Why was I assigned to be a horse girl?

As soon as the countdown ended, the three female racehorses exchanged glances and then rushed towards the worship path leading to the mountain gate, eager to claim the first place.

The noblewoman possessed formidable leg strength and was even dressed in a decisive outfit, giving her a significant advantage from the start. However, Hibiki Amber angrily rebuked her for lacking martial ethics and relying on superior equipment to overwhelm the opponent...

But when she was three-quarters of the way uphill, the lady's relatively poor stamina gave out, and she was overtaken by Amber.

As for Gao Shangjunyi... because there were just too many passersby cheering for the horse racers and the cheers were too enthusiastic, Gao Shangjunyi, being socially awkward, chose the tree-lined path next to him and took a long detour.

After passing through the huge torii gate, you can see the offering sake bottles placed by the roadside. On the wooden sake racks, sake bottles from various regions and brands are placed like Lego toys. Throughout Japan, you can find both common and uncommon brands on the sake racks. The purpose of offering sake here is to allow the gods to drink sake from all over the world at any time.

Seeing the wine rack, Fei Tu Hu Po could only recall the wine she had drunk last time, which tasted really good... She could drink some more in the future.

Further ahead is the handwashing area, where spring water flows in a wooden water channel. According to the normal procedure for visiting a shrine, everyone should wash their hands and rinse their mouths with the water in the pool at this time.

However, considering that there were already so many people visiting Meiji Shrine during the day, with people coming and going from all over the world, and not knowing whether the water was actually clean, Hito Amber immediately gave up the idea of ​​rinsing her mouth with the water.

Just like the fountain in the Three Goddess Park, it's not a big deal to just wash your hands and feet!

"Jingle-ding-ding-ding-ding."

Walking slowly to the offering box at the shrine, Hitokohaku raised her hand and threw in a handful of 5-yen coins.

The total value of the coins in the handful isn't much, but the clinking sound they make adds to their emotional appeal.

The lady beside her was more straightforward: three coins, without denominations… gleaming brightly in the dim lantern light, they even made a "thud" when tossed into the offering box—definitely pure gold coins.

The monks nearby were all amazed...

The noblewoman clasped her hands together, her wish straightforward: "My God, please bless me to inherit the throne, to be crowned, and to unify the world."

Gao Shangjunyi's wish is very traditional: "May the gods bless me... that in the new year, the name Gao Shangjunyi may become great again."

Kotobuki Toru's wish is rather ordinary, without any ambition: "I hope my family and friends are healthy."

Hishiko Amber's wishes for the two racehorse girls were easy to understand, but Kotobuki Toru's wish sounded rather ordinary and didn't fit Hishiko Amber's perception of ordinary young people at all.

Shouldn't ambitious young people usually make a promise to become a billionaire or something?

But even after all three of them had finished making their wishes, Hitotsu Amber was still standing in front of the money box, staring at the gap in the box, thinking about what wish she should make.

Kotobuki looked at the conflicted girl and said helplessly, "Kohaku, why don't you just make a wish? Anyway, there's a high chance it won't come true for you. Just say whatever you want, whether it's for yourself or to pray for others..."

Fei Tu Hu Po thought for a moment, looked at Qin Chui Tou, and smiled radiantly.

"Tou Tou, you're the best to me. How about I wish you would become a billionaire? That way you won't have to work hard for the rest of your life."

Upon hearing this, the noblewoman beside her looked like she wanted to laugh but dared not. Luckily, Hitsukohaku and Kotobuki Toru were close, and there were no outsiders around... Normally, if Hitsukohaku had made this wish in front of the Kotobuki family, she would definitely have been kicked out...

Wishing that Kotobuki Toru becomes a billionaire... isn't that just a disguised way of cursing the Kotobuki family into bankruptcy?

Kotobuki Toru quickly pressed down on Hishiko Amber's shoulders, "No, no, no, I can't bear your wish. Make another one, something better for yourself."

Fei Tu Hu Po nodded slightly, and decided to make a more common wish.

"Then I hope that in the new year I can become a triple crown, or even more, racehorse girl!"

---

The Second Year of Saima Musume and the Trainer

Chapter 160 Capricorn Team Competition, Opening Ceremony! (4500 words, two chapters combined)

During the New Year's Day holiday, the festive atmosphere in Central Treisen was still strong. The female racehorses had a great time at the school, each one like a carefree child, having snowball fights, greeting each other and taking photos, creating a joyful and harmonious atmosphere.

But once the holiday was over, Central Tressen got serious...

After all, the Central Government's reputation wasn't earned through the photos of the horse racers and their excellent idol-like performances.

The central position was earned bit by bit through the hard work and strength of Uma Musume!

If they can get the racehorses running, Central Tresson won't let them sit idle.

In Japan, due to geographical location and climate, no high-level competitions are held in January and February; in fact, there are virtually no public events.

But that doesn't matter. Central Tressen has enough economic strength and material resources. It has everything: venues, referees, commentators, and players. It can easily host multiple Tressen freshman tournaments on the same day.

In January, Treson prepared a team race for the female racehorses called the Capricorn Cup.

--------

Mid-January, in a secluded basement in Tressen.

The room was dimly lit, with a thin and uneven pale yellow light spilling onto the table. The simply painted walls were peeling and mottled due to the dampness and cold of the basement, looking eerie and sinister under the light, like the peeling skin on the face of an immortal who had lived for hundreds of years in a TV series.

The wall plaster, which had completely peeled off, had been temporarily covered up with expired newspapers and magazines.

Japanese Prime Minister assassinated with homemade pistol during speech

[Reiwa Era Name Officially Adopted]

In the second year of the Yuanhe era, the Huashan family was robbed by mountain bandits.

[A family of horse racing brides meets their family, officially entering the software industry]

……

Reports of different events from different periods were haphazardly pasted onto the wall with glue, looking distorted and magical, like a time tunnel. Just one glance at it gives you the feeling that your brain has been invaded by a chaotic timeline.

In the center of the room sat a small reflective heater, commonly known as a hand warmer. This little heater had been in use for quite some time, and when it was turned on to oscillate, every slight movement made a creaking sound, sounding like the last gasp of a worker exhausted to death in the industrial age.

"As you all have probably felt it recently, staying in this basement is really uncomfortable..."

Kotobuki Toru sat on a pile of bundled old newspapers, facing the heater and reaching out to warm his hands, breathing out white steam as he looked at the other racehorse girls sitting on the same pile of old newspapers.

"This activity room is absolutely awful."

The lady put her hands in her pockets and stomped her feet to keep warm. Although racehorses are resistant to the cold, they still had to rely on movement to keep warm in the cramped and chilly environment of the basement.

After stretching a bit, the lady pouted and complained, "Who told the fat rabbit to have such bad luck... he just reached out and pulled out an underground warehouse!"

"Didn't you guys tell me to draw that? What, you asked me to draw the aerospace item for you, and it actually failed, so you're blaming me?"

Fei Tu Hu Po was also rubbing her little hands together and breathing on her palms to warm them. "Besides, isn't this room quite unique? Not only do we have newspapers that have been stored for decades, but we can also find interesting little trinkets left behind by the senior students!"

As she spoke, Hitotsu Amber rummaged through the pile of junk and pulled out a stone mask. "The seniors' craftsmanship is quite good. It's still intact despite all the strength. I wonder if wearing it will make me a more powerful life form than the horse girl."

"Amber, stop playing around. Do you really want to stay in this underground activity room for three years? Even I... think it's a bit too depressing here."

"Relax, relax, we'll definitely win a great place in the Capricorn Cup later!"

Fei Tu Hu Po snapped the stone mask in her hand into pieces, then guiltily threw the shards into the trash can before sitting back down among a pile of old newspapers. "The three of us—master and disciples… oh no, the three of us sisters—are incredibly strong against other teams!"

Kotobuki Toru was already catching a cold from the cold. After rubbing his nose, he pointed to the whiteboard behind him and said, "But I still want to emphasize that this is a team competition, not your usual individual battles... It tests whether our team can work together as a unified whole, so you must cooperate!"

"..."

"Please reply!"

"reply!"

"Um, TouTou, you have to believe me, we'll win!"

"Hmph, before absolute power, might makes right! What cooperation... a cowardly act! I will never tolerate it!"

The three horse racers had different thoughts, and Qin Chuitou covered his face in distress... This was probably what it felt like for a grand eunuch in ancient China to help coordinate the affairs of the concubines in the harem.

but……

Kotobuki Toru reached out and looked through the attributes of the various racehorse girls provided by the Three Goddess AI.

【Name: Scarlet Amber】

Height: 156cm barefoot

[Weight: 49.9kgKG]

[Field adaptability: Grass: A, Mud: B]

[Distance adaptability: Short distance B, Mile B, Medium distance A, Long distance A]

[Running style adaptability: C for fleeing, D for leading, A for trailing, A for chasing]

[Inherent Skill: None]

[Moderate concentration, moderately increased reaction speed during the exit and start phases]

[Clockwise XL has become very bad at clockwise tracks]

【Majestic and Powerful: When other racehorse girls are within a three-meter radius, all their attributes will decrease, while all of the user's attributes will increase. The skill effect increases by 10% for each racehorse girl present, up to a maximum of three.】

[Strong Aura: Passive characters are more susceptible to control-type skills, but control-type skills are also more effective.]

Speed ​​[200, D-]

Endurance [240, D]

Strength [280, D+]

Perseverance [210, D]

Intelligence [0-170, E-]

Number of followers: 1250

Racehorse Girl's market value: 50 yen

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Overall Rating: D+

In just over a month, Hibiki Amber has indeed grown a lot. Apart from her Sage attribute, her average attributes have increased by about 20, and the right-turning delinquency has successfully gone from an extra-large XXL to an XL... although the negative skill has not been completely eliminated.

As for Lady and Noble Steed, these two racehorse girls are also in their own teams, and even roommates with Hitoko Amber, when they are competing, these two horse girls still regard Hitoko Amber as a formidable rival and have not revealed much about their own attributes.

Consequently, as Hitoko Amber's trainer, she couldn't see the detailed attributes of these two racehorse girls, and could only get a general idea from the evaluation letters.

[Lady, Grass Track Adaptability A, Mud Track Adaptability G, Short Distance Adaptability G, Mile Distance Adaptability A, Medium Distance Adaptability A, Long Distance Adaptability A, Speed ​​D, Endurance E-, Strength C, Perseverance D, Intelligence E+, Overall Rating: D+]

[Gao Shang Jun Yi: Grass track adaptability A, Mud track adaptability G, Short distance adaptability G, Mile distance adaptability G, Medium distance adaptability A, Long distance adaptability A, Speed ​​E+, Endurance D, Strength E+, Perseverance D+, Intelligence D+, Overall rating C-]

It's clear that a clever horse girl gets a lot of points with the three goddesses! Takasho Junichi actually has the highest overall score among the three horse girls... His perseverance and intelligence are both at the C- level, although he hasn't achieved any impressive rankings yet.

But even within the entire Treisen region, such a racehorse girl is considered an outstanding presence...

Since all three horse girls had good stats, Kotobuki Toru immediately began to introduce the track conditions to them.

"The course for our Capricorn elimination tournament this time is all 2400 meters counterclockwise with left turns. Everyone has adapted well to this kind of venue... There are no problems with track adaptability... As for skills, I still suggest you use them strategically... In team competitions, sometimes the tactic of one person protecting two, or two protecting one, can be used."

"For example, the last racehorse girl might give up competing for a ranking and start using all her energy to use pre-requisite skills, or a racehorse girl might use a vision skill that provides a sense of the big picture and help her teammates make decisions. Variety in tactics and skill combinations is the secret to winning team battles."

Kotobuki Toru said a few words, and then felt the impatient gazes of the three racehorse girls... Well, these three are the type who don't like playing support.

"Um, if you don't want to hear it, that's fine... Let's talk about the three teams you'll be facing in your first match: Azalea, Foxtail Grass, and Pitcher Plant..."

Kotobuki Toru looked through the team introduction picture over and over again, then coughed lightly: "Actually, it seems like there aren't any good ideas. The strongest racer girl in the team only has a D- stat. Let's just make sure we don't accidentally fail."

"With three people involved, do you think they can all be caught off guard and fail at once?"

"Let's go!"

---

Ten minutes later, the three racehorse girls entered one of the arenas prepared by Treson. Apparently, the three of them hadn't been able to decide who would be the team's ace and stand in the center position, so when they walked out of the player's tunnel, they were crowded together like fish fighting for food in a fish tank...

The two fat horses, Hibiki Amber and Noble Lady, weighed 6 pounds each and were tall and strong... They almost broke the door of the waiting room while fighting for their spots.

Because there were too many matches being played at the same time, there was no commentary on site. Instead, an LED screen continuously played introductions of the players from the four teams.

Once inside the gate, Hibiki Amber glanced around at her opponents. They all looked familiar, but none of them had any particularly distinctive features; each one seemed like a passerby…

As racehorse girls who have reached the central level, they all have high mental fortitude. Naturally, they don't act like local racehorse girls who start shouting "Oyster (I can't do it)" when they encounter strong opponents.

But when they learned that two of their opponents were champions of the Treson Freshman Tournament, they still showed a conflicted and helpless expression.

Since everyone has their reasons for not wanting to lose, then we have no choice but to fight with our backs against the wall.

In less than a minute, the horse gates on the racetrack were opened.

After a period of training and use, Scarlet Amber has honed her concentration skills to an intermediate level, and her exit time has improved by a fraction of a second...

In those mere fractions of a second, Fei Tu Hu Po and Gao Shang Jun Yi seized the lead at the very beginning of the game.

Although Gao Shangjunyi doesn't usually race with other racehorses, her racing skills are exceptional. As a horse who excels at taking the lead, she is very clear about her position. After running just a few steps, she gave up the inside lane to Hisako...

“Amber, you go run the escape horse race... I'll follow behind you and help you block the other racehorse girls.”

Fei Tu Hu Po hadn't actually tried any escape horse racing techniques before, and she didn't dare to change her racing techniques casually in other professional competitions. However, since Gao Shang Jun Yi had made such an understanding suggestion, she might as well give it a try in this competition. Besides Gao Shang Jun Yi, she also had a noble lady ready to pounce in her team.