On the car ride back to the hotel, Kagura sat hunched over in silence. She bent forward, folded onto her legs, and buried her face, refusing to lift her head.
It wasn't like anything had gone wrong in the post-stage media segment. If anything, Kagura hadn't even run into any reporters—only one female reporter interviewed her. It seemed the attention on this newcomer race really wasn't that high. The reporter was even delighted, saying she'd gotten lucky and scored a huge scoop. A debut race on heavy ground, a Runaway, and a massive gap—those weren't "every day" headlines.
"Ahaha… um… Kagura, you really don't need to take it that seriously…"
Bizen Nishiki didn't even know how to comfort Kagura. From the stands, Kagura's performance had been flawless. Not only had the audience erupted in cheers, people had even shouted things like, "From today on, I'm Inari Kagura's one and only fan!" Even Bizen Nishiki herself, watching Kagura dance on stage, had felt her heart skip. The moment Kagura's gentle blue eyes met hers, she'd genuinely had the thought: It's her. There's nobody else for me in this life.
The Winner's Concert for this newcomer race had drawn an unprecedented level of enthusiasm. The whole venue had been chanting Inari Kagura's name. Bizen Nishiki could already see it—after today, Kagura would probably blow up online. Though Kagura was already a content creator with plenty of followers, this would likely swell her fanbase even further.
And, for what it was worth, because Kagura had won by such a gigantic gap, this Winner's Concert had been a solo performance—Kagura dancing alone. That was also the reason she was in this state now.
"Kagura's probably run out of social battery… Bizen Nishiki, maybe don't bother her too much?"
Maruzensky, driving, stole a glance and reminded Bizen Nishiki. Looking at Kagura in the back seat, practically "black-and-white" from sheer exhaustion, she couldn't help but want to laugh.
Honestly, Maruzensky was really glad she'd come to see Kagura's Winner's Concert in person. No other reason—Kagura had simply been that good. So good Maruzensky almost wanted to praise her with, "She's got the perfect body for a Winner's Concert!" She truly hadn't expected Kagura to have skills like that. Just like the spectators around her cheering, she'd been instantly converted into a fan—though she'd already been Kagura's fan to begin with, today felt different. Today, she'd genuinely felt her heart move.
Being able to see Kagura-chan's Winner's Concert today… I'm so satisfied…
"Ahhh!! This is so weird!! Why would anyone shout, 'I want to be Kagura-san's dog!!!'"
Maruzensky was driving when she suddenly heard Kagura sit up in the back. She'd just caught Kagura moving in the rearview mirror, and then Kagura let out a completely unexpected scream.
Bizen Nishiki jumped so hard she didn't even catch what Kagura yelled. She could only vaguely see that Kagura had been scrolling on her phone—no idea what bizarre thing she'd seen.
As for why Kagura suddenly screamed, it was simple: she'd been bored and went browsing online. Then she remembered Wudi had said she'd be watching the official Tokyo Racecourse (Fuchu) broadcast. So Kagura turned on a VPN and went over to Bilibili to check Wudi's livestream room. Wudi hadn't ended the stream yet—she was still watching the highlights replay with the viewers, chatting about a few things along the way.
[D-head]:I'M HERE IN PERSON AHHHH!! Kagura-sensei's dance was way too good!! My heart is completely filled with Kagura-sensei now—I can't fit anyone else in!!
[Curren_Chan]:I remember this viewer saying the same thing about another Umamusume last time.
[Osman_Roma_Sultan]:Did anyone clip Kagura-sensei's stage yet?! We need a clipper to save us!!
[Mountain_Agile]:I want to be Kagura-sensei's dog!
The livestream's danmaku still had plenty of viewers going feral. Kagura had never regretted being able to understand something this much in her life. She wished she couldn't read it right now—then she wouldn't be thinking about it.
Thankfully, in the middle of all the feral comments, there were still normal people: the theorycrafters carefully analyzing Kagura's strength, the ones calculating the gap behind her, digging up historical records and comparing Kagura to past professional racers, and random passersby simply wondering how a food content creator could run that fast… But what Kagura cared about most was a DM she received outside the stream.
[Urban_Ocean]:I watched today's broadcast too. Congratulations, Kagura-sensei—your first professional win in life, and the moment you officially step onto the competitive road.
This viewer, Urban Ocean, was extremely mysterious. To this day, Kagura still hadn't learned anything about who she really was. But it was obvious she'd been following Kagura for a long time—because her comments showed up under every video. From what she wrote, she seemed to be learning everyday cooking from Kagura. Her daughter liked Chinese food a lot, so she often followed Kagura's videos to learn different recipes. The person who frequently "turned in homework" first in the comments was also her.
——As you can see, I haven't managed to probe much out of this viewer either. I only know she seems to have some connection to Tracen in Europe. She said that if we're interested in going to Europe to race, she can help us contact the local Tracen Academy.
Eclipse's probing over this period hadn't yielded anything major. The other party was careful with secrecy—if it wasn't something she should say under the current circumstances, she simply wouldn't say it. The information she revealed was limited to the possibility that she knew people at Tracen in Europe.
[Inari_Kagura]:You're too kind. It really feels like Ocean-san has been keeping an eye on me all this time— I often see you turning in homework in my comments, too.
[Urban_Ocean]:It's because you do such a good job, Kagura-sensei. My Star and my partner both love it—every time, they can't stop praising it. So every episode, I cook along with you once and make it for my family.
[Urban_Ocean]:After watching your race today, it's clear you have truly exceptional talent. You could run that fast even on such awful ground. I honestly think you have the gift to go to Europe and give it a try. Japan is ultimately too small. Staying there is wasting your talent.
[Inari_Kagura]:Europe, huh? Maybe I'll consider it in the future… You seem pretty invested in this, Ocean-san. Would it be convenient to share why?
If probing wasn't working, Kagura decided to just ask directly, straight down the middle, and see if this mysterious Urban Ocean would reveal anything else.
[Urban_Ocean]:I simply think a place like Japan would bury your talent, that's all. As a loyal fan, I hope you can reach a better future.
A watertight answer. It was obvious that until Kagura agreed, Urban Ocean didn't intend to reveal anything more.
Weird. Just who is this lady, anyway?
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T/N: yeah no excuse this time :sob: WAIT NO I WAS STARTING NEW TLS SO HA! yeah sorrrey heres the 4 chapters!
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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