Why We Run
This was the topic of the first lesson, written on the blackboard by the teacher. As the final stroke fell, the horse girls were already buzzing with discussion.
Hiss... they're not going to ask questions about this, are they? If they ask me, what do I say... for money? I'll die of social anxiety... Hakki muttered to herself during the discussion. A minute later, the teacher clapped her hands to quiet the classroom.
"Next, I'll ask two students to stand up and share their thoughts." Her finger moved across the class roster. Hakki picked up an upside-down book and put it on her head, but since the teacher was calling names from the roster, it wouldn't affect the probability of being called on...
"Rhine Force, you go first. Any thoughts are fine."
"Okay! My goal is also simple! To work hard to become a successor on the glorious path of the Triple Tiara! Following in the footsteps of Senior Still in Love... to become the third winner of the Triple Tiara!" Her voice was loud and full of passion. Rhine Force had been striving for this goal since she was a child.
"A very good ideal. Rhine Force, please sit down. I wish you all the best on your path forward!" the teacher smiled faintly, then called on the next horse girl.
"To win one of the Triple Crown races!"
"To work hard for my mother's expectations."
"To become the graded stakes horse girl of my dreams."
With each answer, Hakki sank lower in her seat. The ideals of her classmates were too bright, which made her materialistic thoughts seem all the more vulgar. But! What's wrong with liking money?!
"Next... Cesario."
Cesario then stood up, thought for a moment, and replied, "My father is a trainer, and my mother is an educator. So my dream is to become someone who nurtures the next generation of horse girls. After retiring from the Triple Tiara, I will focus more on this aspect. So my goal is also to win the Triple Tiara."
All so grand, all so bright. I'm like a gloomy rat crawling in the sewer...
"Last one, Hakki Byakku."
Thump-thump. Hearing her name, her heart seemed to stop for a moment. Hakki swallowed and stood up. "Um, my reason... is very materialistic. My principle is money, so the purpose of participating in races isn't to win, or to compete, or anything like that. As long as I can finish in the money, that's fine. Of course, it's best to win first place, because the prize money is the highest. Um... that's it."
After speaking, Hakki sat down, feigning composure. The classroom was dead silent. Since she had made the decision to say it out loud, she was also prepared for the thought of not being able to survive in this class.
"That's also a good motivation," the teacher said. "Classmates, don't think this dream is funny. There's nothing wrong with it! In modern society, you can't always keep going just because you have a dream to drive you. When you truly step onto the racetrack, you will realize the importance of money."
The first class passed quickly. After class, Hakki hid herself under the desk, pretending to pick up a dropped pen, and stayed there until the bell for the second class rang. The second class was "Racetrack Topography Analysis," a course that sounded like a headache just from the name.
Third class: "On Judging Race Pace."
Fourth class: "Horse Girl Psychological Guidance."
Just the names of the courses were outrageous, and the actual content was even more so. Hakki was even scared to death listening to the fourth class. Why were there so many cases in this textbook of competing horse girls developing psychological problems after retiring and then resorting to illegal confinement... Weren't they afraid that other horse girls would imitate them?
Anyway, she didn't listen to a single word. When the second class began to explain the topography of the Nakayama Racecourse, Hakki was overcome by drowsiness and fell asleep on her desk.
She was awakened again by Rhine Force tapping her. Drowsily raising her head, Hakki yawned widely. "Yawn... time to eat? Hmm...?! Did I sleep through the whole morning?!"
"Yes... I saw it from the second class. Hakki-san, do you want to go to the cafeteria for lunch together? Cesario has a good recommendation!"
"Um... well... I still have to go to the training room, so I'm afraid I can't. But... Rhine-san and Cesario-san, do you have a trainer yet?" Hakki was still thinking about whether she could trick another horse girl over to Kitahara's team. After all, the features of these two were too conspicuous, completely unlike the generic appearance of other horse girls.
Rhine Force's ears twitched slightly. "We do. Cesario and I are on the same team. Ascella. Senior King Halo is also there!"
"Oh~ I see. Ah! I'm going to be late! Um, Rhine-san, Cesario-san! I'll see you in class tomorrow then!" The vibrating reminder from her phone made Hakki hurriedly pack her books, grab her bag, and dash out of the classroom.
"I feel... Hakki Byakku's thinking is completely different from other horse girls," Cesario said.
"Probably?"
To be honest, once you've had a meal cooked by Super Creek, you really have no desire to go to the cafeteria. It's not that the food at Central Tracen's cafeteria is bad, but that the food cooked by Super Creek has a... feeling that nourishes Hakki's soul... It's probably that magical thing called "wok hei."
Shoveling the mountain of food in front of her, Zennin Gloria on the other side suddenly thought that Hakki might be the second coming of Oguri Cap. The only one she could think of who could match this eating speed was Oguri Cap. Even Special Week couldn't beat her.
"Um, Trainer. Perhaps we can also guess from her appetite that Hakki's race distance won't be limited to 1200 meters..." Zennin Gloria said, standing next to Kitahara, which earned her a nod of affirmation.
"That's right. But the problem now is that even though she eats so much, she hasn't gained weight like Oguri Cap did back then, which is very strange. Where did the food go after digestion? Is it accumulating to be released later?" Kitahara rubbed her chin with one hand, making another mark on the board recording Hakki's food intake with a pen. The current situation was... Hakki's appetite was getting bigger every week, and the person in question was completely unaware.
"Mmm... guh, that's right! Trainer! I've decided! A while ago, Gloria told me you were choosing my debut race... hmm! I've decided! Let's go with the 1000-meter one!" After wolfing down her food and putting the bowl back on the table, Hakki leaned out from the table.
"Hmm? Have you decided? If it's 1000 meters... then there's only... only one race. There's only one this year," Kitahara said, taking out the race schedule, then drawing a straight line and placing it in front of Hakki.
Hakodate Racecourse, June, Newcomer 1000-meter turf debut race. And the track for this race was a short straight + big turn + short straight duel.
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