whatever Mejiro Ramonu wanted to discuss, it definitely wasn't bad news.
"I'll know once I get there," he thought.
Even so, when Shuta An stepped into the café and saw Mejiro Ramonu immediately rise to her feet before bowing deeply toward him, he was still caught completely off guard.
"What is this for?"
The young man instinctively stepped aside, avoiding the bow.
"I don't think I've done anything deserving of this."
"Thanks to Shuta-kun's help, I was able to visit Ardan some time ago."
Mejiro Ramonu straightened herself, sat back down, and quietly explained,
"She's very happy now. At the very least, she looks far happier than she would have been if she'd remained in Japan."
"That's wonderful news."
Shuta An smiled gently.
"I imagine the rest of the Mejiro Family would be happy to hear that as well."
"So did I."
Mejiro Ramonu let out a helpless laugh.
"I told Grandmother about my meeting with Ardan, thinking she'd be pleased. Instead, she became so furious that she scolded me repeatedly... and then fainted."
"Ah..." Shuta An deliberately put on an expression of exaggerated surprise. "Is the Old Madam alright?"
"She's conscious now, but she suddenly seems much older. Her mental condition has also deteriorated quite a bit."
Mejiro Ramonu slowly shook her head.
"So now I'm handling all of the family's affairs."
Under different circumstances, Shuta An would have congratulated her. But now was clearly not the time.
He remained silent.
"Dober's performance also made Grandmother very happy," Mejiro Ramonu continued. "She called Dober yesterday and asked her to return as soon as possible to help shoulder the family's responsibilities."
Shuta An's brows immediately knitted together.
The Old Madam's intentions were transparent.
On one hand, she wanted Mejiro Ramonu to continue bearing the burden of managing the family's affairs. On the other, she hoped Mejiro Dober would return and compete with Ramonu for influence within the family.
As someone deeply involved with Dober, there was no way he could view that favorably.
"But Dober refused."
Mejiro Ramonu spread her hands helplessly.
"Then Grandmother became furious again and lectured Dober over the phone for quite a long time."
"So that happened—"
A trace of anger slipped into Shuta An's voice.
There was no need to speculate further.
Dober most likely hadn't simply hung up the phone. That meant that, during a period when she should have been adjusting both physically and mentally in France, she had instead been forced to stay awake listening to the endless complaints of an elderly woman whose judgment had already begun to deteriorate.
"Sigh..."
Watching the young man's reaction, Mejiro Ramonu hesitated.
Recently, because of her grandmother's constant interference, certain rebellious thoughts had begun taking root within her heart.
But she couldn't bring herself to voice them.
Not to Shuta An.
Not to anyone.
"I can only hope that Miss Ramonu will soon rightfully take control of the Mejiro Family."
Shuta An also had many thoughts of his own, but he felt no hesitation in expressing that much.
Hearing those words, Mejiro Ramonu immediately understood the implication behind them. She quietly lifted her teacup.
"When that day comes," she said calmly, "I will never allow the Mejiro Family to become a burden to Dober."
It was a clear promise.
And one she intended to keep.