Tracen Academy is a school where countless elite horse girls gather.
Because of this, the hidden hierarchy here is actually quite obvious.
After all, everyone knows this is the ultimate academy for Uma Musume.
But in the world of Uma Musume, everything is measured by results.
Before you debut, a lot of people will look down on you.
Those who shine with brilliance from the very beginning are naturally fearless, but what about the ordinary ones?
There are only so many G1 races a year, so how many can actually stand on the winning stage?
There are thousands of horse girls in this school alone, let alone the rest of the world.
From local races to regular matches, all the way up to the major stakes (G3, G2, G1)—how many of them truly get to stand in the center?
Some girls debuted just because they were cute, but the vast majority ended up fading silently into the massive crowd.
They might be rising stars carrying the hopes of their hometowns, but at Tracen, they are just ordinary background characters.
This harsh contrast and anxiety can crush even an adult’s spirit, let alone these sensitive young girls.
Because there is a very real, objective gap in talent, this lingering disappointment creates the perfect opportunity for Akira to step in.
Who could get closer to the true nature of these girls than a bottom tier horse girl and a school janitor studying to be a trainer?
Take the girl sitting in front of him, for example.
“Look, look!
These are my big sister’s favorite snacks—super fancy dried fruits!
They’re really expensive!
I snuck them out, so let’s eat them together!”
“Your sister isn’t gonna come looking for you and beat me up, right?”
“Hehe, no, it’s fine.
I don’t mind getting beaten up.
It’s just fun hanging out with Kato-ojisan.”
She accepted that possibility way too easily…
Watching the chestnut haired horse girl happily sit next to him, carefully holding the candied fruit like a treasure and squinting her eyes in excitement, Akira couldn’t help but remember the day they first met.
_________
It hadn’t been a pleasant day.
The sky was gloomy, packed with lead gray clouds, and the thick smell of damp dirt filled the air.
A heavy downpour was clearly about to hit.
While patrolling the campus to make sure everything was secure, Akira found a trembling little “chestnut dumpling” hiding in the corner of a small grove.
Like a terrified little animal, she was shrinking back under a tree, poking the muddy ground with a stick while wearing a miserable expression.
Wasn’t this the perfect time to strike up a conversation?
So, looking at the crouching horse girl, Akira spoke up.
“What’s this?
Hey, over there.
Are you being left out by the others?
Why are you hiding in a place like this?”
“Ah!
Yes, yes, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!
I’ll leave right now—”
“If you run away, I might get hurt.
You don’t want to be suspected of assaulting someone, do you, young lady?”
“Uwaaah!!
—No, I’ll do whatever you say, just please forgive me…”
(This was too funny.
This little girl’s reaction was priceless.)
Seeing her squeeze her eyes shut, fall to her knees trembling, and hold out her wallet as a peace offering, Akira almost burst out laughing.
(TL:Bocchi ahh behavior)
Soon, the rain started pouring, so the two of them hid in an abandoned tool shed.
Watching the raging storm outside, they naturally started chatting.
They talked about where they came from, their dreams, and what the future held.
“…My sister has a bit of an intense personality.
So, whenever people realize I’m her little sister, they take one look at me and run far away.”
Wearing her mask, the chestnut haired girl let her ears droop and muttered softly.
But then, she suddenly got a burst of energy, grabbed Akira’s arm, and pointed at her own cheeks and eyes.
“But I’m a proper student here, you know!
Look, look, aren’t I pretty cute?
I have golden chestnut hair!
And these round purple eyes—see, aren’t they super cute?”
“…Yeah, you’re very cute.”
Akira looked at the girl in front of him and nodded.
He had to admit, the horse girls in this world were natural born idols.
Even this silly girl in front of him was incredibly cute.
Her round eyes were bright and expressive, and even a plain mask couldn’t hide her pretty face.
Her beautiful chestnut hair seemed to shine golden every time she bounced around.
No matter how you looked at her, as long as she stood still, she gave off a noble and elegant aura.
But her emotions were just too hyperactive.
Even a slight frown made it totally obvious what she was thinking.
Her briefly bright mood quickly tangled into a mess, and she looked down with a lost, regretful expression, poking the ground with a twig again.
“But what did I even do wrong?
Everyone keeps their distance, and I can never find anyone to run or train with…
My dream is just to be an elegant, sophisticated young lady like Mejiro McQueen-san…”
“Well, things like this happen sometimes…
By the way, what’s your name?”
“Ugh—”
A flinching expression, like a startled pigeon, flashed across her face.
“What’s wrong?
You don’t like talking to a janitor like me?”
“No, no, no!
How could I ever say I dislike someone like you?
It’s just…
my name doesn’t sound very nice…”
The girl squatted on the ground, scratching her fluffy golden-chestnut hair a bit shyly, and muttered with a complicated look.
“My sister has such a beautiful name, ‘Dream Journey’, but I’m completely different…
My name is…
Orfevre.”
“Orfevre?”
“In French, it means an artisan who crafts gold and silver jewelry…
You can just translate it to ‘Goldsmith’ or ‘Metalworker’…
It doesn’t sound very pleasant or fast, does it…?”
Muttering to herself, she picked up her twig and beautifully wrote the characters for “Metalworker” in the mud.
Then, she curled up in the corner, hugging her knees in disappointment, her ears drooping sadly.
“My sister always teases me.
She says I’m just a smith who works with gold, and I have nothing to do with actual gold myself.
She also says that since I’m so timid, get scared of everything, and let others mess with my head easily, I should never step foot on the turf.
She tells me to just stay home and let her take care of me like a princess.
Isn’t that taking it too far?”
“Yeah.”
Watching the raindrops slide down, Akira nodded gently.
“You are clearly a beautiful and powerful Uma Musume.”
“…Eh?
Did someone arrive?
Who?
Where?”
“You don’t need to look around, I’m talking about you.
If you really didn’t have any potential, you wouldn’t even be standing here.”
Seeing the horse girl frantically looking around, Akira smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
The chestnut haired girl pointed at her own cheek in disbelief, looking completely bewildered.
“Me?”
“Who else?”
Akira asked in a serious tone.
(A chance.)
(This is my chance!)
Seeing the little ‘Goldsmith’ staring at him with such an insecure expression, Akira was laughing wildly on the inside.
As far as he remembered, none of the famous top tier horse girls from the game were named Orfevre.
There was the famous “Gold” family, but this girl obviously had nothing to do with them.
(TL:Again this was 2023 when this chapter was written and Akira clearly don’t have much real life horse knowledge
It was perfect.
Those top tier, famous girls were bound to run into all sorts of drama in the future, and that was exactly when they would need him.
But a fake trainer partnering with a bottom tier mob horse girl?
It couldn’t get any better than this.
After all, she had zero hope and could only rely entirely on him.
Slowly gaining her trust and using her as a stepping stone to connect with the higher ranked girls—this was his master plan!
‘Even if your future isn’t bright, just lighting up my path is enough!’
Looking at the adorable, bewildered girl, Akira stood up and reached his hand out to her.
“If you truly had no talent, you wouldn’t be on this campus.
If you had truly given up on everything, you wouldn’t be hiding out here.
Which means, this is a fated encounter.
A meeting with a goldsmith.”
“Eh?
Eeeeeh??”
“I’m Kato Akira, a man destined to become a Trainer.
I don’t have my license yet, but if you ever need anything, you can always come to me.
I’ll act as your temporary trainer!
And if you make any good friends, introduce them to me too.
After all, I deeply respect all you hard working horse girls!”
“Really?!
Is it really okay for a pathetic, unwanted horse girl like me?”
“Ah!
Of course!
If you don’t believe me, I’ll gladly be your number one fan!”
“That’s amazing!”
Overjoyed, the horse girl threw a happy punch into the air.
BOOM!
“…”
The excited punch smashed straight through the wall of their rain shelter, leaving a massive hole in the thick shed.
Akira went dead silent.
Cold rain and fierce wind immediately howled through the new hole, violently slamming against their faces and bodies, dropping the temperature between them to freezing in an instant.
“I’m sorry!
I lost control again!
I’m really, really sorry!
A person like me should just quietly disappear from Tracen…”
“It’s fine, I know you didn’t mean to.
Besides, I’m not hurt, it’s okay…”
That had been their first meeting.
___________
Looking at the ‘Goldsmith’ who was now sitting beside him without any fear, Akira felt the time was right.
Half a month had passed, and they had clearly grown much closer.
If things kept going like this, having her act as his stepping stone was just around the corner.
His bright future was calling!
“Speaking of which, Orfe.”
“?
What is it?”
The blonde chestnut horse girl, who was happily munching on candied fruit nearby, twitched her ears and looked at Akira innocently.
He had naturally started calling her Orfe for short to show his closeness.
Now that they were sitting this close, eating snacks together, Akira judged that their relationship had evolved enough to move to the next stage of his plan.
“Like I mentioned before, do you have any friends in the same situation?
Could you introduce me to them?”
“…”
At that exact moment—whether it was just his imagination or not—Akira saw a deep, terrifying red flash ignite at the very bottom of Orfe’s innocent purple eyes.
(TL:You’re cooked lmao)