Chapter 172: Magical Girl Kita
Standing in the grandstands and looking out over the track, Makoto unexpectedly felt the same drained sensation he used to get after periods of high-intensity training.
But more than that, there was the sheer pleasure and exhilaration the entire race had brought him.
He took a deep breath. The feeling of emptiness gradually shifted into plain fatigue, and the tension and excitement he'd been holding onto were finally released at last.
As if every pore in his body had opened up, he joined the rest of the spectators in applause, fully savoring the post-race atmosphere of joy.
His gaze swept across the track. Special Week, El Condor Pasa, and Grass Wonder were gathered together—serious one moment, chatting and laughing the next.
He didn't know what they were talking about, and just moments ago they had been fierce rivals battling it out on the track. Yet now, the smiles on their faces—their eyes, their brows, the corners of their mouths—made their friendship unmistakably clear.
'I guess… this is what makes Umamusume different from humans. Or maybe it's their bonds?' Makoto thought to himself. 'They fight like it's life or death on the track, yet off the track they can get along this easily…'
He looked elsewhere.
The two Mejiro sisters were talking as well. Mejiro Dober wore a cool, stern expression tinged with resignation, while Mejiro Bright looked utterly slow on the uptake. The contrast between the two was so vivid it made him smile.
On the other side, Stay Gold was walking alongside Matikanefukukitaru. Stay Gold was scratching her head in embarrassment, while Matikanefukukitaru cheerfully removed the small bag attached to the back of her Signature Racewear and then pulled out a glass ball the size of a soccer ball.
Holding the crystal ball in one hand, she spread the fingers of her other hand and waved them back and forth over its surface. Her lips moved as if chanting something, while Stay Gold stared at the ball with a mix of curiosity and anticipation.
The warm, pleasant mood was suddenly laced with something strange. Staring at the crystal ball, Makoto's mouth slowly fell open.
Wait a second—so this race…
No, even all the races during her active career…
She carried that thing the whole time?
He wasn't unaware that Matikanefukukitaru came from a shrine with deep historical roots, nor that she became a shrine priestess after retirement. He also knew that this Dream Trophy was a G1 race, and that all the Umamusume had donned their Signature Racewear for the occasion.
But he'd honestly thought the little bag on the back of Matikanefukukitaru's outfit was just decorative. He never imagined it actually contained a fortune-telling crystal ball.
And crystal ball divination is a Western thing, right?
You're a shrine priestess from a Japanese shrine—are you really okay using that?
The warmth and joy were completely replaced by a sense of absurdity and the urge to complain. Makoto couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead when he heard a curious voice beside him.
"Ohhh, Matikanefukukitaru-senpai is doing a fortune reading for Stay Gold-senpai."
Kitasan Black's eyes sparkled as she patted Makoto with one hand and then Almond Eye on the other.
"I've seen Matikanefukukitaru-senpai do divinations before when I went with Dia-chan to visit Teio-senpai. I hear they're pretty accurate."
"Really? Then did you ever try it yourself, Kita—eh?"
Turning her head in curiosity, Almond Eye froze for an instant. Her gaze lingered on the hands Makoto and Kitasan Black were holding, her eyes drifting back and forth between the two for a few seconds, looking distinctly odd.
Then her eyes darted away, and with an expression that said I saw nothing at all, she turned back toward the track with obvious interest.
"Of course I did! I asked Matikanefukukitaru-senpai to do readings for me several times—she was spot on every time!"
Completely unaware of Almond Eye's reaction, Kitasan Black nodded vigorously.
"Come to think of it, Rickey-chan can do fortune-telling too, but she doesn't use a crystal ball. She uses feng shui instead."
"Oh, and Tosho-senpai as well—but she doesn't use a crystal ball either. She uses magic."
Uncontrollably, Almond Eye stared at her in shock. Makoto did the same, as did Duramente, who until now had only shown mild interest.
"Kita-sanpai…" Almond Eye said slowly, "…you really know a lot of senpai, don't you…?"
Seeing Makoto and Kitasan Black's joined hands again, Almond Eye's gaze darted around, and she instinctively said, "Later… could I ask you to introduce me to them, senpai…?"
Duramente noticed their clasped hands as well. She didn't make anything of it—only gave them a brief glance before looking away, pinching her chin as she pondered.
"Kita really does know a lot of people."
"But divination… feng shui… magic…"
"Do those things really exist?"
Makoto wanted to ask the same question.
Matikanefukukitaru came from a shrine background, and fortune-telling with a crystal ball as a hobby was—barely—acceptable.
As for "Rickey-chan," Kitasan Black was referring to Copano Rickey. She could be considered Kitasan Black's childhood friend; the two of them often played together in the park when they were very young.
Copano Rickey wasn't much older than Kitasan Black and was also an active Umamusume.
However, she had chosen the dirt track circuit. Earlier that year, she had won the February Stakes, a dirt G1, achieving the first-ever consecutive victories in the race's history.
Like Matikanefukukitaru, Copano Rickey came from a family with a lineage of feng shui practitioners.
In Japan, feng shui was held in fairly high regard. What had once been dismissed as baseless mysticism was now considered an applied discipline grounded in architecture, environmental psychology, physical magnetic fields, and other scientific principles.
After several interactions, Makoto felt that Copano Rickey's understanding of feng shui was genuinely profound—true expertise, not pretense. He had also learned by chance that her dream after retirement was to become a professional feng shui master.
Compared to Matikanefukukitaru's fortune-telling, Copano Rickey's feng shui was clearly far more reliable.
However, Sweep Tosho—whom Kitasan Black called "Tosho-senpai"—and her supposed use of magic was, in Makoto's eyes, complete nonsense.
Or to put it another way, it was simply a reflection of that Umamusume's notoriously difficult temperament.
At least, that was how Makoto saw it.
Extremely willful. Resistant to training.
Once, on a snowy day, she had refused to train altogether, stubbornly standing motionless outside the track after an argument with her trainer, unmoved for an entire day. It was only after Tokai Teio and other student council members intervened that she finally ran a short distance.
Getting her into the starting gate was also extraordinarily—extraordinarily—difficult.
So difficult that at the Arima Kinen, tens of thousands of spectators witnessed her stand-off with the staff for a full two minutes. The race's initial cheers and encouragement were all spent on the battle just to get her into the gate.
Honestly speaking, aside from certain members of the Gold line, Makoto couldn't think of anyone whose temperament rivaled hers.
That said, Sweep Tosho's ability was undeniably exceptional.
Her pre-race tactics were exquisitely applied, her speed was high, and her closing kick was so ferocious it could only be described as terrifying.
It was precisely this strength—especially that closing kick—that earned Sweep Tosho the nickname "Little Witch." Among trainers, the term was more often used to refer to her "magic-like closing kick."
Just as Makoto was pondering divination, feng shui, and magic, Kitasan Black turned toward Almond Eye and Duramente with a completely serious expression.
"Of course they're all real! Matikanefukukitaru-senpai's divinations are really accurate— oh, right, I already said that."
"Rickey-chan's feng shui is really useful too. The lantern in my dorm room is placed according to her advice, and I feel like I have great luck every day!"
"And Tosho-senpai's magic spells are real as well. She knows everything about magical girls!"
Suddenly growing excited, Kitasan Black then let out a sigh.
"It's a shame, though. I once came up with a spell that I thought would turn me into a magical girl, but senpai rejected it… Looks like my magical talent just isn't good enough after all."
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