By the time Okino returned to Tracen, the sky had already darkened, and the campus seemed somewhat quiet.
Normally, Okino would probably have gone home by now to work or play games. Today, however, he still had something to do: he needed to find Tracen’s tiny chairwoman.
Although Okino was not exactly reliable on ordinary days, when he encountered an Umamusume whose talent was being buried, he still could not simply turn a blind eye.
Before returning to Tracen, he had even gone out of his way to find Ishida and ask about Sunset’s situation in detail.
If he could apply to the academy for tuition-free admission, then maybe…
“The Chairwoman left today to inspect facilities overseas. If there’s any matter you need handled, the student council is currently handling things on her behalf. Trainer Okino, you can try speaking with Rudolf-san.”
“Huh? Why didn’t I get any notice about that?”
“I’m sorry. The Chairwoman decided on the trip at the last minute, so there was no way to inform you in advance. On top of that, Trainer Okino, you weren’t at the academy all day today, so the message was delayed.”
Looking at Tazuna Hayakawa’s apologetic expression, Okino scratched his head helplessly.
“Then I’ll go check with the student council… It’s already this late, though. I don’t even know if they’re still working, and it’s Saturday.”
Grumbling as he went, Okino turned and headed for the student council room.
Fortunately, the light in the student council room was on.
Okino knocked on the door, and from inside the noisy student council room came a burst of chaotic sounds.
“Wa—hold on a second, I’ll open the door right away! Brian, hurry, put that thing away—!”
Okino heard a familiar voice from inside, seemingly tinged with a bit of panic.
A moment later, the student council room fell quiet again, and the door cracked open. Okino saw a small top hat poke out from the gap.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. Thanks for waiting—Okino-san?”
Seeing Okino, the Umamusume across from him showed a look of great curiosity.
“Oh, it’s Mr. C.B. Long time no see.”
Running into the former strongest ace of his team here left Okino looking rather surprised as well.
The two stared at each other in silence, then suddenly spoke at the same time.
“You actually come to the student council? Did you do something bad and come to turn in a written apology?”
“You actually work at the student council? Didn’t Air Groove say you spend all year slacking off?”
They stared at each other, then fell silent for a while longer before both laughing at the same time.
“All right, just kidding. Trainer, you came to the student council because you have some work to handle, right? Come in.”
Mr. C.B. pulled the door fully open and led Okino inside.
“Looks pretty normal…”
Okino looked around the student council room and found no sign of the source of the chaos from earlier. The room was as neat as ever.
Aside from Mr. C.B., there was only one Umamusume with a blade of grass in her mouth, sitting quietly in a leather chair.
“Narita Brian is here too, huh.”
“Mm. Good evening, Trainer Okino.”
Narita Brian quietly nodded to him. In truth, the two of them got along fairly well. They were both slackers, and both had the habit of keeping something in their mouths. Although it looked somewhat like their character designs overlapped, it was also proof that they shared similar interests.
“Rudolf is still doing independent training. Right now, it’s just Brian and me in the student council room. Tell us what you need handled first. If we have enough authority, there’s no need to find Rudolf.”
Mr. C.B. plopped down into Symboli Rudolf’s seat, picked up Rudolf’s presidential seal, and smiled.
“I’ll say this in advance: if you’re hoping I’ll use the chance to get you some benefits, don’t even think about it. A paycheck-to-paycheck guy like you wouldn’t be able to save anything even if your pay went up. Giving it to you would be a waste.”
“Is that how unreliable I am in your eyes? We were partners for years, you know?”
Hearing even his own team member evaluate him that way, Okino suddenly felt he really ought to reflect on himself.
“Exactly. Super unreliable. Even more unreliable than me,” Mr. C.B. answered with a serious face.
How could she say that with a straight face? Wasn’t her self-evaluation way too low?
“Forget it. Let me get the serious business out first. It might actually be better to tell you two. I’m not that familiar with the student council president, so I feel a bit restrained around her.”
Okino shrugged and began explaining the purpose of his visit.
“Tuition-free admission… I see. In other words, in your eyes, that child has enough talent to be worth making this kind of request? This isn’t a small matter…”
After hearing Okino’s explanation, Mr. C.B. leaned thoughtfully against the back of the chair.
“Speaking of which, has the academy ever had a student admitted tuition-free before? If not, this’ll be tricky. I don’t really want to make an exception… But that girl, I think she has talent no less than you all.”
“A completely uncut gemstone, yet she deserves that kind of praise from you? Trainer, I suddenly feel a little jealous.”
Mr. C.B. made a joke, then changed the subject.
“A student admitted tuition-free… I basically never stay in the student council room, so I’m not too sure. Brian, do you know any cases like that?”
“No idea. I basically don’t handle that kind of work either.”
Her answer was extremely simple and direct, without a moment of thought behind it.
“Come to think of it, Narita Brian, what work are you usually responsible for?”
Okino curiously asked another question.
“…Classified.”
After a wordless silence, Narita Brian only squeezed out two words.
“I see.”
In other words, her main job was having no job.
Thinking about it that way, the only top-level student council officers who actually worked seemed to be Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove. A moment of silence for them.
“So, C.B., can you approve this or not?”
“Well, if Trainer appreciates her, that makes her my junior too. In that case, I’ll cover for her! I’ll approve this on Rudolf’s behalf!”
With a grand sweep of her pen, Mr. C.B. prepared to start writing the document.
“Will it really not cause problems if you approve it that easily? If the student council president finds out later that this isn’t according to regulations, it’ll get sent back, right?”
Mr. C.B. was so quick about it that Okino felt somewhat uneasy. Could Mr. C.B., a nominal vice president who slacked off all day, really settle the matter this easily?
“It’s fine, it’s fine. As long as we don’t tell Rudolf, we can just quietly go around her, right? As vice president of the student council, my authority is unlimited! Oh, don’t tell her I said that.”
“Narita Brian, what do you think?”
Okino turned back to seek the other vice president’s opinion.
“I didn’t hear anything.”
Good. The slacker had no objections.
“It’ll be fine. If that doesn’t work and we get found out, at worst I’ll just cover the tuition myself. It’s not that much to the current me anyway. I’d like to meet a talented junior too. Taking in another underling to help me beat up Rudolf sounds pretty fun when I think about it. Lord Sunset and Mr. C.B. are pretty similar too. Lord S.S.—what do you think of that abbreviation?”
Mr. C.B. wrote furiously while chuckling to herself.
“Oh? So you want to turn against Rudolf?”
“That’s right! I’ve been sick of her for ages. Lately, she keeps shoving those honey special drinks her junior gives her at me—so sweet they’re practically a lethal dose. Is she trying to sweeten me to death, or make me die of jealousy?”
“I can’t help it. I have to control my weight, after all. I’ve talked to Teio about this many times. I truly wish she would be a little more understanding. Incidentally, I did indeed have a selfish desire to make you a little jealous. That makes it killing two birds with one stone.”
Mr. C.B. raised her head with a somewhat troubled look.
“Don’t use idioms. You’ll make me think of Rudo—ah, isn’t that Rudolf? Done with training? You must be tired. Come rest over here.”
Okino saw Mr. C.B. leap up the instant she raised her head. For the always free and lawless Mr. C.B., it was indeed an extremely rare sight.
Standing at the door, leaning against the student council room entrance, was the bay Umamusume who had finished her self-training: Symboli Rudolf. She was looking at Mr. C.B. with a smile that was not quite a smile.
“C.B.-senpai, thank you for going to all this effort to watch over the student council room for me today.”
“Y-yes, that’s right! I’m telling you, while you were off training, Brian and I worked really hard for ages—ah, I’m so tired I could die. My arms are so sore—”
Quietly stuffing the unfinished document into Okino’s hands, Mr. C.B. ran to Rudolf’s side and looked at her ingratiatingly.
“Would you like me to massage them for you?”
“No, that’s not—yaah! It’s going to dislocate! Go easy!”
Mr. C.B., killed in action.
“Then, President, I’ll be heading back first.”
Narita Brian decisively chose to abandon her teammate.
“Mm. Thank you for your work today.”
Rudolf walked past the collapsed Mr. C.B., bent down, and pushed the game console hidden under the tea table farther inside.
“President, that’s—”
Okino saw Narita Brian’s expression change as well. He seemed to understand why the student council room had been so noisy earlier.
“Go.”
Was this the Emperor? Symboli Rudolf showed the smile of a monarch pardoning her subject.
“Yes…”
Narita Brian silently left. Judging by her speed, though, it seemed more appropriate to call it fleeing.
After that, only Symboli Rudolf, Koji Okino, and Mr. C.B., who was still twitching on the floor, remained in the student council room.
Rudolf sat back in her own seat, which still held Mr. C.B.’s lingering warmth.
“Now then, Trainer Okino, what business brings you to the student council? C.B.-senpai may not be very familiar with student council work, so if something comes up next time, please speak with me.”
“Ah, um, haha…”
This was exactly why he could not deal with this student council president!
Looking at the student council president before him, whose smile was gentle and kind, Okino wailed inside.
“Actually, I wanted to—”
“Don’t say it! Don’t betray our revolution! Yaah—!”
Looking at Mr. C.B., who had only just raised her head before being put down again by Symboli Rudolf, Okino felt a fellow-horse sort of grief.
Seeing Rudolf look back at him again after dealing with Mr. C.B., Okino had no thought of resistance and honestly laid out his purpose in full.
“I see. Tuition-free admission. Indeed, this school has no precedent for that. If we make an exception rashly, it may cause unnecessary trouble.”
Although she was a high school girl, the way Rudolf looked when she thought truly carried a solemn dignity befitting someone in power. But did Symboli Rudolf, Mr. C.B., and the others actually count as high schoolers? He had known them for several years already. No matter how he counted, they should have graduated by now, right? But since they were Umamusume, perhaps their ages could not be calculated by human standards…
Okino let his thoughts wander as he waited for Rudolf’s consideration to reach a conclusion.
“Okino-san, somehow I feel like you’re thinking something very rude.”
Mr. C.B., who had revived once more, stood up and hooked an arm around Okino’s neck with a wicked grin.
“Speaking of which, Rudolf, why don’t we pretend it’s tuition-free admission, have Okino-san bring the child in, and I’ll cover the tuition? As long as she doesn’t know, it’s fine, right? Trainer and I are old friends. I’m willing to pay that much.”
“The problem is not money. It is regulations.”
Rudolf shook her head.
“However, if no one takes action, certain outdated conventions will never change.”
“How about this, then? Trainer Okino, if that child truly has the talent you described, prove it to me.”
Rudolf’s finger lightly tapped the desk.
“If she wishes to receive special treatment, then she must display ability worthy of an exception. Before the entrance exam, if she can run at debut race level before my eyes, I will use this case to apply to the Chairwoman for reforms to the financial aid system. Until then, I can allow you to use Tracen’s resources.”
“Hey, hey, isn’t that asking a little too much? She’s a beginner, you know!”
Mr. C.B. protested on behalf of the junior she had yet to meet.
“What do you say?”
Ignoring Mr. C.B., Rudolf simply looked at Okino.
Okino took a deep breath. He knew that while Rudolf’s proposal seemed harsh, in reality, it was already an extremely reasonable consideration. Without that kind of assessment, trying to persuade those stubborn old higher-ups—old fossils whose opinions even the Chairwoman might struggle to override—would be harder than climbing to heaven.
And besides…
“Although it sounds difficult, I believe Lord Sunset has that level of ability. So I accept your proposal.”
“Is that so? Very well. I hope we can witness the birth of a new glory.”
Rudolf turned away, revealing a smile that seemed almost like a prayer.
T/N: heh i thought it was seggs but it was just games sigh
would you rather have unlmited bacon, or no seggs, seggs, unlimited seggs
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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