Chapter 25: The Dorm Manager Changeover

Chapter 25: The Dorm Manager Changeover

Thoroughbreds, even in the world of Umamusume, are often categorized by their coat colors—bay, chestnut, gray, white, and more. While it may seem like a cosmetic detail, these distinctions once carried surprising weight.

Take Kitasan Black, for example. She’s a bay—a deep, rich color often associated with speed and reliability.

In Japan, though, certain biases have long lingered around these colors. At one point, it was practically common knowledge that gray-haired racehorses couldn’t run fast. A strange stereotype, really, but one that stuck around for years.

Fortunately, that notion was completely shattered by the likes of Tamamo Cross, Oguri Cap, and Mejiro McQueen—gray-haired Umamusume who not only defied expectations but dominated the track in their prime.

Still, coat color wasn’t the only category that stirred controversy.

An even more sensitive subject was the divide between colt-type and filly-type Umamusume.

Biologically speaking, the genes that result in an Umamusume birth are recessive. If the mother is an Umamusume, there's a high chance her daughter will be one too. If the mother is a regular human, the odds drop sharply—Human girls who gave birth to an Umamusume are practically considered miracles.

Because of that, Umamusume are loosely grouped into “colt-type” and “filly-type,” depending on lineage and physical characteristics.

And just like with the gray-hair myth, people used to believe filly-types were inherently weaker than colt-types.

To “protect” them, many competitions were exclusively reserved for filly-types. It sounded noble on paper, but in truth, it reinforced a belief that they couldn't keep up with their colt-type peers.

Even when incredible talents like the “Empress” Air Groove and the powerhouse Hishi Amazon emerged, the stereotype didn’t fade.

That is, until the arrival of the Twin Jewels.

Both were filly-type Umamusume. And during an era dominated by colt-types, they didn’t just hold their own—they swept through top-tier races, one after another.

After their meteoric rise, filly-types began showing extraordinary results across the board. These days, almost no one dares to bring up the "colt versus filly" debate anymore.

One of those legendary Twin Jewels was none other than Daiwa Scarlet, the very same Umamusume Agnes Tachyon had mentioned earlier.

Even more coincidentally, Makoto Yasui—Kitasan Black’s trainer—had been doing some analysis recently. Through races, training, and simulation data, he'd reached a solid conclusion:

Kitasan Black was best suited to the Front Runner style. Her second-best strategy was Pace Chaser.

Daiwa Scarlet? Her specialties were Front Runner first and Pace Chaser second.

It was a textbook-perfect matchup for pace training.

Makoto couldn't find a single reason to say no.

After getting confirmation from Agnes Tachyon and checking a few things with Tokai Teio, he decided to deliver the news to Kitasan Black during their afternoon session.

“Daiwa-senpai's gonna pace with me?! That’s way too awesome!”

The girl’s excited shout was muffled by the mountain of fried rice still crammed in her mouth.

Makoto sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you? Finish your food before talking. You're gonna choke one of these days.”

With her cheeks puffed up like a hamster, Kitasan Black gave a thumbs-up and kept chewing furiously. It didn’t take long for her to devour the entire plate like some kind of black-haired food tornado.

Wiping her mouth casually with the back of her hand, she glanced up just in time to see her trainer pull out a pack of tissues.

“Honestly... sometimes I wonder if you're even trying to act like a proper lady,” he muttered, stepping closer. “Hold still. I’ll wipe it for you—”

“N-No! I got it, Trainer!” she yelped, flailing slightly as she snatched the tissues out of his hand. “I-I can do it myself!”

She quickly dabbed at her mouth and hands, red-faced and flustered. Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned her head and tried to change the subject.

“Anyway, yeah—I’ve known Daiwa-senpai for a long time.”

Makoto blinked. “You have?”

“She was in the same team as Teio-senpai back when they were active,” Kitasan explained, her voice softening with nostalgia. “Even after Teio-senpai retired, I kept following Daiwa-senpai’s races whenever I could.”

Her face lit up again. “So if she's helping me with pace training, that’s like a dream come true!”

Then her brows furrowed slightly, curiosity piqued. “Wait… how do you know Daiwa-senpai, Trainer?”

“I don’t,” Makoto replied with a small shrug. “It was Dr. Tachyon who made the introduction.”

“Ahh, that makes sense.”

Kitasan nodded knowingly.

“I remember those two were really close. When Dr. Tachyon suddenly retired, there was a lot of nasty stuff being said online.”

She looked a little troubled as she recalled it. “Dr. Tachyon never responded to the hate, but Daiwa-senpai was furious. She always stood up for her, no matter what people said.”

Makoto's expression grew more serious.

He'd heard bits and pieces about Tachyon’s abrupt retirement. The girl had gone undefeated, winning four consecutive races—including the prestigious Satsuki Sho. She could have easily gone on to challenge the Japanese Derby or even the Kikuka Sho.

Then, just as her star was rising, she retired.

The official explanation was “superficial digital flexor tendonitis” in her left leg.

For an Umamusume, that kind of injury was a nightmare. Not incurable, but with modern medical science, the odds of recovery were slim.

Still, fans struggled to accept it. Whispers turned into rumors, and before long, online forums exploded with speculation. Some even accused her retirement was because she got caught doing an unethical experiment.

But Makoto didn’t know the full details—neither the real reason behind the retirement nor Daiwa Scarlet’s defense of her friend.

Hearing Kitasan Black explain things now helped him understand how Agnes Tachyon had managed to bring Daiwa Scarlet onboard.

“So they really had that kind of connection, huh…” he murmured. “In any case, it’s a win for you.”

He paused, then added, “I spoke with Tokai Teio about Daiwa Scarlet’s current situation.”

“Last year, she wrapped up her second graduate degree abroad. Now she’s looking into starting a PhD in medical sciences.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Kitasan’s eyes widened.

“Seems like she wants to learn under Dr. Tachyon,” Makoto continued. “But she hit a bit of a wall with her research and came back to Japan to reset.”

“The academy had some openings and thought she could help. So she’ll be working here for a while.”

“Daiwa-senpai really is amazing,” Kitasan said in awe. “She was always top of her class back when we were students. And now she's done two grad programs? That’s insane!”

She paused. “So what job will she be doing here? Is she gonna be a doctor at the academy?”

“Not quite.”

Makoto shook his head.

“She hasn’t gotten her license yet. For now, she’s replacing Fuji Kiseki as the dorm manager of the Ritto Dormitory.”

“Dorm… manager?”

Kitasan blinked.

“That means… we won’t be seeing Fuji-senpai around anymore?”

“Not exactly,” Makoto reassured her. “Teio said Fuji Kiseki applied for advanced research training last year. It just took a while for everything to be approved.”

“She’s moving over to the university division, so you can still visit her.”

“Ohh, I see!”

Kitasan clapped her hands in realization. Then her eyes sparkled again.

“That means Daiwa-senpai’s gonna be around a lot more! Maybe I can run with her more often!”

Makoto chuckled. “Well, that depends on her schedule.”

“But since Teio is still working on the handover process, Daiwa Scarlet will be relatively free for the next few days.”

He smiled.

“Get yourself ready. Three days from now—you’ll be running side by side with your legendary senpai.”

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