Why was I assigned to be a horse girl?

Kotobuki Toru felt his heart rate soar to 160. After suppressing himself for most of his life, was he finally about to have a major breakthrough?

But just as Kotobuki Toru was about to touch Hitokohaku, the girl nimbly shrank back.

"Wait, wait a minute... I've thought about it again. Although I used to be a boy, I'm not anymore, from head to toe... If I just let you touch me like that, it feels indecent and self-degrading... So I think I'll pass."

"You can wait until I've experienced it all before suddenly realizing it."

Kotobuki was practically spitting blood; he was just one step away from touching the darkness deep within the girl's heart...

"Sorry, but rubbing your own butt is the same thing."

"Can that be the same!"

Chapter Twelve: Are you sent by heaven to bring me down?

After the excitement and high, there is often a feeling of emptiness.

After being teased by the confused amber for a while, Kotobuki Toru not only felt his lonely heart become even emptier, but also experienced an almost painful emptiness in his stomach.

This delay made him really hungry.

After glancing at the instructor lecturing below the stage, Kotobuki Toru took out a food box. "I'm starting now. It's been so long, don't you need to go back to delivering food?"

“There are no orders nearby right now.” Fei Tu Hu Po waved her hand while leaning on the table. “I’m waiting for a few orders from college students… Let me tell you, delivering to college students is easier, the positive review rate is very high! The worst negative reviews from college students are probably for not saying thank you to the delivery person when picking up their takeout…”

"That seems to be the case."

Qin Chuitou opened the takeout box with trembling hands, partly out of anticipation, but also because of low blood sugar caused by hunger.

Today, he ordered a sushi platter that wasn't cheap, with everything from tuna and sea urchin sushi to other delicacies... The sushi chef was clearly very satisfied with his skills, so he deliberately hired the expensive Saima Girl delivery driver to help with the delivery.

As the lid was slowly lifted in a ritualistic manner, Kotobuki Toru could even hear himself swallowing... as well as Hitoko Amber swallowing, as if this racehorse girl was always in a state of hunger.

Hitotsuko stared intently at Kotobuki Toru's hands: "I heard your sushi isn't cheap..."

"You only live once, so you should treat your stomach well."

Kotobuki held his breath and completely lifted the wooden lid of the sushi box.

When the two saw the sushi in the food box, their expectant expressions instantly vanished.

As a racehorse girl, Amber was quick-witted and responsive. She grabbed his arm halfway through her fast harp playing. "Um, you're a college student too, right? No need for thanks... please don't give me a bad review! I'll do anything! Except make me pay for it..."

Inside the lunchbox, the sushi platter was still the same sushi platter, but this time it was arranged in a more chaotic way. The sushi was all jumbled together from being shaken, crab meat and tuna were mixed together, and grilled saury was wrapped in caviar—the whole box of sushi was shaken into a mess.

Although all this chaos happened inside the food container, this situation can generally be described as "spillage".

"Shh, keep your voice down..." Kotobuki Toru quickly bared his teeth at Hitoko Amber, signaling the girl to be quiet. "Do you think I'm such a petty person?"

"Given that you ended my last job... it's hard to say."

Hitotsuko looked worriedly at the food in the box. "Sushi is something that falls apart easily, and I ran all the way here, so some loss is understandable, right? Anyway... it'll all mix together in my stomach eventually..."

"Understandable."

Fei Tu Hu Po's soft, delicate ears drooped down as if in fear. "You say you understand, but your expression right now is scary, super gloomy."

"Huh?" Kotobuki Toru then realized how tense his facial muscles were. He immediately reached out and rubbed his cheeks, took a few deep breaths to reassure himself, and said, "Sorry, I lost control a little just now."

"Oh? So you're possessive of your food? Would you like some dragon fruit?"

"Don't treat me like a dog."

Kotobuki Toru couldn't maintain his serious demeanor for a moment and couldn't help but laugh, but there was still a hint of worry in his smile.

Why are Uma Musume delivery drivers considered the best and most expensive delivery drivers?

That's because the racehorse girls' bodies are extremely stable when they run. No matter how rugged the terrain or how steep the slope, as long as the racehorse girls don't fall or have any accidents, their upper bodies will remain extremely stable. Not to mention sushi, even if you put a cup of water in a takeout bag, the water won't spill out as the racehorse girls run.

In fact, apart from Uma Musume, most track and field athletes also try to minimize the swaying of their upper body when running, but they are not as stable as Uma Musume.

The sushi that Hibiki Amber brought over had been shaken into this messy state.

There are only two possible reasons: either Hitoko was emotionally unstable when she discovered that she was the recipient of the sushi, and deliberately retaliated against herself by shaking the sushi.

However, judging from the fearful expression on Fei Tu Hu Po's face, which shows her worry about losing her salary and job, it is clear that the situation has developed to this point, which is not within Fei Tu Hu Po's understanding and is not something she did intentionally.

Now that we've ruled out emotional instability, that leaves only the possibility that Hitoko's running style is unstable, causing her to sway and stagger while running... ultimately resulting in her sushi being shaken evenly.

Kotobuki Toru may not care about her sushi, but her running style is not very consistent, which is a fatal flaw for a racehorse's career.

Therefore, Kotobuki Toru, who truly cares about and is interested in Uma Musume, turned gloomy almost instantly after analyzing this point.

Fei Tu Hu Po was still a little worried: "So what were you thinking just now?"

"nothing……"

After thinking it over, Kotobuki Toru decided to hold off on his analysis for the time being.

After all, the woman in front of us isn't a normal racehorse. There could be many factors affecting her running, such as the spatial disorientation caused by changes in her height and leg length, the change in her body weight distribution causing her to not yet adapt to her center of gravity, or even the running shoes with melted soles...

There are many possible reasons for this situation, and it would take a lot of time to investigate and analyze them. This is not something that I, a college student who hasn't even graduated yet, should be doing.

"You'll understand when you find a trainer."

One day, Hibiki will find her own trainer, and then let Hibiki's trainer have a headache...

I wonder which unlucky guy will end up finding such an oddball as Hitotsu Amber.

However, Kotobuki Toru's answer directly aroused Hitsukohaku's curiosity. Having just come into contact with the new world of Uma Musume Pretty Derby, Hitsukohaku was still excited and curious about everything.

"By the way, I've been seeing the word 'trainer' all this time. From what I understand, trainers are probably just like physical education teachers? Are they really that important to Uma Musume?"

Chapter Thirteen Trainers

After browsing the Uma Musume website for so long, Hitoko Amber also noticed that the word "trainer" appeared just as frequently as "Uma Musume," and even seemed to be taking up more space on the site.

Fei Tu Hu Po's understanding of the trainer profession is mostly based on her common sense and life experiences through analogy and reasoning... In her understanding, a trainer can basically be equated with a physical education teacher, who teaches running knowledge and arranges fitness plans, etc.

However, after looking at some of the detailed descriptions on the Uma Musume website, Hito Kohaku discovered that the trainers in Uma Musume seem to be more than just physical education teachers.

It's not just that registering for professional races starting with "G" requires the trainer's electronic signature; in some major races, the organizers even require the trainer to be present. Furthermore, if a female horse uses extreme tactics on the track, resulting in injury or other serious consequences, the trainer may even be held responsible. This is not something an ordinary physical education teacher can do.

This is tantamount to indirectly hinting to all the female horse racers—

To compete in higher-level races and dominate the arena of glory, you need a trainer.

"Trainers have many different understandings of their responsibilities, such as homeroom teacher, counselor, babysitter, agent, or even parents without blood ties."

"Huh? The racehorse girls treat you as partners, and you want to be their father?"

"This is just an analogy to illustrate that trainers have a lot to worry about..."

Kotobuki Toru grabbed a clump of rice that had been shaken apart and stuffed it into his mouth. While chewing, he said, "Besides the training plans and race schedules that are commonly known to trainers, some trainers also act as personal masseuses, nutritionists, or even shoe and hoof selectors. They respond to everything about the racehorses. That's what makes an excellent trainer."

Fei Tu Hu Po looked on with envy, "You trainers are really... amazing. With such dedication, no wonder your salaries are so high."

Unexpectedly, Kotobuki Toru shook his head directly, his expression devout and serious.

"That's a backwards reasoning. Actually, it's precisely because trainers are willing to put in so much effort for racehorse girls that they receive such good treatment... In other words, even without such high salaries, most trainers would definitely choose to put in this much effort for racehorse girls."

"Eh?"

Looking at Kotobuki's longing and devout expression, and the earnestness in his tone... Hitoko Amber suddenly felt ashamed of her earlier mercenary behavior, "So... why do the trainers go to such lengths?"

"It's hard to say what other people's dreams are, but for me, it's to find an excellent female racehorse and then climb to the top of the world together in this arena where nothing depends on connections or looks, but purely on strength and bond."

This time, Hitotsu Kohaku didn't answer with words, but instead gave Kotobuki Toru a thumbs-up very seriously, her pretty face full of admiration.

"What an amazing dream. If I had a coach like that before... well, I guess nothing would have changed, since I was hit by a truck transporting the Three Goddess statues, which took my leg..."

"But the three goddesses are kind of compensating you... Actually, being assigned to a different major is just that. As long as you agree, they'll definitely assign you to some weird place. A high school friend of mine dreamed of studying a marine-related major, but he was directly assigned to animal husbandry and pig farming..."

"Pfft haha."

Hitoko's voice was already very soft and melodious, and when Girls' Generation burst out laughing, everyone in the classroom once again noticed the commotion in the last row.

"Kotobuki-san, what are you doing?"

The instructor walked straight toward Qin Chuitou.

Sensing her mentor's authority, Fei Tu Hu Po panicked instantly. She quietly pushed open the back door a crack and prepared to run away. "The wind is blowing hard, I'm getting out of here first."

Kotobuki Toru quickly closed the lid of the sushi box and stuffed the whole box into Hishiko Amber's hand, saying, "Take this out for me, you can eat it."

"Is this appropriate?"

"Come on, you were staring at this sushi the whole time, weren't you? If your academic tutor catches you again, and you get caught twice in one day, I'm really doomed..."

"Alright alright."

Fei Tu Hu Po quickly took the sushi box, then, with her slender waist bent, she slipped out through the crack in the door like a kitten.

Immediately behind him came Kotobuki Toru's awkward laughter, a result of his feigned ignorance...

Hitoko Amber tossed the still-heavy sushi box in her hand slightly. "Anyway... it's almost time for dinner. Dinner's all set for tonight!"

Just as she was about to leave the teaching building, Fei Tu Hu Po turned back to look at the building behind her, a soft voice escaping her lips.

"Dreams, future, trainer..."

……

At night, Hitotsu Amber gratefully devoured the large, expensive portion of deluxe sushi, and then went to an affordable ramen shop to order two large portions of tonkotsu ramen before she was only about 70% full.

However, this 70% fullness was more than enough to sustain her through several laps in the vast city of Sapporo. Running under the colorful and intricate lights was truly a joyful experience for a horse girl.

When Fei Tu Hu Po was forced to leave work at 10 p.m. by the food delivery station manager, she had already run nearly 100 kilometers that day and even won the sales management championship for food delivery workers.

"This is your salary for today: 12,000 yen in takeout commission, plus 3,000 yen in sales management bonus."

Holding the astonishing amount of banknotes in her hands, Fei Tu Hu Po's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow, there are so many?"

"After all, you're fast and deliver a lot."

"Station manager! Can you deliver food with me for the rest of your life?"

"Um, this is a bit difficult..."

The delivery station manager scratched his head awkwardly. Besides, persuading a beautiful young racehorse girl to deliver food seemed like something an adult shouldn't do. He immediately tried to dissuade her, saying, "Besides, everyone here only sees delivery as a temporary part-time job. I also think it's a waste for a racehorse girl like you, Hito, to only be running delivery. If you were to compete in racehorse races, you'd definitely achieve great things, right?"

"Hey, actually I just signed up for a competition recently. I'm thinking of participating and giving it a try?"

"Aren't you going to train? Are you going to deliver food here?"

"I'll starve if I don't deliver food..." Hito Amber folded the banknotes in her hand and put them into the pocket of her jacket. "But I've earned so much today, that should be enough for the next few days... Oh right, I'll go ask about training tonight!"

Chapter Fourteen: Sister, why aren't you wearing pajamas?

Around 10 p.m., Kotobuki gently moved his neck, which was slightly sore from working for a long time, and then slowly closed the laptop that carried his hard work.

Today was a day filled with many chaotic and complicated events, even disrupting his biological clock regarding meals. Normally, he should feel extremely tired under such circumstances.

But for some reason, Kotobuki Toru felt he was in a good mood, and his work efficiency was even higher than usual...

Just as Kotobuki Toru rolled over and lay down on the narrow, cabinet-style tatami mat, ready to play on her phone for a while, her social media app popped up a notification with a red exclamation mark.

You have received a new friend request.

AAA accepts all kinds of part-time jobs.

Kotobuki Toru almost instinctively prepared to reject the friend request and block the sender... but just as she was about to press the reject button, she noticed the sender's nickname.

[I'm Scarlet Amber! Just finished delivering food! I made a killing today!]

Kotobuki Toru unconsciously smiled congratulatory smile and then accepted the friend request from this hardworking racehorse girl.

No sooner had they accepted the friend request than five seconds later, Fei Tu Hu Po on the other end of the network immediately called them via video.

As a gentleman who had received proper etiquette training, Kotobuki Toru naturally sat up quickly, rubbed his collar to make sure it wasn't loose, and then answered the phone.

"Yo, TouTou!"

"Greetings, Fei Tu... Pfft."

According to the etiquette teacher, even during a video call, one should dress neatly and presentably to express sincerity. However, today, Kotobuki Toru suddenly realized that there is another way to express sincerity besides dressing properly—

Be honest and open with each other.

Although during video calls, the area captured by the front-facing camera of a handheld phone is limited, the image will basically only focus on the face and neck area.

However, in the current video call, besides Hitoko Amber's rosy and moist cheeks, Kotobuki Toru can also clearly see Hitoko Amber's fair and slender neck, as well as her delicate shoulders that are faintly visible, along with the glistening watermarks on the girl's skin.