"Thanks for showing me the way."
After dropping her suitcase in an empty dorm room, Dream Weaver smiled at Artisan Bell.
"No problem! You're a transfer student who just got here, after all. Of course I'd help out."
"Besides, you helped me out of a tight spot back there."
Artisan Bell seemed like a girl who was embarrassed easily—even a simple thank you from Dream Weaver was enough to bring a faint blush to her cheeks.
"By the way, I noticed so many empty rooms while we were looking around. How many students are there at this school anyway?"
Dream Weaver chatted casually as she unpacked her suitcase and started making the bed.
"One, two, three, four…"
But behind her, Artisan Bell began counting in a way that made Dream Weaver slightly uneasy. A drop of cold sweat trickled down her forehead—don't tell me there are only single-digit numbers here?!
"With you here, that makes six!"
Dream Weaver's lips twitched slightly at the sight of Artisan Bell confidently holding up six fingers.
"Oh, wait! That's not right!"
Just as Dream Weaver's hopes sank, Artisan Bell gasped and started counting all over again.
Could it be there's more? Even though she'd already guessed that Kasamatsu Tracen would be small, Dream Weaver felt a flicker of anticipation. Maybe it'd at least break into double digits?
Under Dream Weaver's hopeful gaze, Artisan Bell finished counting, wiped her nose confidently, and held up a number.
"With the teachers included, there are nine of us!"
Dream Weaver said nothing. She simply turned back to silently arranging her bedsheets. What exactly had she been hoping for?
"Besides Principal Haibara and you, who else is here?"
Dream Weaver had been ready to end the conversation, but Artisan Bell was still standing by the door, looking at her eagerly like she wanted to keep talking. Feeling somewhat helpless, Dream Weaver decided to ask anyway.
"As for the other three Uma Musume you saw earlier, the blonde one is Nanno Sumire, the tall one with the great figure is Nishimoto Makusa, and the one with twin tails is Kobayashi Kazé."
"Mhmm… mhmm."
Dream Weaver nodded along while organizing her belongings. Truth be told, she wasn't all that interested in the others.
"There's one more Uma Musume. She left a couple days ago to look for a trainer right after making her debut. She was the first among us to debut, and she's definitely the strongest—"
"So what's her name?"
"Oguri Roman."
"What?"
The name made Dream Weaver think of Oguri Cap, who had a similar name. She paused what she was doing.
"What's her relation to Oguri Cap?"
"I'm not really sure. But she's always admired Oguri Cap—says she wants to be like her, a country girl who makes it big in the central racing scene."
"She's really amazing, you know? She wasn't satisfied with any of the trainers here, so she went out to find her own."
Hearing this, Dream Weaver mentally reviewed the staff situation at Kasamatsu Tracen and realized she still hadn't asked about the teachers. Might as well get that out of the way.
"What about teachers besides Principal Haibara?"
"Huh? There aren't any others. Uncle Haibara handles all the academic classes himself. The other two are trainers."
Only two? Principal Haibara had only mentioned that her daughter was a trainer, but not the other one.
"One of them is Trainer Satou, Satou Ken. He doesn't ask much of us and barely even shows up for training. Most of the time, he's helping Uncle Haibara with paperwork and odd jobs."
Dream Weaver nodded. So the other one must be the daughter Principal Haibara was so proud of. Maybe she'd be a stricter trainer, unlike this Satou guy.
"The other is Trainer Haibara, Haibara Chizuru. She's Uncle Haibara's daughter. I heard she used to be a trainer in the central league."
"Mhmm… wait, what?"
Dream Weaver, who'd been half-absorbed in thought, suddenly snapped to attention. "That's it?"
"That's it."
Artisan Bell shrugged helplessly.
"Chizuru-nee is either watching anime or sleeping all day. I hardly ever see her on the track. Even when Uncle Haibara forces her to come, she sneaks away after a little while."
As she listened, Dream Weaver could feel a vein throbbing in her temple.
Now she understood why Oguri Roman had gone out of her way to find a trainer outside the school. These two were each more unreliable than the other.
Sighing, Dream Weaver closed her empty suitcase, stowed it away, and turned to Artisan Bell.
"I need to go see Principal Haibara to finish up some paperwork. I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay! I'll go back to cleaning, then."
Hearing that, Dream Weaver raised an eyebrow. She reached out and stopped Artisan Bell as she turned to leave.
"Even after how they treated you, you're still going to clean?"
Artisan Bell scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed.
"Actually, it's my turn to clean today. Didn't you hear me say that earlier?"
Dream Weaver's eye twitched. Then why did you look so scared and hesitant back when they were questioning you?
As if reading her mind, Artisan Bell quickly waved her hands.
"They've never really bullied me or anything. I'm just… not used to them, that's all."
"Not used to them?"
"Yeah, like… they're always talking about manicures and makeup, and I don't understand any of it. Nanno Sumire even dyed her hair blonde. They all seem so… put together. It kinda makes me nervous to approach them."
Her tone carried a hint of self-doubt.
"Plus, I'm the only one who's always obsessing over racing gear and equipment. I must seem really out of place to them."
Just as she began to wonder if her interests were somehow wrong, Artisan Bell felt a warm touch on her head.
"You're not wrong."
She looked up and saw Dream Weaver gently patting her head, gazing at her with encouraging eyes.
At that moment, a beam of sunlight streamed through the dorm window, casting a glow around Dream Weaver as if she were wrapped in light. Her presence was dazzling, and the hand resting on Artisan Bell's head felt as warm as the sun, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"Don't worry if you can't follow their conversations."
"You managed to explain all those different types of equipment so clearly—even someone like me, who knew nothing about it, could understand."
"That alone makes you pretty amazing."
After smiling warmly at her, Dream Weaver waved goodbye and headed toward the academic building.
Artisan Bell remained standing there, dazed, murmuring to herself:
"I'm… amazing?"
--+--
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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.