Chapter 62: Happy New Year!

There’s a saying: “Your whole year is decided on New Year’s Day.” With that floating in my mind, I still couldn’t bring myself to take even one step out of the kotatsu.

Honestly, the scene on TV was crushing my will completely. A female reporter was pushing her way through crowds at a shrine, and people were lining up in massive queues at food stalls.

Yeah… no thanks. Hard pass on that…

"Well, that settles it. I’m staying right here and taking a nap. Ahhh, kotatsu really is the best…"

"I think that’s fine. If we wait a little later, it should thin out quite a bit."

I stayed curled in the kotatsu, chatting idly with Trainer.

People always say I have this or that hobby, but honestly… the thing I enjoy most might just be being with Trainer. Is it okay if I start writing “Hobby: Trainer”? No? Probably not…

"Oh? Looks like Tachyon and the others headed out for their first shrine visit. Teio just messaged me."

"How’s the crowd looking? If it isn’t too bad, we could go too."

"She said it’s not that packed. Teio’s taking pictures with Hachimi."

Teio really does love Hachimi, huh…

"Do you know which shrine they went to?"

"Hold up… ah, there, the one near the Academy… look, this one."

I got tired of explaining with words, so I popped out of the kotatsu, pounced onto Trainer, and showed him my phone directly. The map app displayed a pin not too far from the Academy. Walking there shouldn’t be a problem.

"Um, Lux? That’s…"

"Let’s go visit the shrine, and then stop by the convenience store on the way back to buy something."

"You are just… haaa…"

What’s with that face? I didn’t say anything weird. It’s close enough that even Trainer can walk there easily.

"If we hurry, we might run into Teio and the others. Come on, let’s get ready."

"Ah—wait a second, Lux."

But leaning on him like this really reminded me how big Trainer’s back is—and how small I’ve gotten in comparison.

Hmm… just a little more…

"Lux, you’ll have to move or I can’t get ready…"

"Just a sec… just a bit longer…"

Trainer’s back is really calming. When I’m pressed against him like this, I can forget everything and just be an Uma Musume.

Well, I can’t stay like this forever. I should get ready too.

"Oh right, I bought a new coat at the end of the year. I totally forgot about it. Might as well grab it from my room."

"That’s unusual."

"I found one that hides my tail properly and fits me perfectly. I couldn’t resist buying it."

I went back to my room and got dressed.

I slipped on the coat and headed for the door… then paused.

"…Maybe I should tidy up a bit more."

I swapped out my everyday earrings for nicer, pricier ones and fixed up my hair. After checking myself in the mirror and confirming everything looked fine, I dashed out.

"Trainer, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Alright, shall we go? Hm, did you change your earrings?"

"Y-yeah. We’re going out, so."

"Those suit you quite well too. Where did you get those again?"

Trainer reached out and touched my earring. Hey—!

"Trainer!"

"Ah, sorry. You don’t like being touched?"

It’s not that! Touching me out of nowhere like that is bad for my heart, seriously.

"Geez… at least warn me before you do that."

And so we started walking.

The moment we stepped outside the Academy, the streets were filled with people clearly on their way back from their New Year’s shrine visit.

People holding yakisoba and other food stall snacks, people hugging kumade and charms like precious treasures…

"That’s amazing… where did they buy that…?"

"It really is. I’ve never seen such a huge decorative sea bream before."

Someone was carrying an ornament I was sure I’d seen somewhere before.

Isn’t that going to get in the way…?

"Does that even bring good luck…?"

"…Hard to say. Honestly, it doesn’t look that effective. They look like they’re suffering carrying it right now…"

"Yeah, true. I wonder how heavy that thing is."

A sharp gust of cold wind swept past us—whoosh.

Trainer shivered, and I grabbed his hand.

"Hey, don’t hold back. I told you before—Uma Musume have high body temperature."

I laced my fingers with his, warming his cold hand. Still not enough, so I pressed myself close.

"See? Nice and toasty, right?"

"Yeah, that’s… incredibly warm, actually…"

"And you’re wearing the scarf I gave you."

"Of course. It’s a gift from my precious charge, after all."

Damn it, that’s exactly the kind of thing that gets me! I mean—yeah, I’m happy, ridiculously happy, but don’t say stuff like that so casually!

Ugh… but… I’m so happy…

"Ah, Lux, I think that’s the place."

Ahead were rows of food stalls—and a loooong staircase. Ah… maybe this is why it’s less crowded than other shrines…

Yeah, I get it. Climbing those stairs just to reach the shrine would be rough. I suddenly remembered that some Uma Musume at Tracen use these steps for training.

No joke, with that incline someone could actually die…

"I was wondering why the stalls were all at the bottom instead of up by the shrine, but one look at those stairs and it all makes sense."

"Yeah… At first I even had the idea of using this place for your training, Lux."

Please don’t. That failure animation in the game is fine because it’s a game—in reality, messing up on stairs like these would be a career-ending injury.

"Oh, they’re selling candied apples! And those sponge cakes over there look good too."

"Food from festival stalls is funny, isn’t it? If you spent the same amount at a proper shop you’d get something way better, but you still end up buying it anyway."

"Right? I dunno, maybe the atmosphere adds a nice flavor to it."

"I’ve heard people say that food tastes better when you eat it at the racetrack too."

We climbed the stairs and reached the shrine grounds. There were way fewer stalls than below. Well, yeah, obviously…

And at the offertory box, I saw some familiar faces.

"Alright! I finished my prayers, so let’s go eat at the stalls!"

"Teio-kun, be a dear and buy my portion as well."

Teio, Tachyon, Cafe… and “our friend.”

Four people… no, maybe three? They noticed me halfway and came running over.

"Lux—! Happy New Year!"

"Urk! T-Teio, please stop that…"

"Aww, why not? Lux is so comfy to hug! Squish squish—!"

What’s that supposed to mean? That I’m… well-padded? I mean, you’re not wrong but still!

"Happy New Year, Lux-kun! I’ll be counting on you again this year! I still have mountains of theories that are only halfway proven, after all! You’ll have to help me!"

"H-Happy New Year, Lux-san… Our friend is also very happy to see you…"

"Happy New Year. Tachyon, if you compile your experiments into documents, I can match my schedule to help out. Trainer, we’ll need coordination. And Happy New Year to you too, Cafe. I found a nice new original blend recently—I’ll share some with you later."

After the greetings, we finished our shrine visit.

I tossed in a coin, rang the bell, did two bows, clapped twice, and… crap, I didn’t think of any wishes at all!

What do I… ah whatever, let’s just go with “Please let me win my races.”

I finished with the final bow.

"Man, that freaked me out. I didn’t think about what to wish for at all."

"Haha, that’s very Lux-like. You’re the type who ends up getting what you want through your own effort anyway."

Well, time to stroll through the food stalls on the way back.

"Done? Lux Lux Lux! Let’s eat that together!"

"…Super Jumbo Castella…? Isn’t that, like, absurdly huge…?"

"If we all eat it, it’s fine! Right right, Tachyon, say it’s fine!"

"Hmm, well, we are Uma Musume. I think we can handle that much."

"Yay!"

The castella sponge cake Teio brought back had a truly overwhelming presence.

Can we… eat this…?

"This is quite sizable… munch, munch… hmm, but the taste isn’t bad."

"It is a lot, though…"

"munch… munch…"

It was a huge amount, but with four Uma Musume eating, it became manageable surprisingly fast. Even as we talked, the castella kept shrinking at an impressive rate.

Uma Musume really do eat a lot… Where does all that food even go…?

Well, the girls who race burn ridiculous amounts of energy, so I guess it makes sense.

"By the way, what’s your plan for this year? I heard you’re aiming for the Triple Crown."

"Ah, that? We’re deciding whether to go straight to the Satsuki Sho or squeeze in another race first. Teio-kun still has plenty of room to grow. Using real races to help adjust her form is a valid option."

As for me, I’m still undecided. For now, my goal is the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.

"Oh, I want fried chicken too! I’ll go buy some!"

"Um, we haven’t even finished the castella yet…"

"It’s fine it’s fine! Lux is scarfing it down like crazy—at this pace it’ll be gone in no time!"

"Well… yes, but…"

Without realizing it, my hand kept reaching out, and somehow I’d eaten like eighty percent of the castella myself.

Well… at this point, fried chicken doesn’t sound unreasonable…

"They have candied apples too! Lux, you’re having one, right? I’m buying it!"

"Y-yeah…"

Letting Teio carry the wallet was definitely a mistake. Anything that caught her eye ended up in our arms, and before long, the four of us were completely loaded with food.

Can we really finish all this? Are we okay?

Well, at least we managed to get through the castella. Now then… what should we go for next…

"Ah, Trainer. I want a candied apple."

"This one? Oh—Lux, both your hands are full…"

"Please hold it up to my mouth as-is. Feed me. It’s the easiest and least effort."

I bit into the candied apple Trainer held out. That cheap, sugary flavor really is irresistible. Once I’d eaten about half and felt satisfied, I shifted my focus to the rest of the food piled in my arms.

"You can have the rest, Trainer."

"Lux, this is…"

"Or… do you not want it because I already bit it…?"

"…Ugh—fine, I’ll eat it."

While we were talking like that, Tachyon and the others watched us with these warm, knowing smiles. What?

"You two sure get along. Are you always like this?"

"More or less. Outside of sleeping and classes, I feel like I’m with Trainer pretty much all the time."

Actually, ever since the new year started, haven’t I been with Trainer practically every waking moment? The only time we separated was when I went back to my room to grab my coat.

"…And you’re holding hands so naturally, too…"

"This? Trainer always looks cold, so I keep them warm like this. Also so I don’t get lost, since I’m small."

"Even so, the way you’re holding hands is… um… kind of like you’re lovers…"

"Huh? Cafe-san, did you say something?"

Manhattan Cafe muttered something under her breath, but the surrounding noise swallowed her words.

Well, it probably wasn’t anything important.

By the time the appetites of four Uma Musume had nearly wiped out everything we'd bought, we’d made our way back near the Academy.

"Haah… well then, shall we head back to the Trainer’s office?"

"Huh? Why are you going back to the Trainer’s office, Lux?"

"Well, I’ve been staying there since New Year’s. I don’t plan on going back to my family home, and my roommate, Bridge Comp-san, went back to her parents, so it’s lonely."

"That’s… not the part I wanted to question…"

What a strange girl.

"Lux-kun, you’re pretty bold."

"Right? I didn’t think she’d be this forward, honestly."

After parting ways with the three of them—who wore a blend of disbelief and admiration—we headed back to the Trainer’s office. And in the end, unable to resist the kotatsu’s overwhelming charm, we lounged in it until nightfall.