After quickly rinsing off in the shower, Sunset changed into fresh clothes and came out. Her “little ones” were still making a racket around the dining table.
“I’m off!”
“Be careful on your way, Sunset-oneechan!”
Sunset slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and strode out of the orphanage gates in a few quick steps. Most of the other children were still in elementary school, so naturally they did not need to get to school as early as she did. Besides, it was graduation season now. If she was late for morning self-study, she would be dragged out to stand as punishment.
Sunset attended an ordinary middle school, the mixed kind where Umamusume and humans studied together. Though it was a mixed middle school, there were far fewer Umamusume than humans, and there were only a few at her school. She did not feel lonely from the lack of her own kind, either. In Sunset’s eyes, there was not much difference between humans and Umamusume.
The only regret was that the school was still some distance from the orphanage. Fortunately, she was an Umamusume and could run fast, so she had no need for a bicycle.
Sunset ran along the Umamusume-only lane on her way to school. This was Tokyo, after all. There were not that many cars on the road, but the flow of people was extremely dense.
Thankfully, there were hardly any people in the Umamusume-only lane, and its speed limit was higher than that for motor vehicles. Taking that into account, in a place like Tokyo, where parking spaces were outrageously expensive, short-distance travel as an Umamusume was much more cost-effective than taking a car. Incidentally, the speed limit for the dedicated lane was sixty kilometers an hour. Unless you were sprinting, you generally would not hit the cap.
After turning a corner, the number of Umamusume on the dedicated lane ahead gradually began to increase.
This road was the required route between Japan Umamusume Training Center Academy—Tracen’s main campus—and its student dorms. In other words, most of the Umamusume running alongside her were students from Tracen Academy. That was clear from the purple uniforms they wore.
Speaking of which, Sunset did know a few students from Tracen Academy. The girl she had met that morning, the one she had called “Neicha,” was one of them. Her name was Nice Nature, and she was a year younger than Sunset.
She talked like an old soul, and for some reason, it always made people want to prank her. She was a very cute kid. Still, Sunset could not bully her too much, or her pay might get docked when she helped out at that girl’s family izakaya.
Sunset raced past the gates of Tracen Academy without stopping.
An Umamusume who was not a racer passing by the gates of Japan’s most famous Umamusume academy every day had honestly made her feel strangely awkward at first. But she had basically never attracted anyone’s attention, and it had been three years now, so she was used to it.
Still, there were people who took the initiative to greet her.
“Good morning, Lord Sunset.”
“Good morning, Hayakawa-san.”
She was not even a student at Tracen Academy, so why did Hayakawa-san, dressed all in green from head to toe, go out of her way to greet her every day? Sunset could only think of her as an especially nice person. Surely there was no other reason.
She did not run into any acquaintances for the rest of the way, and Sunset arrived at her middle school without incident.
…
The day passed peacefully just like that. For students in graduation season, school had no extra purpose beyond studying. Even the clubs that normally thrived on ordinary days would lose their vitality under the pressure of entrance exams. Besides, Sunset had always been a member of the go-home club.
After school, Sunset carried her schoolbag and walked alone along the edge of the track toward the school gate.
It was not that she had no friends. On the contrary, as an Umamusume, her appearance was quite eye-catching. Although she did not have much in the way of curves, her long blond hair and small frame, only just over one and a half meters tall, were right in the strike zone for most boys. She would occasionally receive anonymous love letters, and even now, she could feel classmates along the way glancing at her from time to time.
But because she often ran off to work part-time as soon as school ended, Sunset’s friends had long since gotten used to her leaving first on her own. As the days went by, it turned into her going home alone.
A full day of studying had left Sunset somewhat tired. Watching the few Umamusume and human classmates still training for races on the sports field, she could not help yawning.
“The pressure from studying’s been a little heavy lately. Maybe I should work fewer shifts…”
The PE teacher training the school track team noticed Sunset, who just happened to be passing by.
“Hey, Sunset, want to run a lap and check your time?”
“Hello, sir. But I’m heading home. Maybe next time!”
Sunset smiled as she politely declined the PE teacher’s invitation.
“You always say that. I want to see how fast you are at full speed, too. After all, you’re the fastest student I’ve seen at this school. Oh well, if you don’t want to run, we’ll do it next time.”
The teacher did not force her. He merely grumbled a little, then loudly started directing the students on the team again.
“Hey, you brats, train harder! You can’t be losing to someone who doesn’t even practice. Speed up, speed up!”
“She’s a freak! We really can’t beat her!”
“No waaay~”
Ignoring the exchange between the school team and their teacher behind her, Sunset cheerfully walked out of the school.
Looking at the brilliant red clouds on the horizon, Sunset thought about her plans for tonight and began rubbing her hands together.
“I’m not working today. I’ve got a race replay to watch. Ah, I’m so excited, so excited. Just thinking about it gets my blood boiling.”
Once an Umamusume got excited, she had to start running. Sunset shot off toward the orphanage in a flash.
As a result, because she was too excited, she got home several minutes earlier than usual.
Which meant sitting in front of the television with nothing to do but watch commercials.
“Aw, man. I got too impatient. I should’ve stopped by the grocery store to see if that man had any cheap carrots…”
While listening to the rather ridiculous commercial playing on TV, Sunset idly fiddled with the plushie set off to one side. It was a special-edition Mr. C.B. plush, something she had gone to great effort to win from a claw machine, spending pocket money she had saved up for ages.
That was right. Lord Sunset was an ardent fan of Mr. C.B. Or, as Sunset would put it, C.B.-san.
A hero who rose up against the Demon King, an intellectual older-sister vibe with a little top hat, and that free-as-the-wind vibe—to say something rather disrespectful, C.B.-san was perfectly tailored to Lord Sunset’s tastes.
Today’s race replay was precisely a race related to Mr. C.B. It was the Tracen Open Exhibition Race held by Tracen Academy to recruit new students. Mr. C.B., Symboli Rudolf, and famous Umamusume such as Maruzensky and Oguri Cap would all be participating.
Sunset had been distracted since noon today, secretly praying that Mr. C.B. would utterly crush Symboli Rudolf. Though the chances were not high, she stubbornly held on to that thought. Even if the Demon King of days past had already sat firmly upon the throne, she still secretly prayed for the hero she admired.
Although the race had already ended that afternoon, Sunset refused all spoilers until she personally saw the result. So any friends who wanted to discuss the race result with her today had been temporarily blocked.
“Kita went to volunteer instead of watching the race with her Onee-chan. Hmph~”
She would not bring Kita a carrot tomorrow. Sunset thought this with considerable scheming.
Fortunately, the other children were all obediently gathered around her, so it did not feel deserted.
DING!
The alarm clock rang. It was the alarm Sunset had specially set for the replay. The program began airing on the television right on time.
“Next up is the replay of this afternoon’s Tracen Open Exhibition Race—”
“It’s starting, it’s starting! C.B.-san has to win! Slaughter Rudolf! Justice will prevail! By my command, make haste! Ma-mi ma-mi moo…”
Excitedly waving the glowstick in her hand, Sunset began muttering like some kind of cultist.
“Onee-chan has gone crazy again.”
“Same as always. Sunset-oneechan gets like this whenever she sees C.B.-san. She can’t even hear us talking right now.”
“I hope Sunset-oneechan’s condition doesn’t worsen. Amen.”
“Amen~”
The entire orphanage was instantly filled with the atmosphere of a bunch of charlatans.
…
“THE NEXT COMPETITOR TO APPEAR IS THE LEGENDARY TRIPLE CROWN UMAMUSUME, THE UMAMUSUME WHO SHATTERED COMMON SENSE, FREE AS THE WIND—MR. C.B.!”
“C—B! C—B!”
Watching the black-haired Umamusume on the television, wearing a top hat and spiritedly waving to the stands, Sunset began shouting excitedly. Under the coercive authority of their “Boss Onee-chan,” the little underlings around her also began cheering sparsely for Mr. C.B.
“AND NOW, ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE THE TOP FAVORITE OF THIS RACE, AS WELL AS THE MOST OUTSTANDING REPRESENTATIVE OF TODAY’S RACING WORLD. THE UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN WINNER, THE SYMBOL OF COMMON SENSE, THE ABSOLUTE EMPEROR—SYMBOLI RUDOLF—”
As the majestic Umamusume in a green military-style uniform appeared, thunderous cheers erupted from the entire venue, loud enough to carry through the television.
But the orphanage fell silent.
The source of that strange atmosphere was Sunset, who had been cheering loudly just a moment ago and now had dead-fish eyes. Among the children around her, even those who liked Symboli Rudolf did not dare speak because of Sunset’s aura.
“Ah, it’s that bay Triple Crown winner. Can we fast-forward?”
“Um… Sunset-oneechan, aren’t you and C.B.-san bay too?”
“Hah? C.B.-san’s noble dark bay coat and Symboli Rudolf’s ordinary bay coat aren’t the same thing at all, okay? And I’m a flaxen chestnut, not a bay! You little brat, after all these years, you still don’t know what coat color I am?”
“Don’t… don’t pinch ma fa—mmph, I kno I wah wrong…”
After viciously pinching the cheeks of the little boy who had misspoken, Sunset turned back to the television in a rather foul mood.
T/N: woah woah woah WE DONT ACCEPT RUDOLF HATE!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!
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