Chapter 26

Rudolph Symbol and Toujou Hana hurriedly stopped Kagura together. They had watched her work so hard all this time, and no matter what, they could not let her keep working this time. She was still a child, after all, and needed to rest.

"But..."

"Be good, Kagura. Just take it as my order, all right?"

"...All right, Miss. As you wish."

Rudolph Symbol had put it that way, so Kagura could not very well refuse again. She nodded and accepted the suggestion.

44. Rudolph Symbol's Invitation

"Miss Rudolph, you've won the race by an overwhelming margin once again. What are your thoughts?"

"Trainer Toujou, do you have plans for your next race?"

"Miss Rudolph..."

After leaving the track through the exit passage and entering the backstage area, Toujou Hana and Rudolph Symbol were immediately surrounded by a large crowd of reporters. Kagura, who had been following behind them, was glad she had not walked too quickly with them. Otherwise, she would have ended up on camera too.

As a young lady, Rudolph Symbol had long since grown accustomed to standing in front of cameras. She greeted the reporters naturally, then glanced at Kagura, who was standing in the passage outside the door. Kagura merely stood there watching and did not follow them in. Rudolph Symbol understood her logistics Uma Musume's personality, so she did not try to bring her inside.

The young lady handles these reporters so calmly...

Back when Rudolph Symbol made her debut, Kagura had not seen so many reporters. She had no idea what had happened with the publicity over the past two months, but the number of reporters had exploded this time. The backstage area was nearly packed with these noisy paparazzi.

"Honestly, bothering the young lady while she's resting..."

To be honest, Kagura did not like these reporters very much. Rudolph Symbol needed to rest, and in Kagura's eyes, reporters who barged in to disturb someone at a time like this were being very inconsiderate. However, since neither Rudolph Symbol nor Toujou Hana seemed to mind, Kagura decided not to worry about it.

"You can't think of it that way, little sister. Interviews are quite helpful for gaining more fans, after all."

Maruzensky had just come down from the stands and followed them over. Seeing Kagura's displeased expression, she reached out and rubbed her little head again.

"I don't think Miss needs more fans, though?"

So far, Rudolph Symbol had competed twice and won both races. Every time Kagura came to watch her race, she had to squeeze through the crowd outside for quite a while. Even though she entered through a private passage, she still had to wind her way through the masses. She certainly did not think Rudolph Symbol was short on fans.

"You can never have too many fans~ Besides, popularity doesn't just mean having people support you. It can also bring you conveniences you'd never expect in your daily life."

"I think being recognized by all sorts of people whenever you walk down the street would be inconvenient in itself..."

"That depends on the person. Big sis doesn't dislike that feeling, anyway. Rudolph got used to it long ago, too. You'll definitely have fans in the future, little sister. You can't go outside wearing a trench coat, pulling up your hood, and wearing a mask every time, can you?"

Maruzensky could already foresee that Kagura would most likely become another terrifying presence like Rudolph Symbol in the future. She would become widely known even before her debut race, just like Rudolph Symbol. Perhaps Kagura would even have more fans someday. Sooner or later, Kagura would have to face this sort of thing.

"Then I'd rather dress more thoroughly when I go out..."

"You won't think that way once you grow up~"

Is it possible that I'm already pretty grown-up right now?

Kagura silently complained to herself.

--Either way, having more fans is always a good thing. It means more and more people are being drawn to your running. Besides, don't you already have quite a few fans online?

Miss Eclipse seemed to support it as well. Apparently, she did not particularly dislike this way of becoming famous.

Kagura had been standing outside and eavesdropping the whole time. The reporters' questions gradually began to change direction. At first, they had been asking the two people inside about Rudolph Symbol's future plans and similar matters. Now, the topic was gradually shifting toward Rudolph Symbol's thoughts on her own victory.

"...Maintaining Rudolph's competitive condition isn't something I accomplish alone. Her classmate has also provided her with tremendous support."

"Yes. Besides my trainer, my classmate helped me greatly while I was preparing for the race. My victory also depended on her strong support."

Kagura suddenly realized that the conversation seemed to be turning toward her. Her heart sank instinctively.

As expected, the reporters followed up with more questions. Fortunately, Rudolph Symbol and Toujou Hana had no intention of explaining the true identity of this "Tracen Academy classmate" in detail. They did not reveal whether it was one person or a group, merely glossing over that part. The reporters took it as Rudolph Symbol thanking Tracen Academy for looking after her.

That scared me... I didn't expect these reporters to ask so closely about logistics work too. Luckily, Miss and the others didn't plan to mention me...

"What is it? Don't you want everything you've done to receive Rudolph's praise?"

Maruzensky naturally noticed Kagura's relieved expression and asked half-jokingly.

"...It's just ordinary daily work. It doesn't need to be specially brought up in front of so many people, does it? I don't need other people to know what I do. Miss's performance in the races is the best praise and proof of my work."

"Hmm~ So you consider what you do ordinary logistics work, little sister..."

Maruzensky nodded thoughtfully. She knew what a logistics Uma Musume's duties at Tracen Academy were supposed to be. Although they also supported the racers, they absolutely did not work with the same level of detail as Kagura, nor were they nearly as professional.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I just think you really are exactly as Rudolph described—humble and serious about your work."

"Huh? Miss described me that way?"

By the time Rudolph Symbol finished dealing with the reporters, it was almost time for the Winners' Stage.

Only after the reporters left did Kagura enter the backstage area to prepare Rudolph Symbol for her appearance. She saw Rudolph Symbol sitting in a chair against the wall, resting with her eyes closed.

"Kagura, were you standing outside listening the whole time?"

Since Kagura had followed them in right after the reporters left, Toujou Hana and Rudolph Symbol knew she must have stayed outside the door the entire time.

"Yes. There shouldn't have been anything I wasn't allowed to hear, right?"

"No. In fact, I wanted to introduce you to the reporters as the excellent logistics Uma Musume you are. But you probably wouldn't want me to do that, would you?"

"I don't think there's any need to make a special point of it..."

As she applied Rudolph Symbol's makeup, Kagura answered Toujou Hana.

"I think you've put tremendous effort into supporting Rudolph. You deserve a great deal of credit for this victory as well. Without your usual careful care, I alone couldn't have kept this workaholic in such good condition."

"Although I can't deny that... Kagura, am I really that difficult to take care of, as the trainer just said?"

"At least, it's true that you work until late every night and are incredibly hard to drag away... I still hope you'll relax a little more, Miss."

Over the past few months, Kagura had often had to run out after eleven at night and drag Rudolph Symbol out of her office. She knew her workaholic master's habits better than anyone. Relying on Toujou Hana alone really might not have been enough to make Rudolph Symbol rest on time.

"Is that so... Then after today, I should put my work aside for a little while..."

As they talked, Kagura finished Rudolph Symbol's simple makeup. Rudolph Symbol looked at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

"Kagura, after today, why don't you rest for a few days too?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You've been busy for so long, so you need some time to rest as well. Also, why don't you come relax with me tomorrow?"

Rudolph Symbol invited Kagura.

This was the first time the usually tireless Rudolph Symbol had ever made such a suggestion to her. Kagura naturally did not refuse and quickly nodded.

"Sure. If you have plans, Miss, I can go with you."

45. It Makes Perfect Sense for a Shrine Maiden to Know Marksmanship, Right? (?)

"Phew..."

Kagura raised the bow in her hands and stared intently at the distant target. Her hands trembled slightly from unfamiliarity and nervousness.

"Relax, relax, Kagura. If you want to aim properly, you need to calm your mind and focus."

Rudolph Symbol bent slightly behind Kagura. She gently held Kagura's hand with one hand to steady her arm, while wrapping the other around Kagura's waist to adjust her posture.

After running her second race, Rudolph Symbol decided to relax for a few days. Since they happened to have nothing else to do, Rudolph Symbol brought Kagura to Tracen Academy's Archery Club the day after the race.

Although it was called a club, there were hardly any members now. Rudolph Symbol was the only one who occasionally came over to shoot a few arrows. After all, this hobby was simply too old-fashioned.

This was Kagura's first time trying such a sport. Although a Uma Musume's innate strength allowed her to easily draw the bow Rudolph Symbol usually used, even as a child, she still had serious problems with aiming and needed Rudolph Symbol to guide her constantly.

"Focus... focus..."

Holding up a bow and aiming also required considerable arm endurance. Kagura felt that her poor aim was not only because she had never shot an arrow before. Her arms became unbearably sore after holding the bow for a while, making her aim wobble constantly. The arrows she had fired earlier had been so awful that even Bole would have exclaimed, "What a fine horse!"

Kagura was still quite impressed after watching Rudolph Symbol casually raise her bow, aim briefly, and hit the distant bull's-eye. From how relaxed and effortless she looked, it was obvious that she had practiced archery for a very long time.

After aiming for quite a while, Kagura finally stabilized her sight with Rudolph Symbol's help. She narrowed her eyes at the distant target, steadied her hands, and released the next arrow.

With a sharp sound as the arrow tore through the air, Kagura's arrow struck the target—or, more precisely, the very edge of it. It had almost gone wide.

"Ah... I was way off..."

"That's good enough. This is your first time drawing a bow, isn't it? Hitting the target after so little time is already impressive."

"How long have you practiced, Miss?"

"I don't remember. I've liked drawing a bow and shooting arrows since I was little. I don't even know how many years it's been by now."

As she spoke, Rudolph Symbol placed a hand on Kagura's head and rubbed it. For some reason, she found rubbing Kagura's head incredibly addictive. Fortunately, Kagura did not mind having her head rubbed like that.

"Kagura, stay here and shoot a few arrows by yourself. I'll get you some water."

"Well... Miss, I can—"

"I told you, today is for you to rest. Be good and wait here."

Without giving Kagura a chance to argue, Rudolph Symbol dashed away.

--Your archery is terrible!

After Rudolph Symbol left, Kagura immediately saw those words appear on her phone screen. Miss Eclipse had even written them in Chinese, as if afraid Kagura would not understand Japanese.

Miss Eclipse, you're so mean!! Wait, where did you learn Chinese!?

--I'm very international. Of course I know a little of everything! Forget that. Relax your body. I'll show you how to use this thing!

Miss Eclipse, you know archery too??

--I know a little. I wouldn't call myself an expert.

On the one hand, Kagura was genuinely curious about how Miss Eclipse planned to demonstrate it. On the other, she really did want to learn how to shoot arrows, so she quickly obeyed Miss Eclipse's instructions and relaxed her body.

Soon, she felt a strange sensation spread through her body. She had not issued any command, yet her body began moving on its own. It felt as if she had become a third-person observer. She could see her body clearly but could not control it.

If anyone had been standing close enough, they would have seen Kagura's eyes turn dark red.

Miss Eclipse, you really can possess me!!

"I don't like doing this. It consumes too much energy. If I do this, I won't be able to guide you on the track in your dreams again this month. I just thought I should give you some pointers. After all, learning archery will help correct your poor concentration. I don't have much time, so you'd better learn properly—"

Controlling Kagura's body while speaking as if to herself, Miss Eclipse, who had possessed Kagura, skillfully drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it. She released it almost without aiming.

"Whoosh—!!"

The arrow struck the red center of the target with astonishing force. Kagura was left completely stunned. The process from Miss Eclipse taking the arrow to releasing it had been frighteningly short. It seemed she had not even aimed, yet the arrow had not strayed at all.

"Ah... Sorry, sorry. I reacted instinctively and forgot you're still a beginner. Come on, remember this feeling. Take the arrow, nock it, then focus and aim..."

After Miss Eclipse finished speaking, Kagura felt herself regain control of her body. She was still holding the bow at full draw, but her arm remained in a relaxed position. There was no trembling from exertion at all.

After the possession ended, Kagura could no longer hear Miss Eclipse's voice. She also could not lower her head to look at her phone, so she could only try to remember the sensation of drawing the bow as Miss Eclipse had instructed.

Kagura aimed for a while before releasing the string. The arrow flew out and struck the target. It did not hit the bull's-eye, but it was still far better than her first arrow, which had landed on the outer ring.

--That's it! Just like that! While you still remember the feeling, shoot two more!

--Afterward, tell your young lady that whenever you have nothing to do, she should let you come here and practice. You're a front-runner, so you need to train that terrible concentration of yours. Once you're on the track, don't expect me to run for you. I won't help you.

No wonder Miss Eclipse was taking this so seriously. It seemed she had indeed been watching for opportunities to help Kagura correct these long-standing flaws.

"Kagura, take a little break and have some water—oh, you actually hit the bull's-eye already? You're very talented!"

Rudolph Symbol returned with bottled water not long after Miss Eclipse ended her possession. Seeing the additional arrows in the distant target, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

The arrow in the bull's-eye had struck at a perfectly straight angle. Clearly, it had hit the center through careful aiming rather than by some random lucky shot. Remembering that Kagura had been a novice who could barely hold the bow steady just moments ago, Rudolph Symbol was deeply shocked.

"Hehe... It was just a fluke... Um, Miss, I feel like practicing archery can help me improve my concentration. Can I come here to practice more often?"

"Of course, of course! I was worried you wouldn't be interested, Kagura. There are several sets of protective gear and bows here, and hardly anyone comes by. You can come whenever you want."

Hearing that Kagura wanted to use archery to train her concentration, Rudolph Symbol was naturally even more pleased. She had previously been worrying about how to awaken Kagura's desire to win and help her develop the mindset of a competitive athlete. Since Kagura was willing to train her concentration proactively, it meant she also wanted to run better. Rudolph Symbol was delighted.

"To be honest, you're the first classmate in all this time to tell me she's interested in archery... Kagura, you really do surprise me often."

"Is that so? Are you usually the only one here, Miss?"

"More or less. Very few people come here. There really aren't many enthusiasts for this sort of thing. Everyone is busy training, and when they have free time, they just want to rest properly, so naturally no one comes."