Umamusume's days are numbered

We'll decide what action to take based on the situation. If the public's enthusiasm fades, that's the best-case scenario; Platinum will return for the Chrysanthemum Viewing as usual, since fan enthusiasm is often fleeting and quickly cools. But if the cheers grow louder as the Arc de Triomphe approaches… then we won't go for the Arc de Triomphe.

That would turn into a battle between fanatics and their loyal fans. I just hope it doesn't escalate to that point.

Ultimately, this media storm itself seemed rather suspicious, giving Rudolf a distinct sense of conspiracy. However, she couldn't very well confront each newspaper directly; they were merely fueling the fire. She could only hope she was overthinking it.

Rudolf, upon hearing the words about Excellent Quality, gave a wry smile, realizing his thoughts had been read. This was also a form of exploitation—while his own conditions were indeed excellent—a vacation in Hawaii and the best training facilities—this was essentially using Excellent Quality to alleviate public pressure on Platinum. Regardless, exploitation is exploitation.

The excellent quality's answer was "Why choose me?" instead of "Why exploit me?", which suggests that the excellent quality tacitly approved of the situation. She was willing to help Platinum, but she didn't understand why Rudolf Symbol had chosen her.

Compared to Platinum, there are many other horse girls familiar to her, and even more popular veterans. Why did she choose herself?

What a gentle and good child... Rudolf even felt a pang of guilt.

Do you remember what you said during the interview?

"What interview?" Excellent quality was stunned.

"It was the Yayoi Prize, try to recall."

Does "Yayoi Prize" refer to the post-match interviews? He frowned, trying to recall what had happened that day.

Facing those reporters, I was...

"Ah... Ah!" Excellent quality hurriedly stood up, sweating profusely, and stood in front of Platinum, who kept making "Eh—" sounds. "Well... Although Platinum didn't seem to answer, based on my understanding of her, she has actually said what she wanted to say."

"Yes, yes, we're really close, we're best friends..."

···Grass.

"Remember now?" Rudolph patted the excellent-quality man on the shoulder with a gesture of earnestness. "Now, in the eyes of the outside world, you and Platinum are the best of friends."

"Therefore, it is most appropriate for the two of you to appear together."

The seeds sown in the past are now bearing fruit.

Her excellent manners were both laughable and pathetic. The lesson she learned from this incident was: never say anything carelessly in front of the media. They'll take it seriously.

(Happy Spring Festival!)

(Thanks to @{"reader_id":"147812","reader_name":"Happiness and Solutions"} for the golden treasure chest, fifteen more chapters to go)

Episode 273 A Superb Voyage

"Don't worry... we're already asking for solutions..." Li Yuelongmen handed Bai Jin a bottle of iced cola. "Drink this to cool down first..."

The four people, carrying large and small bags, huddled under a street awning, looking as wilted as frostbitten eggplants, except for the astronomer.

"My head is spinning... I'm going to fall..." Platinum turned her head and bumped her head into Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate's chest. She had intended to lean on Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate's shoulder to rest, but she bounced away immediately upon contact.

The clothes, sizzling in the sun, were scalding hot, and Platinum pressed her face against them as if she were about to grill Hawaiian meat.

"Can't we use yen here? Should we find a bank first?" You Yuzi, panting heavily, squatted on the ground, using his remaining rationality to consider what to do next.

"Anyway, let's exchange some US dollars first, then find a hotel nearby, and we can think about the rest later... If we keep going like this, our first stop will be the local hospital."

"Pfft, this is the true meaning of travel!" The astronomer opened another bottle of beer with a hearty laugh, completely relaxed.

"Don't you think that following the same old routine for travel is monotonous?" The astronomer pointed to the blazing sky and the distant, sprawling volcanoes. "If you just follow the crowd, blindly go along with what others say, take pictures at every tourist spot, and start shopping at every mall... then what's the point of traveling?"

"Go to places you've never been before, experience things you've never encountered, see sights you've never seen before." The astronomer, holding the camera hanging around his neck, pressed the shutter. The scene froze at that moment, the photo radiating outwards from the lower left corner, capturing the dizzy expressions of the remaining three people and the street scene. Leaning against the railing that spanned the entire frame of the photo, Excellent Quality rubbed his temples, Platinum was about to roll his eyes, and Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate was impatiently pressing his phone. What an excellent snapshot.

"Haha, this is what real travel is all about!"

The astronomer laughed heartily, while the remaining three glared at her with perfect resentment, took a deep breath together, and then let out a roar from the bottom of their hearts.

"Shut up!!! How dare you say that!!!"

—Time moves forward.

"So, I'm the team leader now." The astronomer held up a finger and made a peace sign. "Nice to meet you on the trip to Hawaii!"

"...I've wanted to ask this for a long time." Platinum scrutinized the astronomer and hesitated before speaking, "How did you manage to get into Treson College and become a substitute teacher?"

Aren't you afraid of corrupting the foals?

"No, you have a big prejudice against me."

"I agree! I personally invited the astronomer to Treson Academy!" Sitting to the side, Chairman Qiu Chuan opened his folding fan with a swish, revealing four bold characters printed on the snow-white fan: "Eager to Seek Talent!"

"Not only does he have a terrifying track record, but when Mr. Astronomer worked as a coach at the Irish horse farm, he was Hai Du's right-hand man. It can be said that the current Hai Du Star was also trained by Mr. Astronomer."

"The astronomer is a true genius, and I believe he will definitely have a positive influence on the students of our school."

The astronomer scratched his head: "I had just come out of the movie theater at that time, and my mind was still relatively clear. Thinking about it, I'd pretty much seen all of Tokyo..."

You've probably visited most of the izakayas in Tokyo!

"Then I asked the chairperson if I could be a teacher to Platinum for a couple of days, and she agreed."

Just kidding, being able to become your friend's teacher is super cool, right? Especially since your friend is your sister's friend, you've unknowingly risen so many generations in status!

The two hit it off immediately.

Bai Jin pressed his head, feeling a little dizzy: "So our former teachers deliberately got sick?"

"It's not so bad, is it?" The astronomer shrugged. "I volunteered this time, so I've shown enough sincerity, haven't I?"

"So, the list is basically finalized this time." Rudolph symbolically unscrewed her long-used fountain pen.

"The team leader is an astronomer. She has experience as a coach, has been to Hawaii, and has connections with most of the female racehorses in Europe and America."

"Besides that, there's Platinum, Excellent Qualities, and Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate as logistics personnel, making a total of four people."

Platinum raised her hand: "Wait, isn't Alice going?"

Platinum had already heard Rudolf's symbolic mention of her excellent qualities, and she had no reason to object. Putting aside the fact that she and Necha had already forged a strong friendship based on sharing the experience of being dumped, Platinum really wanted to appear on television!

Exactly, although they've appeared on TV before, competitions and interviews are two different things, you know?

In variety shows, I can finally enjoy the poise and elegance that a celebrity should have!

Platinum doesn't have any particularly grand ambitions; he just enjoys this kind of thing.

“I did ask Alice.” Rudolf paused, as if recalling the situation.

Rudolf's symbolic intention was for Elisako to accompany him, as she felt it was somewhat unreliable for an astronomer to lead the group alone. However, unexpectedly, Elisako refused very decisively this time, even though she had paid for her own trip to Hong Kong previously.

“What good would it do for me to go? Platinum has already surpassed me since the Japanese derby. I can no longer teach her anything. Astronomers can do better than me. She is destined to go to a bigger stage, and she will have to get used to the time when I am not around.”

These are Alice's original words.

"I took over because Platinum's performance was just unbearable. But isn't she doing a great job now? It's time to see the results, so there's no need for me to get involved."

Alice waved a stack of printed documents in her hand: "Besides, I'm also very busy... and I can't always fulfill my promise to Platinum."

"She's already produced results. If I don't produce some substantial results, I don't know what kind of trouble she'll cause me."

"Alice..." Platinum felt a little embarrassed but also warm inside when Rudolf relayed the information.

Oh well, she still cares about her own affairs.

Don't worry, Alice, I will carry on your last wish and continue to fight!

"Oh, right, there's something Eliseko wants me to tell you." Rudolf symbolically made a line across his neck with his thumb, mimicking Eliseko's gesture, and deliberately lowered his voice, "No matter which race you want to run, if you lose, I'll kill you!"

"Suko, you bastard!" Platinum was furious again. Give me back my gratitude!

Episode 274 Honeymoon!

All is ready except for the opportunity.

On the day of her departure, Li Yuelong was beaming with joy. She got up very early in the morning, humming a song as she started making her bed. The last time she got up this early was when she was preparing for her debut race as a horse racer.

Fuji Koji is a very light sleeper; she can wake up at the slightest noise. Even the softest sound, like a carp leaping over a dragon gate, will eventually wake her. This is the main reason why Fuji Koji always has a grumpy face—anyone with poor sleep quality would be like that.

"Shower gel... hehehe... shampoo... hehehehe..."

"And swimsuits... This one is really nice, this one is really nice... I'll pack them all in my suitcase."

Fuji Koji opened his eyes with dark circles under his eyes and listened to the sound of Koi Leaping Over the Dragon Gate packing his luggage beside him.

"Ah, I woke you up, I'm sorry." Koi Leaping Over the Dragon Gate noticed that Fuji Koji's soft snoring had stopped and immediately realized she had woken him again. She quickly moved closer and covered Fuji Koji's eyes. "Come on, baby, I'll lull you back to sleep. Sleep~ Sleep~ my dear baby..."

"You disgust me." Fuji Koji shoved away the hand of the man who was leaping over the dragon gate, rolled out of bed, and said, "Starting preparations so early? You've been to Hawaii before, haven't you?"

"Hmph... because this time I'm not going with my annoying older sister, but with Platinum." Li Yue Long Men tossed his swimsuit into his suitcase, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. "Two whole months! Two months! We could have just had our wedding in Hawaii!"

"You don't know, when that little girl, Ibuki Kagura, heard that I was going to Hawaii with Platinum, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets with jealousy, haha."

Ibuki Kagura's eyes practically popped out of her head; she went back and threw a tantrum, yelling at her trainer that she wanted to go to Hawaii too.

However, Ibuki Mai Kagura was not invited and had to pay for her own way to the youth training base; she was not a top student and was far inferior to someone like the Emperor of the East Blue, so her bounty was not good.

In short, going to Hawaii is not cost-effective at all.

What does this mean?

What does this mean, tell me?

Ibuki Mai and Kagura aren't there. Rudolph's symbol isn't there either. Platinum's trainer isn't there either. Alice and her annoying older sister aren't there either.

Two people enjoying time alone! Two months of time alone together!

No, no, no, this could more be called a honeymoon!

The person with excellent qualities is attracted to the tall, handsome men with double doors seen in TV dramas, and the astronomer is also the teacher leading the team. For two whole months, there was a vacuum with no competitors.

Forget about eating them all up; they could even make specimens from the bones they spat out.

Hehe, what kind of wedding should I have...? A Western-style wedding is a must, I've wanted to try wearing a pure white wedding dress for ages. But Hawaii also has many Japanese temples, so it seems like I could have a Japanese-style wedding there too.

Just as the carp was about to leap over the dragon gate and fly away with joy, Fuji Koji grinned and said, "Don't get too excited, hurry up and pack your bags."

Once you're done tidying up, I can go back to sleep. Maybe I'll even dream about going to Hawaii with you.

Moreover, seeing his once inseparable friend now preoccupied with another person, Fuji Koji was quite displeased.

Look at how you're completely bewitched by that vixen. When you can't win her over, you'll end up coming back to me for a hug.

That's too humble, Fuji Koji. What turned you into this? Was it the platinum medals of two consecutive Takarazuka titles?

Fujiko was in a terrible mood. Being woken up early in the morning was bad enough, but seeing the carp leaping over the dragon gate made it even worse. However, she couldn't vent her frustration, so she went to a tree hole to cry in the middle of the night.

Oh, that tree hollow is quite a popular spot; if you go late, it gets taken by other racehorse girls. Could you offer a reservation service?

Woohoo.

The carp leaping over the dragon gate was oblivious to Fuji Koji's sour feelings, his mind preoccupied with his upcoming honeymoon.

"Layman, could you help me decide which of these two swimsuits is prettier?"

As if leaping over the dragon gate, she took out the two pieces of clothing she had just packed into her suitcase. She placed one nightgown in each hand in front of her for Fuji Koji to see.

On one side was a pale white tulle fabric with lace trim, the semi-transparent tulle draping down from the chest, vaguely covering half of the stomach; on the other side was a seductive black style, even a front-fastening bodice, embroidered with black roses, dangerous yet alluring.

Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate has a tall and slender figure, quite tall for her age, more than half a head taller than Platinum. At the same time, she is also slender enough, without an ounce of excess fat, a perfect supermodel figure.

What I mean is, even Fuji Koji couldn't stand this.

She quickly covered her eyes: "Why are you showing me this? Just bring everything, it's just a few pieces of fabric."

"Hmm... what you said makes sense. But I'd like you to give me some advice."

What advice do you have? Do you wear that swimsuit when you go out with Platinum?

Why don't you let me make a transoceanic call and remotely guide you on how to win over girls?

What's going on? It's already painful enough to be the loser, do I have to go from being the loser to becoming a supporting NPC? That's too cruel.

"It doesn't matter which swimsuit you wear. If someone cares about you, they'll see how beautiful you are. If someone doesn't care about you, even if you strip naked in front of them, they won't give you a second glance."

"That's what they say..." Li Yuelongmen bit the hook of his swimsuit, letting it hang in front of him, freeing his hands to smooth his long hair behind his head.

She mumbled, "But these are the swimsuits we picked out together, right? We should let the layperson see them."

Fuji Koji immediately did a somersault, widened his eyes, and circled around the carp leaping over the dragon gate to appreciate it.

"Haha, what are you doing, Layman? Why are you spinning around?"

"Let me check if the swimsuit fits you."