Chapter 57 – Going on a Training Journey After Losing Is a Classic

Three weeks had passed since the Derby.

“Saku! There are more people!”

“There are!”

“Yay!”

“Matsu! Take! Are they tasty?”

“Yay!”

This year’s foals were as energetic as ever.

And noisy.

A short distance away, the yearlings were freely sharing their opinions about the new employees.

“People take care of us more often now.”

“Ume-san talks to me.”

“Matsu-san grows grass quickly.”

“Take-san stroked me.”

“Then it’s fine, isn’t it?”

Horses were surprisingly sensitive to improvements in their environment.

Speaking of the work environment, was Yayoi-chan really all right when every new employee was a man?

I was slightly worried. We’d be in serious trouble if she left.

Still, I was incredibly grateful for the extra help.

I even had time to stand here and think about nothing in particular.

Matsu-san, Take-san, and Ume-san had begun working for us shortly before the Derby.

The boys from the agricultural high school helped as well.

“…Hiring people makes an enormous difference.”

When I muttered that, Stone snorted from the other side of the fence.

“Kid.”

“Hm?”

“You only realized that now?”

“I know I’m late.”

Stone had recently acquired the title “mother of a Derby winner.”

She didn’t appear to dislike it.

Just then, a cheerful voice came from deep in the pasture.

“Saku!”

Rudolf.

Undefeated winner of two Classics.

And currently the second-noisiest horse at Sakurai Ranch.

“What?”

“The sky is so vast today!”

“It’s always vast.”

“But today, it is vast especially for me!”

“What kind of logic is that?”

Rudolf had returned after the Derby.

He would rest at the ranch through summer before resuming his campaign in autumn.

For his part, he was brimming with energy.

Please calm down a little.

“I feel as though I could run to the end of the earth.”

“The sea is at the end.”

“Then I shall fly from there.”

“Coming from you, that doesn’t sound like a joke.”

Yayoi-chan had been furious the last time he jumped over a fence.

Beside him, Crown spoke in a voice full of seniority.

“Hmph. A two-Classic winner certainly has plenty of confidence.”

Crown was still the noisiest horse.

Perhaps we should induct him into a hall of fame.

Rudolf looked at Crown with concern.

“Crown, have you been slacking off at the riding school again?”

“I haven’t! Look! Behold the charm I learned there!”

Crown puffed out his chest and tilted his head at what was apparently “the angle children like best.”

For some reason, it irritated me.

“Big Brother Crown is so noisy.”

“He’s talking again.”

“He acts like he’s amazing.”

“Yeah.”

The yearlings were merciless.

Crown lowered his ears in shock.

“…You received no education at all.”

“You’re saying that?”

Rudolf looked even more astonished.

“Crown.”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you more of a mascot than the riding school’s star attraction?”

“RUUUDOOOOOLF!”

Crown roared.

Too loud.

Another peaceful day.

◇

It was shortly after the morning’s work and lunch had ended.

The unmistakably refined sound of an expensive engine stopped at the ranch entrance.

“…He’s here.”

I knew that sound.

When I stepped outside, I found exactly who I expected.

“Greetings! How is our Derby-winning owner from a tiny ranch?”

Kanemochi.

Everyone was too noisy today.

“You’re loud.”

“That’s your first response? I came all this way to see you!”

“Did you come to play?”

“Of course. I also came to complain.”

Easy to understand as always.

As we talked, we naturally walked toward the pasture.

Perhaps sensing something, Rudolf approached from the other side of the fence.

Kanemochi studied him, then took a deep breath.

“I shall admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“Rudolf is strong.”

“I know.”

“After he defeated Golden Beer twice, I had no choice but to acknowledge it!”

He looked genuinely frustrated.

“However!”

Kanemochi raised one finger.

“Do not imagine the Derby is the end!”

“Nobody does.”

“Golden Beer isn’t finished yet!”

At that, Rudolf’s ears pricked forward.

“Oh?”

“He is going overseas this autumn.”

Rudolf’s face said, What?

It was news to me too.

“Overseas?”

I asked honestly.

“Indeed! We will not aim for the Kikuka Sho.”

“Really?”

The surprise escaped me.

“Is it so unexpected?”

“Wait a moment.”

I’d assumed he would face Rudolf again in the Kikuka Sho.

But Kanemochi wore the expression of a man about to enlighten me.

“There are two reasons.”

“All right.”

“First, the turf.”

He looked slightly proud.

“European turf should suit Beer better.”

Ah, that sort of thing.

On a game’s status screen, his turf-suitability gauge would lean to the right.

“Is that so?”

“European turf is deeper than Japan’s and demands more power. Beer possesses that power.”

I see.

To be honest, I still didn’t understand such things.

But if Gold Farm said so, it was probably true.

“The second reason…”

Kanemochi’s mouth twisted slightly in frustration.

“Three thousand meters is probably too long for him.”

“Ah.”

“In that case, it would be far more interesting to challenge the world at a suitable distance!”

So he was frustrated too.

But he’d transformed that frustration into a new dream.

“That does sound interesting.”

I meant it.

Beyond the Derby, Rudolf would pursue the domestic Triple Crown.

Beer would embark on an overseas campaign.

What was this, a manga?

“Jealous?”

Kanemochi asked with a slightly wicked look.

“…A little.”

“You may be more honest than that!”

Well, it did sound cool.

Rudolf interrupted in a dissatisfied voice.

“Is Beer running away?”

“Hey, Rudolf.”

“But it will be boring.”

“You really like Golden Beer, don’t you?”

“I hate him.”

You look awfully concerned for someone you hate.

“Rudolf is saying something, isn’t he?” Kanemochi asked.

…Oh, fine.

“He asked whether Beer was running away.”

“Absolutely not, Rudolf!”

Kanemochi answered with tremendous force.

I understood you already. Don’t come so close. Tell Rudolf, not me.

“Watch closely! Beer will prove his strength overseas! Then he will return and defeat you!”

“Hm. In that case, Saku, tell him to give Beer this message.”

“What message?”

“Don’t embarrass yourself by losing to anyone except me.”

“Whoa.”

This horse. Honestly…

“Kanemochi.”

“What?”

“Rudolf says, ‘Don’t lose to anyone but me.'”

Kanemochi fell silent for several seconds, then grinned.

“Very well.”

“That’s fine with you?”

“I shall tell Beer, ‘If you fail to win over there, the emperor will laugh at you.'”

“That’ll definitely motivate him.”

“Without question.”

He looked delighted.

“In return, Rudolf, if you lose the Kikuka Sho, I will inform Beer.”

“Me, lose? Impossible.”

Kanemochi couldn’t understand Rudolf’s words, yet for some reason the two wore matching smug expressions as they competed with each other.

Well, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Perhaps I didn’t need to translate.

Still, overseas…

“An overseas campaign must be difficult.”

I looked toward the sky as I asked, and Kanemochi nodded.

“The transportation, environment, courses, and atmosphere will all be different. It will not be easy.”

“Right.”

“But it will still be worth going.”

Amazing.

“…Hey,” Kanemochi said quietly.

“What?”

“This is fun.”

“What is?”

“Horses.”

He laughed softly.

He looked frustrated, but happy too.

“Yeah.”

I honestly agreed.

And I was slightly surprised that I did.

“You never know where life will take you.”

“Why the sudden philosophy?”

“Because…”

I laughed.

“Until a few years ago, I planned to become an employee at a trading company.”

“That doesn’t suit you.”

“Rude.”

“But being a ranch owner suits you rather well.”

Hearing that from Kanemochi made me a little happy.