——
It's raining.
The sky remained clear, yet a shower fell under sunny skies.
A woman in a green office lady outfit, wearing a round hat, tapped her file hammer on the desk at the registration counter of Chukyo Racecourse. She glanced up at the weather and murmured to herself.
"The track has deteriorated from all this rain? Has that kid, Teio, done his homework on this?"
Tazuna Hayakawa's lips curved into a faint smile.
Her smile held anticipation for the new generation of Uma's, their resolve and fighting spirit as they encountered and overcame hardships during their growth. The infectious blend of honor and determination—these were the very reasons those races captivated everyone.
The fillies she referred to as [Teio] was currently the brightest rising star at Tracen Academy. Displaying extraordinary talent and ability at such a young age, she had caught the eye of the Triple Crown winner [Symboli Rudolf]. Everyone anticipated that Tokai would become the second-generation heir to this throne, scaling new heights in the world of Uma racing and writing her own legend.
Such a crucial debut race naturally prompted Tazuna, the reinswoman, to temporarily set aside her duties as the chairman's secretary and travel to Chukyo Racecourse specifically to observe the event.
(If you don't know what a reinswoman is, its a female jockey for harness racing)
Then, due to the overwhelming crowd drawn by the Teio's fame, she found herself half-reluctantly, half-persuaded by the race organizers' desperate pleas for help, taking on the task of registering participants and managing the flow of people.
Is this reasonable? Not at all.
But that's how it was.
"Wasn't I supposed to be here enjoying my vacation?"
The green-hatted woman wore a subtle expression.
Why had it come to this?
"But speaking of which, are there only thirteen entries for the race?"
Tazuna flipped through the files in her hands once more.
While a debut race with fewer than fourteen participants wasn't unheard of, she'd expected the Tokai Teio debut to be packed with eighteen Uma's.
Was it because that girl's brilliance was too dazzling? Had the other Uma's and their trainers consciously avoided clashing with the Teio's debut, leaving only twelve with the guts to face her head-on?
Honestly, while being rational and pragmatic isn't a bad thing, lacking the fighting spirit to avoid facing true rivals won't make you an Uma who can stand on her own two legs.
(If it were me, I'd absolutely lock onto the strongest of my generation and then...)
Pondering the unspeakable, the green-hatted woman gradually finished organizing the documents in her hands, preparing to enter the waiting room inside the racetrack.
Soon, Tokai Teio debut race would commence.
Just as she rose from her chair to leave, a voice drifted from ahead of the Tazuna. It was a girl's voice, clear and melodious like a lark's song.
"Um... is it still possible to register for the race now?"
"Huh?"
The green-hatted woman lifted her head.
What met her gaze were emerald-green eyes staring straight at her.
It was a girl with waist-length golden hair, a tall, slender figure, and porcelain-doll features—fair and exquisitely delicate. Merely observing her face before her evoked the exquisite elegance of admiring a rare doll art piece.
Even Tazuna, who had seen countless stunningly beautiful Uma's at the central office, was momentarily taken aback, letting out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
"My, what a beautiful child."
Huh? Wait, what am I saying? How could I behave so improperly towards someone I've just met?
True to her role as the Chairman's secretary, Tazuna instantly recognized her unprofessional slip and composed herself. As if nothing had happened, she smoothly and swiftly handed over the paper and pen.
"Ahem. May I ask if you're here to register for the debut race here at Chukyo Racecourse?"
"Yes."
"Well then, Miss, first I must first give you a little lecture. While this race accepts last-minute entries because the organizers are eager to make a big splash, normal competitions require registration days or even over half a month in advance. If you have procrastination issues, you must correct this bad habit—or else your legs will grow sluggish."
Chukyo is one of the few regional racecourses where local racehorses can experience races on turf. It's also a unique venue capable of hosting both regional and national races simultaneously. Recently, there seems to have been a leadership transition at the top management level? The new successor, eager to emulate their predecessor's discovery of Oguri Cap, is attempting to unearth a new, era-defining champion to elevate Chukyo's prestige. While diligently organizing various races, the operations team struggles to keep pace, resulting in chaos.
"Hmm."
The blonde girl listened, then gave a faint, indifferent nod before returning her gaze to the green-hatted woman ahead.
(Stare—)
Why?
It felt like a quiet house cat observing a stranger from the shadows.
"..."
A brief silence followed. Tazuna blinked slightly, awkwardly scratching her cheek before pointing to the form and explaining.
"So, so, please register your personal information here."
"Sorry, I can't write in Japanese."
"Huh?!"
The green-hatted woman froze, stunned by the girl's unexpected words.
Before she could react, the Uma in front of her pulled out a smartphone and placed it on the form.
"Also, please use this as collateral for the registration fee."
"Huh?!!!!"
What on earth? This kid?
Tazuna brain couldn't quite process it.
Can't write Japanese, and wants to use personal belongings as collateral for the entry fee?
...This situation.
No matter how she thought about it, it felt off!
"Um, miss, are you joking? Your Japanese vocabulary is a bit..."
How to put it.
It sounded like a character from a movie or TV show, lacking honorifics and sounding extremely impolite.
"But you speak it fluently, don't you?"
How could she not know how to write?
"Barely. Communicating with anyone here is difficult, and some words are hard to pronounce. I've already caused trouble for many people just to get to this place."
The girl explained.
——
The blonde girl now standing before Tazuna was none other than Ling Yi.
Picking up where we left off.
To put it simply, she had traveled to the world of Uma Musume and acquired a system granting her the ability to transform into an Uma.
After verifying the authenticity of the mobile app's functions, she temporarily set aside the issue of her transformation and swiftly began searching for a venue where she could race.
Penniless and without identification.
Though she possessed the ability to transform into an Uma, she had no leisure for wasting time.
She must immediately find a way to earn basic prize money.
The human body requires energy to function. If she dragged this out until the next day, or even the day after, her condition would deteriorate from starvation or subsisting solely on park tap water. Expecting to run races and achieve results under such circumstances would be nothing short of a pipe dream.
This was her one chance—today, right now—she had to act decisively!
Missing today's race meant failure, forcing her down a path of unspeakable, unofficial means to survive.
(...But wait—today is the Tokai Teio debut race?)
The prodigy everyone was watching.
Her first race pitted her against the world's protagonist—but she had no choice but to step up.
Truthfully, the most critical issue was language barriers after arriving in this foreign land.
Though Ling Yi could decipher some text through self-study to play foreign servers on the DMM platform, and decades of Japanese listening practice allowed her to communicate in a limited sense, facing native Japanese speakers head-on still gave her a headache.
What happened to the promised language module for transmigrator...? That she had to struggle through raw material like this was definitely not right.
——
"...Could it be, Miss, that you're a foreigner?"
Tazuna stared at the dazzling golden hair and emerald eyes of the girl before him, a possibility dawning.
"Hello?
Bonjour? (French)"
"Hm?"
At those words, Ling Yi's mind suddenly recalled the story of Maruzensky. She wondered if Uma still faced restrictions on participating in high-level competitions due to bloodline status.
Though Oguri Cap had forced the Central Horse Racing Association to reconsider outdated rules through sheer talent, and TM Opera had successfully risen to prominence after the Derby disappointment, both horses had debuted nearly two decades apart. Given the bizarre timeline of this world—where legends like McQueen could coexist with the Gold Ship—whether new regulations were actually enforced remained uncertain.
Better stay vigilant.
"Fifty-fifty."
Ling Yi replied.
"I grew up in China and came here to explore the other homeland where my elders once lived. Yet Japan boasts such a warm-hearted culture—could something like this really happen? I was staying in a hotel, and still my luggage and ID documents were stolen."
He countered with a question, weaving in complaints that seemed genuine.