Smart Falcon was clearly taken aback by Sakura Baimu's sudden invitation after her apology.
Not only was she surprised, but Kitasan Black and the TCB members beside Sakura Baimu were also taken aback.
They were all startled by Sakura Baimu's extremely abrupt invitation.
"Wasn't... wasn't Falcon-senpai inviting me? How did it become the trainer inviting Falcon-senpai?" Kitasan Black was momentarily confused.
"Isn't Falcon-senpai from the high school division? The trainer invites people now?" Tokai Teio muttered to Mejiro McQueen.
"Who knows what she's thinking about every day..."
Mejiro McQueen was used to Sakura Baimu's behavior; after a brief moment of surprise, it was quite reasonable given Sakura Baimu's personality.
"Huh?!"
Smart Falcon jumped in surprise. She glanced at Sakura Baimu's smiling face, then at Sakura Baimu's outstretched hand.
"I... Falcon will take her leave now!"
Smart Falcon did not answer Sakura Baimu at all. Instead, like a startled rabbit, she turned and ran away in a flash.
"Hey~~~, Falcon-senpai, didn't you want me to join 'Fugitive SISTERS'~~?"
Kitasan Black shouted at Smart Falcon, who was running away without looking back, but unfortunately, she did not hear a reply from the frightened, trembling Umamusume.
Sakura Baimu held her outstretched hand for a few seconds, then reluctantly withdrew it, muttering to herself.
"If you don't want to join, you can just refuse. What's the point of running away?"
Her words immediately drew the attention of all four members.
Looking at Sakura Baimu's bewildered and confused expression, the four of them had a huge number of complaints they wanted to voice but could not get the words out.
"Don't you know what kind of reputation you have in the academy?!"
The four Umamusumes roared inwardly, utterly speechless at Sakura Baimu's insensitivity.
Of course, Sakura Baimu's bad reputation in the academy was largely due to rumors; the more people spread them, the more exaggerated they became.
But the Umamusumes in the academy would definitely have a preconceived notion about Sakura Baimu, perceiving her as a rather strange trainer.
"Never mind, there will be other opportunities. Our team is too small; this won't do."
Sakura Baimu, however, was not disappointed. She shook her head and led her team members toward Tracen Academy.
"By the way, Trainer-san," Mejiro McQueen hesitated for a moment before suddenly speaking, "some teams only have one person. What did you mean by 'this won't do'?"
"Of course, the more people on the team, the livelier it is. Besides, if we want to surpass Tojo-san's Rigil, we need every type of Umamusume. The four of you specialize in Turf middle-distance races; there is no Umamusume suitable for Dirt." Sakura Baimu said.
"Then we just need to invite one more Umamusume suitable for Dirt, right?" Tokai Teio asked.
"Of course, more than one! I certainly think the more people on the team, the better. Besides, one Umamusume specializing in Dirt is not enough; we do not have any Umamusumes specializing in sprints and miles."
"Does Ms. Tojo's Rigil have every type of Umamusume?" Kitasan Black asked.
"Of course. Rigil is the strongest team in Tracen; joining requires an audition. El Condor Pasa and Daiki Shuttle on their team can both run Dirt races. Of course, Daiki Shuttle is the fastest sprint Umamusume in Japan; she mainly competes in Turf sprint events."
"I see…" Kitasan Black nodded, understanding Sakura Baimu's meaning.
"Then why did you invite Falcon-senpai just now?" Mejiro McQueen asked.
"Dirt races."
"But Falcon-senpai isn't a Dirt Umamusume."
"Huh?"
Sakura Baimu stopped abruptly upon hearing Mejiro McQueen's words, looking at her with some surprise.
"How could that be? She's a Dirt Umamusume."
"But in my memory, all the races Falcon-senpai participated in were Turf races, and of course, her results were not exactly great."
"???"
Sakura Baimu suddenly sensed something was amiss. In her memory, Smart Falcon was a better fit for Dirt than Haru Urara.
Why was she constantly running Turf races?
Sakura Baimu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, so she made a mental note of it and decided to investigate anything related to Smart Falcon later.
-
The next morning, Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black had just arrived at class when Kitasan Black found all eyes on her.
"W-what's wrong?" Kitasan Black asked, confused.
Before she could finish speaking, several classmates rushed to her side and grabbed Kitasan Black's hands.
"Kita-chan, I heard you won the Debut yesterday, right?" the Umamusume who grabbed Kitasan Black's hand said excitedly.
"Not only that, I also saw on the news that Kita-chan crossed the finish line by a huge margin!" Another Umamusume next to Kitasan Black exclaimed excitedly.
"She broke the record! She broke it by 2.65 seconds! That's amazing! Lots of people are saying Kita-chan is the best Umamusume of the new era! That way of taking the lead was so cool!"
A group of classmates surrounded Kitasan Black, chattering excitedly about her debut competition from the previous day.
The usually cheerful and outgoing Kitasan Black felt a little shy being surrounded by so many classmates, basking in their admiring gazes and praise.
A faint blush gradually appeared on her fair and delicate face.
Satono Diamond stood alone to the side, watching Kitasan Black surrounded by her classmates, and smiled happily.
Hearing Kitasan Black being praised made Satono Diamond even happier than if she herself had been praised.
The school bell rang, and Kitasan Black finally had a chance to return to her seat.
"Kita-chan is indeed very excellent."
Hearing the voice beside her, Kitasan Black turned to look at Satono Diamond, who was covering her mouth and laughing so hard her eyes were crinkled. Suddenly, her pretty face flushed red again.
"It's all thanks to Trainer-san… Dia-chan, you're more talented than me. You'll definitely get the same result in the debut competition!"
"Well~ who knows."
Hearing Kitasan Black's words, Satono Diamond's smile vanished. She rested her chin on her hand, her golden eyes filled with worry.
Today, her father also came to Tracen Academy.
--