“Didn’t you say you could run for me right away? It’s already afternoon. Isn’t this basically consumer fraud?”
“Sorry, sorry. I was already booked by other shops this morning, after all. Sorry about that, BOSS—as an apology, I can lower the hourly rate a little. Like, to 2,999 yen or something…”
“…Is there any difference between that and three thousand? Also, why are you calling me BOSS?”
“Because you’re my sucker—no, I mean, my esteemed patron!”
Looking at the blond Umamusume in athletic wear smiling ingratiatingly at him, Koji Okino scratched his head with a helpless look.
He had originally planned to take Sunset to Tracen for a trial run while the Turf was in its best condition in the early morning. But after they had settled the price, this girl had suddenly said she had to go work at other shops and told him to meet her again at noon.
If this had been any other client, the deal would definitely have been dead. Unfortunately, he really was the one desperately asking for a favor, so Okino could only reluctantly agree to Sunset’s request. He first returned to the academy to hand off his work, then came back to the agreed meeting place right on time.
“This is bad… I originally wanted to take you to Tracen Academy and let you have a look, but now where am I supposed to take you to run…”
Although it was Saturday, extra training on Saturdays was perfectly normal at Tracen Academy. By now, Tracen Academy’s Turf was probably already more or less occupied by other Trainers.
Okino was thick-skinned, but even he did not quite have the nerve to bring a student from outside the academy in and occupy academy resources during school training hours.
The moment she heard the words Tracen Academy, Sunset shook her head like a rattle drum.
“Tracen Academy is no good! Anywhere except Tracen is fine, so please understand, BOSS!”
“Don’t tell me you hate Tracen Academy?” Okino frowned slightly when he heard Sunset’s words. If she had some grudge against Tracen Academy, recruiting her would become difficult.
“Not really. It’s just… I’m not used to the feeling of being around that many professional athletes. It’s like being an ordinary person standing in the middle of a bunch of monsters.” And besides, only yesterday, she had told Auntie Higashino that she had no interest in Tracen Academy at all. She couldn’t exactly turn around and eat her words the very next day, could she?
“All right! Then let’s go to the nearby Umamusume training grounds.”
Okino let out a breath of relief and immediately chose the nearest Umamusume training grounds.
“Ah, I remember places like that are usually pretty expensive.”
Because racing was so prosperous in this world, and with government support on top of that, Tokyo had quite a few privately operated Umamusume training grounds.
Although most training grounds could not recreate a full racecourse length one-to-one due to space limitations, the largest few had completely replicated Tokyo Racecourse. Normally, when the school Turf was crowded, many Umamusume would choose to train there instead.
However, because these places occupied such large empty lots in Tokyo, where every inch of land was worth gold, even though they were already quite far from the city center, the price of such facilities was still not something a poor brat like Sunset could accept. She looked at Okino with an expression that clearly said, Can you even afford it?
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t look down on me, okay? No matter what, I’m still a Trainer from Central Tracen Academy. I get discounts at places like this! And you’re not the one paying, so just run without worrying!”
He was unquestionably putting on a brave face. Okino’s wallet was already on the verge of sudden death.
“Also! Your effort had better be worthy of your hourly wage—my wallet!”
“Don’t worry, BOSS! As an outstanding part-timer, I’ll absolutely make sure you get more than your money’s worth! I’m fired up! Charge—!”
Filled with enthusiasm, Sunset patted her chest and ran off in the direction of the training grounds.
“Hey! Why are you running?! We’re obviously taking a car when it’s this far!”
“Ah, sorry. I completely forgot. I got too excited, hahaha…”
Looking at the Umamusume who had already almost run out of sight, Okino felt a faint exhaustion settling in.
This kid doesn’t seem all that bright.
…
After boarding the bus heading for the training grounds, Sunset curiously leaned closer to Okino.
“Hey, BOSS, let me ask you something. Why are you spending this much money to have me run once? It can’t just be because you want to apologize to me, right?”
Sunset had spent half the morning thinking about it and still could not figure out why this uncle, who looked rather short on money himself, would still pay such a high price just to have her run in front of him. If Ishida-san had not repeatedly vouched for the man’s character, she really would have suspected him of planning to kidnap and sell her. She had confidence in her organs. Selling them for over a million yen would be more than possible.
“I saw you running last night.”
After hesitating for a moment, Okino decided to tell the truth.
“Ah—you’re that uncle?”
It all connected. Sunset finally understood why she had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with Okino that morning. Although she had not clearly seen the other person’s face last night, the clothes he wore seemed to be the same style as Okino’s.
“Last night… I looked awful when I ran, didn’t I?”
Sunset was rather uneasy.
Yesterday, she had been venting her excitement and had run around completely at random. In the end, she had even lost speed before finishing the distance she had planned. Someone who had seen countless outstanding Umamusume must have thought her running form was painful to watch.
“Your form really was ugly. You could say it was terrible. It was completely the running style of someone with no experience at all.”
“Uu… I can’t argue with that…”
Okino noticed Sunset’s ears drooping a little.
As expected, although she keeps saying she has no intention of becoming a racing Umamusume, no Umamusume can remain unmoved by running. As long as he seized on that point, Okino was certain he could add this good card to his hand.
“Though it was terrible, you have great potential. That’s why I’m hiring you today. Assessing promising Umamusume who meet the academy’s enrollment requirements is also part of the work of a Trainer like me when I’m sent out, so this counts as work too. No need to be suspicious. Just think of it as me trying to hit my performance targets.”
“Potential… huh?”
Her drooping ears perked back up.
“Well, even though I have no intention of becoming a racing Umamusume, I’ll still run properly for you.”
“Oh! Then give it your best!”
“But let me make this clear first. I’m sorry, but for certain personal reasons, I won’t become a racing Umamusume. So if you’re thinking of making me one of your team members, you should give up on that idea early. I’m sorry I didn’t explain it clearly before. If that disappoints you, you can cut the hourly wage in half, and you can end this whenever you want. Now, for the sake of the work ahead, I’m going to rest. Nap time~”
Without waiting for Okino to say anything more, Sunset quietly leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes to rest. Okino hesitated, wanting to speak, but in the end, he sighed and said nothing more.
He could clearly feel that Sunset did have some interest in racing. So what exactly was making her keep racing Umamusume at arm’s length? Okino had a feeling that as long as he solved that problem, this “recruitment quest” would clear itself immediately.
Until they reached their destination, neither Okino nor Sunset said anything else.
…
“Trainer Okino, welcome to our training grounds. Please come this way.”
When Okino took out his Tracen Academy discount card, he even smugly winked at Sunset, looking exactly like some kid showing off.
Of course, Sunset had already entered business mode, so she would not say that out loud. Instead, she had to gaze at him kindly, giving her esteemed patron the motherly warmth he deserved.
“I said, don’t look at me like that. It feels kind of creepy.”
Okino did not feel any warmth. Instead, being stared at made him rather uncomfortable.
“Yes, BOSS!”
When they walked into the training grounds, there were already a few scattered Umamusume and Trainers training there. Okino even spotted a colleague he knew among them.
“BOSS, are we starting now? I’m already ready!”
After doing a few token warm-ups, Sunset began itching to get moving. Although this was a one-time job, giving it her all was the essence of sustainable income, so she absolutely would not hold back!
“That counts as finishing your warm-up? It wasn’t even a minute, was it?”
Watching Sunset warm up from the side, Okino’s eyes twitched. Even he, who always pursued free-form training, could not bear to look at a warm-up so crude it was practically nonexistent.
“But my PE teacher only taught me these warm-up methods.”
“The problem isn’t the method. It’s the time. Here—”
Okino handed Sunset something from his bag.
It was a pair of red running shoes, with two horseshoes nailed to the soles.
“Are these training shoes?”
“That’s right. I brought them from the academy. I didn’t measure you, but I’m pretty sure the size won’t be wrong. Try them on.”
“Sniff, sniff—They’re new!”
Sunset smelled them and caught the scent of brand-new shoes.
“You wouldn’t wear used shoes even if I gave them to you, right? All right, these shoes are yours. Hurry up and start warming up!”
“You’re giving them to me?! Really?”
Sunset looked startled and suspicious.
“What, are you so moved by my great kindness that you plan to change your mind?”
“Sorry, I can’t accept them. I still have enough backbone not to accept rewards I haven’t earned.”
After a brief struggle, Sunset still stuffed the training shoes back into Okino’s hands. If she really took too many things from him, Sunset was worried she might end up unable to refuse his requests.
“Well, would you look at that. You’re harder to trick than you look!”
Okino, who seemed not at all discouraged, laughed carefree.
“Is that something you should say to my face?”
“Then allow me to put it another way. I hope you can wear specialized running shoes and run for me in your best condition. You don’t think some half-hearted jog is worth an hourly wage of three thousand yen, do you?”
“Uu—I understand.”
Since what he said made sense, Sunset could only grit her teeth and accept his request. She put on the training shoes and found that they fit surprisingly well.
He had probably found these in a rush when he returned to the academy, right? Speaking of which, how did he know her shoe size? Oh, right, he was a Trainer, so it must have been one of those Trainer superpowers.
Wearing horseshoes and stepping onto the Turf, Sunset felt a fresh, strange sensation she had never experienced before.
“Let me say this first. I’m buying these shoes from you!”
“They’re cheap anyway. Tracen Academy has a bunch in stock it can’t even use up.”
“I’m buying them!”
“All right, all right.”
Seeing Sunset over there baring her claws and fangs as she tried to shove money at him, Okino soothed her with a helpless look.
Still, having a kindhearted idiot as his potential trainee did not seem like such a hard thing to accept.
“Then let’s start warming up. I’ll guide you. You can’t just muddle through it like you did earlier!”
“Yes, BOSS! Ei, ei, oh!”
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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