That inexplicable look of pity in Air Groove's eyes before she left left Dream Weaver utterly perplexed, so much so that even as she lay in bed that night, she couldn't help but wonder why the other had looked at her that way.
Originally, she hadn't been all that curious about the forum, but after replaying Air Groove's gaze over and over in her mind, Dream Weaver could no longer suppress the curiosity stirring within her.
And so, the next day during school, Dream Weaver took advantage of her break after lunch to head to the school library.
Faced with this grand and imposing structure, even Dream Weaver couldn't help but swallow nervously.
With a reverence for knowledge—and a healthy awareness of her own less-than-stellar academic record—she stepped into the library with an unconsciously uneasy heart.
Sure enough, the moment she stepped indoors, the completely different atmosphere instantly overwhelmed her.
She had long grown accustomed to the air of the training grounds—a blend of fierce passion and youthful energy.
To suddenly enter a place so quiet it felt as though even the sound of breathing carried a scholarly air left Dream Weaver feeling thoroughly ill at ease.
Walking across the clean, bright wooden floors, even her footsteps instinctively grew much softer.
It wasn't that she feared knowledge to this extent. Though her grades were average, Dream Weaver had still read some professional books on racing.
Back when she was preparing to apply for Central Tracen Academy, she had bought a few reference books on theory, and in the script world, she had also gleaned some knowledge from Chizuru Haibara's teaching materials and the collection of books in the Northern family's estate.
The reason she behaved so awkwardly was mainly because Dream Weaver felt that, despite being a student at Central Tracen Academy, the places where she actually acquired knowledge had little to do with this very library—she hadn't even set foot in it once.
The fact that, despite having a head full of theoretical knowledge, none of it came from the Tracen library gave her a strange, almost guilty feeling, as if she'd done something wrong.
Holding onto this peculiar sense of discomfort, Dream Weaver moved cautiously through the library.
She didn't even dare ask a staff member for help, merely wandering around on her own.
Fortunately, computers were quite conspicuous in the library, and Dream Weaver didn't have much trouble finding the computer room.
Following the steps she'd asked Chizuru Haibara about the night before, she found the Tracen Academy internal forum.
After entering her student ID, Dream Weaver smoothly accessed this famously mysterious website.
Thinking of the rumors she'd heard about this forum from various Uma Musume, combined with the stifling atmosphere of the library, Dream Weaver unconsciously swallowed again.
But it's fine—countless people have browsed forums before. I can do this too!
After comforting herself inwardly, Dream Weaver turned her gaze to the screen and immediately saw the student council's pinned announcement.
[Notice to All Students from the Student Council Regarding Recent Deterioration of Campus Atmosphere and Rectification Measures.]
The post was dated September.
Since it looked very formal and resembled a typical official notice, Dream Weaver didn't click to read the details but instead let her eyes drift downward.
[Help! My roommate has hung a bunch of red lanterns in our dorm, and they glow so brightly at night I can't sleep. How do I bring this up to her?]
A classic dorm issue. Dream Weaver nodded to herself.
It seemed this forum wasn't as mystifying as Chizuru and the others had made it out to be—there were ordinary questions like this too.
This was a freshly posted thread, so it appeared right below the pinned announcement due to chronological sorting.
Seeing that no one had replied yet, Dream Weaver suddenly felt a flicker of interest.
[Default User 9527]: [If you don't want to talk to your roommate directly, how about using a sleep mask?]
She had only posted it casually, but to her surprise, she received a reply from the thread creator just a few seconds later.
[Sega is Number One!]: [Thanks! I'll consider it!]
Looking at the thread creator's name, which felt oddly familiar, Dream Weaver rubbed her chin, thinking about whether she should change her own default username later.
As she pondered, she casually scrolled down the page.
[I'll say it again! It wasn't me who ate so much at the buffet near the school that they started refusing gray-haired Tracen Uma Musume!]
The poster's name was "Okonomiyaki is Just Okonomiyaki."
A name that spoke for itself—Dream Weaver didn't need to guess to know it was Tamamo Cross.
Seems like Oguri Cap had been going out for buffets under Tamamo's name again.
Silently mourning for her for a second, Dream Weaver continued scrolling.
[Special Edition of "Getting to Know Uma Musume," Episode 72: Where Exactly Are the Limits of an Uma Musume's Strength?!]
The poster clearly understood the essence of journalism. Dream Weaver was immediately drawn in by the title after just one glance.
Currently, her Power and Wit were the only two attributes that hadn't broken through their limits, capped at B-rank at most.
While she could reach levels comparable to higher ranks with the help of items, what she didn't have was still lacking.
Dream Weaver was very curious about just how much strength an Uma Musume could truly possess.
Clicking into the thread, Dream Weaver's eyes went straight to the main text, completely ignoring the poster's name.
[The strength of Uma Musume has always been a mystery. Some say it's only three to five times that of an ordinary person, while others claim it's ten times. But what the true upper limit might be, no one knows.]
[Though there have been rumors of Uma Musume crushing iron balls bare-handed, this writer believes their limits extend far beyond that. Finally, after rigorous investigation, this writer has managed to glimpse the extreme of Uma Musume strength—]
The poster left vast stretches of blank space after this line, clearly aiming to build suspense. Dream Weaver was evidently one of the victims.
Scrolling through the webpage, she kept her eyes glued to the screen, eager to learn the true extent of an Uma Musume's power.
After scrolling for several seconds, what Dream Weaver saw wasn't precise data or case studies, but a travel photo.
A very familiar Uma Musume stood on a beach, grinning mischievously in a selfie. Behind her were two other Uma Musume—one with messy, long black hair, the other with mid-length brown hair. Dream Weaver didn't recognize them.
But she definitely knew who the one taking the selfie was.
[Once, when Gold Ship and Gentildonna went out together, they accidentally ended up stranded on a deserted island. Thankfully, Uma Musume are incredibly strong—everyone just pushed the island and swam back to school.]
[Uma Musume—pretty amazing, right?]
Looking at the caption beneath the photo, Dream Weaver held her forehead, speechless for a long while.
Silently, she scrolled back up, clicked into the poster's profile, and looked at the array of mysterious headlines like "Gold Ship Frontline Daily" and "Golden Star Calling Yesterday."
She couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Then, she added the user named "How Goes the Golden Star War?" to her account's block list.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.