Thanks for your support, J3UNE. Here is the Bonus Chapter
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
With complicated feelings lingering in his chest, Shuta An wrapped up Oguri Cap's morning training routine.
Oguri Cap, now changed back into her casual clothes, walked ahead of him radiantly, refreshed and glowing, immediately catching the attention of the idle lifeguards stationed outside the pool. Their eyes then shifted to the young man following behind her—only to end up disappointed. Although Shuta An didn't look as lively as Oguri Cap, there wasn't a trace of exhaustion on his face.
They said nothing, yet the expressions were enough for Shuta An to imagine their thoughts. He could only shake his head slightly and follow after Oguri Cap, leaving the pool behind.
"What are you doing this afternoon, Trainer?" Oguri asked without turning around.
"Copying the Diamond Sutra from memory," he replied casually. "To clear the mind and body, and reduce desires."
"You can also pray for blessings," Oguri teased. Even coming from the countryside, she had heard of such practices.
At that moment, Shuta An suddenly had a mischievous thought—and felt something in the future might become hilarious.
"After the French Derby, I'll hand out a stack of copied sutras to the reporters asking about my training methods. I'll just tell them it's because of my sincerity. Who knows—maybe by next year, the Trainers in Paris will all be copying Buddhist scriptures too."
One should never overestimate the rationality of Uma Musume Trainers worldwide. To win a G1, plenty of Trainers already skirted the edge of legality; copying scriptures would be the least of their eccentricities.
Oguri, completely unaware of the prank brewing in her Trainer's head, sensed something and turned around—only to see Shuta An wearing an inexplicably wicked smile.
"I feel like someone's going to be unlucky" she murmured under her breath.
After lunch, Shuta An made the agreement with Berno Light in front of Oguri Cap. Already feeling guilty, Berno agreed immediately—including the condition that she would "hand over" the Trainer to Oguri for the entire week after the Derby.
But after agreeing, the Support Uma Musume shot Shuta An a look filled with teasing mischief. She didn't even need to think hard to imagine how Oguri Cap would "use" her lover during that week.
"Better get him some energy drinks," Berno thought to herself. "He'll definitely need them."
Coincidentally, upon returning to her room, she received a text from Shuta An—asking her for exactly that. On the other side, Oguri Cap was also looking forward to the post-Derby days. An unattractive fruit is not a forbidden fruit—but one becomes very tempting once claimed.
"But I must win first to have enough confidence when asking the Trainer for things—" Oguri understood clearly. Her fighting spirit surged hotter than fire.
"I must give the Trainer the glorious title of 'Derby Trainer'!" she declared inwardly. And once she had that—she believed Shuta An would agree to anything she requested in the end.
"Achoo!" In her dormitory, Tokai Teio suddenly sneezed.
"Teio, what's wrong?" Mayano Top Gun asked, worried. "Sneezing at this time—is Teio catching a cold?"
"It's nothing," Teio waved it off. "It just felt itchy. I'm perfectly healthy! I just had a physical examination!"
"That was more than two months ago, you know." Mayano puffed her cheeks. "And Teio's mentioned it over thirty times."
She felt a pang of envy. "We're both still undeveloped, yet Teio already has a Trainer—and he cares so much about her— I want someone to treat me like that too~"
"Did I really say it that many times?" Teio scratched her head.
Then she murmured, "But why do I feel so close to him—? As if I've known him for such a long time."
Even Tokai Teio couldn't explain where that strange certainty came from.
Shaking her head, she thought of France. "I didn't expect the Trainer to already win a G1 overseas."
Her goal was to take the undefeated Triple Crown in Japan, but she wouldn't stop there.
"After achieving the undefeated Triple Crown—" Teio lay on her bed, raised her right hand, then clenched it tightly. "I'll go overseas too—and conquer the overseas G1 races Kaichou couldn't reach!"
With that ambition burning inside her, Teio felt more and more that the "local Trainer" chosen by her beloved Kaichou truly was the ideal one.
"After all, he's the only Trainer in Japan with experience winning G1s overseas. To aim for overseas G1s, training under him is the best chance." Feeling reassured, Teio glanced at the clock—the hour hand was nearly at eight.
She jolted upright and rushed to get ready. "Maya-chan! Don't lie down! If we don't get moving, we'll be late!"
That night, once asleep, Shuta An found himself following Matsumoto Shoichi across Hokkaido.
"Where are we going—?" he asked once he oriented himself.
"Niikappu Town," Matsumoto Shoichi answered. "We've come all the way here—don't you know where we're going?"
"I just know it's a ranch" Shuta replied, relying on his Dream World knowledge. "But which one?"
"Nagahama Ranch," Matsumoto said. "Once we arrive, there's something I need to tell you—something about a horse you probably don't know."
"Something I don't know?" Shuta was puzzled, but noticing Matsumoto's clear intent to withhold it for now, he didn't push further.
They arrived at the ranch, where staff members were already waiting at the entrance.
"Trainer Matsumoto, you've come to see him again~" one staff member greeted with a smile.
Matsumoto nodded, then gestured toward Shuta An. "This is my choice."
"Is that so?" The staff member raised an eyebrow, looked Shuta up and down, then muttered, "Well—it's not my place to comment."
"Teio should be in the pasture, right?" Matsumoto ignored the remark.
"Of course, please follow me," the staff said, guiding them forward.
"'Teio'?" Shuta muttered instinctively, filled with questions, and followed behind.
When the name "Teio" was mentioned, the first thing that came to Shuta An's mind was naturally Tokai Teio.
Could it be that I'm about to see this world's Tokai Teio?
His expression remained calm, but his heart tightened with nerves. Based on what he had learned about the Dream World and its internal logic, if the yearling he was about to meet really was Tokai Teio—
Wouldn't that mean Tokai Teio will debut in the Twinkle Series two years from now?
The thought astonished him. In reality, Tokai Teio's debut was still far further in the future.
Or maybe the real world and the Dream World aren't perfectly synchronized? he wondered. After all, I haven't heard the name Silence Suzuka here either.
(So the Fugitives Silence Suzuka was debuted in 1997, but in Uma Musume Season 1, she was racing earlier than the Nippon Sodaisho Special Week. Even SS was the idol of SW. That's why, I find it strange too at first when finding it out and realize that some timeline can be adjusted.)
It didn't make sense to him that someone with Silence Suzuka's talent wouldn't have a Dream World counterpart. While Shuta An was puzzling over these inconsistencies, the ranch staff led Matsumoto Shoichi and him toward a pasture.
"It's a lucky coincidence," the staff member said. "If Trainer Matsumoto had come half an hour later, Teio would've already returned to the stable. At that point, you'd only see Teio sleeping on his mat, and he—well, he gets extremely wary. You wouldn't be able to observe them properly."
He pointed toward a mare and foal resting not far away. "Look, Teio's already a little sleepy."
Following the direction of the gesture, Shuta An saw a small foal nestled beside a mare with a slightly swollen belly.
"He seems well-behaved," he murmured.
"Well-behaved—" The ranch staff's lips twitched. "She might look like that, but Teio is actually very willful. He ignores unfamiliar people completely, and if you get too close, he'll turn aggressive. So please, don't approach him carelessly."
"I understand."
Shuta An stayed behind the staff, keeping a reasonable distance as he observed the tiny "Teio." Matsumoto Shoichi, familiar with the ranch, was free to walk a little closer and inspect her growth.
"Very good~" Matsumoto's satisfaction grew the more he looked. "Even though she's not even half a year old, her natural talent is obvious. Her limbs are flexible, her movement is clean. This child will become an excellent Racehorse."
As he spoke, he glanced back at Shuta An.
"So—" Shuta pointed at himself. "Trainer Matsumoto brought me here today specifically to see this child?"
Matsumoto tapped his own forehead. "I almost forgot—I did say I had something to discuss with you."
He then explained the agreement he had made with Sagami Masayuki.
"So—" Shuta An turned to look at the tiny "Teio." "I'm this child's future main partner?"
"That's right." Matsumoto Shoichi beamed. "A strong horse needs a skilled jockey. The owner had concerns at first, but after seeing your performance these past months, those doubts disappeared."
Even with the JRA's new restrictions on Shuta's "windmill whip," he still won often just from his superior pushing technique—proof that he wasn't dependent on a single trick.
"But he's still two years from debut," Shuta said, pointing at the little foal who stood quietly, looking slightly dazed. "Isn't it too early for me to meet him now?"
"Not at all. Getting familiar now prevents trouble later." Matsumoto shrugged. "Good preparation never hurts."
"Each month, you'll come observe him growth with me," he added.
"Alright," Shuta agreed without hesitation.
If 'Teio' truly is Tokai Teio— If this world mirrors reality— then her experiences here might help me deduce what awaits in the real world, he thought.
But just as he was sinking into contemplation, the little "Teio" suddenly trotted forward—his steps unsteady but determined—and rammed lightly into his side. The unexpected impact made him stagger, almost falling into the grass.
"It seems he's quite curious about you," the staff said with a small laugh as he steadied Shuta.
Shuta blinked, startled, and stared into Teio's bright eyes.
"He really does look intelligent like a human," he whispered. Almost instinctively, he reached out and gently rubbed his head.
Teio narrowed him eyes in bliss.
"This is the first time I've seen him act so friendly toward a stranger," the ranch staff muttered, genuinely surprised.
"Maybe I just have good charm?" Shuta joked.
The words had barely left his mouth when Teio promptly lifted his right foreleg and kicked his shin.
"There it is— That's the real Teio," the staff thought with relief as Shuta hissed and grabbed his leg.
———
"Ha—" Tokai Teio woke up in her dorm room, greeted by a ceiling more familiar than her own home. "Time to wash up and get ready for morning practice."
Still half-asleep, she rolled over and grabbed her phone from her nightstand. After a moment of hesitation, she typed and sent a short message. Only then did she get up, shuffling in her slippers toward the bathroom.
"That dream was so weird," she mumbled while brushing her teeth. "I actually saw Trainer— but he didn't recognize me. Well, I was in some weird shape."
"But he still called me 'Teio'— How could he not know it was me?" She put her toothbrush down, puffing her cheeks. "I kicked him at the end, though. My revenge."
At that exact moment, far away in Paris, Shuta An—still working overseas—heard his phone chime with an email notification.
He unlocked it. It was from Tokai Teio, all the way in Tokyo—
"Trainer~ I dreamed of you."
Just a single line. But his heart trembled.