"What's all this about?"
On the sports field, Chizuru Haibara stared speechlessly at the chaotic scene and at Dream Weaver, who was being held aloft.
"Reporting, ma'am! We've apprehended the criminal, Dream Weaver, and brought her to the field!"
Nishimoto Makusa announced cheerfully, holding Dream Weaver with one hand while giving a mock salute to Chizuru with the other.
"You're really strong, huh."
Chizuru clicked her tongue in amazement, glancing at Kobayashi Kaze—who was panting and struggling—and then back at Nishimoto Makusa, who'd single-handedly hoisted Dream Weaver up.
"Well, I help out with farm work at home. And little Dream here is pretty light anyway."
To demonstrate, she lifted Dream Weaver up and down a few times.
"As the one being lifted up and down, I'm curious what you're thinking right now."
Chizuru circled around to their side, crouched down, and gazed curiously at the expressionless Dream Weaver.
Dream Weaver crossed her arms, her eyes distant. If she weren't being carried, she might have looked deeply contemplative.
'I want to go back to yesterday and put a bullet in the head of the Dream Weaver who, in a moment of emotional weakness, dragged herself into this mess.'
Never in her wildest dreams would yesterday's Dream Weaver have imagined that this bunch from Kasamatsu Tracen could be so wild once they opened up. Is this what they call countryside enthusiasm?
"Also, Makusa-san, I think people should maintain a certain… emotional distance from each other. Could you put me down now?"
Dream Weaver looked up at Nishimoto Makusa and spoke in a faint, weary voice.
Thump.
Dream Weaver landed on the ground. Gazing up at the blue sky, she found herself missing Tokyo—where people knew how to keep a respectful distance.
Well, except for maybe T.M. Opera O.
"Alright, enough daydreaming. Time for training. Instructor Satou has already set everything up for you."
Chizuru pulled Dream Weaver up from the ground and clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.
Dream Weaver noticed that the track, which had been completely bare just days before, was now marked with white distance lines. The field was also suddenly filled with training equipment and crates of bottled water.
At the edge of the field, Satou Ken sat on a tricycle, wearing sunglasses and giving a thumbs-up in their direction.
"If anyone gets hurt, Instructor Satou will take you to get treated," Chizuru chattered on beside her.
Dream Weaver asked curiously, "Does he have a medical license too?"
"As if—"
Chizuru waved her hand dismissively and laughed.
"But his tricycle will get you to the infirmary faster than anyone else!"
"Instructor Satou is the best tricycle rider at Kasamatsu Tracen!"
Satou, overhearing from a distance, turned slightly away, lifted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, and struck a pose as if haunted by some dark past.
Too bad nobody paid him any attention.
"Dream Weaver, the first thing we're working on is your stride. Your steps are too light—that's a clear turf-track running style."
"That kind of footing is trouble on dirt tracks. You felt it yourself yesterday, didn't you?"
Chizuru had already begun explaining the issues she'd observed, and Dream Weaver nodded in agreement.
"If I'd been a bit more daring with my steps yesterday, I might've been able to widen the gap even more."
Hearing this, Nanno Sumire's mouth twitched.
A three-hundred-meter lead was already insane. How could Dream Weaver claim she could've done even better? Just how strong was she?
She looked expectantly at Chizuru, hoping she'd respond like one of those tough-love coaches from inspirational movies—using sharp words to rein Dream Weaver in.
Instead, Chizuru nodded with complete seriousness.
"True. If I weren't worried about accidents, I wouldn't even make you practice dirt-track strides."
"With your current ability, winning local graded races and breaking into the central circuit is practically a sure thing."
That answer stunned Nanno Sumire—and not just her. Every Uma Musume present except Dream Weaver was equally shocked.
They knew Dream Weaver was strong, but their only frame of reference was themselves. They never imagined she was this overpowered.
She'd only just run her debut race! How could she crush local graded races without even proper training?!
Dream Weaver's eyes narrowed slightly. She'd already sensed that Chizuru had a good eye for talent, but she hadn't expected such certainty.
"But before we work on your stride, we have to do the usual fitness test."
"As your trainer, I can't rely on experience alone. I need hard data."
After instructing Dream Weaver to get on the track, Chizuru turned her gaze to the other Uma Musume.
"You're all going too."
"Huh?!"
Nishimoto Makusa was fine with it—she had decent stamina and headed straight for the track.
But Nanno Sumire, Kobayashi Kaze, and Artisan Bell were miserable.
One was a gal who hadn't run in ages, another was a petite weakling with shaky stamina, and the last was a theory-obsessed gearhead who spent all day indoors.
Before even setting foot on the track, the three of them were already imagining their impending humiliation.
"Um, we're just here to support Dream, right? We don't have to do the fitness test… do we?"
Artisan Bell timidly raised her hand and asked.
"You all feel the same?"
Chizuru's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Nanno Sumire and Kobayashi Kaze hiding behind Artisan Bell.
"I thought we were just here to cheer and wipe sweat."
"Y-yeah! Dream's so amazing. We should just cheer her on from the sidelines."
Seeing the timid, weak trio huddling together, Chizuru snorted coldly, pulled the two out from behind Artisan Bell, and said sternly:
"If you're training partners, that includes competitive practice. How can you call yourselves partners if you can't even run?"
"No more excuses. On the track!"
With that, she herded all three onto the track.
Chizuru pulled out a training clipboard from somewhere, put the whistle hanging around her neck to her lips, and announced:
"First test: I want to see your top speed! Sprint from the start to the first white line and back."
"Begin!"
As Chizuru's whistle blew, Dream Weaver shot out from the starting line, reaching the turnaround point in the blink of an eye.
Nanno Sumire's eyes widened. This was even faster than during her debut race—had Dream Weaver not even been at her limit then?!
Before she could process the thought, Dream Weaver had already crossed the white line and was sprinting back toward her.
Watching Dream Weaver charging straight at her, Nanno Sumire gritted her teeth and pushed herself to go faster.
'It's just a hundred meters! Even I can handle that!'
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T/N: To the recommendation of one of my readers, I am somewhat pleased to announce that I have another Uma Musume fanfiction up!
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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.