After the Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family finished introducing themselves, Shuta An guided Oguri Cap and Berno Light to their seats, before rolling up his sleeves to help in the kitchen.
"I can help too!" Oguri Cap raised her hand enthusiastically.
"Let's not," Shuta An replied dryly, making a shooing gesture. "If I let you in there, Oguri, you'll eat half the ingredients before they make it onto the plate."
The Gray Uma Musume puffed out her cheeks but obediently returned to the living room. Berno Light, who had been about to volunteer as well, saw Shuta An's subtle signal toward Oguri Cap and quietly sat back down to accompany her.
Shuta An followed Miss Ramonu into the Mejiro Family's expansive open-plan kitchen, where dishes were being prepared with almost festival-like vigor.
"Isn't this a bit too much?" He stepped past the island counter and froze. "This looks like enough food for twenty people."
"I heard Miss Oguri Cap has quite an appetite—and McQueen also eats a lot—so I prepared a bit extra." Miss Ramonu smiled gently.
"This is—far beyond 'a bit'," Shuta An groaned inwardly.
"I'll start with the fruit platter," he said. "We can't just leave them waiting without anything to snack on."
"I'll leave it to you, Shuta-kun." Though Miss Ramonu said so, her eyes kept darting toward him, as if expecting disaster the moment he touched the knife.
But her concern vanished almost immediately. Once the fruit knife was in his hands, Shuta An sliced with practiced precision. Melons, apples, berries—everything was swiftly arranged into vibrant platters, then carried away by Mejiro Family attendants.
"Shuta-kun is quite used to cooking," Miss Ramonu remarked, rolling a sushi maki as she glanced over.
"I started living alone early," he replied, focused on his work. "I had to practice my knife skills, or I'd starve."
"I recall Shuta-kun was born and raised in America, correct?" Miss Ramonu blinked in mild surprise.
"But Miss Ramonu, my name should've given you a hint, shouldn't it?" Shuta An raised an eyebrow, hands still moving.
"Oh—right." She paused with the sushi roll in hand. "I overlooked that."
Shuta An set down his knife and stretched his wrist. "The fruit's done. Anything else you need?"
Meanwhile, in the living room, Oguri Cap and Berno Light sat side by side, chatting. Mejiro Dober was absorbed in her drawing tablet again, Mejiro McQueen had already begun devouring the fruit platter, and the remaining three Mejiro Uma Musume—Ryan, Palmer, and Bright—kept stealing glances at Oguri Cap.
The newly crowned Japan Cup champion noticed, of course.
After catching yet another curious gaze, Oguri Cap casually speared a slice of apple. "Is there something you want to ask me?"
She popped the apple into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
'As expected of the Mejiro Family—' she mused. 'This Orin apple is amazing—even better than the hotel's'
Finally, Mejiro Palmer gathered her courage and raised her hand. "Um…I do have a question, Oguri Cap-senpai."
Oguri Cap swallowed the apple. "Please go ahead."
"On the final straight of the Japan Cup—did senpai notice anything happening with Tony Bianca-senpai?"
Oguri Cap shook her head. "Not at all. I paid attention to Miss Tony Bianca early in the race, but during the last sprint—I didn't look at anyone else. I had to focus entirely on myself and give everything I had to win."
"Focus on—yourself?" Palmer murmured, pondering the words but not yet grasping their deeper meaning.
Mejiro Ryan and Mejiro Bright, encouraged by Oguri Cap's approachable demeanor, scooted closer. Ryan, with her usual earnestness, asked about Oguri Cap's training methods. Bright, on the other hand, leaned in with sparkling eyes.
"Oguri Cap-senpai, can you tell me some interesting stories from your expedition to France?"
Oguri Cap blinked. It had happened only in the first half of the year—yet somehow it felt like a lifetime ago. She massaged her temples lightly, then began. "Then— I suppose I'll start with the Seine River, where Berno and I took a walk together."
The moment she began recounting her travels, Bright listened with rapt attention. Mejiro McQueen subtly inched closer, ears perked. Overseas journeys were something she'd never experienced.
"If I get the chance someday…I also want to see the world," McQueen whispered under her breath.
Mejiro Dober, who had seemed uninterested, suddenly perked up as well. When Oguri Cap showed photos of the castle near Chantilly Racecourse, Dober immediately began sketching it with swift strokes on her tablet.
"Miss Dober draws very well," Berno Light said warmly upon spotting the sketch.
"Compared to running—drawing is what I'm more confident in," Dober replied without looking up.
Before the conversation could continue, Miss Ramonu clapped her hands lightly, drawing everyone's attention.
"The celebration banquet is ready. Please head to the dining room."
Even Oguri Cap, who had more G1 victories than the Triple Tiara Uma Musume before her, obediently rose and took a seat—only to be called back.
"No, no. Miss Oguri Cap, today's guest of honor belongs at the head of the table," Miss Ramonu insisted, placing her there herself.
Shuta An arrived last, freshly washed and apron hung up. Before he could choose a seat, Miss Ramonu pulled him to Oguri Cap's left. Oguri Cap blinked twice at him.
"Something wrong, Oguri?" he asked, noticing her expression.
"Trainer, I want that." She pointed toward a plate of escargots just out of her reach—but well within his.
"Alright, alright." Shuta An sighed with resignation. It was clear he'd be spending most of this banquet serving Oguri Cap.
More than an hour later, Miss Ramonu took a small sip of her soft drink and spoke with gentle calm.
"Shuta-kun, would you be interested in watching some recent training videos of my juniors?"
"Oh?" Shuta An, who had stuck firmly to juice the whole evening, was still perfectly sober. "No problem."
'This is probably an assessment, isn't it?' he thought, but he didn't dislike the idea, so he accepted without hesitation.
"I have footage of their recent chase training at the family track. I'll trouble Shuta-kun with this," Miss Ramonu said before rising from her seat.
Shuta An followed her into the living room, where she handed him a small USB drive.
"There's a projector here, so please use that," she reminded him kindly.
"All right." Shuta An took the drive with a confident nod. "But I may not go too deep this time. It's just recorded training—some things can't be fully understood from video alone. Their true conditions need time to figure out."
"I know," Miss Ramonu replied, her smile soft. "If Shuta-kun made judgments too quickly, they might get nervous and cling to them."
Shuta An quickly set up the projector and played the first video—Mejiro McQueen's.
"Should I say…as expected of the Mejiro Family?" he muttered, scanning the training notes. "They actually built a wood-chip track long enough for a 7F solo run on their own property. With this, they can train normally even without staying in the academy dorms."
The Uma Musume present said nothing, simply watching the young man settle into the sofa, legs crossed, ready to evaluate Mejiro McQueen's running form. The moment Shuta An hit play, McQueen's figure shot across the screen.
"Oh, Stride Gait." He identified it instantly, then raised an eyebrow. "Given she's 'Endurance Mejiro', her development toward long-distance remains correct."
"Yes! My goal is to win the Kikuka Sho and the Spring Tenno Sho—to complete the Mejiro Family's three-year Tenno Sweep!" McQueen turned from the dining area, voice ringing with determination—which would have sounded far more heroic if her cheeks weren't stuffed like a chipmunk's.
"Her Stride Gait is still immature, but acceptable given her context," Shuta An continued, ignoring her attempt to look dignified. "But this cruising speed is too high for Miss McQueen, whose body hasn't fully developed yet. In later training, she should consider lowering her cruising speed. If she absolutely must train bursts, then keep the acceleration within the final 2F."
McQueen fell silent.
"That's a bit difficult…" Mejiro Palmer murmured. "If she does that, her training results will drop, and her grandmother will criticize her."
"Then just say it's my request," Shuta An replied without missing a beat.
"Do as Shuta-kun says," Miss Ramonu added before cueing the next video. "Now, Palmer's turn."
At once, Palmer's ears perked. As one of the less favored members of the family, she yearned more than anyone for outside guidance.
"This cruising speed is even faster than Miss McQueen's…and the post-training fatigue must be worse too," Shuta An frowned. "Her gait is Stride-type, but—"
He turned toward Palmer and spoke directly:
"Actually, Miss Palmer, you feel uncomfortable using this gait, don't you? But because your family peers all run this way, you're forcing yourself to do the same."
Palmer froze. The young man's words were painfully accurate. Seeing her speechless, Shuta An eased off.
"Your fast cruising speed seems maintainable. You can consider practicing front-running tactics. However, since Stride Gait doesn't suit you well, you could handle 3200 meters, but it's probably not your specialty. As for your exact best distance—I can't say for sure."
After that, he reviewed the training videos of Mejiro Bright and Mejiro Ryan, offering concise advice to each. Then the final video loaded.
"Miss Mejiro Dober's training video, huh—I wonder how it will be," he murmured.
No sooner had he said it than he caught sight of Dober covering her ears. Combined with her earlier behavior, it was clear to him—Dober struggled immensely with interacting with men. He had seen similar cases back on the West Coast, but back then, he never had to get involved, so he had no idea how that Trainer handled it.
(Good thing I'm only here part-time. If I were fully responsible for her, this would be a nightmare.)
He kept these thoughts to himself and played the video. Unlike with the other four Uma Musume, Shuta An said nothing. The video ran once…twice…a third time…six full loops.
Not a word.
Oguri Cap, Berno Light, and the Mejiro Family's Uma Musume exchanged uneasy glances.
What was wrong?
At last, after the sixth loop, Shuta An exhaled.
"How should I put this—In terms of posture alone, there's nothing unusual." He shook his head. "The real issues can't be solved by track training."
He paused, then spoke clearly:
"For example—her excessive mental sensitivity."
Shuta An turned off the projector and looked toward Miss Ramonu.
"To be honest, I'm confident I can help the others. But—I'm not confident about Miss Dober."
"Is that so?" Miss Ramonu forced a wry smile. "Then that means Dober—"
"I said I'm not confident." Shuta An cut her off. "I didn't say I won't try."
He glanced at Mejiro Dober, who trembled like a frightened rabbit.
"But I'll need time."
(So, do Dober really this shy? I don't play the Uma Musume Japan, just play the Global one, and she didn't get released yet)
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