"Luckily, there are still some empty spots on our track, little girl. Would you like to come up and run a couple of laps to experience what the Uma Musume usually do in class?"
Having guessed what was on her mind, Toujou Hana tried inviting Kagura.
Just as she expected, after saying that, she saw the enthusiasm of Rudolph Symbol behind Kagura visibly rise!
"Me? Wouldn't I disturb the students' training?"
"The track is spacious, and there aren't any other teams training here at the moment. As long as you don't get in the way of the other Uma Musume exercising, it'll be fine."
Strictly speaking, Toujou Hana was only looking after two Uma Musume at present. One was naturally Rudolph Symbol beside Kagura, while the other was the chestnut, blue-eyed Uma Musume who had just come off the track and was now sprinting excitedly toward them—Maruzensky.
"Little girl—!"
"Ah..."
It's that overly familiar Uma Musume I met that day!
The two ears atop Kagura's head shot up in fright. She had just been about to retreat and dodge to the side when the charging Maruzensky had already locked onto her prey. The instant Kagura moved, Maruzensky scooped her up, lifting both her feet off the ground, then firmly pressed her face into two soft cushions.
A brutal chest-murder... Well, at least it was obvious that Maruzensky had been exercising for quite a while. Her clothes were even soaked.
"Please let me go. I can't breathe..."
"Sorry, sorry. I got a little excited and forgot I'd just been exercising."
Seeing Kagura's ears droop completely, Maruzensky hurriedly released the little Uma Musume who was two heads shorter than her.
Compared with the maturely built Maruzensky, the only 140-centimeter-tall Inari Kagura looked utterly helpless. It made her miss her former height of 170 centimeters even more.
A child's body is so inconvenient... If only I could grow a little taller.
Kagura sighed helplessly inwardly.
After struggling for quite a while, she finally returned to the ground. Missing her former height, Kagura remembered Eclipse, whom she had seen in her dream. Eclipse had a face very similar to hers, along with an impressively tall and proud figure. She was practically what Kagura would look like after growing up—but despite that, Inari Kagura had no idea why she had a feeling that even after growing up, she wouldn't become much taller.
"Are you visiting Tracen Academy today, little girl?"
"I suppose... you could say that."
"Then how about running a couple of laps with your big sister? Our team's track happens to be free right now!"
Maruzensky looked eager to try. While Kagura was still hesitating, she felt Rudolph Symbol gently give her a little push from behind.
"Think of it as some exercise. Want to run together?"
"I don't mind. If you don't mind having an extra person disturbing you, I can run a couple of laps with you."
Seeing the eager looks on both their faces, Kagura, who had already been thinking about walking a couple of laps around the track, agreed without much hesitation.
Kagura herself didn't particularly dislike running. After running with Speed Symbol that day, she had discovered that it was actually rather fun. She liked the feeling of freedom, but she didn't really understand what Rudolph Symbol and Maruzensky were so determined to drag her up there to run for.
Is running together something people are really supposed to look forward to?
While wondering inwardly, Kagura followed the two of them toward the track.
8. Aren't You Two Just Here to Bully the Newbie? (Angry)
After reaching the field and warming up with the two of them, Kagura walked to what seemed to be the starting line and stopped. She couldn't tell where the starting line was, but she had heard that the place with a standee of some unknown Uma Musume was the starting point.
"Clear skies, turf, good track conditions, 1,600 meters."
Toujou Hana recited something beside the track. Kagura caught only the gist of it. It sounded like she was describing the track conditions and the training distance.
Kagura remembered that she had also run 1,600 meters with Speed Symbol before. That distance hadn't reached the limit of her stamina. Thinking about it carefully, her stamina was truly much stronger than it had been before.
Looking at Maruzensky and Rudolph Symbol standing beside her, Kagura felt for some reason that they were both brimming with fighting spirit. It gave her an inexplicable sense of pressure.
I'm pretty sure I only came here to run a couple of laps and loosen up, right? Are you two always this serious during training!?
With black lines of exasperation filling her forehead, Inari Kagura tried to avert her gaze from the two strange women radiating an eerie aura. She focused on the track ahead and waited for Toujou Hana's starting command.
Tracen's track was different from the Symbol family's. The turf at the Symbol family's place was soft and comfortable to run on, but it wasn't easy to push off from. Tracen's track was much harder. Though the firm turf provided a solid footing, it was less friendly to the feet.
The instant the whistle sounded, Rudolph Symbol and Maruzensky shot forward like arrows loosed from their strings. Inari Kagura, however, moved noticeably half a beat later, and she was already a full body-length behind from the start alone.
"That's a serious late start... Well, I suppose that makes sense. She seems to have never trained before, or even attended an Uma Musume school..."
Toujou Hana had actually already obtained some information about Inari Kagura from Rudolph Symbol. Naturally, she had paid extra attention to an Uma Musume who could arouse such interest in Rudolph Symbol. Today's nominal training session had been her idea, but it had also been Rudolph Symbol's wish.
She had originally thought Kagura would wait at the back for an opportunity before squeezing through. But Kagura soon made a move that surprised her—in spite of falling a full body-length behind at the start, she accelerated with all her might and overtook Rudolph Symbol from the outside of her right side!
"This child... Is she a front-runner?"
Toujou Hana furrowed her brows. In terms of race pacing, being late off the start and blocked at the back, then still fighting desperately for first place, was hardly a wise move. She had assumed Kagura merely wanted to charge back to the front and would slow down once she took the lead. But after charging past the two of them, Kagura showed no sign of slowing down at all. Instead, the gap kept growing!
"No, wait. At that speed, is she going for a runaway?"
Watching the distance between Kagura and the other two widen further and further, Toujou Hana wore an incredulous expression.
An Uma Musume who had not even reached her full development running a runaway race sounded utterly absurd. A young Uma Musume's stamina and stride were inferior to those of one who had fully developed. Even though they had chosen the 1,600 meters she had previously completed in order to take care of her, if she ran a runaway, it was questionable whether she could maintain her speed.
"Oh-oh... Is this the legendary runaway style?"
Chasing behind Kagura, Rudolph Symbol felt somewhat excited. She stared intently at Kagura ahead of her. Seeing such a running style had indeed been a pleasant surprise.
"Oh my... I actually lost the lead to a little girl... But if she keeps accelerating like this, that child's stamina..."
Maruzensky, running ahead of Rudolph Symbol, still wore her usual relaxed expression. However, she had also increased her speed to avoid being shaken off too far. She was now nearly three body-lengths behind Kagura. If the gap grew any wider and Kagura somehow didn't slow down, this senior might find herself in trouble. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of a junior she had just met.
As for Inari Kagura, who was running at the very front, she had no competitive intentions at all. She hadn't even noticed what was happening around her. She was merely following her instinct to run. Since it felt as though there was no one nearby, she ran freely and comfortably. The excitement made her unconsciously quicken her pace.
"Running like this once in a while isn't bad..."
As she ran, Kagura wondered whether she could borrow Speed Symbol's turf track for a couple of laps whenever she had free time in the future. Running freely for a while like this seemed to release much of the day's unpleasantness and stress. Besides, she had no phone to play with now. She might as well run a couple of laps.
Sixteen hundred meters wasn't particularly long. After a little over a minute, Kagura cleared the final turn and stepped onto the final straight. Having experienced it once before, she knew that 1,600 meters still didn't touch the limit of her stamina. So, upon entering the final straight, she suddenly lowered her posture and increased her speed even more rapidly than last time.
"!"
Toujou Hana couldn't help slightly opening her mouth. She had thought Kagura would have slowed down by now, but not only had Kagura failed to lose speed, she had accelerated dramatically once again!
"A runaway, and then... she can accelerate at the end, too? An undeveloped child?"
No matter how she looked at it, none of this made sense for an Uma Musume too young to even enter the racecourse. Toujou Hana felt that if Inari Kagura were sent to run a graded stakes race right now, she could probably go toe-to-toe with the professionals. She might even place. Although she was still behind the two seniors behind her, she had already surpassed a great many Uma Musume.
"No wonder Rudolph is so interested in her... With talent like this, it's fortunate there aren't any other trainers in this area right now..."
If other trainers had seen Inari Kagura's performance just now, many of them would probably have surrounded her and asked whether she wanted to sign a trainee contract. She likely wouldn't be able to leave for quite some time. Who would have guessed that she wasn't a student here at all, but merely an Uma Musume visiting Tracen today?
As expected, after entering the final straight, the two who had been clinging tightly to Kagura also began increasing their speed dramatically. Kagura's disorderly running style clearly couldn't compete with those two professionals who had trained for years. Whether it was her awareness of fighting for position or her speed, she was still far behind. Soon, the two of them had closed the gap to half a body-length, then overtaken Kagura.
"They're both so fast..."
Watching the two Uma Musume pass her, leaving only a gust of wind behind, Kagura sincerely praised them. She had no intention of accelerating further to catch up. She continued running at her own pace, maintaining her current speed as she headed for the finish line.
Rudolph Symbol and Maruzensky reached the finish line almost simultaneously, while Kagura arrived two body-lengths behind them. After crossing the line, Kagura was breathing somewhat heavily, so she adjusted her breathing slightly and steadied her rhythm.
"Phew... Maru, you're as intimidating as ever. Kagura, you ran so hard just now. Are you all right? Are your feet okay?"
"Little girl, you ran so hard just now. Don't your feet hurt?"
Knowing that the little Uma Musume had just completed a runaway race completely beyond her age, both seniors approached her with concern and asked how she felt. It would be bad if Kagura had been injured during this training session.
They had both witnessed Kagura's strength just now. As Rudolph Symbol had said before, Kagura truly was an exceptionally promising child. Even though she had ultimately failed to outrun them, that single lap had been enough to reveal her talent.
"Mm~ I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me."
Kagura was in an excellent mood after exercising, and she smiled and nodded at the two of them. Maruzensky looked as though she wanted to hug her but was holding herself back, while Rudolph Symbol reached out and gently rubbed Kagura's little head twice.
This training race had completely confirmed her suspicions. Kagura undeniably possessed exceptional talent. Even though she and Maruzensky hadn't gone all out, Kagura, despite not having fully developed, had been beaten by only a little more than two body-lengths. That was indeed impressive.
With her suspicions confirmed, the next questions were Kagura's own wishes and how to ask her mother-in-law to hand the girl over. When Rudolph Symbol had returned home, she had heard the servants say that lately Kagura had been taking excellent care of Speed Symbol. Speed Symbol adored her, and Rudolph Symbol didn't know whether she would be willing to let Kagura go.
That child doesn't seem to dislike coming to school with me and meeting other Uma Musume. Perhaps I can find a way to bring her to Tracen... Even if she's still too young, it would be good to let her learn about these things in advance.
Watching Inari Kagura surrounded by Toujou Hana and Maruzensky as they asked her question after question, Rudolph Symbol made up her mind.
9. Mejiro
"At eleven years old, without even having fully developed, she already possesses this kind of speed and endurance. As expected of the head of the Symbol family. Even her eye for recruiting people is so unique."
While Inari Kagura watched Maruzensky train beside the track, Rudolph Symbol walked over to Toujou Hana to ask about Kagura's performance.
"No wonder you're so invested in her. Have you already reached an agreement with the family head to bring that child to Tracen?"
"...No. I'm still thinking about how to bring it up with that old woman. I heard from the other servants at home that she's very good at taking care of people—diligent, gentle, and attentive. The old woman in my house really likes her. I don't know whether she'll refuse to let me take her away."
"Your relationship with the family head is still as bad as ever. Do you really hate her that much? She is your mother-in-law, after all."
After hearing Rudolph Symbol refer to the family head as "that old woman" three times in a single speech, Toujou Hana knew that Rudolph Symbol still hadn't taken the initiative to repair her strained relationship with the head of the family.
"It's not that I hate her... It's just because of some things in the past. She interfered too much. Although she didn't have any malicious intentions, doing everything herself made it seem like she didn't trust me. I... don't like that."
Rudolph Symbol knew why Speed Symbol had always kept managing her affairs. Back when her temper had been terrible, she had caused plenty of trouble, and Speed Symbol had always followed behind her to clean up the mess. Now that Rudolph Symbol had grown wiser and could handle things independently, Speed Symbol still treated her like the hot-tempered little sister she had been back then.
"Come to think of it, there's something strange. That old woman used to chase after me every day, asking about this and that. But she hasn't contacted me much lately... And when she does, she only asks whether I'm feeling well and tells me not to overwork myself..."
"Oh? Wouldn't that count as a good thing for you? Maybe she's finally let go?"
"That old woman has been the same for so many years. How could she suddenly let go recently?"
Rudolph Symbol rested her chin in her hand and spoke with disbelief.
After thinking for a moment, Rudolph Symbol's gaze drifted into the distance. She saw Maruzensky trying to lift Inari Kagura into her arms, while Kagura fled all over the track.
By the timeline, Speed Symbol had found Inari Kagura collapsed outside the Symbol family's gate a little over a month ago. If Kagura had influenced Speed Symbol somehow during that time, the timing fit.
Could a child that young really influence that stubborn old woman?
Rudolph Symbol and the others still had to train. Besides, the young lady had given everyone the day off again today, so Kagura was temporarily free. She had obtained the chance to wander around the school.
After running and feeling refreshed, Inari Kagura hummed a tune as she left the training grounds. She was actually somewhat puzzled by her good mood. As far as she remembered, she had never been someone who loved exercise. She had even been the type to pant after moving around a little. Yet ever since she had become an Uma Musume, not only did running fail to tire her out, it even made her happy?
Is running really something that makes people happy...? Why didn't I feel that way before? Could it be an instinctive trait of the Uma Musume species?
Although she was puzzled, Kagura felt that it wasn't a bad thing.
Ever since meeting the good girl Nice Nature, Kagura had been curious about the cultural classes Uma Musume took. Now that she finally had the chance to visit one of the top schools for Uma Musume, she wanted to see the classroom buildings and find out what Uma Musume usually did in class. Thus, after leaving the training grounds, she headed toward a building that looked like a school building.
She didn't know whether Uma Musume simply had sharper senses or whether there was some other unknown reason, but not long after approaching the school building, Kagura sensed that someone seemed to be following her. She also clearly spotted the person from the corner of her eye. Raising her guard while pretending not to know, she deliberately changed routes and took a detour. Then, using the reflection in several empty spots on the metal bulletin boards beside the school building, she saw the person following her.
What's with all these people...?
Kagura saw who was following her and felt that he seemed to be the same type of person as Toujou Hana: a middle-aged man in a suit and glasses who looked proper and somewhat stern.
She felt rather depressed. She was only an eleven- or twelve-year-old child, and she couldn't imagine what value a penniless, undocumented person like her could have that would make someone follow her. Surely he couldn't be interested in her romantically?
Sigh... Sometimes walking around alone really is helpless.
--The person behind you should be a trainer. He was already watching you from a distance when you were running with your young lady and the others just now.
Suddenly, Kagura saw a line of white, mist-like writing appear on the bulletin board. She remembered that she couldn't really be considered alone. Eclipse had been following her all along.
I don't understand what I have that's worth following. Miss Eclipse, do you think that person can be trusted?
Pretending to read the bulletin board, Inari Kagura asked Eclipse inwardly. She heard that the person behind her had also stopped moving for the moment.
--Here, at least, he won't do anything too outrageous. I estimate that he followed you after seeing you run just now. He probably wants to recruit you.
I'm still so young, and I'm a rookie who came in last. What could I possibly be worth recruiting for...?
--It's precisely because you're still so young that he came! You silly child, could you have a little confidence in your own abilities...? Sigh. Anyway, that's my guess. Whether you turn around and respond or run away is up to you.
After saying that, no further words appeared on the bulletin board. It seemed Eclipse had no intention of offering her any more hints.
Inari Kagura didn't really want to deal with the person behind her. She hadn't even found her footing in this world yet and didn't want to get involved in any trouble. As for recruitment, she didn't even understand how a team operated. At present, she only knew that trainers formed teams, led Uma Musume, and entered them in various races. But none of that had anything to do with her for now. For one thing, she was too young. For another, she was still undocumented.
After thinking it over repeatedly, Inari Kagura continued ignoring the person following her. She decided to enter the school building first. If he followed her inside, she would speed up and shake him off.
However, just as Kagura took a step and prepared to leave the bulletin board, she heard the man behind her call out:
"Little girl over there, please wait a moment."
"...Is something the matter?"
She considered whether to run immediately, but after thinking it over, she realized that he hadn't shown any ill intentions. In the end, Kagura abandoned the idea, turned around, and faced the man.
"I saw you running just now. Your steps were light and agile, like a shadow—graceful yet powerful. I haven't seen a child with talent like yours in a very long time. With your talent, you're sure to shine brilliantly on the racecourse."
"..."
Before you continue