"You really are a strange guy, you don't look like an Uma Musume."
In a corner of the Tracen Academy courtyard, Shi sat under the shade of a tree, tossing a takoyaki into her mouth, looking like she was wasting time.
"How so?"
Legend sat next to her, watching the people coming and going.
The leaves rustled, occasionally falling, and the sunlight spilled down through the gaps in the leaves, creating slightly swaying spots of light.
"How old are you this year?"
Shi asked an irrelevant question.
"17 years old."
"17, huh... tsk tsk." Shi clicked her tongue in wonder.
"If you have something to say, spit it out." Legend, enjoying the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, narrowed her eyes, looking lazy.
"How should I put it, you don't look like an Uma Musume who is still receiving the baptism of honkakuka at all." Shi said leisurely.
"Oh?"
"Uma Musume who have started honkakuka will have their bodies and strength grow rapidly, but that doesn't mean their mentality and intelligence grow along with it." Shi said lazily, "Plus, it's the delicate age of puberty. Influenced by various factors, Uma Musume at this age tend to become, um, extreme?"
"Really?" Legend raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Specifically, it's those inflated desires." Shi finished the last takoyaki, "Desire to win, desire to perform, desire to possess, appetite, and even sexual desire, etc. It's no exaggeration to say that Uma Musume in this age group are representatives of strong desires."
"I still remember when I was your age, tsk tsk, man, thinking 'Heaven is number one and I'm number two' was putting it mildly." Shi looked like she was recalling the glorious years of the past, "Thinking about it now, it's really a bunch of dark history."
"Tell me in detail?" Legend became a bit interested.
"Forget it. It took me so many years to make people forget those things. Bringing it up now is just asking for trouble." Shi waved her hand in disgust, "So you are very wrong."
"What's wrong?" Legend followed the conversation.
"You are too stable." Shi turned her gaze back to Legend.
"Isn't stability a good thing?" Legend asked in return.
"Have you heard of the 'restless monkey and wild horse'?" This time, Shi spoke in pure Mandarin.
"It's a metaphor for a person's wandering and scattered thoughts, as uncontrollable as a monkey or a horse." Legend replied calmly.
"Do you think that's good?" Shi retorted.
The ancients used monkeys and Uma Musume to metaphorize human thoughts; conversely, monkeys and Uma Musume are just like human thoughts—difficult to settle.
"If you were an elderly Uma Musume, I wouldn't find it strange, but you're only 17 this year..."
"Is there a significance to that?" Legend asked curiously.
"Did you know? Uma Musume have three growth stages. In addition to the well-known three-year physical growth stage of honkakuka, there is a short mental growth stage after honkakuka ends, which I call 'Heart-Searching'." Shi spoke eloquently.
After honkakuka ends, an Uma Musume's growth slows and stops at a visible rate; in severe cases, over-exhausting one's potential during honkakuka can even lead to strength declining rather than increasing.
For the profession of an Uma Musume, stagnation means falling behind. Watching the Uma Musume behind you surpass you one by one, and seeing former honors slip away one by one—for an Uma Musume who views all of this as everything, what that means goes without saying.
To put it bluntly, this period is a watershed moment in an Uma Musume's career; whether to forge ahead or give up is a choice that determines one's entire life.
This period is the weakest time for an Uma Musume, but also the time when their mentality grows the fastest...
"And then, there is the final stage of accumulating experience and wisdom."
During this period, to make up for a lack of raw strength, Uma Musume begin to try summarizing their experiences and accumulating their foundation.
Unlike the cleverness on the racetrack, during this period, Uma Musume begin to use wisdom.
When strength can no longer be absolute, the brain begins to come in handy.
"Uma Musume in this period, having lost the extreme emotions brought by the rapid growth of honkakuka and having eliminated the aftereffects of a mismatch between mind and body, will finally begin to settle down. But you are different..."
You settled down at 17, an age when you should be acting recklessly.
"Isn't that good?"
"I don't know. Honestly, after traveling far and wide for so many years, this is the first time I've seen a situation like yours." Shi wore an expression that said, 'I've really never seen this before.'
"Since you don't know, why are you in such a rush to draw a conclusion?" Legend said calmly.
Shi paused for a moment, then nodded: "Fair point!"
After speaking, Shi stood up and dusted off her backside.
"Come to think of it, Shi, you aren't a Japanese Uma Musume, are you?"
"Mm, isn't that obvious? Why ask such a question?"
That makes your intelligence seem questionable.
Shi's expression, like she was looking at an idiot, made Legend's hands itch.
"Then, how do you know about me?" Legend asked the question that had been in her heart.
"Huh? Your Japan Racing Association is bragging everywhere right now about having produced a once-in-a-century genius Uma Musume. My ears have grown calluses from hearing it; it would be strange if I didn't know." Shi rolled her eyes, then stared at Legend's face again: "But you look much better in person than in the photos."
"Thanks for the compliment." Legend nodded frankly, "By the way, are you here for tourism?"
"That's not it. I just sensed the aura from here while wandering in China. I originally thought some old geezer had finally seen the light and wanted to come over for a free meal."
"...May I ask, how did you get here?"
"I ran here, of course." Shi said, looking bored.
"Huh?"
"I was planning on taking a plane, but that stingy 'Little Crow' canceled my credit card. I had no choice but to run here." Shi looked indignant.
"...There is an ocean between China and Japan."
"Is there a problem with that?" Shi tilted her head.
"You ran across the ocean surface?"
"Yeah. Let me tell you, running on the ocean surface is a real pain. The wind and waves are huge; if you're not careful and fall, you're done for. Plus, there are all kinds of sea creatures that jump out to slap you. That's how I lost my luggage. It's so infuriating!" Shi grumbled.
"..."
[Although I already knew this world wasn't normal, does such a beast of a person actually exist?]
[Uma Musume are truly amazing...]
[Flower] and [Feather] were also no longer calm.
Although Legend herself could already walk on water, compared to such a beast who crossed the ocean, she still paled in comparison.
Gold Legend did not consider the possibility that the other party was lying. For an Uma Musume who could listen to the heartbeat of others when serious, lying was a highly technical skill.
The Uma Musume in front of her, who didn't look very smart, probably couldn't do that.
Besides, if an Uma Musume lies, it shows very clearly (referring to the ears and tail).
"Oh right, speaking of that, Legend, have you felt anything special from any senior Uma Musume recently? A genius Uma Musume like you must be able to perceive it, right." Shi said to Legend.
"Perceive what?" Legend asked subconsciously.
"To put it specifically, it's probably the scent of wind, flowers, and the moon."
Shi actually didn't have any high hopes and said it offhandedly.
"...Is this what you're talking about?" Legend unleashed a portion of her domain.
"..." Shi looked at the Uma Musume in front of her in surprise.
Legend looked back at Shi. The two Uma Musume fell into silence. Then, Shi spoke.
"Hey, Legend."
"What?"
"Interested in running a few laps with me?"
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