"A-Sheng, how many times have I told you not to pile the carrots directly in the Horse Stall like that?!"
"What does it matter? We'll have to bring them over sooner or later anyway."
"What if Fu-chan sneaks some again? And that white hair of yours is grossing me out!"
"Huh? You've got the nerve to say that, you landmine girl?!"
"Both of you, quiet down!"
The elderly man with neatly trimmed white hair loudly rebuked the two bickering people behind him, then rubbed his aching temples with a troubled expression.
"Your fault."
"No, yours."
Even after being stopped by the old man, the two continued secretly blaming each other.
"When the guest Mr. Arakawa introduced arrives, you absolutely must not be rude in front of him."
Afraid that his troublesome children would cause more trouble, the old man reminded them uneasily.
"Tch, he's just some rookie horse owner. I'd say you're being overly cautious again, old man—"
The white-haired youth named A-Sheng immediately put on a disdainful expression.
"Idiot! If we offend the Light-Breed Horse Association over this, we won't even have a place to breed our horses next year!"
Ogawa Joe struck his son on the head several times with his cane, instantly feeling as though he had aged several more years.
Meanwhile—
"This should be the place, right?"
Kitano looked uncertainly at the sign in front of him that read "Nishiken Farm."
At the end of April, he had successfully passed the Hokkaido Racing Association's individual horse owner registration.
To meet the personal income review threshold, he had also used up quite a few Green Omamori he had accumulated from daily missions.
Naturally, the money exchanged through the Green Omamori would not be left sitting idly in his account.
Kitano decided to use it to purchase a Racehorse of his own.
As for loans—
Japan Agricultural Cooperatives was huge, after all. It would not miss such a trivial sum.
He could just pay it back slowly.
Just as he parked his car in front of an open lot marked with a "P," Nishiken Farm's representative, Ogawa Joe, approached him with a cane.
"Welcome, Mr. Kitano."
Ogawa Joe's short 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 fell on the two people standing behind him.
The youth with an outrageously tall white pompadour like a yakuza clicked his tongue and deliberately turned his head away.
"This is my son, Ogawa Masaru. He's currently helping out at the farm... A-Sheng, hurry up and greet Mr. Kitano!"
Ogawa Joe made the introductions with a smile, while discreetly poking the youth's toe 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 all this time also spoke.
Kitano turned his attention to the girl standing on the other side.
Judging from 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 obvious deformities. Her cheekbones were soft, her jawline clear, and there was no edema, scabbing, or dandruff. Her sclera showed no signs of jaundice or congestion, there was no obvious buildup around her tear ducts, and her ears and nasal cavity showed no abnormalities.
Her complexion was even and fair, with no obvious erythema, bruising, acne, or rashes. No obvious pathological pigmentation could be seen under natural light. She stood with normal physiological curvature of the spine, without limping or postural compensation.
She was quite healthy.
It was just that her appearance was rather intimidating.
Long black hair, a black dress, and a black choker around her neck.
In a place like Hokkaido, that outfit was practically synonymous with a landmine girl.
Rather than a breeding farm, this looked more like the hideout of some violent gang.
Although Kitano clearly understood that casually labeling people was extremely rude, he could not help having such thoughts.
"This is my daughter, Ogawa Kanna."
Ogawa Joe's tone became much gentler when introducing his daughter.
Kitano greeted the two of them as well.
After that, Ogawa Joe brought Kitano directly to the pasture.
The various facilities along the way all looked as though they had only recently been put into use.
Seemingly noticing Kitano's confusion, Ogawa Joe explained, "Our farm was only established in recent years. The Racehorses we bred only began competing 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 skipped.
If Kitano truly took a liking to any horse, they could simply lead it out for him to inspect later.
Leaning on his cane, Ogawa Joe introduced them. "These are all two-year-olds that have already begun preliminary training. Their pedigrees may be somewhat lacking, but they are good choices for newcomers to Racehorse racing, and the prices are also..."
Kitano was no longer listening to what came after that.
His gaze had been completely drawn to one horse.
It was an exceptionally beautiful Black-Bay Coat horse.
Its coat was jet-black and glossy, smooth and lustrous, with no obvious signs of parasite infestation or skin disease.
Its build was well-proportioned, its muscles evenly distributed, with no signs of emaciation or localized swelling.
Its four legs were symmetrical, its joints showed no swelling or lameness, and its center of gravity was evenly distributed while standing. A preliminary assessment showed no obvious injury or dysfunction in its skeletal, muscular, or ligament systems.
Its gait was normal while walking, and its hooves were structurally sound.
Even from a veterinarian's perspective, it was a healthy, fine horse.
Seemingly sensing Kitano's attention, the Black-Bay Coat two-year-old trotted over in little hops like a fawn.
Kitano could not help holding his breath.
Ogawa Masaru, who had been standing nearby with his arms crossed, curled his lip.
He had seen far too many people like this.
They threw themselves into Racehorse racing on a whim, neither professional nor motivated to keep going.
Before long, they would slink away with their tails between their legs.
But—
The Racehorses that ended up in their hands would be the unlucky ones.
Ogawa Masaru gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
Even if his old man punished him for it, he would do everything he could to stop Kitano from buying one of their Racehorses.
Before Ogawa Masaru could speak, something unexpected happened.
Smack—
Kitano suddenly slapped himself across the face.
The burning pain immediately cleared his head somewhat.
"Mr. Kitano... are you all right?"
The sudden scene startled even the well-traveled Ogawa Joe. After a moment, he asked uncertainly.
Kitano nodded and calmly replied, "A mosquito just 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 Black-Bay Coat colt before him.
[Performer's Step 2023 (Unnamed)] [Colt, 2] [Black-Bay Coat] [Distance Aptitude: ?] [Track Aptitude: ?] [Running Style: ?] [Growth Type: ?] [Temperament: ?] [Personality: ?] [Speed: E-] [Stamina: ?] [Competitive Grit: ?] [Burst: ?] [Power: ?] [Health: ?] [Wisdom: ?] [Mental Strength: ?] [Flexibility: ?]
Not knowing whether he should lament his good fortune or bad luck, Kitano silently closed the system panel.
At that point, he completely gave up struggling.