"Excuse me, is Manhattan Cafe-senpai here?"
During the break, Special Week quickly ran up to a woman with long hair covering one of her eyes. She was constantly scribbling adjustments on a training schedule with a pen.
"I remember you are…" Lifting her ice-blue eyes, she asked slowly.
"Special Week from the Middle School Division! I have something very important I need to ask Manhattan Cafe-senpai."
"Is that so? My apologies, but Cafe seemed to have some business and left a while ago."
"Then, does the Trainer know where she went?"
"She probably went back to her room in the academic building…"
She wasn't entirely sure either. From the start of training, Cafe had seemed preoccupied, and once practice ended, she'd left in a hurry. She didn't seem to want to talk about it, so the Trainer hadn't pressed further.
"Her room! Understood!"
No sooner had she spoken than Special Week rushed off without delay.
A few days ago, she had gone to watch Narita Brian-senpai's race. That figure that had appeared on the track was clearly the same person she had accidentally bumped into in front of the academic building—Manhattan Cafe-senpai. That outfit was her racing silk!
Why did she suddenly appear on such an important racetrack? How did she even get in?
Special Week kept turning these questions over in her mind, tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep. It seemed like she was the only one at school who knew the black Uma Musume's true identity; everyone else was just speculating wildly.
That's why Special Week was desperate to find out the truth.
Was there a reason she absolutely had to do it? Or did she just simply want to get into the race? But that was a hugely important event! How could a senpai do something like that!
Just as the girl was quickly running up the stairs, heading for that mysterious room everyone habitually ignored, her toe suddenly kicked against something. She immediately tumbled forward.
The creature she'd kicked let out a sharp "Squeee—!" of pain, clutching its reddened thigh as it rolled around on the floor.
"My leg…" it moaned in agony.
When Special Week lifted her head, she finally got a clear look at the person who had tripped her.
Short orange hair, a yellow petal-like hair accessory tied to her right ear, and on her left ear, a Daruma clip adorned with a ceremonial streamer, making her look like a miko who'd just stepped out of a shrine.
Tears welled in her eyes as she feebly rolled a few more times before bumping into the wall.
"Gahhh! I'm so sorry, truly! I didn't see you there!"
Special Week's jaw dropped, and she hurriedly helped the girl up.
"Just as I thought… Shiraoki-sama's divine revelation was not wrong." The girl trembled with pain, her star-like cross-shaped pupils fixed on Special Week.
"Today is—[Misfortune]!" she declared in a slightly sharp voice.
"Misfortune!?"
"Exactly. After the race, I felt something was off."
She started rummaging frantically through her pocket, soon pulling out a gloomy, brownish-red piece of paper that looked like it was stained with blood.
"The feng shui of Tracen Academy has shifted from [Great Blessing] to [Misfortune]!"
"What?"
What is this person talking about? Looking at the somewhat mystical girl, Special Week couldn't follow her train of thought at all.
"I can sense it…" The girl placed her hands in front of her, swaying them rhythmically as if casting a spell, humming a low 'Hmm-mmm-mmm' sound.
"Just as I thought, a very powerful wandering spirit has appeared near the school. It's truly chilling. That spirit is sucking away everyone's good fortune. That means people's luck is terrible. For instance, me getting kicked just now is because of this!"
"Is that really true!?" Special Week was shocked on the spot. "So, me not winning any prizes when I buy ice cream, my handkerchief falling on the training field and getting trampled, and even leaving my keys in my room when I went out… it's all because my luck was sucked away?"
"Precisely!"
The girl pointed her index finger towards the window. "Places where wandering spirits pass through will take away good luck and bring misfortune. So if you go out at night, you'll mostly have bad luck the next day because you've brushed past many spirits. Your good fortune gets drained just like that."
"And now, a powerful wandering spirit has come here, altering the entire feng shui of Tracen. Hmm-mmm… It's hard to imagine what hardships Tracen will face in the future."
She held her head, wearing a deeply troubled expression.
Special Week blinked, only half-understanding.
"But it's alright. I will pray to Shiraoki-sama to restore this place's feng shui to what it was. There's even a way to recover the lost blessings."
Her eyes suddenly gleamed with light as she reached out a hand to Special Week. "I can see it. Right now, you too are plagued by misfortune. Do you often fail to win prizes when you shop? Often lose track of things in your room?"
"I-It's true! How did you know!?"
"Hmm-hmph, of course, it was the all-knowing, all-powerful Shiraoki-sama who told me."
"She even knows things like that…" Special Week covered her mouth, her face full of disbelief.
"Nothing can escape Shiraoki-sama's eyes. She is the god who represents all good fortune in the world."
The girl wore a very proud expression, as a faithful believer seemingly determined to carry the doctrine to its end.
"Today, I received a hint through Shiraoki-sama's divine revelation. To avert disaster, the wandering spirit must be driven away from Tracen."
Saying this, she crouched down, as if searching for something on the ground.
"And then I discovered traces of the spirit's wandering. There's a very strong black mist hanging here. That means, just a moment ago, the wandering spirit passed through this very spot!"
She called it mist, but Special Week couldn't see anything at all. It was just that this corridor was a bit darker and gloomier than the others, nothing special.
"I'm certain the wandering spirit is nearby." The girl crouched low, her eyes occasionally glancing at Special Week, as if waiting for her.
"So, what do you think? Interested in joining me?"
"Well…"
Special Week looked conflicted.
She wasn't interested in religion. Even if she occasionally went to the shrine with her mother for worship, it felt like just following a set ritual. At most, she was a bit more pious when praying at the shrine. But if she had to be like those devout followers, bowing constantly, muttering prayers before every meal and drink, she couldn't handle that.
Besides, now wasn't the time to be thinking about joining a religion.
"Sorry, I really need to find Cafe-senpai. Can we talk about this next time?"
"'Cafe-senpai'? Oh, you mean Manhattan Cafe?" The girl clapped her hands together and pointed down the corridor ahead. "She just went past here."
"Huh!?" Special Week's ears perked up. "Then I need to hurry! Thank you so much! May I ask your name…"
"Matikanefukukitaru," she said. "My name is Matikanefukukitaru."
"I'm Special Week from the Middle School Division! Thank you, Matikane-senpai!" With that, Special Week ran off.
"Wait… Aren't you going to consider following Shiraoki-sama? You'll gain good fortune!"
She reached out a hand to stop her, but the other girl had already vanished around the corner.
"Ara ara." A flicker of disappointment at her failed plan showed in the girl's eyes. "But never mind. Someday, I will make sure everyone knows the name of Shiraoki-sama."
Having reaffirmed this goal, Matikanefukukitaru acted as if she'd accomplished her mission anyway. She brushed off her hands, stood up, and left.
Before she left, the piece of paper she had stuffed back into her pocket somehow fell out again.
As if by fate, a faint breeze stirred in the quiet hallway, lifting the slip of paper and carrying it out the window. It landed on the shoulder of a black-haired girl.
"Something fell."
A voice came from the empty space beside her.
"What is it?"
She picked it up.
"Looks like a piece of paper used for fortune-telling."
"Fortune-telling…"
Golden eyes looked down at the paper that seemed to symbolize a future destiny.
Two large characters were clearly written on it in a blood-red color.
[Catastrophe]
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T/N: ITS uh... whatever her name is! (ironically I know how to spell Matikanefukukitaru and Matikanetannhauser without searching them 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.