Dream Weaver was taken aback; she hadn't expected Chizuru Haibara to be so pessimistic.
"But isn't your father still fighting to keep this place going?"
At the mention of Koutarou Haibara, Chizuru's expression darkened.
"That's exactly why he's a fool."
"No one else cares about a place like this. Satou Ken is just here to kill time, and aside from Oguri Roman and Artisan Bell, most of the Uma Musume don't even bother showing up for class."
"Now even Oguri Roman is gone. Can you imagine a classroom with just one teacher lecturing to a single student?"
"How can you even call this a school?"
"It's just a place for rejects like us to hide."
As she spoke, the little energy Chizuru had mustered drained away again. Her eyes sank back into their shadowy, exhausted hollows.
She was about to walk away when Dream Weaver suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Haven't any of you thought about trying harder?!"
Chizuru stiffened. She turned and saw an unfamiliar fire burning in Dream Weaver's dark eyes.
Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only offered a bitter, self-mocking smile.
"This is exactly why I told you to leave. Someone like you doesn't belong at Kasamatsu Tracen."
"What about Principal Haibara? Or Oguri Roman? Aren't they part of this place too?!"
"And Artisan Bell—do you even know her? She knows everything there is to know about Uma Musume gear. Does that sound like giving up to you?!"
For a moment, Chizuru seemed to drift into a daze, as if Dream Weaver's words had carried her back to that summer when she'd first been accepted to the central league—when she still believed in hope and dreams.
But when she looked down, she didn't see the sharp-suited trainer she'd once been—only a sloppily dressed woman in athletic wear, clutching snacks instead of training logs.
That time was long gone. The shining, ambitious Chizuru Haibara had vanished into memory.
She shook off Dream Weaver's hand and forced a tone of cold indifference.
"I don't know what Artisan Bell is doing, and honestly, what does it matter? If she had any real drive, would she still be stuck here?"
"As for my dad… without Oguri Roman around to give him hope, he'd probably have given up completely. He wouldn't still be playing the role of the dedicated principal."
"Once Oguri Roman leaves for the central league, this place will go back to being a ghost school—until the day we can't find a single new student."
"If you're so bright and shining, hurry up and fly to where you belong. Don't waste your time talking to ruins and broken walls."
With that, she turned and walked straight toward the school building without another glance.
Dream Weaver stood silently, lips pressed tight, watching Chizuru's almost defeated figure retreat.
The problems at Kasamatsu Tracen ran deeper than she'd realized. After meeting only Principal Haibara and Artisan Bell, she'd assumed the school was just short-staffed and disorganized.
But after confronting Chizuru, she began to understand the real situation.
After a long silence, Dream Weaver started running on the track again. A restless emotion simmered in her chest—something she didn't yet understand, and could only work out stride by stride.
Time passed quickly as she ran. By the time she returned to the dorm, she was hungry, and just then she saw Artisan Bell waving at her from the cafeteria entrance. Dream Weaver walked over.
Inside, she saw only a few half-finished dishes and a pot of rice that was two-thirds empty.
"Mr. Satou usually buys the ingredients, and we all take turns cooking," Artisan Bell explained, rubbing the back of her head apologetically.
"You're a bit late—everyone else has already eaten, so it doesn't look great."
"But it's really tasty today! Don't let Nanno Sumire's attitude fool you—she's actually a pretty good cook!"
As if worried Dream Weaver might be disappointed, Artisan Bell hurried to bring over a wooden stool. Dream Weaver took the heavy seat from her.
"O-oh! Let me heat it up for you!" Artisan Bell said suddenly, grabbing two plates as she made for the kitchen.
"No need," Dream Weaver said, taking the plates back. "I wasn't raised that delicately."
She served herself some rice and began to eat.
Artisan Bell didn't leave. She pulled up a stool, sat beside Dream Weaver, and watched her eat with a soft, almost goofy smile.
With every bite, Dream Weaver felt her hunger fade, but a restless irritation lingered—a hollow feeling, as if something was missing.
After finishing quickly, she insisted on helping Artisan Bell wash the dishes and wipe down the cafeteria tables.
They returned to the dorms together, each taking a shower afterward. At Dream Weaver's door, Artisan Bell wished her goodnight and left.
Alone again, Dream Weaver let out a long sigh. She looked around the bare, almost shabby room, and that same inexplicable frustration rose in her, making her want to scream.
But she forced the feeling down and willed herself to lie down and sleep.
The days that followed fell into a routine: attending classes with Artisan Bell, getting used to the dirt track, and gradually meeting everyone else—including Sato Ken, the only staff member she hadn't met, an utterly ordinary young man, just like his name suggested.
It was all perfectly normal. And yet, Dream Weaver grew more and more restless.
Then, the day before her scheduled debut race, she woke to find the dorm empty.
Puzzled, she wandered around the campus until she found everyone gathered at the school gate.
She saw Artisan Bell, Nanno Sumire, Kobayashi Kaze, Nishimoto Makusa, Koutarou Haibara, Chizuru Haibara, and Satou Ken—everyone from Kasamatsu Tracen—
All crowded together.
In the middle stood a gray-haired Uma Musume, her ears drooping in defeat. Her face was filled with regret and frustration, tears welling in her eyes as if they might fall any second.
Dream Weaver scanned the crowd—every face was shadowed with the same bleak expression.
"I'm sorry, everyone… I lost… in the Youth Autumn Wind Race…"
The gray-haired Uma Musume's voice was barely a whisper, broken with emotion. A heavy, suffocating silence pressed down on everyone.
Oguri Roman—the only Uma Musume from Kasamatsu Tracen to debut, their one hope of reaching the central league, the one who carried everyone's dreams—
Had failed.
--+--
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.