This festival was a smaller affair, nowhere near the scale of those massive school-wide events from before. It basically stretched from the Three Goddesses statue at the center of campus up to that fan-shaped stage in the upper right corner.
Uma Musume signed up to perform on the outdoor stage with their classes or clubs, while the path from the statue to the stage was lined with all sorts of food stalls and little activities.
Dream Weaver gazed at the red lanterns hanging on either side of the stalls, and for a moment, she really felt the illusion of wandering through a big festival.
"Look at me, look at me!"
Just as Dream Weaver was strolling along, mentally preparing to find a chance to ask her questions, Gold Ship suddenly started shouting and making a scene up ahead.
She'd somehow gotten her hands on a mask modeled after some insect hero and was striking a transformation pose at Dream Weaver.
"Wow, so cool," Dream Weaver replied, her face completely deadpan. Even though she'd grown a lot bigger, somehow Gold Ship didn't seem all that different from when she was little.
Gold Ship, oblivious to Dream Weaver's lack of enthusiasm, cheerfully ran over to her and shoved a candied apple into her hand, bought from who-knows-where.
"This is Ultraman-O. Merge with it and you can become a red giant."
Watching Gold Ship suddenly turn serious, Dream Weaver took the candied apple and bit into it. The mix of sweet and tart, along with the hard crunch, exploded between her teeth. She chewed as she spoke.
"Ultraman-O, not all that impressive."
Gold Ship was having the time of her life, practically flying around, and didn't even bother responding before darting off to another stall nearby.
An Uma Musume dressed like a Taoist priest took Gold Ship's hand, pondering earnestly before saying,
"Your pulse is strong and steady, a sign of robust health and long life, dear patron! ☆!"
"However, I sense a darkness over your brow today, a faint—"
Unexpectedly, her usually foolproof spiel failed to spark the customer's curiosity. Gold Ship waved her off, lowering her face and her voice to a hushed tone.
"Tell me, with a face like mine, could I become the Student Council President of Tracen Academy?"
"Th-this—"
Watching that brown-haired, yellow-robed Uma Musume get so flustered by Gold Ship she could barely speak, Dream Weaver could only shake her head helplessly. She pulled Gold Ship out of the stall and nodded to the grateful priestess, who shot her a look of thanks.
"Had enough fun yet? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
But how could Dream Weaver ever hope to restrain the free-spirited Gold Ship? Before she even finished speaking, Gold Ship had already slipped away to another stall, her excited voice floating back through the air.
"No way! Little Gold Ship hasn't had her fill of fun yet!"
With that, Dream Weaver watched her disappear into another stall, this one run by an Uma Musume dressed as a shrine maiden, complete with a crystal ball.
Dream Weaver thought about dragging her out, saving yet another Uma Musume's hobbies from Gold Ship's antics.
But a sudden surge of the crowd blocked her view, a relentless stream of Uma Musume making it nearly impossible to move.
Meanwhile, the shrine maiden Uma Musume was intently studying her crystal ball, speaking mysteriously to her customer.
"The energy fields today are giving off rather peculiar vibrations around you, dear guest. I suggest you be cautious and—"
She looked up, about to advise Gold Ship to leave the festival early, only to find that Gold Ship had already vanished.
By the time Dream Weaver finally broke free from the crowded flow and reached the fortune-telling stall, the shrine maiden hadn't even had a chance to greet her. Dream Weaver scanned the area, didn't see Gold Ship, and immediately left.
Feeling snubbed by two customers in a row, the Uma Musume rubbed her crystal ball and grumbled discontentedly.
"Why'd they both run off? An apprentice witch is still a witch! It's all fortune-telling, isn't it?!"
But neither she nor Dream Weaver noticed that, in a corner not far from the stall, three Uma Musume were secretly watching everything unfold.
"Yes! We finally caught Gold Ship! She's way too slippery—took until the festival started to finally get her bagged."
King Halo whispered excitedly. She knew her backup plan was solid. Grass Wonder really came through—what they'd struggled to accomplish for so long, Grass Wonder solved as soon as she got involved.
"Next, we just need to take Gold Ship away and use her to lure Orfevre over to T.M. Opera O. Then the plan is complete."
Admire Vega nodded expressionlessly, though her tone betrayed a hint of glee. She thought this plan was going to fail like the bread incident, but surprisingly, there was a twist.
She and King Halo exchanged a look, nodded in unison, and strode purposefully toward their predetermined location.
Only Narita Top Road remained behind, dazed, muttering to herself uncertainly.
"Huh? Why does it feel like we're looking more and more like the villains?!"
But little did they know, while they were focused on Gold Ship and Dream Weaver, another group was secretly watching them from behind.
"Are the Uma Musume at Central Tracen always this wild?"
Koutarou Haibara, having just witnessed an outright kidnapping, expertly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the cold sweat from his shock.
"Dad, you came prepared…"
Chizuru Haibara twitched the corner of her mouth speechlessly. Perhaps a habit carried over from another world, the old principal, who had anticipated he'd be crying buckets upon seeing Dream Weaver today, had bought a handkerchief on his way.
"So now what? That Uma Musume who was with Little Dream just got bagged. No need to worry about disturbing anyone now, right? We can just go up and pretend to run into Little Dream by chance, can't we?!"
Nishimoto Makusa hoisted two bulging bags, seeming eager to go find Dream Weaver.
"Let's be clear… if you're going for a 'chance encounter,' don't you dare throw those two watermelons at Little Dream."
Kobayashi Kaze looked helplessly at the two large watermelons Nishimoto Makusa had been carrying around.
Just as the group agreed to approach Dream Weaver, Nanno Sumire suddenly stopped everyone.
She shook her head seriously and said,
"You can't just have a huge crowd swarm her all at once. We should go one by one."
With that, Nanno Sumire tried to rush ahead of everyone to seize the first move. Oguri Roman, reacting instantly as the strongest Uma Musume present, wrapped her arms around Nanno Sumire's waist, preventing her from moving.
"Not gonna let you get away with that."
Seeing this, the other Uma Musume also tried to make a break for it, only to be held back by others.
Watching their students' hopeless behavior, the few adults present could only sigh silently, palm to forehead, lamenting that their educational skills still needed work.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.