'Boom—!'
Lightning tore through the dark night sky, and heavy rain poured down.
It was already almost eight in the evening. Due to the severely bad weather, most people had already retreated to their homes. Additionally, the lights on this road were inexplicably broken today, making the already deserted road even more desolate.
In this night rain, only one person moved slowly along the pitch-black road.
"Are the lights at the entrance broken...? Sigh, I'll have the servants at home fix them tomorrow..."
A woman with slightly graying hair walked carefully along the road, holding a black umbrella, complaining softly. From her weathered voice, it was clear she was an elderly person.
'Boom—!'
Another bright flash of lightning tore through the sky, bringing a momentary light to the woman who was about to arrive home.
"This is..."
Her eyes widened slightly, and she couldn't help but stop.
Using the light from the recent lightning, she vaguely saw a dark mass near the bushes by her front gate, right on the path she was about to take.
Taking out her smartphone, she turned on its built-in flashlight and shone it at the spot. She saw what the dark mass was—a black-haired girl, looking very young, perhaps only about ten years old.
The girl's long, dark hair was disheveled around her, and she wore an outfit similar to a shrine maiden's. However, it was unclear what the girl had recently experienced; her clothes were covered in scars and dirt, and there were even burn-like marks on the fair skin exposed through the rips.
"Uma Musume?"
After approaching and crouching down, she saw the girl's long ears on her head and a tail behind her, which already indicated the girl's race—she was not human, but an Uma Musume, just like her.
"So badly injured..."
Even with a cursory glance, and despite her lack of medical knowledge, she could tell that the girl's injuries were serious. She couldn't help but frown. Without much hesitation, she immediately put away her phone, ignoring the heavy rain, tossed her umbrella aside, and placed her hand on the girl's chest, then checked for the girl's breath on the ground. Although weak, the girl at least still had a heartbeat.
She fumbled along the nearby wall, feeling the metal nameplate engraved with "Symboli Family," and after confirming the approximate location, she pressed the doorbell button. Soon, a young female voice came from inside:
"This is the Symboli Family. May I ask who you are?"
"It's me, Speed Symbol. Open the courtyard gate and contact the family doctor."
"Madam Head of House!? Are you injured?!"
"It's not me. I found an injured child at the gate. Her breath is very weak. Hurry and call them over!"
The old Uma Musume, Speed Symbol, quickly relayed her orders. She could feel that the girl's breath was extremely faint. If the girl hadn't happened to collapse at the Symboli Family's doorstep, and if she hadn't happened to go out for something today and encountered her on her way back, with such heavy rain tonight, it would be questionable whether the girl could survive until morning.
There was a reason why there weren't many people on this road: the Symboli Family estate was located here. As one of the several famous Uma Musume families, the Symboli Family's territory was naturally very large. Usually, apart from reporters and Tracen Academy students, few people visited here.
Soon, the main gate opened, and the servants in the courtyard also approached. Some were welcoming the Head of House back, while others, doctors in white coats, brought a stretcher and carefully lifted the girl from outside the gate onto it.
"Madam Head of House, that child seems to be severely injured... What happened?"
"A child who collapsed at the front gate, with many bruises and burn marks on her body. I don't know if she escaped from a house fire."
Facing the maid's confusion, Speed Symbol, who didn't know much about the situation, could only shake her head.
"Such a poor child..."
"You also investigate if any shrines nearby had a fire. This child looks a bit like a shrine maiden. Perhaps she's a child from a nearby shrine."
"Yes, Madam Head of House."
..."So hot... So painful..."
The unbearable burning sensation brought the girl to a slight consciousness. An instinctive twitch brought another piercing pain.
"Awake?"
Before the girl could clearly see if the ceiling in front of her was familiar, an old voice came, attracting her attention.
She came to her senses, realizing that the other party was not speaking her familiar native language, but for some reason, she could understand and comprehend what they were saying.
"I..."
'What's wrong with me...'
The girl looked blankly at the woman who had spoken. It was clear that the other party was quite old, but she was obviously not human—who would have such strange ears and a tail? It couldn't be that the old woman was playing some kind of cosplay, could it? Were those ears and tail too flexible to be mere accessories?
'And... is there something wrong with my body...'
Although she couldn't make too many large movements right now, the girl could feel that on her head and near her buttocks, there seemed to be some biological structures she hadn't had before, and she seemed to be able to control them to move.
"Child, you're injured. Do you remember what happened to you?"
The elder walked to the bedside and sat down, gently stroking the girl's head with her hand, looking very distressed.
"Chi... child?"
Although the girl knew that she was quite young compared to an elderly person, and this address from the other party was not strange, she discovered something even stranger as soon as she spoke.
'My voice?? What's going on!?'
Clearly, that was not the clear voice a twenty-something working adult should have. That soft, sweet, adorable voice was more like the voice of a two-dimensional little girl she had seen in anime.
Although she was originally female, she wasn't some naive person who never surfed the internet or had no exposure to anything. She had a bad premonition and quickly lowered her head to look at her palms.
'These tiny hands are clearly not mine... It's over. Could it be that I worked several all-nighters, died from overwork... and then restarted?'
Remembering the research report she had half-typed and not yet saved, the girl couldn't help but feel a headache, making her instinctively reach up and cover her forehead.
"Child, are you alright? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?"
Seeing the girl suddenly fall silent and then cover her forehead, Speed Symbol, thinking she might have some hidden injuries, quickly pressed her.
"Pain..."
She instinctively uttered words she had never used before, yet the girl spoke them without awkwardness, as if this body had already learned and mastered them.
"You're injured. Although the doctor said your condition is stable now, you still need to rest for a while... A nearby shrine caught fire this afternoon due to a lightning strike. Did you escape from there?"
"Injured... shrine..."
In the dream she had while unconscious, the scene of her traversing a sea of fire, desperately trying to escape, reappeared before her eyes.
—Inari Kagura.
She remembered. That was her current name. Her fragmented memories also slightly connected. Her first awakening was in an unfamiliar building. As soon as she woke up, she encountered a sudden fire. She had no time to delve into where she had come from, nor did she carefully observe her own situation. The instinct for survival urged her to escape.
"I... have an impression, it caught fire..."
"It seems you indeed came from there, child. Where are your family members?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know... I... can't remember my family..."
This was the truth. Inari Kagura was like a unit freshly spawned out of thin air. There was only her in that shrine, at least she didn't know if she had any family. The only useful information in her memory now was her name; the older memories that didn't belong to this body had no relation to it.
Although she guessed she had transmigrated, she didn't expect her background to be truly blank, with nothing at all, not even a garbage system appearing.
'Bad... Am I an undocumented person without an identity?'
"Lost your memory? Poor child..."
Seeing the girl's expression dim considerably, and with the girl unconsciously covering her forehead again, Speed Symbol gently stroked the girl's head again, feeling heartbroken. She could tell Kagura wasn't lying; she genuinely couldn't remember anything about her family.
'Only she escaped. Perhaps her family also perished in that fire? Such a young child...'
Recalling the information she had gathered, the people who went to extinguish the fire and rescue did not find any remains inside the shrine. Outside, there were only traces of this one Uma Musume escaping. It was unknown where this Little Horse Girl's family was. It couldn't be that such a young child was left to live alone in that shrine, could it?
There were many reasons for memory loss: too strong a stimulus, or too strong a physical attack. This Little Horse Girl's memory loss was very likely related to her injuries. But no matter the cause, it was probably not something an eleven or twelve-year-old child could accept. Thinking of this, Speed Symbol felt even sorrier for the child.
"Do you remember your name?"
"Inari Kagura... Yes, Inari Kagura."
Kagura knew this strange name was certainly not her own name, but the body's name. However, she didn't mind this point anymore. Since she wasn't sure of her identity yet, using a name more fitting for the current environment would surely be better.
"Inari Kagura... Do you mind if I call you Kagura?"
"I don't mind... You saved me. Please use whatever address you feel comfortable with."
Inari Kagura nodded slightly. She probably guessed that she was injured in the fire when she first transmigrated, and this seemingly stern old woman had found her and treated her. After all, there were traces of emergency treatment on her arms and body everywhere, and her injuries were severe enough to cause unconsciousness. If no one had intervened, she estimated she would have died on the spot.
'Should I be glad I didn't break the fastest restart record of my predecessors...'
Thinking of this, Kagura felt a surge of relief. She had panicked at the time and ran purely on instinct. She didn't remember where she had gone along the way. Fortunately, after collapsing from exhaustion, there happened to be someone nearby. If she had collapsed in a deserted place, it would have truly been over.
At least now, this old woman didn't seem to bear any ill will towards her. She seemed to be gently stroking her head to comfort her, as if afraid of startling her. Kagura, exhausted from her injuries and strenuous activity, didn't want to think too much anymore. Since the environment was safe now, she no longer needed to force herself to stay awake.
"Hoo..."
Soon, Kagura closed her eyes.
'What will become of this child now?'
Speed Symbol's hand remained on Kagura's head, gently stroking her black long hair. However, perhaps from extreme exhaustion, Kagura had fallen asleep again during the brief silence. Even in her sleep, her eyebrows were furrowed, and her ears were laid back, as if she was dreaming of something unpleasant.
"This child is still so young. I hope her family can be found soon..."