Uma Musume: Your Uma Has A Problem! 2 [24]

“THE UNDEFEATED LEGEND LIVES ON!! A NEW PIECE OF HISTORY HAS JUST BEEN WRITTEN!! SYMBOLI RUDOLF HAS BECOME THE FIRST HOMEGROWN RUNNER TO WIN THE JAPAN CUP!!”

Kagura could barely hear anything around her anymore. It was as if something that had been pent up for ages had finally burst loose—the entire racecourse had exploded. Cheers, howls, tearful cries, and ecstatic shouting shook her so hard her head started to spin. Thankfully, Maruzensky somehow pulled a pair of earmuffs out of nowhere and put them on her, and only then did she start to feel a little better.

“Thanks… Maruzensky.”

Only after the noise-dazed Kagura had recovered a little did she finally get the chance to thank her.

“My~ they’re a little snug, aren’t they? Good thing I bought them a bit oversized. I was actually planning to give them to you, kiddo, since your ears are sensitive—but who knew that in less than a month, you’d grow up this much? They almost don’t fit anymore.”

“Well, honkaku really does hit all at once…”

With that, Kagura lightly shook off the hand Maruzensky had used to pinch her ear, then turned her gaze toward Rudolf on the track, waving to the crowd. Seeing the smile on Rudolf’s face, Kagura finally felt a heavy weight in her chest lift. Rudolf had finished all of her races for the second half of the year now, so Kagura could finally relax a little too.

Without exaggeration, Rudolf was now standing at the very summit of all Japan’s Umamusume. Nine races, nine wins, undefeated—and on top of that, she had defended the homegrown title the entire country had been longing for at the Japan Cup. That record alone was enough to write her into the history books. Kagura had originally wanted to go wait for Rudolf by the exit tunnel, but there was no chance of squeezing in today. The reporters had the whole route blocked off. The stretch from backstage to the exit tunnel was packed solid with people, and she could already see a few especially fearless reporters charging right onto the field.

She’s incredible…

Watching Rudolf surrounded by the shrieks and cheers of reporters and fans alike, Kagura once again felt just how immense the influence of Umamusume racing was in this world.

“Oh, right—Maruzensky, hurry up and drive Kagura back to the school.”

Beside her, Tojo—who had been standing there quietly watching Rudolf with a smile—suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned toward Maruzensky, who had just been sneaking a hand out behind Kagura’s back, clearly planning to make another attack on her ears.

Hearing that, Kagura tilted her head, not understanding what could possibly require her to go all the way back to school.

“It was Speed, watching from above, who said it. She said she already has a victory banquet prepared, and you’re expected to make an appearance tonight too… uh, and she said not to show up dressed like a maid. She even specifically named the outfit you bought when you went shopping with Ardan.”

“But… I am a maid.”

“Oh, come on~! Kagura-chan, Speed-obaasan means she wants you to dress up properly so you don’t embarrass Rudolf! Come on, come on!”

Seeing that blank look still on Kagura’s face, and with time already tight, Maruzensky did not wait for her to think it through. She simply pushed Kagura right out of the stands and hauled her back to Tracen to change.

…

A little later, changed into fresh clothes, Kagura sat in Maruzensky’s car as they headed for the location pin Speed had just sent her.

It was only now that Kagura learned the details of the evening’s victory banquet. The event had actually been organized by Chairwoman Akikawa’s organization, the URA, to commemorate Japan’s first-ever Japan Cup victory. It would not just be Speed attending either. The Mejiro Family would be there too, and apparently many important figures from all walks of life would also be present. Nor would the guest list be limited to Japan—there would be foreign trainers and Umamusume as well. Supposedly, some highly placed foreign VIPs would also be attending, which left Kagura feeling not only excited, but rather curious too.

“I see… no wonder Speed-sama wanted me to go back and change. By the way, Maruzensky, you look gorgeous tonight~”

After hearing Maruzensky’s rough explanation, Kagura nodded in understanding. In the short time they had gone back to Tracen, Maruzensky had changed into a dazzling evening gown of her own. The open-back dress showed off her tall, curvy figure to perfection. For someone like Maruzensky—who usually dressed carelessly and lived with a casual, slapdash sort of energy—the fact that she had dressed up this seriously today was enough to show just how much importance she attached to tonight’s banquet.

Ugh… how come when other girls go through honkaku, they end up with figures like that…?

Looking at Maruzensky in the front seat, Kagura—sitting in the back—felt a surge of envy. She lowered her head and gestured at herself a couple of times, then let out a disappointed sigh. She felt that kind of evening dress probably would not suit her very well.

“Mhm~ thank you for the compliment, kiddo. You look lovely tonight too. You’ve got me completely dazzled~”

“Please don’t tease me, Maruzensky… For a little thing like me, with no figure to speak of… as long as I don’t look embarrassing, that’s enough.”

Assuming Maruzensky was just trying to comfort her, Kagura smiled helplessly. Even if her height might count as normal among Japanese Umamusume, in her own eyes she was still firmly in the short category—she had just gone from very short to slightly less short.

Ah… but I really do mean it.

Maruzensky thought that silently to herself. The first moment she had seen Kagura come out in that outfit today, she had honestly been stunned. At last, she understood what people meant by that indescribable thump in the chest. Kagura usually dressed like some country girl, and that next-door-little-sister version of her had its own charm. But after seeing Kagura dressed up seriously today, Maruzensky had no choice but to admit it—people really did need clothes to bring them out. Even someone naturally lovely like Kagura still needed to dress the part.

Of course, Kagura had absolutely no idea what Maruzensky was thinking. For her, aside from Maruzensky’s outfit, the thing she most wanted to complain about right now was her driving. The few times before this, Maruzensky had probably driven more gently so Kagura could rest properly. But this time, since they were in a hurry, she had not held back in the slightest. Her sports car tore through the city like a streak of wind, and Kagura finally understood what it meant for the car to be up ahead while your soul was still trying to catch up behind it. Even with her seatbelt on, she felt as though the jolting in the back seat was going to shake her to pieces.

I am never getting in Maruzensky’s car again…

Her face pale as she fought to keep back the urge to vomit, Kagura silently added Maruzensky’s car to her blacklist.

Still, there was at least one good thing about such ferocious driving: in under ten minutes, Maruzensky had reached the destination Speed had sent them—a hotel in Tokyo’s Ginza district. Normally, Kagura would never set foot in a place like this, something closer to a rich people’s enclave than anywhere she belonged. This was also her first time ever coming to such a high-end hotel.

At the hotel entrance, Maruzensky let the pale-faced Kagura out first, then drove off to look for parking.

“Oh, quick work! Hmm~ very nice. Kagura, all dressed up like this, you really aren’t any less of an ojou-sama than the girls of the Mejiro Family! Though why is your face looking a little off?”

Speed, who had been waiting at the entrance all along, walked up the moment Kagura got out of the car. She gave her a thorough look-over, then nodded in satisfaction.

“I’m just a little carsick… it’s nothing. Thank you for the compliment, Speed-sama… But saying I look even more like an ojou-sama than the Mejiro girls is a bit much~”

“Not at all. You really do have an aristocratic air about you. If I put a tiara on your head, you could probably pass for a princess straight out of a storybook.”

As she said that, Speed reached up and patted Kagura’s head. Even though Kagura had grown quite a bit taller now, it was still effortless for someone over 170 centimeters tall like Speed to fuss over her.

And she truly had not been exaggerating. Both she and Mejiro Iris knew that the legendary Umamusume Kagura resembled had in fact been a princess. Now that Kagura had gone through honkaku, aside from the color of her hair and eyes, she looked almost exactly like that legendary Umamusume. It was only natural that Kagura would carry a princess-like air.

“All right. I’m staying here a little longer to wait for the Tracen kids and that old fossil from the Mejiro Family. You go on in first. I’m worried Rudolf might get nervous being in there alone, so go keep an eye on her.”

“Okay!”

This is a fan translation of 你这后勤马娘有问题啊 by 惰性大发 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!