T/N Guys am gonna pub 15 chap for bonus 🙂 why???
welp cause i just almost get Isekai by some dude so am being grateful to god and release bonus chap ps sry for my bad english and thank you for all of your support and your time for reading this note, once again thanks ————————————————————————————————————– Although she was furious about being set up, Keiko had successfully secured admission to the University of Tokyo through Rudolf’s connections.
However, even if she got into Todai, she still had to race.
After all, she had personally agreed during the interview to participate in the school’s promotional work— “…Why didn’t I question what ‘promotional work’ actually meant back then…” Keiko buried her face in her blanket.
Going from sadness to joy and then to resentment, she had experienced a full cycle of emotions in a single day.
Her visible depression left Diamond, who had planned to help her celebrate, somewhat at a loss.
“But still, you got into Todai, Keiko-chan—this is a historic first!
It’s an incredible achievement.
You should be a little happier.” Diamond comforted her.
But Keiko couldn’t bring herself to feel happy.
“It’s not that I hate running.
I just don’t think my talent is anything special compared to Kita-chan or you, Dia-chan.
Even if I go out there, I don’t have the mental strength for it.
I feel like I’m just meant to be one of those background Umamusume.
And they say it’s for promoting the university…
but what kind of ranking do I need to achieve for it to count as promotion?!” Her insecurity was deeply ingrained.
Both the original Keiko and the transmigrated corporate slave were, in a sense, losers in life.
They naturally lacked confidence in areas they weren’t good at—if she hadn’t been a top student in her past life, she wouldn’t even have dreamed of applying to Todai.
“So, Keiko-chan, you don’t actually hate running, and you aren’t really mad about being set up—you’re just worried about letting everyone down?” Diamond finally realized.
Hearing those words, Keiko didn’t seem angry about the trick itself; rather, she was terrified of disappointing people.
“Well…
if President Rudolf hadn’t introduced me to her connections, I wouldn’t even have been able to take the early admissions exam.
I would have had to gamble my luck on the general exams.” Keiko muttered.
“Though it would have been much better if she hadn’t tricked me…” ‘Anyway, I’m going to the University of Tokyo to study.
President Rudolf from Tracen Academy won’t be able to control me there.
Thinking of it that way, it’s not too bad’ Keiko thought.
“That’s true.
Although you complain a lot, Keiko-chan, you only ever blame yourself.
I really like that about you—you never shift the blame to others.” Diamond said with a smile.
“And I’ll always be there to help you.
Besides, you’re still a long way from the racetrack anyway.” “…Eh?” “Eh?” Keiko blinked.
“What do you mean by ‘a long way’?” “We can’t possibly let you go onto the racetrack before you’ve even matured…” Diamond realized Keiko had almost zero common knowledge about the Umamusume world.
“The absolute prerequisite for participating in the Twinkle Series is completing your maturation.
Otherwise, you can only run in amateur races.” “Is that how it works?!” Keiko was stunned.
“I thought I had to start running right away?!” “Yes…
Keiko-chan, are you sure your common knowledge is okay?” Diamond sighed.
“Well, I’m really worried about your future.” “Setting aside her common knowledge, Keiko-chan is officially accepted by Todai now, right?” Kita-chan asked.
“But I recall Todai doesn’t have a training facility for Umamusume.
How is she going to represent Todai in races?” “…Eh…” Keiko hadn’t thought about that.
“Are they going to build a training facility just for me?” Although it sounded a bit wild, given the financial power of the University of Tokyo, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
“No matter how rich they are, that’s far too expensive…” Diamond shook her head.
“While Todai definitely has the money, they don’t have enough land in the city center.
An Umamusume training facility isn’t something you can just set up in a tiny space.” “…I can’t even imagine spending more than a thousand yen…
Don’t ask me…” Keiko shut herself off again.
Although she had just received three times her normal wage from Ten Point, she was extremely frugal.
Let alone buying delicious food, she fully intended to keep that money as an emergency fund in case she ever had to run away.
“Well…
Todai won’t treat you badly anyway.
In fact, since you’ll be the only Umamusume at the University of Tokyo, they’ll probably treat you like a treasure, right?” “Until they realize I’m a complete piece of trash…” “Keiko-chan still shows that gloomy side of hers sometimes…” Diamond patted the droopy Keiko.
She was so pretty, but with that depressed expression, she looked like a moldy white radish.
There was nothing cute about her right now.
“Keiko-chan’s talent is clearly amazing…
but that random slowdown is just too weird.” Kita-chan, who had run against her, felt it the most.
Keiko’s posture and speed at the start were top-tier, but her cornering was awful.
Then, once she was caught up to, she seemed to panic and slowed down drastically…
That definitely wasn’t normal.
The final spurt she unleashed later proved she hadn’t run out of gas, so why the big slowdown?
“I can’t figure it out.
How about we run again next time to check?” “Kita-chan, haven’t you noticed she has gone back into defense mode?” In front of Diamond, Keiko had crawled completely under the blanket, leaving only her rear and her white tail exposed, refusing to listen to anything.
Once this defense mode appeared, Diamond knew it was a rejection.
‘Beep beep beep beep—’ At that moment, the phone in Keiko’s back pocket began to vibrate with a weird ringtone, scaring her into poking her head out of the blanket.
After fumbling around her pockets, she found it in her back pocket.
She flipped it open.
She didn’t have this number saved—in fact, her contact list only had Diamond, Kita-chan, and Ten Point.
“…Hello?” She carefully put the receiver to her ear.
“Who is this, please?” “Is this Tojo Keiko-san?” An elderly voice came through the receiver.
It sounded familiar.
Keiko thought for a moment and realized it was the professor who had interviewed her.
She quickly replied.
“Yes!
Um…
I’ve already received the acceptance letter.” Keiko assumed he was calling to check if she got the letter.
“Ah, I had Rudolf-san deliver it to you.
She said she wanted to see your reaction, so please forgive her little prank.
She really does think highly of you.” The President of the University of Tokyo said with a smile on the other end of the line.
“Since the founding of the University of Tokyo, we have never had an Umamusume enroll.
Part of it is the academic pressure, and part of it is because Tracen Academy absorbs almost every aspiring Umamusume.
Therefore, we take your application very seriously.
I hope you can understand.” “I understand…
So, is there a reason you called?” Keiko asked tentatively.
“Haha, of course it’s about the subsequent arrangements.” The President of the University of Tokyo laughed.
“At the University of Tokyo, we don’t have training facilities prepared for Umamusume, which makes it hard to meet your needs, Tojo-san.
So while you are indeed a student of the University of Tokyo, I’ve entrusted your training outside of academic classes to Rudolf-san.
She has agreed to let you use Tracen Academy’s dorms and training grounds—just think of yourself as an exchange student who can return anytime.” “…What do you mean?” “While we will keep a single dorm room and all student rights for you at the University of Tokyo, and you can come back at any time, you will also be a member of Tracen Academy.
I’ve already sent someone to tailor your school uniform.
Rest assured, you will always be a student of the University of Tokyo, and we will arrange everything for you.” To Keiko’s ears, his kind voice suddenly sounded incredibly harsh.
“…I-I am also a student of Tracen Academy at the same time?” Keiko’s face was so pale she looked ready to faint.
She thought she had just escaped Rudolf’s grasp, but her own school was throwing her straight back into the tiger’s den?!
“Um…
is there any room for compromise?” “Well, the discussions are already finished.
If you have any demands regarding your treatment, I can consider them.
But the decision for you to be an exchange student is set in stone.” He spoke with a smile.
It felt like a heavy blow to Keiko’s head, and she could already picture Rudolf’s creepy grin.
“Besides, having the rights of both a Tracen Academy student and a Todai student isn’t a bad thing, right?
And we will make special adjustments for your situation, such as online classes.” The President had actually thought of everything, even considering her future dorm and study plans, and had generously waived her tuition fees.
These conditions were highly enticing, demonstrating the sheer wealth and high regard of the University of Tokyo.
In theory, this was an incredibly generous package.
But, now, Keiko had developed a deep psychological trauma regarding Rudolf.
Although she had experience living in society, this was her first time being set up so thoroughly.
Naturally, she was terrified.
She had planned to keep her distance from Rudolf, only to be delivered right to her doorstep.
What kind of mess was this!
It was over…
Being targeted by a student council president like that…
how was she going to survive her future days?
Keiko silently lowered her old flip phone and let out an unprecedented wail of despair.
“You set me up!
Symboli Rudolf!!!” — “Achoo!” Far away in Tracen Academy, Rudolf rubbed her nose as she flipped through Keiko’s exchange student files.
For some reason, she felt like sneezing today.
Was it hay fever?
But it wasn’t the season for that.
In any case, with this matter resolved, she was in a great mood.
Keiko had exceeded her expectations.
If the girl’s grades hadn’t been up to par, the Todai President wouldn’t have let her enroll no matter how easygoing he was.
This meant Keiko was not only academically outstanding, but also possessed incredible running talent.
It would be such a pity to let a talented kid like this slip away.
Besides, the University of Tokyo wanted more Umamusume to apply to their school, while Tracen Academy wanted to encourage retired runners to pursue higher education.
So, the two institutions immediately hit it off.
Using Keiko as a test subject, they wanted to see if an Umamusume could succeed both on the track and in academics.
For Rudolf, simply getting a talented kid onto the racetrack was more than enough to capture her interest.
She didn’t care whether they came from Central Tracen or not; otherwise, she wouldn’t be on such good terms with Oguri Cap.
What she valued was raw talent, not superficial glory.
She believed Keiko would bring her new surprises.
After all, any Umamusume with the willpower to study for just two weeks and reach Todai’s passing mark was bound to be formidable.
She couldn’t believe an Umamusume with that kind of grit could be weak.
It was a win-win experiment for both schools, and Keiko fit the bill perfectly.
With both the Todai President and Rudolf giving their approval, the remaining paperwork was just a formality.
Once Keiko graduated, Rudolf planned to bring her straight to Tracen Academy to let her experience the intense competitive atmosphere.
She knew that when a talented Umamusume saw stronger rivals, a natural urge to compete would awaken.
Keiko would be no exception—this was an instinct shared by all talented Umamusume.
Once she felt the atmosphere at Tracen, her passion for running would surely be ignited.
She would be the ultimate cat among the pigeons at Tracen.
If the students of Central Tracen couldn’t even beat an “amateur Umamusume” from Todai, their pride would take a massive hit.
With this in mind, the investment in Keiko was a guaranteed profit.
It was an absolute win.
However, Maruzensky had gotten to know Keiko a little after their heart-to-heart talk.
She figured Keiko wouldn’t be happy about this at all.
In fact, she was probably crying right now.
‘…Well, I’ll send her something nice later.’ Maruzensky watched Rudolf’s smug expression with a smile.
She clasped her hands in sympathy for Keiko, looking as solemn as if she were praying.
“Sorry about that—Tojo Keiko.” —