(TL: I tentatively translated the MC’s name from Sun Yang to Aoyagi Kenji for my own readability)
[Congratulations on becoming a Special-Appointed Trainer at Central Tracen Academy!]
Chairwoman of Central Tracen Academy
,Akikawa Yayoi
“About time…”
Aoyagi Kenji stared at the gold-stamped appointment letter and the gleaming Trainer badge in his hands, thinking that this day had finally arrived.
It had been twenty-two years since he transmigrated to this world.
Hard work pays off, Aoyagi Kenji had finally earned his Trainer Qualification License.
This world didn’t have horses as animals.
Instead, they had something called “Uma Musume.” According to legend, these special beings were born under the blessing of the Three Goddesses, existed only among females, possessed physiques far surpassing humans, and featured animal ears.
Naturally, this gave rise to the most explosive sport on Earth: horse racing (or rather, just running).
And Trainers were the professionals who assisted them in training and securing victories.
Kenji had a rough idea of these settings from a mobile game called Uma Musume Pretty Derby in his previous life.
He hadn’t played it himself back then, but one of his roommates was obsessed, a hardcore horse racing culture enthusiast who’d ramble on endlessly about it.
Thanks to osmosis, Kenji had picked up quite a bit about the lore anyway.
Just as he was starting to get interested and considering jumping into the game, an accident completely changed his life.
He and his Uma Musume-obsessed roommate went traveling in a vast grassland to experience horseback riding.
The horse beneath him bolted too fast, Kenji lost his grip on the reins, got thrown off, and then, crunch, the chasing horse’s hoof stomped right over his chest.
And then… he flatlined.
Probably even Heaven thought that way of dying was too absurd for modern times, so it mercifully sent him to a world where “horses” didn’t exist anymore.
At first, Kenji had zero desire to interact with the very thing that killed him, the Uma Musume, but fate (and a certain “System”) plus a childhood incident forced him to reconsider and make use of his transmigration perks.
Speaking of that childhood incident: when he was still in elementary school, on his way home from school with his childhood friend, he suddenly got kidnapped.
The culprit?
An Uma Musume.
She scooped him up and ran off at full speed, nobody could catch her… even though she wasn’t even a proper racer.
Barely above bottom-tier trash tier.
Plus, Uma Musume physiques completely dwarfed normal humans.
If an ordinary person got attacked by one, resistance was impossible.
Let alone elementary-school Kenji.
Dragged into some dark room and finally coming to his senses, what did he see?
A horse?!
But this world supposedly didn’t have horses!
Oh wait… it wasn’t a horse.
Just an Uma Musume with a “horse face”…
Damn it!
Are you kidding me?!
That’s even scarier!
Don’t come closer whinnying like that!
And don’t lick my face, GAAAAH!!!
Aren’t Uma Musume supposed to be beautiful girls?!
Why does such a grotesque, zero-moe existence exist?!
Shouldn’t this one be called an “Uma Auntie” instead?!
Come to think of it, the game obviously only showed beauties.
But in reality, with thousands upon thousands of Uma Musume out there, there had to be some freaks floating around.
This horse-faced auntie’s motive for kidnapping him seemed to be dragging him back home as a sex slave.
Though he was rescued just before he almost got “ridden like a horse,” the trauma left an indelible mark on his psyche, and taught him one crucial lesson:
Uma Musume are terrifying.
And… if you don’t want to end up ridden by a horse, you must become someone capable of riding them yourself!
That meant becoming a Trainer!
Because Uma Musume deeply respected Trainers and wouldn’t dare… well, “invade” them.
Plus, Trainers were highly esteemed in society, true elite status.
Some Master Trainers were even more famous than the racers themselves.
If he became one, surely no horse-faced auntie would kidnap him and lock him in a dark room again, right?
So Kenji buried himself in books, endured ten years of grinding, passed with flying colors, graduated from Trainer School, and earned his license.
However, what he got was only an entry-level Trainer Qualification.
By all rules, this meant he could only work at regional academies, not Central Tracen Academy.
The Central Tracen Trainer exam was brutally hard.
Pass rates were abysmal, only twenty people had passed in the last decade, and just two of them were foreigners.
Aoyagi Kenji had submitted a blank, utterly worthless resume to Central Tracen on a whim… and somehow actually got hired.
At that moment, a beautiful woman with sleepy eyes and voluminous wavy hair approached him, resting her chin on her palm as she smiled.
“Oh my~ Little Kenji, is this an appointment letter from Tracen?”
“Yes, Mother.
I’m reporting for duty tomorrow.”
This was his mother in this world, an Uma Musume herself.
Rumor had it she’d been a legendary racer in her youth, but Kenji wasn’t sure how impressive that really was; she always laughed it off as ancient history not worth bringing up.
She had carried him for ten months and gave birth to him… but he had no father.
Not because of widowhood or anything like that, there simply never was one.
Like a certain savior nailed to a cross, Kenji was the product of a “virgin birth.”
Strangely enough, this wasn’t too uncommon in this world.
Many Uma Musume families were single-mother households with no fathers around.
Guess that’s what you get from the “Blessing of the Three Goddesses”… goddesses who casually knock up horse girls without a second thought.
Since transmigration had already happened and goddesses clearly existed, overanalyzing reproductive biology in this fantasy setting was pointless anyway.
Moreover, his mother knew he was an otherworlder, apparently told by the Three Goddesses themselves, which is why he’d kept his original name.
Aoyagi Kenji was deeply grateful to her.
Even knowing what he was, she raised him with meticulous care until adulthood.
“But I’m surprised you got a Central Tracen appointment letter right off the bat… Could it be that Mother pulled strings behind the scenes?”
“Hehehe Although I am a veteran, I’ve been retired for years and have no authority to interfere with Central Tracen’s hiring.
This qualification is entirely your own doing, Little Kenji”
“I hope so…”
Staring at the letter in his hands, Kenji felt like there was something fishy about it.
The word “Special-Appointed” stood out, this wasn’t a normal recruitment channel.
“Have you packed everything?
I’ll have Aunt Lan drive you to Tracen.”
“Yeah, all set.
As for Aunt Lan… I’m just an unknown rookie Trainer right now.
No need for such a grand send-off.
I’ll take the bus.”
Aunt Lan was his mother’s best friend and personal driver.
Rumor had it she’d also been a top-tier Uma Musume back in her day.
The two had grown up together as childhood friends, raced on the same team, and that bond continued to this day.
“Is that so?
Then give my regards to Little Yayoi and Tazu-chan for me.
Who knows, maybe I’ll visit Tracen occasionally to check on our little Kenji Hehehe”
“Understood… Wait, ‘Little Yayoi’?”
She meant Akikawa Yayoi, the current Chairwoman who signed the appointment letter.
Aoyagi Kenji had seen her on TV: a loli-looking old hag… er, Chairwoman.
Rumor said she’d held the position for years.
His mother referred to the Chairwoman with an affectionate junior-style nickname like “Little Yayoi,” which meant his mother was older than her.
Just how old was his mother?!
As if reading his thoughts, his mother’s smile remained unchanged as she leaned in with terrifying pressure.
“Hehehe~ Little Kenji, asking a lady about her age is very rude, you know?
Remember: in the world of Uma Musume, age and weight are absolutely forbidden topics?”
H-Holy… pressure.
“…Understood.
I’ll remember.”
Back on Earth, women’s age and weight were landmines too.
Among Uma Musume it was even more sensitive, so best not to poke the bear.
Aoyagi Kenji didn’t want a repeat of that horse-faced auntie kidnapping trauma anytime soon.
Until he had enough power to protect himself, better keep his head down around Uma Musume.
Anyway… since he’d successfully become a Tracen Trainer, surely the System he’d been waiting for would finally unlock now?
Hopefully it was one that boosted his physique… He absolutely could not afford to get ridden by an Uma Musume again!
…
Dressed in a formal suit and dragging his luggage off the bus, Aoyagi Kenji stood before the gates of Central Tracen Academy.
Not bad, living up to its reputation as Japan’s premier Uma Musume academy… Just the entrance looked like some aristocratic institution.
This was clearly every Uma Musume’s dream destination.
It was already July during summer break.
Since debut races for new racers usually took place in the fourth week of June, most newly enrolled Uma Musume had already completed theirs.
Kenji had technically missed the prime recruitment window.
Normally, if he’d gone through official channels, a rookie like him would’ve entered Tracen alongside the new racers back in March.
The fact that it dragged until July proved the higher-ups had been seriously debating whether to hire him or not.
On top of that, no regional academies had reached out during this period, which was weird.
He’d passed the official exam; there should’ve been plenty of places vying for him.
So for nearly five months, Aoyagi Kenji stayed cooped up at home, anxious and on edge, waiting for disaster… until he finally received Central Tracen’s appointment letter.
The moment he stepped off the bus, his eyes met a stunning woman dressed entirely in emerald green.
She smiled warmly as she approached him.
“Hello there, new Trainer-san.
I’m Tazuna Hayakawa, Chairwoman Akikawa’s secretary.”
“Ah… hello.
I’m Aoyagi Kenji, rookie Trainer.”
“I’ve heard about you.
Chairwoman Akikawa already mentioned this ‘special Trainer’ of yours.”
So this was the “Tazu-chan” his mother had talked about, apparently also a junior relative/acquaintance.
She was gorgeous: twin low ponytails swaying gently behind her, radiating calm maturity and competence.
Finally, an Uma Musume face that looked normal!
Please don’t let any horse-faced aunties show up again…!
Speaking of which, when he watched his roommate play the game back on Earth, Kenji had seen this “Green Demon” secretary multiple times too.
Rumor said she was also a legendary Uma Musume, but those hidden details were never explained in-game or by his roommate.
Still, Miss Hayakawa seemed to be hiding her Uma Musume identity.
She always wore a hat covering her ears… but where was her tail?
Did they actually cut it off?!
Noticing Aoyagi Kenji’s glance toward her hips, Tazuna raised an index finger to her lips and smiled.
“It seems your mother mentioned me… But please keep this confidential.
Within Tracen Academy, I’m simply a secretary who wants to ensure students enjoy a comfortable campus life.”
“Understood…”
She was smiling, but the pressure… was identical to his angry mother’s!
No wonder, same school of thought as her mother.
“Anyway, welcome to Tracen Academy, Aoyagi Kenji-san.
To help you adjust quickly, I’ll be providing guidance and assistance.”
“Thank you very much, Miss Hayakawa.”
“No need for formalities Just call me Tazuna.
The students affectionately call me ‘Tazuna-chan'”
“Alright… Tazuna-san.
You mentioned earlier that I’m a ‘special Trainer.’ Could you clarify?
Is it related to my special appointment?”
Miss Hayakawa’s eyes narrowed slightly, a bitter smile flickering across her face before she quickly composed herself.
“Yes.
As a Trainer, you’re normally expected to recruit your own dedicated Uma Musume partner… Unfortunately, given how uniquely special you are as a Trainer, the Academy will instead assign an Uma Musume specifically for you to train and develop.”
“I see.
So I can’t choose my racer myself, that’s the condition of this special appointment.”
Kenji still didn’t understand why he alone was singled out like this.
Was it really because of his mother?
With her legendary status, he technically came from a prestigious lineage…
“Correct.
However, please don’t worry.
The Uma Musume assigned to you will already have completed their debut races, so there won’t be any accountability issues if your racer fails to debut.”
“Wait, there are racers who can’t even finish their debut race?”
Kenji had assumed all Central Tracen students were destined for greatness.
At minimum, they’d compete on top-tier stages… He never imagined some couldn’t even clear the debut hurdle.
“Yes.
Central Tracen Academy enrolls around two thousand students annually…”
“Two thousand?!
That’s insane!”
Central Tracen was the pinnacle of horse racing education.
Those who got in were either from elite families, possessed monstrous talent, or had proven themselves at regional circuits before transferring up.
Legendary racers like Oguri Cap only transferred to Central after dominating Kasamatsu… Wait, did Oguri enroll here yet?
Judging by the timeline, she’d probably already retired…
But this game’s timeline was a mess anyway, racers from different eras coexisted.
Maybe Oguri hadn’t enrolled yet.
Still, Aoyagi Kenji had assumed Tracen’s annual intake maxed out around two hundred.
Two thousand?!
That was way too many!
Then again, with two thousand new racers per year and only about two rookie Trainers graduating from Central annually… it looked like becoming a Trainer was actually harder.
Probably because being an Uma Musume itself meant you were “chosen,” while anyone could become a Trainer, the barrier to entry was different.
Roughly speaking, one Trainer had to manage ten racers… and that’s just new students, not counting veterans.
Rumor had it there used to be around seven hundred active Trainers thirty years ago, but with retirements of famous names and Central’s exams getting brutally harder, the current number had dropped to about two hundred.
The hardest part was passing Central’s direct-entry exam.
If you already had experience as a regional Trainer and wanted to transfer up, it wasn’t impossible, though you’d need top-tier results there first.
So racers and Trainers were in a severe supply-and-demand imbalance.
No wonder most Uma Musume revered their Trainers so much.
Many racers probably graduated without ever catching a certain Trainer’s eye…
Hell, some might not even graduate at all, since failing to debut repeatedly meant expulsion.
Either return to regional circuits or… retire on the spot and go back to being normal people.
“Yes.
The vast majority of students arrive here as elites among elites, having overcome countless obstacles with dreams of reaching the summit…”
Tazuna sighed softly.
“But reality often defies expectations… Whether due to fierce competition, injuries, or sheer bad luck… For various reasons, fewer than ten percent manage to successfully compete in Open races.”
“So only about two hundred survive in the end…”
That matched Kenji’s expectations, and aligned with Trainer numbers.
Still, thinking about it was brutal.
It was like finally grinding through hell-mode college entrance exams to get into a top University… only to realize another hell-exam is immediately ahead, and failing means expulsion.
Details the game never told you.
Kenji once again clearly realized: this wasn’t a dreamy fairy tale celebrating victory, effort, and friendship.
This was ruthless “sports competition.”
Tazuna turned back toward him, her expression turning serious as she warned him.
“As Trainers, you cannot compete on the track in place of your racers.
Outside the arena, you must fully support them.”
“Whether it’s physical conditioning or mental training… As they chase their dreams, they need adults called ‘Trainers’ to guide and assist them.”
“So please understand clearly the responsibility you are about to bear.”
Kenji felt that weight settle into his chest.
He nodded firmly.
“Understood.
I’m ready for it.”
“Very good.
Then allow me to give you a tour of the campus facilities first.”
However, the moment Kenji followed Tazuna through Tracen’s gates with solemn determination… he immediately broke character.
Because the instant he stepped inside Central Tracen Academy, his System pinged.
[Congratulations on successfully joining Tracen Academy!]
[“Uma Coins” feature unlocked!]
[Please work hard alongside your assigned Uma Musume to win races and earn more Uma Coins!]
Uma Coins?!