5: Chapter 4: I’m Going to Take the Exam for Todai!
5: Chapter 4: I’m Going to Take the Exam for Todai!
Kitasan Black, nicknamed Kita-chan, was Diamond’s best friend and her fiercest rival.
Her family background was a bit complicated, but as an Umamusume, she was outstanding and had a heart of gold.
Otherwise, Diamond would never have introduced her to a socially anxious person like Keiko.
Kita-chan had a magical ability to break the ice with anyone.
Diamond felt this was mostly because it was impossible to say no to her.
She possessed an overwhelming warmth that gave socially anxious people zero time to feel awkward.
Keiko stuffed food into her mouth while listening to Diamond introduce them.
When Diamond mentioned that Keiko was an orphan with no family, no home, and had to rely on student loans, Kita-chan’s tears literally sprayed out.
Honestly, it was Keiko’s first time seeing someone cry like a fountain in real life.
She wasn’t sure if Kita-chan just had overactive tear ducts, but even though Keiko herself didn’t feel anything, the sad story genuinely broke Kita-chan’s heart.
“I had no idea…
You must have had such a hard time, Tojo-san.” Kita-chan wiped her tears and showered Keiko with sympathy.
Unfortunately, the real Keiko couldn’t hear her.
*I’m just a transmigrator who took over this body,* she sighed internally.
The original Keiko was a girl who couldn’t even bring herself to call for help.
She couldn’t even express her affection for Diamond, who lived with her every day.
Her life was like a textbook tragedy.
Having taken over her body, the current Keiko had no idea how to deal with this sudden wave of sympathy.
“Kita-chan, don’t scare her.
She finally decided to open up, don’t make her run away again.” “B-But!” “No buts!” Seeing Kita-chan leaning in so close she was almost touching Keiko, Diamond’s internal alarms went off.
Keiko was extremely socially anxious.
Getting in her face like that would only trigger her flight response.
It was like grabbing a rabbit by the ears.
She worried that Keiko’s blank stare was just her freezing up in terror.
“I’m actually fine.” Keiko was just lost in thought, so she explained.
“But you don’t need to imagine my life as a complete tragedy, Kitasan-san.
If I were actually starving, Diamond-san would never have ignored me.
So really, I just have a slightly difficult background.” “Exactly, I’m her roommate!” Diamond chimed in.
“If Keiko-san were actually starving, there’s no way I’d just sit back and watch!” “Oh, that’s true!” Kita-chan clapped her hands, looking a bit silly.
Even though Keiko spent most of the time stuffing her face, Diamond and Kita-chan kept feeding her, and being starving, she ate everything they offered.
“Tojo-san!
Try this cake—” “Ahhh—” “Keiko-san, I have ice cream here too.” “Ahhh—” After feeding her a few times, Diamond and Kita-chan seemed to find a new hobby.
Keiko looked incredibly cute when being fed, making them want to keep doing it.
Watching her cheeks puff up like a hamster while she chewed was an absolute ten out of ten in cuteness.
“By the way, Dia-chan, why are you only introducing Tojo-san to me now?” Kita-chan asked.
“You’ve lived together for so long, but you’ve barely mentioned her before.” “Keiko-san rarely spoke to me in the past.” Diamond explained.
“Back then, she was like a stray kitten, terrified of anyone who came near.
If I tried to get close, she would run away.
It was like she had a defense mechanism from being hurt before, so she pushed everyone away.
I was afraid of making her uncomfortable, so I kept my distance.” “…I see.” Kita-chan stroked her chin.
“So Tojo-san was just really socially anxious!” “Kita-chan!” Diamond quickly cut her off.
Her friend was far too blunt sometimes, lacking any social filter.
While honesty was a good trait, it could sometimes be brutally hurtful.
*I haven’t eaten this much in ages.* Keiko didn’t care about their conversation.
For the first time, she felt complete satisfaction.
Compared to instant noodles and processed sausages, being able to eat a full meat feast was a blessing from heaven.
She had no idea when she would get to eat like this again.
Rubbing her slightly full belly, she had no intention of complaining about Kita-chan’s words.
“Actually, I can bring you here again next time.
I have a black card membership here anyway.” Diamond said softly.
“Besides, your grades are actually quite good, Keiko-san.
I’m sure you’ll easily get into Tracen Academy.” “Eh?
I don’t want to go to Tracen Academy.” Keiko scratched her head and said, puzzled.
“I want to go to a normal academic high school.” “…?” Hearing this, both Diamond and Kita-chan froze in shock.
“But if you don’t go to Tracen Academy, you won’t get top-tier training.
Although regular high schools have trainers too…” Kita-chan asked, confused.
“Wouldn’t it still be better to go to Tracen?” “Not really…
I just feel like, for an Umamusume of my level, trying to run isn’t as smart as trying to get into Todai.” Keiko shook her head.
“I’m not going to be a racing Umamusume!
I’m going to be a Todai Umamusume!” “…Todai?
You mean the University of Tokyo?” Diamond asked after a brief silence.
Keiko nodded.
In Japan, the only university that could truly elevate someone’s social class overnight was probably Todai.
Compared to the cutthroat competition of Tracen Academy, she felt she had a better shot at grinding her way into Todai, relying on the test-taking skills she got from the brutal Chinese cram school system.
That was Todai, after all.
Once you graduated from there, employers would fight over you.
After that, she could easily secure a comfy job and live as a happy slacker.
She wouldn’t have to worry about her future at all.
That sounded way better than gambling everything on racing, didn’t it?
“Keiko-san…” Diamond was silent for a moment before stating a cold hard fact.
“The University of Tokyo has never accepted an Umamusume.”