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Princess Mia Stays True to Herself
The rest of the time went by quickly, and before she knew it, it was time for the Horsemanship Tournament. Mia had always practised riding on the same grounds where the event would take place. The sky was clear, and the air was cool and refreshing because it was fall.
Mia stretched her arms up and out. Then she took a quick look around.
“I’m sorry, but
”
The arena for the tournament, which would be the riding grounds, was a huge area of land. It was so big that it would take Mia probably half a day to walk all the way around it. And that’s if she didn’t give up in the middle.
Malong said that each lap of the race course was a thousand moontales long, and the winner would be the first person to finish two laps.
A large number of tents were set up in a circle some distance from the course. Several shops had also been set up, and the smells coming from them made Mia’s nose twitch in a restless way.
Not all of them were food stands either. Some sold clothes for horseback riding. One of the more unusual ones she’d seen sold stuffed horses.
“Wow, this place is busy
”
She couldn’t help but smile because she could feel how happy everyone else was. Still, she couldn’t figure out one thought.
It’s so weird. How come I don’t remember this?
She wondered as she read the reports that the organisers of the tournament had sent to the student council.
Was
this always the case?
She rubbed her chin.
In the previous timeline, she should have seen this tournament at least twice. Even though it might have been cancelled when the empire started to fall apart, it should have happened for the first two years. Instead, she had nothing at all to say; she had no memory of this event at all.
She poked Anne, who was next to her, because she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t ask the question directly because it was about a different time period. Instead, she asked it in a roundabout way.
“Tell me, Anne, did this tournament happen around this time last year as well?”
“Around this time last year, I think you were busy dealing with the trouble in Remno.”
“Ah.”
Mia nodded.
“I see.
I went to Remno right after summer break was over, so I guess the timing is right
 The tournament probably happened after I got home and while I was taking care of the aftermath.”
More specifically, it would have happened while she was rolling around in bed all day, because she was so tired from the ordeal that she had given Ludwig the job of cleaning up.
I was so sick that I barely had enough energy to go to class, so I guess it’s not surprising that I missed the tournament. Abel and Sion were both worried about what would happen in their own kingdoms, so it’s likely that they didn’t take part either.
She was thinking when she heard a voice she knew.
“That isn’t the only thing that makes it feel different. This year, it’s a lot livelier than usual, and you’re the reason why, miss.”
“Oh, Malong,” she said when she turned around and saw him standing behind her.
“You— Huh. You’re looking pretty good today.”
She took a step back so she could see his whole outfit better, then crossed her arms and hummed while appraising him.
The most noticeable thing about his clothes was a big horse that was embroidered with a rainbow of colours. Natural colours like black, gold, and red were woven together with blues, yellows, and greens in a complicated way. He wore long pants that reached his ankles and a shirt that looked like a robe and was folded across the front in an eastern style. A small round hat was on his head. Almost certainly, it was a type of clothing that people in the Equestrian Kingdom wore often.
“This is our clan’s dress clothes,” he said with a big laugh. “Of all the days, this is the one where I must dress up.”
He looked out over the big arena, his eyes getting teary.
“Look at all these people
 It’s like everyone in the school is here. And what for? A competition in horsemanship. I never thought I’d see the day
 Talk about bucketlists
”
“I’m not sure I understand. You said that this happened because of me?”
He grinned at her befuddled face.
“What? You didn’t know? There have been more people riding horses in Saint-Noel lately.”
She blinked.
“Is that true? I had no idea.”
Even though she had seen some new faces in the horsemanship club and heard more about horses in class, she thought it was because of the upcoming tournament.
“But why is it because of me?”
“Don’t you remember? When you were running for president of the student council, you rode a horse.”
“Ah, true. Yes, I do remember that.”
It had happened so long ago that her goldfish memory could not remember it on its own.
I remember riding around the academy and thinking, “What in the moons am I doing with my life?”
“I’ve heard people say they joined because the new president likes to ride horses, so they wanted to try it for themselves,” Malong said. “You seem to be very popular with the girls, especially. Many of them tell me that they really admire how you stayed true to yourself despite all the pressures during the campaign.”
He didn’t lie. Mia’s friends were really impressed by the way she sat tall and proud on her horse.
“Huh. So that’s what’s going on,” she said in a thoughtful way.
The fact that she had an effect on the academy that was unnoticed before is definitely a food for thought. Speaking of food

“Those pastries with the sticks in them look so good
”
Food for thought wasn’t nearly as interesting as thinking about food, though. Since Mia was always herself, that’s what she did.