"What did you say? You—how did you know?!" Maruzensky's expression suddenly changed upon hearing this.
She was stunned by Obey Your Master's words.
She recalled the photo of Mejiro Sakura that Obey Your Master had shown her earlier, then suddenly turned to look in the direction of the TCB team.
Sakura Baimu was currently standing with her hands in her pockets, talking to Umamusumes from her team about something.
She had a faint smile on her face, and apart from her long black hair and the non-existent ears on her head, she was practically identical to Mejiro Sakura in the photo.
No, not exactly identical.
They were practically the same!
"It's her? Ms. Sakura is Mejiro Sakura... eh?"
Maruzensky started to say, then suddenly froze.
"You noticed?" Obey Your Master smiled.
"Sakura and Sakura are written differently in kanji, but they are pronounced exactly the same in Japanese."
"Furthermore, Mejiro and Baimu are pronounced completely differently, but their kanji are reversed."
"I see!" Maruzensky finally realized that Sakura Baimu was indeed Mejiro Sakura.
"No wonder she's not Tracen Academy's Umamusume, yet she gets angry when Tracen Academy's Umamusumes get hurt…"
"No wonder, when we went to visit Golden Crown Eagle that day, Golden Crown Eagle suddenly swallowed the words she was about to say. It turns out she saw Ms. Sakura come in!"
Maruzensky found it increasingly amusing, and she gave Obey Your Master a satisfied smile.
"Thank you, Obey Your Master."
"Hehe, it's nothing. But I should remind you, she's been suspended by URA, so she can't participate in the competition."
"Huh?!"
Maruzensky was about to turn back when she heard Obey Your Master's words and turned back in shock.
"Wait, you said she's suspended?! Wait… Mejiro… could it be?! Could she be the Umamusume who was suspended after her slant during the Spring Tenno Sho match against Tamamo Cross?!"
"That's right. Besides the Mejiro family, which other prestigious Umamusume clan would have such a deep obsession with the Spring Tenno Sho?" Obey Your Master nodded.
"She's the one who broke The Zone myth. And those who appeared later, without activating their Zone but still defeating Zone-using Umamusumes—Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio—were all trained by her…"
After a brief moment of surprise, Maruzensky's eyes fixed intently on Sakura Baimu, who was standing in the spectator area, chatting and laughing, a deep amusement filling her eyes.
"Suddenly, I remember that afternoon when she challenged Golden Crown Eagle. Wasn't McQueen just intimidated by Golden Crown Eagle's Zone? Afterwards, Golden Crown Eagle even wanted to teach McQueen about breaking through the Zone…"
"So, the older sister came back to get revenge after seeing her younger sister being bullied…"
"That explains why she refused Rudolf's invitation and didn't want to join Tracen Academy."
"Her current status is that of a trainer, and given her suspension, there's no need for her to study at the academy…"
Maruzensky felt all her doubts suddenly resolved.
Upon learning Sakura Baimu's identity, Maruzensky could barely contain her smile; she hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
Maruzensky thanked Obey Your Master and gracefully returned to Rigil.
Symboli Rudolf saw the barely suppressed joy on Maruzensky's face, chuckled and teased.
"In such a good mood? I thought you wouldn't be happy even if you beat Obey Your Master."
"Indeed, the match itself wasn't very interesting, but the loot is."
Maruzensky smiled and nodded slightly. She decided she wouldn't tell Symboli Rudolf Sakura Baimu's secret yet.
She'd tell her after she'd had her fill of enjoying herself.
--
The matches after Maruzensky and Obey Your Master were clearly a step below the mark.
However, because the skill gap between Umamusumes in the later matches wasn't significant, the atmosphere was quite tense, much more exciting than Maruzensky's one-sided domination.
"GG, stop commentating! Go train!"
Sakura Baimu shouted at Smart Falcon on the commentary stage, causing Smart Falcon's fair face to visibly flush red again.
Smart Falcon didn't dare to argue, afraid that Sakura Baimu would continue shouting "GG" at her.
So she obediently stepped down from the commentary stage and rejoined the team to prepare for training.
"Ms. Sakura, please wait a moment."
Suddenly, a light and pleasant voice rang out, stopping Sakura Baimu.
The TCB members and several of Sakura Baimu's Umamusumes turned around and were surprised to see who it was.
"Maruzen-senpai?!"
"It's Maruzen-senpai!"
Sakura Baimu was a little confused to see this "experienced" woman coming to find her again.
She rarely interacted with Maruzensky; usually, she just stayed next to Symboli Rudolf, occasionally exchanging a few words.
To be honest, she wasn't even as familiar with Maruzensky as she was with Symboli Rudolf.
"Ms. Maruzensky, is there something you need?"
Sakura Baimu asked, somewhat puzzled, noticing that Maruzensky hadn't come with Symboli Rudolf.
Maruzensky walked directly up to Sakura Baimu, a smile playing on her lips.
"You've been hiding it well, Ogura."
"!!!"
Sakura Baimu's blue eyes widened instantly upon hearing this.
Sakura Baimu forced herself to calm down and spoke calmly.
"What are you talking about, Ms. Maruzensky?"
"Oh, you don't understand~"
Maruzensky chuckled softly, then took a few more steps forward.
She leaned forward slightly, her chest almost touching Sakura Baimu's, startling the TCB Umamusumes behind her, whose faces flushed slightly and eyes widened in confusion.
"You're the Ogura who defeated Golden Crown Eagle that night, right?"
Maruzensky breathed softly into Sakura Baimu's ear, enunciating each word clearly.
"Now do you understand, Me.ji.ro.Sa.ku.ra?"
Sakura Baimu felt a thunderbolt strike her mind when Maruzensky directly called her by her real name.
In an instant, she realized that Golden Crown Eagle had revealed the truth.
Her previously steady heartbeat suddenly accelerated wildly.
"Not denying it means I guessed right~"
Maruzensky chuckled again, her narrow eyes slightly narrowed.
"I'll be waiting for you on the track inside the academy tonight. Don't run away, Miss Sakura."
Maruzensky said, straightening up and blowing a kiss to Sakura Baimu.
"I'm quite interested in you, you know~~?"
Then, Maruzensky strolled away, leaving the stunned TCB Umamusumes.