"Uh…"
Staring at Symboli Rudolf—who looked borderline fanatical—Fuka Shirayuki's eyes filled with confusion.
Scary, desu!
She really didn't understand…
How could the "Emperor's" attitude flip this hard in such a short time?
But hey—wasn't this a good thing? She'd already proven her strength to Symboli Rudolf.
The rest…
Went without saying.
Symboli Rudolf didn't give Fuka Shirayuki a second to breathe, firing off question after question:
"Are you a gray-haired horse girl?"
The Emperor looked at the girl's white hair,
eyes sparkling with pure appreciation.
Who said gray-haired horse girls can't run fast? This gray is amazing!
"…" With enthusiasm like that, even Fuka Shirayuki—who called herself a god—went speechless for a moment. "I… I don't know."
"I think you are," Symboli Rudolf supplied without hesitation. "So please—join Tracen Academy!"
Fuka Shirayuki fell into confusion.
Could it be…
That gray-haired horse girls got special treatment in this world? Like some kind of "minority scholarship" trope from certain school stories?
If that was the case…
Then Fuka Shirayuki could totally—
Work the passport angle! Absolutely maximize it!
Like nutrition from chives—can't afford to miss it!
But to be honest, even she didn't know what kind of horse girl she was… gray-haired or otherwise. Her parents were both human, so she'd never done any testing. She'd heard there were professional testing teams.
So she listened.
And while listening to Symboli Rudolf,
she realized that at this point, she had to seriously consider the possibility of joining Tracen Academy.
She began weighing the pros and cons.
What were the advantages of joining Tracen?
The first thing she thought of was elite education, a complete system, and connections—an environment that could polish raw stone into brilliant glass with ease.
But what about the disadvantages?
First: Fuka Shirayuki wouldn't be able to live with her little sister anymore.
Leaving a middle-schooler like Fuka Chiori to live alone…
She really couldn't feel at ease about that.
Not at ease…? No, she absolutely couldn't accept that. Her little sister—she would raise her herself! And it wasn't like she could just say, "Come live in the Tracen dorms with me…"
Her sister had her own life. Her own school.
And besides…
Fuka Shirayuki had heard something.
She probed carefully. "I heard that when you join Tracen Academy and win prize money…"
"Does the Academy take a cut?"
Symboli Rudolf froze—then remembered the tradition.
As much as she hated to admit it,
a huge part of Tracen Academy's expenses were covered by "shearing the students" for wool… The students came from powerful families and didn't care about this at all, but Fuka Shirayuki was different!
Back when she was broke, she could only work shifts at a convenience store! Cosplaying a blue-haired twin-tail phone support girl!
Symboli Rudolf could only nod. "Yes."
"But… I can apply scholarships for you and—" The Emperor hadn't even finished.
"I refuse!" Fuka Shirayuki snapped instantly.
Are you kidding me!
If the school takes my winnings, then what am I—some kind of wage slave, meow?!
I'm already broke!
Fuka Shirayuki couldn't stop muttering. "The prize money from the other day still hasn't been paid… JRA's efficiency is criminally low! I'm so poor I'm about to start taking day-pay gigs… and you still want to grab my money, meow?"
"I have no money, I have no money… I need money. Who's going to just send me money for no reason? Thanks, meow!"
This kind of thing…
A god has to punish you properly! I'm going to write it into my book that you wire money straight into my bank card!
Symboli Rudolf pinched the bridge of her nose in helpless frustration.
She really hadn't expected…
That the promising junior she'd just started to like would reject her invitation over the most trivial factor imaginable.
But still…
Symboli Rudolf genuinely believed that if Fuka Shirayuki wanted to defeat Orfevre—the Golden Tyrant—then accepting the most advanced training methods was exactly what this "genius old lady" needed to do.
There was no choice.
In the end,
Symboli Rudolf could only invite Fuka Shirayuki to tour Tracen Academy again and decide afterward.
She hoped the Academy's atmosphere and modern facilities would move her.
Nearby, Tazuna Hayakawa knew the inside story…
But she didn't try to talk Symboli Rudolf out of it.
This time wasn't about watching the Emperor embarrass herself again… She simply thought:
If Symboli Rudolf really could talk Fuka Shirayuki into joining Tracen Academy with that silver tongue…
That would be a major achievement!
Fuka Shirayuki would absolutely become a dazzling new star rising over the world of horse girls!
But honestly…
Standing in Fuka Shirayuki's shoes, even Tazuna Hayakawa felt it would be a hard decision.
At the fork in the road,
one path was family,
and the other… was the future.
She sighed deeply for Fuka Shirayuki—
Because if this girl had been born into a normal "worry-free" situation, without having to stress over money and family…
Tazuna would bet anything Fuka Shirayuki's achievements would already be at least twice as high as they were now.
Thinking that—
Fuka Shirayuki suddenly stopped walking.
She turned and looked straight at Senior Tazuna Hayakawa.
"What is it?" Tazuna noticed her gaze and asked with an adult's gentle smile.
Fuka Shirayuki spoke in a soft, almost childlike voice. "Senior Tazuna…"
"Are you a senior as a horse girl? I've never heard the name 'Tazuna Hayakawa.' Or… did you race under another name?"
Tazuna didn't understand why Fuka Shirayuki suddenly cared about her identity.
Still, she answered blandly: "I'm just a security guard at Tracen Academy. That's all."
"..."
Silence.
Then Fuka Shirayuki pointed at herself. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"
The Green Devil: "..."
In anime and novels, isn't that exactly how it goes?
You disguise your identity a little and nobody sees through it!
But Fuka Shirayuki didn't care about any of that. She suddenly clung to Tazuna's arm and started whining like she was about to cry.
"Senior…"
"Can you… maybe push JRA a bit about their work efficiency…"
"I already won my race, but I still don't have money to eat… I'm so hungry, meow… My sister and I can't even keep the kitchen going…"
Tazuna's face reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But not from shyness.
From fury.
[Illustration: Tazuna Hayakawa's expression]
She could've instantly cosplayed Hot Chili Pepper.
JRA—look at what you've done!
You've pushed the kid this far!!!
After hearing all that, even the Guan Yu portrait on the wall supposedly opened its eyes and asked where JRA's finance department was.
Tazuna practically ground her teeth as she answered:
"I'll ask right away. Give me three days. If it still hasn't hit your account in three days, I'll pay you out of my own pocket."
Symboli Rudolf moved even faster.
She'd already pulled out her wallet, grabbed all the cash inside,
and shoved it toward Fuka Shirayuki.
...
...
Fuka Shirayuki returned to Tracen Academy for the first time in a while.
She didn't hesitate, and she didn't want to waste time—one look at the time reminded her her sister was still waiting at home…
So she went straight for the training track.
Ever since her last training session, Fuka Shirayuki had decided…
The only thing worth praising about Tracen Academy was its training track. Sure, it was still Japan's special high-speed cement surface, but by Japanese training standards, it was genuinely good.
And she believed training was something deeply private.
So after she explained it to Symboli Rudolf and Tazuna Hayakawa, both seniors understood.
What if this time she wanted to train some surprise tactic?
History had plenty of those. The most famous example was Seiun Sky's Kikuka Sho "escape" strategy.
If they watched her, there was a risk of leaking it…
So they both left, giving Fuka Shirayuki the space.
Before leaving,
Symboli Rudolf also told her:
She could use any facility here freely. Tracen Academy's gates would always be open to her. And if she ever changed her mind, she could contact Tazuna Hayakawa anytime.
So now,
Fuka Shirayuki sat alone on a bench by the training track.
Since she'd decided to race again…
Then she had to shift her focus back to the Chronicle of Time's requirements, and her own stats.
She opened the system panel.
And looked at the next Chronicle requirement.
[Chronicle of Time: Rewrite — G3-class race requirement.]
[Popularity: 500 points.]
[Option 1: Distance aptitude for this race reaches B.]
[Option 2: Speed stat reaches 300.]
[For each option completed, the popularity requirement decreases by 100…]
[Quest: A Small Test of Skill.]
[Upon successfully rewriting a race result for the first time, you will receive a random reward.]
Reading those requirements, Fuka Shirayuki fell into thought.
So that's how it is.
The existence of "options" meant it wasn't just a single brutal popularity requirement—pretty nice.
If she wanted to rewrite the outcome of her duel with Orfevre, she didn't even need to think to know the Chronicle's cost would be astronomical. But with "options," she could reduce the popularity demand.
Fuka Shirayuki approved.
But "random reward"… what did that mean? A gacha roll?
This system really was a gambling addict system…
She thought.
Then,
she briskly opened the [Stats Panel] she'd skipped before.
All the numbers instantly transformed into text and appeared before her eyes.
[Host: Fuka Shirayuki.]
[Age: Mid honkaku phase.]
[Identity: A nobody by the roadside.]
[Surface aptitude: Turf B, Dirt G.]
[Distance aptitude: Sprint D, Mile S, Middle D, Long D.]
[Running style aptitude: Front-runner A, Leader C, Mid-pack C, Chaser D.]
[Note: Stats are too trash. Summary temporarily unavailable.]
[System Comment: Knowing you're outmatched yet still hissing—this is the most heroic kind of Kimi-ism in the world.]
Looking at the panel's "summary," Fuka Shirayuki fell into thought again.
"…Hah?"
She couldn't help but start hissing!
You're the "nobody by the roadside"! Your whole family's "nobodies by the roadside"!
If I ran you over, I wouldn't even notice I did!
I'm going to stomp you into the ground with my feet!
The system replied: "Please manage your anger in a timely manner."
"…," Fuka Shirayuki pouted. Getting mad at this little thing was pointless.
So she tapped into the aptitude panel instead.
Since there was no summary for her stats…
She still wanted to reduce the popularity cost the next time she rewrote a race.
Right now, the only thing she could raise was aptitude.
She wanted to know how to rewrite aptitude.
[Middle distance: D rank]
[Aptitude cannot be increased at this time.]
"…?" Fuka Shirayuki complained, "That's not how Horse-Breaking Heavens works, meow!"
"In Horse-Breaking Heavens there's the Fen Jue, and you can even date a Heavenly Flame! Haki System, can't you do anything?!"
System: "..."
She reminded it anyway: "Don't forget you have [King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot]!"
If she remembered right!
The system had already reminded her several times—she just hadn't remembered!
But as she kept talking…
The system suddenly sensed that Fuka Shirayuki was about to start shedding little pearls again…
She sniffled, voice thick with tears, soft and sweet. "…Sorry."
The Haki System fell into contemplation again.
This host…
Was she… kind of… broken?
Mentally.
When she was wild, it was all profanity and swagger—calling herself a god. When she was soft, she was softer than a marshmallow, and two sentences in she'd turn into a crying little baby…
What was going on? And this wasn't even the first time.
The system hurried to comfort her:
"Okay, okay—open [King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot] and claim your Fen Jue."
No choice.
The system could only revolve around Fuka Shirayuki.
She hadn't been tricked by a bad woman! She was just born to spin in circles!
So next, Fuka Shirayuki opened the Hex.
[King of Kings, Shoe-in-Shoe]
[Next-stage quest unlocked: Sprint, Middle, and Long are all D rank.]
[Kilometers required to increase distance aptitude: 10 KM.]
The text looked pretty simple, so Fuka Shirayuki tried hard to focus, staring again and again…
Still didn't understand.
Her clear, innocent eyes went wide. Tear tracks still clung to her cheeks. She tilted her head.
She seemed to know she was cute.
The system had no choice but to explain:
"When you put on the Boot-in-Boot and train, the distance you run becomes proficiency here. Once you reach 10 KM proficiency…"
"Your middle-distance aptitude can rise from D to C."
"And if you compare the novel you're writing to Horse-Breaking Heavens…"
"Then…"
"I am your Yao Lao. And [King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot] is your endlessly-growing Fen Jue!"
Hearing that, Fuka Shirayuki murmured, "...So that's how it works. Mm."
Then…
Didn't that make things simple now?
Put on the boots, step onto the track, run—and evolve her aptitude…
That's what she thought.
And that's exactly what she did.
Hands on hips, standing in place, she huffed proudly:
"Aha! Old fossil—so you finally handed over the Fen Jue!"
…
Crying while trying to act tough.
At this point…
Fuka Shirayuki's absurdly long reaction time finally caught up.
And only then did she realize—
This "body" she was operating…
Might have something seriously wrong with it?!
-------
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