Doing housework was something I had never enjoyed before, and in this case, it was the same; it was boring and took a lot of time, but after we were done, I felt happy. A real sense of gratitude flowed towards both Aoi and Goldshi, and this heart of mine now felt at ease. I lit some incense and told stories to the monument in memory of my parents. I told them about the friends I had made and also the effort I was putting on to keep winning.
(Body - Soul sync is now 100%)
The system quietly notified me, and for some reason, I no longer felt like a stranger in this body. It no longer felt like a game. Now I know why I didn't have monetary support. Meek was alone in this world when I arrived, probably the hotel I woke up in was courtesy of the Academy.
'But I'm not alone anymore'
I had Goldshi and Aoi, also Flashy and Haru, and slowly but surely, my circle was expanding. I don't really care about what the media says about me, but I want to triumph and conquer the triple tiara. I don't feel as anxious as I did before, and I know I can make it. It won't be easy, but with people behind me, I have their will pushing me forward.
"Hey, let's go for some ice cream!" I said happily after finishing paying my respect to the people who gave birth to my host; in a sense, I'm their daughter, and I plan to honor their memory.
"Now we are talking, hehe!" Gold Ship was up for it.
Aoi just sighed. She knew who was paying for it, but Happy Meek had done a great job, so pampering her wasn't such a bad idea. The day outside was sunny, and overall it was a good day, not too hot, but also a cold breeze blew through the countryside.
The trio walked through the peaceful streets, where some people were going about their normal lives. Most of them saluted them with kind words, while others continued working or attending to their chores. But once they arrived at the store, Meek was surprised.
"What?" She wondered, stopping in front of a mask and merchandise display.
There were already some Haru Urara items for sale, and I felt astonished, but then I remembered that she was on a tour racing in the countryside alongside her trainer. However, I didn't expect her popularity to already be on the rise. If my memory didn't fail me, she still has lost all her races... but her personality has a unique magnetism that makes the people want to cheer for her. Yes, she is an amazing uma; she is so cheerful and never loses faith.
'Hehehe, when I see her, I will ask her about it!'
"Meek, what flavour do you want your ice cream?" Asked Aoi, who was already at the cashier.
"Chocolate!" Then I picked a Haru Urara souvenir, a small pencil with her face on top of it. "I want this too!"
"Hehehe, young Missy, you have a good eye," Said the old man clerk. "She is the angel of the countryside! She has been racing through, bringing smiles to wherever she goes."
"Haru is an angel indeed," I confirmed, nodding, "I'm a fan!"
"Hooo... then you can have some extra ice cream to go!"
"Thank you, mister," I said, smiling.
After exchanging our goodbyes, Goldship got near me to ask about our little interaction. I told her about Urara. After all, Urara has a wild, crazy dream. When Flashy says she wants to win the Arima Kinen, I simply believe in her, but when Urara said it, I wanted to root for her from the bottom of my soul.
'Ugh... if everything goes according to plan... I will end up clashing with Urara and Flashy..." I dreaded that day, for different reasons, but I have to go step by step. First, I have to win the triple tiara.
"Umu... that girl sounds like fun, but I wonder why she goes to the countryside instead of going to the big tracks." Goldshi was very curious.
Of course, I can't tell her that in the other world, Urara had lost all her races, and that they were all isekaied horses, that would be too much. I just feigned to have no idea about the reason. For most, it shouldn't be such a big fuss, but eventually, Urara will be a star, one so bright that it doesn't matter how much others win; they won't be able to outshine her, no matter the outcome of her races.
'The world keeps spinning, huh?' After finding out that my pal Urara is doing good, I feel full of energy.
After munching through our treats, I challenged Goldshi to a race back to the home. It's pointless to tell the outcome; I was totally beaten by her.
...
...
...
We spent the rest of the day scouting the house. At a certain point, Goldshi decided to take a nap, and I was left alone with Aoi. I still had so many things to know. But I grabbed the picture where she is with my mom and showed it to her.
"Oooh, I have the same photo on my house," Aoi says, looking at the photo with admiration in her eyes, memories flooding back.
"So you really did know my mom?"
"Of course I did," Aoi said without the intention to hide things from me. "It's a silly story, but your mom helped me so much back then."
We sat down on the sofa and she began to tell me the story. It seems, back then when she was little, she felt anxious, because of her family legacy, they had rised up some stars back then and their trainees had won many G1 races, so they ended up being well known as a trainer family, but she didn't really wanted to follow that path, she felt as if it was too much, trying to be like the other people in her family.
"Because of that, I had so many fights with my grandmother and my mom," She admitted, laughing, "Both of them wanted to force me into this path."
So in the end, young Aoi ended up running away from home, not wanting to be chained to her family's decisions; she wanted to be free from all the expectations, and being the only daughter of this generation, they were heavy upon her. That's when she ended up here, and just by happenstance, she ended up watching a career at the local hypodrome, it's no more than a small dirt track, but it was enough, she saw my mother back there, sadly she lost and got 2nd place, but even so, she was radiant, she put so much effort into it, and when she lost she was moved into tears by her... she understood the things her family had told her.
"You see... that day I made up my mind and understood that I wanted to be a trainer too, so I decided to study hard and get my license," She said proudly.
Then she laughed awkwardly. Her family was happy that she had come back, but even so, she was grounded for many months for her stunt, which was her starting point to start her career as a trainer, and she didn't regret it.
"Then I learned about what happened to Sunrise-san..." Aoi's eyes lost their glimmer for a moment. "I truly admired her; she didn't have a bright career, but she chose you over her personal goals, so of course I respected that... it was a small note in the newspaper, it passed almost invisible, but when I saw it..."
She sighed and continued.
"Then a couple of years later, when I had just earned my licence and got a contract at Tracen, I saw your name among the new joiners, I knew I had to be your trainer... well that day I knew Flashy too, she was a nice surprise, but you were my main focus, I didn't knew your objectives, or your talent, but it's my way to show my respecto to Sunrise-san who once helped me find my course... and I don't repent, you and Flashy are such an amazing pair, I can't be more proud of both of you"
So it wasn't random that I got picked even after losing that time. I felt gratitude and hugged Aoi.
"Thank you for the chance, and thank you for honoring my mother's memory."
Between us fell a moment of silence, but words weren't necessary for now. Gold Ship's snore woke her up, and she looked at both of us, confused.
"Huuh? Did I miss something?"
"Nah, Golshi, we are going home, to Tracen," I say.