“Sunset, who were you talking to just now? Was that a Trainer from Tracen? How did you meet him?”
The moment Sunset walked inside, Mrs. Higashino pulled her aside and questioned her in a low voice, her face wary.
“Auntie Higashino, you heard all that?”
“Most of it, more or less. Can that person really be trusted?”
“Ishida-san vouched for him, and I worked at his place a few days ago too.”
Seeing that Mrs. Higashino still looked uneasy, Sunset had no choice but to explain.
“I was worried someone was trying to lure away a silly girl like you. But if he’s someone Ishida knows, then there shouldn’t be a problem. So are you really planning to go to that Tracen place?”
“Probably. After everything that’s been said, and with someone willing to help me like this… if I don’t at least try, I’ll probably regret it for the rest of my life.”
“No matter what, we’ll support you to the very end. Whether you succeed or fail, we’ll always be here as your family.”
Mrs. Higashino pulled Sunset tightly into her arms. This time, Sunset did not try to break free.
“Mm…”
…
“Minions, dinner time!”
At Sunset’s command, the children of the orphanage sat down neatly around the dining room tables.
“Onee-chan, you took a lot more rice than usual today. Are you in a good mood?”
As expected of Kita-chan. She can figure out my mood just by looking at how much I’m eating. In an earlier age, she would definitely have made an excellent flatterer at a ruler’s side.
“We’ll talk about that later. Eat, eat.”
DING!
The doorbell rang from the entrance. The orphanage’s front door was usually left open during meals, so whoever was using the doorbell now did not seem to be someone they knew.
Director Higashino went out to see who it was, then did not return for quite a while. A little later, he came back to the dining room and beckoned to Sunset, who was still eating.
“Someone’s looking for me again? BOSS didn’t leave already, did he?”
Puzzled, Sunset walked out. What she saw was not Okino, but an elderly man in a crisp suit, along with several burly security guards.
“They’re here for me?”
Sunset’s face filled with question marks as she began trying to remember whether she had done anything utterly outrageous.
Probably not, right? At most, I like mooching once in a while. Shouldn’t mooching be a virtue? How could someone possibly come to call me to account for that? Speaking of which, the bowl of noodles from yesterday’s big-eater contest did seem a little salty. Maybe I was in too much of a rush and added too much salt? Speaking of salt, that reminds me of the other day at the department store…
As Sunset’s brain kept thinking and thinking, her thoughts gradually began to scatter, and then it started to crash.
“Ahem. You must be Lord Sunset-san?”
The elderly man politely spoke up, interrupting Sunset’s thoughts.
“Ah, yes, that’s me.” Hearing how gentle his voice was, it seemed he was not here to make trouble for her. Sunset’s heart settled a little.
Still, the other party seemed so refined. Even the bodyguards looked like the sort who were impossible to mess with, yet perfectly pleasant and amiable.
“This humble servant has come here on my master’s instructions to discuss a small condition with you on my master’s behalf.”
Sunset noticed that Director Higashino’s gaze on her had gone a little strange. It was the kind of look a parent gave when their kid had brought home a bunch of dubious friends from outside.
I have no idea what’s going on either, Director, believe me! Sunset desperately tried to convey that message to him with her eyes.
“Um, sorry, but I don’t think I know this ‘master’ you’re talking about… How could someone like me possibly have anything to do with this master of yours? And I don’t have anything valuable, so what condition could you possibly want to discuss with me?”
Sunset forced herself to explain. Speaking of which, if the other party gets upset, will they twist my head off? How scary. So scary.
“This humble servant comes from the Symboli family.”
“Rudolf’s?” Sunset sucked in a breath.
That braised-tofu Rudolf had only just come looking for her yesterday, and after failing to find her, had sent a whole van’s worth of people this time. What was she trying to do? Kidnap an innocent girl by force? They had never even met, so why was she targeting her like this?
“Indeed. I have also come this time at the ojousama’s request, in hopes of making a wager with you.”
“A wager?”
“If my information is correct, three months from now, you should have an admission qualification run at Tracen Academy. Is that right?”
“That’s… still not certain.”
Beside her, Director Higashino, who still did not know the full story behind any of this, looked at her even more strangely. His gaze stabbed toward Sunset’s face like a knife.
This really has nothing to do with me, Director Higashino, please listen to my explanation—
“Regarding that qualification race, my master wishes to place a wager with you.”
“…Can I refuse?”
“Please listen first to the terms our ojousama is offering. In that qualification race, if you can complete it three seconds faster than the average winning time for a debut race, the Symboli family is willing to provide you and this orphanage with what assistance we can. I believe this assistance will certainly be of great benefit to you.”
“What kind of assistance?”
“The Symboli family will sponsor you and your orphanage, ensuring that every child here can receive suitable education and development. As you know, the Symboli family’s financial strength is more than enough to accomplish this.”
Hearing the terms the other party offered, both Sunset and the director looked shocked. Sunset knew that whether the children in the orphanage could receive a proper education had always been one of the director and his wife’s worries.
It seemed the other party had come prepared. This single blow had struck right at Sunset’s weak point. If she could help these children obtain a future filled with hope, then even if her chances were slim, she wanted to try.
Fortunately, she managed to keep her head clear in the end. She had not forgotten there was another side to the wager, and did not agree on the spot.
Before Sunset could speak, the director had already stepped forward first, warily shielding her behind him.
“If she fails, what do you want Sunset to do?”
“After graduation, she will work for the Symboli family’s conglomerate for one year, with normal pay.”
“That’s all? No need to sign some kind of unequal contract?”
Such generous terms, weighed against a penalty that barely counted as one, left both Sunset and the director confused. It could even be said that if she was able to enter a conglomerate like the Symboli family’s after graduation, it was hard to say who would actually be gaining or losing.
“This should be a profitable deal with no cost to you. What do you think?”
“We still need to consider—”
Before the director could finish speaking, Sunset cut him off.
“I agree. I was planning to win anyway. Now I just have one more goal, and one more reason.”
Sunset, who absolutely did not want to give up on terms like these, finally had no path of retreat this time. For some reason, she instead felt lighter now, as if something had given her a push.
Pointing a finger at the other party, in Sunset’s eyes, it was as though Symboli Rudolf’s shadow appeared.
“If those are the terms, then I’ll win and show you!”
T/N: heh… sunset x rudolf?
dropping the accents btw so ye no ojōsama at least for ojousama, i might keep accents for other things idk tbh sometimes i do it sometimes i dont i really forget… did i do accents for this one?
This is a fan translation of 迫于生计，赛马娘登上赛场！ by 扶风三尺 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!
Reader discussion
0 Comments
Be the first reader to share a thought about this chapter.