“So, Ojisan, you want to drag me straight into your team?” Little Kangbai-chan and Gold Ship followed beside Okino, who was riding a bicycle.
One human and two horses moved side by side, neither ahead nor behind.
“Ah, that’s right. I’m formally inviting you to join my team now.” Okino nodded, and while he was at it, kept watching Little Kangbai-chan’s running movements without changing his bad habit, becoming more and more certain this kid was definitely an existence of the new era.
“Oh, no problem. I can’t be bothered to choose a team anyway—but by the way, what’s our team called?”
Little Kangbai-chan didn’t care which team she could join.
Rather, being accepted by any team at all was already good.
With low stats like hers, it was already good if a team wanted her.
And for some reason, she felt strangely compatible with this Umamusume called Gold Ship.
Since heaven was being kind, she naturally had to happily accept.
“Spica! That’s our team~” Gold Ship patted her chest and loudly, confidently introduced the team she belonged to, looking extremely impressive.
Though the momentum was definitely there, this Spica team… what the heck was it?
Why did it give off a vibe of “I don’t know what this is, but it seems awesome”…
“We not only have the best training programs, but also—a promotional slogan that says if you don’t join, we’ll bury you~”
“That’s exactly why nobody joins…” Okino retorted.
After all, if people saw that slogan… no normal person would think about joining, right?
“Hah? It’s posted on the school notice board, so doesn’t that make it an excellent slogan?”
“That was clearly taken by force, okay?”
“…” Listening to the two talk, Little Kangbai-chan suddenly felt—her choice might have a problem.
Why did this team sound so unreliable no matter what?
Especially that weird promotional slogan.
If she didn’t agree, were these two going to find a rope and a nice feng shui spot and bury her?
That’s kind of scary, hey!
Are you sure you’re a legal team and not some terrifying criminal organization that kidnaps Umamusume?
And there was one more important thing—
That meaningless name plus the strange composition… for some reason made her feel this team was very likely connected to the protagonist.
After all, in many worlds, if a team has a domineering name, then it has a 50% chance of being the protagonist’s team, and a 50% chance of being the protagonist’s enemy.
And in this world that seemed to reveal a hint of comedy, this kind of team, giving off a strong comedy-style vibe, was most likely on friendly terms with the protagonist.
Even if not, there was probably someone in the team connected to the protagonist’s best friend or something.
Anyway, it was basically this formula.
No escaping it.
Her luck was a bit good, huh?
To immediately run into a team likely related to the protagonist.
So should she take advantage of this lucky aura and try drawing from the gacha right now?
Maybe with the remaining luck, she could pull the legendary Redstone Wyvern?
“By the way, with you added, our team now has four Umamusume. After we finish registering your info, I’ll take you to meet your two seniors.”
Okino worked hard pedaling the bicycle while introducing his team to Little Kangbai-chan, and while he was at it, continued staring at Little Kangbai-chan’s two little white legs with both eyes.
Mm, this stride really was good.
And she didn’t look tired even after running so long.
If she trained more, her talent definitely wouldn’t be below the elites in G1 races.
As expected, it was still hard to imagine.
If she were a bit taller and her legs a bit longer, she’d definitely run even more perfectly, right?
“Hey hey hey! Watch the road, watch the road!” Just as Okino was still staring at Little Kangbai-chan, Gold Ship suddenly started waving her arms in front of his vision to mess with his attention.
“Hey hey, I already told you I’m not that kind of person.” Okino looked at Gold Ship helplessly.
Did she think he was a lolicon hentai?
Who would make a move on Little Kangbai-chan?
Even if Little Kangbai-chan could be considered legal in certain ways, if he really met someone who had those kinds of thoughts about this kid, Gold Ship wouldn’t even need to shout—he’d be the first to call the police and get that guy arrested.
“I’m saying watch the road, watch the road!” Seeing it had no effect, Gold Ship directly grabbed Okino’s head with both hands and turned it straight forward.
—Right in front of the two of them was a completely unobstructed downhill slope, and at the bottom of that slope…
If Okino remembered correctly, it seemed to be a man-made river dug in recent years.
“Whoa whoa whoa!” Okino hit the brakes in time, and the bicycle wheels really did start slowing down.
If there was no more interference, they would probably successfully stop a little before the downhill.
But the accident still happened, as accidents do—although the bicycle Okino controlled barely stopped, Gold Ship couldn’t stop.
Rather, it seemed she’d been so focused on making Okino watch the road that she forgot to stop her own feet.
So, under Gold Ship’s momentum, one human and one horse screamed at the same time, then together, under Little Kangbai-chan’s gaze, rushed down, followed by a—
“Splash~”
“…Why do I feel like.” Little Kangbai-chan walked to the side of the slope, looked at the rippling river below, crossed her arms, and muttered in confusion: “This Ojisan always ends up jumping into the water?”
……………
“Cough cough…” Okino coughed twice, then smiled at the two Umamusume in the clubroom and summarized the final result: “Anyway, I’ve brought the new member back now.”
“…If I hadn’t watched TV today, I probably would’ve called the police for this kid.”
An Umamusume with red twin tails and a striking figure, like a gorgeous princess, looked helplessly at the trainer and Gold Ship, both still dripping wet, then glanced at Little Kangbai-chan beside them.
Her name was Daiwa Scarlet, one of the members of Spica.
Although her figure didn’t seem suited for running, her actual strength wasn’t weak at all.
She was especially good at front-runner running.
“Can this kid really come to Tracen? She really looks too small.”
Another Umamusume with short black hair, a hairstyle that seemed like it didn’t need one eye, and a few white strands at her forehead, looked at Little Kangbai-chan in confusion, then used her hand to roughly compare Little Kangbai-chan’s height.
Her name was Vodka.
She had a strong Russian vibe, and her appearance was a bit delinquent-like.
In short, she had a bit of a tomboy flavor, forming a sharp contrast with Daiwa Scarlet beside her.
The two were both friends and rivals, so they’d been dragged into this team together.
“Of course she can!” This time it was Little Kangbai-chan who answered.
She puffed out her completely flat chest, put her hands on her hips, and looked full of confidence.
“I’ve already participated in my debut race! I’m a proper Umamusume!”
“That’s so nice… I haven’t even had my debut race yet.” Hearing the other had already run her debut race, Daiwa Scarlet sighed.
“By the way, is the debut race hard?”
“Not at all, not at all! The debut race is super easy!” Little Kangbai-chan shook her head.
Even a trash card like her had almost made third place.
These long-legged Umamusume would definitely run even better.
Besides—you guys are very likely connected to the protagonist!
Have some confidence in yourselves!
“Mm, then I’m relieved!” Hearing Little Kangbai-chan say that, Daiwa Scarlet also showed a confident smile.
“Well, no matter what, welcome to Tracen Academy, and welcome to our Spica team~” Vodka walked up and extended her hand to Little Kangbai-chan.
But after thinking for a moment, Vodka bent down slightly.
“Alright, then to celebrate the new member joining, how about we all go eat together tonight?” Looking at the harmonious atmosphere, Gold Ship raised her hand and made the suggestion.
Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka simultaneously looked at Gold Ship, somewhat unable to believe Gold Ship would actually treat them: “Huh? Eat? Where?”
“Of course the cafeteria. Where else did you think?”
“…”
…………
At Sukegahara Academy, Feiyuan-sensei told Black Knight her idea: “So, our idea is to send you to Central tomorrow, to get your debut race ready in advance.”
“?” Black Knight didn’t understand—why?
Why weren’t they properly taking her to local races?
Why were they thinking about going to Central for a race right from the start?
“What about local races?” To maintain the dignity of the Black Knight template, she did everything possible to make sure she didn’t show extra expressions or words, using mystery to preserve her aura.
“…Miss Black Knight-san, after talking with the principal, I feel that local races cannot truly show your talent and ability.” Feiyuan-sensei shook her head and put her hand on Black Knight’s head.
“So, we’ve decided to set your debut race in Central. Only there can your talent and ability truly be displayed. Only there can you meet opponents truly worth facing.”
No no no, I don’t want to show my talent right now!
I just want to develop quietly and sneakily for a while!
Please don’t misunderstand, hey!
“Don’t worry. Whether it’s a local race or a Central debut race, it won’t be too hard! At least for now. You don’t need to worry about other trouble either. I’ll take you there.”
No, don’t!
I think that’s too much trouble for you.
I’d rather go participate in local races!
Please just let me go, okay?
Black Knight thought about how she should refuse the other party.
After thinking for a while, she summarized six points: “…”
—Damn it!
This template just isn’t suited for talking, dammit!
————Below is not main text————
Character Name: Screaming Shriek
Character Rarity: SR
Track Aptitude:
[Turf A, Dirt: A]
Distance Aptitude:
[Sprint A, Mile A, Medium C, Long D]
Running Style Aptitude:
[Front Runner B, Pace Chaser B, Late Surger A, End Closer A]
Stats:
[Speed A, Stamina A, Power B, Guts A, Wit B]
————Own Skills————
Innate: [Terrifying Roar] Chance to trigger when on a straightaway.
Lets out a loud roar, applying aura pressure to all Umamusume in a large area, causing them to Panic and lose speed.
During the roar, self ignores aura pressure from other Umamusume and gains 50% running speed for 7 seconds.
Innate: [Final Roar] On the final lap, continuously uses Terrifying Roar until the race ends.