When Scrum Dyna came to Tracen's Cafeteria for a meal as usual, she found it unusually crowded. The moment she reached the entrance, she was blocked from getting inside.
What are so many people doing here?
Curious, Scrum Dyna edged forward to take a look, wanting to see what exactly was drawing such a crowd. But after squeezing a little way through the doorway, she realized that most of them were only gathered near the entrance, watching from a distance. Not many were actually trying to push farther in, because most of the seats were already full. To be honest, for Tracen's student Cafeteria, a full house was quite rare. Even during regular mealtimes, it was not often packed.
Is something interesting going on?
Drawn in by a spectator's curiosity, Scrum Dyna walked a little farther inside. The students there all seemed to be eating normally, so she stood there in confusion for a moment. Only after looking more carefully did she realize they were not really focused on their meals. Instead, every so often, they all turned in the same direction to sneak glances at something. She roughly pinpointed the spot, then followed everyone's line of sight.
That's… Inari Kagura-kouhai and C.B.-senpai?
With one glance, Scrum Dyna recognized the two people sitting there under everyone's attention.
Scrum Dyna still had a deep impression of the opponent who had defeated her yesterday with such terrifying strength. To be honest, even she could not remember exactly how far she had been left behind, but it had at least been more than a massive gap. A conservative estimate would put it at fifteen lengths. For someone to pull that far ahead of her in a 1600-meter G1 race proved that the difference in strength between her and Inari Kagura was so wide it was practically a cliff.
Losing like that actually made Scrum Dyna feel much better. At least she had lost so completely that there had been no room to resist. After the race, behind the finish line, she had even chatted with Inari Kagura for a while. She had to admit that despite winning by such a huge margin, Inari Kagura had not shown the slightest arrogance. She had even comforted Scrum Dyna out of concern. Faced with the care of such an obedient kouhai, the tiny bit of resentment Scrum Dyna had originally felt disappeared entirely. Inari Kagura's gentle personality really made it hard for anyone to dislike her.
Of course, putting the race aside for now, Scrum Dyna also understood why the Cafeteria was so lively today. After all, Inari Kagura's performance yesterday had simply been too dazzling. Now, wherever you went, you could hear the title "Miko Princess Who Chased the Light." Her fame was nearly catching up to Rudolf's.
Scrum Dyna also understood that there were definitely traces of deliberate promotion behind it. After all, Japan's professional racing world had been quiet for too long. People needed a hope to emerge, brilliant as the morning sun, and this year, Rudolf and Inari Kagura unquestionably both fit the bill.
After all, it's Inari Kagura-kouhai eating together with C.B.-senpai… This year's strongest newcomer Umamusume and a Triple Crown winner sitting together. No wonder it's so lively.
After looking over a few more times, Scrum Dyna nodded in understanding. Whether it was Inari Kagura or Mr. C.B., both were popular figures at Tracen right now. Seeing the two of them together was fairly rare.
"Hey! Dyna! Come sit over here!"
After Scrum Dyna had watched for a while, she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling her. She looked toward the sound and saw her good friend at a table on her right, waving her over.
Scrum Dyna stopped staring at Inari Kagura's side, got her food, and walked over to sit down at the table.
"So, Yamato, why did you come so early to grab a seat today?"
"I just happened to get here a little early, that's all! And then I saw Kagura-kouhai and C.B.-senpai here. I'm so lucky today!"
Yamato Queen—her classmate from the same year, who had debuted around the same week as her—had also become one of Inari Kagura's fans after yesterday. It was one thing for her to have gone half-crazy in the dorm yesterday, but today, after coming to the Cafeteria and seeing Inari Kagura and Mr. C.B., her face practically said, "Now that's what I call hitting the jackpot!" She seemed to be in quite a good mood.
"Speaking of which, Dyna, are you free this afternoon to practice with me? I'm going to enter the Hopeful Stakes soon, so I want to work hard and get a little more stable!"
"Sure. Come to think of it, it's already so close. Shouldn't the entry list be out by now? Have you checked it, Yamato?"
"Mm?"
The reddish-brown-haired Umamusume raised her head, a few noodles still dangling from her mouth, looking thoroughly wise.
Seeing her good friend like that, Scrum Dyna knew this roommate of hers had probably forgotten to check. She sighed, simply took out her phone, and opened the official race website. As expected, the Hopeful Stakes entry list had been announced a little after ten that morning.
"Eh! That happened already!? Good thing you reminded me, Dyna… Move closer. Let me see too!"
As she spoke, the tall Umamusume curiously leaned toward Scrum Dyna. Scrum Dyna moved her hand aside a little to make it easier for her roommate to peek at the screen.
"Wow! I'm in Gate 1? Never before has there been such a beautiful opening!"
At first glance, Scrum Dyna found her roommate's name beside number one on the list. Yamato Queen, who had drawn the inside rail for the first time in her life, could not help cheering aloud. Scrum Dyna wanted to remind her roommate to watch her volume, but after thinking about how the Cafeteria was much louder than her today, she said nothing.
Although the innermost draw was not necessarily the best position, since that mainly depended on each Umamusume's individual situation, it was still certainly much better than being drawn wide.
"Number two is someone we know too… Number three… Number four… Eh, looks like they're all from our class?"
"Looks like you all ended up together… Hey, you're probably the strongest one in your class, right? When you win the race and go back to class, they won't lift you up and ram you into a tree, will they?"
"They wouldn't. Everyone is full of love!"
Yamato Queen let out a laugh, and Scrum Dyna could not help laughing too.
But as she continued reading down, Scrum Dyna soon stopped laughing. Her finger stopped over the name of competitor number eight and began trembling despite herself—
"No… Why… is she here too?"
"Who? Let me see?"
Yamato Queen leaned over and followed Scrum Dyna's finger down the list. Then the smile on her face slowly disappeared too.
"Ehhhh—!!?"
Immediately afterward, Yamato Queen let out an utterly disbelieving wail.
Inari Kagura was like light, making people yearn for her.
Of course, that was outside of races. Any Umamusume who had felt her strength on the track would never hope to see her again in a race.
"Um… Dyna, you've raced Kagura-kouhai before, right? These next few days… could you give me some advice?"
"Uh…"
...
Strange. Eclipse-san, did you hear someone screaming?
——Feels like I did, but the Cafeteria's so noisy that any sound would be normal, right?
True…
——Stop thinking about that. Focus on eating, then train properly this afternoon!
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