Chapter 61: Years in the making!

As television programs began rolling out their year-end specials, the atmosphere slowly shifted, reminding everyone that the year was coming to a close.

"Yep, nothing beats a kotatsu. Sure, sipping coffee in a cold room has its charm, but sitting in a warm kotatsu while snacking on ice cream and mandarins? That's the ultimate luxury."

Submerged all the way up to my shoulders in the kotatsu set up in the Trainer’s office, I murmured to myself.

A laptop full of race videos sat right in front of me. Honestly, this alone could carry me through the entire New Year’s holiday without a hint of boredom. I’d already been watching for half a day straight, yet I still wasn’t showing the slightest sign of fatigue.

Yeah… this is heaven…

"Lux, I did say you could take a break from training, but… isn’t this exactly what you do normally…?"

"Nah, I’m not analyzing anything right now. It’s totally different! Watching Uma Musume run while relaxing like this is fun. Studying races and watching races for enjoyment—those are completely different things, right?"

"Well… I suppose that makes sense. Just make sure you take proper breaks, okay?"

"Okayyy."

Once the New Year’s holiday period began, most of the girls aside from the Dream Trophy group had gone home. The cafeteria was running on a reduced menu, and the academy felt unusually quiet.

Maybe because of that, a strangely relaxed atmosphere drifted through the campus. Well… if I went to the training grounds, I’d still see the Dream Trophy group with their “definitely not pretty faces” grinding through last-minute training before the big race, but still.

"By the way, Trainer, aren’t you going home for the holidays? You didn’t have to stick around just for me, you know."

"Ah, my family doesn’t really gather during long breaks. It’s not like we’re on bad terms or anything, it’s just…"

"Hmm? Complicated situation? Sorry if I touched on something sensitive."

"No, no, nothing like that. We’re all just… kind of lazy…"

Ahh… yeah. I get that. When you work all the time, making a long trip back home during the busiest season—fighting crowds and draining your remaining stamina just to get there—is rough.

So you end up visiting outside the major holiday rush instead.

Yeah. Been there.

"Well, that can’t be helped. You still see them sometimes, right? Then it’s fine."

That’s just how it goes.

Unless there’s some big family event where everyone needs to show up, that level of distance is perfectly normal. Be a little filial when you can, and if you start feeling lonely, just drop by.

That’s pretty much what being a working adult is like.

"Ahh… I kinda want something sweet… but the cafeteria menu gets super limited around this time of year… I want something cheap and simple…"

The atmosphere of year-end TV specials seeped into me, making me crave random snacks for no real reason.

"Want to go buy something? The shopping street should still be open today."

"The shopping street, huh… Guess we could check it out for once."

After getting dressed, I stepped out into the freezing air.

Not that I was all that cold. As long as I hid my tail and ears and threw on a pair of fake glasses, my disguise was complete.

"I knew the shopping street existed, but I never really had a reason to go."

"That’s true. You can get almost everything at the school store or the cafeteria, and if you really need something big, there's always the mall."

"Exactly."

When we arrived, I found the shopping street surprisingly lively.

You always hear about how local shopping districts lose customers when a big commercial center opens nearby, but I guess this place didn’t have to worry about that.

Probably because Tracen Academy is so close.

…Wait, hold up. That product over there—doesn’t it have a picture of an Uma Musume I know plastered on it…? “Beloved by Popular Uma Musume!”—is this allowed…?

"This is wild…"

Curiosity got the better of me and I picked one up.

The photo of her flashing a cheerful peace sign felt strangely surreal.

"Oh? A customer? That there’s an officially endorsed product from that popular Uma Musume, you know."

"Officially… endorsed…?"

"She comes to shop here often, and through that connection we ended up producing this with her approval."

So she actually uses it, and it escalated all the way to official endorsement… Impressive business instincts.

But that wasn’t what we came here for. We continued toward our real destination.

Eventually, we arrived at a Japanese sweets shop.

"I haven’t really eaten much wagashi before. Since New Year’s is coming up, I figured I should try a bunch."

"That’s true. Come to think of it, I’ve only ever seen you eat things like konpeitō."

"They don’t look like they’d pair well with coffee. But you know what they say—everything’s worth trying once. So I figured I’d experiment a bit."

We bought a selection of wagashi, then picked up some ice cream from another shop. Ice cream under the kotatsu is pure bliss, after all.

But after finishing a few purchases, I noticed several slips of paper in my hand. They weren’t bills or receipts. I tilted my head in confusion.

"What are these? The cashier gave them to me."

"Looks like they say ‘Lucky Draw Ticket’. They must be running some kind of event."

Listening closely, I heard faint bell sounds in the distance.

Ah, the classic year-end lottery. Might as well give it a try.

"There it is. Wow, looks like it’s pretty popular."

"Look, Lux! The grand prize is a luxury hot-spring ryokan pair ticket!"

"The grand prize… is a hot spring trip…?"

This is totally that standard January Senior-Class event from the app.

Depending on what prize you drew, your Uma Musume’s stats or motivation would go up—that thing.

I had three lottery tickets in my hand. Hmm… well, I may as well use them. Not like I’m expecting anything great anyway.

"Alright, missy! One, two, three—there you go. Just grab the handle and give it a spin."

"Here goes."

Clatter-clatter! The lottery machine rattled loudly as I turned the crank.

The ball that popped out of the chute was… white.

"Too bad! That’s the consolation prize—tissues. You’ve got two more tries; hope you win something!"

"Mmmmmm…"

I mean, I didn’t really care whether I won anything. At first.

But the moment I actually pulled a “miss,” something inside me refused to accept it.

Damn it… at least give me a carrot or something…!

But my hope was crushed when the second ball was white too.

"Tough luck, missy. Here, another pack of tissues. One more try left—give it everything you’ve got!"

Grrrrrr…!
I can’t end like this!

Back when I was playing the app, I thought, “Don’t get so depressed over one bad pull.”
But now I get it. This really tanks your motivation.

It’s surprisingly frustrating!

I focused all my will into the final spin. Please, let me win something…

"Huh…? H-Hey, missy!"

I still had my eyes closed, so I couldn’t see the color of the ball.

But judging by his voice, I clearly hit something big.

Slowly, I opened my eyes—and there it was.

"We have a winner! Special Prize—A Luxury Hot-Spring Ryokan Pair Ticket! Nicely done, missy! Didn’t think it’d come out on the very last try!"

"…..huh?"

A golden ball sat in the tray.

Wait. Seriously?

"That’s amazing, Lux. It’s a very famous hot-spring resort, so I’m sure it’ll be a great experience. And since there aren’t any races for a bit after New Year’s, you should invite someone and go enjoy it."

No matter how many times I blinked, the ball didn’t change color.
The golden shine remained exactly where it was.

"Uh… um… what?"

"You’re… not happy, Lux? I thought you’d love this sort of thing."

"It’s not that I don’t like hot springs… it’s just… it doesn’t feel real… Seriously…?"

What am I even supposed to do with this…?

The attendant handed me the travel voucher, and I stared at it. No matter how I looked, it was definitely real—properly stamped and everything.

Yet reality refused to sink in. In that hazy, floaty mood, we returned to the Trainer’s office.

I examined the voucher from corner to corner, practically burning a hole through it with my eyes.

"You’re making a pretty intense face. Something bothering you? If you pick the right timing, you could definitely go on the trip."

"It’s not that… it’s just… hmm…"

Alright, so the question was: What do I do with this?

The best option would be to invite someone and use it early in the year. If I don’t take the chance now, who knows when I’ll next have time.

But I… couldn’t bring myself to pick that option.

I twisted my head, thinking.

I wanna go to a hot spring with Trainer…

A little spark of that thought tried to slip out from deep inside me—and my rational mind instinctively shoved it back down.

"Ah—hey, Trainer. Can you hold onto this for me? If I keep it, I feel like I’ll lose it."

"You sure? It’s not cheap, and if you can’t use it when you want to—"

"It’s fine. I mean, I’ll need to talk to you anyway if I want to take time off to go, right? So instead, you can give it to me when you think the timing’s good."

"…If that’s what you want, Lux, then alright."

This was for the best. If I held onto it myself, I’d probably overthink it and stress over something unnecessary.

Lately, whenever it involves Trainer… my brain gets all foggy. At least it only happens with him, so it’s not like it’s ruining my life.

I slid back into the kotatsu and lined up the coffee and wagashi we had bought.

"Hmm, this looks pretty good. Let’s see… I’ll try this one first."

I bit into the yokan. After the sweetness spread across my tongue, I took a sip of the black coffee I brewed—

"Oh, that goes well together. Japanese sweets have a different kind of sweetness from Western sweets, so pairing them with black coffee was the right choice. Now, how about this rakugan?"

I alternated between the wagashi and coffee, savoring each flavor carefully.

Wagashi with coffee is… actually pretty good.

I thought I’d brewed a decent amount of coffee, but before I knew it, the cup was nearly empty. Guess I should make a bit more next time. Taking out fresh beans, I prepared the tools as I glanced out the window.

"Oh—snow. Good thing it didn’t start while we were shopping."

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, beginning to blanket the ground in white.

"Seeing snow kinda makes me crave ice cream… Hey, Trainer, I'm about to dig into the ice I bought earlier—come over and have some with me?"

"Ah, just give me a bit. I'm almost done with this."

"Mmh! Then I’ll brew some coffee for you too!"

Nothing pairs better with cold ice cream than a warm kotatsu and a hot cup of coffee. I ended up eating the ice cream before making coffee earlier… so this time I’d do it right.

"Alright, I'm wrapped up for now. Oh, going with black coffee today? That’s unusual. You usually add sugar and milk."

"I normally match it to your tastes, Trainer, but since it's a special occasion, I went with black. I also bought super sweet ice cream, so worst case you can just melt some into it."

Next, the ice cream was spread out across the table. They were all affordable kinds you’d find at a convenience store, but seeing this many lined up was surprisingly impressive.

For now, I picked up one of the six-pack bars, took a bite, and let it melt on my tongue. Before the aftertaste faded, I gulped down the coffee—mm, delicious.

"Hey, Trainer! Gimme half of that!"

"Eh? But I already took a bite."

"I don’t care! I was eyeing that one!"

I chomped right into the Trainer’s half-eaten ice cream. Come on—this was the new flavor of that series we always eat together. Of course I was dying to try it.

And tasting it now? Yep. Totally my kind of flavor. So unfair, Trainer—trying to hog it all to yourself.

"Lux… you know, that's not exactly ladylike."

"It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re the only one I’d ever do this with anyway. So just let it slide a bit."

I kept tossing ice cream into my mouth one after another. While we messed around like that, the world outside the window had already turned dark.

Whoa, is it that late already?

"Guess I’ll go grab some soba from the cafeteria…"

"Oh, I'll come too. Why not."

We slurped the soba together. Nothing says New Year’s Eve like this.

"Looking back on this past year, I suppose we could call it the Year of the Golden Generation. Beginning with Grass Wonder, the Uma Musume who—"

"Oh, King is on TV. She was amazing in the Arima Kinen."

"That really surprised me too."

"They’re recapping with live race footage as well—"

As the special program reached its climax, distant temple bells began to ring. So this year really was ending… So much happened. Last year was intense, but this year was even more so.

The TV switched to a live broadcast of the New Year’s bells, showing the grounds of a famous shrine.

"Trainer, thanks for everything this year. Really… thank you."

"Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?"

The Trainer looked puzzled. But these things need to be said out loud.

"You’ve always been the one helping me. I wanted to properly thank you."

"You don’t need to. I’m the one who’s grateful. Becoming the trainer of a GⅠ Uma Musume made me happier than you know. Thank you, Lux."

"Eh—hehe…"

The clock hands drew closer, and finally overlapped at the number twelve.

"Oh—New Year’s. Happy New Year! Let's have another great one, Trainer."

"Same to you, Lux."

"And… sudden announcement, but I’m tired, so I’m just gonna sleep in the kotatsu like this… Wake me up when it’s time for the shrine visit…"

"Eh—"

I spent the whole day in high spirits, so the drowsiness hit all at once. Hugging a nearby cushion, I slowly closed my eyes.

Another year had ended. And the final year was about to begin. The year of choices—