Ring-a-ling—
The jingle of her phone shattered Dream Weaver's dream. Blinking drowsily, she cracked her eyes open to see a beam of sunlight streaming through the window and falling across the old tea table.
Morning already?
She pushed herself up slowly, leaning against the table. Her limbs ached faintly from having slept in such an awkward position, and her head felt muddled. Seems like yesterday's training had really worn her out—she'd ended up falling asleep right there at the table.
Ring-a-ling—
Her phone kept vibrating annoyingly beside her. Fighting off the stiffness, Dream Weaver picked it up, ready to silence the alarm.
She turned it on, and the time and date on the screen slowly nudged her sleep-fogged brain into motion.
Wait… isn't today a school day?
A cold sweat trickled down her temple.
On. Off. On. Off. The screen flickered in her hand as she kept checking, over and over, until finally her mind sharpened into focus.
In an instant, she was on her feet, haphazardly stuffing things—she wasn't even sure what—into her backpack. She flew through her morning routine faster than ever before and bolted for the door.
"Little Dream? Good morn—"
The dorm matron, who was sweeping nearby, set her broom aside to greet her. But before she could finish, Dream Weaver blew past her like a sudden gust of wind. By the time the older woman registered what happened, all she could see was Dream Weaver's retreating figure waving a hand back at her.
"Mornin'!"
"My, my… Such energy. As expected of an Uma Musume," the matron chuckled to herself, almost nostalgically, as if remembering her own youth.
But for Dream Weaver, who was very much still in that youth, being late for school was nothing to be nostalgic about.
Pressed for time, she pushed her body—which just yesterday had been struggling to adjust to a sudden spike in speed—into a full sprint all the way to the train station. She slipped through the closing doors with not a second to spare.
"Hahh…!"
She leaned heavily against the handrail, gasping for breath. Luckily, the train wasn't too crowded yet, or she wouldn't even have had room to breathe.
She lived a good distance from Tracen Academy, so she always aimed for this earliest train. It usually got her to school comfortably, well before the morning rush of corporate workers clogged the lines.
Honestly, it'd be easier just to live in the Tracen dorms.
But Dream Weaver had to frequently visit the hospital to care for her mother. Living in the dorm wasn't an option. When you have a sick family member, you're always on edge, afraid something might happen.
The sprint without breakfast made her temples throb, and her throat burned with thirst. To distract herself from the discomfort, she forced her mind to work.
Leaning against the rail, she stared at her reflection in the window, lost in thought.
'I've picked the G3 race, but it was all so rushed… I still need to go over the details. I'll have to ask my teacher after I get to school.'
'For now, let's see how much SP I have left.'
'Before the first mission in the scripted world, I exchanged for three items and kept 1000 SP in reserve for healing items. I ended up using them during training before the Satsuki Sho.'
'So, the initial 4500 SP from the first mission is all gone now.'
'But the points I earned from the scripted mission…'
She quietly summoned the system screen in her mind. A smile touched her lips as she confirmed the number—exactly what she'd calculated.
'16,000!'
Thanks to the bonus points from her mission evaluation, her SP had skyrocketed to a staggering sixteen thousand. That was almost one-fifth of her goal.
The fatigue from waking up early and skipping breakfast began to fade, replaced by growing excitement.
Just one scripted mission had pushed her this far. The hope of waking her mother seemed a little more real now.
But to exchange for the Hope Gem, she didn't just need 100,000 SP—she also needed the Proof of Triple Crown.
As the name suggested, it was proof of winning the Triple Crown. But did she have to win all three classic races in one sweep? Or would winning each crown once be enough?
If it was the latter… then hadn't she already completed one-third by winning the Satsuki Sho?
A restless feeling stirred in her chest. Dream Weaver took a deep breath and patted herself gently. 'Don't get carried away.'
'Don't rely on luck. Be prepared for the long and difficult road of winning the Triple Crown consecutively.'
Still, no matter how she looked at it, she was satisfied with her progress. She gazed contentedly at the number on the system store interface.
Then she remembered—the scripted mission had also unlocked a special item, hadn't it?
Instinctively, she scrolled toward the more expensive items but couldn't find it. It wasn't until she reached the very bottom of the list that she finally spotted it.
--+--
[Monarch's Crown]
[Description: A small accessory modeled after the crown worn by a certain conqueror. It shimmers with a brilliant golden light under the sun. Carrying it with you may slightly increase the pressure you exert on other Uma Musume.]
[Note: "The King shall bear it! The King shall allow it! The King shall carry the weight of this world!" —as declared by a certain laughing Uma Musume.]
[Exchange Cost: 1 SP]
--+--
'Yeah, with a description like that, it's obvious who that "conqueror" is,' Dream Weaver mused. She exchanged for the item and held it up to the sunlight streaming through the window. Sure enough, it glittered magnificently.
'But besides Fist of the North Star, she's into this too? I thought she only liked operas.'
Then again, this was the same person who'd once dramatically reenacted the "Drinking wine and discussing heroes," scene in front of her—boiling wine and discussing heroes, playing all the parts herself.
Maybe T.M. Opera O was more well-read than she seemed?
A faint curiosity welled up in Dream Weaver's heart, but she quickly shook her head.
'What's the point? The scripted mission is over. She doesn't remember me anymore.'
Narita Top Road, Admire Vega, Dancing Brave, King Halo—none of them would remember her either.
Those memories belonged to her alone now.
She fiddled with the accessory in her hand. Maybe it was the hunger affecting her mood, but she couldn't shake a faint sense of loneliness.
Ding-dong!
"Next stop: Tracen Station. Please remember to let passengers exit before boarding."
The gentle announcement over the train's speaker pulled Dream Weaver out of her thoughts.
She patted her cheeks lightly, psyching herself up, and dashed out of the train with her backpack slung over her shoulder.
If she hurried, she might still make it in time for breakfast at the cafeteria.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.