Uma Musume: Your Uma Has A Problem! [60]

By the time Kagura and Nature left the shopping street, the sky had already darkened.

Kagura was still carrying a few bags of snacks in her hands—originally intended for Nature—but considering the selection race was tomorrow, Kagura couldn’t risk letting her overeat today. Kagura herself couldn’t eat anymore either, so she decided to find someone suitable at school to feed these to later.

“Everyone at the shopping street was really enthusiastic, huh… I ate so much!” Nature stretched lazily and let out a yawn. She had wanted to stuff herself tonight, but Kagura had promptly stopped her dangerous idea of risking overweight penalties. If she won tomorrow, she’d have plenty of chances to feast later.

“You’re really lucky, Nature. Having so many people around you supporting you like this.”

“Haha…I used to think I was completely ordinary. But maybe I do have a little something special.”

“Exactly, so have some confidence!” Kagura leaned in from behind and gave Nature’s shoulder a playful pat. Recently, she’d started needing to reach up slightly just to do this—Nature had grown abnormally fast during this period, causing Kagura once again to marvel at the strange biology of Uma Musume.

“You’ve really worked hard these days, Kagura—waking up early and staying up late every day,” said Nature.

Walking slightly ahead, Nature suddenly grabbed the hand Kagura had placed on her shoulder, swiftly bent forward, and pulled Kagura onto her back. Before Kagura could react, Nature caught hold of her thighs and effortlessly lifted her up into a piggyback ride.

“Whoa! What’s with this all of a sudden?!”

Kagura was petite and light, so Nature carried her easily.

“I just wanted to see how it’d feel carrying you on my back. Wow, you’re really light… You’ve been training me all this time, so you’re practically my trainer already, right?”

Nature held Kagura’s arms gently, guiding them around her neck, and lightly rubbed her cheek against Kagura’s arm. Kagura could feel Nature’s warm breath softly brushing against her skin.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just a support Uma Musume. I’m still far from being an actual trainer.”

After adjusting herself comfortably to Nature’s rhythm, Kagura didn’t immediately get down. Instead, she just gently held onto Nature, leaning against her back.

“Anyway, you’ve still been training me, haven’t you? Hehe… then, can I…act a little spoiled towards my trainer, just like those girls I saw at the park that day?”

“Don’t you always do that already…?”

Kagura laughed helplessly and reached up, patting Nature’s head softly with one hand.

“Not like that! I mean… if I manage to win first place tomorrow, can I ask for a little… reward?”

“Oh? A reward? What do you want?”

“I… I just want Kagura to call me ‘Nature-oneechan’ once. Is that okay?”

You’re really easily satisfied, aren’t you? Kagura couldn’t help but smile to herself. She thought Nature might ask for something like a special meal, but Nature’s request turned out far simpler than expected. From an adult’s perspective, fulfilling such a request was trivial.

“Sure~”

“Yay!”

Carrying Kagura on her back, Nature cheered happily, raising her hand in excitement. Kagura had no idea why this simple request mattered so much to her.

Nature carried her for a bit longer. Although Nature insisted she wanted to keep going, Kagura worried that Nature had already done enough exercise today. After about five or six minutes, Kagura quickly got down.

The shopping street wasn’t far from Tracen Academy. With an Uma Musume’s pace, that five or six-minute walk brought them swiftly to the school gate. Usually, it would be quiet here at this hour, but tonight it was unexpectedly lively. Two adults—a man and a tall, red-haired female Uma Musume—were chatting with Hayakawa Tazuna.

Is Hayakawa-san talking with some acquaintances? Maybe we shouldn’t disturb them…

Yet, the red-haired Uma Musume seemed oddly familiar, making Kagura stare a bit longer.

Kagura rarely saw Tazuna chatting with anyone, and she didn’t really know about Tazuna’s social circle, so she had planned to ignore the group. However, Nature froze in place, staring in shock as if seeing something unbelievable. Kagura tried tugging on her hand, but Nature didn’t react at all.

“Oh? Nice Nature-san, Kagura-san, welcome back. What good timing—we were just talking about you two.” Tazuna soon noticed the two young girls standing nearby, smiling warmly as she greeted them.

“Us…? Who are these two—”

“D-Dad?! And Mom?! W-W-Why are you here!?” Nature’s voice trembled with disbelief.

Kagura, still guessing whether they were acquaintances of Tazuna, froze in shock.

…

“Good evening, Uncle, Auntie!”

Once she realized these two were Nature’s parents, Kagura hastily added a polite greeting.

“Oh, what an adorable child! Nature, is this the Kagura-chan you’ve mentioned so often?”

After Nature nodded, the tall red-haired Uma Musume bent down and warmly shook Kagura’s hand.

“Thank you so much! Nature moved here from our hometown alone. We were worried she’d struggle adjusting to Central Tracen’s environment. It’s wonderful you’ve always stayed by her side!”

“You’re too kind, Auntie… Helping out a friend is only natural.”

“Oh, we’re really sorry for troubling you. Even though Nature’s older, you’ve been taking care of her. We heard that you’re even helping her train for tomorrow’s selection race. We’re truly grateful!”

Saying that, Nature’s mother took a heavy-looking bag from the man standing next to her. After briefly checking its contents, she handed it to Kagura.

“These are some specialties from our hometown. Just a small gesture. Please accept it, Kagura-chan.”

“Oh, you don’t need to! Really, it’s just some small help, nothing much at all! I—”

As Kagura waved her hands trying to politely refuse, she noticed Nature standing behind her father, pouting with her hands on her hips, clearly signaling, “Don’t you dare refuse!”

Noticing Kagura’s hesitation and her daughter’s obvious signal, Nature’s mother quickly pushed the bag into Kagura’s hands. Seeing there was no way to decline, Kagura could only thank the two parents politely.

This child…

Watching Kagura’s careful and courteous behavior, Nature’s mother nodded approvingly. Then her gaze drifted up slightly, stopping on the white ornament on Kagura’s left ear. Her nodding became slightly more pronounced.

“By the way, Nature, why are you two outside this late? Did you take Kagura-chan out?”

“Y-Yes! When I first moved here, everyone at the shopping street took good care of me. I wanted to thank them. Since Kagura knows everyone there really well, I invited her along…”

“Oh? Kagura-chan, did you grow up at that shopping street too?”

“No, not exactly. But I’ve often helped out there, and everyone has always treated me like their own daughter. Yesterday when we went back, everyone was so enthusiastic—haha~ I was a bit overwhelmed, to be honest.”

“Oh…”

Nature’s parents both nodded, seeming even happier.

Nature suddenly had a bad feeling her mom might ask something sensitive, and quickly tugged at her mom’s sleeve, whispering urgently:

“Mom, don’t ask Kagura-chan about her family.”

“Hm? How did you know what I was thinking? Why not?”

Nature briefly explained Kagura’s situation in a hushed voice, and her mother instantly realized her mistake, hurriedly abandoning her earlier intention.

They’re whispering right in front of me?

Kagura naturally saw Nature’s reaction, and after their whispered exchange, she noticed Nature’s mother looking at her with even gentler eyes.

I wonder what Nature said…?

Although Kagura was curious, it didn’t seem like something bad, so she decided not to pursue it.

“By the way, Auntie, Uncle, why did you come to Tracen today?”

“Of course, it’s because we heard our beloved daughter is participating in a race—we had to come cheer for her!” Nature’s father energetically raised a thumb up, his lively and sunny gesture oddly reminiscent of Might Guy from Naruto, amusing Kagura.

“Our entire street came along too, but we arrived late today. Everyone’s resting at a nearby hotel now. We just wanted to see Nature first, so we stopped by.”

“What? Everyone from home came?!” Nature’s eyes widened in shock.

“Yes! Everyone misses you and wanted to cheer you on!”

“Oh…”

Nature froze in panic, clearly overwhelmed.

“It’s quite late now,” Tazuna gently interrupted. “Let’s let Nature-san and Kagura-san rest. You can chat more tomorrow.”

“Oh, right! Let’s go then! Good luck tomorrow, you two!”

“Yes~” Kagura waved goodbye, then turned to the dazed Nature:

“W-W-What do I do, Kagura?! Everyone’s here!”

“Ahaha…” Kagura sighed. Clearly, tonight she’d have to help relieve this silly child’s anxiety once again.

—

T/N: THIS IS SO CUTEEEEE

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!