Soon after arriving in the world of Umamusume, Akira had become a Trainer—and as a transmigrator, he even had a system.
And yet, he couldn’t exactly say he was thrilled. If anything, his feelings were a little complicated.
Setting aside the ridiculous possibility that pre-registering for a particular game was what had gotten him forcibly transmigrated in the first place…
As a transmigrator, the system he received had first made him sit through a loading bar, then, the moment it finished loading, had “thoughtfully” changed how it addressed him just because of an offhand complaint in his head.
Even the system’s name sounded at least nine-tenths unreliable.
Its full name was:
The Less Money You Have, the More Money You Get System.
And since he had only just gone out of his way to change how it addressed him, he couldn’t exactly turn around and demand a new name too, no matter how disastrous this one was.
Fine.
If its name was going to be this embarrassing, Akira was never calling it anything but “the system” from now on.
Fortunately, what the system actually did made him feel slightly less miserable.
According to its self-introduction, it was dedicated to helping its Master quickly establish a foothold in different worlds while encouraging the Master to boldly pursue their Primary Business.
Even if that Primary Business unfortunately failed and lost money hand over fist, the Master could still rely on a system-enhanced Side Business to easily reach the pinnacle of life.
Basically, judging from its introduction, the system would provide him with funding to operate his Primary Business over a set period.
In practical terms, the more money his Primary Business lost by the time settlement came around, the more Side Business funding and corresponding system points he would receive. He could then use that Side Business to build an enormous business empire.
As for what this so-called Side Business was…
Naturally, it meant bringing a little cultural shock from Earth to the world of Umamusume.
So, system, why didn’t you just call yourself something straightforward like the Wealth Conversion System or Investment Rebate System? You could even slap something about plagiarizing works onto the name if you really wanted.
The name was awful, but he had to admit—this thing was an absurdly good match for his current job.
If Umamusume earned roughly as much as real-world racing did…
All he had to do was drive himself to the brink of bankruptcy a few times, then multiply the resulting returns severalfold. After only a few cycles, he might become rich enough to rival an entire country. Maybe even the whole planet.
Oh, right.
The money generated from his losses still had to be converted into income through the Side Business.
Unless this world actually had alien civilizations or something, directly buying an entire planet would probably still be a little difficult.
So then…
Where should he begin this wonderful transmigrated life of his, so full of dreams worth striving for?
“Regulation! Newly hired rookie Trainers normally need to undergo an evaluation period before the Academy can confidently allow them to recruit an Umamusume partner!”
“However! As Trainer Higashiyama is a specially recruited talent, Tracen Academy will, of course, give priority to your own wishes!”
As Director Akikawa spoke, Secretary Hayakawa took out a booklet, placed it in front of Akira, and gestured for him to open it.
“This is…”
When he flipped it open, he found photos of various Umamusume students, along with their names, backgrounds, and other basic information.
“These are the Umamusume who do not yet have a registered Trainer partner for next season. If you wish to choose an Umamusume as your partner this season, Trainer Higashiyama, any of these girls would be a good candidate.”
At Secretary Hayakawa’s explanation, Akira flipped through several pages before noticing something strange.
Whoa.
He had to admit, he seemed to have an awful lot of choices…
There were twelve Umamusume on each page, and after leafing through the booklet, he found at least four or five pages’ worth to choose from.
Still, he wasn’t about to specifically ask why a rookie Trainer like him had so many Umamusume available to choose from.
He was a player, after all.
He vaguely remembered the game giving you a character selection ticket at the start.
Which meant it was time to carefully consider his starter Umamusume…
[MISSION NAME: THE BEGINNING OF A VENTURE]
[MISSION DETAILS: BASED ON THE MASTER’S REGISTERED PRIMARY BUSINESS, THE MASTER MUST BIND ONE COMPETITOR AS A MEMBER OF THE PRIMARY BUSINESS TEAM.]
[MISSION REQUIREMENT: TEAM MEMBER (0/1)]
[MISSION REWARDS: UNLOCK PRIMARY BUSINESS INTERFACE AND BEGIN PERIODIC FUNDING EVALUATION; BASIC REBATE FUNDING CARD; NEWCOMER PHASE ONE GIFT PACK.]
[REMINDER: A COMPETITOR’S OVERALL POTENTIAL AND RECORD WILL DETERMINE THE BASE FUNDING. THE COMPETITOR’S RACE PERFORMANCE AFTER THE CYCLE BEGINS WILL DIRECTLY AFFECT THE FIRST-STAGE SETTLEMENT FOR THAT CYCLE. MASTER, PLEASE CHOOSE CAREFULLY.]
All right!
Here came the problem!
Judging from the system’s reminder, if he wanted to deliberately run his Primary Business at a loss…
Then apparently he needed to choose an Umamusume with some potential and name recognition, but who was extremely difficult in other respects—someone whose race results could easily collapse because of him as her Trainer!
Hmm…
Tokai Teio!
That’s the one!
He absolutely had to rule her out first!
Even though he had never played on any of the Umamusume mobile game’s other servers and only knew parts of the anime, that didn’t stop Akira from knowing the name of such a popular Umamusume.
The power of being the second-season protagonist.jpg
Special Week went without saying too. She was the protagonist of the first season.
Akira barely remembered the anime anymore, but now that he saw her picture in the roster, he at least recognized her.
What?
Why was Tokai Teio ranked ahead of her?
You understand what “newer anime” means, don’t you?
Even if the second season had aired years ago, it was still newer than the first season!
Next…
After another quick scan of the page, his eyes immediately landed on a familiar petite Umamusume with black hair and purple eyes, looking somewhat timid in her photograph.
Mm!
Her too!
He absolutely had to eliminate Rice Shower from consideration first!
The Dutch Rice Shower meme, the manhole-cover Rice Shower meme—after seeing so many memes about her, there was no way he could forget the name of such a popular Umamusume.
Anyone could tell she was someone he absolutely couldn’t touch.
And if he later got the chance to choose that Umamusume from the “It’s Over” fortune-slip meme, Akira would definitely avoid her first as well.
He had already ruled out several Umamusume, yet for Akira, who was trying to choose in reverse, making a decision was still rather difficult.
So, as a farsighted transmigrator, this was the moment to…
“Um, Director Akikawa, thank you very much for the offer.”
“But as a rookie Trainer, I’m not even familiar with the campus yet, much less ready to decide on a candidate. So I’d like to learn more first, including more about the Academy itself, before choosing my first partner.”
After careful consideration, he gave his answer.
He had expected an NPC-style refusal, followed by someone urging him to hurry up and pick an Umamusume already.
Instead, upon hearing his response, the petite Director nodded in obvious satisfaction.
“Mm-hmm! Quite reasonable! Carefully choosing one’s partner is indeed something a responsible Trainer should do!”
“Then, Tazuna! For now, take Higashiyama-kun around some of the Academy’s important facilities, then bring him to the Student Council so he can learn more in detail!”
With that, she hopped back into her office chair and waved her fan, sending them on their way…
After leaving the Director’s office, Akira walked a little behind Secretary Hayakawa as she introduced the campus to him.
“The area up ahead is the Student Council office.”
“If you’d like to learn more about potential Umamusume partners, Trainer Higashiyama, then aside from asking the girls themselves, the Student Council is probably the most direct source of information.”
Naturally, Akira was curious whether the world he had transmigrated into was truly a game world or a real one.
He had tested the situation a little earlier, yet they had neither flatly refused him nor become suspicious. Instead, they had readily agreed to let him postpone his choice.
The Director had even specifically asked her Secretary to give Akira a tour of Tracen Academy so he could familiarize himself with his future workplace.
Basically, it was the tutorial.
Of course, for Akira, the important thing was to use the opportunity to learn as much as possible.
Still, if he really intended to slack off as hard as humanly possible…
Maybe he should just ask the Secretary walking in front of him whether she could be his Team partner instead?
The thought had only casually crossed his mind when the system suddenly produced another prompt.
[MASTER, ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU WISH TO BIND HAYAKAWA TAZUNA AS YOUR INITIAL TEAM MEMBER?]
Akira froze.
He stared at the woman ahead of him.
She had an attractive figure, a professional office outfit with a narrow skirt, black thigh-high stockings—the complete package.
If she took off the hat, put on a pair of Uma ears, and added a tail…
Ahem. Getting sidetracked. System, there is something very wrong with you.
Never mind why someone at the Academy who wasn’t an Umamusume could even be selected, or whether she would agree in the first place.
Even if he wanted to lose money that badly, there was no way he could pick someone’s Secretary and make her run races, right?
At most, he could bring Hayakawa-san over and make her his own Secretary or something.
While all sorts of physical and mental turmoil churned through Akira, Secretary Hayakawa stopped in front of the Student Council office and knocked on the door.
After a voice from inside called, “Come in,” Akira followed her into the Student Council office.
But the moment he stepped inside, something strange happened.
The Umamusume students who had been busy with their work immediately reacted to his and Secretary Hayakawa’s arrival—even the Student Council President and the President’s Secretary at the far end of the office.
The instant Akira looked toward the front of the room and saw the group of Umamusume students, they seemed to sense something, and every one of them turned to look at him.
What?
As those strange stares settled on him, making his skin prickle for no apparent reason, a thought suddenly occurred to Akira.
…Maybe he really should have just picked an Umamusume from the roster earlier.
This is a fan translation of 亏钱养马娘，但呼吸法是什么鬼？by 恰米的鼠鼠 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.