2 / 65

Aiming for... Tracen Academy?

There is a phrase known as "Glass Legs."

It means that for a racehorse, it is essential to understand just how far one's legs can go and where they will shatter.

Racehorses spend their entire lives pursuing speed and power, but in exchange, they always carry the risk of leg injuries.

No matter how much talent one possesses, or how hard one works, an injury can wipe it all away in an instant.

The saying "A horse that remains unbroken becomes a famous horse" exists precisely because there are so many talented Uma Musume who never became famous due to injury.

There was once a man.

He was a man who had spent his entire life running away from dedicating himself to anything.

Since childhood, he had a hard time concentrating on anything. Every hobby his parents encouraged him to try in hopes of sparking an interest failed to last long, not because he lacked ability, but because of his own laziness.

Piano, swimming, painting... He wasn't entirely uninterested, but his lazy habits far outweighed any spark of curiosity.

The same held true during middle and high school. He didn't join any clubs, spending his time as a member of the "Going Home Club" (a club for those who do nothing after school).

That didn't mean he applied himself to his studies either; his grades remained below average. Yet, he didn't particularly mind, simply letting the days pass.

His life was one of apathy: gaining nothing, and therefore losing nothing.

His friends around him were striving toward their own goals, sometimes experiencing failure or frustration, but he had nothing he wanted to protect and nothing he wanted to regain.

He lived somewhat aimlessly, and he expected to die somewhat aimlessly. That was the life he led.

His way of living didn't change even after entering society.

At work, he would initially tackle tasks with a meager amount of motivation, but his lazy habits would lead him to quit just a few months later.

His family didn't have enough financial leeway for him to become a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), so he drifted from job to job. He never stood out at any workplace, and he had almost no interaction with his colleagues.

He had no real hobbies; on his days off, he mostly just lazed around at home.

Nothing special ever happened in his life; days just passed by monotonously.

Then, one day, he suddenly died.

There was no particular cause; he simply passed away quietly.

His death went unnoticed by anyone, met only by silence.

What did he think at that moment? Regret over having accomplished nothing in his life? Expectations for the future? No one knows what was in his heart.

"Again, huh..."

In ancient times, in the Middle Ages, in the modern era, life was harsh, and even in the absence of anything, people sought something.

He knew nothing, but because he knew nothing, he created an invisible world within his mind.

In contrast, the present is a peaceful and affluent age.

And these things are supported by stable systems; as individual passion gets incorporated into these systems, its weight diminishes.

What has increased as a result are people like him. Not someone who gives up on everything and turns self-destructive, but someone who accepts "adequate" entertainment and "adequate" satisfaction.

No clear hope, no despair.

"What am I to do..."

It wasn't quite degeneration, but the brilliance and vitality of life were certainly declining.

"Rebuilding something that was raised to this point is a matter of consideration. Besides, if we leave it as is, we'll just repeat the same failure next time..."

Something to be obsessed with needs to be given.

And when that thing is no longer taken for granted, one will develop an attachment to it anew.

Then, let's give it to him. Even if his inner self is an ordinary person, let's give him talent more than sufficient to grasp glory.

And let's give him legs that will break if he runs at full speed.

He was granted a new life.

When he realized it, he had become an Uma Musume.

He became clearly aware of this around the age of six.

One day, he felt a sense of unease realizing his ears were horse ears and that a tail had grown on him.

From that day on, I—no, she... didn't change much.

Since the personality of the past life and the current life were similar, the identities quickly merged, and there was no sense of discomfort.

It seems the current self is still a lazy person.

Although the gender had changed, having lived in this body for several years, it was too late to be surprised now. Though, it's a secret that she sometimes finds herself looking at the girls around her with a certain kind of eye.

It is said that Uma Musume are originally a race that loves to run, but she was not particularly so.

Whether this was due to the influence of her past life or if she was just like that from the start, she didn't know.

However, she was fast when she ran.

She had never done any training or adjusted her form, yet once she started running, her body naturally optimized itself.

This, combined with muscle power unimaginable for such a young body, produced terrifying speed.

She was surprised by this "Uma Musume leg power," but that didn't mean her way of life would change.

Her legs, belonging to an indoor-loving girl, never attracted anyone's attention.

The first time she truly understood her speed in a real sense was at her elementary school sports day.

In the 400-meter race for the Uma Musume division, added in the third grade, she ran as usual with a lazy demeanor.

Feeling the sensation of cutting through the wind and the power of her feet kicking the ground, the 400 meters felt surprisingly short.

Her legs were clearly different from those of the other Uma Musume.

Running with only half her strength, she tore through the finish line tape in an instant, causing the adults around her to shout in surprise.

From then on, her speed became famous throughout the school.

Teachers and friends called her "The Star of Hope," and she became the center of attention.

However, she didn't feel particularly proud of it; she just continued to live her days monotonously.

Perhaps due to the influence of her past life, she couldn't muster passion for anything.

Instead, she sought more down-to-earth entertainment. She begged her parents for games and manga that were hard for children to get their hands on.

In response, her parents proposed a deal: entering local competitions in exchange for games and manga.

Perhaps because the region was close to the Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, many competitions for elementary school students were held locally.

The distances were short, ranging from 400 meters to about 1000 meters, suitable for children, but she was surprised by the number of spectators.

It must be that the enthusiasm for racing here was different from her past life.

Not understanding pace management, she simply followed the girl running at the front and, about 100 meters from the end, slightly increased her speed to overtake. She repeated this simple task.

At the time, she hadn't thought about what kind of results this would bring.

She was more concerned about the boys' magazines coming out next week or the new RPG releasing next month.

So, every time a game she wanted was released, or a new volume of her favorite manga came out, she would enter a competition, spending her overflowing elementary school days pouring her time into games.

Then, one day...

That morning, her parents seemed unusually unsettled.

A tablecloth had been spread over the table (she didn't know where it came from), and all the miscellaneous items had been thrown into an empty room and locked away.

As she took out the wireless earphones for Uma Musume she had recently bought to make sure the sound of her game wouldn't be a nuisance, her parents brought out fancy clothes.

It seemed there was a visitor coming to see her as well.

Her parents had given up on her lazy habits, but they were quite strict about etiquette to ensure she wouldn't bring shame to them anywhere.

Perhaps because she had acquired the minimum necessary manners due to her memories from her past life, she was lazy in a relatively sensible way, leading them to judge that she could be presented to the visitor.

Once she slipped her arms into the sleeves of the clothes, her hair and tail were combed next. Surprisingly, this felt quite nice. She hadn't experienced it much because she had short hair in her past life, but now that she was doing it, it didn't feel bad.

In particular, the pleasant sensation of having her tail carefully combed was so relaxing she almost fell asleep.

Still, she couldn't deal with this unknown situation just like this. Thinking that, she asked what was happening today, and the response was her parents' exasperated faces.

"Wee? You... you don't remember what I told you yesterday...? Or rather, you didn't listen in the first place, did you?"

Her mother's eyes held not a trace of a smile.

By the way, "Wee" is a nickname for her, derived from her Uma Musume name, "Witlum Pedes."

Since it's quite difficult to remember and hard to pronounce, classmates and teachers call her by her nickname rather than her real name. Even when she raced, her name was misread several times.

While she was trying to escape reality, her father handed her an envelope as if to throw her a life raft.

"Wee, it was written in this letter, wasn't it?"

Looking at the letter she was handed, she certainly recognized it.

It should have been the letter notifying her of acceptance into Tracen Academy.

Glancing through it, it seemed to contain something relevant.

Even in her past life, she vaguely remembered receiving a similar letter or something from the local government when entering middle school, so it must be a letter from Tracen Academy for her, an Uma Musume.

What was the point of all this?

Certainly, most children from the same elementary school would go to the local middle school, but around here, middle school entrance exams are quite popular, so the school one attends can change.

Her parents might have been worried about her being separated from her friends, but for some strange reason, she didn't have any particularly close friends, so she felt no resistance to going to a different school.

Could it be a meet-and-greet with the child she would be attending Tracen Academy with today?

It seemed very likely that a former Tracen classmate's mom would bring her daughter over.

Still, she regretted having answered her mother while listening to Umatube on her newly acquired earphones.

She probably had been responding without understanding anything.

Should she bet on the theory that her mother's old friend is here? No, her parents' eyes watching her read the letter seemed too serious for that.

It was just like the Dursley family seeing the letter Harry received.

No, anyone could tell that both she and her mother were Uma Musume just by looking, so it wasn't as shocking as a letter from Hogwarts. If anything, they should react like a family of magic users. She didn't know what that reaction would be, though.

Seeing her confusion, her mother opened her mouth... just before the front door chime rang.

"Welcome! There is nothing better than having a talented Uma Musume like you enter Tracen Academy!"

Something small was standing there.

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