Yukino Bijin was just about to close up shop when she saw someone walking over. She greeted them with a smile. "Welcome! Would you like a crepe or soy milk? Authentic Iwate crepe."
"Oh? How many do you have left? I'll take them all. And I'm buying this stand of yours too."
"Okay..." Yukino Bijin's hand hesitated as she reached for the crepes, her fingers freezing mid-air. "Eh? Wait, wait, did I hear that right?"
—
When Yuki Bijin debuted, the Shuka Sho had not yet been established. The final crown of the Triple Tiara was the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
She'd challenged the Triple Tiara but failed to win a single crown, only winning the Grade race Queen's Stakes once.
Just one Grade race, but the prize money was still substantial enough to live on comfortably.
It wasn't like Yukino Bijin was working outside because she needed money. She was a country girl who was just thrifty and good at managing household expenses, the type who saved every yen.
She'd earn when she could, the type who couldn't bear to spend money even when she had it.
"You didn't hear wrong. More than that, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Um... you're that escape runner trainer?" Yukino Bijin lifted her head and, upon looking carefully, realized it was Hayato.
"My name is Hayato, thank you."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry!" Yukino Bijin bowed deeply in apology, her face flushing. Calling someone "escape runner trainer" was way too rude.
Yukino Bijin had a short, mushroom-cut hairstyle, a plain face, and wore white earmuffs and a headband over her ears. She was cute in an unassuming way.
"It's fine."
Hayato was getting a bit used to that nickname by now.
"May I ask what Mr. Hayato needs from me?"
"I do have a favor to ask. Could you be a training partner for my horse girls? Don't worry, I'll pay you. We'll calculate it by the day, paid daily. I can give you fifty thousand yen per day."
"Huh?!" Yukino Bijin's gaze froze for a moment as she took a breath, her mind racing. She was already silently calculating, fifty thousand a day, how much in ten days, how much in a year.
Fifty thousand wasn't much to Hayato. After Suzuka's Tulip Sho, his bank account had broken through ten million, more money than he knew what to do with.
Rather than letting it all go to Oguri Cap's stomach, Hayato might as well spend it on training where it mattered.
"What? Is it too little?" Hayato's brow furrowed as he added, "It's not all-day training either. Just from six PM to nine PM."
"N-no, it's not that. It's just, isn't this a bit too much?"
"Then let's go. Close up shop and bring everything to my training grounds."
"But... I... okay, fine."
After thinking it over, Yukino Bijin decided to accept this job. The pay was too good to refuse.
Hayato helped her pack up, then headed to the training grounds with her in tow.
By this time, Seiun Sky had also returned. Seeing Yukino Bijin, she thought she'd just moved her stand to a different location, closer to the training grounds.
Her stand was now providing free service, which made her feel a bit guilty about accepting handouts. She wanted to start the pacing training right away, but Hayato refused.
In the afternoon, she appeared at the training grounds in athletic wear, ready to work.
"Trainer, what's this about?" Seiun Sky wanted to ask if this was a new member, like Oguri Cap retired but was still part of the team.
"Oh, right. I found you all a training partner. I paid money for this, so be serious."
"Hello, I'm Yukino Bijin. Please take care of me." Yukino Bijin greeted them with a polite bow.
"I need a training partner?" Seiun Sky asked, somewhat confused by the change.
"Of course you do. Your training is all different now. It won't work without help. On the Tenno Sho Spring, you will not be a front runner, but a pace chaser!"
Seiun Sky needed to start learning pace-chaser skills. King Halo needed to learn skills for breaking through from the middle of the pack in the late stages. These all required one or two training partner horse girls to help push them.
"So, Trainer Hayato, how should I act as a training partner?" Yukino Bijin smiled as she looked at Hayato, eager to start.
"It's simple. Just run normally. Today, you'll be Seiun Sky's training partner first. Btw, Her Osaka Hai is coming up too."
"Run normally?" Yukino Bijin tilted her head in thought, looking skeptical. That's it? This counts as training?
"Right. Don't underestimate them either. Even though they just debuted, their strength is considerable. You need to give it your all."
"Yes, I'll do my best."
Yukino Bijin walked toward Seiun Sky. "Please treat me well."
"Please treat me well." After Seiun Sky responded, she led her to the training area. The training she was currently doing simulated the Hanshin Racecourse's 2000-meter track.
This distance was optimal for her right now. She could display one hundred percent of her strength without holding back.
Yukino Bijin's stats were as follows:
Yukino Bijin
Stamina: 86/100 Good
Speed: 376
Stamina: 313
Power: 345
Guts: 286
Wits: 319
Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt B
Distance Aptitude: Sprint D, Mile A, Medium A, Long E
Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner C, Pace-Chaser A, End-Closer F, Late-Surger G
Skill 1: Nakayama Racer (Normal/Low-level Passive/Green) - Becomes slightly better at Nakayama Racecourse.
Skill 2: Snowy Days (Normal/Low-level Passive/Green) - Becomes slightly better at winter races.
Skill 3: No Stopping Me! (Legendary/Gold-bordered) - During the final spurt stage, when blocked in front, footwork becomes nimble.
Skill 4: Hydrate (Normal/Blue)...
Skill 5: Corner Acceleration (Normal/Gold)...
Skill 6: Head On (Normal/Gold)...
Unlike those legendary horse girls, Yukino Bijin had retired after just one year. Her stats weren't explosively high, all in the 300s, with Guts in the 200s, solidly mid-tier.
Her running style was Pace-Chaser A-rank, Front Runner C-rank. She was perfect as their training partner for what they needed.
Her aptitude was actually very good. Her failure to win a GI could only be attributed to not meeting a good trainer who understood her potential.
She didn't have a trainer now, either. Her former trainer had vanished without a trace, abandoning her.
That's how it was at Tracen. Trainers frequently went missing, and nobody cared enough to look into it.
After having a training partner, Seiun Sky officially began learning front-runner skills, the real work starting now.
—
The next day, Mayano Top Gun came here. "Yuki-chan, why are you here? I had such a hard time finding you."
"Because I'm working here now."
"Work?" A flash of envy crossed Mayano Top Gun's face, her expression wistful.
She acted spoiled, her voice taking on a wheedling tone. "Top Gun wants to work too! Maya wants to become an adult, too."
Yukino Bijin smiled without answering, knowing better than to encourage that line of thinking.
Hayato clarified for her. "Yukino's current job is being a training partner. It has nothing to do with being an adult."
"Training partner?" She blinked her big yellow eyes at Hayato, processing the information. "Maya remembers now! You're that runaway trainer. Very cool!"
She still admired Hayato a bit, not because of how amazing Hayato was at training horse girls, but because every time after a race, he could always escape the reporters' pursuit like some kind of ninja.
The reporters nowadays really have nothing better to do. The more it was like this, the more they felt interviewing Hayato would be interesting, like all the newspapers were competing with each other to see who could interview him first.
"Hey, hey! Can the runaway trainer teach me how to do the escape? It's so cool and flashy!"
Hayato responded somewhat helplessly, already seeing where this was going. "Mayano-chan, this has nothing to do with being an adult or whatever. Don't learn it."
"I can't?" She seemed a bit displeased, her ears drooping slightly.