After watching Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio leave for class, Sakura Baimu went to the cafeteria alone, grabbed a huge plate of food, and sat down to enjoy her breakfast.
Umamusumes who often passed by looked surprised when they saw the large plate of food on Sakura Baimu's table.
After all, human gluttons are rare.
Of course, Sakura Baimu's actual appetite isn't that large.
Her usual food intake is about the same as a normal person's.
However, because Sakura Baimu gets very little rest each day, and almost no rest at night—she's mostly either training or taking care of Rice Shower—she usually eats a lot the next morning to replenish her energy after a night's work.
Just considering breakfasts, Sakura Baimu is probably at the level of a glutton.
Specifically, she's above Daiki Shuttle but below Special Week.
After breakfast, Sakura Baimu went to the chairman's office and found Akikawa Yayoi, who had been startled awake from her slumped-over desk by her entrance.
"Sakura... you scared me," Akikawa Yayoi said, yawning and rubbing her slightly teary, sleepy eyes.
"Yayoi, you didn't come to watch me run again last night, did you?"
Seeing Akikawa Yayoi so tired, and recalling their previous encounter at the academy during training, Sakura Baimu immediately guessed that Akikawa Yayoi had probably stayed out all night watching her run.
"Haha!"
Akikawa Yayoi tried to brush it off with a cheerful laugh, fanning herself a few times with her fan before looking at Sakura Baimu.
"Golden Crown Eagle was admitted to the hospital?"
"You already know! A fracture, but not serious."
"That's the best outcome."
Akikawa Yayoi smiled and nodded. She jumped off the chair, then gracefully walked to Sakura Baimu, standing on tiptoe as if to offer encouragement.
Sakura Baimu chuckled softly, also bending slightly forward, as Akikawa Yayoi patted her shoulder.
"Speaking of which, Sakura, your speed yesterday really amazed me. Was this your first time running against such a strong Umamusume?"
"Yes, it was my first time running against an Umamusume of this level."
Sakura Baimu nodded. Golden Crown Eagle was indeed the strongest Umamusume she had ever faced.
"Sakura, you're really strong! That Golden Crown Eagle actually bullied a student from the academy to force you out. She seriously underestimated you."
"Yes, if she hadn't targeted the Umamusumes from the academy, she wouldn't have ended up like that."
"It's one thing that she challenged you the first time, but even though you've already beaten her once, she still hasn't realized the gap between you. It's no wonder she lost."
Akikawa Yayoi, fanning herself, recalled the events of the previous night, nodding repeatedly.
"She has always lived in her own little world. Because she hadn't met any rivals in her grade, she considered herself invincible. Then she lost to you, Sakura, at the academy. Unsure of her superiority and unable to stop, she was ultimately crushed by harsh reality."
"Truly pathetic."
Sakura Baimu agreed wholeheartedly with Akikawa Yayoi's insightful assessment.
"Luckily, Sakura isn't a bad kid; otherwise, it would be terrible." Akikawa Yayoi chuckled, reaching out to pat Sakura Baimu's head again.
However, Sakura Baimu anticipated her intention and immediately straightened up.
Akikawa Yayoi stretched out her arms and stood on tiptoe, only to find that she couldn't reach the top of Sakura Baimu's head at all.
"Hmph."
Sakura Baimu's lips curled into a smug smile.
"Sakura, as the chairperson of Tracen Academy, I order you to kneel down!" Seeing Sakura Baimu's smugness, Yayoi puffed out her cheeks and commanded her.
"Is this even possible? Yayoi, as your superior, you're ordering your subordinate to do this!"
Of course, Sakura Baimu wasn't unwilling.
She tried to feign an authoritative demeanor as Akikawa Yayoi appeared, but Akikawa Yayoi's petite frame and youthful face made it impossible for Sakura Baimu to think anything other than "cute."
Sakura Baimu, feigning reluctance, gently squatted down, and then, to Akikawa Yayoi's satisfaction, the older girl ruffled her hair.
"This is harassment from your boss, oh, so good so good"
Looking at Akikawa Yayoi's expression, Sakura Baimu covered her face with her hands again.
This kind of harassment is really nice!
She felt grateful once again for being a trainer at Tracen Academy.
Although Sakura Baimu was suspended, it was Akikawa Yayoi who recruited her into Tracen Academy.
Even Sakura Baimu's current status was arranged by Akikawa Yayoi, the chairperson of Tracen Academy.
After having the lovely chairperson open the door for her again, Sakura Baimu left the chairperson's office satisfied.
--
After the morning's cultural classes ended and they had lunch, the TCB Umamusumes met Sakura Baimu, who had been waiting for a long time, in the activity room.
"There's a lot to talk about today; let's go through it one by one."
Sakura Baimu patted the whiteboard and spoke to her teammates.
"Originally, we only had Kita-chan's matches until late September."
The teammates looked up and saw that the original schedule was almost entirely filled with "Kita-chan."
"However, GG joined our team, and I promised her I'd help her win the G1 championship within six months, so the schedule has been slightly altered."
Sakura Baimu took out a new schedule and posted it on the whiteboard.
"This month, there's only Kita-chan's match, but next month, in addition to Kita-chan's match, we've added another match for GG. By the way, you two are both participating in G3-level matches."
"Huh?!! I'm going to participate in a high-stakes match too?" Kitasan Black's crimson eyes widened in surprise upon hearing Sakura Baimu's words.
"Yes, don't be afraid. Competing against strong opponents is the fastest way to become stronger." Sakura Baimu smiled.
"Kita-chan has at least one match every month, so I won't go into details. As for Dia-chan, she has one match each in September and November, with the November match being a G3."
"Understood, Trainer-san." Satono Diamond nodded elegantly.
"McQueen will be participating in the Autumn Tenno Sho at the end of October," Sakura Baimu said, smiling as she looked at her teammates.
"And just a side note, if McQueen wins another G1, she will become only the second Japanese player in history to achieve seven Umamusume titles."