Even after Shuta An and the others departed, the shrine maiden never revealed her name. Neither he nor the three Uma Musume felt any need to ask.
"Let's have lunch near Tomakomai Port, then head back to Lake Toya," Shuta An suggested.
"Okay, okay." Berno Light had no objections at all. Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka also nodded in agreement.
From Tarumaeyama Shrine to the restaurant they had chosen would take about an hour on foot. Rather than call a car, they decided to treat it as a leisurely stroll.
"Trainer," Oguri Cap suddenly spoke as they walked, "what do you think of the shrine maiden we met?"
"She's…alright, I suppose?" Shuta An raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure why the Gray Uma Musume had asked, but he answered honestly. "She's clearly a Dirt Uma Musume. In the current Twinkle Series environment, that's a somewhat awkward position. Ideally, she'd still need to train at Central Tracen Academy. That said, she's very young—it's far too early to decide her future. Who knows what choice she'll make in the end?"
With that, he shrugged and smoothly changed the topic. "Anyway, let's talk about something more practical. What should we order once we get to the Bikkuri Donkey Tomakomai branch? I haven't checked if they have any local specialties."
"Let's just see when we get there," Berno Light replied, blinking. "At this time of year, there probably aren't any special dishes, right?"
"It's by the sea," Oguri Cap pouted. "Surely it won't be that bad? Is there really nothing special at all?"
"Not every restaurant in Tokyo has local specialties either," Silence Suzuka chimed in calmly. "And Tomakomai is much smaller than Tokyo."
"Exactly," Shuta An nodded. "So there's no need to get our expectations too high."
Despite that, once they arrived and were seated, they discovered that the restaurant did feature local specialty ingredients—dishes centered around surf clams.
"I want to try them," Oguri Cap said with interest. "I want to see how the surf clams here differ from the ones in Tokyo."
"This is Japan's largest surf clam fishing base," Shuta An replied without hesitation. "Annual catches exceed six hundred tons. The local government actively encourages restaurants to develop new dishes with surf clams to boost consumption."
He had done his homework beforehand, and the information came out effortlessly.
"That's really—" Berno Light pointed at the menu. "This is my first time seeing surf clam curry."
"Seafood curry isn't that strange," Shuta An considered seriously. "But I agree—it's rare to see surf clams used like this. I'll order one."
"Then I'll have these," Oguri Cap said decisively. "Surf clam sashimi, surf clam takikomi gohan, surf clam citrus winter melon salad, sake-steamed surf clams, and Matsusaka pork surf clam soup with sesame oil."
She ordered every specialty dish on the menu.
"Are you…sure?" the waitress asked, momentarily stunned.
"It's fine," Berno Light replied on her behalf with confidence. "She can definitely finish it."
Only then did the waitress realize who the Uma Musume placing such a large order was.
"Ah—!" She covered her mouth and lowered her voice. "I understand."
As Oguri Cap's fame had grown, many of her not-so-secret "private traits"—such as her astonishing appetite—had long since become public knowledge.
Silence Suzuka, whose appetite was far more modest, ordered only a cheese Chuncheon dakgalbi, along with grilled pineapple and carrot purée on the side.
Berno Light chose a surf clam curry as well, adding an extra hamburger patty and a vegetable salad.
When the waitress recognized Oguri Cap, Shuta An had quietly worried that she might inform the manager, turning their lunch into another round of unwanted attention. To his surprise, until it was time to pay, the manager merely stood at a distance, watching, with no intention of approaching.
Shuta An let out a silent breath of relief.
Although they had deliberately staggered their lunch time, there were still other customers in the restaurant. If the manager had come over to chat, Oguri Cap's meal would inevitably have been disturbed again. While the Gray Uma Musume was long accustomed to such encounters—especially after their stay at Lake Toya—Shuta An still hoped she could enjoy a quiet meal whenever possible.
Only after Oguri Cap had finished every dish she ordered did Shuta An stand up to pay. It was then that the manager finally approached.
Shuta An didn't hear what was said while he was settling the bill. He only noticed that when he returned, both Oguri Cap and Berno Light were in particularly good spirits.
"So?" he asked as they left, walking at the front without turning around.
Silence Suzuka quickened her pace, passed him naturally, and took the lead before answering, "The manager wished Oguri Cap-senpai a speedy recovery. He said everyone at the restaurant will be cheering for her comeback."
"I see." Shuta An wasn't surprised. From his experiences in the Dream World, he understood well how much strength encouragement from fans could give.
"And Oguri got a bunch of coupons," Berno Light added cheerfully. "Before the fishing ban in May, she can enjoy surf clams at super low prices around Tomakomai."
"So that's how it is—" Shuta An's eyes gleamed faintly. "No wonder Oguri's been humming nonstop. And all the lyrics are about surf clams."
After returning to the hotel, Oguri Cap dragged Berno Light and Silence Suzuka away to discuss plans for the next few days. Shuta An, meanwhile, went back to his room for a long-overdue afternoon nap.
"Uma Musume really do have terrifying stamina," he muttered softly as he lay down. "Even with periostitis, Oguri was still full of energy. I, on the other hand, can't go on without sleeping."
Because it was only an afternoon nap, he didn't fall into the Dream World.
When he woke up, he casually picked up his phone—and raised an eyebrow. While Shuta An was enjoying his afternoon nap, his phone quietly received a LINE notification.
When he woke, he reached for his phone out of habit to check the time—and naturally noticed the unread message.
Shuta-kun, if you have time after seeing this message, please reply to me.
The sender was Mejiro Ramonu.
Shuta An frowned slightly. "What is this supposed to mean—? It feels like something important, but not urgent."
If it had truly been urgent, his phone would have rung long ago. He wouldn't have slept so peacefully until now.
Even so, having seen it, he couldn't very well ignore it. He typed a brief reply.
Miss Ramonu, is something the matter?
Almost instantly, the word Read appeared. Then, as if it had been prepared in advance, her response followed without delay.
Our Uma Musume will be heading to Hokkaido the day after tomorrow. Please take a little care of them, Shuta-kun. It's their spring break—they'll only be staying for a week.
"Hm…no problem."
Silence Suzuka was already here; a few more wouldn't make much difference. Strictly speaking, there was nothing for him to do at all. The Mejiro Family would never allow their Uma Musume to travel alone—an entourage would certainly accompany them.
Still, the fact that Mejiro Ramonu had contacted him personally meant something.
"Then the ones coming must be those few," Shuta An murmured to himself.
As that thought surfaced, another name followed naturally.
Mejiro McQueen.
"In the Dream World, I'll be partnering with her to challenge a One-Win Class—" he mused. "If past experience holds, the real-world McQueen will likely skip both the Satsuki Sho and the Derby, focusing entirely on the Kikuka Sho."
But McQueen hadn't debuted yet. For now, nothing could be confirmed. That night, before falling asleep, Shuta An quietly reminded himself:
"If possible…I should meet Mejiro McQueen in the Dream World."
—
When he entered the Dream World, Shuta An found himself at the Ritto Training Center.
Remembering his plan, he headed straight for Ikee Tairo's stable. Unfortunately, Mejiro McQueen was nowhere to be found.
"She's returned to the Mejiro Family's ranch to rest," Trainer Ikee Tairo explained. "She won't be back until late April at the earliest."
With no choice, Shuta An left Ritto with a trace of regret.
"Come to think of it," he muttered after sorting through his memories of this world, "when I'm not working, I usually just stay home."
He paused.
"I don't have any work today anyway. Might as well take a walk—stretch my legs a bit."
—
The drive from Ritto to Osaka didn't take long. Before he knew it, Shuta An had arrived in Namba.
A bustling commercial district in Chūō Ward, Osaka City. He'd never been here before, but he'd heard plenty about it—staff at Ritto often chatted about shopping trips and sightseeing in Namba.
"I hope it's not as disappointing as Gion," he muttered, feeling a slight sting as he glanced at the parking fee while leaving his car.
With nothing in particular to buy, he bypassed Shinsaibashi and headed straight for Dotonbori.
A canal—and the name of the surrounding area—lined with shopping streets and countless restaurants. Many famous Kansai chain main stores were gathered here: Kani Doraku, Osaka Ohsho, Takoyaki Kukuru—
"Alright," Shuta An declared silently as he stood before the canal. "I've got nothing to do until Thursday. I'll eat my fill today—and then control my weight for the rest of the week."
—
"What's wrong, Ann?" Silence Suzuka asked softly at breakfast. "You don't seem to have much of an appetite. Are you feeling unwell?"
"Nothing serious," Shuta An replied, clasping his hands and closing his eyes briefly. "I'm just not hungry. I'll skip breakfast."
"Then I'll eat it," Oguri Cap said decisively, pulling his plate toward herself. "Did you not sleep well last night?"
As she spoke, the Gray Uma Musume suddenly shot a sharp glance at Berno Light.
Berno responded with an innocent expression, lightly waving her hand.
"That's strange," Oguri Cap muttered under her breath.
Silence Suzuka noticed none of this, calmly sipping her carrot juice.
Shuta An could clearly feel that his stomach was empty—but after eating nonstop in the Dream World, he felt an odd sense of spiritual fullness.
"Should I buy some stomach medicine later?" he thought. "Did I catch a cold from eating too much crab at Kani Doraku last night?"
The idea sounded absurd, even to himself.
"But it wasn't a complete loss," he narrowed his eyes slightly. "I did hear some very interesting news."
"I'll check later to see if it lines up with the real world."
Even so, he hadn't forgotten his longer-term plan—to find a suitable property in Hokkaido.
"I'm heading to the gym later," Silence Suzuka said after setting down her carrot juice. "Miss Berno, will you come with me?"
Oguri Cap, sidelined by injury, was naturally excluded.
"Me?" Berno Light pointed at herself, then touched her stomach before nodding. "I'll go a bit later. I haven't exercised much lately—I feel like my weight's getting out of control."
Hearing this, Shuta An stood up, preparing to return to his room.
Before leaving, he added casually, "It seems the Mejiro Family's Uma Musume will also be coming here for spring break tomorrow. If you're planning to go sightseeing, you might want to postpone it until the day after tomorrow. It'll be livelier then."
"That's strange," Oguri Cap said, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at him. "Why would they come here during spring break?"
"I don't know," Shuta An replied, utterly untroubled as he shrugged.