[Host, aren’t you supposed to be running?]
“Run what?
Don’t I need to eat at noon?” Nakajima Shin held his tray.
Hearing the system’s awkward chuckle, he asked the cafeteria auntie to load up on meat.
True to form, her hand didn’t shake like she had Parkinson’s.
She scooped out a massive ladle of meat and dumped it right over his rice.
Shin grinned, genuinely impressed by Tracen’s free buffet.
If this were his old school, would the cafeteria auntie ever be this generous with the meat?
Not to mention, they definitely wouldn’t offer a free buffet.
Once his tray was piled high and he’d grabbed two glasses of milk, Shin looked for a seat while speaking to his mind.
“By the way, System-kun, you actually don’t know what a jockey is?
Were you made by the Three Goddesses?”
[I don’t know who made me either.
I just woke up with orders to find a suitable host, so I picked you.] the system replied.
Shin nodded silently.
He figured it was probably a system created by the Three Goddesses.
Otherwise, what kind of system wouldn’t know what jockeys and horses were?
In this world, since Umamusume existed, jobs that originally required horses or donkeys, like logistics and delivery back in ancient times, were all handled by them.
Way more convenient than riding actual animals.
Naturally, riding gear like reins, whips, and stirrups wouldn’t exist here.
Which meant no jockeys either, let alone actual horses.
…So, System-kun probably isn’t one of those cheap web novel platform systems, right?
With those trashy systems, he really couldn’t say whether they’d know or not.
Lost in thought, Shin’s eyes landed on Tokai Teio eating quietly with her friends.
There was an empty seat next to her, and not far away, Oguri Cap was eating alone.
His eyes lit up.
Teio, who had been chatting casually with her friends, caught Shin’s gaze.
A smile broke across her face.
She quickly swallowed her food, waved her hand, and called out, “Trainer, come sit here!”
Before Shin could react, Teio’s friends gasped.
“Teio, you have a trainer?!”
“Yep, signed yesterday.” Teio nodded with a smile, completely brushing off the fact that Rudolf had only approved the contract that morning.
“But your legs…” her friends worried.
Hearing that, Teio’s smile faded slightly.
She replied evenly, “It’s fine.
I’ll take good care of my legs and win victories for my Trainer.”
While they talked, hearing his trainee’s call, Shin walked over with his tray.
He rubbed her head, and under her expectant gaze, he naturally took a seat beside her…
at Oguri Cap’s table.
Oguri Cap, who had just downed a mountain of food in one bite, was rubbing her full belly and reaching for another plate.
Seeing a familiar-yet-strange face sit across from her, she tilted her head, thought for a second, then remembered the news articles.
She smiled and said,
“You’re the trainer who took over training Urara, right?”
Shin nodded and smiled.
“I’m Nakajima Shin.
Sorry for sitting down without asking, but I actually have a favor…”
Bang!
Teio slammed her tray onto the table, drawing their attention before gracefully sitting down.
She looked up and smiled.
“What are you two talking about?
Can I listen in?”
Oguri Cap shrugged and nodded.
Shin, though surprised she’d suddenly joined them, didn’t object.
After saying “Sure,” he let the interruption pass and continued to Oguri Cap.
“I have a favor to ask.
Would you be willing to run a mock race with me this afternoon?”
“With Urara?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t mind, as long as Trainer Roppei agrees.”
“That’s great.
I’ll talk to him.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a ding-dong echoed in his mind, and a holographic screen flashed before his eyes.
[Quest Triggered: Mock Race!]
[Description: A rookie trainer’s first day, and he hasn’t even met his trainee yet.
Instead, he immediately arranges a race against a seasoned powerhouse.
Is he trying to crush his trainee’s confidence?
Overconfident in her abilities?
Or does he have some other agenda?]
[Reward: Win, and you’ll get an Oguri Cap support card.
Lose, and you’ll get an Urara support card.]
Shin’s eyes widened in surprise.
He hadn’t expected a quest to trigger so quickly, and getting a support card regardless of the outcome was a nice bonus.
Was this a beginner’s bonus?
Either way, since he’d already planned to use this mock race to lay the groundwork for winning the Arima Kinen in three months, snagging an extra support card on top of that definitely put him in a good mood.
But watching this, Teio felt a sour taste in her mouth.
Her tail swayed restlessly.
Just agreeing to a mock race?
Is it really worth being this happy?
His smile wasn’t this bright when he successfully invited me to be his trainee yesterday.
This morning, when arguing with Rudolf, he brought up Oguri Cap first, and only mentioned me later.
I just called you over to sit with me, and you immediately sat across from Oguri Cap.
Are you really not an Oguri Cap fan?
Are you just using Urara as an excuse to watch her run?
Teio had a hundred thoughts swirling in her head, but not a single word escaped her lips.
She didn’t want to ruin their dynamic.
After all, she was just an Umamusume who couldn’t win races.
Wasn’t it normal for her trainer to focus more on a powerhouse?
Her horse ears drooped listlessly as she ate in silence.
Right then, two glass cups filled with milk were placed in front of her.
Teio looked up and saw her trainer had given them to her.
“Try to drink more milk from now on.
Get your calcium in so you don’t break your bones again,” Shin advised carefully.
Even though he now had a support card that could heal Teio’s fractures, he’d studied the details on the way over.
So-called “healing” just meant the system would download acupuncture knowledge into his head, and he’d have to perform it himself.
He didn’t understand how acupuncture could even fix broken bones, but did he really need to question how the system worked?
The real issue was that healing wasn’t instantaneous.
Teio would still have to endure the pain of the fractures.
Given that, preventing fractures in the first place was the only sensible approach.
He couldn’t just ignore her injuries because he had a healing cheat.
Looking at the two cups of milk, warmth spread through Teio’s chest.
Her earlier complaints about Shin vanished completely.
“Got it, Trainer~”
She smiled, eyes crinkling happily, and slowly sipped her milk.
Her tail swayed gently behind her.
Finally, Shin could pick up his chopsticks and eat.