"So, I don't think I ever caught your name?"
Carrying her suitcase, Dream Weaver followed the round, cheerful principal toward the only dormitory still in use.
"Well now, what a polite kid—no need for formalities! My name is Koutarou Haibara. Just call me Principal Haibara, or Uncle Haibara from now on, alright!"
Koutarou Haibara laughed heartily, waving a hand dismissively at Dream Weaver.
"Uncle... Haibara? It must be really tough keeping Kasamatsu Tracen running."
Dream Weaver glanced with some surprise at the principal's half-gray hair. It looked like he'd poured a lot of heart and soul into keeping this school going. For a middle-aged man, his hair had already turned so white.
Even if the school seemed a little unreliable, on top of keeping it operating, he was also teaching every subject. That kind of effort wasn't something just anyone could manage.
Hearing this, Koutarou shot Dream Weaver a somewhat surprised look. Stroking his chin, he said:
"That's unusual. Kids these days actually understand things like that?"
"Well, it's such a big school after all. If you weren't working extra hard, I'm sure it would've shut down long ago."
Walking behind Principal Haibara, Dream Weaver glanced around at her surroundings as she spoke. Even though the buildings had grown worn with time, the campus paths were still clean and tidy.
"Hard work? I'd rather call it passion."
Koutarou Haibara sounded a little emotional. Stroking his beard, he gazed up at the sky as if reminiscing.
"After all, this is a school where miracles once happened. I was so moved by that passion, I made up my mind to keep this place going."
"Mira...cles?"
Dream Weaver was puzzled. This just looked like an ordinary local school—how could it be connected to something as grand as a miracle?
"You didn't know?!"
Koutarou Haibara looked at her in utter shock, as if she'd said something horrifying.
Under his intense gaze, Dream Weaver took half a step back, wondering if she'd misspoken.
But to her surprise, Principal Haibara then pulled an old flip phone from his pocket and handed her a doll charm hanging from the end of it.
Dream Weaver, never expecting he'd have a doll charm on his phone, accepted it blankly. Looking it over in her palm, she saw it was a doll of a white-haired Uma Musume with a completely straight face.
"This—"
Before she could finish, Koutarou Haibara burst out in a suddenly passionate voice:
"That's Oguri Cap! A legend who started right here at Kasamatsu Tracen! A genius who shattered the pride of the elite schools as a country Uma Musume—the very symbol of that Miracle Generation!"
Watching the principal suddenly clench his fist and proclaim loudly, Dream Weaver could only manage an acknowledging, "Oh... ohhh."
Holding the somewhat worn but well-cared-for Uma Musume doll charm, she murmured to herself:
"I see... so Oguri Cap was the one who led the Miracle Generation."
Dream Weaver had heard of Oguri Cap, but she only knew her as a powerful white-haired Uma Musume who'd made it from the countryside to the Central Racing Circuit.
In Dream Weaver's real world, there were plenty of Uma Musume who'd gone from rural Tracen schools to the central circuit. Plus, when the system introduced this scripted world, it hadn't specifically mentioned the white-haired Uma Musume, so she hadn't connected the dots right away.
"What do you know! You'd heard of her after all! I was about to say—there's no way any Uma Musume alive hasn't heard of Oguri Cap."
Hearing Dream Weaver's muttering, Koutarou Haibara laughed loudly and clapped her on the shoulder, as if to say she'd passed some kind of test.
"Such a shame, though. Miracles only happen once. That generation has passed now."
"Still, this is Oguri Cap's alma mater. If there's any hope at all, I want to keep it going."
After handing the charm back to Principal Haibara, Dream Weaver asked, a little confused:
"Since this is Oguri Cap's alma mater, surely there are lots of fans who'd want to support it, right?"
"But then why..."
Why had it ended up like this? She didn't finish the sentence, but Koutarou Haibara understood. He sighed, then put his hands on his hips and gazed wistfully at the sky.
"A month or two is one thing, but who's going to keep pouring huge amounts of energy and money into a school just for a Uma Musume they like?"
"These days, everyone's attention is on that so-called 'Ultimate Uma Musume' Orfevre—the one they say combines all of Japan's technology."
"Who's going to care about Oguri Cap, who's already retired?"
Dream Weaver gently patted Koutarou Haibara's shoulder, comforting him:
"At least you're still training local Uma Musume. With support from the community, you can keep going."
If only she hadn't said that—her words only made Koutarou Haibara look even more disheartened.
"There's almost no place left for local racing anymore. In the past, local Uma Musume still had a shot at making it to the central circuit. Local schools could serve as training grounds."
"But these days, the ones winning at the central level are all from elite families. They don't need local training, and locally trained Uma Musume can't beat them anyway. So local competitions have gradually lost their meaning."
"Plus, everyone's rushing off to Tokyo. Forget races—there aren't even many Uma Musume left around here anymore..."
"Ah, it's tough. Not just for us—local racing is struggling too. Everyone's just trying to stay afloat."
Maybe it was Dream Weaver's mature aura that made Koutarou Haibara unconsciously see her as an adult he could talk to, leading him to spill his frustrations.
But he quickly realized it wasn't right to burden a student with this. Rubbing the back of his head, he apologized:
"Sorry about that. It's your happy first day transferring here, and instead I'm making you listen to some middle-aged guy complain."
"Really losing my touch—seeking comfort from a student now."
"Hey, wait—does that mean I might have a shot at recapturing my youth?!"
Halfway through, Koutarou Haibara's tone shifted into a joke.
After all, he was the school principal. The hardships were his to bear—he shouldn't dump his worries on a student. So he tried to lighten the mood.
"Uh, no matter how you look at it, recapturing your youth is pretty much impossible..."
And just as he'd hoped, Dream Weaver played along, responding with a helpless sigh.
--+--
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.