Chapter 123: The Trip to Kyoto
Everyone agreed with Orfevre's idea without objection.
After the call ended, Makoto thought for a while, then started a video call with Kitasan Black.
"Hey? Good evening, Kitasan—"
Seeing her familiar face appear on the screen, Makoto greeted her out of habit—then froze.
"…Are you in the bath?"
"Good evening, Trainer! Yup, I just finished drying my hair when you called."
Droplets of water slid down her chin, soaking into the collar of her pajamas. Holding her phone in one hand, Kitasan Black used the other to towel her damp cheeks.
"Hold on a sec, okay? My phone's about to die—let me find my charger…"
The screen spun around wildly for a moment before the girl's face reappeared, her cheeks still flushed from the heat of the bath.
"It's so late already—haven't gone to bed yet, Trainer?"
"Ah… I was just discussing something with President Teio and the others…"
Looking away from the screen, Makoto rubbed his nose. "Wait, let me grab my charger too…"
"Mhm! I'll wait!"
A moment later—
Holding the phone now plugged in, Makoto nodded calmly at the sight of Kitasan Black's freshly dried face.
"Actually, I just wanted to ask if you'd like to go watch the Spring Tenno Sho."
He had already been thinking about it ever since Orfevre mentioned the race earlier.
Japan's Twinkle Series of races originated from Europe and America, and its structure is largely based on them.
For example, the Japanese Classic Triple Crown takes inspiration from Britain's—the 2000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, and the St. Leger Stakes, which were established nearly two centuries ago. The Epsom Derby, in fact, is the oldest Derby race in history.
Beyond just race formats, Japan also has its own racing traditions—like the Eight Major Races.
The Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), Kikuka Sho, Oka Sho, Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), Tenno Sho (Spring), Tenno Sho (Autumn), and Arima Kinen.
Before the introduction of the international grading system, these eight races were considered Japan's highest-standard and most prestigious events.
After the grading system came into effect, all naturally became G1 races.
Even today, due to long-standing tradition, the term Eight Major Races is still used in official coverage.
These events carry more weight than other G1s and occupy higher standing in various evaluation systems.
From that perspective, Gold Ship's habit of being "busy playing mahjong" before the Tenno Sho really was bizarre—even by her standards.
Still, eccentric personality aside, her record was genuinely impressive.
Out of her twelve career wins so far, ten were in graded stakes, and among those, five were G1 victories.
By any measure, that put her among the strongest active racehorses.
More importantly, she possessed an exceptional aptitude for long-distance racing and top-tier physical ability.
The Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen, and Hanshin Daishoten were all long-distance races that demanded high endurance and resilience—each a showcase of Gold Ship's talents.
On top of that, she could translate those traits into mid-distance events as well.
The Satsuki Sho and Takarazuka Kinen—2000 and 2200 meters respectively—were typically won through strong cruising speed and explosive final sprints.
Gold Ship, however, did it differently—her trademark was a super long-distance sprint.
While other racers conserved energy through the middle stages, she would begin accelerating early—and just kept accelerating until she crossed the finish line.
Long-distance adaptation, superior physique, continuous acceleration—all of these were traits that Kitasan Black shared.
That was why Makoto thought this Spring Tenno Sho was absolutely worth watching live—not just because of Gold Ship's quirks, but as a perfect learning opportunity.
Through this race, he could teach Kitasan Black a few key points from her recent special training, and she could also learn directly from Gold Ship's firsthand racing experience.
After explaining his thoughts, he asked again.
"No problem!" she replied brightly.
Without a hint of hesitation, Kitasan Black answered excitedly:
"Actually, even if you hadn't brought it up, Trainer, I was going to ask if you wanted to go watch the Spring Tenno Sho together! That way, we can all go as a group!"
"Oh, right—Crow-chan and the others are coming too. I also invited Ai-chan."
"And, um—Cheval-chan as well. You don't mind having so many people along, do you, Trainer?"
Makoto had long known his trainee was incredibly sociable, but that last name still caught him off guard.
"Cheval… you mean Cheval Grand?" he asked, recalling the student records he had read before.
"Trainer knew her, huh?"
With a small smile, Kitasan Black explained, "Cheval-chan's been kind of down lately, so I thought it'd be nice to take her out for a bit."
"She said she didn't really feel like going, but then mentioned she'd ask her sister first."
"So I went with her to ask, and Verxina-senpai was really happy about it—she even sent me a message afterward asking me to take good care of Cheval-chan during the trip."
"Oh, and we've already booked the train tickets and hotel for Kyoto! Do you want me to add yours too, Trainer?"
"I see…"
Makoto hadn't expected Kitasan Black to act so quickly—faster than him, the trainer who was supposed to be making the arrangements. After a brief moment of surprise, he agreed.
"Then I'll leave it to you. Thanks."
"What's there to thank me for? Trainer, you're way too polite!"
Kitasan Black's joy was almost visible through the screen.
"Alright then—it's settled! We'll make it a Kyoto trip!"
. . .
After becoming a trainer, this was the first time Makoto had gone to Kyoto as a spectator rather than a competitor.
The moment he stepped off the Shinkansen, a lively energy filled the air.
From the station exit all the way to the ticket gates, huge promotional posters featuring Gold Ship stretched across the walls. Life-sized standees of the participating horse girls lined the corridor every few meters.
Many passengers getting off the train didn't even rush to leave—instead, they whipped out their phones and cameras, posing excitedly in front of the displays, taking selfies or asking friends and even strangers to snap pictures for them.
Kitasan Black immediately blended into the festive atmosphere.
Clutching a cheering stick and a small flag with Gold Ship's face on it, she darted toward one of the giant posters.
"Wow! Look how huge she is! Crow-chan, Duramente-chan, one of you take a picture for me! Trainer, you can too!"
"Honestly… you're like a puppy that's been cooped up for days and finally got let out."
Letting out an amused sigh, Satomi Crown pulled her phone from her pocket.
Duramente, her usual cool expression giving way to a faint smile, took out her phone as well.
"Kitasan trains really hard," she remarked. "She probably hasn't had a chance to relax in a while."
"That's not true—she went to the amusement park with Almond Eye just last week…"
Crown muttered as she aimed her camera at Kitasan Black striking poses in front of the poster. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Duramente.
"So… you watch Kita-chan's training a lot? Wait, don't you two train together pretty often?" she asked casually.
Still keeping her phone aimed at Kitasan Black, Duramente's tone wavered slightly.
"Only for strength training. Groove-nee said… when it comes to that, I still can't match Kita-chan. I need to learn from her."
After Crown and Duramente took their photos, Kitasan Black—utterly unstoppable—insisted that they, along with Satomi Koudrill and Ai-chan, all take a group photo in front of the poster.
Even Cheval Grand, who had been quietly lowering her head and nervously clutching the brim of her navy cap, didn't escape her enthusiasm.
Watching the scene unfold, Makoto couldn't help but smile warmly—then, out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the person standing beside him.
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Note:
Verxina: https://umamusume.fandom.com/wiki/Verxina
Cheval is Verxina younger sister.
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