It’s a rare opportunity, so I’ll choose this strange deer!
Or rather, as a result of adjusting my schedule, two book serialization projects overlapped, so I didn’t even have time to carefully select a strange deer…
“So, the trial will end here, huh…”
This is the last item I need to obtain Stardust Flare.
Once I get the medals at this Racecourse and combine them with the medals I obtained through Odd or Even and Poker, I’ll have enough to secure a way to return.
While that’s great news…
“I feel like everyone’s watching us, as expected.”
Amidst the unique fervor of the Racecourse, I shrink back, trying to evade the gazes from all around.
The reason for all this attention is, of course…
“What a look. I don’t like it, but until this race is over, you’re my partner.
If you understand, hold your head higher…”
“Shut up! If you hadn’t entered with such a chuunibyo name, I might have been a bit more dignified!”
It’s all because of my impertinent, self-proclaimed partner who pipes up with a haughty tone from beside me.
“I don’t understand your dissatisfaction. Godspeed King!
Is this not a fitting name for me, who will conquer the foolish masses and reign supreme in this land?”
“Shut up, you airheaded chuunibyo! And it’s not Godspeed King, it’s G Speed King!”
They told me that names longer than ten characters couldn’t be registered, like in a Game’s name input, so I grudgingly changed “God” to “G.”
However, the “G” just reminds me of that black, scuttling thing.
I admit he’s a Speed King, but it just feels a little unpleasant.
“…Sigh.”
With a sigh, I consciously exhale my dispirited feelings.
The final race of the Horse Racing Tournament is about to begin.
This will likely be the first and last race for me, no, for us to enter.
If I had to put a preface to it, then calling this guy and myself partners wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
“I never imagined a day would come when I’d call you a partner. I never dreamed of it when we first met.”
“Hmph. We feel the same way!”
But, thinking about it, I first met this guy shortly after arriving in Richter.
If you just consider the timing of our meeting, we’re old acquaintances, about the same as Ringo.
And yet…
“Well, I guess it’s thanks to you that we were able to get this far so quickly. I’m grateful for that.”
It pains me to admit it, but without this guy, I would have spent much more time and a lot more money on this trial.
“That’s what I said. With my true power, this level of challenge is child’s play.”
“Haha! Keep telling yourself that!”
Exchanging lighthearted banter, we head towards the Horse Racing track, towards the gates for the race participants.
By some unspoken understanding, I no longer feel self-conscious about the surrounding gazes.
“Alright, let’s go, partner.”
“Hmph! Try not to hold me back.”
As I entered the Racecourse with my reliable partner, I recalled the circumstances that led me to this situation.
“—W-What was that just now! Is that even allowed!”
The moment I brilliantly used my wits to snatch medals from the Casino, Sahzan, raging with fury, cornered me.
He barraged me with questions, forgetting even his usual chuunibyo mannerisms.
“W-Wait. What are you so angry about? We managed to get medals in the end, so isn’t that fine?”
“It’s not about that… And besides, this way, there’s no time…”
“It’s fine, let’s move on to the next thing.”
Sahzan kept muttering, but I ignored him and headed to the location of the final trial, the Racecourse.
Despite his complaints, Sahzan followed me at a brisk pace.
“Next is the Racecourse trial. Well, this is just about winning a bet of over a million E, so it’s easy.”
“Wha—!? Is horse racing that easy to win?”
“No, not at all.”
On the contrary, just like Poker, the horse you bet on consistently drops in rank, a typical ‘Nekomeko’ feature.
Since you can’t save beforehand when placing a bet, it’s even harder to win than Poker.
“T-Then how do we…”
“Bet on all the horses.”
“…Huh?”
I clearly state my plan to the Magic Idiot, whose face is likely contorted in a dumbfounded expression behind his mask, though I can’t see it.
“I mean, bet on every single horse running in the race, aiming to earn a million E on single bets for each.
No matter how the system manipulates the rankings, eventually, one of them has to come in first.”
Even the ‘Nekomeko’ system wouldn’t go as far as making all the horses fall and have no winner.
I thought it was a pretty good idea, fully leveraging the power of abundant capital… but my temporary partner didn’t seem to like it for some reason.
“N-No, that’s no good!”
“Why not?”
When I asked, Sahzan hesitated for a moment, then quickly retorted with renewed vigor.
“B-Because if you do that, you’ll definitely lose money!”
“It’s not like I… mind that much…”
“I mind! And besides, if you do that, you’ll immediately lose medals…”
Sahzan mumbled something indistinct, but then, realizing I was looking at him quizzically, he spread his arms wide and shouted.
“Whatever the case! As long as I’m alive, I absolutely will not permit such wastefulness!
This is the oath of Sahzan, descendant of the most noble blood, the great Great Dark Magician!
S-So, it’s absolutely no good!”
He made a declaration that was a strange mix of chuunibyo delusions and a hint of common sense.
“Rather, there! Isn’t there a way to win without losing, even if it takes more time?”
“Well, I mean… there is, but…”
“Eh? There is?!”
To Sahzan, who was blinking in surprise after asking the question himself, I reluctantly explained.
“Actually, Players can also participate in the horse races.
If you bring your own horse for a test during your free time and achieve a certain time, you can enter the final race of the day in a special slot.”
“So, if I bet on my own horse and it wins that race…”
“Naturally, earning a million E would be easy.”
Furthermore, the betting odds for the first participation are always five times the wager, regardless of the horse’s strength.
Since the maximum bet is one million E, this method only allows earning up to five million E, but it’s listed on the Nekomeko Wiki as one method of acquiring funds.
“The problem is how to acquire a strong horse.”
Horses are kept in various places, and you can acquire them by buying them out.
However, while you can obtain a horse and enter it into a race, the element of raising the purchased horse is almost unimplemented.
“I mean, you can say it’s training if you provide supplemental feed other than the basic feed, as it changes the stats, but that’s about it.”
“Is there a problem with that?”
“Hmm. You can only feed them once a day, and while your Strength increases by 5, your Acceleration decreases by 8. Or, your Stamina increases by 10, but your Max Speed decreases by 15. That’s all there is…”
“That’s completely useless!”
Sahzan’s ruthless judgment was hard to counter, but I managed.
“N-No, while the training elements are lacking, horses have inherent types.
The type of horse is randomly generated at the start of the game, and high-rank horses are strong from the beginning, so it might be possible…”
“Horses have ranks too?”
“Yeah. Specifically, it’s like this.”
Broken Horse: All stats are extremely low. It’s unintelligent, and it’s more likely to ignore instructions than understand them. It loves to eat and consumes twice the normal amount of feed.
Average Horse: Stats are on the lower side. Not very intelligent, so it sometimes ignores instructions. Likes to relax.
Swift Horse: Superior speed compared to normal horses. It will follow instructions during a race most of the time. However, it seems nervous and is sensitive to noises.
War Horse: Superior stamina compared to normal horses. It follows instructions but takes time to understand them. Its body is robust, and it often naps.
Fine Horse: All stats are excellent. It rarely disobeys instructions during a race. It is brave and possesses considerable ability.
Red Horse: Faster and has more stamina than Swift, War, or Fine Horses. However, it completely ignores instructions. Its temperament is wild, to the point of deliberately bumping into other horses, and it enjoys rampaging.
Divine Horse: All stats are 999 (Max Level) from the start. It doesn’t just follow instructions; it seems to have an AI for humans, it converses normally, and even makes witty jokes. It’s a bit arrogant and enjoys playing pranks.
“So, if I get a strong horse from the start…”
“Yeah! Winning the race might not be a dream!”
It’s not a dream, but…
“However, even a Fine Horse has about a 10% win rate, and the random generation rate for Fine Horses is said to be less than 1%. Red Horses and Divine Horses have generation rates so low they can’t even be measured, and I’ve never actually seen them. Besides, I don’t even know how to tell the rank of a horse!”
“That’s completely useless!!”
I suppressed the urge to retort, “That’s why I didn’t mention it at first.”
I really didn’t want to say it, but I had no choice.
“There is a sure-win method. However, it takes nearly a month to do, so I don’t particularly recommend—”
“Let’s do that!”
“…Huh?”
As I was halfway through my explanation, Sahzan leaned forward, grabbed my hands, and looked at me with eyes burning brightly.
Noticing my bewildered gaze, Sahzan pulled away and began to explain flusteredly, waving his hands.
“Ah, y-you see… Y-You came up with the sure-win method, right?
If that’s the case, even though it’s probably not the best, it’s sure to be foolproof.
In that regard, I trust you.”
“W-Well, thank you.”
It was rare for Sahzan to praise me, so I became flustered.
However, the person himself didn’t seem to realize the impact of his words and continued talking while nodding.
“And besides, the fact that it takes time is the most… a-ah, well, it doesn’t cost money, which is good!”
“No, the feed costs quite a bit…”
“Then I’ll pay for it!!”
He cut off my objection without a moment’s hesitation.
I wondered what had suddenly made him so motivated, but Sahzan’s enthusiasm made me feel a little happy.
“So, what do we do? Is there anything we need to prepare?”
As if afraid I might change my mind, Sahzan urged me forward impatiently.
“Ah, u-um, first, we need to get a Broken Horse, and then gather about 100 of the same type of feed with the largest effect…”
“Alright! Leave the horse to me! I’ll go buy the feed!”
“W-Wait!”
This time, I managed to stop Sahzan, who was about to sprint off mid-explanation, by grabbing the scruff of his neck.
“You said you’d pay for the feed, but didn’t you have almost no money!?
You couldn’t even pay the library entrance fee!”
“I-It’s fine! I received a little allowance.”
Allowance, huh…
“Who gave you that?”
He didn’t have it when I entered the library, so it was probably one of my party members.
Or could it be that he was tricked by some strange old man we met along the way?
When I asked, a little worried, Sahzan replied somewhat bashfully.
“It was from Bear-sama…”
Bear…
I hadn’t seen him, but he was secretly doing something like that.
And besides, did he even have money?
“Ah!”
While I was stupefied by the sheer absurdity of it, the self-proclaimed Great Dark Magician, who had received pocket money from a stuffed toy, escaped my grasp and ran off again.
Turning back when he was just out of reach, he shouted.
“W-Whatever! Since it can’t be helped, I’ll support you with all my might until we can win the race!
So, you absolutely must not waste money betting on all the horses!
You focus entirely on winning the race and getting those medals!”
“…Understood.”
As I conceded, this troublesome, meddlesome, lifelong acquaintance of a magician seemed to smile gleefully behind his mask… I think.
“Then, meet me here in three hours!
I’ll buy the best feed, so you make sure not to mess up procuring the horse!”
But before I could confirm it, Sahzan had already dashed off energetically.
With a strangely warm feeling, I renewed my resolve.
“Then I guess I should check out some leads too.”
Once I’ve decided, I go all out.
At a speed that could rival Sahzan’s sprint, I furiously moved my legs towards my destination.
…And now.
After completing various troublesome procedures and overcoming numerous hurdles, I, we, are standing on the field of this Racecourse.
“What’s wrong? Are you nervous now that we’re here?”
To my partner’s teasing yet caring voice, I looked down slightly and replied with a smile.
“Not at all. I just got excited thinking about how I’m going to blow everyone here away.”
“You’ve become quite the talker.”
It’s someone I used to find quite bothersome when we first met, yet now these exchanges are comfortable.
It’s different from Ringo, Mitsuki, or Ena.
There was a unique atmosphere that could only exist with this guy.
I lowered my gaze again, observing my partner, and a sudden thought crossed my mind.
That, um, stamen and pistil, or male and female, or to put it simply, gender.
We’ve been talking like two guys the whole time, but now that I think about it calmly, I don’t think I’ve ever asked him directly.
“You know, I’ve always been curious, but are you…”
“Hm?”
“Ah, never mind.”
But I swallowed the words I was about to ask.
(What am I thinking?)
In our relationship, gender has no meaning.
I am his partner, and he is my partner.
That’s all there is to it.
(Either way, no matter how things turn out, there’s no way I’d fall in love with this guy.)
I thought a silly joke to myself and chuckled inwardly.
My dependable but sharp-tongued partner looked at me strangely, but…
“…It’s starting.”
Sensing a change in the venue, he prompted me in a low voice.
Responding to his voice, I tightened my grip on the reins and grinned.
“Let’s blow them all away, partner!”
In response to my words, my temporary partner didn’t say much.
Instead, he looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes, just like when we first met, and deliberately neighed.
“—Neigh!”
And thus, my partner, “Divine Horse G Speed King,” scouted from the memorable stable where I stayed with Ringo, won by fifty horse lengths, securing the medals.
…And then.
When I showed Sahzan the medals with a smug look, he was holding feed in both arms at the meeting spot, I somehow ended up being yelled at with incredible ferocity.
“You! You monster!”
It seems wasting the feed was indeed a serious offense.
While defending myself from Sahzan, who was throwing feed at me with tears in his eyes, I secretly decided to ask Bear for an increase in Sahzan’s allowance.
Reference
Simple Horse Raising Method Even Sahzan Can Do
1. Obtain a Broken Horse.
2. Feed the Broken Horse the same feed twice a day.
3. While stats will decrease with each feeding, they will never go below zero, so continue feeding.
4. Eventually, they should reach stats like Stamina 999, Speed 0. Once that happens, change the feed.
5. Once the second stat reaches 999, adjust the stats balance with feed as needed.
6. Voilà! A powerful Broken Horse is complete.
