Chapter 122. Admire Vega's Reaction
After crossing the finish line in first place, Admire Vega gave a proper bow to the audience before turning to leave.
But before she could take even one step, she was stopped by the trainers from Central Tracen Academy, who rushed over all at once.
"Admire Vega-san, I'm—"
"Please, I'd like to speak with you!"
"Could you consider my team?"
The introductions came one after another, eager and excited.
Even though she was still only an elementary division Uma Musume, her performance in the mock race had completely overwhelmed the field. Even if she did not improve much in the future, she would almost certainly still be able to claim major prizes on the Twinkle Series stage.
Many trainers had already begun imagining how they would train her.
Shuta stood behind the crowd and did not join in the noise.
He simply watched Admire Vega with quiet interest.
What caught his attention was that she did not seem happy to receive so much attention, nor did she appear flustered. Either reaction would have suggested that she was at least considering joining a team.
But all he could read from her expression was annoyance.
"Is she dissatisfied with these trainers' teams?" he thought. "Or… does she have no intention of joining any team at all?"
If it was the former, he would not have worried.
But Shuta An had a strong feeling it was the latter.
And yet that clashed with the fact that she had signed up for the mock race in the first place.
"I don't fully understand it," he thought, "but I have to try."
Trusting his intuition, he was just about to step forward and extend an olive branch when Admire Vega spoke first.
"I'm sorry. I have no intention of joining any team."
The moment she said it, the entire atmosphere stiffened.
Shuta An swallowed the words he had been about to say.
If she had already made herself clear, then his invitation would probably not change anything.
Still, he was not ready to give up.
He decided to go back, collect more information, and try to understand Admire Vega's true intentions as much as possible.
There was no way he believed that a girl who had signed up for the mock race truly had no thoughts about finding a trainer.
"Why did Ann-san come back without even saying anything to Admire Vega?"
Kitahara asked when he saw his friend walk over and then return just as quickly.
"Admire Vega said she wasn't looking for a trainer, so I didn't say anything,"
Shuta An replied with a shrug.
Since he had already seen what kind of girl she was, he no longer felt a need to stay here.
"I'm heading back to the clubroom. See you at the cafeteria for lunch."
He waved once and left the training ground.
"Then let's keep watching the race," Minamisaka said after Shuta An left. "I don't think Shuta-kun thought Admire Vega was especially suitable either. Otherwise, if he had just opened his mouth, it would be hard to imagine any Uma Musume in the Academy turning him down."
"Maybe," Kitahara said, "but since Admire Vega already said that, if he had made an invitation anyway, it would've been awkward for her to answer."
He felt pretty confident in that guess.
If she accepted, her earlier declaration would sound like a joke. If she refused, Shuta An probably wouldn't care about losing face, but Admire Vega did not seem like the type who could shrug that off so easily.
Shuta An left the First Training Ground and returned to Team Sadalsuud's clubroom.
Just as he sat down in his usual spot and reached for the tea Tokai Teio had brewed for him after morning training, the door opened again.
"Hmm?"
He looked up, curious about who had come in at this hour.
Tokai Teio had already gone to class. Kurofune and Rice Shower were either preparing for exams or away on vacation. There was no reason for anyone from Team Sadalsuud to be here now.
At most, only student council members, or Agnes Digital and Curren Chan with permission from his friends, could enter the clubroom directly.
Then Shuta An's eyes widened.
Curren Chan walked in beside her roommate, smiling brightly.
"Ayabe-chan's performance just now was so dazzling!"
"I've fulfilled your wish," Admire Vega said coolly. "Don't sign me up for races like that again."
She did not see any point in entering races that had no sign of true awakening. Just like in that mock race, she had beaten the runner-up by nearly two seconds.
And yet, Admire Vega felt no joy from it.
If anything, she felt a little guilty.
"If I hadn't run, the girl in second place would have won. That would have been much better for her future. Winning this race meant nothing to me anyway."
"Alright, alright~"
Curren Chan's voice stayed light and cheerful.
"It's a shame there's no hot water in the dorm right now, so we'll have to borrow a shower in a friend's clubroom instead."
"It's not necessary. Cold water is fine," Admire Vega muttered.
In truth, she preferred showering to bathing, and cold water suited her better than hot.
"That won't do!"
Curren Chan quickly raised her hands in front of her chest.
"Taking a cold shower right after intense exercise is bad for your health! Curren asked Ayabe-chan to race, so Curren can't let Ayabe-chan have any problems afterward!"
Admire Vega thought briefly that if Curren had asked for her opinion before signing her up, she would have been more grateful now.
But out loud, she could only accept the kindness.
"Thank you."
"Here it is!"
Curren Chan stopped at the entrance of Team Sadalsuud's clubroom and proudly introduced the place to Admire Vega, who stood behind her.
"This is the clubroom of a team whose members I knew before I entered Central Tracen Academy."
"Sadalsuud…"
Admire Vega looked up at the name.
Even though she had not been enrolled for long, she had of course heard of the team's reputation.
Any Uma Musume who followed the Twinkle Series would have heard of it sooner or later.
Oguri Cap, Mejiro Dober, Silence Suzuka, and this year's Triple Crown winner Tokai Teio had all come from this team.
For an ordinary Uma Musume, simply stepping into this clubroom would have been enough to make them nervous, no matter how confident they were.
But the first thing Admire Vega thought when she entered behind Curren Chan was:
Why can she just walk in like that? Doesn't she even knock?
Although she hesitated, Admire Vega still followed Curren Chan into Team Sadalsuud's lounge.
Curren Chan turned her head as she passed the office and met Shuta An's gaze.
"Oh, Trainer is here—" She quickly corrected herself when she noticed Admire Vega behind her. "Good morning, Big Brother."
"Good morning, Curren-san." Shuta An nodded. "Do you need something?"
"Since there's no hot water in the dorm right now, I wanted to borrow the shower!" Curren Chan clasped her hands together and said this with a bright smile.
"No problem."
Shuta An agreed without hesitation. The shower area was empty anyway.
But he still felt a little uncertain.
Was she borrowing it for herself? Or—
A moment later, he got his answer.
Admire Vega walked past the office door with her head lowered, quietly following behind Curren Chan.
"I see."
Shuta An looked down at his computer and let out a soft sigh.
So that was it.
Curren Chan had come here in person to ask, which made it obvious that her relationship with Admire Vega was not ordinary.
He quietly considered the possibility.
Maybe I should start by asking Curren Chan.
But the idea gave him a headache almost immediately.
That mischievous little Uma Musume, despite being a famous internet personality, was far more mature than her appearance suggested. If he asked her even a single question related to Admire Vega, she would probably understand exactly what he was trying to do.
Still, after some thought, Shuta An decided he could ask her later.
No matter what, Curren Chan did not seem like the kind of person who would make trouble. Recruiting Admire Vega into the team was not something that needed to be hidden from everyone.
Less than a minute later, Curren Chan walked into the office.
She skillfully dropped two sugar cubes into a cup, poured herself some barley tea, and sat down on the sofa.
Then she looked at Shuta An and asked,
"Did Big Brother go watch the simulation race today?"
"I did," Shuta An replied honestly. "Your friend performed very well."
"Then…" Curren Chan tilted her head. "Did Big Brother not consider inviting Ayabe-chan to join the team? Or did you think she wasn't good enough?"
Shuta An shrugged.
"It's not that I thought she was unsuitable. It's just that after the race, she said she had no intention of joining any team, so I didn't make an invitation."
Curren Chan immediately understood both his choice and Admire Vega's response.
She turned her head slightly, stuck out her tongue, and explained a little awkwardly, "Actually, Curren signed Ayabe-chan up for the simulation race on her own."
The moment Shuta An heard that, everything clicked into place.
No wonder Admire Vega had looked so reluctant.
No wonder she had said she didn't want to join any team, and yet had still shown up to race.
But another question followed immediately.
"Then why did she participate?" he asked. "If she didn't agree to it, couldn't she have canceled the entry?"
Curren Chan raised a finger and answered seriously, "After Curren and Ayabe-chan became roommates, Curren spent a whole week trying different ways to get along with her. In the end, Curren found that using the 'little sister' persona worked best."
She smiled a little sheepishly.
"So when Ayabe-chan found out Curren had signed her up for the simulation race, Curren sincerely begged her. Curren even called her 'older sister,' and then Ayabe-chan agreed."
Shuta An's first reaction was not admiration for Curren Chan's acting.
It was Admire Vega's reaction to the words "older sister."
Does she have some unresolved issue involving siblings?
He looked thoughtful.
Then I should investigate her family situation.
If he wanted information about an Uma Musume enrolled at Central Tracen Academy, he would need Symboli Rudolf's help.
"Besides Curren Chan, does she have any other friends at the Academy?" he asked, deciding to take the chance and learn more about Admire Vega's social circle.
"Yes," Curren Chan answered immediately. "There's a senior named Vega who takes good care of Ayabe-chan, and then there's a cute junior named Admire Don who often asks Curren about Ayabe-chan's situation. But she doesn't seem to know Ayabe-chan at all. They probably haven't met in private yet."
She spilled the information so naturally it was like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
"Vega and Admire Don…"
Shuta An narrowed his eyes slightly.
So the connections from the real world were being reflected into the Dream World in another form.
He was certain these three Uma Musume must be related by blood in the Dream World especially Vega.
The next thing he needed to figure out was what exactly lay behind Admire Vega's fixation on her younger sister.
He made a mental note of it immediately.
After finishing her barley tea, Curren Chan placed the cup in the dishwasher and stood up to leave.
"Curren needs to go back to the dorm and get Ayabe-chan's spare clothes."
"Go ahead." Shuta An also stood up. "I have something to do at the Student Council office anyway."
"Then let's go together."
Curren Chan waited for him, and then the two of them left the Sadalsuud team's activity room together.
Meanwhile, Admire Vega remained in the shower room, letting the hot water pour over her head.
Do all the teams at the Academy have facilities like this?
Her dormitory had no hot water at the moment, so she had no choice but to bathe here.
It was surprisingly pleasant.
But she quickly suppressed that thought.
No. I can't think like that.
Admire Vega bit her lip and muttered to herself.
I shouldn't enjoy comfort like this.
She stubbornly believed that everything she had now did not truly belong to her.
That was the deepest secret hidden in her heart.
Even her family did not know about it.
Shuta An and Curren Chan parted ways in the courtyard, and he headed alone to the Student Council office.
He planned to ask Symboli Rudolf to look into Admire Vega's family background and see whether he could learn anything useful.
If that still led nowhere, he already had one final option.
He could visit her home in person.
He did not believe Admire Vega's condition was so unusual that even her family knew nothing about it.