The first day of the New Year had arrived.
Kaito slept until he woke up naturally, and by the time he got out of bed, the sky outside was already bright.
He stretched comfortably, lingering in bed for another dozen minutes with a lazy posture he hadn’t indulged in since arriving in this world.
“This feels so good~” Ever since the incident where he fell asleep in Tachyon-san’s laboratory, Kaito had been paying attention to his sleep schedule to avoid dying from overwork again like in his past life.
Now that he rarely had a week of paid leave as a teacher at the academy, he naturally wanted to rest his body as much as possible.
He currently lived in a house near Tracen Academy.
His parents had passed away long ago, leaving him all alone.
He went downstairs, lit the stove to cook a bowl of noodles for himself, and turned on the TV.
While watching the Uma Musume TV channel’s year-end review, he slid his legs under the kotatsu on the tatami floor.
The warm heat of the kotatsu baked his legs, while outside was the dead of winter.
The stark contrast made the comfort even more delightful.
“Speaking of which, what do people usually do for the New Year in Japan?
Watch the singing shows?
Eat mandarins?
Or go traveling?” It was a rare holiday, but he had no family in this world, and all the friends he knew had gone home.
He thought about traveling, but his homebody nature didn’t want to go too far, and tourist spots would definitely be packed with people, so he found himself in a bit of a dilemma.
*Beep, beep, beep.* Just then, his phone rang with a video call notification.
When he answered, the cutest face in the world appeared on the screen.
“Happy New Year, Onii-san!” The world’s greatest treasure, Rice Shower, smiled and offered her New Year’s greetings to Kaito through the screen.
After waking up from her nap in the laboratory, Rice Shower had hurriedly taken a train back to her hometown for the New Year.
She was currently wearing a rare red wool coat, with a light pink scarf wrapped around her neck, and her face was neatly and delicately done up.
Perhaps because it was colder in her hometown, Rice Shower’s cheeks were flushed red, making her look like a porcelain doll.
To Kaito, the healing power of this sight had already exceeded his maximum HP.
“Happy New Year, Rice Shower.” “What is Onii-san doing?” “I just got up at home and was wondering how to spend these few days off.” “I see…
Wah, Dad!” Rice Shower’s voice suddenly became flustered.
Her phone seemed to have been taken by someone, and the person on the screen changed to a mild-mannered middle-aged man.
“You must be Kaito-kun.
Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Rice Shower.” “Father?!” Kaito was taken aback, not expecting to meet Rice Shower’s father so soon.
Hearing Kaito’s form of address, Rice Shower’s father was stunned for a moment before chuckling.
“You meant to say you’re Rice Shower’s father, right?” “Ah, yes, that’s right.” “You’d better be…” Rice Shower’s father seemed to mutter a rather threatening remark, but then smiled as if nothing had happened, making Kaito feel an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Then, another gentle female voice chimed in with a laugh.
“Dear, don’t scare Kaito-kun.” The second person to walk into the frame was a gentle middle-aged woman who looked a bit younger than Rice Shower’s father and bore some resemblance to Rice Shower.
The woman greeted Kaito through the screen.
“Hello, Kaito-kun.
I’m Rice Shower’s mother.
I’ve wanted to see what you look like for a long time now.” “Why does Mom have to…
Waaah!” From somewhere out of the camera’s view came Rice Shower’s embarrassed wail, making one easily imagine her face flushed as red as a ripe apple.
Rice Shower’s parents loved her very much.
When she was little, she wasn’t well-liked by kids her age because of her bad luck, but her parents had always silently supported her and encouraged her to come to Tracen Academy to chase her dreams.
During the times when Rice Shower felt lost, her family far away in their hometown was also very worried and had even considered bringing her back home.
Later, Rice Shower was recruited by Kaito and won the Heather Stakes championship.
Both parents had witnessed the entire process on TV, and during a video call with Rice Shower that night, they saw their old father’s face streaming with tears.
It was precisely for this reason that Rice Shower’s parents wanted to take this opportunity during the video call to meet Kaito and formally express their gratitude.
On the other end of the line, Rice Shower finally managed to push away her sightseeing parents, let out a long sigh of relief, and then looked at Kaito.
“I’m sorry, Onii-san.
Mom and Dad were just a bit too excited.” “It’s fine.
I’m glad to meet them too.
Is your family heading out?” “Yes, Mom and Dad are taking me to the nearby Uma Musume Shrine to pray, hoping that this year’s races will also go smoothly.” “I see.” Kaito nodded.
He might as well go out and pay a visit himself, killing two birds with one stone to pass the time.
“The Uma Musume Shrine in Shibuya seems to be very popular.
I can go get an omamori for Rice Shower.” Having made up his mind, Kaito said goodbye to Rice Shower, hung up the phone, changed his clothes, and headed out.
Kaito made two mistakes.
First, he underestimated how cold it was that day.
Second, he underestimated the number of people coming to visit the Uma Musume Shrine.
When he arrived, as far as the eye could see, there was a dense crowd of people seeking blessings, and every path was packed to capacity.
To make matters worse, he hadn’t dressed warmly enough, so he could only shiver with his arms crossed while waiting in line.
The winter snow was piled on the eaves of the shrine, and occasionally a few cold-defying birds perched on them, curiously looking down at the crowd below.
There were plenty of food stalls on both sides of the shrine, doing roaring business thanks to the popularity of the shrine visit.
Various statues related to Uma Musume were lined up along the road.
Perhaps because of the winter atmosphere, the bustling crowd was lively but not noisy.
Standing out like bright flowers amidst the crowd were the Uma Musume wearing furisode.
They waited in line obediently like everyone else, their horse ears and tails swaying gently and relaxed.
In this comfortable yet slightly quirky rhythm, the line moved in tacit understanding toward the main hall for worship.
Kaito followed the crowd through the torii, washed his hands and purified himself, and came before the statues of the Three Goddesses in the main hall.
Following the custom of “two bows, two claps, one bow,” he finished his prayer and then followed the crowd out to buy an omamori.
Excluding the time spent in line, the prayer itself took only ten minutes in total.
“It’s truly a modern assembly-line style of prayer.
Do the Three Goddesses really hear prayers like this?” Kaito muttered with a bitter smile.
He then headed to the shrine office, the place for getting omamori, drawing omikuji, and writing on ema.
It was even more popular than the main hall.
The reception was handled by a row of plainly dressed shrine elders.
Kaito waited in line until it was his turn, and the elder asked with a smile.
“Happy New Year.
Would you like to get an omamori or draw an omikuji?” “I’d like to get an omamori for the Uma Musume I train, please.” “I see.
Would you like to pray for health, career, academics, or marriage?” What was that last one?
Kaito was somewhat speechless, then sighed and said, “Please give me a health omamori…” “Please give me a health omamori…” Speaking at the exact same time as him was a worshipper in another line right beside him, who had said the exact same thing.
Does that mean he ran into a colleague?
Kaito shifted his gaze over and saw Riko, wearing a traditional furisode and looking surprised.
“Ah!” Why did he have to run into her here?!