Mejiro Rampage is a former competitive Uma Musume.
She never exaggerates or flaunts it herself, but she was the World's Fastest and Strongest—an Uma Musume who remained undefeated throughout her entire career. After her final race at the Arima Kinen, she retired from active duty and became a Trainer at Central Tresen Academy.
When her appointment as a Trainer was announced at her retirement ceremony, the news sent shockwaves of astonishment around the globe.
It is rare for an Uma Musume to become a Trainer.
It is overwhelmingly more common for them to be valued as sparring partners or competitive mentors rather than going through the trouble of becoming a certified Trainer. It would be far easier to take a role like the one in the newly established "Aggressor Team" at Central Tresen.
Obtaining a Trainer's License—especially the Central License—is no simple task. It is said to be harder than the entrance exams for a certain prestigious "T University," and years with zero successful applicants are not uncommon.
Yet, Rampage passed it on her first try.
Some whispered that she must have cheated or been given preferential treatment. Indeed, for a legend of Rampage's caliber, special dispensation wouldn't have been unthinkable. However, Rampage went through the standard application procedures and took the general exam like everyone else.
One of the most difficult parts of the exam is the thesis on Uma Musume physiology and racing. She submitted a report titled "On the Correlation between Race Intervals and Track Conditions for Uma Musume," constructed entirely from data gathered during her own races, and secured a passing grade fair and square.
On the other hand, the adage "Great players do not necessarily make great coaches" exists for a reason, and there were certainly those who viewed her aptitude as a Trainer with skepticism. But...
"A Trainer who runs alongside the Uma Musume to observe their running up close, and a Trainer who observes from outside the course. It's fine to have both, right? It just expands the range of perspectives and positioning."
As always, she acted as if she couldn't care less about public opinion.
And so, with the start of the new school term, she assumed the dual roles of Sub-Trainer for Team Canopus and General Chief of the Aggressor Team, deciding to sprint forward once again—this time, from the side that supports the racers.
This was the first new semester Rampage faced as a Trainer.
A new daily life was beginning this year. Team Canopus had welcomed a new member to the Classic Class: "Ticket-zo," or Winning Ticket. The Satsuki Sho was fast approaching. While feeling the onset of a new generation—the BNW era—Rampage sipped her coffee and got to work.
"That group needs to combine this menu with that one, then do this. I'll fine-tune things on-site, request the mock race as usual, and take command... As for Canopus... right. The conference call with the Saitama and Shizuoka training centers is during this time slot, so... Ah, the Chairwoman asked me to guide the new students too... Well, I'll take it easy."
"You're busy, aren't you? Even though you just retired, I think you could afford to take it a little slower, you know?"
Tresen Academy is an educational institution, so naturally, there is a staff room. It is exactly what it sounds like: a room with desks for the staff working at Tresen. Naturally, there are desks for Trainers here too, and one of them belonged to Rampage. Sitting there, she typed at high speed while adjusting her schedule and jotting notes into her planner.
Okino, looking almost exasperated by an efficiency that made one want to ask, "Are you really a rookie?", offered her a refill of coffee.
"I'm not laid-back enough to touch an Uma Musume's legs without permission and get yelled at like you do. I just want to live the ideal life: get the work done when I can, drink sake with dinner, and go to sleep."
"Sake... oh, right. You're an adult now, aren't you?"
"If you want to invite me for a drink, go ahead. I can offer some behind-the-scenes stories from my overseas expeditions as snacks for the booze."
Rampage was already an adult, so she could legally drink. The image of an Uma Musume who was a student just the other day drinking alcohol felt like it might cause a brain bug, but the offer of behind-the-scenes stories from her expeditions was too attractive to pass up.
Should I plan something...? While Okino seriously pondered this, Trainer Tojo approached.
"Sorry to interrupt. I forgot to tell you the deadline for the assignment I gave you the other day, so I came to let you know."
As part of gaining experience, Sub-Trainers were sometimes asked to create materials to assist the lead Trainers. Rampage was already the Sub-Trainer for Canopus, but she still received these tasks.
"Oh my, an assignment from O-Hana-san? Isn't this quite a hefty amount?"
"It was materials on the participating Uma Musume for the Satsuki Sho, including the trial races, right?"
"Yes. The volume is significant, so I came to tell you there's no need to rush. In your case, you have other duties as well."
To other rookie Trainers, having a looser deadline might have felt unfair, but in Rampage's case, it was permissible. After all, she was running around coordinating with other training centers and serving as the General Chief of the Aggressors—a team housing that Sunday Silence, whom even veteran Trainers hesitated to deal with.
"No, it's already done."
"——Excuse me?"
"Eh, seriously?"
"Please check it."
Saying this, she handed over a file that had been sitting on the corner of her desk. Tojo immediately checked the contents. Inside, materials on the Uma Musume scheduled to run in the Satsuki Sho were compiled. Moreover, the data for each individual's past races was summarized in detail, complete with quantified metrics.
When Okino peeked over her shoulder, his face contorted into an expression somewhere between exasperation and shock.
"...When did you do this?"
"Minami-chan used to make me do this, saying, 'Try compiling your own data yourself; it'll be good experience.' It turns out to be pretty handy when you need to look back on things. I already had templates made with Minami-chan's direct teachings, so it was easy."
"That is seriously amazing, hey... I mean, usually one or two recent races would be enough. Why did you go all the way back to their Make Debuts?"
"The origin is important, right? Looking at the origin of their running makes it easier to compare and evaluate their current state. Any other questions?"
"——Full marks. Good grief, I'd like to show this to the reporter who said you had no aptitude as a Trainer... Isn't your efficiency a little too good?"
"I'm good at Dandori Battles, see."
Compared to the grueling amount of work pushed onto her during her days as a corporate slave (in her past life), clearing tasks she could direct her passion and motivation toward was easy. Besides, compiling data was interesting because, as the one doing it, she could see the changes as numerical values, so her hands just kept moving.
"How about you guys? Found any new members?"
"Rigil has found someone. Fuji Kiseki joined us recently."
"Well, I've got Blizzard and Roman in my place, so I haven't thought about it yet."
"This year's freshmen include a relative of that Blizzard, actually. Personally, I recommend her."
"Oh? An endorsement from you makes me curious. Maybe I should consider scouting her?"
"Hey, hey, hey, O-Hana-san, that's unfair!!"
One of the jobs entrusted to her by the Chairwoman was to guide the incoming Uma Musume around the academy this year. When told it was to "give dreams to the Uma Musume who will shoulder the next generation," she couldn't refuse. Plus, her own sister was among this year's enrollees, so there was no reason to say no.
"Starting this year, I think it's gonna be amazing——there's one who can aim for the world."
"Oi, oi, oi, who is it? Tell me too!"
"Let's see... Treat me to a meal sometime, and I'll tell you. Well then, I'm off."
With that, she closed her laptop and left the staff room. Okino and Tojo watched her leave, but they couldn't help but laugh. No matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem like a rookie Trainer.
"She has nothing to learn and isn't a cute junior at all."
"Oh, it's fine that we can take it easy. Besides, having someone like her in the position of a Trainer brings a fresh wind, so I'm grateful."
"Well, yeah, I guess... But more importantly, O-Hana-san, wanna go see the new students? If she says someone can aim for the world, they must be absolutely incredible."
"Don't panic. You'll be able to see them in the selection races."
"Oha-kon-Hello-Ciao♪ It's your memory's World Record holder, the Dictator Tyrant, the Lifelong Undefeated!! Rampage-da-ze!! Everybody have you been accumulating good deeds~?"
The new students couldn't hide their surprise that their guide was that Rampage, and squeals of excitement erupted. Perhaps there were many listeners of her broadcasts, because some looked ready to faint, muttering, "She's real..." or "I'm so moved..."
Amidst the crowd, she spotted Dober, eyes shining, and Bright, looking happy. When she winked at them, Dober covered her mouth while her face turned bright red, and Bright let out a soft, fluffy laugh.
"Alright then, new students. Welcome to Tresen Academy. I'm the rookie Trainer who will be your guide today, Mejiro Rampage. Do I need to do a self-introduction? Ah, I don't? I actually thought about doing a speech in the style of a certain Major... but we have time constraints, so I'll pass. Now, I'm going to guide you all around Tresen, but——"
While going through the preliminary explanations, Rampage casually glanced over the new students, confirming the presence of those Uma Musume.
"WOW!! Rampage-san is really doing the Trainer thing~!!"
"Fufufu... The Uma Musume of Possibility who spanned the world. We enrolled at a magnificent time!!"
"Ohh... Ohhh! I feel something amazing coming from her...!!"
"That person stood at the front of the world... I want to stand there too...!!"
"So, that's the gist of it. But seeing is faster than explaining, right? Let's get moving!!"
As a Trainer who knew the world and had conquered it.
A new drama involving the various Uma Musume gathering under her was about to begin.
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