This logistics horse girl has a problem.

Seeing Speed Symbol frown, Kagura, thinking she was being a nuisance, quickly spoke up.

"Leave? Where do you want to go?"

"Uh..."

Asked by Speed Symbol, Kagura, who had blurted out the words instinctively, suddenly realized that she had nowhere to go. Not to mention she was an unregistered person, the shrine-like place she used to live in was likely destroyed in the fire. Being in an unfamiliar place, where could she go? An orphanage? She didn't want to go down that path.

"Although you're still young, you're smart and sensitive, child. Maybe my expression just now made you misunderstand something. I don't think you're a nuisance. I'm just wondering how to help you."

Speed Symbol naturally guessed the reason for Kagura's sudden words. She knew it was one of her old habits, and her granddaughter often scared other Uma Musume like that. She adjusted her facial expression to look as gentle as possible, and then patted Kagura's head.

"...Help me?"

"Yes. I can tell you don't want to go to an orphanage, right? Until we find your family, how about staying here?"

"No, no! That would be too much trouble for you! You've already helped me so much, I can't cause you any more trouble!"

Kagura shook her head quickly, and the excruciating pain surged up with the movement, causing her to stop and hiss in pain again.

"Don't move so much, be careful not to injure yourself again."

Holding Kagura's head to prevent her from moving around, Speed Symbol understood what it meant when people said that a child who was too sensible was also a problem. With the Symbol family's power, they might not be able to help every Uma Musume as the Symbol family's ideal suggests, but helping such a small Uma Musume was not a problem.

'Why is this child as stubborn as Old Mejiro?'

While Speed Symbol was thinking about how to make this little Uma Musume feel at ease accepting her help, she heard footsteps. She saw a maid pushing a food cart towards them from a distance and suddenly had an idea.

"Listen to me, child, it's not like I'm asking you to do nothing at my house. My household just happens to be short-handed. Child, would you be willing to stay and be a maid?"

"Ah...? A maid?"

"This large courtyard and residence need someone to maintain it, right? Do you think the people I have now are enough?"

Feeling Kagura's movements lessen, Speed Symbol knew that the idea was useful. This child really didn't want to receive favors for nothing, but using this excuse to keep her seemed acceptable to her.

'I really don't understand what this child is afraid of. Is she afraid of owing me a favor and not being able to repay it? This child looks like she's only a little over ten years old, right? Such a young child is already considering such things?'

Speed Symbol wondered in her heart. Although she could understand this mentality, every time she helped Old Mejiro with something, Old Mejiro would say not to worry about it, but after a while, she would receive a bunch of things from Old Mejiro. She herself just considered it helping an old friend and didn't intend to ask for anything in return.

"You probably won't find anyone outside willing to take in a child like you to work, but the Symbol family can give you this opportunity. You stay here to take care of the Symbol family's housework, and we'll provide you with food and lodging. What do you think?"

Since she had decided to do so, Speed Symbol simply hardened her heart and acted as if she was really hiring a maid. She would talk to the Head Maid later and have her assign less work to Kagura.

"Uh... do you... really need me to do this job?"

"Of course, how do you feel about it?"

After hesitating for a long, long time, the maid who brought the food had already pushed the cart over, greeted Speed Symbol, and asked how she was doing. Only then did Speed Symbol feel Kagura nod slightly, indicating that she had agreed.

"Okay... after you recover from your injuries, I'll have the Head Maid teach you what to do."

"Thank you... Granny."

Kagura wasn't a child who didn't understand anything. She naturally knew that Speed Symbol had mostly made up an excuse to make her feel at ease accepting help, so she still thanked her. She didn't like owing people anything, especially favors, but in the current situation, she had no choice but to owe one.

After all, she was in an unfamiliar place, without even an identity or family to rely on. Even if she went out to find a job, she was afraid that no place would hire a child like her. It was certainly comfortable to have someone take care of her without doing anything, but psychologically, she couldn't accept such help with peace of mind. In this situation, Speed Symbol giving her this opportunity was the most acceptable choice for her.

She wasn't worried about not being able to do the work of a maid. She had asked the enthusiastic maid what they usually did in the morning. It was nothing more than some housework. For her, who had been living independently for a long time, this was not a problem at all.

'Sigh... since there's no way to go back anyway, I'll just take it one step at a time...'

Since she was already here, Inari Kagura knew that she had no means to return to her original world, so she could only find a way to gain a foothold in this unfamiliar place first.

3. Uma Musume, Ghost, Maid

In the small room assigned to her, Kagura picked up the child-sized maid outfit that the Head Maid had just brought her and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Ah... this height is only a little over 1.4 meters! I've completely become a child!"

Missing her former height of 1.7 meters, Inari Kagura sighed helplessly.

She had spent almost the entire week since her injury lying in bed. The Symbol family's servants had been taking care of her, so she didn't have to worry about her food and lodging during this time. Only today, when she moved into her new room, did she have the opportunity to carefully observe her appearance.

She didn't know if it was because the medical technology here was advanced or if her physical fitness in this life was much better, but that level of injury had almost recovered in just one week. There were even few scars left, which shocked her greatly as someone who had studied medicine before.

She had also learned about the environment she was in during this time. The old woman who saved her was called Speed Symbol, and she was the head of the Symbol family. Although she didn't quite understand the complicated things about noble families, she knew that the Symbol family was a very powerful family, and Speed Symbol was the current leader of this family.

And the world she was in seemed to be a world similar to Earth. This place was similar to the island country. At least, she had never heard of any Uma Musume on the original Earth. She had heard of anime works called Uma Musume, but only heard of them. She didn't know anything about their specific situation.

But at least this was still a modern society, and most of the common sense was still the same as on Earth, which made Kagura breathe a sigh of relief. At least she didn't have to worry about going to some era she couldn't adapt to.

Putting on the maid outfit and wearing the white petal ornament on her left ear, Kagura looked at herself in the mirror. If it were in the past, the black-haired, straight-haired Uma Musume in the mirror would have been quite to her liking, but now that she had become like this, it was still a bit complicated.

"Am I living the way I like it?"

In the past, she always thought that a maid outfit should be paired with stockings or something, but now that she had to work, she realized that wearing slippers barefoot at home was the best choice for a traditional maid. Those fancy XP equipment would only affect her work speed.

"Ah, whatever..."

Throwing those messy thoughts out of her head, Kagura patted her cheeks to clear her head, and then gave a thumbs up to the mirror.

"(? o_o)? Hmm, perfect!"

As if responding to her, a thin mist suddenly appeared on the right side of the mirror, and then a line of words appeared on it.

——Good morning, you look really energetic. I'm so glad your injuries healed so quickly.

"Ah, I almost forgot, good morning, Miss Eclipse."

The person who wrote this line couldn't be seen in the mirror, but Kagura knew they were right beside her, so she greeted the invisible person.

This wasn't some legendary talking magic mirror. Kagura hadn't believed in ghosts or gods at first, but two nights ago, while she was sleeping, she felt her bed suddenly sink as if someone had climbed onto it. She broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively turned her head, but naturally saw nothing. However, she could clearly feel something there. Scientific common sense made her vehemently reject her own guess, and she drifted off to sleep in unease.

Then, she met the Uma Musume who called herself Miss Eclipse in a dream.

She learned from their dream conversations that Miss Eclipse had created her body specifically for her, using herself as a reference. Biologically, there was no father, but in terms of creation, Miss Eclipse should be considered her body's parent.

As for why Miss Eclipse did that, according to her, she had awakened after a long time and found a soul with an unfinished destiny, unwilling to fade away, wandering before her. So, she made this body, stuffed that soul into it, and sent it to the remote shrine that worshipped Miss Eclipse.

Kagura was confused. She felt her scientific common sense as a doctor was being cruelly trampled upon. Later, she realized she didn't need to understand everything so clearly. She just needed to know that she had originally died, and then Miss Eclipse gave her a new body, allowing her to be reborn here. It was just that something went wrong during the process. The lightning that descended with Miss Eclipse's divine power set the shrine on fire, and Miss Eclipse, having used up her power, could only quickly wake her up and tell her to run. Then, she ran until she collapsed, exhausted, in front of the Symbol family's house.

What Kagura felt a little sorry about was that Miss Eclipse, this deity, didn't know why her soul appeared in this world, let alone how to send her back.

—Sorry, I still have no clue about your origins. I haven't received faith in so long, I don't have that kind of omnipotent power.

Seeing this line, Kagura could almost picture the black-haired Uma Musume girl's ears drooping in disappointment.

"It's okay, things are pretty good as they are now. Being alive is more important than anything else~"

Kagura used words she often heard in the hospital to comfort the deity who was feeling down because she couldn't help. She didn't really mind living somewhere else. Since there was nothing she could do about it, she might as well take things as they come.

To Kagura, this deity who had been with her felt like an invisible ghost friend. She didn't dislike the feeling of having someone to talk to at any time.

However, Kagura had work today, and she couldn't stay in her room chatting with Miss Eclipse all the time. After tidying up her clothes, she put on her shoes and went to report to the Head Maid.

"Yo... I remember, you shouldn't be standing here at this time."

Speed Symbol came out of her room and saw the Head Maid standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in the corridor, looking downstairs with a helpless expression. Thinking that the Head Maid should be busy with housework at this time, Speed Symbol couldn't help but feel curious.

"Didn't I ask you to teach that child how to work? Is there something wrong with her?"

"Ah, Master, it's not that there's a problem..."

The Head Maid sighed and pointed to Kagura, who was wielding a broom in the courtyard below, as Speed Symbol walked to her side.

"...Rather, she's too good. In just half a day, there's nothing left for me to teach her. She does housework more skillfully and efficiently than I do. She's squeezed me into idleness."

The physical qualities of Uma Musume and humans cannot be compared. The Head Maid felt it today. Inari Kagura's skilled techniques, combined with her physical abilities, allowed her to single-handedly achieve the efficiency of four people. Moreover, Kagura was meticulous and rigorous in her work. She couldn't find an opportunity to do something to help Kagura finish up.

"Even squeezed you out? Oh my... It seems some things, even amnesia won't make you forget... By the way, the lunch seemed different from usual. Did she make it too?"

"Yes, she said she wanted to try. She made a cuisine I've never seen before. I saw that she was doing it properly, so I didn't stop her. What do you think? Does it suit your taste?"

"It's pretty good... Old Mejiro took me to a neighboring country to visit her granddaughter, and she treated me to this kind of taste in a big hotel there. I didn't expect to taste that kind of taste again in this child's hands after so many years."

Thinking of today's lunch, Speed Symbol couldn't help but feel nostalgic. To be honest, Inari Kagura's cooking skills were quite surprising to her. She could say without exaggeration that none of the maids in this house might have the level of a child like her.

"If you like it, how about letting her cook a few more meals for you in the future?"

"She's cleaning and cooking. She's still young. You should give her some breaks and don't tire her out. Oh my... I just wanted to help this child and keep her here until I found a good place to settle her down. I didn't expect this child to be so capable... Haha, it's like I got a bargain."

"Haha~ Everyone likes her. You've found a treasure, Master. That child is undocumented now, right? Seeing that you like that child so much, why not just adopt her?"

Thinking that the other maids in the house also liked this new maid very much, and they were clamoring to pet her a few times every day, the Head Maid couldn't help but laugh. Speed Symbol also laughed.

"Adoption... Putting aside other things, that child wouldn't want to accept such help. You can tell that she knows this will cause us trouble, and she's very concerned about it. She refused me without hesitation."

"Oh my... That's really..."

Seeing Speed Symbol's helpless appearance, the Head Maid, who had probably figured out Kagura's personality during this period, could only smile helplessly.

"Speaking of which, did you do what I arranged for you to do before?"

"Yes, the investigation has been completed. More than a week has passed since the fire at the shrine where Kagura was. During this period, no one tried to find her. The fire scene didn't leave anything behind. A child like Kagura couldn't possibly live alone in such a remote place all the time. It can be basically determined that her family died in the fire."

"Ah... That's really... Forget it, help her register an identity. Handle all her identity procedures as soon as possible, otherwise it will be very inconvenient for her to move around in the future."

Halfway through, Speed Symbol thought about whether she had forgotten something while holding her chin. After a while, she continued:

"Don't tell that child yet. That child looks very gentle and easy-going, but I don't know why she's so stubborn when it comes to receiving help. If she finds out, she'll nag me not to bother so much for her."

"Hehe~ You really care about that child."

"Letting all Uma Musume run happily is the ideal of the Symbol family. Since I've seen it in front of me, there's no reason not to help. Moreover, that kind of sensible child makes people unable to let go. Many things could be easily solved by asking us, but that child always wants to solve them by herself. Although independence is indeed a good thing, she is, after all, a helpless child. In this situation, someone has to help her."

4. Encounter

"Thank you for your patronage~"

Carrying a large pile of ingredients out of the store, Inari Kagura glanced at the shopping receipt in her hand, confirmed the amount and the ingredients she was carrying, and then safely put the receipt back into the pocket of her maid outfit.

She had been here for almost two months. After adapting to her new job, she found that her current job, even if the intensity was maxed out, was easier than the work she used to do. Compared to sitting in the office all day seeing patients or looking at an academic paper for a day, wandering around outside was much more comfortable.

After gradually becoming familiar with her work, her range of activities expanded from the Symbol family's mansion to the shopping street in the city. The work of purchasing ingredients was now officially handed over to her. Fortunately, the Head Maid had a good relationship with the old men and women in the shopping street. After taking her, this newcomer, around a few times, the nearby shopkeepers also remembered her, and she began to move around the shopping street alone.

Her activity outside also allowed her to come into contact with more of the situation in this world, and she also met a member of her race—an Uma Musume. There was an unconfident red-haired little Uma Musume in the shopping street who often helped the shopkeepers move things. When Kagura came to buy things, she would also help guide the way. After getting acquainted with that little Uma Musume, Kagura learned her name: Nice Nature.

"Does Kagura still plan to buy anything else? You look a little overloaded. Do you want me to help you send them back together?"

Nice Nature, who happened to meet Kagura in the store today, followed Kagura out of the store and looked at the large bags of ingredients in Kagura's hands. Nice Nature couldn't help but worry about her friend.

Nice Nature heard the old men and women in the shopping street say that Kagura was a year younger than her, and it seemed that she was now in a state of losing her family and being helpless, and could only run to work for others to make a living, so she took special care of her friend.

"No need~ My body is very good, carrying this little bit of stuff is no problem. But you bought things so late today, if you don't go back, everyone in the shopping street will worry about you, Quality."

Inari Kagura poked Nice Nature, who was slightly taller than her, on the forehead, reminding her to hurry back.

For some reason, Nice Nature seemed eager for Kagura to call her 'Quality-nee' or 'Big Sis,' but Kagura still subconsciously saw her as a child. After all, she only had the body of a ten-year-old, while Nice Nature was a solid eleven. Kagura, already nearing thirty, felt it was a bit strange to call a child in her early teens 'Big Sis,' so she stuck with calling her Quality.

Honestly, Inari Kagura really wanted to complain about the names of Uma Musume, be it her own, Speed Symbol's, or Nice Nature's. At least Inari Kagura sounded like a real name, but Nice Nature just sounded like a punchline. But seeing how everyone around her seemed used to it, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with her.

"Umm... it seems a bit late, Kagura, be careful walking alone! If you run into another weirdo like that one who wanted to touch your legs, be sure to kick them hard!"

"Ahaha... I know, I'll be careful."

After reminding Kagura, Nice Nature hurriedly ran off. Kagura took out her grocery list and checked it against her purchases, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything, before preparing to return to the Symbol family.

During this time, she had certainly felt the physical capabilities of an Uma Musume. If it were her old self, she wouldn't have been able to handle carrying such a large pile of groceries weighing dozens of pounds for even a kilometer, but now she could carry a bunch of stuff and run three or four kilometers, even doing some acrobatic moves along the way, and still not be tired when she got back to the Symbol family.

As a former doctor, she tried to use her knowledge to analyze her body structure, wanting to learn more about the Uma Musume race, but she quickly gave up. Not only could she not dissect herself, but this species completely defied the biological knowledge she had learned. Maybe this was what her best friend used to say: 'Don't try to overthink anime stuff.' She found that if she had any questions about Uma Musume as a species, it was much faster to just ask Miss Eclipse directly than to think about it herself.

I should have listened to that guy and gone to see the Uma Musume races...

Looking at the sky gradually turning black, Kagura sighed softly. Although she wanted to speed up and get back to the Symbol family sooner, the speed limit on city roads was only 40, and if she ran any faster, she'd be invited for tea with the police.

Not long ago, she had tried running at high speed in the street, reaching speeds of up to 70. Not only did it attract a crowd of onlookers, but she was almost pulled aside by the police for a lecture. What shocked her even more was that a man with a lollipop in his mouth, who seemed to exude a frivolous air, actually came up to her and asked if he could touch her legs!

The already introverted Inari Kagura felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. After politely refusing, she fled in a panic. After that day, she never dared to run so blatantly in the street again.

At an intersection, Kagura, carrying a bunch of stuff on her back, stopped at the crosswalk. Eager to get back, she couldn't help but feel frustrated looking at the red light in front of her.

"Even Uma Musume have to wait for red lights..."

"Oh my, little sister, could you be the Uma Musume that the trainer mentioned the other day who made a big escape in the street?"

Still looking at the red light, Kagura suddenly heard someone calling her from behind. She turned around and looked behind her, seeing two Uma Musume, both much taller than her, walking towards her.

They were wearing blue uniforms that looked like school uniforms. One of the chestnut-haired Uma Musume had a strange air of majesty, and her white highlights made Kagura think of Speed Symbol back home. The one who had called out to her was also a chestnut-haired Uma Musume, but unlike the serious Uma Musume next to her, this one had a mature and charming aura, and didn't look like a student.

"Sorry, I don't know what you mean by trainer."