Volume 3 – Sakurai Rudolf
Chapter 34 – I Demand a 30% Gray Mare Ratio!!
“So you’ve come, young ranch owner of the little ranch!!”
The moment I parked my compact truck in the enormous parking lot and stepped out, someone called out to me.
Kanemochi.
As always, even in winter, his coat looked ridiculously expensive.
Well, maybe it looked expensive because it was winter.
“You’re a young ranch owner too. It’s been a while since I came here.”
It really had been quite some time since I’d visited Gold Farm.
After Crown’s retirement race, I’d called him, and today we were meeting to work out the details of the promise he’d made.
“Welcome to our Gold Farm!”
“How many times have I been here now?”
“No matter how many times you come, I’ll welcome you every single time!”
He puffed out his chest proudly.
Then he turned on his heel and started walking toward the stallion area.
“So, are you sure about this? I promised you’d get priority… but I’m still charging you, you know?”
The slight concern on his face showed how kind he was.
“I’ve saved up.”
The moment I answered, one of his eyebrows twitched.
“I’ve actually studied quite a bit, you know.”
“Oh?”
“You can’t decide breeding just based on dreams, right?”
Lately, I’d been looking at pedigree charts so much that I even dreamed about them.
The dream of a Northern Dancer chasing after me was surprisingly terrifying.
“Of course not!”
“But romance isn’t completely irrelevant either.”
“Exactly!”
Kanemochi suddenly looked delighted.
Whenever the conversation turned to breeding, he really came alive.
“Very good. I like that answer. So then—which stallion have you chosen?”
I pulled several pedigree charts and notes from the clear folder I’d brought.
I’d erased and rewritten them countless times before finally settling on this one.
“I was thinking about using Custard, so I came to take a look.”
Kanemochi’s expression immediately grew serious.
Whenever it came to horses, he looked every bit the professional horseman.
“Do you have the mare’s pedigree?”
“Here.”
I handed it over.
He accepted it and skimmed through it in seconds.
I’d agonized over those pages for days and he read them in moments. That was a little frustrating.
“Hmph.”
Kanemochi gave a small snort.
“You’ve got a good eye.”
“Oh!”
That actually made me happy.
“I’d like to call it a brilliant combination…”
Then Kanemochi fell silent.
…Uh-oh.
Was it no good?
“Don’t tell me he’s just too popular?”
Kanemochi looked away awkwardly.
“No… well…”
“Yeah?”
“It’s true that he’s popular…”
“Right.”
“Hmmm…”
He was being unusually hesitant.
What was going on?
“Fine! But this stays a secret!”
“O-Okay.”
Why did this suddenly feel like a politician leaking state secrets?
“Recently… about two or three times out of every three…he refuses to breed.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t help but let out a strange sound.
What?
“We’ve been having a real problem…”
Kanemochi genuinely looked troubled.
Well… yeah. That would be a problem.
“Is he sick?”
“The veterinarian has examined him. Nothing’s physically wrong. He eats well. He’s healthy. Full of energy.”
“…Then why?”
“It’s his mood.”
“…His mood?”
“Yes. His mood.”
What kind of explanation was that?
Just then, a calm voice drifted over the fence.
Calm, but carrying an almost unpleasant degree of confidence.
“Hey, hey. What’s with the long faces, you little brats?”
I turned around.
A dark bay stallion stood there, his coat almost blending into the twilight.
So that was Custard. He looked even cooler than in the photos.
A truly incredible horse who had eventually won five Grade 1 races.
Since Kanemochi couldn’t understand him, he simply said, “There, there… settle down.”
Meanwhile…I heard every word.
“So… Custard. I heard you refuse to breed sometimes?”
The stallion’s expression changed instantly.
“Kid!? You can understand me?!”
“I think so.”
Custard stared at me with wide eyes.
Then he suddenly seemed to realize something.
“Ah! You’re the kid from old lady Stonebreak’s ranch, aren’t you?”
“Oh, someone told you about me? Yep.”
I’d let the “old lady” comment about Stone slide.
Custard nodded confidently.
“Perfect. That makes this easy.”
“Easy how?”
“Tell the people at this ranch what I’m about to say.”
“Sure. Can’t promise they’ll listen, but I’ll tell them.”
I figured he had some sort of complaint or maybe a request.
I nodded casually.
Custard suddenly thrust his enormous head right up to mine.
“I HAVE MY OWN TASTE TOO!!!”
“Whoa!”
Huge.
His voice was way too loud.
One of the staff members down the aisle shouted,
“Young Master! Is something wrong?!”
Custard ignored them completely.
“I KNOW IT’S MY JOB, AND I DO MY BEST… BUT I WANT CUTE MARES! AND IF POSSIBLE, CUTE GRAY MARES!”
“…Uhh…”
I instinctively took half a step back.
That’s the reason?
“Listen! You’re men too, right!? You understand! Sometimes you try your best, but it just doesn’t happen!”
“I-I mean… I get it…”
Well…I kind of understand. But I really didn’t appreciate being asked to sympathize over this.
“RIGHT?! PLEASE TELL THEM!! I’M NOT EVEN ASKING FOR HALF OF THEM TO BE GRAYS!! THIRTY PERCENT WOULD BE FINE!!!”
“Isn’t thirty percent still pretty high?”
“THAT IS MY COMPROMISE!!”
He somehow managed to sound completely serious.
The fact that he’d already accepted that fifty percent was unrealistic somehow made it even more irritating.
Beside me, Kanemochi looked utterly bewildered.
“W-What’s wrong, Custard? Why are you so excited…?”
Well…
Of course he was confused.
From Kanemochi’s perspective, Custard had suddenly become incredibly agitated…while I was standing there saying, “Well… I kind of get it…”
It must have looked absolutely insane.
“…Um, Kanemochi.”
“W-What is it…?”
He looked at my face with an expression that suggested he had a terrible suspicion…
…and desperately hoped he was wrong.
Still, I had to tell him.
Custard was staring at me with eyes overflowing with expectation.
“So… Custard says, “I want cute gray mares! If about thirty percent of the mares were cute grays, I’d be much more motivated!””
“………………Huh?”
Kanemochi froze completely.
…Yeah. I would’ve reacted exactly the same way.