Dream Weaver, Liberty Island, and Hishi Miracle spent a good while rowdying around in the break room after Hishi Miracle's exuberant tackle.
It wasn't until it was time for the victor to take the Winner's Stage that the group reluctantly left the backstage area to find their seats in the stands.
Sitting amidst the crowd, Dream Weaver watched as the girl in the blue-and-white racing silks finally stepped into the spotlight, becoming the undisputed protagonist of the stage.
A faint, subconscious smile tugged at the corners of Dream Weaver's mouth.
"And with that... there's only one task left."
Listening to the song echoing from the stage, Dream Weaver suddenly murmured to herself.
Two side missions she'd thought impossible a year ago had somehow been realized through a series of stumbles and triumphs.
As a trainer who had entered the profession halfway through her journey, she really had managed to mold her two charges into bona fide, first-class Uma Musume.
As for the main objective—winning five G1 races as a team—the tally stood at only one win away following Liberty Island's Triple Tiara and Hishi Miracle's Kikuka Sho.
Just one more G1 victory, and she could complete all her tasks and return smoothly to the real world.
Come to think of it, this might be the easiest script world Dream Weaver had ever navigated.
Far from burning out or collapsing after a victory, she'd cleared almost every objective without even competing in an official race herself.
Realizing she might actually finish this mission in perfect health for once, Dream Weaver didn't know whether to look back at her past self as too reckless or her current self as too idle.
"But regardless, all that's left is the Japan Cup."
Dream Weaver turned her head, glancing at Liberty Island, who was currently lost in the performance, waving her glowstick frantically for Hishi Miracle.
Regarding the decisive battle between Liberty Island and Equinox, even Dream Weaver couldn't say for sure how much confidence she had.
She was a trainer, yes, but the turf was not a place where cold data could explain everything.
Whether it was Liberty Island or Equinox, both possessed the potential to spark a miracle; both had the capability to seize the win. The variables were simply too complex to calculate.
If she had to put a hard number on it, it was a fifty-fifty split. After all, you either win or you don't.
But if Liberty Island truly won, it would mean the end of Dream Weaver's journey in this script world.
She felt she ought to be happy. Not only had the mission been relatively painless, but her two students had fulfilled their deepest wishes. What more could she ask for?
Yet, Dream Weaver couldn't quite force herself to feel that joy.
There was still one jagged edge that hadn't been smoothed over.
The original Dream Weaver of this world.
Ever since her defeat against the mechanical Uma Musume, an impulse would occasionally surge within her—a drive to do something for herself, or rather, for the Dream Weaver who belonged to this reality.
But in the end, she had done nothing. Just worrying over Liberty Island and Hishi Miracle had consumed the lion's share of her energy. She simply hadn't the mental bandwidth to consider anything else.
Now, however, with the end of this world looming, she could no longer pretend she didn't feel that pull.
But what could she do? Was she really supposed to enter the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, as Agnes Tachyon had joked?
This year's Arc was scheduled for the end of the year, well after the Japan Cup.
If Dream Weaver was still in this world by then, it could only mean one thing:
Liberty Island would have had to lose to Equinox in the Japan Cup, preventing the mission from settling. Only then would Dream Weaver have the chance to run in the Arc.
How could she possibly wish for her own student to fail? For Liberty Island, the Japan Cup was the ultimate proof of her ideals and convictions. Dream Weaver couldn't bring herself to want her to lose.
But if Liberty Island won, she would have no time left to do anything for herself—or for the "Dream Weaver" of this world.
At the thought, Dream Weaver scratched her head in frustration.
Hishi Miracle had won her race; today should have been a day of pure celebration.
Instead, Dream Weaver had chosen this exact moment to dwell on a problem that vexed her to no end.
Time flies when you're troubled. Before she could work out a solution, the Winner's Stage performance ended and the crowds began to disperse.
As Hishi Miracle's trainer, she had to set her worries aside once more to join her student for media interviews as part of the winning team.
By the time everything wrapped up, the sun had long since dipped below the horizon, and the stars and moonlight filled the sky once more.
After seeing Hishi Miracle and Liberty Island back to their hotel rooms in Kyoto, Dream Weaver turned down an invitation from Agnes Tachyon and Sugar Lights to go out hunting for fine Kyoto sake.
She wanted to be alone for a bit. Perhaps then she could find an answer.
Leaving the hotel, she began to wander aimlessly under the glow of the neon lights.
Though Kyoto was a famous ancient capital, it had long since undergone modernization. At least on the streets near her hotel, she couldn't find a single trace of ancient architecture.
Everywhere she looked were modern chain stores, flickering neon signs, and the unending hum of traffic. Honestly, it was no different from Tokyo. These metropolises all tended to blur together eventually.
In the distance, neon-lit skyscrapers sliced the night sky into geometric blocks.
Beneath the glare of the city lights, the stars retreated and even the moon went missing. All that remained in Dream Weaver's eyes was a man-made sea of light.
She suddenly found herself missing life back in Kasamatsu or at the Northern Dreams ancestral home deep in the mountains.
At least there, walking under the cold moonlight felt like being inside a work of literature.
Here, she was so enveloped by the savory aromas wafting from roadside restaurants that she couldn't even focus on her thoughts.
By the time she reached the end of the street, she hadn't made much progress on her dilemma. Instead, lured by those very aromas, she'd ended up resolving her dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
Stepping out of the shop, Dream Weaver patted her slightly rounded belly, momentarily wondering if she'd only been overthinking things because she was hungry.
There was precedent for this in previous scripts, after all. Even after she left, the world kept turning.
In Shinzan's world, her successor had gone on to lead everyone to victory in the Arc. Perhaps leaving the future of this world to its "original" Dream Weaver was the right thing to do?
As she rubbed her chin in thought, a tall Uma Musume suddenly emerged from a burger joint across the street.
She was wearing a deep green cropped jacket over a short T-shirt that revealed her sun-kissed waist. At that moment, she was wolfing down a burger while staring intently at Dream Weaver.
"What a coincidence," Dream Weaver said with a smile, greeting Symboli Kris S. She had studied the other girl's races countless times for Hishi Miracle's sake, so she recognized her instantly.
"It's rare to run into each other outside the track. Care to chat?"
She was mostly just being polite. As Hishi Miracle's trainer, she couldn't exactly just wave and walk away after seeing the girl who had been her student's fierce rival only a few hours prior.
Dream Weaver assumed the girl was in a rush given how fast she was eating and would likely decline.
To her surprise, Symboli Kris S. tried to answer before she had even finished swallowing the last bite of her burger.
"Sure... cough, cough!"
"How about I get you a drink to go with that?"
Dream Weaver pointed toward a nearby convenience store, giving the choking girl a helpless, sympathetic smile.
--+--
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.