If I only had a limited week, four hours of sleep was enough. I’d probably spend the whole weekend passed out on my bed, though.
I forced black coffee loaded with sugar into my sluggish brain. After tracing the hard-to-read text by hand several times, I was finally able to force the information into my head.
There were twenty girls in today’s candidate pool. I had to find one I could actually watch race and help, or grow alongside. I shoved the school’s information into my brain by force.
Nothing was more embarrassing than watching an Uma Musume start running in a race and then flipping through documents to figure out who she was.
Those girls were running with everything they had, too. I didn’t want to do something cowardly like, “There’s no one else to contract with, so please contract with me.” Whoever it was, I’d give it my all.
Maybe because I’d finally had a proper meal for the first time in a while, I wasn’t all that hungry even though it was morning. The icy blue sky announced the coming dawn. I’d heard that some seniors could work on only one or two hours of sleep a day, but for someone like me who needed a lot of sleep, that was impossible.
After repeating the process several times, I had finished memorizing the Uma Musume information well enough to talk without looking at the documents, and I’d filled my notebook with special notes.
I still felt like I should be doing something else, but I didn’t know what. No, I could have looked over the girls running in today’s race, but the strange encounter from the day before wouldn’t leave my head.
The image of Oguri Cap’s run in the selection race, where she had eliminated everyone with overwhelming force, kept flashing before my eyes. The powerful legs that kicked off the ground, the flexibility that seemed like she might touch the floor, and those forceful strides that stretched out as if she alone were moving.
For an Uma Musume like that to make a reverse nomination—if my seniors or classmates heard it, they’d dismiss it as a lie. Why me, of all people? She’d spoken as if she knew me. Had I seen her somewhere before? I did have relatives in Kasamatsu, but I’d never been there, and it had nothing to do with Uma Musume.
I twirled my pen lightly. It was the most useless yet useful skill I’d learned during Trainer training. Maybe because my mind was drifting, the notebook was full of doodles I’d drawn without realizing it. One of them was a diamond shape.
There had also been an Uma Musume girl who introduced herself as Diamond. She looked like a rich young lady, but she spoke as if she knew me. Maybe because she hadn’t reached her full potential yet, she was a child whose age was easy to guess.
Just a tiny kid. There was no way I had any connection with a child much younger than my little sister. And yet, strangely, there was something. Something was there. That scent that seemed to drift at the tip of my nose made something well up in my chest.
“You’re a new Trainer, aren’t you? I’m sorry.”
The brown-haired, bob-cut Uma Musume bowed her head.
“No, there’s no need to apologize. It’s your dream, and your race. I hope you find a Trainer better and more wonderful than me, and that you achieve your dream. Good luck.”
“...Thank you.”
Her brown eyes looked at me. I meant it sincerely, but to some people it might have sounded like mockery. I handed her a candy from my pocket and sent her off.
That made twenty exactly. Today was hopeless too. Oguri Cap’s offer came to mind, but I shook my head. Ever since I’d been rejected by team Trainers and private Trainers alike, my self-esteem had already been shattered.
It was just an excuse for why I, someone good at theory but with no practical experience, had no confidence I could properly train her. As I walked, the old school building came into view. Let’s sit in an empty classroom for a bit, rest, and think again. There were still a few days left before the selection race.
I took out the information on the students participating in the third day of the selection race from my bag and read through it one by one. I’d already researched them when the schedule was set, so I knew most of it, but saying it out loud was a different matter.
In the empty classroom, I ran through image training and simulated actual conversations as if I were coaching them. After about an hour, my voice was gone. Had I gotten a little too worked up? My throat felt a bit raw. Then I felt a gaze from somewhere.
A water bottle was swaying back and forth through the crack in the door, open by just a few centimeters. A senior? Or a classmate? I opened the door. Standing there was a strange Uma Musume. She gave me a sly grin, then stepped back.
“Mormot-kun. You look thirsty.”
At the sight of her grinning like a mischievous brat who’d found a fun toy, I rummaged through my faint memories.
“Agnes Tachyon.”
“Yes, that’s me, Mormot-kun.”
Tracen High School. Named after the tachyon particle. An Uma Musume known for overwhelming speed worthy of her name. I’d heard from seniors that she was conducting suspicious experiments without even having a Trainer.
“It’s been well, hasn’t it? I’m glad to see your face like this. I’ve been sparing my legs for you... no, maintaining them. This time, I’m sure I can complete Plan A!”
Still wearing a lab coat, she spread both arms wide. Her sparkling eyes were like those of a girl dreaming of the future, like a madwoman overflowing with delight, and like an Uma Musume who had already reached the finish line.
Those eyes, with their immense pull, seemed like they could draw in even my breathing.
“Plan A?”
I asked without thinking.
“Yes, of course. If Mormot-kun wants Plan B, I can gladly accept that too. But that can wait even after graduation, so this time, shouldn’t we really be able to reach the limits of Uma Musume!”
Before I knew it, she had taken my hand and was shaking it back and forth. She was smiling so happily, just like my little sister had when she got the phone she wanted for her birthday. That smile felt strangely familiar, and I couldn’t bring myself to shake her off.
“What do you mean, Plan B?”
“Pretending not to know... hmm? Wait... Mormot-kun. Could it be this is the first time you’ve seen me?”
“I have seen you in the materials, but... do you know me?”
“That can’t be... no, it can. Yes, that must be it. It’s not that you didn’t want to change the future, but that you really didn’t know... yes, that’s right. If it were Mormot-kun, you would have come looking for me long ago and my legs... hmm... I see.”
They said Uma Musume were emotional and sensitive, but the girls I’d met lately were, how should I put it, too unusual. They’d mutter to themselves, then seem to realize something on their own. It was enough to make me wonder if that was the trend these days.
“I’m really sorry, but do we know each other?”
“Hmm... no, this is the first time I’ve seen you today. I just like you, that’s all. Have you not found a trainee yet?”
“That’s true.”
“Then I’ll become your assigned Uma Musume.”
At the reverse nomination, I widened my eyes.
“This time too, under the same conditions—no, this is the first time. Yes, hmm... I do like lunch boxes, and being cared for is nice too, but... this time, it might be fun to have you take care of me. What should I do~?”
Tachyon hummed through her nose like someone standing before a choice that would make her happy no matter what, and clutched my hand tightly.
“Agnes, do you know I’m a rookie Trainer?”
“Yes, I know. Of course I know. It would be strange if I didn’t know about Mormot-kun. You were rejected by every team Trainer, and even when you said you’d become a sub-Trainer for a private Trainer, they all turned you down. Today is... the third day? No. The second day, then. So you must have courted twenty girls and failed every time.”
I took a step back. But Tachyon was still holding my hand, so I couldn’t retreat very far.
“You... who are you?”
“Hmm... I didn’t expect that reaction. No, maybe I got too excited after seeing Mormot-kun. Yes, I suppose it would be suspicious for me to suddenly show up and say all this.”
Tachyon started muttering to herself, then immediately let go of my hand. My hand, which had taken the full force of an Uma Musume’s grip, was red and swollen.
“I heard everything while Mormot-kun was practicing what to say to the Uma Musume running in tomorrow’s selection race. Surprised?”
At Agnes Tachyon’s sly smile, I let my guard down a little.
“You look thirsty, so drink some water first. There’s no medicine in it, so feel free to drink it.”
“Hearing that makes it harder to drink.”
“Fufu, and who do you think I am? In the past, I was impatient and used all sorts of rough methods, but since coming back, I’ve had plenty of time. I have no intention of tormenting Mormot-kun.”
I didn’t understand what she was talking about, but I accepted the water Tachyon offered and drank it. It seemed like it had been out of the fridge for a little while, but compared to the scorching heat of the blazing sun, it was wonderfully cold and delicious.
“So, Mormot-kun, do you intend to contract with me? I’m a well-known promising Uma Musume, after all. It probably says I’m fickle, impossible to read, and have a bad personality, but that’s a misunderstanding.”
Tachyon, who seemed to know exactly what was written in her own file, shrugged.
“I’m a very rational and reasonable Uma Musume. I’ve just started wanting to run seriously. I’ve started wanting to train diligently. I’m looking for a Trainer. And there happens to be a Trainer right in front of me!”
“Ah, thank you for the offer. But I still don’t have the experience or skill to handle an Uma Musume as talented as Agnes. There are better Trainers out there, so should I introduce you to one?”
Agnes Tachyon looked at me without saying a word. She looked dazed, like a child who had realized something was wrong.
“Did I approach you too early? It shouldn’t have been urgent yet at this point. I was too hasty. Ahem... Mormot-kun. I am here. I’ll be waiting, so if you can’t find an assigned Uma Musume, come find me. I really do like you.”
“Ahaha, thank you. Yes, really, thank you. Today was a total mess, so this really cheered me up.”
I thought she was a strange girl, but she was overflowing with consideration. Before I knew it, I was patting her head.
“Ah, s-sorry... You probably hate having your head touched. That’s weird...”
“Fufu, it’s fine. Haah... It’s been a while.”
She wore a very gentle smile, her face slightly red.
“Good luck. There’s no way you’ll be able to take charge of an Uma Musume who ran in the selection race, though.”
“Is that a curse?”
Agnes Tachyon shrugged.
“Well, let’s call it a prophecy. Ahahaha...!”
Still laughing loudly, as if she found something incredibly amusing, Tachyon turned away. She raised one arm in what looked like a wave, and slowly, very slowly, she moved farther and farther away.
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