A long time have I spent skulking and wasting time on things I didn't really need. I knew it now. It's kind of dumb, but I have just begun my journey in this racing world, and I already feel so bad for my previous actions. I had so much time, so many resources, and wasted them all. But not now.
(10 Laps completed!)
(+10 speed +10 stamina, 30 uma coins awarded)
Since my debut, I have been training diligently day after day and taking time to rest as well after completing what it's expected of me. Some days the system doesn't reward me with stat points and I end up just earning some coins, but the rewards are so few that I can't buy anything using them...
"Ok... Here I go again..."
I took a deep breath; my heart was beating in my chest. Probably tomorrow, I will get a notice on which race I will be competing in.
"Hello, Meek!" The voice of Flashy startled me, making me fall on the turf. I was about to start running and ended up munching on the grass.
"What'cha eatin'?" She asked, laughing, "Does it taste good?"
As I spat the few that got into my mouth, I looked at her and smirked
'If you only knew... You probably loved it in your past life, Isekai 'ed horse.' She helped me get up, offering a hand. "Can I help you with something, Flashy?"
"Yeah, go take a shower and dress up, we are going shopping," She said, placing both of her hands behind her head while smiling full of confidence.
"Eeeeeh? Don't wanna!" I complained, going shopping it's boring!
"Sorry, princess! But it's the boss girl's orders!" Flashy winked and then pointed toward my shoes. "Also, look, those are barely holding themselves."
I felt a little offended. My shoes were okay! Probably? Okay, they were a little ragged, but what else do they want with the heavy horseshoes I've been forced to use for training? And without counting that I've been training every day since my debut... for about a week?
"My brown shoes are fine!" I said, crossing my arms.
"Meek." Flashy said, staring at me, "Don't be a brat, and also, your shoes used to be white..."
I had some really bad memories of going shopping with people outside my family from the institute, but Flashy makes a point, I might need to buy a new pair... but... I have next to no money, those uma coins are not real money in this world after all, here the people use yen... and I must have some really lovely family after all, none has saluted me or sent me any penny at the moment. Hell, not even after the debut, someone called me.
'Hey, in the other world, my parents overprotected me, and here they don't care. I moved from one end to the other.
"Ah..." Flashy seemed to put 1+1 together. "Don't worry! Aoi is paying for everything! She was the one who gave the idea anyway~"
...
...
...
Riding a car felt so strange now for some reason, but Aoi was a good driver. The streets were filled with both humans and umas; the society was very blended, and I didn't feel any discrimination whatsoever about my new condition. It's totally a different world. Back then, people would discriminate against you for any kind of dumb reason, the colour of your skin, the shape of your eyes, the language you spoke, or whatever... but still...
'I wonder how different this world is?' There seems to be a strange feeling of realism, but I keep the things I learnt back then as part of what is real, my eyes stopped at a statue of a man wearing a samurai armor with a katana, some kind of monument... 'Maybe in this world, everything isn't just flowers and rainbows; if there are katanas, there must have been wars at some point?'
"Are we eating after buying the new shoes?" Flashy asked without any hesitation.
"Actually, that's the plan," Aoi confessed, earning some cheers from Flashy, who felt a boost in her morale.
"That doesn't sound bad," I said, joining the conversation.
"Anything you girls want?" Aoi looked at me through the mirror in the car and then returned her focus to the road.
"Nnnn I'm fine with anything tasty," I said.
"Burgers!" Claimed Flashy.
We arrived ten minutes later at the shopping mall, and as Flashy grabbed my hand to boost into speed, we could hear Aoi clearing her throat. Both of us looked at her as she pointed towards a sign... 'No running in the mall. ' Flashy pouted but complied, after all, she might be a gremlin sometimes, but she is not a bad girl. We took the elevator and ended up in the main shopping hall of the center.
Of course, not many recognized us, but some looked at Flashy and pointed. She is starting to make a name for herself, but she still doesn't have the accomplishments to call herself a star. But deep down, I knew moments like this would be harder the more time passes, as Flashy begins to win and the shift of the press is upon her.
'Now that I think about it... I'm going to win, too, right? At least that's the plan, no, I will definitely win' I smiled and looked toward Flashy.
"What?" She questioned me, tilting her head slightly before going back to her phone. The last few days, she has been constantly answering messages on it.
"Nothing," I said.
In the end, we entered the store that was our goal, and it was pretty boring as I thought back then. The difference was that the shoes had different descriptions... some were made for light running, others for full speed trotting, others to better suit the muddy tracks... it was a headache. I liked some pink cute shoes, but Flashy and Aoi told me they weren't suited for me since those were dirt-tracking shoes, and I needed something to better suit my training regimen.
"I think these are the best suited for you!" Aoi said finally being excited.
"Those are...!?" I said.
Then Flashy laughed at me. Those shoes looked like a pair of baguettes! I don't want to run with those!
"And these are very good for you Flashy!"
"Ah!?" Flashy laughter died the moment Aoi showed her the ones she picked for her; they looked like... croissants... even had that small turn on the point.
"No!" Flashy said, raising both her hands to the air as if she was fighting against the heavens, "Don't wanna!"
"Huh!?" Aoi was confused, "But they are so light and flexible..."
"No way!" Flashy complained and looked at me with terror.
I extended a trembling hand into the air and did a thumbs-up signal, "We are in this together, Flashy," I said with a tear in my eye.
A tantrum later, we were able to find some normal-looking shoes for both of us, something like flexible and flashy, as for me, some durable and sturdy shoes made for sudden stress on the material when I burst with all my power.
...
....
...
During our meal, I couldn't help but look at Flashy, who was devouring her burger.
"You looked cute with the croissant-like shoes."
"Shudduppp!" She said, slamming the poor burger against the table.
"My goddness..." Said Aoi.