Thanks for your Patreonage Dyria.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
After indulging in Hokkaido's specialty desserts at Rokkatei, Oguri Cap rubbed her stomach, swaying slightly as she was the first to step outside.
"Can you still walk?" Shuta An glanced at her and asked out of nowhere.
"Of course, I can," Oguri Cap pouted, rolling her eyes at her lover. "I can even run."
"Don't run." Shuta An's lips twitched, and he immediately took hold of her right arm. "Behave yourself. Running right after eating will only give you a stomachache."
Oguri Cap obediently stood beside him, no longer trying to play around.
"Shall we head to Mount Moiwa next?" Berno Light asked.
"Yes, let's go." Shuta An checked the time on his phone. "It's already past six. It'll take a little over twenty minutes by taxi, and then we'll ride the cable car up. By the time we reach the top, the sun should be setting."
"Setting?" Oguri Cap tilted her head. "The sun still looks pretty high."
"The sunset in Sapporo today is after seven. We'll catch it perfectly once we're at the summit." Shuta An reached out to hold Berno Light's hand with his other hand. "Let's go. We don't have much time to waste."
The two Uma Musume silently nodded and followed behind him.
"I'm really looking forward to the view," Berno Light murmured to herself.
Meanwhile, Oguri Cap was scrolling through her phone, eagerly checking for specialty foods available on Mount Moiwa.
When she saw the words Mount Moiwa Special Ice Cream, her eyes sparkled.
"Oh—this looks amazing" she whispered.
Shuta An vaguely heard her muttering but couldn't catch the words.
Mount Moiwa, standing 531 meters tall in central Sapporo, is known in the Ainu language as inkarushibe—a place to climb and look around. The Edo-period explorer Matsuura Takeshirō wrote in his Diary of the Rear Yotei that Mount Moiwa was not only a vantage point for the Ainu people but also revered as a sacred mountain.
From the summit, one can overlook Sapporo's cityscape, the Ishikari Bay of the Sea of Japan, and even the distant Mashike Shokanbetsu Mountains. At night, the glowing expanse of Sapporo rivals the famous Mount Hakodate night view—except Mount Moiwa is far less crowded, making the experience far more pleasant.
Visitors can travel from the foot of the mountain to the mid-slope by ropeway or by car along the Moiwa Tourist Road. From there, the "MORISU-CAR," a world-first miniature ropeway system, carries passengers to the summit. Shuta An and his companions chose the ropeway + MORISU-CAR route, reaching the observation deck in about ten minutes. Upon arriving, they realized sunset was still half an hour away.
Shuta An scanned the area and pointed toward a small dessert shop at a corner of the summit.
"Even though we just had dessert, the ice cream here has great reviews online. Oguri, Berno—you two can try it." He gently tickled Oguri Cap's palm. "But Oguri, don't eat too much. You've already had plenty of sweets. If you overload on ice cream—"
He didn't need to finish; both Uma Musume instantly understood. The Gray Monster nodded repeatedly in agreement. After spending more than twenty minutes inside, the trio came out and hurried toward the observation deck.
The setting sun dyed the clouds deep red, and the crimson light spilled over the sea and the distant buildings.
"It's so beautiful…" Oguri Cap breathed, eyes wide, whispering into Shuta An's ear.
"The night view will be even more beautiful after the sun fully sets." Shuta An flicked her nose gently. "Sapporo will look like a velvet carpet woven with lights."
"Just hearing that already paints a picture," Berno Light replied.
"It'll be even more beautiful than you imagine," Shuta An said softly.
At the center of the observation deck stood a bell-shaped structure, its railings covered with countless locks. Even without reading the signs, the three of them understood the meaning here.
"Let's each get a lock," Shuta An said quietly, glancing toward the nearby shop.
"Okay!" Oguri Cap replied cheerfully.
Shuta An bought three special locks and handed two to the girls.
"Write your own wishes, and keep them secret, alright? Otherwise, they won't come true," Berno Light reminded them, shaking her lock and giving Shuta Ann a pointed look at the word secret.
"Alright, alright." Shuta Anm turned around, took out the pen he carried, and wrote his wish on the designated space:
"I hope the Uma Musume I train will be invincible."
He hooked the lock onto the railing with a light motion. Even without Berno Light's warning, he had no intention of peeking at their wishes. Whatever Oguri Cap or Berno Light wrote would hardly surprise him anyway. But when he finished, he noticed the two Uma Musume were still deep in thought, seemingly undecided about what to write.
While waiting, Shuta An let his gaze wander.
Most visitors were busy writing or hanging their locks. Only one Uma Musume stood out—she wasn't writing at all, just looking up at the stars slowly emerging in the sky. Her quiet, unmoving figure made her strangely conspicuous.
Curious, Shuta An watched her for a moment, but when he noticed the wary look in her eyes, he wisely chose not to approach.
"Her emotional defenses are strong," he thought, assessing her. "As if she's carrying something, she doesn't want anyone to know."
He had no intention of prying into her troubles. He was here to accompany Oguri Cap and Berno Light, not play therapist. So, he dismissed his curiosity and looked away.
Once Oguri Cap and Berno Light hung their locks, the trio returned to the deck's edge.
"That Uma Musume was so strange," Berno Light whispered.
"Yes, very strange," Oguri Cap nodded.
Shuta An guessed they had both noticed her, but he feigned ignorance. "Who?"
"Ann, there's no way you didn't see her," Berno Light huffed. "The one in the dark blue trench coat. She looked really melancholic."
"I glanced but didn't pay attention," Shuta An shrugged. "Maybe she was just stargazing."
"Stargazing?" Oguri Cap looked up. "Can you even see stars here?"
With Sapporo glowing brightly below, spotting any stars required impressive eyesight.
"Maybe she has her own way of looking," Shuta An said, also glancing upward. "But that's her business. Let me take more pictures of you two instead."
"Yes!" Berno Light stepped forward with a smile, standing beside Oguri Cap to pose.
Shuta An took out his camera, adjusted the settings, stepped back for distance, and framed the shot. Just then, his eyes briefly swept past the same Uma Musume—she was still standing motionless, but now her gaze was lowered, observing the surroundings.
"That expression—is she reminiscing?" he murmured, then refocused on the two girls and pressed the shutter.
"I feel like she has a story. But now isn't the time to hear it."
After leaving Mount Moiwa, Berno Light checked the time and suggested, "If you want to rest tomorrow, we could still catch the JR Shinkansen back to Noboribetsu."
"What about you, Oguri?" Shuta An looked at her.
"Should we stay in Sapporo tomorrow or return? We're going to Hakodate and Otaru soon anyway."
"Let's go back," Oguri Cap answered after thinking. "I'm already satisfied today, and even if we stayed, I don't have anywhere else I really want to visit."
"Since both of you want to return, then let's head to the station," Shuta An concluded.
By the time they reached the hotel, the clock pointed to nine.
"Good night." After saying goodbye to Oguri Cap and Berno Light, Shuta An entered his room.
"I'll bathe and go straight to bed," he thought. "I walked so much today—if I go to the hot spring, I might fall asleep in the water."
After a quick bath, wrapped in a bathrobe, he returned to the bedroom. He lay down but didn't close his eyes yet, choosing instead to browse the news. It was summer racing season, and the Twinkle Series had few noteworthy races.
"Summer horse racing is so boring—" he muttered. "There isn't a single major race worth mentioning. It's basically a proving ground for the Uma Musume who didn't secure enough credentials in spring."
Most media discussions were no longer about the races themselves, but about the newly debuted Uma Musume. Although many received glowing evaluations, after watching some debut footage, Shuta An felt unimpressed.
"With all due respect, unless they grow rapidly in the next half year, none of them can match Oguri in the Classic season."
After checking the young generation, he shifted to the Uma Musume a year older than Oguri Cap.
"If Akitsu Teio sticks to the mile, then Oguri's biggest rival this autumn is Miss Tamamo Cross."
His gaze landed on the image of a kind-looking Uma Musume. "And this Shadai Kagura—Dyna Actress—is the one always trailing behind Yaeno Muteki?"
He closed his eyes and recalled carefully before confirming it.
"She really is. Always following behind Muteki, never giving her own opinions, just listening and she's older than Muteki?"
He searched Dyna Actress's recent results:
"She won the G2 Sprinters Stakes and the Keio Hai Spring Cup this year, and placed second in the Yasuda Kinen."
That was enough to make him lose interest.
"She's clearly a Sprint/Mile specialist. I don't think she'll clash with Oguri in autumn."
But just as he was about to close the page, he caught sight of her next scheduled race—
"Mainichi Okan."
"Well, well," Shuta An's lips twitched. "She's still going to increase her distance?"
If Dyna Actress performed well in the Mainichi Okan, she would almost certainly challenge the Tenno Sho (Autumn).
"In that case, I should pay attention to her," Shuta An reminded himself quietly.
He kept browsing until late at night before finally going to sleep.
In the Dream World, training resumed as usual—only the location had shifted from Ritto to Sapporo.
"For this weekend's Sapporo Kinen, I'm riding a horse called 'Kobano Rich' who placed third in a front-running Sapporo Dirt Open. Hopefully it performs well for Trainer Abe and the owner," Shuta An thought as he trained.
For some reason, he had the feeling that the horse's name carried some strange luck.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
For anyone interested, or just want to support me. Hit the membership button to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ModerateCitizens
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>