6: Chapter 5: Private Racetrack?
X Private Vacation Spot?
Y 6: Chapter 5: Private Racetrack?
X Private Vacation Spot?
Y “How can this be?!” Keiko stared with wide eyes, completely in disbelief.
“In today’s society, how can there be such social injustice that an Umamusume can’t take the exam for Todai?
I’m going to do a sit-in protest in front of the government building right now!” “It’s not that Umamusume are banned from applying, but rather that none of them actually try.” Diamond quickly explained.
“For one thing, most Umamusume have academic abilities that are…
quite a bit different from normal humans.
For another, almost all of them go to Tracen Academy, whether it’s the regional or central branches.
Besides, Todai is incredibly hard to get into.
For a regular Umamusume, trying for Todai is much harder than just going to Tracen.” “Ah…
so it’s not a ban.
They just can’t pass the exam?” Keiko rubbed her chin, understanding the situation.
It was just like when she decided to apply for the art academy in her past life.
She had no idea art students were so hyper-competitive.
Before she graduated, a senior student she knew already had thousands of followers on Pixiv.
She was known as a jack-of-all-trades who was skilled in every art style.
She ranked first in sketching and mural art, but ended up traveling all the way to Tibet to make woodblock prints.
Word was that since she spent all day climbing up and down scaffolding, people thought she was a construction worker when she came back, and almost dragged her out for drinks.
Even worse, her daily pay for painting murals was less than half of a concrete layer’s wage.
Her dreams shattered, she now drew chibi characters for cute Chinese mobile games, constantly complaining on social media about how her talent was wasted.
But her beer-chugging style really did make her look like she belonged on a construction site—no one would believe she wasn’t a builder now.
In any case, she was never going to make the mistake of entering an art academy in this life.
She had thought she would become an artist, but in reality, art students had to grind endlessly.
And it wasn’t just competing against other humans—they had to compete with AI too.
It was a brutal path.
An average person had zero chance of surviving that battle.
As the saying goes, “The master opens the door, but the practice is up to the individual.” If art was already this competitive, sports students must be living in a hellish grind.
Keiko sensibly decided not to gamble on her running talent.
Tracen Academy?
No way!
Wouldn’t it be better to become an elite Todai graduate?
Unlike Diamond and Kita-chan, who were born rich, she was in debt.
Betting her future on her racing talent was a gamble she couldn’t afford to lose.
So, after weighing the pros and cons and thinking things through, she decided to aim for Todai—hoping to change her fate.
Even if she couldn’t make it to Todai, she could still try for Waseda.
In short, she would study hard and forget about racing.
Besides, the Umamusume racing industry was a place where you either became a superstar or remained completely forgotten.
On top of that, you risked career-ending injuries.
The risks were just too high.
“True, there’s no rule saying an Umamusume can’t apply to Todai.
But at the same time, there’s no record of any Umamusume actually passing the exam.
A few have chosen normal academic paths, but none have gone to Todai.
I really think you should think it over.” Diamond advised earnestly.
Even though they were both just middle schoolers, Diamond felt a sudden urge to protect this girl.
“There’s no rush.
Take your time.” “Dia-chan is right!
Since we are Umamusume, it feels like a waste not to try racing!” Kita-chan said seriously.
“Besides, I think you’d be an amazing racer, Keiko-chan!
You just haven’t realized it yet!” “Me?
A great racer?
Kita-chan, you’re way too naive.” Keiko shook her head rapidly.
“I don’t have what it takes.
I barely even practice running.
How could I possibly be strong?” “You won’t know until you try!” Kita-chan and Diamond exchanged glances.
They planned to wake this girl up from her unrealistic Todai dream.
“Why don’t we go to a track and test it out?” “Eh?
I just ate…” Keiko muttered.
“Running now will give me a stomachache.” “True…
How about we run together tomorrow then?” Kita-chan agreed it was too sudden and suggested.
“I’ll teach you all the basics of racing!
Up close and personal!” “…No, ‘up close and personal’ won’t be necessary.” Diamond immediately pulled back Kita-chan, who was trying to snuggle up to Keiko.
“You dummy, it’s bad enough that you’re always teasing Sweep-san, but now you’re going after my roommate too?!” “Dia-chan, you’re way too possessive!
I just want to get along with Keiko-chan!
I don’t have any hidden motives like you do!” Kita-chan argued back.
“Besides, haven’t you been keeping Keiko-chan to yourself all this time?!” “I wasn’t keeping her to myself…” Diamond sighed.
“Before today, Keiko-san wouldn’t say a single word to me.
I was starting to think I did something to upset her.” “Eh?
Really?
She seems quite friendly to me though.” Kita-chan couldn’t see any signs of social anxiety in Keiko at all.
“Maybe we just hit it off really well?!” “Not at all!” Diamond pulled Kita-chan close, locking her in an armbar to stop her from leaning on Keiko again.
Even though Kita-chan was just a middle schooler, her lack of personal boundaries often got her into weird social situations.
“Keiko-san, don’t let Kita-chan fool you!
She is a well-known flirt at school, a complete dummy who falls for everyone she meets!” Diamond quickly warned Keiko to keep her from becoming another victim.
“That’s not true!
You’re just biased, Dia-chan!
Everyone is just a friend!
And everyone is so strong and cute!
I just want to be friends with everyone!” Kita-chan explained seriously.
“Besides, they all make my heart flutter!
Of course I want to get close to them!” “That’s exactly what a flirt would say!” Diamond chopped Kita-chan on the head.
Keiko thought she heard a hollow *thump* sound, though she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination.
“That hurts, Dia-chan…” “Because you’re being ridiculous, Kita-chan!” Keiko watched them play-fight with a bit of envy.
It was obvious they were very close.
For various reasons, she had never had a friend like that growing up.
Having a childhood friend was something she had always wished for but never experienced.
“You two are really close…” Keiko said with envy, finally finishing her fried noodles.
“I’d love to be friends.
After all, you guys did treat me to such an expensive meal.” “…Eh?
Was it expensive?” “I thought this was a pretty cheap place…” “…I take that back.
We really do live in different worlds.” Keiko felt a sudden chest pain.
She had almost forgotten that these two girls were incredibly wealthy heiresses.
“Damn it, can’t we overcome class differences with pure sincerity?!” “Well, if you like it, I can treat you again next time.
How about we get Yakiniku next?” Diamond suggested with a smile.
Instantly, Keiko transformed from a class warrior into a loyal follower of the rich.
“Thank you so much, Diamond-san!” “So unfair…
Dia-chan, aren’t you just using money to buy her friendship?!
That’s so sneaky!” “Eh?
I think using money to buy friendship is a great deal.” Diamond showed her unique worldview once again.
“And for something like this, I can pay as many times as you want.
I have a black card, after all.” “Diamond-san, does your family need a freeloader?” Keiko fell silent for a long moment before saying half-seriously.
“I don’t want to work hard anymore.” “Dia-chan, your way is definitely the wrong path!” Kita-chan complained.
“You have no right to lecture me…” “You’re hired!” “Don’t actually hire her!” Of course, the freeloader comment was just a joke.
Diamond and Kita-chan were very down-to-earth young ladies and made excellent friends.
However, for Keiko, her main focus was still on preparing for the Todai exam.
She hadn’t taken Kita-chan training offer seriously either.
That is, until the next morning, when Diamond pulled her out of bed and tossed her straight into a sleek black luxury car.
“…Diamond-san, is this a kidnapping?” “No, it’s perfectly legal.” Diamond said with a smile.
“Besides, we’re just going to the Satono family’s private track.
Don’t worry so much.” “A private track…
Why does that sound so…” Keiko felt the heavy weight of class divide in those words.
“It sounds like the decadent scent of capitalism.” “Because Kita-chan was in a rush, I had her wait for us at the track.” Diamond smiled.
“Also, I wanted to see how strong you are, Keiko-san.” “Hmph, maybe I’m a genius.” Keiko didn’t mind giving it a try.
Since she was now an Umamusume, it felt wrong not to run at least once.
But she wasn’t planning to take it too seriously.
After all, she wanted to be rich, not a racer.
“But don’t get your hopes up too high.” “That’s the spirit!
I’m sure you’ll be amazing, Keiko-san.” Diamond clasped her hands together with a smile.
“You’re approved!” “You can’t just approve of everything…” She complained.
“By the way, is Kitasan-san actually really strong?” “Let’s put it this way: she is definitely at the top of the middle school division.
Though, she can’t beat Duramente-san.” “Oh…
I don’t know either of them.” Keiko hadn’t been very interested in racing before.
Although the diary mentioned she kept up with training, it didn’t go into details.
She had only heard the name Kitasan Black for the first time yesterday.
“Well, you’ll see when we get there.
And if you don’t mind, you’re welcome to use our private track anytime.” Diamond offered generously.
“It’s in the city center, so it’s very easy to get to.” “A racetrack in the city center…” Keiko went silent.
“Did I misunderstand something?
Is the Satono family some kind of mega-wealthy dynasty?” “Well, you can imagine whatever you like.” Diamond didn’t expand on the topic.
Soon, they arrived at the track.
It was a massive facility, showing the extreme wealth gap in this world.
An ordinary person would be lucky to build a house in this area, let alone a whole racetrack.
“If I really can’t make a living, you’d support me, right, Diamond-san?” “If it ever comes to that, I’ll definitely take good care of you.” The great thing about Diamond was her generosity, but the bad thing was that she had no concept of how rich she actually was.
Keiko got the feeling that Diamond would get tricked by some bad guy in the future.
But knowing her personality, instead of being tricked, it was more likely Diamond would simply kidnap someone and bring them home, completely ignoring the law.
Or so she hoped.
Besides, even if Diamond wanted to lock someone up, Kita-chan would probably be first in line anyway.
“Ah!
It’s Keiko-chan!
Over here!
Over here!” Kita-chan was already warming up on the track.
Seeing Keiko arrive, she waved her hands excitedly.
“I’ve been so excited, I couldn’t even sleep last night!” “So this is the girl you wanted to introduce to me?
I thought it was going to be someone impressive.” Next to Kita-chan stood a rather short Umamusume.
She was sizing up Keiko, judging her.
“Let me introduce you!
This is Sweep Tosho, she’s a good friend of mine!” Kita-chan introduced her warmly.
“She came along to watch today.” “Actually, this idiot Kitasan forgot we had plans to hang out today, so she just combined the two events.” Sweep Tosho immediately exposed Kita-chan.
“Not that I had high expectations anyway.” — “Sorry!
You know my brain can only think about one thing at a time.” Kita-chan single-track mind was nothing new.
Both Diamond and Sweep Tosho were completely used to it by now.
However, Diamond, who arrived at the track a bit later, had changed into a swimsuit.
Just like Sweep, neither of them looked like they were here to run.
“There is a pool on the other side that can be used for training.
Of course, Sweep-san and I aren’t here to train today, we’re just going to play in the water.
Once you guys are tired from running, you can rest right away.
The showers and everything are fully equipped.
There is even a sauna.” Diamond explained while waving Sweep over.
“Since this is the Satono family’s private track, the facilities are top-notch, so you have nothing to worry about.
Besides, the weather is great today.
The forecast says it will be sunny for the next few days.” “Is this a racetrack or a resort…” Keiko muttered in confusion.
But for a giant family like the Satonos, this was probably normal.
“Well, since I promised yesterday, I’ll give it my all this time.”