The morning sun streamed through the window into the kitchen.
Kitano skillfully flipped the bacon and eggs in the pan, humming an exciting exploration theme from a sci-fi movie from his previous life, feeling quite good.
On one hand, it was because he had led his team to a spectacular comeback victory in a game last night.
On the other hand, he once again deeply marveled at the benefits students in this world—especially general studies students like him—enjoyed: school hours so relaxed they were touching!
This was absolutely the greatest blessing he had received since transmigrating, if not the greatest!
After enjoying his homemade breakfast, he leisurely walked to school.
Time in class passed as usual.
He listened quietly, occasionally taking notes, but most of the time he was lost in thought, pondering physical phenomena or philosophical questions unrelated to his textbooks.
Finally, it was lunch break—the most sacred time of the day.
He and a few classmates he usually got along with gathered, took out their bento boxes, and began their routine lunch exchange meeting.
Topics ranged far and wide, from newly released games to weekend plans, from teacher gossip to the latest trends.
Kitano naturally joined the discussion, even occasionally throwing out a few incisive remarks that made everyone laugh.
However, when the conversation inevitably drifted back to yesterday’s thrilling race, and they started discussing which Uma Musume’s final spurt was more visually appealing, or whose Zone had more potential, Kitano instantly fell silent.
He could only wear a polite smile, nod appropriately, and utter vague syllables like “Mhm,” “Yeah,” and “That’s amazing,” perfectly playing the role of a qualified cheerleader.
“Here we go again…” he silently rolled his eyes.
“Can’t we talk about something with more universal value?
Like whether the ultimate answer to the universe is really 42?”
As lunch break neared its end, he was about to lean down for his usual short nap when a classmate next to him gently nudged him with an elbow.
“Hey, Kitano, someone’s looking for you.”
No sooner had he spoken than the friends who had dragged him to watch the race yesterday immediately started winking and teasing:
“Wow!
Not bad, Kitano-kun!”
“Yesterday he acted all uninterested in Uma Musume, turns out he was just hiding his true feelings!”
“Which athlete lady is looking for you?” They teased him using the word Kitano had used in his defense yesterday.
Kitano’s heart skipped a beat, and an ominous feeling welled up inside him.
He could only force a dry laugh, dealing with his friends’ teasing, his mind already too exhausted to complain.
“…I knew it, trouble never comes just once.”
He stood up and walked toward the classroom door under the curious gazes of his classmates.
Sure enough, as soon as he stepped out, he saw three familiar figures standing somewhat awkwardly by the corridor window—the three Uma Musume from the convenience store entrance yesterday.
“…Are they haunting me?” Kitano’s mouth twitched slightly.
The three Uma Musume had clearly mustered a lot of courage to come looking for him.
Being scrutinized by the subtle gazes of the general studies students, they were all a bit nervous.
Seeing Kitano emerge, they looked over in unison like startled small animals, three pairs of eyes, plus the heightened alertness of their Uma Musume ears, meeting Kitano’s deadpan stare.
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
The few of them just stared at each other, no one speaking first.
Finally, Kitano was the first to break the awkward silence.
He let out a deep, helpless sigh, his tone filled with a resigned weariness:
“Sigh…
Although I don’t know what you three really want, I can tell with my toes it’s nothing good.” He rubbed his temples and gestured sideways toward the stairs at the end of the corridor leading to the rooftop.
“It’s crowded here.
Let’s go, we’ll talk on the rooftop.”
…
The wind on the rooftop was stronger than below, gently rustling the girls’ hair and ponytails.
Kitano leaned against the protective netting, watching the three Uma Musume lined up before him, looking as if they were about to deliver an ultimate judgment.
His mind was filled with philosophical questions like “Who am I, where am I, and why am I here?”
“So this is the punishment for impulsiveness?
If only I had known, I should have just prostrated myself yesterday, performed a dogeza, and shouted ‘Long live the Three Goddesses!'” He wished he could travel back in time and strangle his past self for being so quick-witted.
“Ki-Kitano-kun!” Seeking the Pearl was the first to gather her courage and step forward.
Although her voice still trembled slightly, her gaze was firm.
“We thought about it for a long time after we went back!
We still think your idea from yesterday was wrong!”
Marvelous Sunday bounced back half a step with a “Heh—,” forming a big X with her arms across her chest, her eyebrows fluttering like dancing waves.
“Just breaking down running into data plus physics?
That kind of subtraction is too~ boring ☆!”
Narita Brian also nodded vigorously, clasping her hands in front of her chest, saying sincerely, “Running, for us, really isn’t just a simple sport!
It’s…
it’s something closely tied to our lives!”
Then, without waiting for Kitano’s response, the three girls seemed to open a floodgate, beginning their belief-chain assault:
“When you run, you can feel the wind cheering for you!
You can hear the fans’ feelings!
These are all things that data can’t measure!” Narita Brian gesticulated excitedly.
“Limits?
Rivals?
Bonds?”
Marvelous Sunday clapped her hands together with a snap, her starry eyes flashing like a high-speed shutter.
“All of those are—Marvelous fuel ☆!”
She spun around in place with a swoosh, her ponytail drawing a rainbow arc in the air, her voice bouncing higher and higher as if on springs.
“And, and!
Sweating with teammates, working hard together for a goal, the joy and release you feel when you cross the finish line, win or lose…
Th-these are all incredibly precious things!” Seeking the Pearl’s cheeks were flushed with excitement.
Kitano stood still, listening expressionlessly, but his mind was already an ocean of complaints:
“The wind cheering…
hearing feelings…
this is completely beyond the scope of physics and psychology textbooks.”
“Willpower and bonds?
High-level athletes all have that, right?
I feel like I even have it when I’m fishing.”
“Team spirit is indeed valuable…
but come on, which team sport doesn’t emphasize that?”
“Help…
their eyes are glowing.
This sense of conviction is almost materializing.
I’m about to be blinded by this blazing sun…”
“Yesterday’s me, why didn’t you just shout ‘I don’t understand human hearts’ and then use Nigerundayo?!
It’s over…
It’s really guard against fire, guard against theft, and guard against Uma Musume.
If only I knew some terrible escape lines, how good would that be?
Isn’t there a little devil to save me?!”
He felt like he had been thrown into some kind of large pyramid scheme, the air around him filled with the scent of dreams, feelings, and bonds, making his science-minded brain feel suffocated.
Finally, after the three Uma Musume, one after another, expounded—or rather, indoctrinated him on—the nobility, hardship, and romance of the Uma Musume profession, they stopped, looking at Kitano with expectant, nervous, and somewhat anxious eyes, waiting for his sudden enlightenment.
Kitano took a deep breath, his face instantly switching to an incredibly exaggerated expression filled with emotion and remorse.
He slapped his forehead hard:
“Oh my god!
Listening to your words is like listening to a…
oh, no, it’s better than ten years of study!
I was wrong!
I was truly wrong!”
His voice was loud, and his expression was sincere.
Fake, of course.
“Yesterday, I was simply a frog in a well, blind to the world!
To think I viewed such a great and sacred profession with such shallow eyes!
The running of Uma Musume truly carries dreams, hope, and bonds—it’s a miracle!
It’s so touching!
From today on, I am your fan!
No!
I am a fan of all Uma Musume who run with effort!
You are all amazing!”
His unrestrained flattery and vigorous nodding completely stunned the three girls.
Seeking the Pearl blushed a little from the praise and instinctively said, “Eh?
Thank you…”
Marvelous Sunday was stunned, her brow slightly furrowed, feeling that the change was too abrupt.
Narita Brian, meanwhile, blinked, a little slow to react.
“Ah…
it’s good that you understand…”
Before they had fully recovered from this sudden sugar-coated cannonball, Kitano immediately bowed:
“Future superstars, please continue to shine!
I still have homework to finish, so I’ll be taking my leave!”
Having said that, without waiting for their response, he quickly turned and dashed toward the rooftop door at a speed comparable to some Uma Musume’s starts, pulled open the door, and whoosh—he was gone.
By the time the three Uma Musume fully reacted:
“Wait!
His attitude just now…”
“Wasn’t that too perfunctory?!”
“He was totally just humoring us, wasn’t he?!”
However, on the rooftop, only the wind and the three of them remained, looking at each other.
Kitano ran wildly downstairs, with no intention of returning to the classroom, but instead rushed directly to the office.
“Home!
I must go home immediately!”
“I can’t attend school today.
My heart can’t take it…
I might as well take a sick day this afternoon.
I’ll say…
hmm, sudden acute embarrassment syndrome with complications!”
As he ran, he made up his mind: by the end of today, he absolutely would not have any form of interaction with any Uma Musume!
Hikari High School was too deep for him!
It really helps the fic grow!