"I didn't expect reality and the Dream World to be so different," Shuta An muttered to himself after waking the next morning.
With no work pressing on him for the time being, he decided to continue exploring the area around Lake Toya. If circumstances allowed, he even hoped to visit Nakajima Island at the lake's center.
At breakfast, however, Oguri Cap put forward her own plan. "Today, I want to climb Mount Tarumae. Tomorrow we rest, and the day after that, we go south to Muroran City."
"Muroran is basically an industrial port city," Shuta An replied frankly. "There's honestly not much to see. If you really want to go somewhere, I'd recommend Tomakomai instead."
"Then let's go to Tomakomai the day after tomorrow," Oguri Cap decided at once. She had only glanced at a map of Hokkaido and hadn't done any real planning.
Just as she settled on it, Berno Light spoke up softly. "Oguri, did you forget something very important?"
"What?" The gray Uma Musume stiffened in surprise. "I don't think I forgot anything, did I?"
"Your periostitis won't allow mountain climbing," Berno Light said flatly. "Unless you don't intend to race according to your original schedule."
"Ah…right." Oguri Cap laughed awkwardly. "Then let's just explore Tomakomai City today."
Silence Suzuka, who had remained quiet until now, joined in. "If we're not going to Mount Tarumae, then visiting Tarumae Shrine today would be good. I plan to go there first, then explore Tomakomai City."
"You can spend a whole day properly exploring Tomakomai," Shuta An added. "So it's better to visit Tarumae Shrine first, then go to the beach to try the seafood, and head back. Tomorrow, we can devote the entire day to the city."
"If it weren't for the hotel's outrageous daily rates, it would be best to stay overnight in Tomakomai," Berno Light complained. "But leaving a paid room empty here for a night is just too painful."
"Exactly," Silence Suzuka agreed. "This trip is funded by my prize money, and the Yayoi Sho was a disaster. I don't have much left—most of it went into this hotel."
Oguri Cap instinctively wanted to suggest switching to a cheaper hotel and redistributing the budget. But she suddenly understood why the carrot-haired horse girl had chosen this place. She swallowed her words, then reached out and gave her Trainer's waist a sharp pinch.
As a result, even when they arrived at the torii gate of Tarumae Shrine, Shuta An would occasionally suck in a breath from the lingering pain.
March was not peak tourist season, and Tarumae Shrine itself was never particularly popular. When the group of four reached the torii gate, there were no other visitors in sight.
"It's so quiet," Silence Suzuka murmured as she walked ahead. "Completely different from visiting a shrine in Tokyo during New Year's."
"After all, Tomakomai isn't very famous," a slightly childish voice suddenly replied from the side.
"Who?" Shuta An's expression tightened as he scanned the surroundings.
"I'm the shrine maiden here!" A petite Uma Musume in shrine maiden attire stepped out from the temizuya beside the torii gate, her face bright and innocent.
"Wow," Berno Light said, her eyes lighting up. "She's so cute!"
Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka nodded in agreement. Only Shuta An frowned slightly, muttering inwardly, Why does this feel familiar? Is she that kid whose gossip I overheard when I went shopping in Tomakomai before?
He lowered his head to check his clothes, only relaxing after confirming they were completely different from that day.
"Are you here to worship?" The shrine maiden tilted her head. "If so, please follow me. The head priest is out today, so I'm the only one here right now."
"Worship is part of it," Shuta An said, taking the initiative. "But we'd also like to look around."
He wanted to see whether she would recognize his voice.
The shrine maiden showed no sign of suspicion. She bowed politely and turned to lead the way.
"Good timing. I just finished cleaning the shrine. Otherwise, I would've embarrassed myself in front of you."
"We came early to bother you—there's no way we'd laugh," Silence Suzuka said at once.
"On the contrary," Berno Light added, "having the shrine this tidy so early shows how much you care about it."
"Of course!" The shrine maiden said proudly as she walked ahead. "Tarumae Shrine is the largest shrine in Tomakomai. Four years ago, it was designated a Beppyo Jinja by the Association of Shinto Shrines. It's something our city can be proud of."
As she spoke, she led them into the temizuya.
Though not Japanese, Shuta An was familiar with the rituals. He took the ladle in his right hand, washed his left, switched hands to wash his right, poured water into his left palm to rinse his mouth, then finally cleansed the ladle's handle.
After finishing, he stepped aside and waited.
"So fast—" The shrine maiden's quiet murmur reached his ears.
A man could not tolerate being told "fast" by a girl.
"I just started earlier," Shuta An said quickly.
"You don't look that skilled," she nodded thoughtfully. "But it's still impressive! You're the fastest visitor I've seen this year!"
"They even time this?" Shuta An raised an eyebrow.
"I do it secretly in my heart," she replied earnestly. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm small—my biological clock is very accurate!"
"That's impressive," he said dryly.
"I'm not bragging!" The shrine maiden puffed out her cheeks. "I've been training hard to become an excellent Uma Musume!"
"A shrine maiden who wants to become a racer?" Shuta An looked at her again.
"Of course!" She lifted her chin proudly. "I want to become a great Uma Musume—just like Oguri Cap-senpai!"
As she spoke, she pointed toward the temizuya.
"Eh?" Shuta An was taken aback. "The shrine maiden recognized Oguri."
"Of course, I recognized her!" The shrine maiden puffed out her cheeks. "I'm not stupid. If I want to become a Uma Musume, there's no way I wouldn't recognize Oguri Cap-senpai! And I can guess that you're Oguri Cap-senpai's Trainer too, right?"
"That's right." There was nothing to deny, so Shuta An nodded.
"That's so nice—" The shrine maiden sighed softly. Then she looked up at him, eyes bright with expectation. "So, Trainer, do you think I have the potential to become a Uma Musume?"
"This—" Shuta An hesitated.
It wasn't that the girl lacked talent. Rather, she was simply too young, and they had only just met. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been able to give any reliable judgment.
Yet he had met her before. After a brief pause, Shuta An activated the attribute viewer, quietly examining the shrine maiden standing before him—
Very poor turf adaptability…but excellent dirt adaptability. It's even slightly better than Oguri's on dirt.
Realization dawned on him. A dirt-specialist Uma Musume.
Understanding this, a trace of pity surfaced in his heart.
In the current Japanese Twinkle Series, dirt races were far less valued than turf races. Five G1 victories on dirt could not compare to a single G1 win in a middle-to-long-distance turf race. Almost instinctively, Shuta An also guessed the reason behind her aspiration.
Becoming famous to promote her hometown—That's probably it.
And it wasn't an unreasonable thought.
Oguri Cap herself was the best example. After her rise to fame, tourism in the Tokai region had increased dramatically. Even amid economic downturn, Kasamatsu's local economy had remained resilient thanks to Oguri Cap–related attractions. The shrine she once used as a training slope now openly advertised, "Experience Oguri Cap's Training Slope Road," drawing in countless fangirl Uma Musume eager to challenge it.
"In terms of distance adaptability," Shuta An continued after a moment's thought, "you're suited for Mile and middle distances. That's actually very good. Most major dirt races are concentrated in those ranges."
Short-distance dirt G1s were rare, and dirt G1 races beyond 2400 meters were even rarer. Among them, only the Belmont Stakes could truly be called prestigious. Everything else carried far less weight.
While Shuta An was still thinking, the three Uma Musume finished at the temizuya and walked over, preparing to proceed with the next stage of worship.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"I believe you can become an excellent Uma Musume," Shuta An said calmly. "But you must choose the right battlefield for yourself."
"I understand!" The shrine maiden clenched her fists. "To become an excellent Uma Musume, I have to train hard! Otherwise, I won't even be able to enter Monbetsu Tracen Academy!"
"Eh?" Shuta An froze.
He hadn't expected her ambitions to stop at a local debut. Her earnest declaration reached the ears of the other three Uma Musume as well.
Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka both looked surprised.
"Is your goal really just to debut in Monbetsu?" Berno Light asked directly. "You still have plenty of time to grow. You could aim higher."
"Compared to the distant Central," the shrine maiden replied seriously, "local feels more realistic, doesn't it?"
"With your talent," Shuta An said slowly, "if you work hard and avoid injuries, I think you'll definitely be able to enter Central Tracen Academy someday."
"But Oguri Cap-senpai didn't enter Central either, and she still became famous, right?" the shrine maiden protested. "I want to do the same!"
In truth, for a dirt-specialist Uma Musume, debuting at Monbetsu, transferring to Ōi during the Classic year, and only then challenging Central was a very standard career path.
However, Shuta An—who deeply understood the vast gap between local Trainers and Central Trainers—knew that debuting locally could very easily bury exceptional talent.
Oguri Cap, now being used as an example, clearly thought the same.
Her expression grew serious as she said, "No. Miss Shrine Maiden, don't think that just because I succeeded without entering Central, you can do the same."
This wasn't arrogance. Oguri Cap looked straight at the stunned shrine maiden and continued:
"If I hadn't met my Trainer in Kasamatsu—if he hadn't given me training that surpassed Central standards, meticulously planned my race schedule, and even used his overseas connections to invite world-class Uma Musume as coaches—I wouldn't be standing here today."
She paused, then spoke with quiet conviction.
"Even though I'm not a Central Tracen Academy Uma Musume, I've enjoyed better training resources than many of them. I can't claim I became 'Japan's Strongest' on my own. Without my Trainer and Berno, I wouldn't be who I am now."
The shrine maiden stood there in stunned silence.
After a moment, she turned away and said softly, "I understand. Please follow me. It's time to ring the bell."
One by one, they rang the bell, tossed in five-yen coins, closed their eyes, and prayed silently before the enshrined deity of Tarumaeyama Shrine.
Each of them held different wishes, and none spoke them aloud.
The shrine maiden stood quietly to the side, lost in thought, clearly still turning Oguri Cap's words over in her mind.
Is choosing a local debut really wrong?I just wanted to become a local idol—to represent Tomakomai on the dirt track—Do I really have to go to Central?And if I fail there wouldn't I just disgrace Tomakomai?
Her thoughts drifted back to what Oguri Cap's Trainer had said earlier—
"You must choose the right battlefield for yourself."
"Choosing the right battlefield—" she murmured inwardly. Does he hope I won't stay local?
She had clearly misunderstood Shuta An's deeper meaning. Yet, by a strange twist of fate, that misunderstanding might lead her toward the right path anyway.
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