Since getting from Tokyo to Hokkaido and back in time for school the next day was physically impossible, Dream Weaver simply took a few days off.
Given her outstanding track record, her homeroom teacher had some complaints but ultimately approved the leave.
So, the next morning, Dream Weaver set off for the train station at dawn, backpack stuffed with a change of clothes.
The train ride from Tokyo to Hokkaido took about four hours, but getting to the Northern Family Ranch was a whole different story.
After transferring trains what felt like a million times and finally making it to New Chitose Airport to hop on a direct bus, she was on the last leg of her journey. By then, eight whole hours had passed since she'd left home.
For most people, that long a trip would be exhausting, but Dream Weaver was an Uma Musume. A little long-distance travel was nothing for someone with her physique.
Since she'd been here once during New Year's, Dream Weaver just showed her face and was let right into the Northern Family Ranch.
As one of Japan's top Uma Musume training grounds, just walking through the ranch for a few minutes, Dream Weaver spotted dozens of young Uma Musume trainees sweating it out on the grassy paths.
From the burning passion in their eyes, Dream Weaver could tell these weren't kids forced into extra classes by their parents.
Leaving home young to come to Hokkaido for professional training was their dream.
Or rather, it was their path to achieving their dreams.
While Dream Weaver was watching them, they seemed to notice her too.
As the champion Uma Musume who'd just dominated the Satsuki Sho, the first leg of the Triple Crown, these kids who'd been dreaming of the track for ages immediately recognized her.
Their faces flushed red as they started chattering excitedly.
"No way, what the seniors said was true! Dream Weaver really did come from our ranch!"
A short-haired girl proudly showed off to her friends, having picked up some weird rumor from who-knows-where.
"The Satsuki Sho... how awesome. Someday I wanna win a G1 race too!"
A yellow-haired girl with a slightly dazed look gazed at Dream Weaver with pure envy.
"Such small ambitions! It's just the Satsuki Sho. I'm gonna be a Triple Crown Uma Musume!"
The girl next to her, with long black hair, poked her friend's cheek teasingly, then puffed out her chest proudly.
"Talk is cheap!"
A girl who seemed like the natural leader of the group waved her hand, cutting off the chatter and pointing straight at Dream Weaver.
"The real deal's right there! What are you waiting for? Go get an autograph!"
And with that, she charged full speed ahead toward Dream Weaver.
But before she could get far, the training instructor, an Uma Musume herself, caught her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her firmly back.
Dream Weaver shot a grateful smile at the Northern Ranch Uma Musume she'd met briefly before, then grabbed her bag and quickly made her escape, not wanting to interrupt the kids' training any longer.
Relying on her memory from last time, Dream Weaver wandered around the ranch for a good half hour before finally tracking down her mother, Northern Starlight's, current location.
Northern Starlight was sitting by the roadside resting, propping herself up with a hoe.
As soon as she saw her daughter, she straightened her crooked straw hat, cleared her throat dramatically, and declared,
"Dream, my girl! As they say, spring is the season of growth. Seeing this vibrant scene before you, can you feel the inspiration blooming in your heart?"
Dream Weaver didn't take the bait. She just tilted her head, eyeing the absolute mess of a plowed field behind Northern Starlight with exasperation.
"Could you please stop wrecking their farmland and wasting their seeds?"
It had taken forever to track Northern Starlight down again. Both her grandmother and Mejiro Asama refused to let her go back to work immediately, terrified she'd vanish again and take another decade to find.
But Northern Starlight was never one to sit still. Even though she'd been strong-armed back home, she'd found herself something to do.
Her reasoning was something like: a person can't just live without working. You've got to earn your meal with honest sweat to really appreciate it.
So she'd decided to carve out a little plot on the family ranch and try her hand at planting.
Judging by the current state of things, Northern Starlight was still miles away from actually growing anything.
Embarrassed at having her cover blown by her daughter, Northern Starlight coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
"Dream, sweetie, isn't today a school day? Skipping class without your parent's permission to loaf around back home—"
She tossed aside her hoe, walked up to Dream Weaver with a serious expression, and patted her on the shoulder.
"Now that's my girl! Just like your mom used to be!"
Dream Weaver really didn't want to know what kind of reputation her mother had back in her Tracen days.
She brushed off the hands that were apparently using her shoulders as a dirt rag and said,
"I took proper leave for several days, you know."
"Tracen teachers are that easygoing about leave these days? Your mom had to fight tooth and nail for time off back in the day."
Maybe it had something to do with the 'reputation' you left behind, Dream Weaver thought, fixing her mother with a deadpan stare.
"What reason did you use? I might try it sometime."
Northern Starlight slung an arm around Dream Weaver's shoulder like a classmate scheming to skip class, whispering conspiratorially, completely forgetting she hadn't been a student for ages.
"Psychological issues."
"That's—that's it?!"
"When I tried that, the teachers looked at me like I was an idiot. Totally shot me down."
Watching her mother mumble to herself, clearly not taking this seriously, Dream Weaver decided to have a little fun and scare her.
"Yeah. I told them I needed to get from the school rooftop to the ground floor without using the stairs or a parachute."
To her surprise, Northern Starlight actually nodded at this.
"Jumping? Hmm, not impossible. Back in my day, a few kids who used to ditch class on the roof would just hop down using the windowsills to get away from the teachers."
Dream Weaver knew Uma Musume had incredible physical abilities, but she never imagined they'd do that. She stared at her mother in shock, wondering just what kind of hardcore crew attended Tracen in her generation.
"So that kind of line actually scares the Tracen teachers now? Guess everyone's gotten a lot softer."
"Anyway, enough about that. Since you're finally home, let me whip us up something good."
With that, Northern Starlight slung an arm around Dream Weaver's shoulder and led her away from the disaster zone of a farm plot. As they walked, she added,
"So, seriously, what's with the sudden trip home? You finally feeling homesick?"
"Nope. Just had some psychological issues and came back for a consultation."
"Oh... Wait, WHAT?!"
Northern Starlight whipped her head around to stare at her daughter, disbelief written all over her face.
--+--
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.