Umamusume: Full of Flavor! [3]

Early the next morning, Haruto arrived at the training room the academy had arranged specifically for him.

It was not special treatment. The wealthy Tracen Academy provided every Trainer with a separate training room. Rookie Trainers’ training rooms were just usually pitifully small, little more than four-and-a-half-tatami offices. The included facilities were a desk and chair set and a whiteboard.

Of course, as their assigned Umamusume continued to win, a Trainer’s fame and treatment would both improve dramatically. Famous Trainers could even form their own exclusive Teams, recruit more Umamusume, and seize trophy after trophy in the racing world.

The same was true for Umamusume. As their number of wins accumulated and their strength improved, they could apply to use higher-level training facilities, and the prize money was enough to leave ordinary people dumbstruck.

This was the true “strength-supremacist academy.”

Yesterday, Hayakawa-san had said that the academy would arrange Haruto’s first assigned Umamusume for him. So who would it be?

Hopefully, a famous racer… because that would make training much easier.

After all, Haruto was not exactly flush with Uma Coins right now. If it was an Umamusume whose stats were not very good, then even adding more Skills for her would be useless.

As for stats, even Haruto, who had the system, had no way to improve them overnight. Like every other Trainer, he could only arrange all sorts of training for basic conditioning, and that was the core knowledge he had learned at Trainer school: sports medicine.

But Umamusume depended heavily on talent. It was the same as sprinting in his original world. There were fewer people who could run a hundred meters in under ten seconds than people who had been to space… If he ended up with an Umamusume with poor talent, Haruto would have a headache.

Thinking that far, Haruto felt a little uneasy. It was like the nervousness of doing a beginner ten-pull in a mobile game.

Right. Besides having good enough stats, it would be best if she were obedient and well-behaved… because if she was an Umamusume with a fiery temper, it would be very hard for Haruto to use the “Trainer-exclusive Skill” he had just obtained.

Hayakawa-san had contacted him earlier, saying his assigned Umamusume would soon come to his training room to meet him. That was why Haruto had come to the training room without even eating breakfast.

Somehow, he felt as nervous as if he were about to attend a matchmaking date… even though Haruto had never gone to one in his previous life.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

The rhythmic knocking made Haruto’s heartbeat follow the same beat. He worked hard to calm himself, then called toward the door.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

With those polite words, the other party opened the door and walked in.

She was a quiet Umamusume with long orange hair, a white headband, and green ear covers wrapped over both of her Uma ears. She wore Tracen Academy’s white-and-purple uniform.

The eyes beneath her straight bangs seemed tinged with unease, and her expression was slightly awkward. After entering, she first bowed to Haruto, then began introducing herself properly.

“Hello… I’m Silence Suzuka from Tracen Academy’s high school division. Are you the new Trainer responsible for training me?”

Ooooooh!

Silence Suzuka!

Wasn’t she one of the initial three-star Umamusume from when the Umamusume mobile game first launched?!

He had hit the jackpot!

Most importantly, her personality was well-behaved too. If he remembered correctly, she had that serious character setting where she especially loved running. His Uma-loving roommate had also said she was easy to raise!

Those stats were as good as in the bag!

The little person in Haruto’s mind was already cheering and dancing, but in reality, he still put on the serious appearance a Trainer ought to have.

“Ahem… That’s right. I’m the new Trainer responsible for training you. My name is Haruto Akiyama. Have a seat first.”

Because of his excitement, Haruto enthusiastically went over to pull out the chair and invited Silence Suzuka to sit.

Silence Suzuka gripped her left arm with her right hand. She opened her mouth as though to say something, then closed it again. In the end, she obediently lowered her head and sat down in the chair, the Uma ears on her head drooping as well.

Hm? Why did she look like she was about to be persecuted by some unscrupulous Trainer?

Calling a student into a cramped training room for one-on-one time did look a lot like a scene from a doujin…

But Trainers did not lay hands on their assigned Umamusume. That was a taboo.

Supposedly, quite a few Umamusume married their Trainers after graduation, but dating within the academy was explicitly forbidden.

It was not because of moral issues. Apparently, the main reason was that it affected competitive condition, much like how boxers practiced abstinence before a match.

Pregnancy went without saying. Once that happened, no races could be entered at all, the entire season would be ruined, and even after giving birth, there was no guarantee one could return to peak condition.

Moreover, Umamusume were not only racing athletes, but also public idols. After races, they had to perform onstage. If rumors of romance spread, it would negatively affect their popularity as well.

So from the very beginning, Haruto had never thought of laying hands on the Umamusume in the academy. He was here to grow stronger, not to hit on Umamusume.

Haruto thought for a moment, then decided to start the conversation with the reason she had come here.

“Suzuka, may I call you that?”

“Mm, yes… That’s fine.”

“No need to be so nervous. Today, I only want to ask about your situation. Mm… Though perhaps it isn’t my place to ask this, Suzuka, why were you assigned to me?”

“Eh?”

Silence Suzuka seemed not to have expected the Trainer to ask that question first, and tilted her head in confusion.

“Because, look. I’m a rookie Trainer who just joined the academy. I even started later than the other Trainers from my year, so I’m basically leftovers. Meanwhile, an excellent Umamusume like you should have plenty of Trainers competing to recruit you. That’s why I’m a little curious…”

Haruto was fairly self-aware. Since he was not even allowed to recruit Umamusume on his own, that meant the academy would most likely stuff those troublesome “problem children” onto him.

But a well-behaved, quiet Umamusume like Silence Suzuka did not seem like someone who would cause any trouble, which was why Haruto felt puzzled.

“E-Excellent… There are plenty of Umamusume more excellent than me…”

Silence Suzuka did not seem used to being praised. She blushed shyly, her shoulders drawing in, while she spoke words of modesty that bordered on self-abasement.

Haruto did not rush her. He waited for her to settle her emotions on her own, and then she began explaining the reason.

“Um… Because I didn’t follow my Trainer’s instructions, I was asked to leave the Team…”

“Oh?”

So it was the classic, clichéd kicked-from-the-Team plot.

What kind of Trainer was this? A lousy one, clearly.

Oh. Was this what they called being unable to see clearly from within the situation?

Because they did not know Silence Suzuka had also been a famous racer in his previous life, and only treated her as a new student, they had simply swept her out the door for not obeying their arrangements.

It was not impossible to understand, but what a waste of heaven-sent talent…

Good! Then it was time to put on the satisfying story where the other party regretted everything!

T/N: yes the heaven sent talent…….. im gonna cu-

This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，味真足 by 夜幕下的鬼 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!