Chapter 276: The Racetrack
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 276: The Racetrack
“Take these as well.”
While Miro was engrossed in her reflection in the mirror, the shopkeeper handed her the remaining garments.
One was a pair of knee-high socks. Like the outfit, they were white with two blue stripes.
The other was a pair of shoes. They were shaped like running shoes, perfect for sprinting, but with a peculiar feature: silver horseshoes were embedded in the soles.
“They say a master doesn’t blame his tools, but that’s all bullshit. Are masters blind? The more skilled the craftsman, the more they desire good tools. That’s how their skills truly shine.”
“Ah, yes…”
“I guarantee these shoes will allow you to display your true abilities. The horseshoes are made of mithril. One hundred percent pure.”
“Hiek.”
The value of a metal typically increases with its purity, but when it comes to hardness, a moderate amount of impurities is often needed to make it stronger.
Mithril, however, was different; the higher its content, the harder it became. Even a small amount mixed with other metals produced a significant effect.
That was the kind of cheat-level metal mithril was.
It was hard, had excellent elasticity, and above all, it was incredibly light.
For that reason, mithril was extremely expensive. The value of the mithril in these horseshoes alone was easily worth over a hundred gold coins.
Such a fortune had been invested in a mere pair of shoes.
“You don’t need to worry about the price. That thief over there will be paying.”
The shopkeeper gestured with his eyes toward Karami, the man who had stolen the princess from the dwarves.
“That’s right. Miro, you don’t have to feel burdened at all. Just be happy and run however you want.”
“Even if you say not to feel burdened…”
Miro held the shoes reverently, as if they were an ancient treasure.
Putting the price aside, she wondered if she could even achieve a decent result. More importantly, if she couldn’t run well in these, she couldn’t even blame her equipment.
“Don’t just look at them, try them on. If there’s a problem, we need to fix it now.”
“Okay, Trainer.”
She took off her old, worn-out shoes, which she had used for years, and slipped on the new ones.
She moved her feet in place.
She bounced up and down as if wearing spring-loaded shoes.
Even to an untrained ear, the sound of her hooves was clearer and more resonant than before.
“How are they?”
“They’re new, so they’ll need some breaking in, but other than that, there are no problems. They’re so light I can barely tell I’m wearing them… It feels like a waste to wear them.”
“I’ll take that to mean you like them. When you’ve worn them out, I’ll get you even better ones, so don’t hold back.”
“…Thank you, Trainer. I’ll run my hardest.”
Karami, along with the fully equipped Miro, returned to where they had left Skadia.
She must have been tormented by the dwarves she usually treated like insects, so she was probably in a terrible mood.
He was just debating whether to calm her down himself or just toss the problem to Azyeth when he realized something.
‘Where’d she go?’
Skadia was gone.
From not too far away, he could hear the boisterous sounds of chatter.
“You lot, I thought you were just bite-sized snacks, but now I see you have excellent taste. That’s right, the most beautiful person in this world is our princess.”
“You speak a hundred truths. Some Saint or whatever appeared over there, but how could she possibly compare to our princess?”
There was Skadia, drinking with the dwarves. Far from being hostile, she was laughing and busy listing Azyeth’s virtues.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, you’ve returned. Well, it turns out they’re quite easy to talk to. I never dreamed they were such intelligent beings.”
“What’s so intelligent about them?”
“They know so many of our princess’s outstanding qualities. If that’s not intelligence, what is?”
It was a severe case of Azyeth addiction. Gathering people like that together was like letting stagnant water fester.
“Let’s return to the merchant group.”
“This one must be going now. I shall visit again.”
“Farewell, Your Majesty!”
They left Doomheim.
Skadia transformed back into her original form.
While Karami climbed onto her back, Miro remained on the ground.
“Aren’t you getting on?”
“Hmm, I kind of feel like running to the merchant group~”
“From here to the group? It’s quite a long way.”
“If I pace myself, I can make it. If I leave now, I should arrive by nightfall, right?”
She could run anywhere, anytime. It wasn’t hard to figure out why she wanted to run all the way to the merchant group on her own two feet.
She wanted to try out her new shoes right away. It was obvious from her fidgeting feet and the uncontrollable swishing of her horse tail.
“Alright. Be careful on your way.”
There was no need to forcibly stop a girl who wanted to run. In fact, it was a good sign.
Mirabelle would be awake by now, so he could just ask her to check in on Miro as she made her way back.
Karami flew off on Skadia, disappearing over the horizon in an instant with breathtaking speed.
Miro stood alone for a moment. She crouched down low, then sprang up, stretching her limbs.
A smile bloomed across her face. She skipped and hopped around in circles.
“Whoa, they’re so light! This feels amazing!”
She had tried her best not to make a fuss in front of Karami, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Like Cinderella’s glass slippers, there could be no greater gift for a horse beastkin. She was so overjoyed she couldn’t control her prancing body.
Miro, who had always been the head of her household, taking care of her younger siblings before herself, had always worn hand-me-downs.
This was the first time she’d had such nice clothes.
The first time she’d had such nice shoes.
With no one around to judge her, Miro poured all her excitement into her stride and ran with all her might.
Her footsteps, light as if she could fly, never once faltered, and she arrived at the merchant group’s camp much earlier than expected.
*
The main tournament was now two weeks away.
And the racetrack was complete.
Thanks to the full power of magic and science, its construction was completed on time.
Karami was conducting a final inspection before the opening with his acquaintances.
“Wow, this place is huge!”
Alfia was astonished by the racetrack, which was much larger than she had imagined. It was her first time at a racetrack, too. The most she had ever seen was the track at the Beastialis Academy.
Of course, that was merely a training ground for students, a far cry from a professionally constructed racetrack.
Narsha, acting as their guide, explained the layout.
“First, the amenities. We plan to sell food so people can eat while they watch. On the other side, we’ll be selling souvenirs.”
“What kind of souvenirs?”
“They’re to commemorate the participating racers. You can buy merchandise of the racer you’re cheering for. Let me show you an example.”
Narsha took out a doll the size of her face. It was a perfect replica of Miro in her racing uniform.
“Huh? What, that’s me?”
“We’ll be selling other items besides dolls, too.”
“I get the idea, but will people actually buy that stuff?”
In response to Alfia’s question, Narsha nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“If this were a doll of the Master, everyone would be fighting to get one, wouldn’t they?”
“I get it now.”
Narsha’s tour continued.
Next were the betting windows where racing tickets were sold.
It was the gambling element, an indispensable part of horse racing that heightened the immersion.
After looking around the basic facilities, they went outside to where they could see the track.
“Next are the stands. They’re composed of four levels in total, and each level can accommodate up to eight thousand people. And since people can also watch from the lawn on the first floor, the total capacity is even greater.”
“Whoa… This whole huge place is going to be filled with people? And I have to run here?”
Miro stared, mesmerized, at the massive grandstand.
“It’s the moment the world’s best racer is born; of course, many people have to see it. It’s not just here. The race will be broadcast in the city squares of various cities.”
“Broadcast?”
“I can show you!”
Mirabelle moved her broom. A rectangular screen popped into existence in mid-air.
The screen showed the group’s reflection.
“We’ll broadcast like this for those who couldn’t come to the racetrack.”
“Oh…”
Narsha continued her explanation.
“The broadcast will only be available in a few cities that have a friendly relationship with our merchant group. They’ll have to show their sincerity to earn the broadcasting rights.”
There was already a whole basket of cities that had acted arrogantly and lost their chance at the rights. The people of those cities would have no choice but to come to the racetrack or travel to another city to watch the race.
The lords of those cities would likely face considerable complaints from their people.
It was a business strategy that no one else could imitate, one only the Merchants of Death could pull off. With a single racetrack, the group was reaping enormous profits.
They were influencing the world not with violence, but with overwhelming magic and technology.
“Finally, the racetrack itself.”
Following the advice of experts, they had laid down turf that would allow the racers to maximize their abilities.
They had received help from the elves and spirits for this part. It was, in essence, both natural and artificial turf.
This was where the finest horse beastkin would be determined.
It was truly the stage of dreams.
The battlefield of horses.
Miro couldn’t take her eyes off the track.
A chill ran down her spine, and goosebumps rose on her arms.
Just standing there, she could feel the tension enveloping her entire body.
“Trainer, can I try running here?”
“Ah, you can’t. It would be an issue of fairness.”
There was a world of difference between having run on a track before and racing on it for the first time. If Miro, who was from the Merchants of Death, received special treatment, the integrity of the entire tournament could be compromised.
Many people were already unhappy about being bossed around by a mere slave trader. They couldn’t give anyone an excuse to find fault.
“Besides, we’re not the only ones here.”
“Huh?”
Following Karami’s gaze, Miro saw someone waving enthusiastically.
“Mirooo~”
“Ack, Lua?”
“The experts we consulted for the turf were the Swift family. No one knows turf better than them.”
Furthermore, since a member of the Swift family was participating, they had taken extra care with the track their family member would be running on.
It wasn't just the Swift family; several other merchant groups had also provided support. Most of them had their own racers in the finals.
Every one of them believed without a doubt that they would be the ones to claim the first glory.
It was an investment in publicity.
As everyone else charged ahead, Miro still couldn’t find her path forward. She felt as if she were the only one trapped in a maze.
Her days of practice continued with this complicated state of mind, and two weeks flew by in a flash.
On the first day of the main tournament, the qualifying rounds for the finals began.