Chapter 84: I’m not getting baited by something that obvious—kuma.

The year-end work rush, which had been unbearably hectic, finally came to an end, and all the loose ends that needed tying up over the New Year were taken care of.

By the time the tenth was approaching…

At last, we had some real breathing room in our work.

Well, it wasn’t as if we’d had absolutely no leeway until now.

There had been moments when the workload dried up—like when the entire camp went out for the New Year shrine visit. Or rather, to be precise, I’d deliberately adjusted things so that it would.

But still…

A lull this complete probably hadn’t happened since Wilm won the Triple Crown.

Right now, it was the off-season for Uma Musume racing—more or less.

Sure, a handful of races were still held during this period, but G1 races—the kind Wilm or Bourbon would enter—and their trial races wouldn’t resume until March.

As a result, our workload eased up a bit.

And that wasn’t the only reason.

To put it bluntly… Masa and I had grown, at least a little.

Our overall efficiency had improved compared to before. Masa especially—she’d clearly gotten used to the job. You could see it in how much faster she processed paperwork now. What impressed me most was that she hadn’t gotten sloppy at all.

As for me… this might sound self-congratulatory, but compared to when I first arrived at Tracen Academy, I think I’d grown a fair amount too.

Real experience really does matter. No matter how many simulations you run, they can’t beat even a single real-world experience.

Coming to Tracen, working as a trainer—there were so many things I’d gained that I never could have otherwise.

With the total amount of work reduced, and our processing efficiency improved on top of that, the mountains of paperwork naturally shrank at an incredible pace…

Today, both of the Uma Musume we were in charge of were off, and neither Masa nor I had any urgent tasks to deal with.

For our camp, that meant we had a full day of free time—not six hours, not half a day, but an entire day.

Before long, there would be the entrance ceremony and new students arriving. After that, the URA Finals qualifiers, and then the URA Awards ceremony—things would get busy again.

But for today at least, both Masa and I were left with nothing to do.

In the past, we might have killed time by scouting Uma Musume from other camps with an eye toward the future, checking and predicting track turf conditions, or analyzing post positions and the like…

But today, that wasn’t really an option.

Or rather… it wasn’t allowed to become one.

Yesterday evening, Masa had shut it down before it even started.

"Is that kind of scouting and checking really something you need to do right now? By the time I joined, you’d already finished marking things up through the Osaka Hai. And you’ve already covered the races for the next half year anyway, right?"

"Well… yeah."

Of course, circumstances change over time.

Turf conditions can shift drastically in just a month, and Uma Musume themselves—“don’t see someone for three days, and you’ll need to look again,” as the saying goes.

Strictly speaking, they’re always worth monitoring. Ideally, you’d keep observing them constantly.

…But at the same time, if things can change that much in a month, then researching them a year in advance is practically meaningless.

For example, a year ago, could I have analyzed—based solely on available information—that Nice Nature would end up with a higher win rate than Tokai Teio? Or that even now, Tokai Teio would still be without a single graded stakes victory?

…Yeah. No way.

Teio is an overwhelming racing prodigy. Nice Nature isn’t lacking in talent, but she can’t quite match Teio’s level. And yet, through their own will and effort, their paths diverged.

Trying to infer something like that from raw numerical data alone is simply too difficult—no, outright impossible.

Information about Uma Musume and track conditions.

Sure, checking in advance is better than not checking at all, but the benefits you get right now are extremely marginal. If asked whether it’s something that needs doing at this moment… honestly, the necessity is thin.

In other words, to be blunt, it’s pretty close to a waste of time—especially when we’ve already completed research not just six months out, but all the way through around Bourbon’s Kikuka Sho.

So why do it at all?

…Yeah. Because there’s nothing else to do.

"Huh? Don’t you have any hobbies or something? Like, at all?"

"Nope. I’m a trainer."

"……"

After falling silent in disbelief, Masa let out a single sigh and told me something.

Something huge. A massive flaw I’d never once realized on my own.

"Hey. Wouldn’t it be better if you had one or two hobbies? Even when you’re talking with the Uma Musume you’re in charge of, or with people involved in the industry, you’re going to run out of things to talk about like that, right?"

“…!"

Hearing that felt like a bolt of lightning striking me.

Because… I knew exactly what she meant.

A year ago, back when I didn’t have much contact with Hoshino Wilm yet, I struggled to find topics to talk about with her—and ended up defaulting to things like word games or talking about running.

Even now, when I talk with vendors or URA staff, it’s almost always about races involving competitive Uma Musume.

I always talk about the same things. I don’t have anything else to bring up.

Wait… hold on. This is… this might be…

Am I… bad at communication?

---

It’s not like I’d been completely unaware.

I’m bad at communication. Masa has told me that thousands of times already.

Back when I lived at home, I was constantly scolded—“It’s fine to stick to the main point, but think about how the other person feels,” “Why do you always jump to extremes?” “Listen while thinking about what the other person is trying to say.”

Sometimes it somehow spilled over onto Dad, my older brother would give a wry smile, and Mom would quietly watch over us with a gentle one. That was everyday life in the Horino household.

So I’d always had a vague awareness that I wasn’t very good at communicating.

But… this might have been the first time I’d recognized it clearly.

Deciding what actually counts as being “good at communication” is tricky.

But at the very least, lacking hobbies and letting communication with the people around me—and with the Uma Musume I’m responsible for—stall because of it felt like a seriously big problem.

They say “strike while the iron is hot,” and honestly, that applies to everything, not just good deeds.

So I decided to use this free time to take action immediately and try to fix that problem.

…Except.

There was one big obstacle standing in my way.

A lack of communication skills—or rather, a lack of topics.

To fix that, like Masa said, the quickest solution would be to get a hobby.

But then… what kind of hobby should I pick?

That’s where things get difficult.

For someone like me, who’s lived a life treating work like a lover even since my previous life, the concept of a hobby is hard to grasp.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “What’s a hobby? Is it tasty?” but I genuinely don’t understand what it’s supposed to change or accomplish.

Of course, you hear people talk about “living for your hobby” all the time, and I’m sure there’s value in that. But as I am now, I still can’t really understand it.

Which is why the real problem is… choosing what to make my hobby.

I don’t even know what kinds of things are considered hobbies in the first place.

"Hmm…"

A hobby unrelated to trainer work, huh… What even is there?

Reading? No—everything I read is about races or Uma Musume anyway. Cooking, too—I only ever do that for the Uma Musume I’m in charge of. And the same goes for crane games.

…I’ve spent my entire life thinking about trainer work, so I can’t even come up with ideas for anything outside of it.

"What should I do…"

I lay there on my bed in my room, feeling more than a little lost.

A hobby… a hobby, huh… Man, I’ve always been bad at deciding things like this…

I glanced around my room.

My complete lack of hobbies was obvious at a single glance.

Everything in here consisted of materials and equipment needed for trainer work, along with goods of the Uma Musume I’m responsible for that get sent from URA’s Planning and Production Department. There was barely any room to step—everything was buried under it all.

Even I had to admit it. My life really was nothing but work.

"…Ah. No, wait."

Right—there was one candidate.

In the corner of the room, buried beneath piles of Wilm’s and Bourbon’s merchandise and coated in dust, sat a fishing rod.

…Guess I’ll go fishing.

---

Just to be clear, there was no deeper meaning behind me going fishing—or behind the place I chose.

I noticed the fishing rod when I couldn’t think of anything else, so I went fishing. That was all.

And every time I’d gone fishing before—well, only twice total, but still—I’d gone there. Somewhere along the way, that turned into a fixed idea in my head: if I was going fishing, that was the place.

Of course, I hadn’t told her that I was going fishing.

I did mention it to Masa, who somehow tried to pry my schedule out of me, but I couldn’t imagine there being any connection between her and this person.

And besides, by the time I arrived, she’d clearly been fishing for quite a while already. There were plenty of fish stored inside her cooler box.

…In short.

"Huh? Oh—hey, mister?"

"…Seiun Sky?"

Meeting Seiun Sky at the pier I went to that day was pure coincidence.

Seiun Sky.

There’s no need to explain her now—a once-in-a-generation trickster, an escape-type Uma Musume who claimed two Triple Crown titles in the Golden Generation, and, in my previous life, my favorite horse.

Her short ash-gray hair swayed in the sea breeze as she looked at me in surprise, appearing just a little more grown up than I remembered from my past life.

"…Long time no see, mister."

"Yeah. Long time no see, Seiun Sky."

To me, she was a familiar Uma Musume—one I dearly loved.

But that was only in my previous life.

In this world, Seiun Sky and I had crossed paths only a handful of times.

There had been two real points of contact so far.

Once, when I pushed her toward the Tenno Sho in order to prepare the best possible battlefield for Hoshino Wilm.

And once last year, when I called her in to verify the rumors surrounding the Arima Kinen.

Both times, our relationship had been strange—mutual use for necessary information, yet close enough to talk comfortably.

Seeing me show up now, Sky widened her eyes in mild surprise.

"Heeey… you fish too, mister?"

"Yeah. It’s been a while."

"Oh? Really? Nice~. Nyaha, Seichan would be pretty happy to find a fellow angler, you know~"

"I was hoping I might be able to make it a hobby."

"A hobby, huh…? Well, sure, I guess."

After asking if it was okay to sit beside her, I filled a bucket with seawater, set up my folding chair next to hers, and sat down.

I hadn’t expected to run into Seiun Sky, but… well, that aside.

I cast my line out into the sea.

I hadn’t come here to make deals or exchange information.

I came here to fish. I needed to focus on that.

For a while after that, we sat in silence, our lines hanging in the water.

At first, having Sky beside me felt a little strange, but before long, even that faded away. Time passed as I simply held onto my rod, doing nothing else.

…Man, it’s been a while since I’ve had a calm moment like this.

The quiet sound of waves hitting the pier, the cool sea breeze that still carried a chill, and yet the sunlight that gently warmed my body.

It was comfortable enough to almost lull me to sleep.

I’d gone to bed at midnight last night for once, so I should’ve gotten enough sleep today, but still…

"Yaaawn… ah, sorry about that, Seiun Sky."

"Don’t worry about it. It’s such a nice, clear day today, after all."

"Yeah… it really is."

Yawning lazily in front of an Uma Musume.

Normally, I’d think I needed to tighten up, that I was letting my guard down—but this was outside work hours. Hobby time. If Sky said it was fine, then maybe I didn’t need to worry so much.

Feeling just a little guilty, I stifled the yawn trying to escape my mouth.

And then—

"Oh? Got a hit. Feels like a big one."

Sky murmured that and moved her rod with a rhythm and timing I couldn’t quite follow, reeling it in smoothly.

After a moment, at the end of the line…

A fairly large fish was hooked, clear as day.

"Yes! Nice rockfish!"

"Whoa—congrats."

"What’s with the ‘whoa’? You sound totally out of it."

Sky proudly showed off the spiny-backed fish hanging from her line, then gave a wry smile at my reaction.

Man… that’s nice. I’m a little jealous.

My line hadn’t twitched even once, while Sky was getting regular bites.

Guess it’s the difference in rods, bait, and experience. Well, nobody’s good right from the start—but still, frustrating is frustrating.

…Alright. I’ve decided.

Before I come again next time, I’ll look up some fishing techniques.

If something can’t be improved, then it can’t—but if there’s something I can do, I should do it. Wilm and Bourbon work hard every day. There’s no reason I shouldn’t put in the effort to improve my own skills too.

And yeah—while I’m at it, I should probably buy a slightly better rod and bait too.

I do hesitate a bit to go straight for higher-end gear while I’m still a beginner, but maybe that’s exactly why I should. If I spend the money, I won’t be able to back out later—and that might actually help me get hooked on fishing.

Besides, motivation matters most at the beginning. Using good equipment and catching fish more easily might make it a lot more fun.

…It’s not like I’m getting competitive with Sky or anything.

Really.

As I quietly fanned that small spark in my heart, the Sky sitting next to me… let out a soft chuckle.

"…You’ve changed a bit, mister."

"I have?"

When I glanced over at her, Sky was looking out toward the sea, speaking in a light, almost cheerful tone.

"You have. You used to be all tense, but now you seem like you’ve got more breathing room."

"Do I…?"

"Oh, I mean that in a good way. It’s like—you’ve loosened up in a nice way. Like the tension’s finally gone from your shoulders."

Hard to say. I didn’t feel completely unaware of it, at least.

It was true that lately, I’d felt myself letting my guard down.

Food tasted good when I ate it. Sleep felt good when I got it.

I’d been interpreting that as losing my focus on trainer work, but…

If I looked at it positively, maybe it really did mean I’d relaxed a little.

…Still, I wasn’t sure how I felt about my concentration slipping.

"Letting my guard down doesn’t sit right with me."

I said that, lips pressed together—but Sky replied brightly.

"Isn’t that fine? My trainer was the same way."

"Your trainer too…?"

---

Seiun Sky’s trainer in this world.

He’s something of a well-known figure among those in the know.

And that’s not just because he led his Uma Musume to two Classic titles.

More than anything, it’s because at the time he took charge of Seiun Sky, he was a complete rookie—and not from any prestigious lineage either, just a normal household.

I’d had a few chances to talk with him myself, and at first glance, he seemed like an ordinary trainer.

He loved Uma Musume, loved racing, and worked tirelessly for the sake of the Uma Musume under his care. In that sense, he embodied a very standard, exemplary Central trainer.

…But that wasn’t all there was to him.

Thrown into the chaos of the Golden Generation, he was allowed to take on his first exclusive assignment—and from among countless Uma Musume, he discovered Seiun Sky. Apparently, by his own admission, a large part of that was pure coincidence.

Even so, he went on to guide her to the glory of two Classic crowns.

That’s the most fitting way to describe the man he is: a genius trainer.

His contemporaries included Happy Meek, backed by the scion of the prestigious Kiryuin family; Special Week, who had even beaten Wilm recently; and others like El Condor Pasa, Grass Wonder, and King Halo.

A truly dazzling Golden Generation.

And yet, even among that lineup, a Uma Musume from humble origins and a rookie trainer claimed two crowns together.

A genuine Cinderella story—one that apparently caused quite a stir at the time.

…Though still probably not to the same extent as Hoshino Wilm did last year.

And then… yes.

The URA Finals began in the year Seiun Sky entered her second senior season, placing him in the same generation as Kiryuin Aoi and Happy Meek—and on top of that, he was a rookie genius trainer.

No matter how I looked at it…

He was the trainer equivalent of the protagonist from the app in my previous life.

When I realized that, I was genuinely shocked.

Since the URA Finals were already being held, I’d assumed this world was set several years after the app’s original training scenario.

Between the timing of the URA Finals and Happy Meek’s generation, it was clear that the main timeline overlapped with the Golden Generation.

Even so…

Knowing all that didn’t stop the surprise from hitting me.

I mean, of course it would.

The protagonist of a mobile game I’d once played actually existed in the same world as me now.

Anyone would be shocked by that.

---

…So.

What did Sky mean when she said her trainer had been the same way?

As I frowned slightly, she spoke as if musing to herself.

"My trainer was super stiff and serious at first, too. If Seichan skipped even a little bit of training, he’d come running right away. …Well, now he lets me rest in moderation."

Seiun Sky smiled faintly, reminiscing about a few years ago.

…Yeah.

If her trainer really was “him,” then over the three years of their contract, he would’ve softened up—becoming more flexible, more indulgent, all to support Sky as she did her best.

I knew that well.

…After all, it felt like I’d seen it happen countless times right in front of my eyes.

Not knowing what kind of expression I should wear, I turned my gaze toward my fishing rod, and Sky continued speaking.

"But you know… from the perspective of the Uma Musume you’re in charge of, being about that relaxed—maybe even a little loose—is actually just right.

You looked pretty tightly wound mentally, big bro, so I was worried about you… but yeah, you seem fine now."

"...So you were worried about Hoshino Wilm?"

"Well, yeah. You’re my senior, after all? Even Sei-chan worries about her cute underclassmen once or twice, you know?"

After saying that, Seiun Sky looked out toward the sea and let out a soft breath.

"...And it wasn’t just my underclassman I was worried about."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Not fully understanding, I reflexively asked back, and her expression shifted to one of exasperation.

"...You really aren’t thinking straight, are you? You okay?"

No, I think I’m fine, but…

…Ah. I see. That’s what she meant.

She was worried about Wilm’s comfort—but worrying about Wilm’s comfort meant worrying about how tense I was being in the first place… which ultimately meant she was worried about me.

I should properly thank her for that.

"Ah, I get it now. Thanks, Seiun Sky."

"Doesn’t look like you really get it… Well, it was just a whim anyway, so whatever."

Sky muttered that—and wow, she’d already got another fish on the line.

No way. Do they really bite that easily once you get good…? Or is it just because it’s Sky? Maybe tricksters really do have a talent for luring others along.

I want to reel in at least one fish myself… oh?

"I got one!"

"Huh!? No way!"

"Hey, that’s mean to call me a liar!—Whoa, it’s heavy! This is seriously heavy!"

I thought I’d trained my body pretty well, but even so, this was heavy…! It had to be a big one!

Determined to reel it in, I almost stood up—

"Ah, that’s a snag. You shouldn’t pull too hard. Try gently rocking it to free it."

"..."

Quietly, I sat back down.

In the end, not a single fish ever bit my line that day.

In fact, the more attempts I made, the worse my results got. Why…?

---

By the time the sun was about to set, we decided to head home.

…Well, more like Sky showed no sign of leaving, so I had to hurry her along.

"Boo. It was my day off, you know. I wanted to do some night fishing."

"That’s for another time—and with your own trainer. It’s almost curfew, isn’t it?"

"Just so you know, I did get permission properly."

"From who?"

"..."

"Alright then. Go straight home. No detours."

Silencing Sky as she tried to talk her way out of it, I shooed her along.

If this was how she always was, then her trainer really must have endless worries, I thought…

Then I suddenly remembered what Sky had said.

"Being a little loose is just right for your Uma Musume."

That was almost certainly Seiun Sky’s personal take, but…

Even so, having someone affirm me when I’d been criticizing myself lately for being too relaxed somehow made me feel… saved.

I should thank her for that too.

"Seiun Sky."

"Hm? What is it~?"

"Thanks for everything today. I’ll repay you someday.

And good luck in the Dream Trophy League. I’ll be cheering for you as a fan."

When I said that, she stiffened slightly as she walked ahead… then turned around with a grin.

"...In that case, maybe I’ll have you become my companion."

"Huh?"

"Well, fishing is like a mental oasis for Sei-chan, you know? I’ve always wanted a fishing buddy. My trainer comes along sometimes, but it’s not really a hobby for them.

So if you’re serious about repaying me, how about enjoying fishing together with me?"

At her cute, teasing request and mischievous grin, I couldn’t help but relax my expression.

"...Alright. I’ll come here when I have time."

"Really? Yay! Then next time I’ll show you a much better fishing spot, so look forward to it!"

She said that with a bright, happy smile.

…Honestly.

Seeing her smile so innocently like that almost makes me feel like she’s my own Uma Musume.

But in this world, Seiun Sky is never my assigned Uma Musume.

As Sky’s trainer, there’s no one greater than the protagonist from my previous-life app…

No matter what, the only Uma Musume I’m responsible for are Hoshino Wilm and Mihono Bourbon.

So if I had to define my relationship with Seiun Sky…

From now on, maybe we’ll be personal friends.

My beloved Uma Musume from my past life—now a friend in this one.

…That doesn’t feel bad at all.