A Flash of Inspiration... Right?

"A-Sheng, how many times have I told you not to pile carrots directly in the stable?!"

"What does it matter? We were going to take them over sooner or later anyway."

"Then what if Fu-chan steals some again? And that mop of white hair of yours is disgusting!"

"Hah? A landmine girl like you has the nerve to say that about me?!"

"Both of you, quiet!"

The elderly man with neatly combed white hair loudly rebuked the two bickering behind him, then rubbed his aching temples with a troubled expression.

"It's your fault."

"No, it's yours."

Even after being stopped by the old man, the two continued quietly blaming each other.

"When the guest Mr. Arakawa introduced arrives, you must not embarrass yourselves in front of him."

Afraid that his troublesome children might cause more problems, the old man reminded them uneasily.

"Tch, he's just some rookie horse owner. I'd say you're being overly cautious, old man—"

The white-haired youth called A-Sheng immediately put on a disdainful expression.

"Idiot! If we offend the Light-Breed Horse Association because of this, we won't even be able to find a place to breed our horses next year!"

Ogawa Joe repeatedly struck his son on the head with his cane, suddenly feeling as though he had aged several more years.

Meanwhile—

"This should be the place, right?"

Kitano looked uncertainly at the sign reading "Nishiken Farm."

At the end of April, he successfully passed the Hokkaido Racing Association's registration process for individual horse owners.

To meet the personal income review threshold, he had also used up quite a few Green Omamori he had saved through daily missions.

Of course, he was not about to let the money exchanged through the Green Omamori sit idle in his account.

Kitano decided to use it to buy racehorses of his own.

As for loans—

The agricultural cooperative was huge, anyway. It would not miss such a small sum.

He could just pay it back slowly.

As soon as he parked in front of an open area marked with a "P," the farm's representative, Ogawa Joe, approached with his cane.

"Welcome, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Joe's silver hair was neatly combed, and though the smile on his face was somewhat exaggerated, it was not unpleasant.

"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Ogawa."

After exchanging pleasantries, Kitano's gaze passed Ogawa Joe and settled on the two people behind him.

The youth with an exaggerated white pompadour like a yakuza let out a "Tch" and deliberately turned his head away.

"This is my son, Ogawa Masaru. He currently helps out at the farm... A-Sheng, hurry up and greet Mr. Kitano!"

Ogawa Joe introduced him with a smile while discreetly poking the youth's toes with his cane.

"Hiss... Hello, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Masaru sucked in a breath before replying listlessly.

"Good day, Mr. Kitano."

At that moment, the girl who had remained silent until then also spoke.

Kitano turned his gaze toward the girl standing on the other side.

Judging by her skin and facial features, she appeared to be a young adult between eighteen and twenty-five years old, standing between 5.3 and 5.5 feet tall. Her hair was healthy and smooth, with no obvious shedding or parasite infestation.

Her features were regular, with no apparent deformities. Her cheekbones were soft, her jawline distinct, and there was no edema, scabbing, or dandruff. Her sclera showed no yellowing or congestion, there was no obvious buildup around the tear ducts, and her ears and nasal cavity showed no abnormalities.

Her complexion was even and fair, with no obvious erythema, bruising, acne, or rash. No obvious pathological pigmentation could be seen under natural light. She stood with normal spinal curvature, without limping or postural compensation.

She was quite healthy.

It was just that her outfit was rather intimidating.

Long black hair, a black dress, and a black choker around her neck.

In a place like Hokkaido, that kind of outfit practically screamed landmine girl.

"More like the hideout of some violent gang than a breeding farm."

Though he clearly understood that arbitrarily labeling people was very rude, Kitano could not help having such thoughts.

"This is my daughter, Ogawa Kanna."

Ogawa Joe's tone softened considerably when introducing his daughter.

Kitano greeted the two of them as well.

After that, Ogawa Joe led Kitano directly to the pasture.

The various facilities along the way all looked as though they had only recently been put into use.

Apparently noticing Kitano's confusion, Ogawa Joe explained, "Our farm was only established in recent years. The racehorses we bred did not begin competing until last year."

Noticing the slight embarrassment on Ogawa Joe's face, Kitano wisely chose not to ask about their racing results.

Since this was not a formal auction, the horse presentation segment was simply skipped.

If Kitano really took a liking to one, they could bring it out for him to inspect later.

Leaning on his cane, Ogawa Joe introduced them. "These are two-year-olds that have already begun preliminary training. Their bloodlines may be somewhat lacking, but they are good choices for beginners in horse racing, and their prices are also..."

Kitano had stopped listening to the rest.

His gaze was completely drawn to one horse.

It was a remarkably beautiful dark bay.

Its coat was jet-black and gleaming, smooth and lustrous, with no obvious signs of parasite infestation or skin disease.

Its physique was well-proportioned, with evenly distributed muscles and no signs of emaciation or localized swelling.

Its legs were symmetrical, its joints showed no swelling or lameness, and its weight was evenly distributed while standing. A preliminary assessment showed no obvious injuries or dysfunction in its skeletal, muscular, or ligament systems.

Its gait was normal, and its hooves were structurally sound.

Even from a veterinarian's perspective, it was a healthy, fine horse.

Apparently noticing Kitano's attention, the dark bay two-year-old trotted over in little leaps like a fawn.

Kitano could not help holding his breath.

Ogawa Masaru, standing nearby with his arms crossed, curled his lip.

He had seen too many people like this.

They got into horse racing on a whim, without any professionalism or motivation to stick with it.

Before long, they would tuck their tails and leave in disgrace.

But—

The racehorses that ended up in their hands were the unlucky ones.

Ogawa Masaru gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

Even if his father punished him, he would do everything he could to stop Kitano from buying one of their horses.

Before Ogawa Masaru could speak, something unexpected happened.

Smack—

Kitano suddenly slapped himself across the face.

The burning pain immediately cleared his head considerably.

"Mr. Kitano... are you all right?"

Even the worldly Ogawa Joe was startled by the sudden scene. After a moment, he asked uncertainly.

Kitano nodded and calmly replied, "A mosquito happened to fly by."

He had nearly forgotten just how low his inspiration was.

But—

Sure enough, he had still been clinging to a faint hope.

Opening the panel, Kitano stubbornly used the detector on the dark bay colt before him.

[Performer's Step 2023 (Unnamed)]

[Colt, 2 years old]

[Dark bay]

[Distance Aptitude: ?]

[Track Aptitude: ?]

[Running Style: ?]

[Growth Type: ?]

[Temperament: ?]

[Personality: ?]

[Speed: E-]

[Stamina: ?]

[Competitive Grit: ?]

[Explosiveness: ?]

[Power: ?]

[Health: ?]

[Wisdom: ?]

[Mental Strength: ?]

[Flexibility: ?]

Not knowing whether he should lament his good fortune or bad, Kitano silently closed the system panel.

At that point, he finally gave up struggling.