Chapter 172: The 1st Hoshino Wilm Ultimate Fan Offline Meetup in France

The Horino family is a distinguished house that has carved out a long history as a prestigious lineage of trainers.

Naturally, this means they have accumulated a considerable amount of knowledge and data, and an educational curriculum has been built upon that foundation. One element that sets them apart is how, with the changing of the times, they gradually reshaped their philosophy into something more friendly toward Uma Musume, placing greater respect on the girls’ own will.

So then, among all the teachings of the Horino family, what is the very first thing they instruct?

It may sound surprising, but the answer is: “Do not become overly trusting of Uma Musume, who are another species.”

A trainer must stand closer to an Uma Musume than anyone else.

And precisely because of that, they must understand Uma Musume better than anyone else.

Uma Musume are widely known as a gentle race, highly harmonious with humans. In truth, that reputation isn’t wrong. No other species has formed such an intimate relationship with humanity as they have.

…However, that doesn’t mean they should be treated as if they were the same as humans, or taken lightly. If you do, you may end up learning a painful lesson.

This is particularly true with racing Uma Musume.

They certainly possess kind hearts. They are gentle girls.

But at the same time, one must never forget that they are also adolescents in the midst of a highly sensitive stage of life.

I know firsthand just how difficult girls at that age can be.

…Well, in Masa’s case, part of it was definitely due to the way my brother and I handled things. But that aside.

Teenage girls have a tendency to spiral out of control.

The reality that refuses to go their way. The wall of talent they cannot overcome. Jealousy and envy toward rivals. Friction between friends. Even the craving for validation fueled by social media.

Motives that might push them toward poor decisions are scattered everywhere around them.

That’s why, while trust is acceptable, blind faith is not.

Horino trainers are drilled with this belief from the very beginning, along with self-defense techniques to protect themselves when the situation calls for it.

…That said.

In modern society—where violence is generally despised—there are very few opportunities to actually make use of those techniques.

Whether it’s self-defense or anything else, it’s best if there’s never a need to throw a punch in the first place.

Once those techniques are thoroughly ingrained, the focus of education shifts toward how to guide situations so that those techniques never need to be used at all.

In fact, I had almost never used them myself.

…Well, there was that one time I lightly twisted the arm of a particularly nasty fan who tried to touch Wilm while she was off duty. But aside from that, I’d hardly ever needed them.

Which is to say—

This time was one of those extremely rare occasions.

---

It was late September.

I had gone out to buy some supplies we were running short on.

Naturally, since we were living here, both Wilm and I required all sorts of necessities.

Basic utilities, of course—but also tissues, toilet paper, consumables like shoes and towels, deodorants and perfumes that wouldn’t negatively affect Wilm, and various other things that a young girl like her would need.

To deal with this, I relied on some connections and hired trustworthy people to periodically bring supplies from Japan.

But… well.

There are limits to that system. Unexpected needs always arise.

During lunch, we had been talking about Bourbon’s growth back in Japan. Wilm got so excited that she spilled green tea, which completely fried her portable charger.

When Wilm let out a scream like she’d just discovered a brutally murdered corpse, I ended up going out after the meal to buy a replacement.

Naturally, I couldn’t let Hoshino Wilm use some half-baked, inferior product.

It had to be something with reasonably guaranteed performance—yet also something she could use without feeling overly burdened by it.

With that sense of mission in mind, I went out to buy the charger.

…And on the way back, after finding a decent one and purchasing it—

I felt like someone was following me.

When you’ve studied a martial art specialized for human combat—especially one focused on self-defense and subduing opponents—you begin to develop a vague sense for people’s… presence.

…Well, actually, it’s not something that “just happens.” I worked very hard to reach that point.

It took me seven years.

My brother managed it within a week of starting. Masa took just over a year.

I was painfully, ridiculously late to awaken to it.

Still, in self-defense, this ability to sense presence is incredibly useful.

In fact, it’s practically essential.

While casually walking, you start to pick up subtle cues—like when someone’s attention is directed toward you more than necessary, or when someone harbors ill intent.

Just having that sense alone makes protecting or subduing an Uma Musume vastly easier.

And right now, I could clearly feel a gaze fixed on me.

It wasn’t the curious stare of someone spotting a foreigner, nor the casual attention directed toward a minor celebrity.

This gaze burned with an almost abnormal intensity.

From experience, people with gazes like this tend to be the slightly dangerous type.

Specifically speaking—people like Wilm.

Well, the gaze Wilm directs at me carries a shy, maidenly embarrassment to it, so it definitely wasn’t her.

It felt similar… but fundamentally different.

And judging from the presence and footsteps, the person behind me was unquestionably an Uma Musume.

Paris houses the largest Tracen in France. Most likely a student from there.

I couldn’t know their face without turning around, but still…

Who could it be?

A passionate fan of mine? Not Wilm’s?

Trainers work behind the scenes. There can’t be that many Uma Musume who even know what I look like.

Rather unusual.

Or perhaps the goal was to capture me and use me to threaten Wilm.

And on top of that—

The real problem was that the owner of that gaze had been closing the distance the whole time.

In fact, they were already less than three meters away.

If anything, it felt like they were reaching out toward me.

…Yeah. That’s dangerous enough.

Time to stop observing.

I smoothly slipped away from the hand reaching for my right arm, then grabbed that hand instead.

To an Uma Musume, human strength is practically meaningless. If things continued like this, they could easily shake me off.

But—

I stepped back, then spun behind them.

My left hand braced against their elbow and lifted it upward sharply.

"Ouch! Oww!"

A simple joint lock.

It wouldn’t leave lasting damage, but the pain would interfere with their thinking.

That should blunt their momentum.

To prevent further resistance, I moved to kick their knee—

Then I looked at their face.

And stopped.

"Why are you here? Why are you in a place like this?"

The Uma Musume whose hand had nearly grabbed me—and whom I was now restraining—was someone I recognized immediately.

She had a slight disguise on, but I’d seen her in recordings hundreds—no, thousands—of times.

There was no way I could mistake her.

A small frame, close to Wilm’s own size.

Light golden hair leaning toward brown, with a slight curl.

A tiara-shaped ornament attached to her left ear.

Her golden eyes—usually blazing brilliantly—were now blinking at me in surprise.

There was only one Uma Musume I knew who matched that appearance and presence.

"...Understandable."

The rival of Hoshino Wilm.

The sleeping hero she had awakened.

That was the true identity of the suspicious figure who had tried to reach out to me.

---

Understandable was the talent awakened by Wilm.

In present-day Europe, without question, the one and only individual who sat at the position of “the strongest.”

From my perspective, she was the only monster who might surpass Hoshino Wilm through sheer explosive power.

In other words—

The natural enemy of our camp.

And yet—

"I-I'm sorry for suddenly approaching you! Um… well… would you like to talk for a bit?"

When someone like that says something like this, the objective is obvious.

Gathering information about our side.

Which means there’s only one appropriate response.

Extract information from them in return.

That’s all.

…That was supposed to be all.

And yet—

"Then Wilm just—during the final spurt—!"

"And Teio closed the gap—Teio! Right along the edge of the lane!"

"And Nice Nature lit the fire, you know! Meeting her—it really felt like fate!"

"She read the field and still kept closing in! Teio—! She’s getting closer—Teio’s lined up beside her!!!"

Before we knew it, the two of us were having an intense debate on a bench by the roadside.

At some point, we had completely hit it off.

…Wait.

Something’s wrong here.

Actually, everything about this situation was wrong.

At first, I had been probing Understandable—trying to gauge her mentality and her performance in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Or at least, that was the plan.

Because Understandable is known as an arrogant Uma Musume.

Almost like a certain Ash Dragon… perhaps it’s the resonance between two transcendent geniuses, but she has a noticeable pride befitting the strong.

Such overwhelming confidence that it almost sounded like she was declaring she would never lose—except perhaps in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe against Wilm.

And the sheer pressure she exuded made that confidence feel frighteningly realistic.

In pre-race interviews, she spoke as if the race were already won.

And up until now, she had consistently made those words a reality.

In other words, she was the type of loudmouth whose achievements backed up everything she said—making it hard to refute her.

The sense of déjà vu was incredible.

Her home country, the United Kingdom, doesn’t have a culture of humility as strong as Japan’s.

The pressure placed on trainers there might be lighter than what we face… but even so, I can’t help thinking her trainer must have a rough time.

Birds of a feather, after all.

…However.

Despite all that, today she seemed just a little tense.

"Horino Ayumu… Trainer Horino Ayumu, right? Um… I wanted to speak with the trainer who raised Hoshino Wilm at least once… I’m sorry. I happened to spot you on the street corner and ended up calling out to you."

From the tremor in her voice, I could feel both intense agitation and the determination not to let a stroke of luck slip away.

…It didn’t seem like she was lying.

When Wilm told me she had met her before, the way Wilm described it made it sound as if Understandable had come to probe us for information—probably an inevitable encounter disguised as coincidence.

But this time… it might truly have been a coincidence.

Unless she was capable of deception at the level of a serious Wilm—good enough to fool even my eyes—but Understandable didn’t seem like the type who excelled at that sort of thing.

In any case.

Even if it was obvious she was trying to extract information from me, it also meant I had the chance to extract information from her.

I want Wilm to have even the slightest advantage.

With that in mind, I agreed to talk with her.

…And before I knew it, we had become absurdly friendly.

The foreign Uma Musume, Understandable.

I was surprised by how well our conversations flowed.

For example—our philosophy on training Uma Musume.

How should one raise an overwhelmingly powerful Uma Musume?

"There's only one way: build up the fundamentals."

"I agree. Accumulating fundamentals is everything. There are no shortcuts for an Uma Musume to become strong."

"If I had to name one shortcut, maybe preparing an opponent who’s incredibly strong—but just barely beatable."

"As expected of the trainer who matched Seiun Sky against Hoshino Wilm…! Yes, the existence of rivals makes us burn even brighter!"

For example—the current state of Western racing.

And the influence Silence Suzuka and Hoshino Wilm had brought here.

"The impact those two had is tremendous. I don’t think many Uma Musume or trainers ever imagined that the front-running style could become a viable way to aim for victory."

"That’s true. Running away at the front has always been tough on European turf. It’s only natural it wasn’t emphasized in the past."

"But seeing the success of Silence Suzuka and Wilm, it’s not as though it can’t succeed. If anything, it was undervalued."

"I agree. The idea that you can’t set the pace without using a rabbit is just the logic of losers. If you memorize your optimal pace with both body and mind and execute it yourself, you can produce the best possible performance."

"That may be true—but only a handful of talented Uma Musume can actually do that. Unfortunately, there probably won’t ever be enough of them for that idea to become the mainstream."

And then, of course, there was the topic of Hoshino Wilm.

The dazzling first-magnitude star who warped my life—and probably hers as well.

"Well, Hoshino Wilm is practically guaranteed to have her name carved into history as the greatest Uma Musume of all time."

"I won’t let that happen! I’ll surpass her myself!"

"Oh? I acknowledge that you’re the greatest prodigy in European history—but even Teio could only barely stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Wilm. There’s no Uma Musume who can beat her… except for maybe two."

"Make that three, unfortunately! By the way, the Uma Musume who supposedly beat Hoshino Wilm in the very first selection race—I looked her up but couldn’t find her name anywhere. Who was she? Was she strong? There’s no footage of it either. What kind of runner was Hoshino Wilm back then?"

…Or perhaps it was simply because we were both people whose brains had been burned by Hoshino Wilm.

Talking with her felt like our wavelengths—our sensibilities—matched perfectly.

It wasn’t the same feeling as when I talked with Wilm.

With Wilm, conversations were exciting, joyful, almost intoxicating.

But with Understandable…

It was different.

It felt incredibly natural.

Comfortable.

Like the kind of compatibility where simply being together didn’t exhaust you.

That was the feeling I had while talking with Understandable.

Perhaps she felt something similar.

At some point, she stopped using such polite speech.

She began mixing in slang and abbreviations, the tension leaving her voice as she laughed more freely.

"Man, I’m glad Trainer Horino turned out to be easy to talk to!"

"When I watched interviews, I figured you were probably a pretty stiff person!"

"Well… I’m aware I can be a bit stiff. But I’m glad you see me that way."

"And yeah, you really are an amazing trainer after all! Guess that’s only natural."

"Though my trainer’s no slouch either!"

"Your trainer…"

Unlike Understandable herself, her trainer’s name was rarely mentioned.

But if you looked into it even a little, you’d understand.

Her trainer was a genius too.

"I’ve heard he was taken in as a disciple by the trainer of Montjeu."

"Apparently someone with exceptional talent—someone who inherited all the methods that trainer cultivated."

A few years ago, Montjeu defeated El Condor Pasa in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The trainer who raised her was truly exceptional—someone whose name would undoubtedly remain in history.

But he was also a veteran with a long career.

And he had taken on a disciple to train the next generation.

That disciple is now Understandable’s trainer.

Until two years ago, he had been working as an assistant trainer.

Then, in Understandable’s debut year, he finally began working in earnest as a full trainer.

And he was the one who discovered her—

At the time, she had attracted almost no attention during the selection races.

Back then, Understandable apparently lacked any real motivation toward racing or running.

Her development had been slow, almost lethargic.

She seemed so uninterested that people even questioned whether she truly belonged at the training center.

But there was one exception.

Only her trainer recognized the overwhelming talent hidden within her.

Understandable smiled shyly—perhaps because I had praised her trainer.

"Hmm… Personally, I don’t think you can measure people by phrases like ‘so-and-so’s disciple.’"

"But yeah… my trainer really is incredible. Especially his eyes."

"He was the only one who noticed that I had zero motivation before my debut—and that if I ever got serious, I wouldn’t lose to anyone."

"…Though honestly, I’m not sure even he could beat Trainer Horino when it comes to sharp eyes."

"Hm."

From the golden eyes directed at me, I could sense absolute conviction.

So she had seen through it.

Without thinking, I brought a hand to my chin.

The mysterious ability I possess—something like a reincarnation cheat.

I’ve taken to calling it “App Reincarnation.”

Put simply, it’s an observational ability so sharp that it borders on absurd.

The physical specifications of an Uma Musume.

Their current aptitudes.

The skills they’ve mastered.

Their current condition.

All of it can be quantified and understood.

An ability so outrageous that calling it a cheat isn’t even an exaggeration.

However, at the same time, this could also be described as nothing more than the ability of an extraordinarily sharp eye for observation.

A truly genius trainer can understand an Uma Musume’s specs, aptitude, skills, and even current condition the very moment they see her.

And most likely, the trainer of Understandable is exactly that kind of person.

---

Thinking about it, there are quite a few similarities between me and Understandable’s trainer—and between Wilm and Understandable.

A trainer with terrifyingly keen observational ability, raised under an excellent mentor, regardless of circumstances.

An Uma Musume blessed with remarkable talent, who burns with excitement when facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent—again, regardless of form.

Perhaps that sense of sympathy is why Understandable and I strangely get along so well.

With that thought in mind, I chatted with Understandable about various things while slowly sipping the juice I had bought for the two of us earlier.

"…Yeah. I really do want it after all."

She muttered under her breath.

Not quite understanding what she meant, I tilted my head in confusion.

Understandable stood up from the bench, faced me, and looked straight into my eyes.

Then she spoke.

Words so unexpected I could never have predicted them.

"Horino Ayumu Trainer. Please become my sub-trainer."

"…Huh?"

Honestly, I think it was only natural that my reply came out so dumbfounded.

That was how unexpected—no, how utterly bizarre—Understandable’s words were to me.

And at the same time, someone else who apparently couldn’t hold back any longer—whether out of shock at those words or not—finally burst onto the scene.

"Is there really someone who would NTR me like this!? AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Shouting that, someone leapt out from a nearby bush.

And not just someone vaguely familiar.

No—she was an Uma Musume I knew very well.

In fact, it was Wilm.

For some reason, she was holding branches with grass still attached in both hands, and even had one stuck on each side of the headband wrapped around her head.

A suspicious-person disguise, apparently.

What is this girl doing?

…No, seriously—what is this girl doing?

"Wilm? What are you doing here…?"

"Hoshino Wilm!? Why are you here!?"

While Understandable and I both reacted in surprise…

Wilm rushed up to me with teary eyes and grabbed my chest—whoa, that’s strong! She’s serious!?

Well, there’s a height difference, so it doesn’t hurt that much. If anything, the posture seems harder on her.

"Ayumu-san, you jerk! How could you be dazzled by a blonde foreign beauty when you already have me!? What is this, the harem route? Are you aiming for the harem route!?

Damn it! Back when I played games in my previous life I was a total otaku who loved harem routes, but when you’re the heroine being conquered, that’s a completely different story!

I can’t say I absolutely refuse because there’s a chance you’d abandon me if I did, but I’m definitely not forgiving this kind of thing that easily!!!

Uuuuugh! My brain—my brain is breaking! Once a brain breaks, it can never, ever go back…!!"

She’s casually talking about her previous life and everything… Is this really the timing to reveal that?

Well, she seems so out of control that she probably doesn’t even realize what she’s saying, and Understandable looks completely overwhelmed by the speed of her speech and all the slang, unable to fully grasp the meaning.

So it doesn’t seem like her secret is going to leak.

…Still, we’re in a public place.

“Contracted trainer getting grabbed by Hoshino Wilm” is not exactly the kind of scene I want people watching.

Using a technique I learned from Horino, I relaxed the tension in her fist, slipped out of her grip, and caught her as she nearly lost her balance.

Then I whispered into her ear.

"Wilm, calm down."

"Y-yes…♡"

I could feel her strength melt away completely.

So easy.

"I just happened to run into her there and we started talking. Why are you here?"

"Well…♡ I thought… Ayumu-san was taking a long time…♡"

"Sorry to worry you. To make up for it, when we get home today, your sleeping-together privilege is reinstated."

"Ah—I’m so happy I might faint!♡"

"Please don’t."

For now, I helped Wilm stand back on her feet.

She looked a bit dazed, but seemed fine for the moment.

…More importantly, right now the issue is Understandable.

"Understandable. You said you want me to become your sub-trainer… I’m honored by the offer, but I’ll have to decline.

I’m the trainer of this girl—and of Mihono Bourbon. Letting them go was never an option to begin with."

As I spoke while gently patting Wilm’s head, Understandable—who had been muttering some strange incantation like “HoriWilm is real…”—suddenly snapped back to her senses.

"No, no, that’s not it at all! I don’t want you to separate even a little!

I love the way the racing Uma Musume Hoshino Wilm runs, and Hoshino Wilm and Trainer Horino are precious precisely because they’re together… like my favorite ship…!

I just want to watch the two of you up close as you shine!"

…Wait, I’m starting to see a side of her that feels a bit like Wilm.

"So it’s not that I want you to separate… I mean, it could be the two of you—or three or four people, that’s fine too!

Will you come to the French Tracen? Let’s compete together!

And while you’re there… you can just watch over me a tiny bit too! Please, just a little! Just a little, okay!?"

The way Understandable looked at me as she said that…

It was strangely similar to how Wilm sometimes looked when she tried to cling to me.

Ah… they really are alike.

Her competitive spirit toward battle, that slightly childish side…

In many ways, she resembles Wilm.

But in the end, she’s not Hoshino Wilm.

She’s Understandable.

My beloved horse girl—before and after, there has only ever been one.

And I have no intention of doing anything she wouldn’t want…

Not when that very girl is currently melting into liquid form and clinging to my arm with a goofy grin.

"Sorry, but her best friend—and greatest rival—is in Japan. I have no intention of leaving."

"Hmm… Teio… no, Nice Nature, huh.

I don’t really feel that much strength from her… I mean, she’s clearly strong and technically impressive, but she doesn’t feel like she has the power to flip a race the way Hoshino Wilm or Tokai Teio does."

It’s true—Nice Nature probably doesn’t possess the same natural brilliance as Wilm or Teio.

But she works harder than anyone.

Just like Seiun Sky… she dedicates every movement of her daily life to racing.

And the reason Understandable still doesn’t grasp the threat that represents…

Ah, I see.

Understandable is still a Classic-class Uma Musume with limited real racing experience.

She hasn’t yet learned the terrifying power of someone less talented pushing themselves with desperate effort.

…This is good.

I’ve found the greatest weakness of the undefeated hero.

"Heh. If that’s what you think, then keep watching the Japanese races this autumn.

The name of Wilm’s most terrifying rival—the third star of the Star Generation—is no empty title."

…Well then.

Wilm has started nervously tugging at me and whispering, “Hey, what are you talking about? Hey?” so it’s probably time to wrap things up.

"Understandable, meeting you today was fortunate. We had a good conversation.

The next time we meet will probably be on the day of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Until then…"

I curled my lips into a grin.

"Until then, train as hard as you can.

Be a worthy rival for the ‘Hoshino Wilm’ that Wilm and I are creating together."

For a moment, Understandable stared blankly.

Then—

she smiled.

A fierce, predatory smile I had seen somewhere before.

"Yes. That’s exactly how it should be. That’s exactly the kind of trainer I imagined for the Uma Musume I admire—Hoshino Wilm!

Please wait ahead of me! I’ll surpass you with everything I’ve got!! …And please pass that message on to Hoshino Wilm!"