Racetrack
We arrived at the racetrack. Helena looked like she was at the beach. She took out a wide-brimmed hat from her spatial bracelet and even put on sunglasses. Ordinary people don't know much about awakened ones, but most know the Northern Grand Duke's daughter.
"Let's go!"
The woman rumored to be the Ice Princess led Si-woo with an excited face. Her flushed cheeks were hidden under the hat's shadow. Helena's faint smile was pleasant to see.
"Wow...! It's even better than I thought."
It's even better than I though
I notice the previous paragraph ends with "It's even better than I thought." I accidentally wrote "It's even thought." Let me correct that.CHAPTER_TITLE: Racetrack
We arrived at the racetrack. Helena looked like she was at the beach. She took out a wide-brimmed hat from her spatial bracelet and even put on sunglasses. Ordinary people don't know much about awakened ones, but most know the Northern Grand Duke's daughter.
"Let's go!"
The woman rumored to be the Ice Princess led Si-woo with an excited face. Her flushed cheeks were hidden under the hat's shadow. Helena's faint smile was pleasant to see.
"Wow...! It's even better than I thought."
"Right? It's like an amusement park?"
Actually, when I thought of a racetrack, I imagined gambling addicts with bloodshot eyes. But when we came, it was completely different from my imagination. It looked more like an amusement park or theme park than a racetrack. It was a perfect place for a date. I could see Helena humming softly and smiling.
Honestly, if she's a regressor, there are plenty of ways to make money, but she specifically came here. It's not like she came here for a date, right? If so, I'd welcome it. I was worried about how to seduce her anyway. Helena, perhaps because she's a regressor, wasn't easy to get close to beyond a certain distance.
She's pretty. Helena seemed excited today. I approached her and opened my mouth.
"Is this the place?"
"Probably? I think so."
She told me she saw something similar in the future. The best odds in history would be broken here. A horse that always came in last suddenly winning first place. Just getting that right would earn over a billion won. Helena was looking around like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time. Her gaze fixed on one spot.
Fruit candy? There was a stall. It sold fruits like strawberries and bananas coated in syrup on sticks.
"Want some? Should I buy one?"
"Huh?! Ah, no..."
"Let's go."
I naturally grabbed her wrist and headed that way. I felt Helena flinch. The scowling brow of her shadow-like escort was a bonus. Coming to a place like an amusement park, Helena's guard was lowered.
"Here."
"Ah... it's been a long time since I had something like this."
Helena's hand trembled slightly as she took the fruit candy. After hesitating for a moment, she carefully bit into it. I was curious what reaction she would show. The sugar-coated fruit disappeared into her mouth with a crunching sound. Chewing, Helena closed her eyes and muttered.
"It's too... sweet. Dangerously so."
"Huh?"
For a moment, Helena's expression darkened, but then she smiled brightly.
"It's nothing. Would you like some too, Si-woo-nim?"
"Maybe?"
If she doesn't want to talk about it, forcing it will backfire. Pretending not to notice, I ate the fruit she offered. The combination of sugar and fruit gave a violently sweet taste.
"Whoa. It's really sweet."
"Heheh..! Right? It's too sweet!"
"Yeah. Want to try that one too?"
"Shall we?"
I enjoyed a date with Helena, sharing various things from the stall. Sounds of admiration leaked from everywhere. Two young men who came here whispered.
"Wow, she's fucking pretty. Look over there."
"Who? Huh... damn."
Praises of her appearance came from all around. Although her face was hidden by sunglasses and a hat, she had a unique aura. Her voluptuous chest and hips alone were a bewitching body that couldn't be ignored.
Si-woo and Helena's short date ended and they arrived at the place to buy betting tickets.
"Hmm... wait a moment."
As if recalling a memory, she touched her brow and her expression brightened.
"Ah..! I remember. That horse. I'm sure."
I followed her gaze. There was a row of signboards introducing the horses. Among them, one particularly worn-out signboard caught my eye. Fallen Star? A fallen star? The horse's name was Silver Star, but someone had crossed it out and scribbled "Fallen Star" on it.
"I don't know the details either. I just saw it in passing..."
"Ah, I see?"
If you listen to a regressor, you'll get rich even while sleeping. I said as we walked to the place to buy tickets.
"Should I bet about ten million won? I wonder what the odds are..."
"Hahaha! Hey there, young man!"
"Huh?"
A middle-aged man walked over with his shoulders back and a confident stride. He had an extremely self-assured expression.
"I'm sorry for overhearing unintentionally. But you seem like a beginner, am I right?"
"Well... it is my first time."
"Hah! I knew it. I figured it out when you said you'd bet ten million won."
The middle-aged man wore something like a baker boy hat and had a full beard. For some reason, he reminded me of a detective. He continued.
"The maximum bet at this racetrack is one million won."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes. You were about to buy a gambling ticket, no, a betting ticket without even knowing that. You're very lucky to have met me!"
"Huh?"
"Simply put, I'm a professional horse racing analyst. I'm an expert who knows the condition of every horse competing here."
"Ah... I see."
As I played along, the excited man kept talking.
"That Fallen Star is too old. It'll retire soon. Don't waste your money on something like that."
After explaining for a while how competent he was, he got to the point.
"I'll give you some advice. If you win, just give me a little commission. How about it?"
"Huh... so you mean I should do as you say, and if I win, I give you a part of it?"
"That's right! You catch on quick. ...Half! Just give me half. I'll teach you the essence of horse racing."
It sounded plausible at first, but it was just a scam. He wanted to gamble with other people's money.
"What if I don't win?"
"Then of course you don't have to pay a single penny. Consider it free advice."
"Haha..."
It was a crazy proposal. So crazy that I wondered if anyone would fall for it. I waved my hand as if shooing a fly.
"W-wait!! Th-three-thirds! No, one-tenth!!"
Ignoring the guy spouting nonsense to the end, I bought the betting ticket with Helena.
"Helena. Aren't you going to bet?"
"No. I don't lack money."
"Oh..."
She had the aura of a rich girl. Even though she was sure to win, she didn't bet.
"Fallen Star? Pfft..! Going all-in on a horse like that...! This is why beginners are...! I'm so sorry for you!"
The self-proclaimed professional horse racing analyst was lamenting as if his own money had been lost. I was curious what reaction he would show when Fallen Star came in first.
The jockey at the racetrack trudged along. He was the last-place specialist. He only rode the horses with the worst records. He saw the back of a horse standing with a snort. That was Fallen Star, the horse he would ride today.
Tsk, what bad luck.
Pushed aside by formidable juniors, Fallen Star was the only horse he could ride. How did he, once a top jockey, end up like this...
Damn injury.
It was an unfortunate accident. A day like any other. Something small popped out. A goblin. Despite its stature smaller than his waist, his body stiffened. It was because of the killing intent he felt for the first time as an ordinary person.
"Aaaah!!"
By the time he came to his senses, the rusty dagger had already struck his leg. After that, his life was stuck in the gutter. A long year of rehabilitation. His body recovered, but the mental wound was deep. When he returned. The top jockey was gone. In the end, he fell to the last-place specialist.
I'm just like you...
Fallen Star was the same. This horse, once a consistent winner, had grown old. He sighed deeply and approached Fallen Star to put on the harness.
"Huh?"
Its build was slightly smaller than other horses. Its outward appearance was the same as usual. But. Today, Fallen Star, no, Silver Star's eyes were different. Perhaps it instinctively knew its retirement was near. Snort. In its clear eyes, something unknown dwelled. The jockey stared at it for a while and nodded.
"...Yeah. Let's do it today."
He tightened the harness. The jockey didn't know, but his eyes had also changed to resemble Fallen Star's.
"What, what!! Uwaaah!!"
"Kyaa! No, no!!!"
Fallen Star's sprint. And the ensuing close first place. It was a rebellion of the last-place horse. At that moment, sounds of lament overflowed from everywhere. Among them, an especially loud voice.
"C-crazy!! Fallen Star came in first..?!"
"Uwaaah!!!! My money!!!!"
Si-woo thought it was a voice infused with internal energy. It was that tremendous a roar. It came from the direction of the self-proclaimed professional horse racing analyst who had made that scam-like proposal earlier. Of course, it wasn't him screaming. He hadn't put up his own money, so there was no reason to scream. Next to him, a skinny man was screaming. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at the self-proclaimed expert.
"Y-you!!! What are you going to do about this!! You said that horse would lose!!"
"Oh dear..! I'm sorry. Horse racing is like that; sometimes you're right, but sometimes you can be wrong... Ugh!?"
The skinny man grabbed the expert's neck and shook him back and forth.
"Ugh..!!"
"You bastard! Pay me back my money!!"
Both of their faces were bright red as if about to burst. One from anger. The other from not being able to breathe.
"Sigh..."
Gambling really is harmful to the body. Helena and I no longer paid attention to the surroundings.
"Is this... really paying out correctly?"
2,126 times. It was enormous odds for just picking one first-place horse. With a single one-million-won ticket, they earned over 2.1 billion won. Certainly, this was newsworthy.
"Of course. If they don't pay even by chance... then I'll take care of it."
Seeing her cold face after a long time made me feel like getting an erection. A face that made me fall for her all over again. She really was the Ice Princess.
Nothing much happened. Unlike in movies, there was no refusal to pay and calling of thugs after winning money. Even ordinary academy cadets are half-nobles in this world. Few ordinary people dare to mess with superhumans who wield mana.
"Earning 2.1 billion won this easily."
After taxes, it would be much less, but still over a billion won. With this, I can make a portable teleportation magic circle.
"Helena. That's amazing."
"Not at all. It's nothing."
Helena smiled proudly, pushing her huge chest forward.
Oops. I almost reached out my hand without thinking. It reminded me of how I had arbitrarily trained a certain pair of breasts not long ago.