After bidding farewell to Seiun Sky, Myriad Dreams went straight to the shop and purchased a brand-new set of fishing gear.
Once everything was ready, she started her stream right on time.
Thanks to her exquisite gaming skills and two highly discussed race victories, Myriad Dreams' popularity had continued to climb.
Her follower count had now surpassed one million, a staggering figure even among Uma Musume.
During the interactive segment of the stream, a certain comment suddenly caught her eye:
"Streamer, streamer! I remember the Winter Dream Trophy doesn't have a debut time limit, right? As long as the fan vote is high enough, you can participate, yeah?"
While organizing her fishing tackle, Myriad Dreams answered naturally, "That's right. The rules state that as long as your votes are in the top eighteen, you can compete regardless of seniority."
Before she could finish her sentence, the chat suddenly erupted.
"Great! It's decided then, let's all send the streamer to the Winter Dream Trophy!" that user shouted.
"Eh?! Wait—" Myriad Dreams finally realized something was wrong and waved her hands in a panic.
"Don't joke around like that!"
She knew better than anyone: As one of Japan's top-tier events, almost every Uma Musume participating in the Winter Dream Trophy had mastered a Zone, and their Zone levels were exceptionally high.
With her current strength, entering the race would be no different from asking for a beating.
"It's a deal!" The fans leading the charge gave Myriad no chance to argue.
To her utter disbelief, those few individuals went straight to the voting page to launch a campaign. Other fans followed suit upon seeing the commotion.
Myriad Dreams' vote count, which had originally been quite low, surged to the 30s in the blink of an eye.
At this rate, with another hundred thousand votes or so, her qualification would be set in stone!
"I'm doomed..."
Myriad Dreams stared at the scrolling messages of "Go for it!" and "Supporting you!", feeling a wave of dizziness.
These fans who just wanted to watch the chaos were practically scaring the soul out of her!
Powerless, Myriad Dreams slumped into her chair and shut down the stream.
"This time, I'm really finished!"
While Myriad Dreams was grumbling, the dorm door opened, and Yaeno Muteki walked in looking dejected.
Curiously, Myriad Dreams walked over to offer some concern.
"Yaeno, what's wrong? Why so down?"
Yaeno Muteki's ears were drooping sadly, and her tail hung limp.
"Myriad... I probably won't be able to participate in the Winter Dream Trophy. Even though I spent all day campaigning and used my own account to ask for votes, I'm still ranked around 50th."
"But Oguri Cap is already in 3rd place. At this rate, even when the race starts, my rank won't break the top 20!"
Yaeno Muteki clenched her fists in frustration.
After all, even Inari One had already squeezed into 13th place.
"Yaeno..."
Myriad Dreams could feel her friend's bitterness and pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Actually, you don't have to take it so much to heart. If it doesn't work out this year, there's always next year. And even if you can't participate, a win in a training match is still a win, isn't it?"
Even Myriad Dreams felt that logic was a bit of a stretch, but she really didn't know what else to say.
Yaeno Muteki let out a dejected sigh.
"I know. But because of me, I failed to make the Kongō Yaenogaki Style famous during my active career. I originally wanted to win the Winter Dream Trophy to prove that the Kongō Yaenogaki Style isn't inferior to any other school!"
Myriad Dreams felt the weight of her friend's unwillingness and grievance.
"Yaeno..."
For a moment, Myriad Dreams felt a pang of heartache.
Finally, she made up her mind, walked to her computer, and launched a voting campaign on her own account.
She would participate in the race and win this Winter Dream Trophy championship for Yaeno!