When it came right down to it, taking on a request from classmates to make dolls really wasn't that big of a deal.
In fact, this kind of self-reliant effort to earn club funds—instead of just waiting for the student council to allocate a budget—was even something worth encouraging.
So Air Groove really couldn't understand why these Uma Musume had been so flustered earlier.
Something like this could have been brought up directly without any fuss.
But then again, when she thought back to Nanno Sumire's earlier statement, Air Groove suddenly felt that these Uma Musume doing strange things wasn't so hard to accept after all.
If they had the nerve to publicly apply for something called a "fan support club," then acting a little odd fit right in with their image.
Not wanting to dig into which wire had come loose in these girls' heads, Air Groove glanced around the clubroom.
Once she confirmed Dream Weaver herself wasn't there, she spoke up.
"Forget about the dolls. Do any of you know where Dream Weaver actually is?"
Hearing this, a look flashed in Nanno Sumire's eyes—three parts confusion, three parts wariness, and three parts admiration.
But whatever that admiration was about, Air Groove, having seen her share of dramatic expressions, really didn't want to sit through another one right now.
So she just kept a stern face and motioned for the other girl to spit it out right away.
Seeing how firm she was, Nanno Sumire only hesitated a moment before admitting that Dream Weaver was training at the field.
Once she knew Dream Weaver's whereabouts, Air Groove turned and left the clubroom without looking back, ignoring the hushed whispers behind her as she headed straight for the training grounds.
She'd expected to have to search for a while even after reaching the field, but that figure with the red ribbon tied in her hair was just too striking.
Air Groove spotted her almost effortlessly.
She didn't approach right away, instead standing by the edge of the field, quietly watching the red silhouette until the other girl finished her training.
But who would've thought this wait would last until the sun began to set?
It was nearly time for all the non-resident students to head home before that figure finally came to a stop.
Having watched from the sidelines for so long, it would've been hard for Dream Weaver not to notice her. After finishing up, she walked straight over.
"Vice President Air Groove? Is something the matter?"
Dream Weaver and Symboli Rudolf had rebuilt their relationship outside of student council affairs, but Air Groove was still the vice president—of course she'd recognize her.
Even though she'd waited a long time, Air Groove's face showed surprisingly little impatience.
She admired hard workers. And against the backdrop of so many troublesome young Uma Musume, Dream Weaver's dedication seemed all the more precious.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to see for myself what the Uma Musume our President speaks of so often is really like."
Dream Weaver tilted her head in confusion. She'd expected a more serious, formal reply. After a moment's thought, she simply turned a full circle in front of Air Groove before asking,
"So, what's the verdict?"
"Lives up to the reputation."
Watching her, Air Groove was suddenly reminded of Tokai Teio.
As one of the most dazzling Uma Musume of this generation, Tokai Teio was still the type to cling and act spoiled in the student council office.
Yet the rival she saw as her greatest challenge was here, disciplining herself in training until this hour.
Beyond the gap in skill, it seemed Tokai Teio was still lacking something else.
Recalling Dream Weaver's performance in the Hopeful Stakes, Air Groove couldn't help but shake her head.
With such natural talent and still training this hard—no wonder the president and the others thought so highly of her.
Even someone like Air Groove, who'd hardly spoken to her before, couldn't help but feel respect after watching an entire training session.
Maybe that was the reward hard work deserved.
She'd originally wanted to ask Dream Weaver why Symboli Rudolf and the others were whispering about her, but now Air Groove let that thought go.
Dream Weaver hadn't really done anything. Just by existing, she drew others' attention.
Rather than searching for reasons in her, Air Groove felt it'd be more productive to just go back to the student council and puzzle it out herself.
Even though she felt there wasn't much left to say, showing up only to leave after one sentence felt a bit odd.
So after a brief moment of thought, Air Groove added, "By the way, earlier when I passed by the Kasamatsu Club, I saw them making dolls of you."
"Did they get your permission?"
If not, that meant unauthorized use of someone's likeness for profit. Even if it was to raise club funds, Air Groove absolutely wouldn't let it slide.
Especially now, after they'd pestered her about changing their club name.
Dream Weaver responded with a slightly awkward smile. She never would've dreamed the Kasamatsu crew could expand their doll-making business to this extent.
"They're friends, so it's fine."
Besides, maybe because they'd been caught red-handed, after Dream Weaver discovered them making the dolls, those Uma Musume seemed to throw shame to the wind—they'd even dragged her in to help make a couple.
In their words, it was probably something like 'limited collector's edition idol merch' or something along those lines.
"Friends, huh…"
Air Groove shook her head.
What she'd seen on the school forum was hardly something that could be described with just 'friends.'
She knew well enough that the content on the internal forum wasn't exactly reliable—she didn't really believe Symboli Rudolf would actually target young Uma Musume like some posts claimed.
But when it came to the other girls… that was harder to say.
At the very least, Air Groove had never seen such a spectacle before: over a dozen Uma Musume forming alliances and rivalries like something out of the Warring States period, with Gold Ship even playing war correspondent.
Even the student council had to step in with a subtle warning post in the face of that chaos, yet Dream Weaver herself still seemed somewhat oblivious.
Seeing her still looking a bit clueless, Air Groove felt she ought to give her a little heads-up.
Aside from her own goodwill toward Dream Weaver, the main reason was to prevent any misunderstandings from causing a mess here at Tracen Academy.
As vice president, she really didn't want to deal with that kind of messy work.
"Speaking of which, have you checked out our school's forum?"
Dream Weaver looked puzzled, unsure how Air Groove had jumped from the previous topic to this one, but she answered anyway.
"I've heard about it from others, but I haven't really had the time or the means to look."
Though she'd heard from Chizuru Haibara and the others that the school forum hid all sorts of things, Dream Weaver's focus had always been on racing.
She wasn't all that interested in gossip—she'd had her fill of campus legends back in the script world.
And most importantly, the apartment she rented didn't have a computer.
"For most people it wouldn't matter, but in your case… I'd recommend taking a look."
"There are computers in the library. You can check when you have time."
Air Groove wasn't unfamiliar with tangled relationships—the Uma Musume at Tracen had a knack for creating these stomach-churning, bizarre situations that left onlookers wincing. But something on the scale surrounding Dream Weaver was a first even for her.
Maybe this was heaven's trial. Even a genius couldn't have everything go perfectly smoothly.
Compared to her success on the track, the world off it might just be her true battlefield.
Air Groove cast a sympathetic glance at Dream Weaver, sighed inwardly about how heaven seemed to envy true talent, then turned and walked away from the training field—leaving a bewildered Dream Weaver standing there alone.
--+--
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.