Chapter 40: The Early Summer Showdown

Luck had saved Mihono Bourbon, and the guidance of the Three Goddesses had saved Manhattan Café. Since ancient times, “shooting stars” have been told of as omens of death—or as beings that grant wishes. The Three Goddesses saw both meanings in them: shooting stars sense the death of one who runs as a Uma Musume, and at the same time, they grant the wish of those who still desire to run. Which Uma Musume will be the next to shine like a falling star...?

As June drew to a close, an almost suffocating heat began to blanket Tracen Academy. Feeling the approach of true summer, the Uma Musume were—

"Rue, help meee! I’m seriously in trouble!"

"Ah, Comp? I’m in middle school, so high school material is kinda…"

"Don’t say that! You can do it, right!? Please, I’m begging you!"

She was in a full-blown panic.

At the end of June, something dreadful awaited them—midterm exams.

Even though Tracen Academy’s main focus was training Uma Musume, it still maintained the façade of an academic institution. Which meant, of course, that the students were required to study properly.

"Why do we have to study so much anyway!? As long as we can run races, isn’t that enough!?"

"Well, our time as active racers doesn’t last long. Once we retire, this stuff’s gonna matter. You’ll thank yourself later."

An Uma Musume’s racing career lasts around six years at best. It sounds long, but it passes in the blink of an eye—and nearly every Uma Musume dedicates those years entirely to racing. You could say that their racing years are their youth. And youth, of course, is the most important time in a person’s life—it determines everything that comes after.

"That’s why studying matters, Comp. You can’t keep running forever, right? No matter what you end up doing, knowing stuff won’t hurt."

"But it is hurting me now! Ugh, Rue, I thought you were just a race-crazy type, but your grades are way too good! What gives!?"

Well, that’s because I studied a ton in my previous life. I don’t remember everything, but as soon as I open a textbook, it all starts coming back. …Except history.

What’s up with this world’s history!? Because Uma Musume keep randomly showing up and changing the timeline, none of my old-world knowledge is reliable at all!

"Here, here! Rue, explain this part! I don’t get it at all!"

"Ah, math, huh. Okay, show me your book and notes for a sec? …Yeah, yeah. Alright, first you take this equation here…"

"Huh? Wait, one more time, please…"

I owed Bridge Comp a lot on a daily basis. Helping her study was the least I could do.

"You plug this one in over here. Then pull this formula down from here…"

"Hmm? Oh, I think I’m starting to get it! So this number goes like this, right?"

"Exactly, you’ve got it! See? You’re getting the hang of it. Okay, next up—"

"Wait wait wait! There’s still so much left, and it’s not just math!"

When she showed me the stack of reference books she’d prepared, my consciousness nearly left my body.

…All of this? No way we’re finishing before tomorrow.

"Uh, Bridge Comp-san? When exactly are the exams again…?"

"Um… this weekend… I think?"

I felt my soul leave my body. Wait, hold on.

There’s no way we’ll make it!

No—think positively. We don’t need to cover everything. This is just a school exam; the scope of the questions is limited. I’ll extract only what’s essential and cram it into Comp’s head somehow!

"Comp, do you have any past exams!?"

"I do, but… they change the questions every time! Memorizing them won’t—"

"That’s not how you use past exams! They’re for identifying patterns! You don’t just memorize them!"

"O-okay!"

I flipped through all the old tests, scanning for topics that looked easier. This subject—these two chapters! That subject—from page 80 to 130 in this reference book!

Still… that’s a lot!

"Damn it, not enough time… Comp, there’s a rule that lets students in pre-summer races postpone their exams, right!? Why didn’t you use that!?"

"Ahaha… I, uh, forgot… I was busy…"

Oh, come on.

I wanted to scold her, but it wouldn’t help. The deadline wouldn’t move, and the workload wouldn’t shrink. Complaining wastes time we could spend studying!

"This one, and this one, and—wait, Comp, this subject suddenly got harder starting two years ago!?"

"Oh, that’s because the teacher changed. Two years ago, exactly."

"Ughhh! Then the old exams are useless! We have to study that one seriously!"

After sorting and cutting everything down, the mountain of textbooks was reduced to about a quarter of what we started with.

We’d… made it this far. Maybe—just maybe—there was hope.

"If we push hard, we might barely finish… Comp, let’s do this!"

"Isn’t this still too much…? Can’t we trim it more…?"

"No we can’t!!"

I tied a headband around Comp’s forehead, ruler in hand, and switched into full-on drill instructor mode.

The hellish midterm exam prep had only just begun.

Whenever she got stuck, I explained everything step-by-step. Whenever she started to slack off, I dragged her back to the desk. And when she looked exhausted, I brewed her a cup of coffee.

"I-I’m so tired… But, it’s kinda starting to make sense now… Thanks, Rue…"

"Glad to hear it. Here, have some coffee—extra milk and sugar. Good for a tired brain."

Comp, looking completely exhausted, slowly sipped her coffee.

Or rather, her café au lait—so heavy on milk and sugar it barely counted as coffee. But as soon as she tasted it, her face softened with a smile.

It seemed my homemade café au lait was to her liking.

"Ahh… Rue’s love is seeping right into my tired body… Just this alone makes me feel like all that studying was worth it…"

"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking like that and I’ll add more pages to your workload."

"Please, nooo…"

From the amount Comp had managed to finish today, it really did feel like she might just make it in time—barely, but still.

"Alright, once you finish that, we’re moving on to the second half."

"Ughh… Hey, maybe we could take a break or something—"

"You sound awfully lively for someone begging for a break. Guess that means rest time’s over."

"Timeout, timeout! I’ll study, I promise! Forgive me!"

After she’d rested enough, we picked up the pace again. With some strict, no-nonsense teaching from me, we somehow managed to hit our target for the day.

After a few more days of that kind of routine, the day of the exams finally arrived.

…Come to think of it, I didn’t study for my own exams much at all. Am I gonna be okay?

"Eh, I’ll manage somehow. I paid decent attention in class. Plus, it’s just middle school exams—how hard can they be?"

In fact, I’d passed the end-of-junior-year exams with flying colors before.

As I entered the classroom and flipped over my test paper at the signal, I skimmed through the questions. Most of them looked familiar.

Alright, this should be fine…

"And that’s all the exams done for this term. How’d it go, Comp?"

"I don’t think… I’ll need make-up classes or retests… I hope… but still…"

"You’ll be fine. You worked your tail off for this. Come on, it’s over now—go do something fun to clear your head."

The reason Comp cared so much about these exams was simple: if her grades were bad, she’d have to delay joining the summer training camp.

"Spending less time with Rue at camp… that’s the only thing I don’t want. Please, just no failing grades…"

"Don’t you wanna do something to take your mind off it? Keep moping about exams and you’ll just make yourself more miserable."

The moment I said that, Comp’s eyes gleamed ominously.

Uh-oh. That look never means anything good.

"What I want to do, huh… Rue, will you come with me?"

"D-depends on what it is…"

"Let’s go out! I want to go out with you, Rue! We haven’t gone anywhere together lately!"

"Ah… well, that’s true."

It had been a while since I last went out with Bridge Comp.

Between spring and summer, the calendar was packed with G1s and other races, leaving every Uma Musume buried in training. It hadn’t exactly been a good season for casual outings.

"Alright, that much I can agree to. So, where to?"

"The shopping mall! I’m spending the whole day tomorrow out with Rue! Okay!?"

"Uh—yeah, sure."

I nodded instinctively under the sheer force of her enthusiasm. She must’ve really wanted to hang out.

"Don’t you dare oversleep tomorrow morning! We’re gonna play until we run out of time!"

"Got it, got it."

The next day, true to her word, Bridge Comp dragged me around for as long as time would allow.

I barely had time to change before she hauled me straight to the shopping mall.

And the moment the doors opened, she launched herself inside, window-shopping like a tornado.

"Hmm… This one’s cute, but I don’t think I could pull it off."

"Yeah, probably not your size anyway. We’re both kinda short, so grown-up styles like that usually don’t fit right."

Lately, I’d gotten a bit less resistant to wearing women’s clothes. Maybe it was that White Day gift from my trainer—that outfit had definitely helped me get over the mental hurdle.

"Hey, maybe this one would fit me? It’s a long skirt; not bad, right?"

"Wait, Rue, you’re actually buying that!? Since when did you start picking out clothes like that yourself…?"

"I’ve been wearing stuff like this for a while, you know. Looks good on me, doesn’t it?"

"It… actually really does, yeah…"

I tried it on, confirmed the fit was perfect, and bought it. I should probably start getting some autumn clothes ready anyway.

"Hmm… I think I’ll pass for now."

"What, not buying anything? Alright, next store then."

We’d gone through a few shops when suddenly someone called out from behind.

Turning around, I saw another Uma Musume—did I drop something? She didn’t look like a Tracen student though.

Before I could ask, her eyes lit up.

"Um! You’re Bridge Comp and Mithialx, right!?"

"Huh? Yeah, that’s us, but…?"

"I’m a huge fan of both of you!"

Ah, that explained it. Both of us were G1 Uma Musume now, with a fair bit of name recognition. Getting approached by fans in public wasn’t new.

I switched gears instantly, slipping into my polite, fan-friendly mode.

"Hehe, thank you so much. Oh, would you like a signature? If you’ve got something to write on, that is."

"R-really!? Just a sec! I think I have something—"

Together, Comp and I signed for her.

If that could make someone happy, I’d do it anytime. Fans like her were the reason we could keep running.

"Wow, wow…! I can’t believe I got to talk to both of you—and a signature too…!"

"Thank you for always supporting us. Please keep cheering for us, okay?"

"Of course! I’ll keep rooting for both Lux and Comp forever! I’ll come watch your next race too!"

The girl gave our hands a firm shake, beaming, before heading off.

Encounters like that really do give you energy.

"She was incredible, huh, Rue? You looked pretty happy yourself."

"I like when fans talk to me like that. It reminds me that people are really cheering for us out there."

"Guess that makes you a proper Uma Musume now, huh?"

She wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t running alone.

My trainer, Bridge Comp, Mihono Bourbon, King Halo—my allies, my rivals, and my fans… they were all behind me.

"Alright, time to get back to shopping. Comp, you still haven’t found enough yet, right?"

"I wanna check out the new accessories—can we?"

"Ugh, accessories… I’m still not used to that stuff."

"Rue, you’ve got the looks for it! It’s a waste not to wear some. C’mon, I’ll help you pick something cute!"

Soon, real summer would arrive.

Blue seas, white sand, blazing sun—and the summer training camp waiting for us.

A summer of preparation and resolve was about to begin.