Bonus 3+i

After spending a full year working as a trainer, there’s one thing I’ve come to understand very clearly.

Being a trainer for Uma Musume is… kind of insane.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it outright exploitative, but the balance between risk and reward is clearly off. If you take the job seriously, the workload becomes brutal—bad enough that, in the worst cases, someone could genuinely get hurt. Or worse.

I finally understand why the senior trainers used to tell me, “It’ll be tough, but do your best.” Trying to handle this volume of work alone, an inexperienced rookie can easily be crushed. In fact, they say that every year, about half of all new trainers quit within their first three years.

The fact that none of my cohort has dropped out yet isn’t just due to our individual effort and endurance. It owes a lot to the support of him—the top graduate of our class. Honestly, if it weren’t for his help, I think I might have already ruined my health.

According to the seniors, this job is all about “getting used to it.” If you can survive the first year after your trainee debuts, you gradually learn how to work faster, and things start to ease up. In that sense, my classmates and I can probably say we’ve cleared the first trial.

…That said, it’s only the first trial.

Clearing it doesn’t mean things suddenly get easy. Not even close.

As things stand, my life as a trainer is still just as demanding as ever. That’s because the busier this job gets, the more popular your trainee becomes—and the increase isn’t linear, it’s exponential. Especially if you’re in charge of an Uma Musume people start calling one of the “Three Stars of the Generation.” When that happens, things become truly, genuinely ridiculous.

Which is why, today as well, I was working through my day off.

My trainee, Nice Nature, hasn’t exactly posted overwhelmingly dominant results so far. She’s raced four times, with two wins and no graded stakes victories yet. Two first-place finishes and two seconds—giving her a 100% top-two finish rate.

…Honestly, for June of the Classic year, that record absolutely qualifies her as a top-class Uma Musume. The fact that I’ve started thinking of those results as “not that outstanding” really shows how badly I’ve been poisoned by that one girl from Nature’s generation.

At its core, a race has up to eighteen runners. Out of all of them, only one is counted as the winner. If everyone were equal in ability, the odds of winning would be one in eighteen—about six percent.

Nature is maintaining a fifty percent win rate.

That alone proves she has talent capable of competing at the top of this generation. I don’t think anyone could reasonably argue against calling her one of the chosen elite.

…That is, if Hoshino Wilm didn’t exist in the same year.

Seven races, seven wins by June of the Classic year. Four G1 victories and one G2. When someone like that is your contemporary… it’s frustrating, but even exceptional talent starts to look dull by comparison. No matter how brightly Nature shines, if there’s a star blazing right beside her, she inevitably ends up looking ordinary in contrast.

Still—Nice Nature is strong.

Her ability to think and adapt on the fly during a race, and her explosive finishing kick, are both among the very best of her generation. She truly deserves to be called a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

…But as things stand now, I can’t say she’s being properly recognized by the public.

After all, Nature and I have been focusing entirely on the Kikuka Sho, spending the past several months training specifically for it. That means she hasn’t been entering graded races, and fans haven’t had many chances to see her true strength. Hoshino Wilm brings her up now and then, so expectations exist, but even so, the evaluation she’s received amounts to little more than “a third-rate star.”

…That assessment is wrong. Nice Nature is an Uma Musume who can stand at the very top of this generation.

Sure, compared to supreme geniuses like Hoshino Wilm or Tokai Teio, she might fall short in raw talent or early development. Even so, I have no doubt that Nature is the true “first-magnitude star” of this generation.

She may lose in talent, but she never loses in effort. She piles up relentless hard work by every means available, all to keep pace with those geniuses. That’s why Nature will surpass Hoshino Wilm at the Kikuka Sho and bloom in full glory as a first-magnitude star. Even if no one else believes in her… I will.

…Huh. I completely went off track at some point.

This always happens when I start talking about Nature. I really need to be careful, or my classmates will start teasing me again—calling me a hopeless trainer idiot or worse.

Anyway, as of now, Nature isn’t receiving sky-high praise from the public. The general perception is probably something like, “one of the better G1-caliber Uma Musume of her generation.”

But even at that level, the trainer under contract already becomes absurdly busy.

If you base things on a standard nine-to-five schedule—from eight in the morning to five in the evening—you only have nine hours in a day. Of course, that’s nowhere near enough, so you work overtime. Even then, you can squeeze out maybe five more hours at most. Fourteen hours total… and it’s still not enough.

For starters, the sheer volume of paperwork is overwhelming. None of it is particularly difficult, but it takes time, and any mistake can directly harm your trainee, so you can never let your guard down.

…Mind you, this is coming from someone who, just the other day, accidentally submitted a blank portrait rights confirmation form that had slipped in among other documents and got scolded by Tazuna-san. I’m hardly one to lecture others.

On top of that, there’s observing Nature’s training and dealing with all sorts of unexpected incidents, which means I can almost never secure a solid block of uninterrupted time. If I had to name one exception, it would be the morning, when Nature is often in class—but even then, it’s only about three hours. I can’t let her see me being pathetic, so I desperately plow through paperwork during those hours and make sure my schedule looks relaxed by the time she comes around.

And technology advances day by day. New shoes, horseshoes, clothing, and training methods are constantly being developed. Checking their safety and verifying their sources is another task that can’t be neglected. At least this part can be done in my room, so I usually take that work home.

…From the moment I wake up until I go to bed, it’s basically nothing but work. I’ve become a full-fledged corporate slave.

Back when I was aiming to become a trainer, I used to hear ominous jokes like, “Central trainers don’t have human rights,” or, “Will you quit being a trainer, or quit being human?” If you genuinely want to support your trainee, there’s no way to secure personal time as a rookie. At best, you can glance at the news while eating. And if you make even a single mistake, all responsibility comes crashing down on the trainer.

The pay isn’t bad, and if your trainee wins, you can earn quite a lot… but even so, I still think the risks and rewards just don’t balance out.

A performance-based salary, a work environment where overtime is a given, and a system where all responsibility rests squarely on the individual.

To put it bluntly, it’s a job you can’t survive unless you learn to enjoy it.

Unless you’re the kind of person who can devote your life to being an Uma Musume trainer, you’ll burn out and quit early on. That’s probably why so many Central trainers seem like they’re missing a few screws upstairs.

…That said, there are exceptions to everything.

If anything, the degree to which his screws are loose might actually be on a completely different level.

Even though he’s from the same class as me and is already in charge of an absurdly demanding Uma Musume, there’s a trainer who looks like he’s gotten used to the job—and even has some breathing room to spare.

He exists, but… yeah.

He’s kind of a special case.

He was so outstanding that he stood out from the rest of our class early on, and even the senior trainers seemed more worried about him than impressed. From my very average point of view, he’s such a terrible comparison target that it almost feels unfair.

I can’t help but wonder how the senior trainers who already handle two or more trainees—or even manage entire teams—manage their time at all. I’ve gotten somewhat used to things over the past year and a half, but even so, I’ve only managed to shave off maybe one or two hours. I definitely can’t say I have enough leeway to take on more trainees yet.

…Depending on how things go, I might end up with another trainee in another year and a half.

What should I do about that…? Cutting corners would be irresponsible, and that’s not an option.

If I cut down on sleep, I might barely be able to make room for one more person… maybe. I’d really rather avoid that, though. I need to get used to this faster.

"…Hmm."

"Oh? What’s up, Trainer?"

"Hm? Ah—sorry. I was just stuck on something a bit tricky."

Oops. That’s not good.

Looks like a sound slipped out without me realizing it.

In the trainer’s office today, there was someone else besides me—an Uma Musume.

Lounging on the sofa built into the room, fiddling with her phone, was my trainee: Nice Nature.

She’d lightly twisted her ankle during a run the other day, so we’d called off training for today and turned it into a rest day. She’d said, “I’m bored anyway—mind if I hang out in the trainer’s office?” and dropped by.

Honestly, that worked out better for me. It meant I could keep an eye on her and make sure she was actually resting properly.

That said, I still had my own work to do, so I felt bad about not being able to give her much attention. Nature didn’t seem to mind, but since she’d gone out of her way to come, I wanted to carve out some time after lunch to talk with her properly.

…Personally, I don’t dislike this kind of quiet time alone with her either.

A relationship where silence doesn’t feel awkward is surprisingly rare. I like to think I have a decent number of friends, but even among them, only a handful feel natural just sitting beside me.

Human relationships are complicated. Being considerate and kind doesn’t automatically make you close.

Being able to sit next to someone without worrying about them—feeling like it’s only natural that they’re there—something closer to family.

It’s probably a one-sided feeling on my part, directed at Nature… but still.

The fact that I’ve come to feel that way about my trainee makes me genuinely happy.

I glanced over at Nature.

She was slumped against the sofa’s armrest, her upper body sprawled out as she relaxed. As she played with her phone, her face was completely expressionless. Her ears, however, were loosely tilted to the side, suggesting she was fairly at ease.

Looking at her like this again, I’m reminded of how genuinely cute she is.

I don’t really understand the logic behind it, but Uma Musume are all beautiful or cute by human standards. And when you add their powerful, graceful running on top of that, it’s no wonder they become so popular.

I get why people can’t help but be captivated.

I mean… setting looks aside, I’m one of the people who fell in love at first sight with her running.

…It was over a year ago now, during a selection race.

I saw Nature run, fell for it instantly, and decided to scout her.

I can still remember that scene clearly.

The desperate expression on her face. The razor-sharp kick she unleashed at the end. The race didn’t go her way, and she narrowly finished third, but… the frustration she couldn’t fully hide only made her shine brighter than anyone else.

“Once you feel ‘this is it,’ don’t let it slip away. Fate often begins in the smallest moments.”

Following the advice Horino-kun gave me, deciding on the spot to scout her was absolutely the right call.

From that moment until now, I’ve never once wavered in believing that she’s the Uma Musume who deserves to shine brighter than anyone else in her generation.

And I want to support her from right by her side.

…Alright. Time to stop daydreaming.

If I’m going to support her properly, I need to face reality.

Spread out in front of me were several documents: budget applications for the month after next, a request for permission for Nature to stay out overnight, interview requests for Nature, confirmations for replacing training equipment, and more.

Why is it that official documents are always written in the most incomprehensible way possible?

I understand they’re trying to be precise and avoid vague interpretations, but the wording is hard to follow and the intent is difficult to grasp. Honestly, that feels more dangerous than anything.

…No, sorry. That was just me venting.

I come from a pretty ordinary family, so I’m still not used to this kind of writing. Would it really kill them to phrase things a little more plainly…?

Complaining won’t get me anywhere, so I run my eyes over the text again, but… yeah, I can’t focus at all.

I’ve been sitting at this desk for about three hours now. It’s probably time for a change of pace.

I was just about to take a short break, setting my pen down and stretching, when—

Nature, who’d been fiddling with her phone on the sofa, suddenly spoke up.

"Wilm’s gone viral."

"Hm?"

"Ah—sorry, Trainer."

Nature hurriedly waved both hands. She probably thought she’d interrupted my work. But I’m her trainer—supporting her comes first, so there’s no need for her to worry about that.

"It’s fine. I was just about to take a break anyway. What’s up?"

"Well, you know, on Umatter? Wilm’s blowing up in a pretty unbelievable way, or rather… wow. I’d heard stories, but this is rough."

Wilm—no, Hoshino Wilm.

An Uma Musume from the same generation as Nature, a once-in-a-lifetime genius who stands at the very core of their cohort. She’s the trainee of Horino-kun, the top trainer of our class, and gives off a somewhat cold impression—a small, reserved girl.

That said, that’s only on the surface.

In reality, she’s apparently a very earnest, good kid. She may look distant at first glance, but if you interact with her properly, you can feel a kindness at her core—or so Horino-kun says from time to time.

In fact, compared to a year ago, Hoshino Wilm seems noticeably softer in her demeanor now. Maybe she was tense after being thrown into an unfamiliar environment. And once Horino-kun helped her relax, her original personality finally came through.

Anyway, Hoshino Wilm uses a social media platform called Umatter to share updates. But because she’s almost too stoic about training—and her sense of things can be a little off—her follower count used to be fairly modest, considering her race record. At least, that’s how I remember it. The last time I checked was a few months ago, so I don’t know how things are now.

If she’d “gone viral,” meaning she’d suddenly attracted explosive attention… maybe she posted something race-related?

…But wait, what does “rough” mean? This is about Umatter, right?

Now I’m curious. Might as well use this as a mental break and gather some information while I’m at it.

Let’s see… Umatter… Hoshino Wilm.

Yep, this account. The one with the bio that just says, “I am Hoshino Wilm.”

Alright. To understand the context, I’ll scroll back a bit.

Her posting frequency is… kind of uneven. About four posts a day on average—sometimes as many as ten, sometimes as few as two. At first, it looked like she was using it as a training memo pad, but over time it gradually turned into a more typical Uma Musume-style account. Apparently Nature taught her how to use it, so this must be the result.

…She still uses it in a slightly peculiar way, but it’s well within the range people would accept as personality.

Her follower count has also skyrocketed compared to the last time I checked.

Scrolling forward through the timeline to the past few weeks—she must be bored while recovering, because her posting frequency has gone up. And here’s the post she made right after getting injured.

“Hello, it’s me. I have nothing to do while recovering and I’m bored, so please tell me your recommended games. I only have my smartphone with me, so please suggest games I can play on my phone.”

…She plays games, huh.

I always pictured her as someone who did nothing but train, so this honestly feels pretty fresh.

Since it was both a more relatable post than usual and her first personal message after the injury, fans were probably reassured—because it racked up over ten thousand re-Umatter posts. In the replies and quote re-Umatter posts, people were saying things like, “Hoshino Wilm plays games?” “ ‘It’s me.’ is way too cute,” “Otaku are so easy—just say you play games and your likability skyrockets,” “There’s no way our dragon would play games,” and so on. Half surprise, half affection… with a few troublesome ones mixed in.

After that, for a while, her posts were pretty harmless:

“I will play this game that was recommended.”

“My trainer came to visit me today.”

“I like this character so I will roll for them.”

“Teio and Nature came over. Friends are a wonderful thing.”

Stuff like that.

And then—yesterday’s post.

“　”

An Umatter post with no text at all. Attached to it—and followed by a long chain of replies—were seven images.

They were screenshots of the gacha results from the social game she’d started.

"Whoa… sixty thousand re-Umatter posts."

"Oh, you saw it too, Trainer? Yeah… it’s pretty brutal."

"Well, I haven’t played this game, so I don’t know if I’d call it brutal, but…"

The reactions on Umatter were… something else entirely.

“Stop posting gore,”
“I thought this was some random disaster, but it’s the current strongest Uma Musume lol,”
“I threw up,”
“I’m scared and crying,”
“This is not a gacha catastrophe a middle-school girl should experience,”
“World, behold: this is Japan’s strongest Uma Musume,”
“Drawing the 0.011%—truly the Gray Dragon who makes the impossible possible,”
“Good things happen in life! Cheer up!”
“I feel bad for her but she still got spooked,”
“She went way too hard,”
“There’s no way she didn’t have someone else do the last ten-pull,”
“A god-tier game with no mercy,”
“This might be the first time I’ve genuinely felt sympathy for someone else’s gacha results. So this is what a heart is,”
“She looks more exhausted than after a race.”

…Yeah. Okay. That’s really bad.

"By the way, Nature, if you convert this to money… about how much are we talking?"

"Ugh, I really don’t want to think about it, but… let’s see. She’d already used up the free currency before, so… just this time, probably just under two hundred thousand."

"Yen?"

"Yen."

Two hundred thousand yen…

…No, wait. Two hundred thousand yen!?

It clicked instantly. No wonder so many people reacted.

Sure, an Uma Musume who wins G1 races can earn a lot, and for Hoshino Wilm—who’s already won four G1s—two hundred thousand yen might not be a devastating amount…

Still, is this really okay? Does Horino-kun know about this? …Well, of course he does. It’s Horino-kun.

But shouldn’t he stop her? At this rate, her sense of money is going to break. Or maybe there’s some kind of plan? Let her fail now so she can learn from it afterward…?

"Wilm’s kind of airheaded vibe always felt like it’d be perfect for Umatter, but… posting this without a single word, out of nowhere? Yeah, she’s mastered it."

"…Racing is partly a popularity business, so I guess it’s better for her to get attention than not, but…"

"It’s fine. I’ll talk to her about how she spends her money."

Nature muttered that with a strangely enlightened look on her face.

Nature and Hoshino Wilm go way back. While chasing after Wilm’s back, Nature has also spent a lot of time supporting her—especially given Wilm’s naturally scatterbrained side. From teaching her how to use Umatter, to helping her study, to stepping in as an interpreter when Wilm’s words were easily misunderstood, it sounds like Nature has been running around doing all sorts of things for her.

…And the days you pile up together inevitably shape the way you think.

These days, Nature apparently even sees herself as something like Hoshino Wilm’s guardian. She seems to enjoy that role, so it’s not really something I need to interfere with, but…

…Come to think of it, I often find myself supporting Horino-kun too—especially at get-togethers with our cohort or during trainer presentations, when his explanations come out a little short on words. He’s always helped me out a lot, so I figure it’s the least I can do.

Maybe Nature and I are more alike than I thought.

Between chatting with Nature and wrestling with those maddeningly dense documents, the sky eventually turned red.

I locked up the trainer’s office, parted ways with Nature, submitted a few documents… and then headed alone toward the shopping district.

Up until now, Nature has focused almost entirely on training, but starting in July, she’s scheduled to race at a fairly brisk pace. I need to stock up on everything she’ll need to prepare for races and intense workouts.

"Taping tape, band-aids, bandages… the towels were getting worn out too, right? I should grab spare water bottles and an extra set of wear as well…"

Muttering under my breath and counting on my fingers as I walked, I was suddenly drawn to—

An unfamiliar Uma Musume.

A small, dark bay girl was running along the lane designated for Uma Musume. Her eyes, filled with quiet resolve, were fixed straight ahead.

When Uma Musume hit their full stride, their physiques can change dramatically—or settle into a fixed form—so you can’t judge age by size alone…

"…That’s a beautiful form."

If she’s a Junior-class girl, then her running is exceptionally well put together. Her core doesn’t waver. Her upper body barely sways.

Amazing… to be able to maintain such posture even during a casual run, she must have already found a style that suits her perfectly. She probably has an excellent trainer guiding her.

As I stood there absentmindedly watching, she let her long dark bay hair trail behind her—only to stop when she reached a red light.

For just a moment, I thought I saw sadness flicker in her eyes.

"Oops—I should get going."

She caught my interest, sure… but yeah, I need to finish my shopping first.

Turning my back on the dark bay girl, I headed once more toward the sporting goods store.

『Once you feel “this is it,” don’t let it slip away. Fate often begins in the smallest moments.』

Looking back on it now, Horino-kun’s words were right.

Even then… perhaps the thread of fate between me and her had already begun.