"The Classic Triple Crown races... which means I'll be facing Orfevre."
An expressionless Dream Weaver plush wobbled as it spoke, addressing another identical Dream Weaver plush across from it.
"Indeed. And so, I shall defeat her."
The two plush toys stared blankly at each other for a long moment before simultaneously turning and declaring:
'I'm so cool.'
'I'm so cool.'
The real Dream Weaver felt a trio of metaphorical black lines slide down her forehead. Not only were Gold Ship and Kobayashi Kaze using their plush toys to impersonate her and hold a conversation, they were even teasing her right to her face.
She walked over to the pair and bonked each expressionless plush on the head.
"That last line wasn't in the interview."
Even after being chastised by the real one, the Dream Weaver plush refused to give up. Despite its stuffed head being squashed flat, it wobbled right up to Dream Weaver's face and declared:
"Do you have any idea who you just hit?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
"I'm the rural hero, the savior of Kasamatsu, the rising star from the countryside—Dream Weaver, yare yare daze!"
Seeing absolutely no remorse from the two, Dream Weaver simply chopped each Uma Musume on the head with her hand.
"Gwah—"
Watching the two cry out in pain and collapse, Dream Weaver looked thoughtfully at her palm. No wonder Nanno Sumire enjoyed bonking them so much—this move was really effective.
A strange idea began to sprout in Dream Weaver's mind, making her unconsciously murmur:
"Karate... is the only—"
Just then, Artisan Bell suddenly appeared at the dorm entrance, waving at Dream Weaver.
"Dream, Chizuru-nee is looking for you. Says she wants to discuss your upcoming race schedule."
Snapped out of her strange state, Dream Weaver asked:
"Where is she now?"
"Her office, of course. It's the weekend today, not a training day—why would Chizuru-nee go sunbathe on the track?"
After Artisan Bell finished speaking, Dream Weaver nodded and headed toward the dorm entrance to make her way to the academic building.
As Artisan Bell tilted her head in confusion over why Dream Weaver would ask such a weird question, she heard Gold Ship sigh in relief behind her.
"Good thing she was interrupted, or she might've turned into an Uma Musume killer."
"Why?!"
Leaving behind the bewildered Kobayashi Kaze and Artisan Bell, shortly after Dream Weaver left the dorm, she spotted Nanno Sumire sitting in a corner, muttering to herself about something.
Curious, Dream Weaver crept closer and saw a small Dream Weaver plush placed in front of Nanno Sumire, who was busy comparing tiny accessories against it.
"Red and black, red and black... This one should look better on her..."
Standing behind her, Dream Weaver twitched the corner of her mouth speechlessly.
Nanno Sumire had stopped dressing herself up lately, but she'd channeled all that energy into accessorizing the plush instead. To avoid being discovered by the other Uma Musume, she'd even sneaked outside to study it in secret.
A cold sweat dripped down Dream Weaver's forehead as her instincts told her that if Nanno Sumire continued down this path, it would spell danger for her. She began tiptoeing backward, hoping to pretend she hadn't seen anything.
But just then, Nanno Sumire stood up while muttering to herself, as if she needed to fetch something.
"No, this one doesn't quite match the vibe. That other one would definitely work better."
When she turned around, she happened to spot the sneaking Dream Weaver. After a silent moment of eye contact, Nanno Sumire's face began steaming. Forcing a smile, Dream Weaver said:
"Hi...?"
Nanno Sumire didn't respond, but she didn't do anything drastic either. She simply picked up her plush, lowered her head, and walked past Dream Weaver.
Just as Dream Weaver thought the incident was over and she could sigh in relief, a soft whisper reached her ears:
"I'll scatter you."
Dream Weaver's heart thumped twice in her chest. Only after Nanno Sumire's footsteps had completely faded away did she dare turn around and wipe her sweat.
'Is this plush a little too popular...?'
She thought, still shaken.
She'd noticed that ever since the plush had gone on sale as merchandise at Kasamatsu Racecourse, everyone around her seemed to have bought one.
Gold Ship and Kobayashi Kaze were just immature kids imitating her speech, so they didn't count.
But aside from Nanno Sumire, Artisan Bell was always holding her equipment magazine and comparing it to Dream Weaver's plush, muttering endlessly. The stream of professional terms made Dream Weaver feel like she was listening to scripture whenever she passed by.
Nishimoto Makusa had also bought several plushies and placed them on the scarecrows in her fields. Every time Dream Weaver passed by, she'd see those expressionless, flattened faces.
Even Oguri Roman, whom she'd always thought was the most serious, was no exception. As the second strongest Uma Musume at Kasamatsu Tracen, she also had her own merchandise plush.
Once, while passing by Oguri Roman's dorm, Dream Weaver accidentally caught a glimpse of her holding both her own plush and a Dream Weaver plush, pretending to make them race. She was even providing her own commentary.
And it wasn't just the Uma Musume—the adults were in on it too. Satou Ken had placed a Dream Weaver plush in his car as decoration, while Koutarou Haibara had added a tiny Dream Weaver phone charm alongside his Oguri Cap one.
Only Chizuru Haibara and Kitahara Jo, though they'd bought the plushies along with everyone else, hadn't been seen carrying them around yet.
'Well, they are professional trainers, after all,' Dream Weaver thought. 'They've handled other Uma Musume before, so they're probably used to this kind of merchandise.'
It seemed the only sensible people left at Kasamatsu Tracen were herself and these two trainers.
As she pondered this, passing by the track, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"And Dream Weaver takes the lead, Dream Weaver leads! How about it? Can Oguri Roman catch up to the front-running Dream Weaver before the final stretch?!"
Kitahara Jo was actually jogging on the track, entertaining himself by racing two Uma Musume plushies.
'So Oguri Roman learned it from you?!'
And unlike Oguri Roman's dorm-room simulations, Kitahara Jo was even more dedicated—he'd come out under the blazing sun to simulate a race on the dusty, gritty track.
His professional spirit was somewhat admirable.
'It'd be even better if he weren't using my plush though.'
Quietly crossing Kitahara Jo off the list of Kasamatsu Tracen's only three sensible people, Dream Weaver learned from her earlier mistake and stealthily made her exit.
'Better go find Chizuru Haibara. At least discussing race schedules with her is definitely serious business.'
--+--
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.