Uma Musume: To The Top!!

Godolphin didn't bother explaining her oddly cryptic words. Once breakfast was finished, she put both hands on Kuroha's back and shoved him toward the entryway.

"Alright, alright. Stop waxing philosophical here. You should get out the door and start handling the weddings you've got coming up!"

As she pushed him along, the goddess started counting on her fingers with exaggerated seriousness.

"Next up there are six, no, seven, hmm…?"

She tilted her head, her gaze seeming to pierce the ceiling toward some bedroom on the second floor. Then she nodded with absolute certainty.

"Add in that little cutie upstairs sleeping in, and that makes eight weddings waiting for you!"

"…"

Kuroha stumbled and nearly smacked into the doorframe.

"What are you even talking about? Where are you getting eight from?"

He turned around, deadpan, staring at the troublemaking goddess.

"Sure, Fumino can count as the sixth, but McQueen is definitely not going to line up right after March and Little Inari and the others."

"At the very least, she'd have to wait until after she retires, right?"

"Huh? I guess you're right," the blue-haired goddess said, tapping her soft cheek with a finger, looking genuinely thoughtful. "Getting married while you're still active would mess with training and race condition… though for you, I don't think any of that's a problem."

Watching Godolphin ham it up, Kuroha sighed and sat down in the entryway to put on his shoes.

Maybe because she'd been away from the mundane world for so long, Godolphin was unusually lively and enthusiastic during her time down here.

And with that ridiculous, innate affinity she had as the progenitor of Horse Girls, she carried none of the stiffness you'd expect from a god.

In no time at all, she'd blended right in with the other Horse Girls on the Chasing Light team.

On top of that, because she was constantly following Kuroha back and forth between the Chasing Light dorms and his family's training grounds, to an outsider she looked no different from any of the other 담당 Horse Girls, just a stunning girl with blue hair and green eyes.

"By the way," Kuroha said after he finished tying his shoes, as if remembering something. He stood and looked back at her. "About you. I told Maruzen and Mr. C.B. to hold off and not mention anything to Rudolf or Chairwoman Akikawa for now."

"But are you really sure?"

"As one of the Three Goddesses, if you're going to stay in the world for a long time, are you seriously not going to talk to Tracen's upper administration at all?"

Godolphin blinked. Then she folded her hands in front of herself, and the vibe around her switched instantly from cheerful neighbor-girl to calm, unruffled goddess.

"If those children learn who I am, it'll only make them act with their hands tied. I have no interest in interfering with the future of their generation."

After a brief pause, she smiled again, light and easy, slipping right back into her relaxed demeanor.

"Besides, if they figure it out on their own, that's fine."

"And you don't have to go out of your way to hide me, Hane-kun. I'm not some Ultraman human host who has to keep her secret identity under wraps."

…You're not that different from an Ultraman host, honestly. If anything, you're probably even more absurd.

Kuroha kept the complaint to himself.

But since Godolphin truly didn't care whether her identity got exposed, he stopped worrying about it.

"Alright. I'm heading out. If you're staying home, keep an eye on McQueen for me. Don't let her sleep in until noon."

"Got it. Have a safe trip."

With the blue goddess's bright send-off at his back, Kuroha opened the door and stepped into the winter morning breeze.

…

Truthfully, if Kuroha went looking for work, there would be no end to it.

Never mind the distant stuff. Just right now.

Between the press conferences for Mejiro McQueen, the newly crowned "strongest active runner," and Oguri Cap, fresh back from an overseas tour where she took three G1 wins, he'd be so busy he wouldn't even touch the ground.

And that was before you even got into the mountain of decisions, meetings, and reform documents related to the URA Association that he, as the "second-in-command" of Central Tracen Academy under Akikawa Yayoi, was technically supposed to be involved with.

Just look at Rudolf, who only managed the student council, and you could see it. The documents piled on her desk every day were practically a small mountain.

If Kuroha didn't dodge it and actually chose to get his hands in everything, the workload would be insane.

So he chose, very righteously, to "play hooky."

After all, getting married was a major life event.

…

He walked along the academy's asphalt paths.

Just like every year, Tracen felt a little empty and quiet today.

The campus scene from a while back, all youthful energy and constant chatter, had vanished without a trace.

Most of the Horse Girls had already gone home for the New Year. Only a handful of students staying on campus and the staff remained, moving about with their own tasks.

Kuroha's mood was light as he walked.

As for the wedding arrangements, he'd already lined everything up.

He'd grown up in an orphanage, so there were none of the usual concerns about parents or elders and formalities.

And on March's side, her mother and the rest of her family weren't particularly into the traditional, complicated shrine wedding customs from the Far East either.

So after talking it through with March, they decided on something simpler.

Considering the social impact, and the fact that after this there were still "countless, countless times" more weddings ahead, they opted for a modest format.

A warm banquet at a hall. Vows, rings, blessings from friends and family. That was enough.

At first, Kuroha had strongly objected to anything "simple."

March was his first Horse Girl, his earliest companion. He felt that when something deserved to be grand, it should be grand.

But in the end, Fujimasa March talked him into it.

"Marriage…" Kuroha murmured, feeling a little moved.

After all these years of being isekai'd into the Uma Musume world, one of his original wishes, marrying a Horse Girl, was about to come true.

Just then, up ahead at the corner of the path, a dashing Horse Girl with a signature crescent-shaped fringe came into view, carrying a small stack of documents in her arms.

"Hm? Rudolf?"

Kuroha paused, then smiled and lifted a hand in greeting.

Rudolf seemed lost in thought and noticed him a beat late. Surprise flickered in her eyes, and she hurried over.

"Kuroha, good morning."

"Morning, Rudolf. Heading to the student council to work?" Kuroha asked with a chuckle, glancing at the papers in her arms.

"…What, are you offering to help?"

Rudolf looked at him with a faintly resentful expression.

"Ahem. Fine, I'll carry some for you."

After clearing his throat twice, Kuroha took all the documents from her and walked beside her toward the student council.

He was only out for a post-meal stroll anyway, and planning to check the venue. He didn't have a strict destination.

With nothing else pressing, he decided to accompany Rudolf for a bit.

(End of Chapter)

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