097 Pony Training: Military Horse Training (2026-02-04)
The owner muttered to himself with a satisfied smile, “Hah… 25 points? The horse is insanely strong. Now, I just need to find an appropriate trainer…”
Behind the trading store clerk, a small, hesitant voice suddenly rang out.
“Um… um… Is anyone there…? I… I came to see a military horse…”
Today was already too late, so the trading store clerk had planned to contact a trainer for the newly acquired goods tomorrow. But his plan was interrupted by this unexpected visitor.
Just as merchants often say that once a customer comes, more will follow, this time instead of the usual porters selling horses, a small girl wearing a bread hat stepped over the threshold.
“How far have you looked?”
“Y-yes…? What do you mean…? I don’t understand…”
“Ah, no no no! Sorry! It’s my habit… Sorry! What kind of military horse would you like to see?”
The clerk, who had unconsciously slipped into his sales pitch, bowed his head repeatedly in embarrassment as he addressed the girl in the bread hat.
Looking at her now, the girl wearing what seemed like a riding helmet rather than a bread hat. If she had spoken first, it would have been natural, but the clerk, who had been waiting for the right moment while the girl quietly toured the stables, had accidentally blurted out the slip.
The clerk saw this mistake as an opportunity instead. While awkwardly apologizing, his mind was already spinning rapidly.
“This is the perfect timing to clear out inventory. The golden mare I just bought cheaply is about to become an expensive sale.”
“I’ll just pick something decent… not necessarily a military horse, but one of the ones that are about to be sold as just mares… and if it’s usable, I can sell it to you.”
“What would you like? Are you here for errands? Something light? Or something sturdy…? Don’t worry, feel free to look around.”
Following the clerk’s words, the girl wandered around the stables. After looking for a long time without finding a suitable racehorse, the girl fiddled with the old riding helmet and cautiously opened her mouth.
“Um… um… This time! I want a military horse that is incredibly strong! Is there… one that is incredibly strong…?”
The word “this time…” didn’t escape the clerk’s sharp ears. The old hat pulled down tightly, the hesitant attitude. This was someone he knew from the market as a rider or trainer, but he didn’t remember this small, powerless little girl.
She was probably one of two things. The capricious hobby of a rich kid who didn’t know the world, or a naive, foolish innocent who knew nothing.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a hybrid! I just want one that’s strong…! …Actually, I’d be happy if you could match it that way. I don’t have any money… I’ll pay in cash right away! Please!”
The girl took out an old wallet from her pocket and unfolded it. Inside was a thick bundle of cash.
It was a crumpled bundle of paper money, mixed with various denominations, as if saved up over a long time.
The clerk instantly revised his judgment. Not a rich kid’s whim, but the latter.
“Hmm… Just wait a moment… I’m thinking this might not be what you’re looking for… Let me show you.”
For a brief moment, the clerk felt a twinge of conscience about tossing a low-quality military horse at this girl and taking all her money. But as expected, that feeling melted away at the girl’s earnest next words.
“Please! Actually, this is all I have… It’s fine if it’s a hybrid… I just want one that’s strong… Please…”
“There is indeed a military horse that Miss is looking for, but let me show you first.”
(Since the customer found it first over there… If she wants me to find it, that’s true service… Hehe…)
The clerk guided the girl to the test area. There, instead of a stable that could display it, due to the two porters leaving and the girl entering right after, there stood a blonde female horse, Sonia, blankly staring at the sparkling crystal sandbag.
“Um… is this it…? Master…?”
“Her name is Pipi. She’s been here for about three months. I taught her what was necessary, but she probably only knows the basics. She’s tough and likes to wander around… Ah, probably not Pipi that Miss is looking for…”
“???”
Sonia, who suddenly became named 'Pipi'.
Additionally, dressed in a leotard, with three months of experience, and a setting that her hobby is walking.
Sonia could have immediately broken free and revealed her true identity. Curious about how much amazing sales technique would come out of this scammer’s mouth, Pipi, or rather Sonia, decided to stay silent and watch the situation.
“A tough but pedigree-less hybrid mare… That’s why you’re selling it cheap, right, master…?”
Ca utiously asking the girl, the clerk gave a signal with exaggerated gestures to not be surprised.
“I was just thinking that Pipi needed a new owner, so I tested her with the crystal for shock testing just now… Don’t be surprised? A whopping 25 damage. She kicked it just right and got 25 points? This must be the strong military horse you were looking for, Miss… I think this Pipi is that military horse…”
“T-twenty-five points…? Ah… Amazing! Pipi…” The girl’s eyes widened. She wasn’t just amazed; with resolute eyes, she looked at Sonia and clenched her fists.
(…25 points is that amazing…?)
It was completely different from the explanation she had given the porters: “Only 25 points out of 100.”
The clerk used the phrase “a whopping 25 points” to inflate the value of the product “Pipi.”
“Hah… Could you show me again! I’ll take this Pipi! Please!”
“Did you hear that, Pipi? I’ll take you.”
With a smile that said ‘I’m almost caught… Hehe…’ the clerk slapped Sonia’s butt.
Sonia, curious how far it would go, kicked it again with controlled strength, and the number ‘24’ floated above the crystal.
The clerk continued his explanation. This crystal was a magical tool for measuring damage in a power test, based on the maximum HP of a normal adult male, which is 10 points.
“So, Pipi’s 24… 25 points is proof that she is an incredibly strong military horse, don’t you think?” His voice was full of confidence.
“Y-yes… It’s certain…”
“…”
In the gaze of the girl, who was sparkling with eyes and looking at herself in the leotard with eyes full of awe, Sonia, or the female horse Sonia who had been sold, felt a strange sense of embarrassment.
The final part of the transaction was a closing sales pitch to make a profit.
“So, although Pipi is a pedigree-less mare, considering that it’s hard to sell at that price… Of course, since you’re the customer who specifically picked Pipi, I’ll make it somewhat flexible. No problem!”
“T-this is the price…? For Pipi…?”
“Yes. Because it’s a Pipi with 25 points.”
The numbers the clerk tapped on his calculator. It was the amount paid to the porters earlier plus one more zero.
A used hybrid mare Pipi bought for two months’ income as a D-class adventurer was now transformed into a magnificent mare with a body value exceeding one year’s salary.
“U-um… I don’t have enough money… Is there no way…? Master?”
“I’m sorry, customer. Seeing that Pipi likes her new owner so much… Actually, there was someone who came to see her yesterday, but she was very shy. I thought it might be fate… So, this.”
(I didn’t like it… or rather… what kind of thing is this…? How…)
What shocked Sonia more than the background setting that Pipi was actually a shy popular product was the business card the clerk handed to the girl.
Sky City Unsecured Loan!
Monthly Interest Rate 179%
Crunch… Chew.
“Tch… Bet… Be… Tch… Stop it right now!”
No matter how much Sonia hated everything, deep down she was a hero.
She couldn’t just watch a scene where a loan business card was being handed to an innocent girl who knew nothing of the world. Sonia snatched the card the girl was about to accept, put it in her mouth, and chewed and spat it out.
“Eh… eh… Pipi…?”
“Who are you calling ‘Pipi’?”
Instantly, the helpless female horse who had been tied up and dragged by two porters disappeared. The veins bulged on her tightly tensed arm muscles, and the rope binding her wrists snapped with a “snap!” and a scream.
Sonia immediately broke the bit in her mouth, spat out the small pieces onto the floor. The military horse 'Pipi' who liked to play and had been here for three months had returned to being the D-class hero 'Sonia' of Sky City.
The clerk’s sly smile froze on his face. His pupils widened in shock, and his mouth opened dumbly.
Unable to believe his eyes, he staggered back, tripped, and fell on his butt.
In the clerk’s eyes, there was no longer a cheap product, but an overwhelming being burning with anger.
The lascivious silhouette created by the black leotard shone even more clearly under the low lighting of the market.
Sonia tried not to be conscious of her voluptuous breasts and hips, which were blatantly exposed in her outfit. Only the horse ear accessories on her golden hair moved slightly depending on the situation, representing the unreality of the current situation.
Sonia pointed her finger sharply at the trading store clerk who had tried to push the innocent girl into the abyss of exploitation just moments ago.
“W-what is this?! I’m a D-class hero, and you’re openly doing illegal loan business right in front of me! You’re really too much! How can you do such things to someone who knows nothing? Do you have no shame!”
In Sonia’s voice was a very faint and slender sense of justice as a D-class hero of Sky City.
Sonia firmly grabbed the wrist of the bread hat girl who had almost fallen into the trap of ruthless loans with a face that knew nothing of the world. She only thought to escape this filthy place as soon as possible.
As Sonia turned to leave, the clerk and his colleague, who had been calling Sonia “Pipi” and treating her as a cheap product until just now, quickly blocked her way.
On their faces was a strange mixture of embarrassment and blatant anger. One clerk had already taken out a personal communication terminal and was pretending to report to the police. Their gazes looked at Sonia not as a hero, but as a defective product that ruined their goods.