On the twentieth, at everyone's request, Fujiwara Chiya brought them down to the town at the foot of the mountain to rest.
Everyone wore relieved smiles. It seemed they had all been feeling rather stifled during this period too. It was just that only Gold Ship and Matikane Fukukitaru had actually said it out loud.
Matikane Fukukitaru looked especially excited. When asked why, she answered, "It was fortune-telling. The fortune said something good would happen on the day of the karuta festival. Only after hearing Gold Ship-san did I understand what it meant."
In other words, coming to this town would bring good fortune?
Fujiwara Chiya looked at the signs hung up by the various shops.
At Naniwa Bay, the flowers bloom;in winter, they hide in shame.Now spring has filled the hall,and blossoms spread their fragrance.
It was a waka poem. Fujiwara Chiya had heard it when he was young. Of course, "heard" was the limit of it. Aside from the poems he had studied in Japanese class, he had never memorized any others, let alone the poems used in karuta. If the good fortune Fukukitaru mentioned required playing karuta, then Fujiwara Chiya felt it probably had nothing to do with him.
"Trainer-san, they're holding a karuta event over there! Let's go take a look!"
Matikane Fukukitaru grabbed his hand, looking extremely enthusiastic.
Fujiwara Chiya turned to the others behind him and asked, "Does anyone here know how to play?"
Rice Shower raised her hand.
"I learned a little, Onii-sama."
Fujiwara Chiya glanced at Mejiro Dober, but she shook her head.
He had assumed that a young lady of the Mejiro family would have learned everything. Apparently, that had only been his own prejudice. If Grass Wonder were here, she probably would know.
Fujiwara Chiya looked up at the karuta tournament prizes. The winner's prize money was in the six digits, and there was also a large pile of other prizes.
"Leave this to me, Trainer-san!"
Matikane Fukukitaru patted her chest.
"I'm extremely familiar with this!"
I see.
So today's good fortune is Fukukitaru winning, huh?
Or maybe Rice Shower.
Looks like we can have a good meal today.
Half an hour later, Matikane Fukukitaru came running back in tears.
"I lost everything!"
Right after that came Rice Shower. She apologized to Fujiwara Chiya, saying she had been eliminated in the second round. That could not be helped. The town residents seemed to have long treated karuta as a tradition. Every single one of them was absurdly strong. They would slap the card after only the first two syllables were read.
Matikane Fukukitaru and the others could not compare.
But that was fine. Today was meant for going out and having fun anyway. Winning or losing was not important.
"There's another one over there! I'll go check that side, Trainer-san!"
Still unwilling to accept what had happened earlier, Matikane Fukukitaru made a request. Rice Shower hesitated for a moment, then also wanted to try again. She was actually quite familiar with the poems. She had simply been frightened by the others' intensity.
So Fujiwara Chiya simply let everyone play freely.
During the festival, many stalls had been set up along the street as well. When they arrived earlier, Fujiwara Chiya had already noticed one of them. He walked over to that roadside stall and looked at an old-looking poster.
On it was a girl with long, dark brown hair. She stood at the center of the poster, her crimson eyes radiating an imposing presence that seemed to tower over heaven and earth.
Fujiwara Chiya looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "This person wouldn't happen to be…"
"You know her, young man?"
The bearded uncle in his forties smiled.
"That's right. She is the first Triple Crown champion, St. Lite."
As expected!
Fujiwara Chiya had thought she looked familiar. St. Lite had started racing before he was even born, so Fujiwara Chiya had only ever watched recordings of her races. In St. Lite's era, the Twinkle Series had only just been established. She had created the first miracle of uma musume, with nine wins from twelve career starts, never once finishing outside the top three.
Looking at those old posters, Fujiwara Chiya asked, "How much are these? I'll take all of them."
Although he had never personally seen St. Lite race, Fujiwara Chiya had grown up hearing her stories and had always admired her.
"Young man, do you enjoy collecting uma musume merchandise?"
"I suppose so."
Fujiwara Chiya had an entire wardrobe full of it. Although the Director had discovered it and punished him once, Fujiwara Chiya had still never stopped collecting.
"I have St. Lite's autograph here. Want it?"
The man took out a folding fan with St. Lite's name written on it.
"She wrote this with her own hand."
You're selling a treasure like this?
"Back then, I was also a die-hard fan of uma musume and collected a lot of things. Unfortunately, business at the shop hasn't been good lately, so I can only bring these things out."
As he spoke, the man began explaining.
"In the past, this place was also one of the training grounds for uma musume. It was even the largest training ground. Later, after Tracen expanded, the uma musume basically stopped coming here."
In the past, the local economy had relied entirely on the training grounds here to draw visitors and tourists. Now that barely anyone came, the economy naturally suffered as well.
"I still have quite a few good things here. Want to take a look?"
He brought out all the merchandise he had collected over the years. After Fujiwara Chiya looked through it, he was deeply shaken.
"This is an autographed photo of Triple Crown champion Shinzan!?"
She had been the second Student Council President of Tracen. Rudolf had spoken about Shinzan many times, and every word had been filled with admiration. Nineteen races, fifteen wins, four second-place finishes, never once finishing worse than second. Even today, years later, it was still an incredible record. Very few could break it.
"Do you have anything else?" Fujiwara Chiya asked.
"You really are greedy. Since you want them that badly, I'll bring everything out."
Though he said that, the owner clearly did not really want to sell them either. After all, these things were already out of print. Every one he sold meant one fewer remained.
"There is also one more uma musume who has vanished from public view now. Back then, she was also a mighty figure who dominated the scene."
The phantom horse crowned with the name of the Hall of Fame.
Tokino Minoru.
He had a thank-you letter from her.
Fujiwara Chiya's hands started trembling. In the past, Central had held an event where they distributed thank-you letters from Tokino Minoru. There had only been ten of them. Unfortunately, Fujiwara Chiya had been too young at the time and had not been able to participate, so he could only give up.
Fujiwara Chiya was now certain.
The man before him was absolutely a die-hard uma musume fan.
"Young man, these things aren't cheap, you know."
The uncle smiled.
"I'm buying so much. Can't you give me a discount?"
"Ninety percent is already the best I can do."
The other party seemed certain that Fujiwara Chiya would not give up.
Gritting his teeth and nearly emptying his wallet, Fujiwara Chiya bought all of them. On the way back, he casually found a place to sit and began looking through the gifts those Triple Crown champions had given to their fans.
When he reached Tokino Minoru's letter, Fujiwara Chiya saw this written on it:
I am very grateful to the boy who always sat before the finish line and supported me. Because he was there, I was able to cross the line faster than anyone else. I am also grateful to you, who have always supported me. Because of your cheers, I was able to run on that racetrack.
If the person reading this letter is an uma musume, then as your senior, there is something I want to tell you.
When you find the courage to face the world, the world will also open its doors to you. As an uma musume, you must charge forward without hesitation.
"Trainer-san, I lost again!"
Matikane Fukukitaru ran over.
"The fortune clearly said today was great fortune, so why did it turn out like this?"
"It is great fortune. It really is great fortune!"
Fujiwara Chiya laughed loudly.
Inside him, the soul of an uma musume burned fiercely under the words left behind by those once-mighty legends.