Umamusume: My Umamusume Is a Ghost! [2]

Tracen Academy, officially known as the Japan Umamusume Training Center Academy, was a school dedicated to training athletes for the Twinkle Series. Or, to put it more simply, it was a sports school, and everyone on campus was an athlete.

Except they were far more impressive than ordinary athletes. They could run at twenty meters per second, their leg strength could exceed a ton, and they could smash a sandbag apart with a single punch.

These girls, blessed with terrifying power, were known as Umamusume. Legend said they were created by the Three Goddesses themselves. With their distinctive ears and tails, their starting line was the finish line for ordinary people. A six- or seven-year-old Umamusume already possessed the strength of an adult, while a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old Umamusume could kick down a wall with one foot.

And yet, fearsome as they were, people adored them to no end. The main reasons were twofold. First, every last Umamusume was an absurdly beautiful girl. Second, their dreams centered only on running. They loved racing.

And so, watching these superhumans race became the world’s greatest form of entertainment. The Twinkle Series naturally rode that wave and became a national event, giving rise to schools specialized in racing. Every morning, the sight of Umamusume running could be seen on campus, along with no small number of reporters camped outside the school gates day after day, filming them as they ran.

Rei Sumikawa was a Trainer at this academy.

…

Early in the morning, Rei Sumikawa opened his eyes. From the living room came the sizzle and crackle of food being cooked. After getting dressed, Rei walked out into the living room and saw a brown-haired figure in the kitchen.

Perhaps hearing him come out, the ears beneath her blue ear covers twitched. Then the girl turned around, her jewel-like red eyes looking toward the man.

“Trainer, you’re finally up. You overslept again today.”

“Good morning, King.”

Rei called out to her, walked up beside the girl, and reached out to wrap his arms around her waist. A sweet, girlish fragrance drifted from the girl’s slender neck and slipped into his nose.

The girl before him was the leader of Rei’s Team, King Halo, an ojou-sama who would, from time to time, let out an “O-hohoho!” Note: it was “O-hohoho!” and not “Ho-o-o!” There was quite a difference between the two.

Back then, Rei had still been a complete rookie. King Halo had always helped him with his work, so Rei made her the Team captain. And now, before he knew it, King had begun taking care of his daily life as well, coming over every day to wake him up and make him breakfast.

Incidentally, King was an incredibly beautiful girl. Her soft, smooth brown hair fell just past her shoulders, her face was as delicate as a work of art, her skin was fair, her lips were thin and pink, and her figure curved in all the right places. Especially when he held her, her soft, lovely body felt as if it might melt right into his arms.

“I’ll be counting on you again today, King.” Rei stroked the girl’s ears. Her soft Umamusume ears flicked against his palm. In his arms, King Halo glanced at him with flushed cheeks, then waved him off. “Go sit down and wait like a good boy. It’ll be ready soon. And that hand of yours too—stop touching whatever you please. If you make me spill the food, I’ll hit you.”

“Yes, yes.” Rei obediently returned to his seat and looked at the girl in the kitchen.

Some people might find it strange. Why was he so close with King Halo? Were the two of them dating?

Actually, no. Rei was like this with other Umamusume too.

Which meant it was time to talk about what set Rei apart from ordinary people.

Rei had no memories from before three years ago. All he remembered was standing in front of the central building, holding a Trainer license and a map. Written on the map were instructions telling him to report to Tracen.

That was right. This was Rei’s earliest memory. He did not know where he lived, nor did he know who his parents or family were. He knew nothing. The only things he remembered were that he was a Trainer, and how he was supposed to train Umamusume.

After Tracen’s Director, Yayoi Akikawa, learned of his situation, she immediately sent Rei to the hospital for an examination. Yet the results showed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. His body was completely normal.

This left Rei extremely confused, because he had no idea where he had come from or what he had been doing before. It was as if he had simply spawned into this world out of thin air.

According to the usual trope, people who appeared out of nowhere were probably transmigrators. But there had never been a plot where the transmigrator forgot the fact that they had transmigrated, had there? What was even the point of transmigrating then? Wasn’t that just transmigrating into being completely alone? He had even less of a clue about his own life than someone born and raised here.

In short, Rei’s origins were a mystery. The Director suggested that until he recovered his memories, he should obediently stay at Tracen as a Trainer. His ability to train had not been lost, which was practically a blessing from heaven. On top of that, Tracen provided food and lodging, and the Director even said she would keep investigating Rei’s background and help him find his family.

She was practically my mother! Rei was deeply moved. After that, he stayed here for three years, signing contracts with several Umamusume along the way. King Halo was one of them.

Of course, those were only matters of Rei’s life and work. The main reason Rei was so close with Umamusume was his inexplicable special ability.

A natural affinity.

Almost every Umamusume, after getting somewhat familiar with him, felt completely at ease around Rei. For example, during the summer, Umamusume would run over to Rei’s room to hang out. They would take off their jackets, wearing only tank tops and hot pants, then stroll back and forth around the room with their pale legs bare.

It was as if they did not know Rei was a man. They would sit on the sofa, swinging their legs while watching TV all day, and sometimes lean against the man’s shoulder and wrap their arms around his waist. When they wanted a shower, they would even bathe in Rei’s room, then come out wrapped in bath towels and ask Rei to blow-dry their hair. When bored, these Umamusume would sit on Rei’s lap, scroll through their phones, and gossip with him.

The worst part was that those Umamusume would even ask Rei to put their socks on for them. Sometimes, when it was too hot, an Umamusume would take off her socks to cool her feet. When it was time to leave, she would lazily flop onto the sofa, stretch her soft, pale little feet toward Rei, rub her slender toes together, and say, “Trainer, put my socks on for me. I’m so tired~”

No, seriously, what did that mean? Did they have any idea how much damage their behavior did to a vigorous young man in his twenties?

Watching them flash all that pale skin in front of him day after day, Rei felt like he was about to burst from holding it in.

Did these people not see him as a man? Could it be that they treated him as one of the girls’ guy friends?

Living among this group of beautiful girls, Rei spent every day in a battle between instinct and reason. And just like that, three years passed.

Sexual… repression. Past the breaking point.

Back in the present, Rei ate breakfast. Today was the same as always, so lavish it was almost ridiculous. As he stuffed meat into his mouth, Rei muttered, “King… you’re the kind of girl who could be my mother.”

“Keep that kind of thing to yourself. Why say it out loud? Do you want me to call you ‘son’ or something?” King Halo retorted.

“No, I was just feeling emotional.”

“Eat more. You need to be full if you want strength.” As she spoke, King Halo handed him a glass of milk.

After watching Rei wipe out a breakfast far larger than what an ordinary person would eat, King Halo subtly glanced at Rei’s body, which had grown quite defined without anyone noticing, then swallowed.

Trainer’s body has gotten so sturdy before I even realized it…

T/N: WAIT IS SUNDAY SILENCE… DID SHE TURN INTO A MAN?

This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，我的马娘是幽灵 by 风与林 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!