At half-past one in the afternoon, the Uma Musume gathered on the school grounds, ready for a simulated race.
Bless the Moment, unable to run due to her physical condition, leaned against the spectator stands, one hand supporting her cheek, the other resting flat on the railing.
"Bang!"
Another starter's pistol shot rang out. Watching another group of Uma Musume burst from the starting line, Bless the Moment's ears twitched involuntarily.
That girl's leg form looks quite good… She seems like she could achieve great results.
After a quick scan, her gaze settled on the Uma Musume in lane three. Watching her fight for the lead and eventually take the front, Bless the Moment instinctively slipped into a trainer's perspective.
But she seems to have spent a lot of energy to secure that leading position?
Could she lose her speed in the final stretch?
The white-haired Uma Musume followed the runners with her eyes, her thoughts racing.
That girl's already starting to breathe heavily… and she doesn't seem very good at handling tight turns?
Seeing the others behind her close the gap, even Bless the Moment didn't notice she had lowered the hand from her cheek, her eyes now fixed intently on the track.
Not planning to pull away yet? Saving energy for the final sprint?
The closest one is only a length behind you!
You're a front-runner!
The leading group had entered the final homestretch!
Bless the Moment leaned forward, caught up in the tension, as if she were right there on the track.
One length! Half a length!
Closer! Closer!
Why isn't she speeding up yet?!
Watching the leader get overtaken by one Uma Musume after another, Bless the Moment felt a headache coming on.
—Wait, I'm an Uma Musume now, not a trainer.
After the entire group had crossed the finish line, Bless the Moment, still holding her forehead, paused abruptly, finally remembering the fact she'd unconsciously pushed to the back of her mind.
Well, never mind then.
She withdrew her gaze from them and turned it towards the Uma Musume whose names hadn't been called yet.
Hm? Is Dia looking at me?
Searching through the crowd for a moment, she finally spotted the brown-haired Uma Musume near the front of the group, looking towards the stands.
Bless the Moment thought for a bit, then made a 'go for it' gesture towards Satono Diamond, who was about to run soon.
Go all out, Diamond! Give it everything you've got!
"…"
Satono Diamond withdrew her gaze and looked ahead.
"Lane seven—Satono Diamond!"
Hearing the starter on the field call her name, the brown-haired Uma Musume stepped forward and took her position on the assigned lane.
"…Lane eight—Kitasan Black!"
Then, she heard the starter call a name she knew well.
"We're in the same group, Dia," said the black-haired Uma Musume who settled in beside her, smiling.
"Mm." Satono Diamond nodded. "…Even if it's just a simulated race, I won't let you win this one."
"That's what I wanted to say to you, Diamond," the black-haired Uma Musume replied. "I won't lose!"
"Even if this is just a practice race, my desire to 'deliver a race that gets the audience as excited as a festival' won't change one bit!"
"And Bless is watching us from the stands!"
"…"
Kitasan Black waited, expecting Satono Diamond to say something more, but no reply came from the brown-haired Uma Musume.
Puzzled, she glanced sideways and saw that Satono Diamond was already looking forward, poised and ready for the start.
—I'm sorry, Kita-chan.
For this simulated race, I want Bless the Moment's eyes to be on me alone.
"Bang!"
The moment the starter's pistol fired, all the poised Uma Musume broke cleanly from the gates without any delay.
"Ahh… If only I had a microphone or something right now," Bless the Moment murmured, looking down at the empty space beside her, a truly regretful expression on her face.
If she just had a working microphone, she could have improvised as a 'commentator' for this race.
Such a perfect opportunity… what a shame.
Watching Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond run past the stands like the wind, Bless the Moment sighed.
Well, even if I can't commentate live, I can still take some photos!
The white-haired Uma Musume quickly cheered up, pulling out her phone and snapping picture after picture of the two runners.
Oho, this one's really something.
She'd accidentally captured a shot of Kitasan Black with a comically distorted expression. Bless the Moment immediately moved it into a folder named [Treasures].
You're next, Dia.
"Ding-dong—!"
Just as she aimed her phone camera at the running Satono Diamond, waiting for the perfect shot, her phone vibrated and emitted a crisp notification sound.
…Maruzensky?
Seeing who the message was from, Bless the Moment turned the screen upright and tapped the notification.
[Red Supercar: How are you settling in, little sister? It's been a week since the new semester started, right?]
[SilentGazer: Nothing special really. But more importantly, Maruzen-nee, why are you messaging me now? Shouldn't you be running laps on the track?]
[Red Supercar: The kids are all training right now. It wouldn't be good for me to barge in.]
[Red Supercar: Besides, I figured you might be bored all alone up in the stands watching the others train after coming back to school. So, your big sis is here to chat and kill some time with you! Pretty thoughtful, huh?]
[SilentGazer: Thanks, Maruzen-nee… But I just got back to school today. And Kita-chan and Dia will come find me after their run, so I'm fine really.]
[Red Supercar: Just got back today? Did something happen?]
—Here it comes.
The white-haired Uma Musume's lips curved into a slight smile.
[SilentGazer: I wasn't feeling too well before the semester started, so I rested at home until yesterday. Dad even had to drive me to the school gate this morning.]
Not feeling well?
Maruzensky, leaning against her own railing, stiffened.
[Red Supercar: How are you feeling now? Is everything okay? Any lingering issues?]
[SilentGazer: Thanks for your concern, Maruzen-nee. I'm perfectly fine now.]
That's good.
Maruzensky let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
Nothing else matters as much as your health.
If your body fails, everything else loses its meaning.
Just like… what happened with the Trainer.
The Trainer had worked herself to death, pushing through sleepless nights, and couldn't stay with them any longer.
And now, even Bless the Moment was…
Maruzensky stared at the glowing screen of her phone, her finger hovering in the air, unable to tap out a response.
--+--
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.