Gold Ship was, one could say, known to all at Tracen Academy; from the most ordinary student to Tazuna and the Chairwoman herself, everyone had experienced at least one of her pranks before.
However, for people she didn't really know, she usually only played a prank on them once and never again. Moreover, as a particularly tall and robust Uma Musume, few Uma Musume, let alone humans, dared to provoke her.
As for revenge, it was unthinkable.
Yet, there were always a few individuals whom Gold Ship considered as "friends" who frequently get subjected to her persistent teasing. Mejiro McQueen was the primary victim, followed by her arch-rival Tosen Jordan.
And Fumino Nase, unfortunately, was one of the people Gold Ship considers a "friend."
While she was relatively unscathed compared to the likes of Mejiro McQueen and Tosen Jordan, her life at Tracen Academy was destined to be filled with misery from the moment she was added to Gold Ship's "friends" list.
For instance, one time, her coffee suddenly had wasabi in it; in another, her steak got snatched the moment she looked away; or another, where Gold Ship invaded their training and disrupted Super Creek's focus...
Just a single one of these incidents happening was enough to make Fumino Nase's day feel miserable.
Why does Gold Ship do it? Well, her reason for it was, "Trainer Nase always has that serious face on her, I worry that she'll just die one day because of all that bottling up if some emotion isn't forced out of her."
Fumino Nase really wanted to say that she was just like this—the kind who wishes to simply get immersed in the ocean of knowledge without disturbance, and without worrying that she might find a pipe bomb next to her one day...
So much so in fact, that when Fumino Nase left Tracen Academy for further studies, rumors spread like wildfire within Tracen Academy that the real reason she had left was because she couldn't stand Gold Ship's pranks anymore... of course, this wasn't actually the case, but it was partly the reason why she decided to leave Tracen.
From all of this, it's easy to imagine the psychological trauma Gold Ship inflicted onto Fumino; she was an existence that even she, the so-called genius Trainer, couldn't subdue...
But to her surprise, Gold Ship had actually found a Trainer? What kind of a madman of a Trainer would be so insane as to willingly take on Gold Ship as their in-charge Uma Musume?
And that wasn't even the main point; the main point was that Gold Ship had actually accepted this Trainer, and even behaved so obediently?!
For a moment, Fumino Nase's brain shut off. She even suspected that she was actually in a dream and still hadn't woken up...
"Trainer Nase, nice to meet you. I am Takatoshi Imanami, Gold Ship's Trainer." Imanami chose to ignore Fumino Nase's dazed appearance and approached her with a smile to greet her.
Fumino, however, only numbly shook Imanami's hand, taking a long time for her cognitive functions to return before instinctively asking:
"Wait.. Takatoshi Imanami? You're the Trainer who's considered the best in the current generation, the one who scored first in the Central Trainer Qualification Exam? That Takatoshi Imanami?"
"I've heard of you. I had planned to meet you, but I didn't expect... that you'd be Gold Ship's Trainer."
Fumino Nase was also surprised; she long knew of Imanami's name. Besides Wada, whom she had only started noticing after Maruzensky told her to be his mentor, she was actually more interested in Imanami, who could be considered this generation's "Genius Trainer."
When Fumino Nase first joined the URA, she also joined Tracen Academy as the top-performing examinee of her batch and a representative among new Trainers. At that time, she was around the same age as Imanami is now, 21 years old.
Geniuses naturally have an inherent interest in another genius. Fumino Nase was very curious to see what kind of person this talented junior, whose experiences were remarkably similar to her own, truly was.
However, this meeting did not go how she expected it to go; instead, Fumino Nase was left quite startled. Unlike her, this junior... was unexpectedly... very bold.
"Oh, and Trainer, Trainer Imanami is not only Gold Ship's Trainer, but also Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio's Trainer, you know," Super Creek, who had been in Tracen Academy when Fumino wasn't, caught her up to speed.
"Although in their Team Miracle, Trainer Wada's two Uma Musume have the best results, Trainer Ikezoe and Trainer Imanami's Uma Musume are also highly anticipated, you know."
"Mejiro McQueen, that new star of the Mejiro Family? And Tokai Teio... I see."
Fumino Nase also suddenly understood upon hearing this. She had dedicated most of her time to researching foreign Uma Musume tactics and training methods, only casually observing many domestic races, and thus had neglected to learn about them.
But she did know a bit about Mejiro McQueen, the new rising star of the Mejiro Family. She just never cared to find out who her Trainer was or even if she had a Trainer at all. As for Tokai Teio, she knew even more; this future star of Tracen was, one could say, known to all, even back when she was still in Tracen.
"Trainer Imanami, since you are a member of the same team as Trainer Wada, if you don't mind, you can join the lecture alongside Trainer Wada over here."
"Although I haven't met Trainer Ikezoe yet, the mere fact that that senior is guiding him means that he has the qualifications to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the future. As the best among your peers, you should also have such qualifications."
"So, how about my offer? Though I might still be lacking in some areas compared to more experienced Trainers, I believe that I have some unique insights in certain foreign races."
Fumino Nase immediately extended an invitation to Imanami. In her opinion, Imanami, as this generation's "Genius Trainer," undoubtedly had more potential than Wada.
She still hadn't determined if Wada had the qualifications to compete in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but since the second-place Ikezoe was considered to have that potential by Maruzensky, then Imanami, as first place, should too.
For Fumino, lecturing one was teaching, and lecturing two was also teaching; it wasn't much more trouble. If she could personally cultivate two new star Trainers who could challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, she would also feel a great sense of accomplishment.
However, Fumino didn't notice that when she intended to offer to teach Imanami, Wada's face immediately became strained, as if he was trying his absolute best to hold back something.
"Pfft."
And Gold Ship couldn't help but burst out laughing, blurting out:
"GWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!! HAHHHAAAABWAAAA!!!! HWAAAHWAAAAAAAAHWAA!!!! Ha... ha... Trainer Nase, though your skills are quite good, you're still miles away if you want to teach the old man."
"The old man is much more amazing than you think. Even if he's constantly busy, he can still help plan out the perfect training plan for Teio and McQueen, you won't even have a chance to teach them at all~"
"—Gold Ship, behave."
Imanami couldn't help but shake his head as he told Gold Ship. Gold Ship, upon hearing him, also very obediently made a zipping motion on her mouth, indicating that she would absolutely not speak again.
But even so, Gold Ship, who had received a small reprimand, showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, she remained very close to Imanami, like a pouting child, or perhaps a bodyguard protecting their client, which left Fumino Nase utterly stunned.
Is this really Gold Ship? Or was she a skinwalker who took on Gold Ship's appearance and is pretending to be her?
"Trainer Nase, thank you for your kindness. However, although I am a member of Team Miracle, and my two juniors call me the backbone of the team, I don't have the grand ambitions that those two possess."
"I prefer to stay in the backline, so that while they are fighting for their dreams on the front lines, I can help them sort everything out, allowing them to run towards their goals with a peace of mind."
"Of course, I also hope my Uma Musume can achieve some wins, but only under the premise that their bodies won't be sacrificed in the process."
"Trainer Nase, actually, my main purpose in coming here this time was to meet you, since you may become a member of our team in the future. Therefore, there are some questions I must ask in return."
Saying this, Imanami looked at Fumino Nase, the "Yutaka Take" of this world, and couldn't help but recall the spirited genius Jockey in his mind. Then, he calmly asked:
"For you, which is more important: an Uma Musume's glory during their career, or the longevity of an Uma Musume's career?"
"And, from your perspective, what is the most important thing a Trainer should provide to their Uma Musume?"
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Imanami: Answer me Fumino Nase, what is it that Tracen needs?
Fumino: More Goo Goo babies.
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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.