However, someone was even quicker than Mr. C.B and Symboli Rudolf.
After all, they were still some distance from the training ground, and with so many people crowded around it now, a full-speed sprint was impossible.
Thus, it wasn't Mr. C.B and Symboli Rudolf, but the European trainers who had already been waiting at the finish line who reached her first.
From among them emerged a thin man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
Seeing Dream Weaver cross the finish line, he didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately stepping forward to stand before her.
"Those two arrogant and ignorant fools have already been stripped of their positions by me. There will no longer be any place for them in the European Uma Musume Racing world, or even the global racing scene."
"Furthermore, we will provide appropriate compensation for Miss Shiragawa's psychological distress. If she wishes to undergo special training in Europe, all branches of Tracen Academy there will open their doors to her."
"This is but a small token of our apology. If there is anything else you are dissatisfied with, please feel free to state it, and I will make adjustments immediately."
Faced with his rapid-fire speech, Dream Weaver didn't reply, merely staring back at him coldly.
Unfazed, the man produced a medal from his pocket, pinned it to his own chest, and continued his introduction.
"My name is Richard Phil. I am the European Uma Musume Racing world's liaison officer stationed at Tracen Academy here in Japan. You may simply call me Richard."
"Rather than remaining in this small, far-eastern nation, I wish to introduce you to the entire world."
Though Dream Weaver remained silent, the smile never once left Richard's face.
Having proven his identity and his genuine capacity to bring Dream Weaver onto the world stage, he pressed on.
"You must know of Shinzan, I presume? The reigning Triple Crown winner twice over, she is currently the absolute ruler of Japan's Uma Musume Racing world. But she's been racing for many years now, long past her prime."
"However, we have no intention of discarding her. We are currently considering how she might become the next head of Japan's Uma Musume Racing world."
"In our plans, the Uma Musume slated to take Shinzan's place is named Symboli Rudolf. Although that young lady has just entered a rebellious phase, I believe she will eventually return to the fold."
Pausing briefly, Richard offered Dream Weaver a benign smile.
"You must be wondering why I mentioned them, correct?"
"It's quite simple. Because they were chosen by the European Uma Musume Racing world to be the leaders who will dominate Japan's racing scene, both past and future."
"We will provide them with nearly limitless resources—a professional training team, the most advanced facilities, all of it complete. Furthermore, hundreds of support staff work behind the scenes, crunching all sorts of data to assist with their training and races."
"And we ask for only a small compensation in return."
"But you are different! You are nothing like them!"
Richard's tone suddenly surged with fervor. He spread his arms wide towards Dream Weaver, as if to say she belonged to the vast skies behind him.
"This far-eastern country cannot contain you! The world is the true stage upon which you can display your talents!"
"Even the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, symbolizing boundless glory and radiance, will become but one of the crowns you wear!"
"Here and now, I earnestly beseech you, choose us! We will provide you with the world's finest professional team, chart the most perfect training course for you, and etch your name forever into history!"
There wasn't a hint of falsehood in his words. For Dream Weaver to display such terrifying power during her rookie season alone...
With such staggering natural talent, augmented by the services provided by the European Uma Musume Racing world, the name Dream Weaver was destined to become the most vividly brilliant stroke in the history of Uma Musume.
She might even ascend to the stage of myth, like those of legend.
"Are you finished?"
Yet, Richard's incredibly inspiring declaration had failed to move Dream Weaver in the slightest. Her gaze remained icy, scraping over the man before her like a winter gale.
"If you have any dissatisfaction regarding the previous offense, we are ready to amend it at any time."
As the direct superior of all the European trainers present, the man dispatched from Europe to serve as liaison at Central Tracen, Richard had an extremely precise grasp of human nature.
Sensing that Dream Weaver seemed unmoved by his words, he immediately lowered his posture, bowing at a thirty-degree angle to offer his apology.
Beneath the radiant future he painted and his seemingly compliant attitude, an ordinary Uma Musume might have already forgotten the earlier incident.
But Dream Weaver was different. She didn't care about the future Richard depicted.
Her goal, simply put, was just to win the Triple Crown. That future had nothing to do with her mission.
Moreover, after this past week of observation, she had developed numerous grievances against the so-called European Uma Musume Racing world.
They thought nothing of hurling insults at an ordinary talent like Shiragawa, yet could swiftly change their stance and grovel the moment she displayed power surpassing the world's contemporary racehorses.
The European Uma Musume Racing world, in its quest to maintain absolute authority, had cast everything else aside.
They only wanted powerful Uma Musume, caring not one bit for who that Uma Musume actually was.
Dream Weaver detested this. If things went according to their logic, wouldn't someone like Nanno Sumire, who had once wallowed in mediocrity, be deemed unworthy of even running? And Mejiro Ardan, with her glass-like legs, would be utterly discarded by them.
The world of Uma Musume shouldn't be like this.
"The Triple Crown is nothing but the shackles you use to bind everyone, isn't it? I'll shatter them."
"I'll show the world that besides submitting to you, there's another path on the racetrack to take."
Dream Weaver had no interest in further conversation with Richard. Her rage had already been vented on those two insolent fools earlier. Now, her task wasn't about venting emotions.
It was about using her victories to prove one thing to everyone, to the world.
That Uma Musume could have their own dreams, their own futures, without having to submit to the European Uma Musume Racing world.
Having just fulfilled her vow to surpass her contemporaries, Dream Weaver now raised her battle standard against Richard. She was declaring war on this man, and on the world he represented.
"Just watch. I will personally shatter the elaborate illusion you've woven, and utterly crush the arrogance of the European Uma Musume Racing world's attempt to dominate everything!"
Dream Weaver's declaration was like a drawn blade, severing the false smile on Richard's face and revealing the rigid, mask-like expression beneath.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.