Umamusume: Full of Flavor! [16]

“All right. Let’s move on to today’s second special exercise.”

After hearing Silence Suzuka call him Haruto-kun over and over, Haruto was starting to feel embarrassed himself. To hide it, he hurried the training along.

“Yes, Haruto-kun!”

Suzuka was brimming with energy and motivation. She eagerly approached the piece of training equipment Haruto had just inflated: a yoga ball.

It was the prop they needed for the second secret exercise they performed in the training room.

Haruto had borrowed the yoga ball from Tracen Academy’s gym. The gym truly did have every kind of equipment imaginable, but the vast majority of Umamusume went there for strength training. Equipment like yoga balls attracted virtually no interest, so Haruto had been able to borrow one with ease.

The third mission he had assigned Silence Suzuka was as follows:

[DIFFICULTY C]:
PERFORM 1,000 SQUAT-BOUNCES ON A YOGA BALL WITH BOTH FEET OFF THE FLOOR (CURRENT PROGRESS: 51/1,000)

Suzuka settled onto the yoga ball in a W-sitting position, then slowly rose onto the tips of her toes as she tried to find her balance.

A beautiful Umamusume in a sukumizu, perched on a yoga ball, looked from any angle like a risqué streamer performing suggestive movements under the guise of “training.”

Visually, it really was enough to set the imagination running…

But Haruto wanted to insist that it wasn’t like that!

It’s not! This is serious training!

Without exceptional balance, merely sitting securely on a yoga ball with both feet off the floor was already extremely difficult, never mind performing additional movements.

Even after all their practice, Suzuka had only just begun to get the hang of it.

“Don’t rush, Suzuka. Take it slowly. I’m right here.”

“Yes…! I’m counting on you!”

As usual, Haruto knelt in front of Suzuka and cupped the soles of her feet in both hands, slowly helping her lift them off the floor.

The position was actually terrible.

All Haruto had to do was raise his head, and he’d be directly at eye level with Suzuka’s… pubic region.

Don’t look at anything improper. Don’t look at anything improper…

That was easier said than done. Human vision was not nearly so narrow. Even without deliberately looking, that part of her remained within his field of view.

And after seeing it nearly every day for over two weeks, someone as attentive to detail as Haruto was bound to notice anything different from usual.

Today, the center of Suzuka’s swimsuit seemed slightly darker than the rest…

It’s just a shadow.

It has to be a shadow. That’s right. Stop imagining things.

Suzuka was a shy, reserved Umamusume. How could it possibly be a wet patch?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

And even if it was wet, it had to be sweat…

Right! Sweat! It couldn’t possibly be urine!

What Haruto did not know was that, through this exercise, Suzuka’s feet had already been molded to fit his hands.

She no longer minded Haruto touching them at all, but the sensation was completely different from the first time he had done so.

She had grown desensitized, yet somehow not.

If anything, she had become even more sensitive…

Whenever Haruto supported the soles of her feet, Suzuka felt an urge to use the bathroom.

Of course, the innocent and inexperienced girl had no idea that she did not truly need to go.

Casting aside his improper thoughts, Haruto slowly withdrew his hands, gradually reducing the contact between his palms and Suzuka’s soles.

“I’m about to let go. Are you ready?”

It was a little like teaching someone to ride a bicycle: Haruto would support her at first, then let go once she found her balance.

Squat-bounces performed while Haruto was supporting her feet did not count toward the mission total, so he had to release her.

Until now, Suzuka had been unable to maintain her balance properly. Every time Haruto let go, she would fall after completing only a few repetitions. That was why her progress remained so low.

But once Suzuka mastered the balance, all she would need to do was repeat the squat-bounces. The movements themselves were not especially difficult, so Haruto was confident she could complete the mission within a few days.

“Yes! I’m ready!”

As Haruto fully withdrew his hands, Suzuka swayed at the sudden loss of support and looked as though she might immediately lose her balance.

But she quickly spread her arms, adjusted her position, and gripped the yoga ball tightly between her thighs. Within moments, she had steadied herself again.

“Ah…! Haruto-kun! I did it!”

Suzuka was delighted to discover that she could remain seated on the yoga ball with both feet suspended in the air.

They had been practicing this exercise for over two weeks, yet Silence Suzuka had never managed to meet Haruto’s requirements.

She had worried that Haruto might be disappointed in her.

But today, she had finally proven herself.

“Excellent! That was amazing! Suzuka, you really are the best Umamusume!”

Haruto was just as excited. He pumped his fist and praised her enthusiastically.

At last, he could relax. It seemed Suzuka would be able to acquire the skills he had selected for her before her second race, exactly as planned.

“Now try moving on your own, Suzuka.”

“Yes!”

Silence Suzuka began performing the squat-bounces.

The yoga ball compressed and rebounded beneath the Umamusume’s weight, but Suzuka remained seated without falling off.

The plank leg raises she had practiced earlier, together with the dexterity she had gained in both feet from the counterclockwise pen-spinning mission, had given her exceptional balance.

When it came to balance, Silence Suzuka had already far surpassed the average Umamusume.

“Oh! You’re doing it! Now you can complete the exercise by yourself, Suzuka!”

“Yes…!”

Suzuka, however, was not as happy as Haruto.

She had realized that now that she could balance on her own, Haruto would no longer support the soles of her feet with his hands…

It left her with strangely conflicted feelings.

Still, she wanted even less to disappoint Haruto, so she resolved to complete the exercise properly.

But after attempting several squat-bounces on the yoga ball, she discovered that the movement was far more exhausting than she had expected.

It worked every muscle in her body, and she could not relax for even an instant.

Muscles she rarely used while running were now being called into action, leaving them sore and tingling.

After barely more than ten repetitions, sweat broke out across Suzuka’s body and she grew unbearably hot.

Thank goodness I’m wearing a sukumizu… Otherwise, my clothes would be soaked through, and my underwear would show.

Trainer would see me in such an indecent state… How humiliating!

When Haruto had first told her they would train with a yoga ball, she had not understood the purpose. She had even briefly wondered whether Haruto was using the exercise as an excuse to take liberties with her…

She had only gone along with it because she had decided to trust him first.

But now, she finally understood the exercise’s true purpose.

It was training designed to help her gain better control over every muscle group in her body!

I never should have questioned Trainer’s plans… Everything Haruto-kun tells me to do has a purpose!

From now on, I’ll obey him properly. I’ll never doubt him again!

Not even for an instant, not even in my own thoughts!

At that moment, Silence Suzuka’s trust in Haruto reached MAX. She no longer doubted him in the slightest.

The absolute trust between a Trainer and his trainee would become the foundation that carried them to victory.

T/N: @ _ @

This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，赚钱就是胜利！ by 晓非 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!