"Oh, so you have finally decided? Looks like you've followed my advice~"
Maruzensky didn't seem too surprised by Sweep Tosho's presence. In fact, she had already noticed Sweep Tosho peeking at them in the training grounds much earlier.
Although she wasn't entirely sure what had spurred Sweep Tosho into this decision, the fact that she was willing to find them and say those words meant that she had made up her mind.
"Mmh, Grandmother didn't lie to me after all. I saw you and that bull- Orfevre run today and both of you could use magic!"
Sweep Tosho nodded excitedly as she placed her hands on her hips.
"I want to be as strong as you! To become a powerful witch!"
"Although I'm just a small witch right now, I will definitely win races, become stronger, and then eventually become as amazing as Grandmother!"
Saying this, Sweep Tosho pointed at the book she handed to Ikezoe, saying very solemnly,
"Trainer Ikezoe, you are Senior Maruzensky's student, right? Then I'll start from you."
"I hate all of you! So I'll surpass all your Uma Musume, beat them all up, and then become Senior Maruzensky's student!"
"But before I become the strongest Uma Musume in your team, I will absolutely not leave!"
Sweep Tosho was full of confidence.
After all, the reason she was sent to Tracen Academy to study was because her Grandmother said she had a great talent for becoming a witch.
Though Sweep Tosho knew she was still not a match for Orfevre yet, that frail Curren Chan who didn't give her the hot choccy should be an easy target, right?
Unaware of the devil hidden behind that seemingly frail Uma Musume's cuteness, Sweep Tosho was incredibly confident, even eager to immediately race Curren Chan to learn new magic.
Ikezoe, of course, didn't know what Sweep Tosho's thoughts were at this moment; he simply looked at the book Sweep Tosho had given him earlier.
"This book… are you giving it to me?"
"Not me, Grandmother said to do so."
Sweep Tosho shook her head upon hearing this and said to Ikezoe,
"Grandmother said that if I found a witch at Tracen Academy who was worthy of my apprenticeship, I should give them this magic book."
"Though you aren't a witch and can't use magic, you are now my Trainer, and so, according to Grandmother's wishes, this book should be given to you."
"Hmm..."
As Ikezoe examined the book in his hand, which did indeed look a bit like an ancient magic tome, he slowly flipped open the book to it' first page.
However, the moment Ikezoe started to read the contents of the book, he was quickly overwhelmed by how densely packed the writing on it was.
Upon closer inspection, Ikezoe swiftly realized that everything on the pages was about Sweep Tosho.
The contents were divided into days and were further divided into categories, from things like her approximate height growth, what she ate, to even small things like what toys she played with that day.
The information was so detailed that it was as if the writer had watched Sweep Tosho grow up. Rather than a magic book, it was more like a diary.
Ikezoe casually skimmed through a few pages, but it all seemed to still be the same situation.
As Ikezoe flipped to the last few pages of the notebook, there was a very abrupt blank page that only had a short line of text on it.
"To Mr. or Miss Trainer who receives this notebook. Although I do not know your name, if you have been chosen by Sweep Tosho, please take good care of her for us."
"Unless you are forced to, we beg of you to not destroy this child's innocence and expose the lies we fabricated for her growth. Let her live in this world of hers until she manages to grow into an independent Uma Musume."— 'Grandmother'.
After Ikezoe read the final message left to him by Sweep Tosho's Grandmother, he became silent for a long time.
Suddenly, he felt that yet another great responsibility had been entrusted to him, adding to his already heavy responsibilities.
As Ikezoe quietly closed the notebook, he quickly had to confirm something from Sweep Tosho.
"...Sweep Tosho, have you ever read this book before?"
"Absolutely not! Grandmother said that if I ever opened this magic book, a terrifying curse would befall me and I would never be able to learn magic again!"
Sweep Tosho said this with a particularly panicked look; it was clear that her Grandmother had drilled this 'fact' into her.
"Sometimes, I really, really want to open it, but Grandmother has never lied to me before, so I believe her. I will never open this magic book!"
"...Is that so?"
'Your family truly loves you so very much, Sweep Tosho.'
Ikezoe thought this as he gazed down on the book in his hand.
Although he wasn't entirely sure what Sweep Tosho's family was like, nor what had transpired for them to have the need to weave such an elaborate lie, since they had entrusted Sweep Tosho to him like this... Ikezoe found it difficult to refuse.
To train this little witch into an independent Uma Musume... would be incredibly difficult. But hadn't he done it once before?
"—Alright, Sweep Tosho. I accept your application."
"From now on, you are a member of Team Miracle. Let me introduce myself properly, my name is Ikezoe Kenichi, and I will be your Trainer from this day on."
"Yay! Then I'll call you Kenichi!"
Sweep Tosho immediately raised her small hands in celebration. Indeed, anything she set her mind to could be easily achieved!
Seeing Sweep Tosho's celebratory mood, Ikezoe's initially opened mouth slowly closed.
He wanted to quickly establish some ground rules first, such as obeying his training schedules or what not. But in the end, Ikezoe chose to give up...
'Forget it, besides my lovely Curren Chan, which of my previous Racehorses would actually listen to me anyways...'
...
Meanwhile, back in the training grounds, the mock race had already concluded a while ago, and everyone who was here had already left.
However, two still remained.
Symboli Rudolf slowly walked towards the suspicious trench-coat-wearing woman and spoke faintly,
"Why are you here? I doubt you were just here to watch the mock race, right?"
"Oh, Rudolf-senpai? Long time no see~"
The black haired woman calmly turned around and greeted Symboli Rudolf very amicably.
Though her attitude seemed friendly, Symboli Rudolf did not let down her guard one bit.
She would never forget that, while this Uma Musume was very low-key, if her strength hadn't significantly deteriorated from the last time they met, she was truly, in every sense, the current true number one in Japan.
Although T.M. Opera O was currently being paraded around as the strongest in Japan after she defeated Symboli Rudolf, it was only because everyone had subconsciously excluded this Uma Musume.
Not only that, Symboli Rudolf knew very well that though she was normally a playful and kind girl, when she was on the racecourse, she became what could only be described as a true 'hero' who struck down every obstacle in her way.
"You haven't answered my question yet."
Symboli Rudolf did not intend to beat around the bush and directly asked the Uma Musume,
"An Uma Musume from Shadai, coming to Central Tracen Academy without a word, wearing a creepy trench coat like you are going to kidnap someone... just what exactly do you intend to do?"
"Please answer my question— Miss Deep Impact."
"Ehh... Rudolf-senpai sure is as serious as ever~ I thought my disguise was pretty good~"
Facing Symboli Rudolf's sharp gaze, this approachable sounding Uma Musume finally took off her hood.
As the hood was finally removed, it revealed the face of a delicate, ice-cold beauty that sharply contrasted the way she talked, the faint smile radiating from her expression making her look even more beautiful. (T/N: My interpretation ->)
This was Deep Impact, the Uma Musume who, along with Director Yayoi Akikawa and Hayakawa Tazuna, was assigned to deal with Shadai during the URA Board of Directors' meeting.
Her strength and track record were equally terrifying; one could even say that she was supposed to be the one who should have taken over Symboli Rudolf's position as the strongest.
—Until 'the' scandal happened. After that event, Deep Impact completely faded from the public spotlight; still, her position in the Japanese branch of the URA remained extremely high.
It was appropriate to say that she was the crystallization of the essence of the Japanese Uma Musume scene, the second Undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume!
It was hard to imagine that the person who achieved such an amazing collection of achievements and status was in actuality a goofball, but regardless, Symboli Rudolf still chose to be cautious when facing such a figure.
"Are you here under Shadai's command? Have you lot still not learned your lesson yet?"
"Haiya... Really, how many times do I have to say it? I've already cut ties with Shadai. I'm just your run-of-the-mill URA Uma Musume now! Just with a little more authority~"
Deep Impact then made a gyaru peace sign at Symboli Rudolf, even adding a wink at the end.
However, in reality, Deep Impact had an incredibly high position in the Japanese Branch of the URA; her position was even higher than that of the Director of Tracen Academy, Yayoi Akikawa.
In this regard, Symboli Rudolf should have actually shown respect to Deep Impact, but the current Rudolf clearly didn't have the mind to follow these courtesies.
"Then what are you here for? Are you really just here to watch a random mock race? All these years, you never had the time to say a single hello to any of us, just for you to come here randomly one day without telling anyone?"
With all these suspicious points, it was hard for Symboli Rudolf to believe Deep Impact didn't have any ulterior motives.
But, unexpectedly, Deep Impact nodded instead and said happily,
"Yup, I'm really just here to watch this random mock race. As for why I didn't tell anyone... I just don't want people to recognize me, you know how my public reputation is; I just don't want to hear some irrelevant joe randomly cursing me."
"Plus, it seems my trip wasn't in vain, Rudolf-senpai. This time, I saw a true crystallization of the essence of Japanese Uma Musume."
"—You mean Orfevre?"
Symboli Rudolf was slightly startled upon hearing this and said with a hint of disbelief,
"She is only in her Classic Year now and her talent hasn't even been fully unearthed yet. How are you so sure?"
"Gut feeling~"
Deep Impact rubbed her chin, and, with a playful tone said something that truly shocked Symboli Rudolf:
"You know, Rudolf-senpai? Now that you mention it, I really want to race that child properly when she reaches her peak."
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Deep Impact: Source? How 'bout my gut feeling eh?
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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.