During her lunch break, Mejiro Ardan found a rather out-of-the-way room, following the directions Oguri Cap had given her.
A clumsily made wooden plaque hung by the door, with several large characters written on it.
"Kasamatsu Uma Musume Club?"
Reading the words, Mejiro Ardan tilted her head in confusion.
This looked for all the world like a clubhouse for Uma Musume from the same hometown to hang out. What did this have to do with Dream Weaver? Could Oguri Cap have given her the wrong address?
Though puzzled, Mejiro Ardan decided to knock on the door anyway.
Well, she was already here. Might as well give it a shot.
She had only knocked twice when a somewhat whiny voice called out from inside the room.
"Sumi-chan, what took you so long? I'm practically melting waiting for that ice cream—"
The voice was followed by the tap-tap-tapping of hurried footsteps, and the door swung open. However, Kobayashi Kaze, who had opened it, found that the person outside was not Nanno Sumire.
She looked up at the figure who cast a shadow over her and said, confused.
"...Huh?"
At that moment, Nanno Sumire, who had just returned to the hallway carrying two bags of ice pops, tilted her head in confusion at the two figures frozen in the doorway.
"Thank you."
Mejiro Ardan accepted the ice pop offered by Nanno Sumire before turning to the group of Uma Musume with a perplexed expression.
"Why does the nameplate outside say 'Kasamatsu Uma Musume Club'?"
Nanno Sumire, who had just finished handing out the ice pops to everyone, gave an awkward smile. Before she could figure out how to respond properly, Oguri Roman chimed in.
"Because the Student Council Vice President—that 'Empress'—would never approve a club called something like the 'Dream Weaver Support Association.'"
"So we just changed the name. It's all the same anyway, since we're all definitely Uma Musume from Kasamatsu."
Kobayashi Kaze added this between licks of her ice pop. Seeing they had already spilled the beans, Nanno Sumire could only shrug at Mejiro Ardan as if to say, 'That's the situation.'
"Haah—"
Mejiro Ardan really didn't know what to say to that.
Getting that Vice President, the one known as the Empress, to approve such an odd club was indeed pretty much impossible.
So she just nodded and made a noncommittal sound of acknowledgment.
But she quickly remembered she hadn't come here to learn about the club's origins. There was something far more important she wanted to ask these Uma Musume.
Mejiro Ardan placed her ice pop on the table in the middle of the room. Sitting formally, she gazed intently at the Uma Musume before her and said earnestly.
"I want to know about her... about Dream Weaver."
Hearing her words, the group exchanged some rather strange looks. Nanno Sumire was the first to speak up.
"We can do that... but first, I'd like to know why you came to us?"
"Oguri Cap and I are classmates. She's the one who referred me here."
Nanno Sumire glanced back at Oguri Roman, then at Kobayashi Kaze beside her.
After a few seconds of silent eye contact, they seemed to reach some unspoken understanding and their strange looks faded.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that we haven't had any visitors here in so long, we got a little wary. But you want us to talk about Dream Weaver? Where to even start..."
"And you probably already know about her debut race and the Niigata Junior Stakes from Oguri Cap-senpai, right?"
As the Kasamatsu Uma Musume struggled with how to describe Dream Weaver, Mejiro Ardan provided a focus.
"Just tell me what she's like in your eyes."
The Kasamatsu Uma Musume fell into thought again, as if searching for the right words.
Mejiro Ardan waited quietly for their response.
A few minutes later, Kobayashi Kaze, the first to organize her thoughts, spoke up.
"For me, Dream Weaver was someone who inspired me to chase my dreams."
"I was just drifting aimlessly through each day. It was only after seeing Dream Weaver on the racetrack that I felt encouraged to pursue my own dream."
"Now I'm different from that idle person I used to be. My goal is to become the best Winner's Outfit designer at Tracen Academy!"
After declaring this bold ambition, she added in a quieter mumble, "Of course, it'd be even better if I could make a Winner's Outfit for Dream Weaver again... I mean, not just for her, but... hehehe."
As she spoke, Kobayashi Kaze rubbed her cheek somewhat sheepishly.
After she finished, Oguri Roman continued.
"I've always admired Oguri Cap-senpai. Precisely because of that, I placed her on a pedestal, someone I could never hope to reach."
"It was Dream Weaver, through her own presence, who showed me that wanting to get close to your idol doesn't just mean following behind her. You can strive to reach the same place she stands."
"It's because of her that I rediscovered the courage to want to stand on the same track as Oguri Cap-senpai."
"I'm incredibly grateful to her."
Mejiro Ardan was taken aback. She hadn't expected Northern Dreams to have helped so many people in real life too.
Before she could ponder it further, Nanno Sumire, who had been preparing for a while, took a deep breath and spoke to Mejiro Ardan with seriousness.
"In the past, I was the most listless one among my friends. No matter how much they slacked off due to our environment, they all had something they truly loved in their hearts."
As she spoke, Nanno Sumire glanced at Kobayashi Kaze. Even Kaze, laid-back as she was, really loved fashion design. It was just that Dream Weaver finally gave her the courage to actively chase that dream.
And then there was Nishimoto Makusa, who was helping out at home now, and Artisan Bell, who was still holed up in the training room polishing equipment even though it was a holiday today.
They all had things they were passionate about.
But before meeting Dream Weaver, Nanno Sumire had nothing.
"Back then, I had even given up the desire to race—a desire that's practically instinctive for Uma Musume."
Hearing this, Mejiro Ardan couldn't hide her surprise. She had never met an Uma Musume who would abandon running itself.
Even with her own glass legs, she always yearned for the track. What had this Uma Musume before her experienced to make her want to give up racing?
Seemingly understanding her look, Nanno Sumire's eyes grew distant with memory as she murmured.
"Maybe I just felt there was no hope."
"Hope?"
"Yeah. Back then, I felt like even if I tried my hardest, it wouldn't matter. I'd fallen into endless pessimism about the future."
"But it was right around then that I met Dream Weaver."
"It was her, with her presence on the racetrack, who showed me—"
"Don't give up."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.