Students at Tracen Academy train for the races they will one day run, but this isn't a continuous, all-day effort.
At Tracen Academy, Uma Musume attend classes on topics like Uma Musume history, race knowledge, and training methods. Just like regular students, they attend classes, sometimes take tests, eat in the cafeteria for lunch, and only start training after classes are over.
If I were to compare it to my past life, it would be similar to school club activities. The difference would be that Uma Musume races are a form of entertainment for the public and that most Uma Musume are literally betting their lives on running.
Unlike the Uma Musume, I don't take classes. This is natural since I'm not a student, but I have work to do even when the Uma Musume aren't training.
Trainers who lead teams sometimes get private offices, but I don't have one as a rookie. I work in a shared space used by other trainers who, like me, have few Uma Musume and don't have enough people or a track record to form a team.
I use a computer to compile documents on what kind of training I've done for my Uma Musume, what training I plan to do in the future, and what races I'll have her enter based on those plans.
Since Urara hasn't even had her first race, her "make debut," these plans are just wishful thinking. Still, it's necessary to set not only short-term but also long-term goals. Otherwise, my training for Urara might become inconsistent.
And since I'm a trainer at Tracen Academy, I also have to handle tasks assigned by the academy. While specialists handle the maintenance of the practice courses, only the assigned trainer can write reports about their Uma Musume.
Some trainers travel all over Japan, scouting promising Uma Musume in local series or looking for young Uma Musume who aren't old enough to enroll yet but seem to have potential. There are also trainers who get involved in things other than training Uma Musume, such as negotiating with manufacturers about Uma Musume merchandise or responding to interviews from TV stations and magazines.
(Well, that has nothing to do with a rookie like me whose Uma Musume hasn't even debuted yet.)
I thought about this while creating Urara's training plan.
In my past life, horse racing was a public gambling activity, but in this world, it's entertainment for spectators without betting. However, some races attract over 100,000 spectators, so a significant amount of revenue comes just from admission fees and merchandise sales.
I don't know the exact amount since I don't know much about horse racing, but in my past life, winning a race came with prize money. The source of that prize money would be the betting from the tickets, but in the case of Uma Musume, the money earned from things other than betting is used for prize money.
If a Uma Musume finishes in the top five in a race, they get prize money, but even if they finish sixth or lower, they still get an appearance fee and a special appearance allowance.
My Uma Musume hasn't even won a race yet, but I heard that the prize money for Uma Musume who finish in the money is quite large. However, the track record of my Uma Musume is also my track record. The salary I receive from Tracen Academy is also tied to her success; my base salary goes up, and my bonus increases if she does well.
However, even with an increase, training an Uma Musume requires a large amount of money, so the salaries we trainers receive don't seem to increase dramatically. The academy heavily subsidizes the rent, utilities, food, and tuition for Uma Musume living in the dorms, so the prize money is probably used for those things. Of course, the money to maintain and operate Tracen Academy also comes from those funds.
I was curious about how much money was being moved, but it's not a good idea to stick my nose into unnecessary things. It's more important to focus on Urara's training right now.
(...And that's the problem: the training. What am I going to do?)
No matter how much an Uma Musume trains, you don't see immediate growth. She's probably growing more noticeably than a human would, but her lap times aren't going to change dramatically. She'll grow slowly with daily training.
I had a small hope—just a small one—that Urara, with the famous name of the horse Haru Urara, would show dramatic growth.
I pulled out the documents I had compiled over the past month about Urara's training and looked at them. They contained data from when we started training, the current data after a month, and a prediction of how much her abilities would improve after three months, six months, and a year based on the training I planned to do.
The prediction for the future is probably not accurate. Like humans, Urara is in the middle of her growth period as a junior high Uma Musume. Still, I made a future prediction because there were several things that bothered me.
(Even if she grows according to the documents... it's not enough, not nearly enough.)
I compared her numbers to the data of various Uma Musume who have been at Tracen Academy—their race results, physical abilities, and what kind of training they've done. Urara was not just a little inferior but a lot.
Urara's immediate goal is to participate in the Junior Make Debut race in late June. How much can I train her before then?
(It's on dirt, so there won't be that many rivals. Dirt races are less popular than turf races... If she loses here, it'll be tough, but not fatal. It'll be a good experience even if she doesn't win... No, if she doesn't win, the future will be bleak...)
Hmm, I groaned, holding my head.
The races an Uma Musume can participate in are limited by her own track record.
In Urara's case, she will first participate in a Make Debut. If she can win first place, the number of races she can participate in after that will increase dramatically. However, if she doesn't get first place, she will have to participate in an unscored race and won't be able to participate in a higher-level race until she wins.
Japanese Uma Musume—especially the excellent Uma Musume who gather at Tracen Academy—tend to prefer turf races, so there are fewer Uma Musume who participate in dirt races.
The number of dirt races is also much smaller than turf races. In local areas, there are more dirt races, but Urara, who is at Tracen Academy, will be participating in the Twinkle Series, which means Central races.
For turf races, there are many famous graded races—GⅠ, GⅡ, and GⅢ—of various distances, but there are very few dirt races in short and mile distances that suit Urara's aptitude.
(But putting her in a turf race would be suicide... Even on dirt, I'm not sure if she can compete with her peers. A turf race wouldn't even be a proper competition...)
A Make Debut or an unscored race would be fine. If she could just get one win, she could at least participate in an open race, even if it's not a graded one.
(No, not yet... it's still early. Urara hasn't even had her debut race yet. I need to train her as much as I can before then, and... will she be able to get first place...?)
I couldn't help but lose my spirit at the end. I threw the documents about Urara onto the desk and messily scratched my head.
Haru Urara, based on her abilities, is very weak. She might not even get first place in a Make Debut or an unscored race and might even be expelled from Tracen Academy. However, she's honest and friendly and works hard in training. She doesn't complain about the training plan I made, a rookie trainer, and works on it happily with a smile.
I would say she's a very easy Uma Musume to train as a rookie. It's frustrating that she's easy to train but not easy to make strong, as it exposes my lack of skill as a trainer.
I'll train her as much as possible while being careful not to let her get injured. That's all I can do right now, but is there anything else?
(Her obedience seems like a strength to me... But when I look at her, she seems satisfied with just running, not with winning against other Uma Musume.)
I thought it would be good if she could get first place in her Make Debut, but a Make Debut race, even on dirt, usually has nine Uma Musume competing. This means she has to beat eight others to move on.
From my perspective, it's not good, but if she loses, she'll have another chance in an unscored race. However, according to past data, unscored races also have nine Uma Musume competing.
It's like a death game where only one winner survives, and that's not entirely wrong. Uma Musume races are a national form of entertainment, but Uma Musume who can't win races are expelled from the academy or transferred to a local one, making it a fierce battle for survival. Many give up in despair from their lack of ability and leave the academy on their own. Even if they have some ability, they're out of luck if they're born in a generation with many genius Uma Musume.
And even if they don't give up and keep running, their opportunities for unscored races are limited. They can only run once in the first and second halves of each month, and races aren't held in every distance on both turf and dirt. If they're unlucky, a race that suits them might not be for another two or three months.
(In Urara's case, even if she loses her Make Debut, she'll have many chances in unscored races... If a strong Uma Musume gets first place and leaves, that'll be a chance... No, no, no. The other Uma Musume will get stronger, too. It's possible that the other Uma Musume will grow more than Urara...)
The possibility of her winning the Make Debut is low, and I can't say she'll win an unscored race either. But as long as Urara is doing her best, I, as her trainer, can't give up.
(That's right, she hasn't even had her debut race yet. Maybe Urara is the type who is strong in a real race and will do better than in practice and get first place by a landslide... Hmm?)
Just as I was about to get lost in a convenient fantasy, I suddenly felt a gaze.
The area around my desk was separated by partitions, but they weren't very tall. I could easily look over them by standing up.
"----"
A woman with black hair was silently looking at me.
"...Hyu."
I was so engrossed in my thoughts that when I noticed her gaze, I let out a gasp. At the same time, I instinctively leaned back, and the back of my chair creaked.
"I-is something wrong?"
I somehow—just barely—managed to say something meaningful instead of screaming. The suddenness of it all left me no room to even be offended that she was looking over my partition.
"N-no, I'm sorry! You seemed to be thinking so hard that I just..."
"Oh... ah, I'm sorry. Was I being loud?"
"No, not at all! You were worried about your Uma Musume, weren't you!? It's only natural to be that worried!"
She didn't deny that I was loud, I muttered to myself as I finally regained my composure. I straightened my body and cleared my throat before speaking.
"Ahem... Well, I appreciate you not minding me being loud, but is there something you need?"
I spoke to the woman who was looking over my partition—my colleague, Kiryuin-san.
Her black hair was styled in a bob, with a hairpin holding back her braided left bangs. I could also see a small ponytail at the back of her head, showing that she was a fashionable woman her age. Her clothes were a white dress shirt, a formal black sleeveless vest, black slacks, and black boots, which gave a slightly stiff impression, but there were ruffles on some parts of the fabric.
She always carried a book for some reason, and Kiryuin-san was the only daughter of the prestigious Kiryuin family, which had produced many excellent trainers. I assumed it was some kind of secret book passed down in that family.
However, Kiryuin-san's reaction to my question was subtle. We weren't particularly close, and we would make small talk when we met, but to me, she felt a little more distant than my other colleagues.
Kiryuin-san's gaze wandered as if she was searching for words, and then she clenched her fists in front of her chest as if to get herself motivated.
"H-how about it? You seem to be worried, so why don't we, as fellow trainers, exchange ideas?"
So saying, Kiryuin-san looked at me with sparkling, expectant eyes.
Huh, why? I swallowed the words that were about to come out and looked at the fidgeting Kiryuin-san, waiting for her answer.
(She's not trying to spy on me... She's a trainer from a prestigious family, even if she's a rookie like me. So it's just pure goodwill...? Really?)
Uma Musume at Tracen Academy compete and improve each other, but they are also rivals who try to beat each other. And this also meant that the relationship between trainers could be tense.
If Tojo-trainer, who leads Team Rigil, the strongest team at Tracen Academy, had said the same thing, I would have gladly consulted him. Tojo-trainer is on a completely different level from me. Our experience, track record, and the strength of the Uma Musume we train are so different that it would be pointless for me to be cautious.
However, Kiryuin-san in front of me is a colleague, even if she's from a prestigious family. There's a possibility that she's using a psychological trick to reduce her Uma Musume's rivals—but.
(She doesn't seem like that kind of person... If this is an act, she's a good actress.)
I've lived for almost twice as long as Kiryuin-san, including my previous life. Based on that experience, it seemed like Kiryuin-san was talking to me out of pure goodwill.
She wasn't saying it out loud, but her eyes seemed to be pleading, "Why don't we talk about the Uma Musume we're training? Let's talk about them!" It was like she was starved for someone to talk to about her hobby. I just said it was pure goodwill, but it might not be goodwill at all and just a personal reason.
(Come to think of it, people kept their distance from her because she was from a prestigious family...)
They didn't hate her or exclude her. They just didn't know what to talk about, so they avoided her. Even though we were all rookie trainers, even those from trainer families kept their distance from her because she was from a prestigious family and was difficult to approach.
By the way, I talk to my other colleagues a lot. The races Urara is suited for don't overlap with theirs right now, so there's no need to be hostile towards each other.
My colleagues have all scouted and are training Uma Musume who seem suited for turf races. No one has scouted an Uma Musume who is a specialist in dirt races. And no one has done something as stupid as scouting someone on the spot just because they heard their name, like I did.
And even though we're all rookie trainers, some have been so successful at scouting that they've formed a team. Most of my colleagues are training two or three Uma Musume, but some have succeeded in scouting five or more.
Just because a trainer has many Uma Musume doesn't mean they'll succeed, but it does mean they can gain more experience as a trainer. If you're in charge of multiple Uma Musume, it's not surprising if at least one of them blossoms.
In that regard, Kiryuin-san is a rare case like me, with only one Uma Musume. I don't know if she only found one Uma Musume that met her standards or if she wanted to focus on training one Uma Musume instead of multiple.
(Wait, this is a chance, isn't it? Even if she's a rookie, Kiryuin-san is from a prestigious trainer family. The Uma Musume she's training must be very strong, and she should know more about training than I do...)
It's not a problem if she knows my hand. If she knows Urara's current abilities and we compete in a real race, she might let her guard down.
With that calculation and a certain concern, I decided to make a suggestion to Kiryuin-san.
-----------
"Huh? Trainer, we're not training today; we're racing?"
That's what I said to Urara, who had finished her classes and was in her tracksuit as usual. Hearing that, Urara tilted her head slightly.
"Yeah, that's right. It's not a serious race, though."
I answered Urara, who looked puzzled, and turned my gaze to Kiryuin-san, who had accepted my offer.
"This is Kiryuin-san, a trainer I started with. And this is the Uma Musume Kiryuin-san is in charge of..."
"...Happy Meek," Happy Meek said.
When I introduced them to Urara, Kiryuin-san and the Uma Musume—Happy Meek—bowed slightly.
She was a little taller than the small Kiryuin-san, and what stood out was her pure white appearance. Her hair and tail were a white that was different from gray. Her droopy eyes gave a gentle, almost hazy impression, as if to show her nature. She wore earrings in the shape of flowers on her slightly elongated Uma ears.
Happy Meek, who was also wearing a Tracen Academy tracksuit like Urara, was immediately surrounded by the cheerful Urara.
"Happy Meek... so you're Meek-chan! You can call me Urara!"
"...Okay, Urara-san."
Urara's eyes sparkled, and she ran around Happy Meek. I could see Happy Meek's expression soften slightly.
"Uh, Happy Meek here will be Urara's opponent. We'll have two one-on-one races on a 1,200-meter course, one on turf and one on dirt... Is this okay, Kiryuin-san?"
I had set the conditions to suit Urara, including the 1,200-meter distance and the dirt race. I was hoping that Urara would have an advantage on a dirt short-distance race. When I asked, Kiryuin-san nodded, smiling as she watched Urara and Happy Meek interact.
"It's no problem. Meek can run on both turf and dirt. As for the distance, she can run all of them, from short to long."
(Huh? She can run on both? And she can run any distance? Is that a lie?)
Kiryuin-san said this so casually. It's one thing to say she can run on both turf and dirt, but to say she can run any distance is a bit of a stretch. If it were true, did she train Happy Meek that much in just one month, or did Happy Meek have that much talent to begin with? Either way, it's extraordinary.
However, even Symboli Rudolf, a genius who won seven GⅠ titles and served as the student council president at Tracen Academy, didn't have that much talent. So it must be a bluff, a psychological tactic against me.
(As expected of the prestigious Kiryuin family... With a cute face like that, she's pulling a stunt like this. But if you're going to lie, at least come up with a better one.)
I smiled wryly at Kiryuin-san's statement, who seemed to be bad at socializing—to be precise, bad at gauging her distance from others.
"You're not going to tell me she can also handle any strategy, are you?"
"That's a bit impossible. Meek is good at leading and stalking."
"Haha, I thought so... Huh?"
I thought she didn't lie about that much, but I started to question what Kiryuin-san said. If I believe her words, it sounded like her previous statement wasn't a lie.
(Well, whatever. I'll know once I see Happy Meek run.)
I started Urara's warm-up, thinking there's no way a Uma Musume could run on both turf and dirt and at any distance. Kiryuin-san also instructed Happy Meek to warm up, and about thirty minutes passed with them stretching and running lightly to check their condition.
In a real race, they would start from a gate, but this wasn't that serious. The two of them lined up at the starting line and would start running at my signal.
Urara, at the starting line, had her usual cheerful smile, and Happy Meek took a slight forward lean with a hard-to-read expression.
I confirmed that Urara and Happy Meek were ready and raised my right hand above my head.
"Are you two ready? Then, on your marks... get set... go!"
When I yelled the start signal, Urara and Happy Meek dashed off as if they had been shot out of a cannon. Their shoes with horseshoes dug into the turf, and they kicked up grass and dirt behind them.
(...Ah, this is bad. I can't win.)
And just by seeing them start, I foresaw Urara's defeat.
Urara isn't good on turf, but even with that in mind, Happy Meek is too fast. She didn't have a slow start, and with every step she took, she accelerated more and more.
Happy Meek probably chose the leading style, but she started to open up a gap with Urara so fast that it looked like an escape.
The 1,200-meter course we chose was a simple one, with a straight path from the start, a turn, and then a straight path to the finish line. There were no uphill or downhill slopes, but Happy Meek ran on the inside of the course with a familiar stride and went around the corner.
In the month since we started training, Urara's running form has mostly improved. Compared to a month ago, she probably has more stamina and speed.
But she couldn't catch up to Happy Meek. From the first straight to the curve, the distance between them kept growing, and by the time they reached the final straight, there was already a gap of more than 10 horse lengths.
Urara made her final dash in the final straight, but the gap between her and Happy Meek didn't close. Happy Meek crossed the finish line in the lead, and Urara crossed about five seconds later.
If this were a real race, the results board would have displayed "Huge Difference." The gap between Urara and Happy Meek was close to twenty horse lengths.
It was a defeat—no, a crushing defeat.
Despite the huge difference, Happy Meek didn't hold back and ran to the finish line with all her might. This was the result.
"Hah... hah... Meek-chan, you're amazing! You went whoosh and were so fast!"
"...Urara-san, you... No, it's nothing."
Despite losing by a huge margin, Urara was smiling. She was even jumping around Happy Meek and praising her run.
"..."
I silently watched Urara. I watched her, not with bitterness or despair, but with a genuine smile on her face, praising Happy Meek.
"The next race is on dirt... right?"
Perhaps she noticed something in my expression, as Kiryuin-san timidly spoke to me. I shook my head in response and smiled faintly, nodding.
"Yes, please. Wow, Happy Meek is fast."
"R-really? That was... no, thank you."
Perhaps because I praised Happy Meek, Kiryuin-san's face briefly showed a hint of happiness. However, she was about to say something but just ended up thanking me.
"Urara, Happy Meek, we'll run on dirt after your break, but are your bodies okay?"
"Yeah! Hey, hey, trainer! Meek-chan is so amazing! She's so, so fast! She went whoosh!"
"I see... How was the run for you?"
"It was fun!"
Urara answered my question with a huge smile. Looking at her smile, I didn't know what to say and couldn't help but look up at the sky.
-----------
And after a break, we had a race on the dirt. Like the turf course, it was a simple course with a straight, a corner, and a final straight, but for me, this was the main event.
"Are you two ready? Then, on your marks... get set... go!"
After confirming they were ready, I gave the start signal just like before. At the same time, Urara and Happy Meek kicked the sandy ground and dashed off, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Just like before, Happy Meek was in the front, and Urara was chasing her. Happy Meek had probably chosen the leading style again. Or should I say, she chose it for me?
(Fast... Kiryuin-san wasn't lying.)
Happy Meek was running on the dirt course at a speed not much different from the previous race. Her speed had dropped a little because the footing was worse than on turf, but the gap between her and Urara kept growing.
Urara also ran with all her might, chasing Happy Meek. Her speed was faster than on the turf course, and I tilted my head, wondering why she was faster on uneven ground.
After the first straight and entering the corner, the distance between them was about five horse lengths. However, in contrast to Happy Meek, who went around the corner cleanly, Urara's turn was a little too wide.
Because of this, the gap widened to about ten horse lengths after the corner. However, this was where Urara would show her true potential. Urara kicked the ground in the final straight and accelerated toward Happy Meek.
When I saw her, it looked more like a real competition than the turf race. But still.
(She can't reach her on dirt either...)
Unlike the previous race, Urara closed the gap between her and Happy Meek. But that was her limit.
Happy Meek maintained a lead of about eight horse lengths and crossed the finish line. In terms of time, it was a difference of about a second and a half, but in the world of Uma Musume, a second and a half is a very long time. Urara's specialty was dirt and short distances, and she finished more than 20 meters behind.
"That's amazing! Meek-chan, you're so fast even on sand!"
And Urara, who had to eat Happy Meek's dust, even if it wasn't by a huge margin, praised her just like she had in the previous race. Her face was still cheerful, and she seemed satisfied despite losing.
You could say she never gives up, which sounds good. But in Urara's case, it's not on that level.
(Her speed, running style, and stamina are problems, but I can fix those with training... But how do I fix that...?)
I had asked Kiryuin-san for a race with Happy Meek, thinking that something might change if she raced with a peer. But what can I say to Urara, who is overjoyed and says she had fun even after losing?
"Hey, hey, trainer! Meek-chan is so amazing! She's so, so, so amazing!"
Urara ran toward me with a huge smile on her face. If this were a sore loser's words, there would be room for improvement. But after spending a month with Urara, I knew her words were sincere.
Should I scold her for losing? Or should I get angry, even if I have to overact, about her not even showing a hint of frustration?
"I see... Urara, how was the race?"
I bent down and asked, matching her eye level. Urara's smile was even brighter than the sweat on her forehead.
"It was so much fun!"
"..."
I was at my wits' end about how to train an Uma Musume named Haru Urara.
--------------------------------------------
🚀 Want Early Access & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!