Umamusume: Full of Flavor! [17]

Seeing that Silence Suzuka no longer needed his help and that the mission counter was climbing rapidly, Haruto spoke with satisfaction.

“Good. Keep going just like that. You need to do a thousand, but you don’t have to finish them all today, of course. You can spread them out over several days, so just do your best.”

“O-Okay! I’ll… work hard… and finish… them!”

Each bounce forced another syllable from Suzuka’s lips. It was a little… No, it was extremely suggestive.

The effect was especially striking because it came from a quiet, dignified Umamusume like Suzuka, who normally seemed almost ascetic.

Haruto was no saint. He couldn’t help imagining how nice it would be to trade places with the yoga ball beneath Suzuka’s rear. In fact, if a man could watch something like this without reacting at all, you’d have to wonder whether he was a normal man in the first place.

Still, those were nothing more than improper thoughts born of instinctive desire, and Haruto had no intention of acting on them.

As long as he remembered that this was a mission—a necessary part of training an Umamusume—he could separate his desires from the matter entirely and view it rationally as training.

Besides, it really was legitimate training. There wasn’t even a camera set up to record how alluring Suzuka looked right now. He could simply admire the sight in silence and, at most, take care of himself after returning to the Trainers’ dorm.

Having neatly separated his private feelings from his professional responsibilities, Haruto sat back down, picked up the race schedule, and began looking through it.

“Keep exercising while you listen, Suzuka. It’s about time we registered you for your second race.”

“Yes…!” Suzuka tensed, gritting her teeth as she fought to hold her balance. “Mmph… I’m—ah!” She nearly lost her balance, but quickly steadied herself. “…listening!”

“After the Debut Race comes the 1 Win Class. After that are the 2 Wins and 3 Wins Classes. I’m sure you’ve heard of the three win-class races commonly known as the ‘gauntlet from hell.’”

“Yes…! I heard… many… Umamusume… fall… there!”

As the name suggested, only rookie Umamusume who had taken first place in their Debut Race and earned one career win were eligible to enter the 1 Win Class.

After that came the 2 Wins and 3 Wins Classes. Clearing all three meant an Umamusume had completely shed the title of “rookie.”

From then on, she could freely enter Open (OP), Listed (L), and graded (G) races. In professional racing, that meant she had truly gained a foothold.

Of course, certain graded races had additional eligibility requirements. Not every professional Umamusume could simply register for them. Each race had a limited field, while every Umamusume longed to prove herself at the highest level, so entry thresholds were inevitable.

As for the win-class races, Tracen Academy dressed up the three classes with the pleasant name “fan-building period,” claiming that an Umamusume could gather her first core group of supporters during that time—usually a few thousand people.

But those three races were not to be underestimated. They were no beginner-protection period.

If anything, they formed a merciless filtering system designed to separate gifted Umamusume from mediocre ones.

In the Umamusume mobile game and anime, the protagonists seemed to begin with graded races, constantly entering events like the Tenno Sho, Japan Cup, and Arima Kinen. It almost made OP races look like the lowest level of competition.

In reality, however, that was because the Umamusume featured in the game were already among racing’s elite.

As the saying went, genius was merely the price of admission.

Behind them were countless unknown Umamusume struggling desperately through win-class races and regional competitions.

Far too many would never reach the Open class in their entire careers.

That was also why Hayakawa-san had told Haruto when he first reported for duty that only one in ten rookie Umamusume admitted to Tracen Academy would make it through.

Even so, Haruto was not worried that Silence Suzuka would stumble at the win-class hurdle.

“That said, the 1 Win Class won’t pose any challenge to you as you are now, Suzuka. There’s no need to devise a special race strategy. Just run in your usual style.”

“All right… Mmph… Is that… really okay?”

“Of course. You’re much faster than the average Umamusume, and you run in the Runaway style. There’s no way they can catch you.”

“Yes…!”

“However, since your Stamina is still slightly lacking, we’ll enter a mile race for your 1 Win Class. In fact, all three win-class races will be mile races. We won’t consider medium-distance races for the time being.”

For now, Haruto intended to focus rookie Silence Suzuka on mile races.

Her Stamina stat was insufficient, and she also lacked enough recovery skills.

After all, Suzuka insisted on using the exceptionally stamina-intensive Runaway style. If Haruto did not want her to rely on Guts to force herself across the finish line and risk injuring her legs, she needed sufficient Stamina.

After a month of intensive endurance training, Suzuka’s Stamina had risen to C+, but that was still nowhere near enough.

Haruto’s ideal setup was to raise her Stamina to B and her Power to C, then have her acquire at least three stamina-recovery skills. Only then would he feel confident about winning medium-distance races.

Nor could they neglect Speed. Once she began entering graded races, stronger Umamusume would inevitably appear. At that point, even Suzuka’s Speed would no longer allow her to completely outclass the field.

Haruto had already prepared for that as well, but putting his plan into practice would require more Uma Coins.

In the end, I’m just too poor… If I had enough Uma Coins, I could train Suzuka straight into her final form. Then she could sweep aside everyone in her path and follow the Emperor’s road to an undefeated Triple Crown… What a shame.

Not wanting Silence Suzuka to misunderstand, Haruto explained the rest of his plan.

“Of course, I’m not saying you’ll only run mile races forever. Once your Stamina can support your maximum Speed, I’ll enter you in medium-distance races too. A lot of G1 races are medium-distance, after all.”

Silence Suzuka had an A aptitude for medium distance, along with an innate stamina-recovery skill for that distance. It would be far too wasteful for her not to run those races.

“G1… Could I… enter… a G1 race too?”

G1 races were the grandest stage available to Umamusume, where they could wear their racewear and prove themselves to the world.

Every Umamusume prepared her own racewear, but many would never receive a single opportunity to wear it in their entire lives.

Qualifying for a G1 race meant reaching the pinnacle of the racing world, where she would face the strongest Umamusume of her era and determine the best woman—no, mare—among them.

To Silence Suzuka, it was a dream far beyond her reach.

“Of course you can! You’re my Umamusume! Don’t underestimate yourself, Suzuka. You’re not merely capable of entering G1 races—you’re capable of taking first place in one! You have that potential! I guarantee it on my honor as a Trainer! That is no empty exaggeration!”

Silence Suzuka had many fine qualities, but she lacked confidence in herself. Perhaps being dismissed from her previous team had robbed her of it.

“Yes…! I’ll… win… the championship trophy… for you!”

Silence Suzuka had no confidence in herself, but she believed in Haruto.

Her Trainer’s words were absolute. All she had to do was believe in the man who believed in her.

That faith set Silence Suzuka ablaze. She accelerated her movements, determined to finish all the remaining squat-bounces in one go.

…998! 999… 1,000!

She had done it!

“Phew…! Haruto-kun…! I… finished!”

By then, Silence Suzuka was drenched in sweat. She looked as though she had been dunked in water, and the sweat soaking her sukumizu had turned it dark blue, concealing the damp patch that had embarrassed Haruto earlier.

But she appeared to have pushed herself too far. The moment the exercise ended, all the strength left her body, and she pitched forward uncontrollably.

Haruto reacted quickly and caught her in his arms, speaking with equal parts concern and reproach.

“Honestly, didn’t I tell you that you could spread it out over several days? Why did you push yourself so hard?”

Her extraordinary perseverance was one of Suzuka’s strengths, but it also sometimes drove her to overexert herself. It hurt Haruto to watch.

Held in Haruto’s arms, Silence Suzuka felt as though her weakened body had finally found something to lean on. Warmth filled her heart as well…

It was definitely not the heat produced by intense exercise. She could tell the difference.

Suzuka was suddenly glad she had completed everything in one go. This time in Haruto’s arms was the greatest reward she could have asked for…

She had already forgotten all about the results of her training.

Though secretly delighted, Silence Suzuka still apologized honestly.

“I’m sorry… Haruto-kun… I… wanted so badly… to live up to your expectations…”

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m not saying you did anything wrong. I’m saying you completed it perfectly!”

Haruto looked at the mission panel, no longer able to conceal his excitement.

The third mission was complete too!

It was time to announce to the world that a new star was rising in the racing world…

Make them all remember your name, Silence Suzuka!

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!