Chapter 36: Beginner’s Luck?
“So in the end, are we doing horse racing?”
I asked Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san.
“Just the morning. Well, we want to talk, so it’s fine inside.”
“Right, right. It’s surprisingly fun once you try it.”
Hmm…
“Then let’s go.”
We walked and entered the racetrack.
“It’s pretty spacious.”
“Yeah.”
It was about the size of a shopping mall, and it was quite lively.
“It’s basically an amusement facility. You can eat meals too, and the facilities are well-equipped.”
“Well, that part is fun… How was Beppu, Yuu?”
Takamiya-san asked me.
“It was a hot spring town. Smoke was billowing everywhere.”
“Yeah. It was amazing. And the hot springs were nice.”
“So jealous… How was it?”
Takamiya-san approached and asked in a low voice.
“…Nothing happened.”
“…You slept in the same room, right? Nothing?”
“…First of all, that was the least of our worries. We were practically sleep-deprived.”
“…Ah, a lot happened, huh.”
Seriously.
We went up the stairs, and when we reached the 3rd floor, we arrived at seats overlooking the racetrack.
“You can watch the racetrack from indoors?”
“Yeah. I had the impression of watching from outside, but here you can see the whole thing and relax, which is nice.”
It does look kind of fun.
Like watching a sports game.
“Kitaura-san, how do you do it?”
I have no idea at all.
“It’s a game where you guess which horse wins.”
No, I know that much.
“I’ve heard of something like a trifecta, but I don’t really get it.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t get it either. You just need to guess 1st and 2nd place, right?”
Is that enough?
“Takamiya-san, you got 1st and 2nd place, right?”
A monitor above showed the twelve horses in the next race, so I looked up and asked.
“Yeah. I have no idea at all.”
I don’t either.
There was all kinds of information displayed, but I didn’t understand any of it.
“I’ll go with 1 and 8…”
“What’s your reasoning?”
“Attendance number 18.”
“I see. Then I’ll go with 1 and 9?”
Takamiya-san is behind me.
“Then I’ll go with 3 and 4?”
Ayaka is number 34.
“I’ll go with 1 and 0… 0?”
There’s no 0.
“Hey, what happened to that succubus from earlier?”
Elvis asked Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san.
Sure enough, she’s late.
“Onee-san is probably watching the paddock.”
“Probably that.”
That’s the place where the horses walk around before the race, right?
“Hmm… I think I’ll go take a look too.”
Elvis stood up.
“The paddock?”
“Yeah. If I’m going to do this, I’m not going to lose.”
Elvis nodded and went off somewhere.
“People who get serious really get serious…”
“Rather, the horses running are demons too, right? Isn’t there something you can tell by looking?”
I wonder?
We went to the counter in the back, bought betting tickets, and waited while talking.
Then Linda onee-san and Elvis returned.
“What did you buy?”
I asked Elvis.
“3-4-8”
A trifecta or something?
“What about onee-san?”
Kitaura-san asked Linda onee-san.
“Safely going with 3-8-9.”
What I understood is that number 3 is popular.
Is 1 no good?
As we waited, the horses came out and headed toward the gates.
“No, isn’t that cheating?”
Number 3 has 8 legs.
“That’s why you watch the paddock. But well, having more legs doesn’t necessarily mean faster.”
Then why did you and Elvis buy number 3?
When the race started, the people around us became excited and began shouting.
Watching it, I got pretty excited and thought it was surprisingly fun.
But I couldn’t accept it.
Because the one who won by a landslide was number 3.
“That’s cheating.”
“It was just a coincidence. I normally lose too. Besides, even if I got 1st place right, 2nd place was wrong.”
“I got up to 2nd place right. I never thought 9 would come…”
It seems Linda onee-san and Elvis lost.
“No, number 9 will come.”
“You didn’t seem motivated.”
“That’s just how that person is.”
I felt like these two were different from us casual bettors.
“Hey, I won…”
Ah, come to think of it, Ayaka’s attendance number is 34.
The finish was 3, 4, 9—so her 3-4 ticket had won.
“Congratulations. Take that ticket to the reception and you’ll receive the payout in mana.”
“mana… I got something without really understanding it.”
Ayaka tilted her head and headed to the counter.
“Now then, next.”
“This time for sure.”
Linda onee-san and Elvis stood up.
“Wait a minute. Let’s talk.”
We didn’t come here to do horse racing.
“Well, that’s true too. Let’s talk first.”
“Can’t be helped.”
The two reluctantly sat down.
Then, Ayaka returned.
“I got something, but I don’t really get it.”
Ayaka sat down and looked at Takamiya-san.
“Right? There’s not much feeling of winning.”
“You winners are looking down on us from above.”
Now, now.
I mean, Kitaura-san won before too, didn’t she?
“Well then, since we’re all here, shall we start with self-introductions? I’m Linda, a gambler here in Kokura. Nice to meet you.”
Linda onee-san winked at me.
I sensed magic—probably Charm—but I had learned my lesson and kept a barrier active, so it didn’t work.
Still, she was cute. That much was undeniable.
“You picked up the two of them in the nightlife district, right?”
“Don’t say it like they’re puppies.”
“Don’t say it like they’re runaway girls.”
Yes, yes.
“Yes. They were looking around restlessly, seemed confused, so I called out to them. When I heard their story, they were saying incomprehensible things, so I took them home.”
About the other world and such?
“I see… Ah, I’m Yuu Takanashi.”
“I’m Ayaka Miyama. I was in the same party as these two.”
“I’m Elvis, a farmer in Beppu.”
We introduced ourselves too.
“You two, these two here, and the yet-unseen Minato and Riku were your companions, right?”
“Yeah. Team Dropout. We lived in the same town and were companions.”
“Only Yuu and Hina call it Team Dropout, though.”
But we did drop out.
Everyone discussed it and decided to stop going forward.
At that gloomy meeting like a wake…