After quite some time and a fair bit of effort, Kagura finally managed to drag Maruzenskyout of her house.
By the time they returned to the Student Council office, the hallway was already packed with students—clearly, there was still plenty of interest in council activities.
"Ah... My head's already hurting..."
Maruzensky immediately realized she'd been tricked by Rudolf. Now she understood exactly why Rudolf had specifically sent Kagura to fetch her today—this was going to be a massive workload. Her instincts screamed at her to run away immediately.
But glancing at Kagura beside her, signaling for her to enter, she gritted her teeth and braced herself, stepping reluctantly into the Student Council office.
"Yo, Maruzensky, your timing's perfect. Quick, help me interview those students!"
As soon as Rudolf saw Maruzensky enter, she knew her scheme had worked. Sending Kagura had definitely been more effective than standing there herself, nagging endlessly. With Maruzensky here, there was no way she could slack off now.
Kagura had initially planned to help as well, but Rudolf resolutely turned down her offer, prompting Maruzensky beside her to roll her eyes.
"You really spoil that kid rotten. Even when you're overwhelmed, you can't bear to let her help a little."
Only after Kagura left did Maruzensky find a moment to mutter her complaint amidst the chaos.
"She's always so busy taking care of everything else so that I can focus on my work and races. There's no reason to burden her with even this. Besides, if Speed-sama heard I was making Kagura work, I'd get smacked."
"Ha... And you have the nerve to say that after using her to reel me in..."
Maruzensky sighed, dropped the topic, and turned her attention back to the sea of students.
Meanwhile, after Kagura left the Student Council office, she returned to her dorm to change into her miko attire, as she planned to visit her old shrine today and wanted to be prepared. On her way out, she coincidentally bumped into Nice Nature and Trainer Minamizaka coming from the training grounds. Spotting Kagura, Nice Nature stood on her tiptoes and waved excitedly.
"Morning! Kagura-chan, meeting you at this time in the school building somehow feels kinda surreal."
"Eh, does Trainer Minamizaka think I'm some delinquent skipping classes every day?"
"Ah, no, no! You can't say that! Skipping class daily doesn't only describe delinquents; it also describes geniuses who don't need lessons. Kagura-chan clearly belongs to the latter! Oh, by the way, you look beautiful today. The miko outfit really suits you."
Minamizaka laughed lightly and gave Nice Nature a gentle push toward Kagura.
"Nature said you two had plans today, right? Don't hesitate—go and have fun. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately. If you want to buy anything, just let me know and I'll transfer some money over."
"You don't have to trouble yourself like that, Trainer! Really, I won't waste any money!"
Nice Nature stumbled a bit, nearly falling into Kagura. Hearing Trainer Minamizaka's casually generous offer, she immediately spun around to refuse him.
"You're wrong about that—spending on your precious trainee isn't a waste. Kagura-chan, feel free to contact me if you need anything. Take Nature and go have a good time today. I won't disturb you further—see ya~"
Without giving Nice Nature another chance to protest, Minamizaka gracefully turned and left, leaving Nice Nature frozen mid-motion with her hand outstretched.
Wow! He really is worthy of Trainer Tojo's recommendation—cool, considerate, and loaded... What a great trainer!
Kagura silently gave Trainer Minamizaka several extra points in her heart. Naturally, she had no intention of letting Minamizaka pay—if anything, she'd be covering the expenses herself. After all, among the three of them, only Nice Nature didn't have a paycheck. There was no way Kagura would let her pay.
"Trainer Minamizaka really treats me like I'm his daughter or something..."
Nice Nature muttered helplessly, watching her trainer disappear down the hallway.
"Hehe, isn't that a good thing? Other Uma Musume would be envious to have such a caring trainer."
"I know, it's just... I'm a little worried I used up all my luck lately..."
Nice Nature scratched her head nervously. Considering how absurdly lucky she'd been lately, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd soon run out of luck entirely. Conveniently, she had a shrine maiden friend; maybe this would be the perfect chance to visit Kagura's shrine and pray for some luck—provided there was still a god left there to pray to.
...
As far as Kagura could remember, the shrine she belonged to didn't really have a name. She was its sole attendant, anyway. If she had to give it a name, it would probably be Inari Shrine.
Located atop a small hill within Tokyo, roughly equal distance from the Symboli and Mejiro households, the shrine wasn't exactly close by. Kagura found herself wondering how she had managed to sprint all the way to the Symboli estate that night. Then again, she'd been utterly exhausted afterward, so the distance definitely wasn't trivial.
Their goal was clear, so they didn't waste time along the way. Upon leaving Tracen Academy, they headed straight to the shrine. Wearing her miko robes attracted plenty of attention from passersby; the curious stares were intense enough that the shy Nice Nature felt thoroughly uncomfortable. Kagura, however, was completely oblivious, focused only on moving ahead.
Evidently, the area had been cleaned up somewhat. The ash and burn marks on the ground had already disappeared. At the foot of the long stairway leading up to the shrine stood a discarded police tape, long abandoned.
"That's... a really long staircase..."
Nearly half a year had passed since Kagura's reincarnation, and this was her first time returning to the place technically called her home. She expected nothing more than ruins at the top. The endless stone steps and vermilion torii gate at the peak matched her cliché image of a shrine perfectly. Kagura and Nice Nature made quite the effort climbing it.
This staircase would be great for endurance and willpower training. But if anyone slipped and rolled down, they'd probably flatten their chest...
Reaching the top, Kagura glanced at Nice Nature, who was clutching the torii gate, gasping for air.
Leaving Nature to recover a bit, Kagura ventured ahead into the shrine grounds alone. Just as expected, there wasn't much left—only a few charred wooden pillars stood as reminders of the building that had once stood there.
"Huhu, finally back to this place, huh?"
Perhaps because the shrine's territory boosted her power, Eclipse's voice sounded clearer than ever while Kagura wore her miko robes.
Even though a fire had ravaged this place half a year ago, lush greenery surrounded the area. According to Eclipse, it had always been a wild, overgrown spot, rarely visited. Without the cleaned-up entrance below, even finding the path would've been a challenge. Birds were the only regular visitors.
Eclipse-san, this place is way too deserted...
"Isn't that obvious? There's no great god worshipped here—who'd climb mountains to pray to some unknown minor deity?"
Eclipse was surprisingly clear-sighted about herself, completely unbothered by it. Kagura thought Eclipse was incredibly carefree—like those fishing buddies she once had, though even those guys were fiercely motivated when a big fish appeared.
"Not that I ever expected visitors, though... Kagura, you might count as one of my few believers."
If Eclipse-san wishes, maybe someday I could help spread your faith?
"Mm-hmm~ The sentiment makes me happy. But you can wait till you're older, after maturation, to think about that."
As Eclipse finished speaking, Kagura felt her cheeks gently pinched and rubbed.
Unsurprisingly, nothing much remained. Kagura recalled Speed-sama mentioning reports about the fire—no fatalities were found (of course not), so only Kagura had been listed as injured.
"Kagura, why are you spacing out? Did you remember something?"
Nice Nature approached carefully, as if afraid to disturb her.
"Just thinking about what happened here... Unfortunately, I didn't recall anything."
Naturally, Kagura wouldn't recall nonexistent memories, so she spoke without guilt.
"Oh... I thought coming back might trigger something for you."
"Well... Nature, you don't have to worry about me. The past isn't important—what matters is living comfortably now, right?"
"…Right! By the way, Kagura, do you remember where your family kept the kami statue? Is it still here?"
Sadly, nothing resembling a statue survived.
"Hmm, why ask suddenly?"
"Feels like I've used up too much luck lately. I thought praying might help replenish it..."
Kagura laughed softly. "Well, just face the ruins from the torii and pray. I think you can reach the kami from here."
Kagura joined her friend, praying silently herself.
Eclipse-san, could you bless Ojou-sama and Nature's future races—and my future debut too?
"Pray all you want—though no god would fulfill wishes contrary to sportsmanship. Effort matters most!"
Oh no! My goddess is totally slacking off!
"Yes, I am! Only by accepting my laziness can I be invincible!"
Beside her, Nice Nature earnestly prayed:
Kami-sama, bless my racing career, my exams, Trainer Minamizaka's health, and... help me get even closer to Kagura!