On the first day of school, quite a few students had made the same choice as Satono Diamond and the others.
At a glance, students wearing identical uniforms, each with a pair of horse ears atop their heads, were everywhere.
"So, where are we eating?"
Bless the Moment asked as she followed behind Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black.
"Hmm... let's look around a bit more," Satono Diamond replied, scanning the shops lining both sides of the street. "It's not like we're starving anyway."
"What if we take this little path?"
Bless the Moment stopped and pointed toward a narrow alley beside them. "Good wine needs no bush, right? Who knows, maybe there's a really tasty place hidden deep in here."
"But if it's too hidden, wouldn't the shop risk going broke?" Kitasan Black peered into the alley's depths. "Besides, this just looks like an ordinary alley to me."
"No, no, no." Bless the Moment wagged her index finger. "It might look plain on the surface, but what if there's something special inside?"
"We won't know unless we check it out... I'll go take a look, okay?"
"Wait, Bless, we—" Whatever Kitasan Black said next, the white-haired Uma Musume didn't catch it.
The moment Bless the Moment stepped into the alley, the sounds from outside abruptly vanished.
She saw the narrow path stretching endlessly ahead, merging with the sky in the distance. And behind her, where the entrance should have been, a solid wall had inexplicably appeared, sealing off her retreat.
"Kita-chan? Dia?"
She called out her friends' names while carefully observing her surroundings.
The alley was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to walk through normally.
Where am I?
After tentatively taking a few steps forward and noticing no obvious changes around her, the white-haired Uma Musume grew bolder.
Does this mean… I'm supposed to keep going forward?
She reached out, running her hands along the walls nearby, but found no mechanisms or hidden switches.
But this 'alley' is just way too long, isn't it?
Frowning, Bless the Moment stared down the path stretching endlessly before her.
There must be some way to get out of here... Ah! That clock Neo Universe gave me might work—
"Giiiive me baaaack my liiiiife!"
A voice from behind snatched her attention.
She turned and saw a figure that hadn't been there before.
No… that wasn't a person at all!
Though the black horse ears on her head marked her as an Uma Musume, Bless the Moment realized she could see right through her body to the wall behind.
Combined with the ferocious expression on the figure's face, Bless the Moment felt her hairs stand on end, her innermost clothes already damp with cold sweat.
"Grrraaawwwll!"
The translucent black-haired Uma Musume let out a strange cry and suddenly sped up, charging toward her.
"Stay away from meeeeeee—!"
Bless the Moment turned and ran.
With the eerie shrieks of the possible ghost close behind, the white-haired Uma Musume didn't dare slow down, focusing only on running forward.
—Why has my ordinary daily life suddenly turned into this?!
Bless the Moment felt like crying, but no tears came.
…She's way too slow.
The 'ghost' chasing the white-haired Uma Musume at a leisurely pace watched the retreating back and felt a bit bored.
Her main goal was to help this girl escape this anomalous space, but she'd been excited to find an Uma Musume had wandered into it.
It was a rare chance to run with one of her own kind.
But that excitement had faded shortly after she'd scared Bless the Moment into bolting forward.
She's just too slow.
The ghost watched the white-haired Uma Musume still trudging along ahead and lost interest.
She's an Uma Musume, so why is she running like a human?
The black-haired 'ghost' was puzzled.
Sigh… and here I got my hopes up.
I'd better just guide her out of this anomaly and head back to Central Tracen to find Cafe.
The 'ghost' continued emitting odd wails behind Bless the Moment as she thought this.
…That's strange.
After running some distance, a calmer Bless the Moment glanced back.
Seeing the translucent Uma Musume still chasing her, the white-haired girl sensed something odd.
Judging by her behavior… if she wanted to hurt me, she could've gotten close right from the start. Instead, she's playing this cat-and-mouse game.
Is she trying to guide me somewhere?... But there's only one path ahead.
Wait. Uma Musume… running…
—This narrow alley, only wide enough for one person, isn't it just like a racetrack?
Bless the Moment had an epiphany.
So, if I want to get out of here, I just need to keep running like this until I meet some condition?
…But can my body hold up?
Already beginning to pant, the white-haired Uma Musume looked anxiously at the seemingly infinite 'alley' stretching before her.
"Hey! Can't you run any faster?!"
Seeing the white-haired girl slowing down even more, the 'ghost' couldn't help but urge her on.
Intending to scare her into picking up the pace again, the 'ghost' was shocked to see Bless the Moment's body sway, then stumble, about to crash face-first onto the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you okay?!"
Seeing she wasn't bracing for the fall, the 'ghost' quickly reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her up, preventing the collapse. "You need to catch yourself with your hands!"
"I… I can't run anymore," Bless the Moment gasped, utterly winded.
"You're already exhausted after just that little distance? Are you even trying?" The 'ghost' pointed an accusing finger. "You're an Uma Musume!"
"Sorry… but I've never been in good health since I was little, so I haven't done much running." The white-haired Uma Musume coughed violently twice before speaking again. "Miss Ghost, I think there might be a misunderstanding between us."
"...What did you say?"
"I said… there's a misunderstanding between us?"
"No, no, the part before that."
"Um… I've never been in good health since I was little, so I haven't done much running?"
"...I'm sorry."
The translucent Uma Musume helped her up properly and apologized. "I didn't know you were unwell. Otherwise, I would have just guided you out of here from the start."
"Guided me out?"
The white-haired girl, supported by the other, met her gaze. "...So all of this isn't happening because of some unfulfilled wish you had before dying, Miss Ghost?"
"No… Tch, how should I explain this to you?" The black-haired ghost scratched her head in frustration. "For now, let's just get you out of here."
--+--
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.