"Hm? Kid, why are you up so early on a day off?"
In the morning, Wu Di, who had gotten up early to fiddle with her equipment, was spotted by her parents. Thinking of how their child usually slept until ten-thirty whenever she had a day off, the two of them could not help wondering what she was sneaking around for so early.
"I set up a time to livestream with Kagura-meimei! Of course I have to get up early and prepare!"
"Oh, you managed to arrange another time with Kagura-meimei? How has she been lately?"
As soon as they heard it was about Kagura, Wu Di felt her parents' interest immediately perk up. Then again, Kagura's performance lately really had been eye-catching. Two G1 races in a row, both won by a massive gap, and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes had even produced that whole Miko Princess Who Chased the Light incident. She had indeed become quite famous already, and even the income from Wu Di's videos had increased by a fair amount.
"Everything's normal. Kagura-meimei also told me Ardan-senpai is recovering really well. She'll be able to prepare for her comeback debut next year or the year after."
"That's great! Getting her body back in shape is more important than anything. Speaking of which, have you asked her when she'll have time to come visit China? Her Chinese is so good. It'd be such a shame if she never came over for a look around."
Wu Di's parents had also watched Kagura's previous livestream. Kagura's Mandarin was very standard—so standard that even native speakers like them had been shocked. And since Kagura usually took such good care of Wu Di, while Wu Di had also gained plenty of valuable experience from running Kagura's account, Wu Di's parents had always rather wanted Kagura to come to China for a visit.
"I asked already. Kagura-meimei said she'll have to wait until there's a chance in the future… Ah! Dad, Mom, be quiet for a second! Kagura-meimei connected to the call!"
Noticing movement in her voice channel, Wu Di quickly made a gesture telling her parents to quiet down, then straightened her headset and leaned in toward the computer. Wu Di's mother curiously leaned in from behind and hugged Wu Di while looking at the computer screen with her. Wu Di's father stood behind her chair, also watching the screen with curiosity.
"Hey… you two, don't come crowding around for the fun of it… It'd be bad if Kagura-meimei gets scared when she sees you."
Wu Di turned her head to look at the two old children behind her, but her parents did not seem to have any intention of leaving. Instead, they kept watching with curious faces.
"Hehe~ It's all right, Wu Di. I don't mind the two of them being here. Uncle, Auntie, good morning."
Before Wu Di could turn back, Kagura's clear voice came through the voice channel. Wu Di hurriedly turned around and saw that Kagura had already connected the video, smiling as she looked over from the other side. Although Wu Di had seen Kagura's current appearance on the racecourse several times before, those had only been distant glimpses through a camera. This was her first time seeing Kagura face-to-face after honkaku.
"G-g-g-good morning, Kagura-meimei! Wow! You've grown so much compared to the last time we met!"
"Well, I did go through honkaku~ I think this is the first time I've met you and your family since then, Wu Di~"
Judging from Kagura's background, she seemed to still be in the Cafeteria, but there were clearly not many voices in the background. It sounded like there probably were not many people in Kagura's Cafeteria right now. Considering the time, though, now that there were no races or classes, there probably were not many students who would wake up at eight in the morning just to eat breakfast. At least, Wu Di felt she would never do that herself.
"Wow! Kagura-meimei has grown into a young lady too! So pretty!"
"It's been a while, and Kagura-meimei has matured quite a bit."
Wu Di heard both her parents let out surprised, interested voices. She even felt her mother secretly poke her waist from below. Wu Di was not the kind of pure, sheltered young lady who knew nothing. If anything, under the influence of her bold and uninhibited mother, she had already learned far too much for her age. After all, all she had to do was look at her father's weak complexion every morning to know just how energetic her mother was. Naturally, Wu Di understood what her mother was hinting at.
Mom, what are you thinking!! Kagura-meimei is about the same age as me! That kind of thing isn't legal, okay!?
With Kagura right there, Wu Di could not say any of that out loud and could only silently complain about her mother in her heart.
"You flatter me~ Right, Wu Di, is the connection on your end ready?"
"Mm! It's almost time! I'll put up the waiting screen five minutes early!"
Wu Di opened the waiting screen she had prepared and checked the time. There were only a little more than five minutes left before the scheduled start, so she turned on the stream as well.
The moment the livestream room opened, Wu Di saw a flood of viewers pour in. Although the screen was still showing "LOADING…" with a chibi Kagura sitting underneath, drinking tea, she could already see plenty of people sending danmaku.
[D-Head]:Nice! I made it to Kagura-sensei's stream! Getting up early today to rush over was worth it!
[Tsunade]:Long time no see! Teacher Kagura is finally live again! Love from the vast East!
[Curren]: Kagura-sensei has been really active in races lately! And Kagura-sensei's Winner's Concert was beautiful too! Kagura-sensei after honkaku is so, so pretty! That kagura dance was absolutely amazing!
[Secret Book Pile]:[smile] [thumbs up]
[Ottoman Roman Sultan]:Open the door! Let me in to see Teacher Kagura!
[I Am Miss Kagura's Dog]:Excuse me, may I ask whether you acknowledge that Kagura-san, the Miko Princess Who Chased the Light, is the most beautiful in the world?
...
Quite a few people in the livestream room were familiar old viewers to Wu Di. In the videos she usually reposted for Kagura, she could always see these people being active, especially the fan called D-Head. Under every video, Wu Di could always see her highly liked comments and explanations of some cultural knowledge from Japan. Wu Di actually suspected a little that this viewer might be from Japan, but the other party's Chinese was so standard that she did not quite dare make that judgment.
Aside from the familiar faces, Wu Di also saw a few newcomers, such as [Secret Book Pile] and [Astronomer Watching Starfish]. Wu Di was certain she had never seen those two viewers in any previous livestream or video. Today should be their first time watching Kagura, but before the stream had even started, the two of them had already thrown out several SCs, and each one was in the hundreds. It was not a small amount.
These two should be first-time viewers, right? Giving such big SCs so quickly on their first visit? Are they minors from some family tipping impulsively or something…? This is kind of scary.
It was a good thing for people to send SCs to the account, but honestly, seeing SCs that might not be all that rational made Wu Di's scalp tingle more than anything. Rather than a pleasant surprise, she felt this kind of danmaku should be called a fright.
"What's wrong, Wu Di? You look a little nervous."
On camera, Kagura, who was cutting vegetables, noticed Wu Di's suddenly furrowed brows and asked in passing.
"No… I just saw something a little scary. It's nothing. Kagura-meimei, are you ready? We're about to connect to the stream."
"No problem. Just let me know when you need me, Wu Di."
Kagura was already prepared on her end. She could also see the danmaku in Wu Di's livestream room. There were not many people in Tracen's Cafeteria at the moment either, so she did not need to pay too much attention to controlling her volume.
Soon, amid a great wave of danmaku shouting "open the door," Wu Di confirmed that Kagura was ready to go live and pressed the start button. Immediately, Kagura appeared on the screen. Noticing that the camera had switched to her, Kagura smiled and waved.
"Good morning~ Welcome, everyone, to my livestream~"
With the experience from last time, Kagura seemed much calmer in front of the camera this time. Just like in the videos she usually posted, she was unhurried and composed. Wu Di felt that Kagura's calm manner suited her naturally gentle aura even better.
[Curren]:Wow! This is my first time seeing Kagura-sensei this close after honkaku! Kagura-sensei is so much prettier than before!
[Secret Book Pile]:[heart] [thumbs up]
[Astronomer Watching Starfish]:New viewer here, genuine question. Is the streamer broadcasting from the Cafeteria? It feels like I can't hear much movement from anyone else.
"Thank you, Curren~ I'm sure you must be very cute too~ Yes, I'm livestreaming from the school Cafeteria right now. Are you wondering why you don't see many people? That's because it's already the end of the year, most courses have finished their exams, and everyone is on break. Would you viewers get up early on your day off just to come eat breakfast?"
Eclipse quickly helped Kagura pick out some of the more useful information from the huge pile of danmaku at the top of the livestream room. Right now, just like last time, the room was being drowned in a huge wave of unhinged comments. Eclipse had to admit that Kagura's popularity really was quite high now. This livestream clearly had many newcomers who had not appeared last time, and there were far more people sending SCs as well.
Why are there so many Chars in the livestream room? Do I really look that motherly?
——Didn't I talk about this last time?
But I went through honkaku… I mean, I should look a little more girlish, youthful, and lively now, right! Like… not that old anymore, right!?
——No. Your body grew up, but some things still won't change. If anything, you look even more like it now.
While placing the prepared ingredients into the clay pot and turning on the heat, Kagura glanced at the words Eclipse had left on the stovetop. She felt that this nickname was probably impossible to shake off, and could not help letting out a small sigh.
[Tsunade]:Teacher Kagura's cooking movements, just like in her usual videos, make me feel the technique!
[Urban Ocean]:Congratulations, Teacher Kagura, on taking the championships of two G1 races in a row not long ago. Teacher Kagura's performances were truly astonishing. I'm very much looking forward to what Teacher does next.
[Ponytail-Drinking Bro]:Yes, yes, yes! Those two races were absolutely too cooool! Kagura-sensei, can you perform that once? You know, that "Miko Princess Who Chased the Light, transform!"
At first, Kagura had no idea what meme this was. Only after Eclipse immediately posted a reminder on the stovetop did Kagura, who usually did not pay much attention to Bilibili, understand what had happened. Ever since her overwhelming victory in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, quite a few videos related to her had appeared on Bilibili. At first, they were only effect-heavy videos adding exaggerated special effects to her running. Later, they gradually developed into things like "Light-Chasing Miko Kagura" and "Accelerating so fast even light can be surpassed!"
Those things that resembled short animations had already spread explosively among her fanbase during the time she had been busy with the Hopeful Stakes.
"Thank you all for the congratulations, but… please don't make me do something that embarrassing! Please do not connect fan works to the person herself!"
Just imagining herself saying that line made Kagura feel her cheeks heat up, so she decisively refused the suggestion to perform it. At the same time, she used her tail to lift another basket of ingredients onto the stovetop and began processing them.
[Astronomer Watching Starfish]:Regarding races, since the streamer has already won two G1 races in a row, what are your plans for next year?
[Tsunade]:Correct! Teacher Kagura's future arrangements make me feel curious!
After Eclipse banned a few more clippers, she finally managed to find a proper danmaku that actually wanted to chat amid a screen full of Chars and thirst-posting. This danmaku seemed to have been sent by a newcomer, which made Kagura breathe a small sigh of relief. It seemed there were still fans of hers who genuinely came to watch a professional runner.
"As for race arrangements, they haven't been decided yet."
Although she was happy to have proper career-focused fans, a race schedule was not something Kagura could reveal too easily. On the other hand, she herself was still in a state where her schedule had not yet been arranged. After all, Rudolf had not returned yet. According to Tojo, that trip of hers seemed to have come back empty-handed. It looked like finding talent was not such an easy thing after all.
[Astronomer Watching Starfish]:Next year will be the streamer's classic year, right? Will your goal still be the more orthodox traditional Classic Triple Crown after all?
[Secret Book Pile]: [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up]
"That… is hard to say. Maybe I'll continue challenging the Classic Triple Crown, or maybe I'll try looking somewhere farther away?"
Although it had not been decided yet, Kagura still appropriately revealed a little of her own thinking.
She actually had quite a few thoughts about Galileo's proposal. On one hand, through gathering information recently, she had also come to understand the current state of Japan's domestic races. For the most part, they were all entertaining themselves within their own little circle. In terms of fame and returns, they were still far inferior to races in Europe. As for why Kagura had suddenly begun caring about fame, naturally, it was because of what Eclipse had mentioned before.
As long as Tojo agreed, Kagura had decided to go to Europe. Even if no one accompanied her, she was not very worried. After all, she was not that young anymore and had the ability to act independently. Moreover, with the prize money from several graded race championships and her own wages in hand, she was not worried anything too serious would happen if she acted alone.
"Right, I might do something big for everyone sometime soon. Consider this an early preview. Of course, as for what exactly it is, let me keep you in suspense for now~"
...
"Looks like the chances are quite good."
Galileo lay on her bed and smiled in relief.
She still remembered Kagura's answer just now when asked about next year's race schedule. She had seen the hesitation on Kagura's face.
Normally, with a performance like Kagura's, she should have chosen to challenge the Classic Triple Crown without the slightest hesitation. Since she was hesitating over it, that meant she had another plan in mind.
"I should first check whether the school has any empty rooms that can be arranged for Miss Kagura…"
...
"Oh-ho. Looks like this trip to Europe next year is basically settled."
The corners of Secretariat's mouth lifted slightly, and she lightly tapped the desk twice with her fingers.
"What, are you going to Europe to…"
Seeing the smile on her president's face, one harder to suppress than an AK, Affirmed could not help wanting to laugh. Honestly, it had been quite a while since she had seen such an expression on Secretariat's face.
"To race that little one! And while I'm at it, if I can bring back an outstanding student for us, that would be even better."
"You mean… you intend to compete with the professional association over her?"
"I do, but Seattle's incident also leaves me with little confidence. We'll see how luck goes. What I care about more is whether I can run that race."
...
"Question! Tazuna, that kid looks like she has other plans? Could she be planning not to challenge the Classic Triple Crown?"
Director Akikawa, who had been watching the livestream the whole time, naturally noticed Kagura's hesitation when she mentioned her arrangements and could not help feeling puzzled. Normally, if someone debuted in their first year and achieved results like that, most students would choose to challenge the Classic Triple Crown in their second year.
"Kagura mentioned 'somewhere farther away.' Perhaps Kagura has a higher goal in mind?"
"But the Triple Crown is already the highest goal, isn't it? If she doesn't run the Classic Triple Crown, then…"
Halfway through speaking, Director Akikawa herself got stuck. Because domestic Umamusume results had been stagnant for too long, and had only begun to thaw this year, she had almost forgotten that domestic races were not the only choice for every Umamusume. Thinking of the Student Council President of European Tracen, who had suddenly appeared at the Hopeful Stakes press conference some time ago, Director Akikawa felt as though she understood something. After all, before Kagura, it was not as if no Umamusume had ever done that.
"…Surprise. Could that kid be planning to go abroad for an expedition? But… Trainer Tojo probably cannot spare anyone on her end, can she?"
---
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