"Here are the refreshments, senpai. I'll take my leave now."
"Mhm, alright Little Fujin, remember, don't let anyone else disturb Trainer Ikezoe and me~" Maruzensky said as she waved Ines Fujin out of the private room.
Inside, Maruzensky looked at the many desserts in front of her and the cocktail in her glass, smiling as she asked Ikezoe:
"Trainer Ikezoe, feel free to try them. Though they aren't the top-of-class desserts, they are still quite tasty. The cocktail also isn't half-bad either. Oh, by the way, you can tolerate alcohol, right?"
"I can, but I'd rather not. I am a Trainer after all. Plus, I like to stay sober." Ikezoe declined Maruzensky's offer. Though he was certain that she wouldn't harm him, it's better to be safe than sorry since he still isn't sure why Maruzensky called him here.
"It's just... Miss Maruzensky, you are still an Uma Musume, right? Is it alright for you to drink? And aren't you going to drive home later?"
"It's fine, I'll just call a taxi to take me back then." Maruzensky waved her hand dismissively, saying:
"Besides, I'm not an active Uma Musume anymore, so it's okay to drink a little. I'm not like Rudolf and the others; they always have an itch to race against worthy juniors every now and then."
"I, well, I technically retired a long time ago. Due to race scheduling and some illnesses, there are no more races for me to run."
As she spoke, Maruzensky took a sip of the cocktail in front of her without a care in the world, alongside a look of extreme enjoyment on her face despite the serious and somber topic she was sharing about herself.
Ikezoe, however, didn't give Maruzensky any reply. He simply quietly waited for Maruzensky to finish her entire glass, then saw her face flush slightly as she asked.
"So, Trainer Ikezoe, do you know anything about me?"
Is she already drunk? Ikezoe raised an eyebrow slightly. He had thought that a reckless driver like Maruzensky, who seemed to like drinking a lot, would have a high alcohol tolerance, similar to the corporate drones they knew who frequented Izakayas. He didn't expect her to get tipsy after just one glass.
"...I'm sorry, I'm still quite new, so I don't know much about your story, Senior."
Ikezoe actually wasn't lying here. Although he was a professional Jockey before he transmigrated, he couldn't remember every Racehorse. While he vaguely recalled Maruzensky's achievements being quite impressive in her era, it happened in a completely different time period than his, so he genuinely couldn't remember.
Perhaps if Imanami were here, he could chat with Maruzensky articulately, and might even mention many names that someone as old as Maruzensky might not know...
"Really? You don't know anything about me? But you recognized Little Fujin right away!"
Ikezoe's reaction caused Maruzensky to pout in dissatisfaction, feigning anger. But soon, Maruzensky regained her smile and replied:
"I retired due to tendonitis. Though I don't like to talk about stories from my past, it makes me sound like some cranky old grandma... but back then, I was a very important big shot, you know? The kind that even someone like Rudolf would look up to."
"You know? Before Rudolf even joined Tracen, I was already a member of the Student Council. All my friends already left to do their own things, but I still remained at Tracen. But do you know why I've never been President, or even Vice President, till this day?"
Maruzensky asked this, silently looking up. Ikezoe pondered for a long time before asking uncertainly: "...Because you don't like to deal with troublesome things?"
"...Everyone thinks that, and even a part of me thinks that now." Maruzensky let out a helpless laugh at his words, then said faintly:
"But really, it's because I'm an 'Imported' Uma Musume, my dear Kouhai-kun."
"..."
Ikezoe quickly understood the term "Imported Uma Musume." After all, they did have a similar term of "Imported Racehorse"—which, simply put, are Racehorses that came from overseas to compete in Japan.
This might not matter much, as a concept like "Imported Racehorse" has long since been abolished. But this concept caused quite a controversy back in the day and is important enough to still be in textbooks. Under Japan's domestic Racehorse breeding protection policy at the time, once a Racehorse was classified as an "Imported Racehorse," they would be prohibited from participating in the Classic Triple Crowns.
The main purpose of this policy was to ensure that Japan's domestic Racehorse market would not be dominated by foreign Racehorses. Naturally, this regulation was later abolished, leading to what was known as the Golden Generation.
What's interesting is that this regulation was abolished exactly the year after Maruzensky retired, which was undoubtedly a great irony.
"So, senior, you didn't participate in the Classic Triple Crowns?"
"No, no, I did, though only the Japanese Derby."
However, Maruzensky shook her head and smiled: "I still remember how my Trainer desperately pleaded with those URA people, saying that it was fine even if they placed me in the outermost gate and that they didn't need to give me prize money, they just hoped I could participate in the Japanese Derby... and that's how I was allocated a spot in the Japanese Derby."
"I still won in the end. Perhaps it was thanks to me winning that race that the policy was overturned, and more children could freely participate in the Classic Triple Crowns. I guess I did something significant."
But at this point, Maruzensky's expression subtly changed, and her smile carried a hint of coldness as she said to Ikezoe:
"But even so, my dear Kouhai-kun, do you know that even though our Uma Musume here are impressive, they are still looked down upon by other countries? Do you know why?"
"...Of course I know."
As a former Jockey, how could Ikezoe not know this? Although horse racing could be considered one of Japan's most widespread pastimes, the JRA couldn't be said to be of any renown in the world for a long time. They were the reason European and American Racehorses didn't like to come to Japan to race.
The reason was simple: the JRA back then resorted to every trick in the book if it meant their country's Racehorses could win against foreign Racehorses.
The simplest example was the excessively hard turf, which was undoubtedly a huge burden for unaccustomed European and American Racehorses. Many Japanese Racehorses were ruined running at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe due to the difference, and wouldn't it be the same for European and American Racehorses coming to Japan? In fact, they would be even more thoroughly ruined by such hard turf. If they weren't careful, it could even lead to a situation where they had to put the horse down on the spot.
This was a very dirty trick, but even so, the JRA still couldn't avoid the outcome of foreign Racehorses dominating the Japanese scene, as foreign Racehorses generally had better quality than native Japanese Racehorses, with the quality difference of their Jockeys being the same. Otherwise, the Golden Generation wouldn't have happened in the first place.
But what did this have anything to do with him? Ikezoe was a bit confused.
"So, Senior, why exactly did you look for me?"
"Your future, my cute little junior, as well as the lovely Uma Musume you are in charge of; if I remember correctly, her name is Orfevre, right?"
Maruzensky's face also held a mysterious smile as she said to Ikezoe: "That child possesses boundless potential. Out of everyone I have seen so far, she's the one with the most hope of breaking out of Japan."
"The home we call Japan is simply too small. Compared to the wider world, it's truly too small, and I don't want a talented kid like that to be confined in this place, especially since... this is a place where people are too conservative."
"Do you and that child have any plans to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe? If you truly intend to challenge the world's grand stage, I, as your Senior, can lend you a hand."
In the private room, Maruzensky's slightly liquor-tinged words fell into Ikezoe's ears, every single one piercing directly into his heart, making his breathing involuntarily heavy.
Ikezoe had a premonition that this time, those Three Goddesses might be smiling down on him right now, allowing him and Orfevre to achieve the ideal that was previously impossible to realize.
And to enable Orfevre to challenge a higher stage, Ikezoe would be willing to do anything. This was his life mission; this was the meaning of his existence.
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No idea what to write here... uhhhhhh, Yuta's a bum ig.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.